Death On The Ganges by Tobin Jones

In the Indian city of Varanasi, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, a series of fires burn day and night started from a single flame that is alleged to have not gone out in three thousand years. Each of the fires, as many as three hundred a day, consumes a body - recently deceased - being cremated according to Hindu tradition. At this spot on the Ganges river, known as the Manikarnika ghat, thousands of Hindus come from all over India every year to be cremated next to the sacred river. They believe that by being cremated here, and having their remains placed in the river’s holy water, they increase their chances of reaching moksha (or heaven) and escaping the cycle of reincarnation.

A boy, carrying a bundle of dr... sign of respect for the dead.

A boy, carrying a bundle of dried reeds, is instructed by older men on how to light the funeral pyre for his father in Varanasi, India, on 9 April 2019.

The closest male to the deceased traditionally performs the funeral rights and lights the funeral pyre. They will also shave their heads and wear white as a sign of respect for the dead.

The body of a recently decease...before finally being cremated.

The body of a recently deceased man, wrapped in colorful cloth and adorned with marigolds, sits on the steps of one of Varanasi's burning ghats in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on 9 April 2019.

When a person dies their remains are swathed in colorful cloth and adorned in marigolds, before they are put on a stretcher and paraded through Varanasi’s the alleyways of Varanasi’s old city before ending up on the banks of the Ganges. There, the body is submerged in the holy waters of the river, before being out to dry before finally being cremated.

A son walks around his father&...ving moksha, or enlightenment.

A son walks around his father's funeral pyre with a bundle of dried reeds, set up along the banks of the Ganges river in Varanasi, India, on 9 April 2019.

The Manikarnika ghat along the Ganges river in the ancient Indian city of Varanasi is among the holiest of the sacred riverfront ghats and is where thousands of bring their loved ones every year to be cremated after their death. Hindus believe that if a person’s body is cremated at the site, and their ashes placed in the Ganges, that person’s soul will have a higher chance of escaping the cycle of reincarnation and achieving moksha, or enlightenment.

A young man lights the funeral... by the closest male relative.

A young man lights the funeral pyre of his father, while male relatives look on, as the sun slowly comes up over the Ganges in Varanasi, India, in the early morning of 16 April 2019.

Before setting light to the funeral pyre the deceased is covered in ghee, as well as sandalwood sawdust, before being set alight by the closest male relative.

A group of men sit with the hu... it should not be a sad event.

A group of men sit with the husband, dressed in white, of a woman recently deceased and awaiting cremation at Varanasi's largest burning ghat on 9 April 2019 in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Women are traditionally not allowed to attend the cremation, as they are deemed too emotional. In Hinduism death is considered as a pathway to another life, and not as the end of the soul, meaning it should not be a sad event.

A teenage boy holds his brothe...hrown int the river each year.

A teenage boy holds his brother's hand, who can not swim, as he bathes in the holy waters of the Ganges river in Varanasi, India, on 12 April 2019. The two boys, who are about to cremate their father, have to bath in the river before they set light to their father's funeral pyre at one of the city's burning ghats located just downstream of them.

The Ganges is a 2,500km long river, which begins in the Himalayas and ends in the Bay of Bengal. The river is one of the most sacred rivers in Hinduism, but also serves as a lifeline to almost 400 million people living along its path. The amount of fecal contaminant in the river has been measured as more than a 100 times the official government limit, while it is also estimated that as many as 100,000 bodies in various states of decay are thrown int the river each year.

A worker at the burning ghat i... charge of disposing the dead.

A worker at the burning ghat in Varnasi, India, takes a break from cremating bodies during a quiet moment at the ghat in the early hours of the morning on 16 April 2019.

The crematoriums in Varanasi are run by the Doms, one of India’s untouchable castes. Death in Hinduism is seen as contagious, and therefore it is only this caste who are allowed to come into contact with the body. As a result they are shunned, except for when they are needed to perform cremations, and are seen as keepers of the fire and in charge of disposing the dead.

A worker prods the fire at one...ndly way to dispose of bodies.

A worker prods the fire at one of the cremations happening at the burning ghat in Varnasi, India, to ensure the entire body is burned on 9 April 2019.

A body can take up to 3 hours to burn and it can take as many as 1000 pounds of wood to achieve this - neither a particularly cheap or environmentally friendly way to dispose of bodies.

A long bamboo pole is used &am...f the fire is unable to do so.

A long bamboo pole is used to pierce a skull at the Harishchandra along the Ganges in Varanasi, India, on 9 April 2019.

In Hindusim it is believed that the soul leaves the body once the skull is opened from the heat of the fire. Sometimes a long bamboo pole is used in order to pierce the skull if the fire is unable to do so.

A man walks to the shores of t...the holy waters of the Ganges.

A man walks to the shores of the Ganges river in Varnasi, India, on 9 April 2019 holding the cremated remains of his wife with two bamboo sticks.

Once a body has been cremated the fire is doused with water and then the ashes, or any leftover body parts of the deceased thrown into the holy waters of the Ganges.

A man has his face and scalp w...y like the crematorium itself.

A man has his face and scalp wiped clean after having all of his hair shaved off just outside of a burning ghat in Varnasi, India, on 9 April 2019.

Before cremating a body the closest male relative must have his head and face shaved as a sign of respect for the dead. As a result a burgeoning cottage industry of hairdressers surround the Manikarnika ghat, operating 24 hours a day like the crematorium itself.

A group of men prepare to bath...ers before cremating the body.

A group of men prepare to bath in the ganges in order to clean themselves in the river's holy water before they attend a cremation in one of Varanasi's burning ghat's located just upstream of them on 12 April, 2019.

After a body is submerged in the Ganges, and while it waits to dry, those attending the funeral will also bath in the river’s sacred waters before cremating the body.

Wood is loaded onto the should...ttle for whatever is cheapest.

Wood is loaded onto the shoulders of a worker near one of the burning ghats in Varanasi, India, on 11 April 2019.

Wood, much of it transported down the Ganges from the slopes of the Himalayas, is the main source of fuel for most of the cremations. The wealthier tend to favor Sandalwood, while the poor settle for whatever is cheapest.

A man carries logs from a boat...h, is still preferred by most.

A man carries logs from a boat and arranges them on a funeral pyre at one of the burning ghats along the Ganges in the Indian city of Varanasi on 9 April 2019.

In recent years, in an attempt to lighten the environmental burden the practice has on the environment, the government has set up both gas and electric powered crematoriums along the Ganges. The traditional method of cremating bodies using wood though, is still preferred by most.

A worker at the burning ghat i...st is sprinkled over the body.

A worker at the burning ghat in Varnasi, India, throws Sandalwood sawdust onto a funeral pyre on 16 April 2019.

In order to improve the smell of burning hair sandalwood sawdust is sprinkled over the body.

A son hugs his father after th... burning for over 3,000 years.

A son hugs his father after the cremation of his mother at one of the burning ghat's along the Ganges river in the Indian city of Varanasi on 11 April 2019.

Legend says that the fire used to light each funeral pyre at the Manikarnika ghat has been burning for over 3,000 years.

Tobin Jones

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