Families Turn to Symbolic Cremation After Nepal Floods

Following devastating floods in Nepal, hundreds of families have begun performing symbolic cremations for missing relatives whose bodies have not been recovered. As thousands remain unaccounted for, many families have abandoned hope of finding remains, prompting them to conduct traditional funeral rites using effigies to honor their loved ones.

These ceremonies, which include the lighting of funeral pyres for straw representations of the deceased, allow survivors to fulfill sacred cultural and religious duties in the absence of physical remains. The practice highlights the profound scale of the disaster and the emotional toll on families unable to secure traditional burials.