What happens to dead Tau?

[LordDemon]

I started wondering what happens to dead Taus? (mainly physical aspect, not spiritual)

In "Firewarrior" there is a brief mention about funeral pyres, so I guess that is one way to go.
However, since it is Kais who is thinking, and since the Castes are different, I wondered weather different castes have different kind of funerals?
Basically, there are two alternatives:
1) All castes, after death, will be burnt (like vikings did for warriors)
2) Each caste has different funeral. These could be (my suggestion) burning for Fire caste, burial for earth caste, Cremation and spreading the ashes to wind for air caste, burial at see (or perhaps space ) for water caste. I don´t know about Ethereals though.

Any thoughts?

[Bayruun]

Etherials can die? But they're gods! Ow, my belief system!

On a more serious note, I think that they're probably cremated or mummified. Something to honour them, and the mummification makes sense as they were originally a desert-dwelling race. They probably discovered mummification very early on, just like so many desert-dwelling races.

[Lanfeix]

i think that cast related funerals are cool !

but what about kroot? oh of course buffa

[Black Behemoth]

I bet Kroot just feast on the dead Kroot so they can preserve the greatest qualities of that Kroot. I do like the idea about different castes having different burial practices.

Fire: Burned

Water: Burial at space

Earth: Buried in the ground

Air: Cremated and ashes spread out into the air

Ethereal: Mummification

[DireStrike]

Um... soylent blue is Tau? 

[Dornigdrache]

Tuesday is Soylent Blue Day!........

why wouldnt the air be buried at space, and the water be sent out on or in the water?

[LordDemon]

Tuesday is Soylent Blue Day!........

why wouldnt the air be buried at space, and the water be sent out on or in the water?

I would assume that the burial methods would derive back to time when Tau were not yet spaceflight capable (or maybe not even flight capable, except air caste).
In a pre-flight time most trade would have done with ships (though this could be wrong, as I don´t know if Tau has any major bodies of water. Maybe via rivers like in China?), so Water caste being merchants would get buried in sea. Air caste would propably have been living on windy mountains, so that sort of "gone with the wind" would IMO fit them.

These are all just my thoughts, there is no basis for them, but I think binding the elements to castes even after dead would be appropriate.

[orion549]

Air would definately be sent off into space, IMO. Seeing as most live on space stations now, you can't really burn them in an open pyre, it would use too much oxygen. Can't bury someone in a bulkhead, so for Air we're looking at a space burial or mummification, but I'm guessing sent into space, sort of a "last eternal flight" type thing.

I think the other castes would vary, depending on conditions. I think on Sept worlds it would be burial, so thier "spirits" stay home (if they believe in the idea of a spirit) but off-Sept it would be by pyre, so thier soul could be released from the body and go home. In the event of space travel for humans, I could see the same thing happening. We'll still bury people at home, but on a different planet it would be by pyre to allow the soul to come back to Earth.

[march10k]

I'd say feed them to the kroot, but imagine the pansies that would create.  Fleet of foot kroot with WS2 and organic multitrackers!

[the_vilest_worm]

Ok, i've just got to say something here:

CASTE ELEMENTS ARE NOT MEANT TO BE TAKEN LITERALLY!

Just because the humans call them water caste doesn't mean that they have to be buried at sea. Earth caste don't have to buried just because they are called "earth caste", in the same way that fire caste members don't live purely of meat (where does that come from anyway?). I have seen many people take the caste names to literally and assume that the element that a caste is named for plays a major role in their life.

[DireStrike]

But why wouldn't they be? It isn't just the humans that use elemental caste names. Those are direct Tau customs.

Their caste may not affect all aspects of their life, but it definitely affects some. Death is one of the most mystifying and ritualized aspects of life, and the caste system and the Tau'va are the closest things Tau have to religion.

[Lanfeix]

hmm well if where talking about greater good they will be made into fertiliser!!!

[Deadnight]

they go to heaven (if they served the greater good).

and they feed worms.