By Amarnath Tewary
BBC News, Patna, Bihar
In India’s remote north-east, the people of the state of Bihar have devised a novel and environmentally friendly way to cremate their dead.
Where traditionally only the wood from a mango tree was used to fuel the funeral fire in this part of India, now people are making do with cow dung as an alternative source of fuel.
It may sound outlandish but this unique local innovation is not only catching on fast but has achieved widespread social acceptance.
Annual flooding in two districts of of northern Bihar has meant that access to mango trees is restricted.
Entire mango orchards have been swept away by the flood waters.
The new system is known as the “goraha” way of cremation. Cow dung is fashioned into a long rod-shaped cake, locally known as goraha.
Goraha is easily available and coming from herbivorous cattle, acceptable in sacred terms too. All this has helped Biharis opt for this new method of cremation.
Flooded forests
There are many factors behind the new development.
The ritual of the funeral fire consumes on average an entire mango tree.
Besides being less cumbersome and environmentally destructive, the use of cow dung cakes is also more economical.
“With the stringent restrictions over cutting green trees, the mango woods have become costlier and it even becomes difficult during the flood season to get, especially when the whole area remains chronically waterlogged for months,” Professor Vidyanath Jha told the BBC.
Professor Jha, a botany professor in Darbhanga, has conducted extensive research on the goraha method of cremation in north Bihar.
He says that the perennial flooding in the area has led to a rapid depletion in forest cover. This is what ultimately forced rural people to search alternative fuels for cremations.
Only 7% of Bihar is forested. North Bihar has a meagre 1.92% forest cover.
“There are waterlogged areas like Kusheshwarasthan where mango orchards have completely been wiped out,” said Professor Jha.
Under the new method of goraha cremation, people dig a large pit and arrange long rod-shaped cow dung cakes in rows set in three tiers.
The lowest tier comprises three horizontal rows arranged in a scaffolding pattern and an additional fourth layer is added when the soil is moist.
Pressure is exerted on the lower layers which breaks into smaller pieces and help absorb the soil moisture.
The lowest tier serves as the podium on which the corpse is laid in a sitting posture to minimize the surface area. A small space is left between tiers to light the pyre through performing the rituals.
The flame gradually reaches the lower layers and sets the whole body alight instantly.
Cheaper cremation
About 200kg of cow dung cakes are used for burning a corpse compared with about 240-280kg of mango wood.
“Under this system the whole body gets disposed of within one-and-half-hours, whereas in the traditional system mourners needed to be at the funeral site for three to four hours”.
One has to spend only 400-500 rupees ($6-$8) in the goraha system as opposed to between 3,000 - 4,000 rupees ($62-$83) in the traditional mango-wood cremation of a dead body," said Shambhu Ram, a college employee who cremated one of his deceased relatives using the goraha one year ago.
“It’s easy, cheap and consumes less time for us who are waterlogged in flood waters for three to four months every year in monsoon season,” Mr Ram says.
But what happens when there is no dry area when flooding is at its worst
“We put a kothi (earthen container) on the front portion of a country boat and then take the corpse inside it and follow the same process as in goraha. When the body gets burnt over we push the kothi in flood water,” explains Shambhu Ram.
Kothi is generally used for storing grains.
“As about 40% of people in these northern districts have now opted for this new system of cremation it has become socially acceptable too,” Professor Jha said.
Environmentalists say this new trend of cremation also saves mango trees from further depletion - something this flood-prone region has been distinctive for.