A death ritual from Kutch. Part x

The Hindu community of Khavda, the Kolis, gather the ash of their dead after cremation and take it into the desert. A mound of the ash is made and a ghada (pot) from the village kumbhar (potter) is filled with water and placed on the ash mound. The belief is that the water in the ghada made by the potter (known as the “prajapati“, the lord of the community) shall give peace to the soul.

Life that begins with the prajapati also ends with the prajapati.

As the desert wind blows, the ash is carried over the desert land of Kutch and the physical being goes back to the soil it came from.