Trust me—these 10 funeral traditions are next-level wild, and you’ll need to read every one to believe them. Keep scrolling, you won’t regret it!
TOP 10. Indonesia’s Ghost Festival 
Indonesia’s Toraja people have a tradition that’ll send chills straight down your spine—no cap! Every 3 years, they dig up their deceased loved ones, dress ’em in fresh traditional fits, and parade ’em through the village to honor their memory. To make these family members “stick around” longer, they even mummify the bodies directly—keeping ’em preserved for decades.
TOP 9. South Korea’s “Ashes to Gems” Cremation
More and more Korean funeral companies are offering a vibe: turning the deceased’s ashes into pretty gem-like beads. These bad boys come in soft hues—pale pink, deep blue, you name it—and folks pop ’em in sleek clear containers to display at home. It’s a super personal way to keep loved ones close and honor their legacy daily.
TOP 8. Puerto Rico’s “Dead Man Stands” Wake
Puerto Rico’s “Dead Man Stands” (locally called “stands for the deceased”) ain’t your basic wake. Instead of cracking open the casket for mourning, families build intricate 3D models of the deceased—decked out in their favorite clothes and personal stuff—to show off how they lived, laughed, and loved before passing.
TOP 7. Cavite’s Tree Burial
Tree burial is exactly what it sounds like—getting laid to rest in a tree trunk instead of a boring old grave. It’s a one-of-a-kind eco-friendly custom that Cavite locals love. A lot of folks pick their own tree while they’re alive—usually one they love or have a connection to—so they can rest easy in their favorite tree after death, becoming part of nature again.
TOP 6. Fijian Funeral Traditions
This one’s straight-up bonkers: When someone dies, their healthy family members get stuck in a no-win situation—they gotta die too. Messengers might hit up the deceased’s parents (or vice versa) and say, “It’s your time.” Then the family argues over whether the parents get strangled by their kids or buried alive—death isn’t up for debate. Sometimes they’ll even strangle the deceased’s closest loved ones outright. Lucky for everyone, this tradition died out in the 20th century.
TOP 5. The Funeral of Tonga’s King
When Tonga’s king passes away, everyone at the funeral enters a strict mourning period: they’re totally cut off from the outside world (no phones, no news) and even banned from using their hands for basic stuff—eating, getting dressed, you name it. This lasts 100+ days, so most people hire caregivers to handle all their daily needs just to survive.
TOP 4. Balinese Cremation
Balinese cremation isn’t just a quick burn—it’s a whole big show. Before the main ceremony, the body gets wrapped in cloth and plopped in a bamboo basket, then temporarily buried in a temple until the family saves up enough cash for the big event. Once they’re good on funds, the coffin goes into a colorful, super detailed tower. Young guys carry the tower to the cremation spot—no rhythm, just chaos. The body then goes into a bull-shaped stone sarcophagus and gets lit up. Finally, the ashes are collected and tossed into the sea.
TOP 3. Itneg Funeral Rituals
Itneg funerals rely on old-school spiritual hacks to protect the living: pig intestines get hung on the door to ward off evil spirits hanging around after death, and a live chicken with a hurt beak is hung next to the body as an extra offering. Before going back to normal life, mourners get sprinkled with pig’s blood and lard to “cleanse” their grief—but the spouse has to mourn for an extra 3 months to honor their late partner.
TOP 2. Ifugao Funeral Practices
When someone in the Ifugao tribe dies, the family handles the funeral—but the spouse is strictly banned from joining (thanks to tribal customs). They carefully strip the skin from the deceased’s body (a practice rooted in old afterlife beliefs), bury the body under the deceased’s home to keep ’em close, then dig it up years later for a second, fancier funeral to finally send their spirit to rest.
TOP 1. Asmat Smoke-Curing of Bodies
This ancient, one-of-a-kind custom belongs to the Yanggai people in Papua New Guinea’s remote Asmat region. They smoke-cure the deceased’s body over a low fire for weeks to preserve it, then slather every inch with thick red clay—creating a mummy that’s kept as a sacred reminder of their ancestors and a link between the living and the spirit world.
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