Ostracism In Anthropology

Humanity in the past, present and future is layered. Within this layered structure, there exists extreme variety and difference. However, one thing that seems to exist constantly in every crevice or aspect involving the interacting of human beings is the idea of being part of a culture. Culture is often considered difficult to explain but ultimately it can be defined if it fulfills certain requirements.

Culture exists as a grouping of values that are continuously taught with a degree of precision and organised teaching of such through various channels. What develops as a result of reaching and achieving these values is a feeling of inclusion and unfortunately a level of ostracism for those who are considered to have failed. It is no wonder

At first the effect of these belief systems were ignored but the effect of globalisation has meant that cultures from all over the world have had to communicate, mediate and ultimately assimilate. (Heintz 2009: 5) What has resulted has been various professions that have cropped up attempting to analyse and attempt to understand these cultures. One such profession is

In the Buddhist religion , it is important to show benevolence to all living things including animals. In believing that the body acts as some kind of casing for the soul and that when the person dies, the body is deemed irrelevant as the soul is to be renewed within another , the act of ‘sky burial’ seems to suddenly exist as an automatic thing.

On a more practical level, ‘sky burial’ may be seen as a rather lazy ritual but in reality, it is the only applicable burial technique considering the condition of the Tibetan landscape. The landscape is one of poor soil (it is covered by a layer of permafrost) as well as very little wood. This means that a ‘normal burial’ or the act of cremation is almost impossible.

Lastly, anthropologists must also take into account the aspects of the ritual that they do not see. Cultural Relativism takes into account the fact that a ritual or cultural act has many different details and facets to it. Prior to the actual sky burial, the body must have been left sitting up for 48 hours and a lama( religious leader in Tibet) must have recited various prayers over it. ( “Give My Body To The Birds : The Practice of Sky Burial”2014