2023-10-01 09:00:07
Among the ecological funeral options, these organic and biodegradable capsules. The body of the deceased is placed there in the fetal position, then buried. A tree seedling is placed above, which feeds and roots in the remains. CAPSULA MUNDI
Burial or burning of bodies, processions and ceremonies of all kinds… Funeral rites are extraordinarily diverse throughout the world, while relying on “the same fundamental structure”, estimates anthropologist and death specialist Manon Moncoq. Almost universally, a death triggers three successive stages: the deceased is first separated from the world of the living – in France, this is the moment of burial or scattering of the ashes, for example; his loved ones gradually accept his disappearance, it is the time of funeral vigils, of mourning; finally, he is fully integrated into the world of the dead and the ancestors, we can pray to him, pay homage to him.
“What has changed in recent years is not so much this succession of steps as the way of implementing them”, continues Manon Moncoq, who says she is fascinated by the emergence of new burial methods. “This is extremely rare in human history! » The ecological crisis particularly encourages the use of coffins made of cardboard, wicker, and biodegradable cushions, made of linen, cotton or hemp for example. “It shakes up the tradition of wood and the symbolism of splendor. »
This article is taken from “Special Issue Le Monde – Death in the Face, 2023”. This special issue is on sale at newsstands or online by going to our store website.
As for cremation, funeral shops offer biodegradable urns – made of salt, sand and earth, for dispersion in the open sea for example. Since 2019 in the Brussels region (Belgium), it is even possible to be buried in a simple shroud. “So many initiatives that break with the imagination of the stone or concrete tomb: heavy, imposing, timeless…” Ecological concerns are also transforming cemeteries and the traditional alignment of tombstones. Since 2022, pesticides have been banned and the spaces have become green again.
The roots of the sky
“At the same time, there are more and more requests for natural spaces, without concrete vaults or funerary monuments”, observes the researcher. In Paris, Le Mans or even Aytré (Charente-Maritime), new “natural cemeteries” are inspired by the one said “of Souché”, inaugurated in Niort (Deux-Sèvres) in 2014 and receiving an increasing number of requests. In 2022, the city of Niort has also announced the doubling of its surface area.
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Funeral ceremonies also take ecology more into account. According to one Durapole/Verteego study for the Paris Funeral Services Foundation published in 2017, a burial emits as much CO2 as a 4,023-kilometer car journey, and a cremation 1,124 kilometers. In Canada and Australia, it is possible to use less energy-intensive methods, such as aquamation: the body of the deceased is immersed in hot, acidic, pressurized water, dissolving the flesh in a few hours. The bones, softened and crumbly, are collected and reduced to dust. Less polluting than an oven heated to 800°C, the practice is gaining followers, like the Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu in 2022.
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