INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

did not require the attention of other attendants. The son or grandson would simply
pour the water over the dead body and in the same movement fling the pot away,
sometimes without getting it crushed.
When the pyre is ready the body is moved from the bier. If a number of woollen
sheets have been offered, all except for a few are removed and given to the dom as a
donation. The corpse, wrapped in a shroud, is lifted up by hand and placed directly
on the wooden pyre with the feet in a southerly direction towards the river Ganga.
Now the chief mourner opens the upper part of the shroud to anoint the eyes and
mouth of the deceased with clarified butter (ghi). The rest of the body is then smeared
with stripes of ghi. Resin is poured all over the body either by the dom or mourners
before the body is re-covered with the robe of honor. The mourners then place the
bamboo poles crosswise over the body, lift up the wooden board and set it on top.
The funeral pyre is now completely prepared and all ‒ including the dom and the
funeral priest ‒ assemble around it in a circle, but with fairly defined positions. The
funeral priest stands to the north of the dead, at the head, the chief mourner to the
south at the feet, often beside the dom. The Sikh granthi, who has arrived from the
gurdwara to lead the party in prayers, normally places himself on the right or the left
side of the chief mourner.
The granthi steps out of his sandals to stand barefoot on the ground, turns towards
the pyre and starts to recite the Ardas. Many regard this as the most crucial
part of the cremation ceremony. As one interlocutor put it: “The [Hindu] funeral
priest who was there, he performs whatever the custom is over there. That is not
really important for us, only the Ardas is.” The mourners join the reading by standing
with folded hands, and some follow the granthi’s example and take off their shoes.
After its completion all cry out the Sikh jaikara and bow towards the pyre and touch
the ground with their hands. Immediately after the Hindu funeral priest hands over a
sheaf of burning grass to the chief mourner, who circles the pyre three times clockwise
holding the burning grass in his right hand, while the Hindu priest recites mantras
in Sanskrit. The wood is set on fire at the head and feet of the corpse. When the
pyre is in flames the gathering is dissolved and only some of the mourners and the
dom will watch over the pyre until it has burnt down to ashes.
As soon as the funeral party breaks up, the granthi washes his hands, feet and
mouth in the river and then finds a quiet spot at the cremation ground where he
recites the hymn Kirtan Sohila. At the request of the mourners he may perform JapJi
Sahib, and, if the cremation occurs at sunset, also the evening prayer Rahiras Sahib.
After the texts are completed the granthi reads an Ardas, in which he presents the
compositions recited as offerings. The mourners do not always participate in the
reading, but fully entrust the granthi with the duty. In either case, his performance of
Kirtan Sohila is considered paramount for a successful completion of a cremation.
The above description may give the impression that rituals at the cremation
ground are performed with fixity and under somewhat harmonious conditions between
the interacting parties. This is not always the case. Cremation is a ritual domain
controlled and protected by Hindu funeral priests. Sikh mourners and the gran-
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Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008