pacify the spirits. After nailing down the lid of the coffin, it was carried by pall bearers or taken to the site by wagons. As in a Christian burial, they were laid in an east-west direction, with the head facing east. This was done as the original home, Africa
is in the east, and to facilitate rising on hearing Archangel Gabriel’s trumpet call at the sunrise.
The followers of Baha’i faith are not allowed cremation of the body, and observe strict rules for the burial site which should not be more than an hour’s journey from the place of death. The coffin is to be of crystal or stone or hard fine wood. The body is to be wrapped in a shroud of silk or cotton, and if aged over 15 years a ring is to be placed in a finger bearig the inscription,”I came forth from God, and return unto Him, detached from all save Him, holding fast to His Name, the Merciful, the Compassionate”. Also, a specific prayer for the dead is ordained before interment in such instances.
Burial places
Religious and socio-cultural considerations play a role in the selection of the site, in addition to sanitary and other practical aspects. People with animistic traditions believe that the remains of the dead should be banished, because if kept too close their spirits would harm the living; some others believe in keeping them close with a view to help the surviving generations. The religious injunctions ordain a specific site for the purpose. For example, Christians are to be buried in a “consecrated ground”, which is normally a cemetery. An earlier practice was burial in or near a church (the source of the word churchyard), which was abndoned later as a mark of high posthumous honour to the deceased. Nonetheless,
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