Look at the Bo-ones. - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Mithalwen · 05-07-2005, 11:15 AM

Well Gandalf says at the end when one of the hobbits wished for a palantir that "he would not wish to see ehat the palatir of Minas Tirith would show and I think it also says at some point that unless the user had great strength of mind they would only see a pair of aging hands withering into flame.

And because not everyone has a taste for the macabre .... I apologise for this - but you see why people wouldn't hang around to watch.... ( I had a teacher when I was 10 us who told how he had watched funerals by the Ganges... so this seems quite tame!).

"A few years ago I stood three or so feet from a burning corpse with a missionary pastor from Singapore and his wife who were visiting us. The head was already burnt beyond recognition and the skull split open due to internal expansion from the heat of the fire. The lower legs and feet were unscorched, as they were protruding from the pile of burning wood and stubble upon which the man's body lay. The professional Hindu burners were poking the body from time to time to keep the members in the fire and were adding stubble and wood as needed. The bones were contracting and popping; the bodily organs were frying and the juices sizzling in the intense heat. My wife, a nurse with experience in a hospital in a very remote part of Asia and in an intensive care ward in the States, stood with another friend observing the ghastly sight from a distance, unwilling to come closer. The air for a hundred yards or more was filled with the unmistakable, stomach-turning stench of burning human flesh. When the fire had burnt most of the body, the ashes and remaining members were shoved into the river. This is cremation as has been practiced by heathen religions for centuries, but without the sanitization adopted in more technically advanced areas."

If they were lucky there would have been just ash (bone fragments) - if not they would have had to do something with it... couldn't just live the greasy carrion there.....

If you do have a taste for the macabre and are interrested in knowing more then I heartily recommend "Stiff: The curious life of human cadavers" by Mary Roach

05-07-2005, 11:15 AM	#3
Mithalwen Pilgrim Soul Join Date: May 2004 Location: watching the wonga-wonga birds circle... Posts: 9,460	Warning: May tell you more than you want to know about cremation Well Gandalf says at the end when one of the hobbits wished for a palantir that "he would not wish to see ehat the palatir of Minas Tirith would show and I think it also says at some point that unless the user had great strength of mind they would only see a pair of aging hands withering into flame. And because not everyone has a taste for the macabre .... I apologise for this - but you see why people wouldn't hang around to watch.... ( I had a teacher when I was 10 us who told how he had watched funerals by the Ganges... so this seems quite tame!). "A few years ago I stood three or so feet from a burning corpse with a missionary pastor from Singapore and his wife who were visiting us. The head was already burnt beyond recognition and the skull split open due to internal expansion from the heat of the fire. The lower legs and feet were unscorched, as they were protruding from the pile of burning wood and stubble upon which the man's body lay. The professional Hindu burners were poking the body from time to time to keep the members in the fire and were adding stubble and wood as needed. The bones were contracting and popping; the bodily organs were frying and the juices sizzling in the intense heat. My wife, a nurse with experience in a hospital in a very remote part of Asia and in an intensive care ward in the States, stood with another friend observing the ghastly sight from a distance, unwilling to come closer. The air for a hundred yards or more was filled with the unmistakable, stomach-turning stench of burning human flesh. When the fire had burnt most of the body, the ashes and remaining members were shoved into the river. This is cremation as has been practiced by heathen religions for centuries, but without the sanitization adopted in more technically advanced areas." If they were lucky there would have been just ash (bone fragments) - if not they would have had to do something with it... couldn't just live the greasy carrion there..... If you do have a taste for the macabre and are interrested in knowing more then I heartily recommend "Stiff: The curious life of human cadavers" by Mary Roach __________________ “But Finrod walks with Finarfin his father beneath the trees in Eldamar.” Christopher Tolkien, Requiescat in pace