Muslim funerary duties include cleaning the body and shrouding it along with performing the necessary prayers for the deceased. The custom for several Muslim communities of the Sulu Archipelago, is to lay the cleansed and shrouded body upright in graves, usually within twenty-four hours after the time of death. Graves are usually adorned with markers called "sunduk" that both help as identification, and to serve as a form of protection for the body resting in the grave. Sunduks are inserted directly into the ground, over the head of the deceased. A sunduk may be made from wood, stone or even coral or metals. Many of the traditional markers are carved with patterns yet increasingly, newer markers may be left uncarved and painted in bright colours.
