In many cases in the Buddhist religion, male family members participate in a ceremony in the days before the funeral to become monks for the sole purpose of escorting the body during the funeral and at cremation. The purpose of monks escorting the body of the deceased is for spiritual figures to help guide the deceased until he or she is removed from his or her material bodies. In Hinduism, a coffin's escort will generally be the eldest male relative and another male elder. The cremation process follows the strict guidelines of Hindu religions. Those present will pray, then the eldest male relative will tour the body in the final stage to prepare for cremation. In Hindu tradition cremation will always take place feet first, generally facing south, towards the seat of their god of death. Cremation is much more rigorous than that of the Buddhist tradition, in the Hindu tradition it is inappropriate for women to participate in the cremation.