 People in Bihar, a north east state of India have adopted an alternative to traditional cremations. They are using cow dung instead of wood from mango trees as fuel for the funeral fire. Constant flooding in this region has resulted in the scarcity of trees. Since the access to mango trees is now restricted in districts of northern Bihar, local people have come up with an environment friendly way of cremating the dead. This bizarre yet unique innovation has attained social acceptance as this is also saving one mango tree per ceremony.
In India, cow dung is also accepted in sacred terms. Approximately 40% of the population in Bihar has already adopted this practice. Cow dung cakes are economical and cause less destruction to the environment. Since this region loses mango orchards to storms and floods every year, strict restrictions have been imposed on cutting of green trees. During monsoons, water logging continues for months, making mango wood scarce and costlier. Even though natural calamities have forced local people to seek alternative fuel for cremating the dead, this move is being considered one of the best conservation methods in a long time.
This new method of cremation is known as "goraha" within which long rod shaped cow dung cakes are placed in three tiered rows in a large pit. There are three horizontal rows in the lowest tier and a scaffolding pattern is used to arrange these rows. When the soil is moist, a fourth layer is also added to it. The lower layers break due to pressure and absorb the moisture from the soil. The body is placed on the lower tier in a sitting posture for minimizing the surface area.
In order to burn a corpse, approximately 200 kilograms of cow dung cakes are used that costs only 6-8 dollars (400-500 Indian rupees) as compared to the cost of traditional mango wood cremation which is 60-84 dollars (3000-4000 Indian rupees). The idea of cremating people on dried cow feces may seem odd to many people but environment experts believe that this method can be very environment friendly and also help combat climate change.
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