ROURKELA: Death is mourned by people in our world and usually is surrounded by a sense of grief and sadness. But in Panchra gram panchayat of Sundargarh’s Kutra block, tribal villagers celebrated the passing of a 115-year-old woman by dancing to DJ music while giving her a send-off in some style.
The incident took place on Sunday but came to the fore after a video of mourners including pallbearers dancing during the funeral procession went viral on Tuesday. Sombari Soren alias Mangri died of old age at her home in Khadiapada hamlet of panchara on Saturday night. After Mangri’s death, her family members and villagers decided to celebrate her accomplishment of living an unusually long life.
Accordingly on Sunday, a vehicle-mounted DJ music system was hired and those participating in the funeral procession danced to the beats throughout Mangri’s final journey. On reaching the village cremation ground, her septuagenarian son Prasanta Soren lit her pyre. Prasanta said his family mourned the death of its oldest member but they were equally happy as Mangri achieved a rare feat of living for 115 years.
Another son Tirtha said in their community, its a tradition to bid a cheerful adieu to someone living an unusually long life. “In such deaths, mourning is replaced with cheerful activities during the funeral procession. “We followed the tradition with family members, friends and villagers by dancing to the tune of music during the funeral procession to pay our respects to the departed soul,” he said.
Sources said Mangri is survived by three sons, a daughter and grandchildren. The Sorens are a large extended family and they primarily depend on agriculture for livelihood. Some of the young members work as drivers and daily wagers to eke out a living. The tradition of celebrating death of persons living unusually longer is prevalent in some of the communities though.