Hanging coffins

Hanging coffins at Sagada, Mountain Province in the Philippines.
One of the hanging tombs of the Ku People at Bainitang (白泥塘), Qiubei county, Wenshan prefecture, Yunnan province, China.

Hanging coffins are coffins which have been placed on cliffs. They can be found in various locations, including China, Indonesia, and the Philippines. In China, they are known in Mandarin as xuanguan (simplified Chinese: 悬棺; traditional Chinese: 懸棺; pinyin: xuán guān) which also means "hanging coffin".

China

One of the hanging tombs (example of an exposed natural site) of the Ku People at Bainitang (白泥塘), Qiubei county, Wenshan prefecture, Yunnan province, China.

Hanging coffins are an ancient funeral custom of some ethnic groups, especially the Bo people of southern China. Coffins of various shapes were mostly carved from one whole piece of wood. Hanging coffins either lie on beams projecting outward from vertical faces such as mountains, are placed in caves in the face of cliffs, or sit on natural rock projections on mountain faces.

It was said that the hanging coffins could prevent bodies from being taken by beasts and also bless the soul eternally.[1]

Locations of hanging coffins include:

General view of the cliff face at Bainitang (白泥塘), site of the hanging tombs of the Ku People in Qiubei county, Wenshan prefecture, Yunnan province, China.

Philippines

Hanging coffins can be found in Sagada, Mountain Province, Luzon Island.

Indonesia

Hanging coffins and funeral effigies of the Sa'dan Toraja people of upland Sulawesi are found in Londa Nanggala cave.

References

  1. ↑ "The Hanging Coffin". The Hanging Coffin. chinaculture.org. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
  2. ↑ "131 ancient Chinese ‘hanging’ coffins found on side of 100m cliff near Three Gorges Dam". South China Morning Post. 15 December 2015. Archived from the original on December 16, 2015.

External links

China

Philippines

Indonesia

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