https://cowboystatedaily.com/2023/01/11/want-a-viking-funeral-only-state-that-allows-it-is-colorado/ * * fbpx Wyoming News * Home * Shop * About + Meet CSD's Contributors + Jobs * Sign Up * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Search [ ] Go [Viking-funeral-2-1] Getty Images Want A Viking Funeral? Only State That Allows It Is Colorado Published on January 11, 2023January 11, 2023 in Wyoming Life/News ***For All Things Wyoming, Sign-Up For Our Daily Newsletter*** By Mark Heinz, Outdoors Reporter Mark@CowboyStateDaily.com There's a slim chance you legally shuffle off this mortal coil legally with as much flair as Darth Vader in "Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi," but there's no way you'll get to depart this world like King Arthur in "First Knight." In the former film, the deceased Sith lord, still in his full black armor, is set ablaze atop a funeral pyre on land. In the latter, the body of the mythical king of Camelot is pushed out to sea in on a floating pyre, then one of his knights sets the vessel ablaze with a flaming arrow. It's illegal to burn a body in a floating boat anywhere in the U.S., and a single town in Colorado is the only place in the country where you can legally burn a corpse on a dry-land funeral pyres. No Wyoming Demand The popular conception of what are commonly called "Viking" funerals - a flaming longship - aren't historically accurate anyway, said Joe E. Pray of Pray Funeral Home in Charlotte, Michigan. "They (Vikings) were more likely to drag the boat ashore and burn it on dry land with the chieftain's body and his possessions inside, or just bury the entire boat without setting it on fire," Pray told Cowboy State Daily. He and his family offer unusual or themed funerals. And Wyomingites don't seem interested in Viking funerals, regardless of whether they're historically accurate or more fanciful, Joey Casada told Cowboy State Daily. He's the head of the Wyoming Funeral Directors Association and funeral director at Jacoby Funeral Home in Rawlins. "We haven't heard of any requests for Viking funerals, open funeral pyres, the human composting or any of those sorts of things," he said. "Most folks in Wyoming are apparently OK with the standard methods of cremation or burial in a casket." --------------------------------------------------------------------- [viking-funeral-1-1]^Getty Images --------------------------------------------------------------------- Pyres Offered In One Colorado Town In the United States, open-air cremation is legal only in Crestone, Colorado, according to the US Funerals Online blog. However, only a handful of such pyre services are allowed each year, and they're exclusively for Crestone residents. And people might want to think twice about open-air cremation, Pray said. "I've seen it, and it's actually a gruesome process," he said. "It's probably not something I'd want to watch happen to a loved one." Original 'Stairway To Heaven' Pray said he learned about Viking burial practices during a trip to Norway - and the real thing didn't match most people's imaginations. Contrary to popular belief, the mighty Northmen didn't honor their dead by setting longships with bodies in them ablaze upon the fjords, he said. Instead, when a Viking of prominence died, his body and possessions - sometimes including horses and livestock - were placed inside his grounded longship. "They included all the stuff they figured the deceased would need for his journey to Valhalla," Pray said. Norse historians claim that in at least one instance, a deceased chieftain's concubines were slain so that they, too, could accompany him. Oftentimes, the entire thing was buried, Pray said. "There still are some of those burial mounds around Norway," he said. In other instances, the ship was burned ashore. "The smoke from the funeral pyre was called the 'stairway to heaven,' so they (Vikings) came up with that long before Led Zepplin did," Pray said. It Wouldn't Have Worked Anyway Even if Vikings had wanted to burn their dead in floating longships, it wouldn't have worked, Pray said. "A boat on the water is just going to burn to the waterline and then stop burning," he said. "We've seen that here on Lake Michigan when some drunk people accidently set their boat on fire. If we know that's what happens, then the Vikings probably knew that too." For those who really want at least a facsimile of Viking honors, Pray said his funeral home offers burial or cremation vessels "that are shaped like a Viking ship." ***For All Things Wyoming, Sign-Up For Our Daily Newsletter*** Share This * Facebook * Twitter * Pinterest * Linkedin * Email Tags: Wyoming Lifenews You might be interested in [Gordons-state-of-the-state-1] Gov. Mark Gordon addresses the 67th Wyoming Legislature. (Matt Idler for Cowboy State Daily) Posted on January 12, 2023January 12, 2023 In Reversal, Gordon Supports Medicaid Expansion For Postpartum Care Is Gov Gordon weakening on Medicaid expansion? The head of Health and Human Services in Wyoming [Collage-Maker-10-Jan-2023-11] Cody Nicholson (left), Tirso Munguia Posted on January 12, 2023January 12, 2023 Teens Tell Police Shooting Death Of Cheyenne High Schooler Was Accidental Two Cheyenne teens say the shooting death of a 16-year-old girl on Monday evening was unintentional. [teen-apprentice-1] Getty Images Posted on January 12, 2023January 12, 2023 There Are Useful Career Training Programs For Wyoming Students - But No One Knows About Them A bill that would ensure all public schools and students across the state are on the Post navigation Previous Story Previous post: Shooting The Breeze With Cat And Rod: Previewing The 67th Wyoming Legislature Next Story Next post: Chuck Gray Scores Victory With Defeat Of Bill That Would Have Prevented Ballot Inspections Latest from Wyoming Life [matt-mead-and-family-1-11-23-480x384] Former Wyoming Governor, Matt Mead, his wife, Carol, center, with their son, Pete, left, and daughter, Mary, right. Photo by Steve Peterson for Cowboy State Daily. Former Gov. Matt Mead Named 'Citizen Of The West' At National Western Stock Show Former Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead was named "Citizen of the West" at [Lander-fire-family-1-1] Dutch TV Show Reunites Lander Family That Lost Two Young Children In Fire With Relatives A devastating house fire took two of a Lander couple's five children [mauled-wrestlers-1] Wyoming Wrestlers Who Fought Grizzly Nearly Fully Recovered Northwest college wrestlers Kendell Cummings and Brady Lowry have returned to the [Pizzaillo-front-of-house-team-leader-Mikey-Staton-shows-off-two-fin] Pizzaillo front of house team leader Mikey Staton shows off two finished pizzas. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) Wyoming Isn't Just About Steak. Passion For Pottery Led To 'Mind-Blowing' Wood-Fired Pizza Great pizza in cowboy country? Actually, yes. The owner of Pizza Carrello [Cookie-and-April-1] Wild Wyoming Stories: Woman Gives Birth After Horse-Drawn Rowboat Ride In Blizzard Of '57 In the middle of nowhere near Buford, Wyoming during a blizzard in * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram [ ] All rights reserved. * Home * Shop * About * Sign Up * Home * Shop * About + Meet CSD's Contributors + Jobs * Sign Up * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram [ ] 0 $0.00 Go to Top You might be interested in [Gordons-state-of-the] Gov. Mark Gordon addresses the 67th Wyoming Legislature. (Matt Idler for Cowboy State Daily) In Reversal, Gordon Supports Medicaid Expansion For Postpartum Care Is Gov Gordon weakening on Medicaid expansion? The head of [Collage-Maker-10-Jan] Cody Nicholson (left), Tirso Munguia Teens Tell Police Shooting Death Of Cheyenne High Schooler Was Accidental Two Cheyenne teens say the shooting death of a 16-year-old fbpx