No this is not a cruel joke nor is it a Halloween prank. FYI a hanging coffin just happens to be an ancient funeral custom of some minority groups in southern China. These coffins are of various shapes and are mostly made out of one whole piece of wood. Some of the coffins lie on beams projecting from structures such as mountains whereas others are placed in caves and some sit on projections in the rock.
Locations in China include:
Fujian in the Wuyi Mountains Hubei Jiangxi in Longhushan, 20 km southwest of Yingtan City (Guyue people) Sichuan in Gongxian County of Yibin, southwest Sichuan (Bo people) and also in Qutang Gorge, one of the Three Gorges Yunnan
China is not the only place on Earth with hanging coffins! There is a place in the Philippines that has a similar ancient funeral practice. Their coffins are more colorful than those in China though they do look hauntingly familiar. They are high on the jagged cliffs of Sagada in a remote area and up in the mountains where it is very hard to get to but the people of Sagada found a way, many many times! They make the coffins while they are alive and after their family smoke the bodies so that they will be preserved so that they can have a 3-4 day festival before the burial!
The Philipines is also not the only place on Earth with hanging coffins! There is a place in Indonesia that also has a similar ancient funeral practice as both China and Philipines, it is the burial custom of the Sa'dan Toreaja people. In upland these people of Salawesi placed their hanging coffins in a great cave, called Londa Nanggala Cave.
These people also have another funeral custom that goes right along with the custom of the hanging coffins, having wooden effigies of the dead placed on a rock face of the cliff walls at Lemo.
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