I always thought that a tomb was built and the casket lowered into it and a lid was sealed on top. Not so - the tomb is built with one end open. The casket is slid into place and then the end sealed up. Guyanese do not embalm their dead so the quicker the body is buried, the better. The custom is to have the casket open before the funeral for viewing. Close the casket and then open it again after the funeral before it is taken to the cemetary. While the casket is open, people put flowers and leaves into the casket next to the body and perfume is sprayed liberally. Christopher did not want an open casket. We found one with a glass viewing port over the face. His funeral was one day after his death so his body did not have time to decompose. As the casket was being put into place, his daughter sprinkled perfume all over the top of the casket. I noticed, also, that some people tossed rocks onto the casket just as it was being pushed into the tomb. These are traditions and customs that come from other cultures.