P U R P O S E  >
 
EARTH SYMBOL

P R E - B U D D H I S T    F U N C T I O N S


About 3000 years ago the Pharaohs of Egypt
were buried in pyramids.
BURIAL SITES
  • When a human being dies we are left with their body. That’s pretty obvious. But what do we do with the body? Can’t just put it in the cupboard and it really wouldn’t seem right just to put it out with the trash, would it?
  • Our bodies come from and are a product of the earth and the natural thing to do is to give them back to the earth. This is the custom in many religions, the body either being buried or cremated. Ancient civilisations have long had a notion of life beyond the body and so the funereal rites of passage are sometimes complex and extensive.

    • AN EARLY EXAMPLE

    Pre Buddhist stupas were simple burial mounds. The most efficient form of burial is to dig a hole, put the body in and cover it over. Raising up even a small mound of earth needs a lot of labour so stupas were usually only built for ‘special’ people; to hold the final remains of great kings, warriors, noble beings and saints.
    One reason for building a mound is to mark the place of burial as one might with a tombstone. This helps us to remember the person and the life they lived and also to create a lasting physical connection with ‘them’. This is important as part of the grieving process and also as a way of honouring the deceased.
    After the original mound was raised it would sometimes be extended depending on the wealth of various patrons: family, disciples, servants, etc. The general idea being that the larger the stupa the greater was the honour offered to the deceased. There would also be the matter of the status or merit of the patron. Other factors in the development of the stupa are discussed in the section on evolution.



    Built as long ago as 4500 BC burial sites can now be found as ‘barrows’. Long barrows are elongated Neolithic mounds usually covering stone burial chambers. Round barrows are Bronze Age, covering burials or cremations. They often have an entrance and served as communal places of ancestor worship whereas stupas are closed and relate to an individual.

    The picture is of the restored site at Bryn Celli Ddu in Wales.