A Charmed Life: Life's a Play!

...The previous evening, the Chief mentioned to me about some burial jars left lying at the back of the munusipyo (town hall). So before going to the port that morning, I went to have a look at the jars.

The ancient Ivatans have 2 major ways of burying their dead. One is putting their dead, fetal position, inside large burial jars. The jars are huge, about 3 feet long or more. When I saw the jars left there to crumble, I was a bit concerned.

I remember, years ago in my archeology digging class in Tokyo, we tried our best to dig, slowly and carefully to preserve whatever artifact we may find. If we find even just a fragment or a chip, we handle it with utmost care ensuring it reaches its safe place in a museum. But here, these huge ancient (and perhaps sacred) jars are left exposed to the power of the elements. One jar is even turned into a trash can.