| Aspect | Detail | Place/District |
| General Practices | | |
| Body Preparation | Laid on plantain leaves in the courtyard, then placed in a wooden coffin or upon a bier, covered with a colorful sheet, and transported to the cremation ground. | (General) |
| Lamp Symbolism | A mustard or linseed oil lamp with a cotton wick is lit in the room where death occurred, symbolizing the deceased. | (General) |
| Mourning | Mourners gather in the lamp room to perform ritual mourning. | (General) |
| Procession Stops | Several stops are made on the journey to the cremation ground, where stones and leaves are placed in the name of the dead. | (General) |
| ‘Adhmargi’ | A ceremony performed at the halfway point, during which the body is laid down for a few minutes. | (General) |
| Food Taboo | No food can be cooked in the house as long as the deceased’s body remains inside. | (General) |
| ‘Patak’ | Close relatives observe a one-month period during which consumption of meat, fish, garlic, onions, and asafoetida is forbidden. | (General) |
| ‘Pind dan’ | Ritual feeding of balls made of cooked rice, sesame seeds, and curd to birds and other elements in the name of the deceased, performed before cremation. | (General) |
| ‘Lakri Pana’ | Adding fuel wood to the pyre is considered auspicious. | (General) |
| Ashes Immersion | On the third day, the bones and ashes are immersed in holy places. | Haridwar, Rewalsar, or Mansarover |
| Mourning Period | The household observes a ten-day mourning period. | (General) |
| Head Shaving | Close relatives shave their heads. | (General) |
| Widow’s Jewellery | The widow removes her marriage jewelry. | (General) |
| ‘Kapad Dhulai’ | Clothes are washed in a ceremony on the tenth day. | (General) |
| ‘Garud Purana’ Recitation | The holy ‘Garud Purana’ is recited by a Purohit or Charjee (special scripture reciters). | (General) |
| ‘Sapindi’ | A special ritual performed for an untimely death. | (General) |
| ‘Kriya Kanna’ | A religious rite for the peace of the departed soul, performed at the conclusion of the ten-day mourning period. | (General) |
| ‘Solaha’ | Another ceremony held within one to five days after ‘Kriya Kanna’, involving the arrangement of food for relatives, friends, and villagers. | (General) |
| ‘Kudana’ | On the day of ‘Kriya Kanna’, the daughter’s or son’s father-in-law brings food cooked with asafoetida, feeding the bereaved family and lifting the food taboo. | (General) |
| Annual ‘Shradh’ | Performed each year. | (General) |
| ‘Chhama Chhari’ | Ancestor worship, conducted after four years. | (General) |
| Regional Practices | | |
| ‘Dubant’ | Drowning the dead body in a nearby river. | Kinnaur District |
| ‘Blakhant’ | Throwing the dead body to be eaten by vultures and wild animals. | Kinnaur District |
| ‘Phukant’ | Burning the dead body (most widely practiced now). | Kinnaur District |
| ‘Drum Rating’ | All villagers gather at the house when someone dies. | Kinnaur District |
| ‘Lwan Kunyal’ | The dead body is washed in a large vessel and wrapped in a white shroud. | Kinnaur District |
| Legs Position | The legs of the body are turned behind at the knees with wooden pegs. | Kinnaur District |
| Bread for Crows | A piece of bread stuffed with ‘Dal’ is thrown on the rooftop for crows. | Kinnaur District |
| Lama Rituals | A Lama (priest) holds the head, recites prayers (‘Foa’) thrice in the ears, and chants mantras. | Kinnaur District |
| ‘Chhos’ | For seven weeks, the Lama recites the sacred text at the dead man’s house. | Kinnaur District |
| ‘Chholya Ceremony’ | Performed on the third day after death. | Kinnaur District |
| ‘Dumkochan’ | Performed on the thirteenth day (similar to ‘Kriya ceremony’ in the plains). | Kinnaur District |
| Stone/Flag on Hilltop | Those collecting ashes place a stone or a small flag on a hilltop. | Kinnaur District |
| ‘Phul Vim’ | On the fifteenth day, the Lama performs offerings to the holy fire. | Kinnaur District |
| ‘Phuliyach’ or ‘Dalhyang’ | A year after death, the Lama performs the ceremony, receiving food and clothes in the name of the dead. | Kinnaur District |
| ‘Fuhang’ | The Lama whispers an invocation into the dead man’s soul, asking it to leave the body. | Lahaul Valley |
| Body Seating | The dead body is seated on a metal or wooden chair in a corner, with a butter lamp lit in front. | Lahaul Valley |
| Body Retention | The body is kept in the house for two or more days depending on the family’s status. | Lahaul Valley |
| Shroud | The shroud has five flaps, four tied to sticks on the pyre, and the fifth placed over the head. | Lahaul Valley |
| Cremation | The body is consumed by flames while the Lama, with the bier carriers, chants mantras and sprinkles mustard, rice, and incense. | Lahaul Valley |
| Ash Collection | The next morning, drums are beaten, and bier carriers collect the ashes. | Lahaul Valley |
| Head Lama Prayer | The Head Lama makes an offering and prayer for 3 to 8 days, depending on the family’s status. | Lahaul Valley |
| Immersion | Ashes are put on a pony, and the funeral procession goes to the confluence of Chandra and Bhaga rivers for immersion. | Tandi (Lahaul Valley) |
| Effigy | One man holds a butter effigy throughout the procession. | Lahaul Valley |
| Sham Funeral | A life-size effigy is made and cremated, followed by a real funeral, both being expensive. | Lahaul Valley |
