Source: news.bbc.co.uk
UNITED KINGDOM, September 27, 2009: In India’s remote north-east, the people of the state of Bihar have devised a novel and environmentally friendly way to cremate their dead. Where traditionally only the wood from a mango tree was used to fuel the funeral fire in this part of India, now people are making do with cow dung as an alternative source of fuel.
This unique local innovation is not only catching on fast but has achieved widespread social acceptance. Annual flooding in two districts of of northern Bihar has meant that access to mango trees is restricted. Entire mango orchards have been swept away by the flood waters.
The new system is known as the “goraha” way of cremation. Cow dung is fashioned into a long rod-shaped cake, locally known as goraha. Goraha is easily available and coming from herbivorous cattle, acceptable in sacred terms too. As the ritual of the funeral fire consumes on average an entire mango tree, the new method is considered less cumbersome and environmentally destructive. And the use of cow dung cakes is also more economical.