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Indians Using Cow Dung to Cremate the Dead

treehugger.com — Strange as it may seem, the people in Bihar have no aversion to cremating their dead with cow dung--it's entirely socially acceptable, rapidly growing as a practice, and is now done by 40% of the population. And it's one of the oddest and best conservation stories to emerge in some time.

Who dugg this? Made popular Sep 30, 2009

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  • malex, on 09/30/2009, -0/+16There's nothing remotely unusual about using dried dung as fire fuel. It's what our own ancestors (speaking as a Caucasian) used for tens of thousands of years.

    Westerners sometimes forget that there was a human race before the Industrial Revolution.
  • falser, on 09/30/2009, -1/+12You know what's disgusting?

    How about scooping out the organs of a corpse, plasticizing the remains, putting make-up on it, dressing it up in a suit and wheeling it around for people to gawk at.
  • jerryjamesstone, on 09/29/2009, -0/+9the versatility of sh*t
  • thewordisberry, on 09/29/2009, -0/+8Elephant dung makes great paper.
  • merbrian, on 09/29/2009, -0/+8There's no problem dung can't solve. That's what I always say.
  • digitalArtform, on 09/30/2009, -0/+6The poor use cow dung to cook there all the time.

    They slap it to a wall to dry. The walls look like those candy paper dots.

    When the dots fall off, they burn them.

    It's mostly grass, anyway.

    like this -

    http://1802.img.pp.sohu.com.cn/images/blog/2009/2/ ...

    or this -

    http://www.travel-images.com/india393.jpg
  • directedition, on 09/30/2009, -0/+6Can't see why not. Dead people can't smell *****.
  • anklesnap, on 09/29/2009, -2/+7just cow dung? what about other animals dung. Dung is dung.
  • Enterres, on 09/30/2009, -0/+5There are some very practical reasons why cows are sacred in India - they are, or were, at least - worth more alive than dead.
    Not only for their milk, but the urine and feces can be used for construction or burning. Probably also for dye mixtures and medicines as well.
    Remember: showing respect for livestock means using as much of their bodies as possible, especially if you're going to kill them.
  • sulthernao, on 09/30/2009, -0/+4As an Indian, I'm thinking about it. Cows that are alive are "sacred" (basically for their milk and derivative products). Cow dung is just cow dung. It's not "sacred."
  • VegaObscura3, on 09/30/2009, -2/+6India. Cows. Think about it.
  • norman619, on 09/30/2009, -0/+4The dung of animals that consume large amounts for vegetation is a reat fuel source when dry. They use dried dung in many poor countries to heat their homes.
  • supermanly, on 09/30/2009, -0/+4It's okay; you're on the Internet, you can say *****.
  • AmyVernon, on 09/30/2009, -0/+3Um, wow.
  • gurudrew, on 09/30/2009, -0/+3Not all dung is created equal. Cow dung is high in fiber and therefore burns quite well.
  • inactive, on 09/30/2009, -1/+4This is a very efficient and beneficial way to dispose of the dead. If only the rest of the world can dispose of outdated and evviornmentally harmful traditions like casket burials.
  • Assassinanus, on 09/30/2009, -1/+4Well, aren't they hot *****!
  • jeffwmartin, on 09/30/2009, -0/+3Wiping poop with poop!
  • borez, on 09/30/2009, -0/+2Toilet paper?
  • borez, on 09/30/2009, -1/+3No *****.
  • Snoogs, on 09/30/2009, -0/+2Respect.
  • meetsang, on 09/30/2009, -0/+2Yes it is.
    http://cynublog.blogspot.com/2007/11/cow-dung-wors ...
  • Sirlolalot, on 10/01/2009, -0/+2lol good luck getting people to come to your cremation when your burning *****.
  • sulthernao, on 09/30/2009, -0/+2It's not just a practical reason, it's THE reason.
  • aserer511, on 09/30/2009, -1/+2hey if your life was *****, why not continue that into the afterlife
  • drmangrum, on 09/30/2009, -0/+1*****
  • gurudrew, on 10/01/2009, -0/+1Humans are very efficient at processing their waste which leaves little to be burned. Our dung isn't worth *****.
  • gurudrew, on 09/30/2009, -0/+1Making Soylent Green would be better.
  • nullcodes, on 09/30/2009, -1/+2Why is this good for the environment? Just because it's an ancient practice doesn't mean it's environmentally sound. When you burn a body and cow dung (fine without a casket) .. you turn it into CO2. But if you bury the person instead .. well it all becomes fertilizer instead of CO2.
  • antdude, on 10/01/2009, -0/+1How about humans' dung? :P
  • askantik, on 10/01/2009, -0/+1And how is cow ***** not a "derivative product" of a cow?
  • nullcodes, on 09/30/2009, -0/+1How is this more environmentally friendly than burial? .. ok burial without a casket (since u'll claim that 100 trees were chopped down to make the casket).
  • graemee, on 09/30/2009, -1/+1They use it as fuel to cook food. Washing of hands optional.
  • user500, on 09/30/2009, -1/+1I was thinking the same thing but I was going to be sarcastic about it.
  • Zymophideth, on 09/30/2009, -2/+2Why would it be strange for them? They consider the cow sacred. Why not in death have your body burned using holy droppings as fuel?
  • yoonssoo, on 10/01/2009, -1/+1I didn't even think that this was weird. It sounds totally natural to me.
  • chuckDontSurf, on 09/30/2009, -5/+5Talk about a ***** funeral.
  • hitkaiser, on 09/30/2009, -1/+1Don't want to imagine how bad cow dung smells when being burnt.

  • Fhwqhgads, on 09/30/2009, -2/+1<insert ***** joke here>
  • inactive, on 09/30/2009, -8/+1Do they worship cow ***** too?.

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