The Bo people of Ancient China had an interesting way of
putting their dead to rest. As seen today upon the sheer cliffs around Hemp
Pond Valley in Southwest China's Gongxian County, the Bo people suspended their
dead in heavy coffins against the cliff sides, hundreds of feet from the
ground. The dead were buried with funerary items, material objects that one
might need to continue living the life in which they were accustomed. The
funerary items of the Bo are decorated with stylized images of tigers,
creatures sacred and honored by the Bo (The Funerary Source). Researchers have
agreed that the Bo people used an intricate rope-pulley system to suspend their
dead from the crags.
Because the tradition has been abandoned today for fear of prosecution and the last of the Bo people have been scattered throughout China, no one really knows why the Bo treated their deceased in this manner, though there are plenty of theories. Theories that state that hanging the dead from the cliffs protected them from their enemies, putting the corpses closer to the sky enabled communication and commingling with the gods, and that, according to the legend, the Bo could fly (The Funerary Source).
Because the tradition has been abandoned today for fear of prosecution and the last of the Bo people have been scattered throughout China, no one really knows why the Bo treated their deceased in this manner, though there are plenty of theories. Theories that state that hanging the dead from the cliffs protected them from their enemies, putting the corpses closer to the sky enabled communication and commingling with the gods, and that, according to the legend, the Bo could fly (The Funerary Source).
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