15 Strange Funeral Customs From Around the World

Eating the deceased

Many mourning traditions include the element of sharing a meal to honor the deceased. In Brazil’s Wari tribe, up until the 1960s, the deceased was the meal, as the body was dismembered, roasted, and eaten by family members. While the Wari also practiced cannibalism as a practice of warfare, this type of funerary cannibalism was distinct. As one anthropologist explains, “it was done out of affection and respect for the dead person and as a way to help the survivors cope with their grief.”