Abstract
ABSTRACT Death causes considerable contagion and is fraught with potential danger for Nepali mourners. The main purpose of cremation ritual practice at Pashupati crematorium is to purify and free the soul from the body to secure the transition of the soul to another realm, and subsequently as an ancestor. It is the family’s obligation to facilitate a safe journey and to turn the deceased into a benign ancestor instead of a haunting ghost. Since the first COVID-19 death in Nepal on the 14th of May 2020, the Pashupati electric crematorium has been prioritised for COVID confirmed cremations in the Kathmandu valley area. These cremations were done free of cost by the crematorium staff without mourners’ presence, with the extensive logistic assistance of Nepal Army. The management of the COVID corpses was strictly controlled and regulated to minimise spread of the virus. The severely limited access for bereaved mourners and the obligatory use of closed body bags restricted the cremation ritual practice for mourners to a bare minimum outside the crematorium premises gate. How did mourners comply with these extensive restrictions? In this paper I explore the various factors that influenced the handling of the deceased COVID-19 bodies at Pashupati electric crematorium.
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