Il ruolo degli animali dopo la morte. Note per un’antropologia della vita

Based on ethnographic research carried out in Delhi, Varanasi and Mumbai (India), this article analyses the role of three necrophagous species in the disposal of human corpses within the Hindu and Parsi religious contexts. In order to resolve the problem represented by the presence in the great Indian rivers of totally or partially unburnt corpses, the Ganga Action Plan has foreseen for many years the use of Chelydra serpentina, or common snapping turtle, but in the meantime dogs continue to be the most efficient and most numerous scavengers. In Mumbai, the Parsi have counted for centuries on the vultures, with their excellent scavenging skills, to consume the corpses exposed on the dakhma or towers of silence. Nevertheless, over the last twenty years, these birds have almost completely disappeared, due to the diclofenac used to treat the cattle that are part of their diet and forcing this community to face sensitive questions of a practical nature, which highlight the need to reconsider the role of animals in the lifecycle and death of human beings.