Sky Burial to a British Standard

 In Death & Funerals, Sky Burial

Sky burial has a certain appeal. Who would not want to be eaten by birds? Better than those faux velvet curtains at the crem and a chipboard coffin with plastic handles. Hold on, its not quite so simple. Firstly, it’s not legal here. Secondly, chances are you will take a load of medication before your final breath and the birds would be poisoned. It’s not quite the environmental and spiritual ending some might seek. Sky burial to a British standard might be the better option.

The British Have Form

As soon as I write sky burial most people immediately think Tibet and vultures. It’s not a pleasant process as the birds need to eat all the bones and not just the meaty bits. Consequently, the entire body has to be chopped up and smashed into small pieces. People here were not short of hammers back in 2200 BC and yet chose another process, one, shall we say, less crushing. Lots of people were dying but cremation pyres needed far too much wood. Burial was discounted because, with wolves about, a deep grave was onerous when they only had picks made of antler. They needed an easier process, one that left them free to harvest, forage and hunt. They knew nothing of the Zoroastrian Towers of Silence in my photo, which also display bodies to birds in India.

The Standard

Imagine how they tackled this issue? They would need an above ground body display platform, say four meters high. This would stop the wolves running off with a limb; the wolf, a quadruped now with five legs! They could then lay out the body; is that where the term lay out comes from? As a routine, the birds would expect the corpse. They could safely land upon the platform and readily take off, much heavier, when suitably gorged. That sounds like a standard but, of course, the people cannot write. Even if they could, they have no paper. If they sound unsophisticated then remember that it is us, in 2018, who pollute the skies with cremation emissions and have appallingly neglected cemeteries. The pagans managed their dead sustainably.

Sky burial to a British standard

In my forthcoming book, My Pagan Ancestor Zuri, I explain why we find so few burials from prehistory. It’s because their disposal process, a form of sky burial, was much more efficient than ours. Was the spirit from the dead body absorbed by the birds so that it literally took flight? These pagans rendered the useless mortal flesh into ideal bird food of protein and fats. Don’t be too shocked at their ways! Our present funeral arrangements are so expensive that they are creating funeral poverty for many people. Much of that is due to avaricious business. Nonetheless, our huge population now has to dispose of over half a million bodies each year; that is too much, even for the birds.

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Showing 9 comments
  • Baer
    Reply

    Back to nature perfect . Easy to die , just find a high place , naked , sharpened flint , job done birds and beasts can feast and no comeback to anyone . Clean and healthy . No drugs . No pollution. No waste , no resources used . Right place and even bones will disappear quickly enough .

    • Ken West
      Reply

      Many thanks for your comments on sky burial

  • Bruce Stafford
    Reply

    Hi all, I have just started to investigate sky burials and found myself so upset for the Parsi nation and the Vulture in India. I do not think that cremation is environmentally or thermodynamically efficient. I would like burial, but that is so expensive. Presently thinking about Ghana, but the remaining drugs in my body are an issue. I need some scientific research in this area, thanks, Bruce

  • Rachel- Anne Mortimer
    Reply

    I desperately want a sky burial as I see no advantage to our environment in interment or cremation. I would ideally go to a remote spot ( so that my corpse would not cause distress) and be hoisted onto a platform where I could slowly be enjoyed by the birds . This puts a terrible burden on my only child who would have to break the law as it stands in order to carry out my wishes. Is anyone campaigning for a change in the law? I would gladly become involved in such action.

    • Julie
      Reply

      Hi I have discovered this idea wondering how to go about it as you say not leaving the burden any udeas

      • Ken West
        Reply

        Hi Julie, sorry but there is no way to arrange this legally. If you could locate a quiet rural spot and had the people to make all the arrangements then it might work. I certainly cannot achieve that for myself. We also need to be aware that our birds don’t usually feed on human corpses, neither are there too many species that enjoy carrion. It might take months to clear a body. That said, we have a lot of ravens up here in the Peak District and I do find them fascinating.

  • Julie Rees
    Reply

    I have said since I was a young teenager that a sky burial is what I would want, the thought of rotting underground repulses me, and cremation is not very eco friendly. I would love to be disposed of in this natural way.

    • Georgina shaw
      Reply

      It is my given right to have a sky burial in the UK and illegal for anyone to refuse me of my last wishes.

  • Georgina shaw
    Reply

    It is my given right to have a sky burial in the UK and illegal for anyone to refuse me of my last wishes.

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