Families Turn to Symbolic Cremation After Nepal Floods

In the wake of recent floods in Nepal, thousands of people remain missing, and many families have given up hope of locating their loved ones’ bodies. With no remains to cremate, some relatives have adopted a symbolic ritual: a son lights a funeral pyre for a straw effigy that represents the deceased. This practice allows families to fulfill their cultural duty of cremation while acknowledging the absence of the physical body. The shift to symbolic cremation reflects how communities are adjusting traditional rites to cope with the unprecedented scale of loss caused by the disaster.