Funeral Rites

• Funerals held day after the person dies
• The ashes should be scattered in running water. Many will try to take the ashes to the Ganges as this is considered to be a holy river and a living goddess
• The body is placed with feet acing south towards the god of death; Yama
• Close male relatives wash a mans body and dress him in new clothes. For a female, it is a close female relative
• The eldest son (or chief mourner) lights the pyre, cracks the skull with a large bamboo stick (to release the atman) and collects the ashes