Burial system:

It is mentioned earlier that the Oraon community use both cremation and burial. It is known that due to scarcity of wood they started burying some of the dead. The authenticity is supported by reports by the researcher Mongol Soren regarding Santals (another ethnic minority group) who live in Barendra Region or the northern part of Bangladesh. Mongol Soren states: ²⁸

26 Kanai L. Mukherjee & Bibhas Bandyopadhyay, New age of Purohit Darpan: Farewell to the soul, Book10, Association of Grandparents of Indian Immigrants, USA, 2013, p. 13.

27Bangladesher Nritattik Janagosti (Ethnic Peoples of Bangladesh), op, cit., p. 170.

28 Ahsan Ali, Santals of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Edition: Ashrai Research and Documentation Division, 2008, p. 164.

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“Nowadays, many people in this region of Barind, generally bury the dead body instead of cremating it, because of the fact that the landless laborers find difficulty in collecting firewood to burn the dead body. So they bury the dead in the village graveyard”.

In the case of the Oraon, usually the grave is dug by elderly people. The size of the grave is three and half yards long and two and quarter yards deep facing north to south. Bamboo logs are spread at the bottom of the grave.

After bringing the body to the grave, the bearers carry the body around the grave three times.

Then they place it, on the ground near the grave. Like the cremation ceremony, the face of the deceased is shown to all for the last time. Then, rice and wine are touched to the mouth of the deceased. The food is used to provide a symbolic last meal. After it, some money is put in the grave to help the deceased cross the river to the world of the here-after. Then, the body is placed in the grave with the head pointing to the north. I asked some aged persons of Oraon community why the head is laid to the north. They replied, as the Bhava River (the river that makes a link between here and the after-world) flows from north to south, water might go in to the nose if the body were placed with the head to the south. I did not find any scientific basis for this hypothesis.

The Hindus and Bengali Buddhists also place the head of the deceased towards the north.

Bengali Buddhists do it as the Buddha died in this position.²⁹ Hindus do it following the instruction of holy book named Purohit Darpan. The book instructed that the head of the dead person should be placed to the north. Hindus also have a myth cited as reason to place the deceased’s head to the north. According to the myth, Goddess Durga requested her brother Sani to come to see her new-born child Ganesha. Sani replied that misfortune would happen if he went to see his nephew Ganesha. Nevertheless, Durga asked Sani again and

29 T.W. and C.A.F. Rhys Davids (trans.), Dialogues of the Buddha, Part 2, Oxford University Press, London, 1910, pp. 149ff.

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again to come to her house to see Ganesha. When Sani finally came to Durga’s house and saw the face of Ganesha, then and there the baby’s head became separated from his neck.

Then a head of an elephant was collected from the north and placed on Ganesha’s neck. As result, he was able to live, and his face looks like an elephant.³⁰ For this reason, Hindus consider north a holy direction and they place the head of the deceased person to the north.

They also popularly believe that the gods and goddesses reside in the north. In contrast, in Bangladesh, Muslims place the head of the deceased towards west, because the holy place Mecca is situated to the west of Bangladesh. In conclusion, in my view, the Oraons place the head of the deceased to the north because of the influence of Hindu mythology and as Buddha died with his head to the north.

After placing the body in the grave, a pile of bamboo is placed on the body to protect it from animals that might eat it. Then, a slender bamboo is placed vertically straight down from the top beside the head of the deceased. The family members and the nearest relatives first throw each a handful of earth into the grave with his or her left hand, then others presents similarly throw handfuls of earth with their left hands, so as to fill up the grave. I asked some people of Surjapur village of Joypurhat district why the left hand is used. They replied that the right hand is used to do all wholesome work. Moreover, death is an unexpected thing. Nobody likes to welcome it. So, we use the left hand to mean that we are doing this against our will and we do not expect this kind of occurrence again. It also shows our unwillingness to lose a family member. Then, by pouring water the grave is pasted with clay and some flower plants are planted on the grave.

30 This story is collected from the aged persons of Shilak and Padua villages of Chittagong district and few lecturers of the University of Dhaka also told the same story. A similar story but slightly deviated is found in Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists, written by Ananda K. Coomaraswamy and Sister Nivedita, published by Dover Publications, Inc. New York, 1967, pp. 381-382.

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Finally, the bamboo pole is taken off. As a result, a hole is made in the grave. The symbolic meaning is that the hole is the only path-way for the deceased. He can leave the grave through this path-way to take foods offered near the grave until the ek-mAGkhnA (entering shadow) ritual is performed. It is noteworthy that rice, water, home brewed wine and tooth brushes made of nim (dAtun) are offered every evening on a banana leaf until the ek-mAGkhnA ritual is performed. They believe that until the observance of ek-mAGkhnA ritual, the soul of the deceased cannot mingle with their ancestors. As a result, it roams around the houses and disturbs the people of the village. Again, they believe that the soul comes out through the path-way of the grave when it is hungry, so they offer the above mentioned refreshments.

After cremation or burial everybody who participated in the ceremony bathes and returns to the house of the deceased. Then a purity ritual is performed. Reaching the house they rub the smoke of incense and sprinkle turmeric mixed with water on their bodies. In three places of the courtyard of the deceased’s house, incenses are burnt continuously from the time of death.

Through this ritual purity is reestablished. The Oraon believe that during the cremation or burial ghosts or evil spirits possess them and can harm the people of the village. They believe that through purification rituals they can drive away the evil spirits. After the ritual, all who take part in the cremation are entertained with home brewed wine called hAriA, but the family members of the deceased do not drink at this time because they abstain from enjoyment while they are mourning.

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A graveyard A stupa is built upon the cremation place