Sea Burial

Common among the Mermish, Mun, and in the Western Islands, sea burial usually consists of wrapping the body in a shroud of undyed, natural fabric, such as cotton or Aadia and weighing the body with stones. The island governments have worked with local Mermish living in the ocean to locate the best places for bodies to be buried. Mermish living underneath the water sometimes perform literal burials by digging shallow graves in the sea floor. In Brek, it is more common to cremate the dead due to Werewolf myths, though ashes are typically scattered in the ocean. In the Sun Islands and other areas settled by Cove Sprites, ashes are disposed of in a way that contributes to the building of coral reefs, similar to Sprite Burial Rights on land, in which ashes contribute to growing forests. This ritual includes an Oath of Dedication to the Ocean, which was likely inspired by the Oath of the Forest.