The group visits a sacred area on the Bagmati River where body burnings take place every day. Everyone is also welcome to view this ritual up close. Henny even has it on his bucket list. “Because I think that ritual is so beautiful. I think birth is a celebration, but in the end you die and that should also be something beautiful. That nasty thing we have with a cheap coffin and then that horrible dry cake and coffee afterwards. It should also be celebrated.”
The closer they get to the sacred area, the more difficult it becomes for Estavana. “Don’t you think it stinks?” she asks the gentlemen. “For the people at home: it stinks here. If you see that I’m having a hard time looking, that smell, it’s not normal.” It doesn’t take long before Estavana storms off, coughing and gagging. “It really is a very strong smell. People in the Netherlands: you don’t want to know. (…) And then you have to check that there is a corpse.”
At the same time, Estavana is disappointed that she can no longer stay with the ritual: “Do you know what the double is? This is also culture, but it is a very intense smell. You try to respect that, but it is intense.”
In the meantime, the men watch the burnings with admiration. They find it special that everyone is welcome at the ritual. “Normally you would feel like such a snooper,” says Henny. “But that’s not the case here,” Ad adds. “I also think that people are meant to look at it. It is public for a reason. It seems as if it is all part of everyday life. Death is also part of everyday life,” adds Frits.
The gentlemen admire that the Nepalese residents reflect on death in this way. “Of course, you also have cultures where they cry on coffins and weep there and throw themselves on the coffin. And that is completely different here. That is so beautiful,” says Edwin.
Afterwards, Frits, Ad, Edwin and Henny return to Estavana. There the presenter explains to them that she could not stand for a second longer. “Then you stand there and the idea that a person is lying there. And then you stand there and you look like a kind of tourist. That smell goes through your marrow and bone. And then you see the families. You see them walking .”
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2023-10-04 20:49:50
#Estavana #Polman #storms #burning #body #Late
