The Sugar Sepulcher is an enduring and sustainable burial ritual that uses apiculture as a means of reconsidering our relationship to decomposition and rebirth and reestablishing the importance of community in mourning processes. This project was created to present the possibility of a sustainable and secular, community-driven funerary option. As the loved ones of the deceased assist in the transformation of the human remains into edible honey, participants are inspired to reflect on the significance of community relationships in the context of mourning, as well as the impact of traditional burial practices on the environment. The ritual derives its power from its ability to facilitate social engagement, calling for individuals to work together to create a working natural system that enables ecological processes of regeneration and renewal.
This ritual begins with the composting of human remains, a process more specifically called natural organic reduction, in which organic material is converted into “a stable earthy organic material that is unrecognizable as human remains.”1 This portion of the ritual is performed offsite, by a private company.
The loved ones of the deceased, then plant a memorial pollinator garden using the composted remains of the individual who has passed on. Bee-friendly plants like goldenrods, marigolds, milkweed, etc. are planted to encourage pollination.
Once the pollinator garden is planted and the weather is warm, loved ones can begin growing their hive. A bee colony will be introduced into the hive and begin creating honey from the planted flowers that have been fertilized using composted remains.
Eventually, the honey supers will fill with honey and the glass jars on top of the hive can be harvested. These glass jars screw onto the hive, allowing for easy removal that greatly reduces the number of bees killed in the harvesting process. Since honey is a natural preservative and has an almost eternal shelf life, these jars can act as honey urn. Therefore, if loved ones wish, they can keep the honey urn as a sustainable but everlasting object of remembrance for the deceased.
However, if they so wish, they can carry on to the fifth step of the ritual — consumption. Inspired by the ancient Arabian tale of “the mellified man,” in which individuals would consume the honey-preserved body of a deceased community member in order to obtain special healing powers, individuals can choose to consume the honey from the hive. This one act fulfills the cycle of decomposition, rebirth, and life; as old life fuels new life, it acts as a long-term mourning ritual that gives time for remembrance, healing, and growth, as the living and the dead work together to facilitate new life.
Jamie Lauren Keiles