We hear about a strange group of hanging coffins from China. This article talks about these amazing hanging coffins with many issues like how these coffins were hung, when this event happened, are there any superstitions related to this and who first saw these hanging coffins.

location

These hanging coffins are reported from southwestern China. A limestone peak is found in the Gaishu area, and it is reported that wooden boxes can be seen hanging from this mountain range. These boxes can be seen at a height of about 30 meters. At first glance, the antiquity and historical form are evident through it.

But the problem that arises here is how these wooden boxes were taken to such a limestone mountain and what kind of purpose it was.

Bone fragments in wooden  boxes 

According to reports on the Internet, a box made of this wood weighs hundreds of kilograms. That’s because it doesn’t just contain the dead person’s body: it also contains things like the pottery used by that person.

Meeting for the first time

Won Haw Man is a Hong Kong journalist and researcher. According to him, hanging graves like this were first seen in the Athi Shikharam mountain in Sichuan region.

In 1985, Vaughn had to do an exploration of the Yangtze River for a National Geographic Institute program. It is reported that he got to see these hanging coffins for the first time and was amazed by them. He has stated that he started looking for this kind of hanging graves because of the amazingness of it, and it later developed into an addiction.

The Yangtze River is located in central China. According to that, it is mentioned that there are mountain ranges with rocks in the vicinity of that river. It is further explained that there are natural caves and hollows in those hills, and many coffins can be found in them. Also, in some cases, these coffins are kept on wooden poles.

Coffins made of wood at very high altitudes 

Most of these coffins, which are about three thousand years old, are found in the “Fujian” area. Also, these hanging coffins can be found in Hubei area, and these hanging coffins can be seen at a height of about 100 meters. There are 131 hanging coffins in that area alone.

Beliefs associated with this
Ancient literary sources belonging to the “Tang” dynasty state the reasons for these coffins being located at such a height. Accordingly, arrangements have been made to bury the dead in this manner as a mark of respect. But some say that reasons such as protecting the bodies from animal threats as well as protecting the land for crops may have affected this.

How to Research 

The first opportunity to study these amazing hanging graves was in the year 2000. When Mr. Won joined the China Exploration and Research Association, he had the opportunity to visit the tombs located on a mountain in the Wasi area of ​​Yunnan Province, and he had the fortune of excavating them, which were buried on decaying wood. While Mr. Vaughan said that they had to face extremely harsh experiences for that, it is also reported that the research team had to travel on temporary scaffolding.

Here, it was confirmed that the oldest coffins belonged to the ‘Tang’ dynasty, but in most of the coffins, bones of several bodies could be found instead of one. It was later concluded that after death, burials were carried out and after decomposition, only skeletal remains were placed in hanging coffins. Mr. Vaughan also believes that the Bos, a rebel tribe, are the inheritors of this tradition.

Traditions of other countries

Other countries also have many traditions regarding the dead. According to this, in Tibet and Mongolia bordering China, there are reports of a sky burial of dismembering corpses and offering them to vultures. Reports on the internet state that this situation is still happening today.

Until 2007, the people of Sagada region in the Philippines have followed a tradition of burial on mountain peaks. It is also reported that hanging coffins can be seen in Indonesia and the Philippines.

When considered in this way, it appears that different countries follow strange rituals according to their own cultural traditions. But since there is not much mention in this regard in the literary sources, there is very little opportunity to know about such wonderful customs existing in those societies. However, these strange and amazing rituals around the world show that the world is more beautiful because of the diversity.