There were small patches of fire on a 5-floor leveled staircase. I saw the cremations from afar.  I have heard from before all about the tradition of cremation, all about the last days spent in Varanasi to be finally burned on the shore of Ganga river but it still hit me. It hit all of us when we saw the eternal fire burning up at the top of the shore and all the other cremations at different heights of the shore. There was the imam, the only person who is allowed to pursue the ritual, who is also the closest person to the deceased. Only men are allowed to be imams and they have to through the ghee (cleared butter) over the dead body in order for it to burn completely. At the end of the ceremony, the imam would take the last remaining of the dead body and would through it in the Ganga. The remaining ashes would be cleared out in the morning while some people would start searching for the remaining gold and jewelry from the deceased. It’s hard to think of how something so spiritual and sacred could be perished in the morning by the earthly priorities.

We stood there on the boat, watching the cremation take place when our tour guide blatantly said,

“Women were not allowed in the crematory because they are too emotional, and emotion cannot be tolerated in the crematory.” Apart from raging comments about the feminine gender coding and gender performativity, a question sprung in our head:

“Why is a crematory, where the dead are sent off, empty of emotion?” The answer to the question was deeply embedded in Butoh mind.

In Hindu tradition, when a person is deceased, he or she is considered to either reincarnate into another being, repeating the cycle of suffering, or enter Moksha, a state of liberation from the cycle. Varanasi is special to all Hindus for it is a place which guarantees the liberation to whoever is burnt in Varanasi crematory. The cremation process in Varanasi, to the mourners, is a celebration and a congratulation of the Moksha of the deceased. Being a place of both celebration and mourning, the crematory is vacated of both extremes and, indeed, empty of emotion.

by Eliza, Daniel

Meaning in every fragment

During the trip I had the camera with me the entire time, trying to create a photo essay that I could insert in these posts. These pictures are selected from the photographs that I did during the first night in Varanasi, overlooking the death rituals held at the crematory.

There comes a strong observing aspect with these pictures, as one needs to look at each fragment and corner of the scene. It is weaved as a complex composition. You can see the burning bodies, cows walking near the fires, families and close ones watching. These elements repeat themselves in every corner of the picture, creating a sort of rhythm within the image. This is what I also felt while watching the scene. The tumultuous placement of things, the heavy smoke in the air and the chaotic atmosphere created an overall harmony. 

by Laura