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Hanging coffins are which have been placed on cliffs. They are practiced by various cultures in China, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
The Bo people were one of the non-Han Chinese peoples native to southern China prior to Qin-Han conquests southward. The sparse descriptions of them in Chinese records describe them as being a prosperous farming culture who were also accomplished horsemen. They became victims of genocide by the Ming Dynasty in 1573 AD and are effectively extinct. Their language, rituals, and behaviors are unknown to archaeologists. There is a possibility, however, that the Ku people of Qiubei County in southern Yunnan are surviving descendants of the Bo. Some of the Ku people also practice hanging coffins. People with the surname "He" in Yunnan are also believed locally to be descendants of the Bo.
The reasons for the hanging coffins of the Bo people are unknown, because no Bo people are left. But it may simply be to prevent the dead from being disturbed. This is implied by Marco Polo's brief observation of the Bo rituals, saying that "when deceased they had their bodies put in a box and taken to the mountains to be put in caves, or hung out where others can not reach."
Aside from the hanging coffins of the Bo, there are also several other hanging coffin sites found throughout China from differing time periods. They are also similarly mysterious, with the peoples responsible for them now either extinct or Sinicized. The following is a list of hanging coffin sites in China:
Despite their popularity, hanging coffins are not the main funerary practice of the Kankanaey. It is reserved only for distinguished or honorable leaders of the community. They must have performed acts of merit, made wise decisions, and led traditional rituals during their lifetimes. The height at which their coffins are placed reflects their social status. Most people interred in hanging coffins are the most prominent members of the amam-a, the council of male elders in the traditional dap-ay (the communal men's dormitory and civic center of the village). There is also one documented case of a woman being accorded the honor of a hanging coffin interment.
The more common burial custom of the Kankanaey is for coffins to be tucked into crevices or stacked on top of each other inside limestone caves. Like in hanging coffins, the location depends on the status of the deceased as well as the cause of death. All of these burial customs require specific pre-interment rituals known as the sangadil. The Kankanaey believe that interring the dead in caves or cliffs ensures that their spirits ( anito) can roam around and continue to protect the living.
The hanging coffins in Echo Valley have become tourist attractions.
Like the hanging coffins of the Philippines, liang tokek accounts for only a minority of the region's funerary practices. Liang tokek were reserved for the "founders" of the village and thus are among the oldest dated coffins, dating to around 780 AD. They were part of burial complexes which include other kinds of interment practices, usually differing based on the social class and age of the dead. These complexes are believed by the Torajans to be abodes of spirits of the dead in the afterlife.
The more common types of ancient burial were the liang sillik and liang erong which were cave burials; with the latter utilizing coffins ( erong), while the former does not. Other more recent burial customs include liang pak (tombs carved into walls), tangdan (house-shaped tombs for noblemen, usually placed on hilltops), and liang patane (house-shaped tombs for commoners). (2025). 9783110680003 ISBN 9783110680003
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