Establishment of electric crematorium in Nepal: continuity, changes and challenges

Abstract

Traditionally cremations in Nepal are performed with open pyres. These cremations are fluid public events organised and managed by relatives, local communities and ritual specialists. Traditional cremation practices are full of cosmological, eschatological and soteriological significance. The main purpose of the cremation practice is to purify and free the soul from the body of the deceased in order to secure a rebirth in another realm, render the soul a safe journey to heaven, and to turn the soul into a benign ancestor instead of a haunting ghost. On the 24th of January 2016, Pashupati Area Development Trust inaugurated the first functioning modern electric crematorium in Nepal at the traditional cremation site near the Pashupatinath temple, at the holy river Bagmati, 5 km northeast of Kathmandu. The main incentive for Pashupati Area Development Trust to establish an electric crematorium was to diminish river pollution, carbon dioxide emission and to curb deforestation. How do Hindus in Nepal continue, compromise and adapt their traditional cremation practice in the modern indoor electric crematorium? The aim of this article is to explore the continuity, changes and challenges to traditional Hindu cremation practice in the electric crematorium at Pashupati area.