- Upon a person’s demise in Himachal Pradesh, where is the body traditionally laid first?
A) In a wooden coffin
B) On plantain leaves in the courtyard
C) Directly on the bier
D) In a separate mourning room
Answer: B - What is placed in a corner of the room where death occurred, symbolizing the deceased?
A) A statue of a deity
B) A bowl of holy water
C) A mustard or linseed oil lamp with a cotton wick
D) A collection of flowers
Answer: C - Where do mourners gather to perform ritual mourning?
A) At the cremation ground
B) In the room where the symbolic lamp is kept
C) At a community hall
D) At the deceased’s workplace
Answer: B - What is placed at several stops during the funeral procession to the cremation ground?
A) Food offerings
B) Small flags
C) Stones and leaves
D) Personal belongings of the deceased
Answer: C - What is the ceremony called that is performed at the halfway point to the cremation ground, where the body is laid down for a few minutes?
A) Pind dan
B) Kriya Kanna
C) Adhmargi
D) Solaha
Answer: C - What food-related taboo is observed as long as the dead body remains inside the house?
A) Only vegetarian food can be cooked.
B) No food can be cooked in the house.
C) Only sweet dishes are allowed.
D) Food must be cooked by specific relatives.
Answer: B - For how long do close relatives observe ‘patak’ after cremation, during which certain food items are forbidden?
A) Ten days
B) One week
C) One month
D) Three months
Answer: C - What is ‘Pind dan’ and when is it performed?
A) A ritual bath after cremation, on the third day.
B) A ritual feeding of balls to birds and elements, performed before cremation.
C) A prayer recited on the tenth day.
D) An ancestor worship ceremony after four years.
Answer: B - What is considered auspicious to add to the pyre before cremation?
A) Flowers
B) Holy water
C) Fuel wood (‘Lakri Pana’)
D) Personal items of the deceased
Answer: C - Where are the bones and ashes immersed on the third day after cremation?
A) Local village pond
B) Haridwar, Rewalsar, or Mansarover
C) Family well
D) Any flowing stream
Answer: B - How long is the mourning period observed by the household?
A) Seven days
B) Ten days
C) One month
D) Forty days
Answer: B - What do close relatives do with their heads during the ten-day mourning period?
A) Cover them with a cloth
B) Shave them
C) Adorn them with flowers
D) Keep them uncovered
Answer: B - What does the widow remove during the ten-day mourning period?
A) All her clothes
B) Her marriage jewellery
C) Her footwear
D) Her head covering
Answer: B - What ceremony is performed on the tenth day, involving the washing of clothes?
A) Kriya Kanna
B) Solaha
C) Kapad Dhulai
D) Sapindi
Answer: C - What holy text is recited by a Purohit or Charjee on the tenth day?
A) Bhagavad Gita
B) Ramayana
C) Garud Purana
D) Mahabharata
Answer: C - What special ritual is performed if an untimely death occurs?
A) Kriya Kanna
B) Sapindi
C) Solaha
D) Chhama Chhari
Answer: B - What is ‘Kriya Kanna’?
A) A ritual feeding of birds.
B) A religious rite for the peace of the departed soul.
C) A ceremony for washing clothes.
D) A period of food taboo.
Answer: B - What ceremony is performed within one to five days after ‘Kriya Kanna’, involving arranging food for relatives, friends, and villagers?
A) Patak
B) Pind dan
C) Solaha
D) Annual Shradh
Answer: C - Who brings food cooked with asafoetida to feed the bereaved family on the day of ‘Kriya Kanna’, lifting the food taboo?
A) The village priest
B) The eldest son
C) The daughter’s or son’s father-in-law (‘Kudana’)
D) A close neighbor
Answer: C - How often is an annual ‘Shradh’ performed?
A) Every five years
B) Each year
C) Every twelve years
D) Only once after death
Answer: B - What is ‘Chhama Chhari’?
A) A type of mourning song.
B) An ancestor worship ceremony.
C) A ritual for purifying the house.
D) A special prayer for the deceased.
Answer: B - In Kinnaur District, which historical death practice involved drowning the dead body in a nearby river?
A) Blakhant
B) Phukant
C) Dubant
D) Drum Rating
Answer: C - Which historical death practice in Kinnaur District involved throwing the dead body to be eaten by vultures and wild animals?
A) Dubant
B) Phukant
C) Blakhant
D) Dumkochan
Answer: C - What is the most widely practiced custom for disposing of the dead body in Kinnaur District now?
A) Dubant
B) Blakhant
C) Phukant (burning the dead body)
D) Drum Rating
Answer: C - What is the custom known as ‘Drum Rating’ in Kinnaur District?
A) A special dance performed at funerals.
B) All villagers gathering at the house when someone dies.
C) Beating drums during the funeral procession.
D) A ritual involving drums for the deceased.
Answer: B - What is ‘Lwan Kunyal’ in Kinnaur District?
A) A type of shroud.
B) A large vessel used to wash the dead body.
C) A wooden coffin.
D) The cremation ground.
Answer: B - Why are the legs of the body turned behind at the knees with wooden pegs in Kinnaur District?
A) To make the body fit in the coffin.
B) To prevent an evil spirit from entering if the legs are straight.
C) For easier transportation.
D) As a sign of respect.
Answer: B - What is thrown on the rooftop for crows when the funeral procession leaves the house in Kinnaur District?
A) Flowers
B) A piece of bread stuffed with ‘Dal’
C) Rice grains
D) Coins
Answer: B - What is ‘Foa’ in Kinnaur District?
A) A type of offering.
B) A prayer recited by the Lama.
C) A mourning song.
D) A specific type of shroud.
Answer: B - For how many weeks does the Lama recite the sacred text (‘Chhos’) at the dead man’s house in Kinnaur District?
A) Three weeks
B) Five weeks
C) Seven weeks
D) Ten weeks
Answer: C - When is the ‘Chholya ceremony’ performed in Kinnaur District?
A) On the first day after death.
B) On the third day after death.
C) On the seventh day after death.
D) On the thirteenth day after death.
Answer: B - What is ‘Dumkochan’ in Kinnaur District, performed on the thirteenth day?
A) A ritual bath.
B) A ceremony similar to ‘Kriya ceremony’ in the plains.
C) A feast for the villagers.
D) A masked dance.
Answer: B - What do those collecting ashes often place on a hilltop in the name of the deceased in Kinnaur District?
A) A small statue
B) A stone or a small flag
C) A piece of cloth
D) A burning lamp
Answer: B - What ceremony does the Lama perform on the fifteenth day in Kinnaur District?
A) Chholya ceremony
B) Dumkochan
C) Phul Vim (offerings to the holy fire)
D) Phuliyach
Answer: C - What ceremony does the Lama perform a year after death in Kinnaur District, where he receives food and clothes in the name of the dead?
A) Phul Vim
B) Dumkochan
C) Phuliyach or Dalhyang
D) Chholya ceremony
Answer: C - In Lahaul Valley, what is ‘Fuhang’?
A) A ritual for collecting ashes.
B) A Lama whispering an invocation into the dead man’s soul.
C) A type of funeral procession.
D) A prayer for the family’s status.
Answer: B - How long is the dead body kept in the house in Lahaul Valley, depending on the family’s status?
A) A few hours
B) One day
C) Two or more days
D) Until the ashes are collected
Answer: C - How many flaps does the shroud have in Lahaul Valley, and how are they used?
A) Three flaps, all tied to sticks.
B) Four flaps, all placed over the head.
C) Five flaps, four tied to sticks on the pyre, and the fifth over the head.
D) Six flaps, all used for wrapping.
Answer: C - Where are the ashes immersed in Lahaul Valley?
A) In a local stream.
B) At the confluence of Chandra and Bhaga rivers at Tandi.
C) In a sacred lake.
D) Buried in the ground.
Answer: B - What does one man hold throughout the funeral procession in Lahaul Valley?
A) A sacred book.
B) A butter effigy.
C) A burning torch.
D) A family heirloom.
Answer: B - What is a ‘Sham Funeral’ in Lahaul Valley?
A) A simple, inexpensive funeral.
B) A funeral arranged when medicine and sorcery fail, using a life-size effigy.
C) A funeral performed only for children.
D) A secret funeral.
Answer: B