Olipoe: Onyx

Diverse cultures worldwide practice unique burial rituals. In Tibet, celestial burial guides souls heavenward by offering remains to birds and animals. Among Zoroastrians, vultures are central in purifying the deceased. Nordic countries, on the other hand, favor water as a burial ground and a means to return the departed to the sacred. Additionally, Welsh peasants observed a custom until the 19th century, where an officiant walked ahead of the coffin with a horse's skull, possibly connected to the Mari Lwyd tradition. When I envision the end of my journey, I see no true conclusion. Death arrives like a dream. I picture distant lands and unfamiliar horizons, a world where my essence, like the knight in Ariosto's 'Orlando Furioso,' persists in battle despite nearing death and madness.