Tauren Lore Question

[Kechlion]

I haven't played much horde time so I'm not sure if this is shown somewhere or not, but what do the Tauren do with their dead? Do they bury them traditionally or use a cairn or a pyre? Anyone that knows, thanks for the help.

[kortin]

I believe the tauren are based off of a native american tribe, I forget which one though. They would take their dead and put them on raised platforms and decorate the platforms. I believe the tauren do the same.

[Zorgen]

I know Orcs and Taurens share many similar rituals and traditions when it comes to the dead/ancestors. So as orcs burn their dead one might assume Tauren do as well, although I can't find any solid proof.

[Wooplar]

They eat em

[Deleted]

there's a quest early in mulgore (it might be a paladin quest, not sure) where some dead tauren is put on a funeral pyre.

[Negrido]

Cremation. They are burned with various artifacts or items that were important to them. The only thing left of Carine is a piece of his spear that Thrall took from his body before it burned.

[Rhaide]

Cremation. They are burned with various artifacts or items that were important to them. The only thing left of Carine is a piece of his spear that Thrall took from his body before it burned.

I'm curious what you base this on? Many warriors throughout history have burned their heroes on a pyre while the majority of their population were buried. Cairne's specific case doesn't prove their entire races' practice. Is there any other non-speculative evidence for this?

[Negrido]

Good point, it may just be those that are highly regarded. Though, isnt there a corpse burned as a part of the tauren starting stuff? I need to get around to making that tauren priest.

[Peacemoon]

I haven't played much horde time so I'm not sure if this is shown somewhere or not, but what do the Tauren do with their dead? Do they bury them traditionally or use a cairn or a pyre? Anyone that knows, thanks for the help.

Hi Kechilion

The tauren cremate their dead on a pyre. Check the graveyards, the little caskets on the pyre contain tauren bones and it is visible if you look close enough.

By burning the bodies, the ash drops through the pyre onto the ground, returning their body to the Earth Mother.

The smoke that rises into the air is said to be their spirit, which joins with the ancestors who watch over them.

Hope that helps! :-)

[Rhaide]

Check it out:



Raised platforms like the tribes of indians who inhabited the great plains (tauren... plains... yeah, makes sense actually), down to the finest detail.

from here


"Nomadic tribes in the Great Plains region either buried their dead if the ground was soft, or left them on tree platforms or on scaffolds.

EDIT: While those caskets (they are even humanoid shaped, so they are definitely caskets) could possibly contain ashes, if you have ever seen the remains of a human being after being cremated, there aren't many ashes, its barely enough to fill a standard urn like you see in movies half way. A tauren isn't THAT much bigger than a person, one of those caskets could hold like 50 tauren. Doesn't make a ton of sense.

[Peacemoon]

Thanks for the picture, perfectly illustrates what I was saying :-)

[ChromWolf]

There seems to be a bit of disagreement amongst the responses, so I'd like to throw my own response in.

I think there is a mix of cremation and mummification. Cairne in particular, being a great warrior and leader of the Tauren people, was cremated I believe, leaving but a fragment of his shattered spear as has been said. Other notable figures in the Tauren culture have been cremated as well on raised funeral pyres.

Meanwhile, other tauren dead are clearly mummified on the same raised pyres, though in such a case "pyre" may be an incorrect term as (at least to me) it implies a ritual burning is to occur. Further clarification from someone better versed on the subject. In any case, tauren bodies wrapped and left alone, above the ground, are also visible for all to see at places such as Red Rocks in Mulgore.

I'd guess it's a blending of cultures; according to WoWpedia, "The tauren culture is based on a conglomeration of Native American tribes from the Southwest, Northwest, and Great Plains regions of the United States and Canada." That's not to say there aren't other cultural elements in there as well, or that none of those Native American cultures also left their dead exposed and ritualistically treated (such as mummification), however. Again, someone more versed in the real-life cultures than myself should weigh in and elaborate.

In any case, I'd say the tauren in fact do both cremation and mummification, possibly depending on the societal rank or importance of the person in life. Great warriors and leaders of the tauren seem to be cremated, while others are simply mummified. ...At least the way I've observed it.

EDIT: I think additional evidence, as provided in above posts, kinda proves both points I'm making; cremation (to send the ashes back to the Earthmother and the smoke, or spirit, back to the spirit world) occurs, as Faithshield points out, while Rhaide points out the Native American practice of storing the dead on scaffolds.

[Rhaide]

Thanks for the picture, perfectly illustrates what I was saying :-)

I actually don't think most of them were burned, although arguably some were. If you look, there are only bones under SOME of the scaffolds, hinting that some of the bodies are intact in the coffins. Also, those 'skulls' on top of the sarcophagi are made of wood (go check it out for yourself, look at the BACK of the skulls, they are built into the sarcophagus, not placed on top of it.)

Also, blizz did a great job of putting every tiny detail into the graveyard, even basing it on the great plains indians, however, we see no signs of a fire nearby, no pit, nor scorched earth where one may have been. The Indians upon which the tauren were based did not burn their dead commonly. Check the link I gave and you can also just google great plains indian burial rituals.

Because of these things, I think only specially recognized tauren are cremated.

[noteworthynerd]

Cairne in particular, being a great warrior and leader of the Tauren people, was cremated I believe, leaving but a fragment of his shattered spear as has been said. Other notable figures in the Tauren culture have been cremated as well on raised funeral pyres.

If I recall correctly, in "The Shattering" Cairne was cremated, so you'd be right. Well written post!

[Rhaide]

If I recall correctly, in "The Shattering" Cairne was cremated, so you'd be right. Well written post!

To be fair, negridoom beat him to it if you look a bit further up the page.

[noteworthynerd]

To be fair, negridoom beat him to it if you look a bit further up the page.

And Zorgen and Auto-unstuck beat Negridoom to it... =P I liked the way ChromWolf wrote his post, so I quoted him.

[ChromWolf]

To be fair, negridoom beat him to it if you look a bit further up the page.

Indeed, and though I've read and very much enjoyed The Shattering, it was also a reference to his post. Still, thanks all the same.

And actually, it almost sounds like we're even assuming mummification, as opposed to some other form of bodily treatment, or simply not at all based on what Rhaide was mentioning. I had no idea Native Americans treated their dead that way, it was actually very interesting!

[Rhaide]

And Zorgen and Auto-unstuck beat Negridoom to it... =P I liked the way ChromWolf wrote his post, so I quoted him.

I was talking about the cairne bit, specifically

The only thing left of Carine is a piece of his spear that Thrall took from his body before it burned.

She was the first person to mention that.

[Kragragh]

Something about that picture makes me kind of sad, even though I know they're not real...

[Kechlion]

Wow, thanks so much for all the responses. This helps me out a great deal. The reason I was asking is I'm writing a fanfic and needed to know what to do with a dead tauren.