Trunyan: The village of the dead

On the shores of Lake Batur in the Kintamini area in Bali, the people of Trunyan neither cremate nor bury their dead.

The only way to enter the village is through a boat. The gate greets you as you go toward the shore.






The graveyard is next to Taru Menyan (nice smelling tree - direct translation) The tree eminates a typical scent which neutralizes the smell of rotting bodies. It is also this tree from which the name Trunyan is derived.

The cemetary is pretty small - 11 places. If you are "lucky" you may come when there are more than 11 bodies. In this case one or more of the bodies have to be taken out.



Only the bodies of married people are allowed to be placed in bamboo cages, and women are not allowed to participate in the ceremonies of bringing the body to the graveyard.

The bodies are kept untill only the skeleton remains



After that the skull is placed on a stairs-shaped stone altar



This burial practice has been going for over 1000 years.

This is creepy. Thanks for sharing though

a reply to: charolais

Yeah remind me of that creepy suicide forest in Japan called Aokigahara.

a reply to: ZeroFurrbone

Does this barbaric practice not spread disease?

Either way, the only thing missing from the pics is King Kong!

I find that kind of earthy , people in the west are only starting to re-discover these ways again with wicker coffins and a humanist funeral , while most go the £ 6000 route for easieness .

I would love a sky funeral and let the birds have their feed , they will be the most mellowed out birds on the planet after feasting on me

Thank you for sharing this!

Something I didn't know existed!

a reply to: ZeroFurrbone

Interesting find! S&F

Personally I have always been a kind of toss my corpse out of an airplane with a backpack full of explosives to see how far I can spread out how fast. (You know mulch me over as much space as possible.) That or taxidermy!

I love to read about this kind of stuff, totally eerie but these practices make an interesting topic to talk with friends