How do funeral customs vary across cultures?

The answer

Funeral practices are among the most culturally diverse human behaviors. The Malagasy people of Madagascar practice famadihana, periodically exhuming family remains, wrapping them in fresh cloth, and dancing with them. Tibetan sky burials involve placing the deceased on a mountaintop for vultures to consume, reflecting Buddhist beliefs about the impermanence of the body. The Toraja people of Indonesia keep embalmed family members in their homes for months or even years before an elaborate funeral feast. In Ghana, fantasy coffins shaped like animals, cars, or airplanes celebrate the deceased's life and profession. Hindu cremation on a funeral pyre along the Ganges is considered the most sacred passage, while some Indigenous Australian groups hold smoking ceremonies to guide the spirit away.