Hindus believe in reincarnation. If the right rituals are enacted after death, the soul will return to earth and one’s family will be blessed with a new member.
Each new phase in life goes hand in hand with its own particular ritual for the soul. Parents are charged with the rituals that accompany their children’s birth, transition to adulthood and marriage. Following the death of their parents, children must take care for the accompaniment of their souls. The exhibition features objects and video fragments explaining the various Hindu rituals, including that of filing the teeth.
The exhibition features magnificent jewellery, ritual clothing and other ceremonial objects used in the ceremonies outlined above. The most striking of these is the huge coffin in the form of a bull, that could only be used by royals and those of high nobility. A winged lion was the designated coffin for lower nobility, while ordinary people were cremated in an elephant fish.
