ch. 10 - Death Rituals

Ritual of Death

The meaning of death, rituals surrounding death, emotions about death, and care of the corpse vary from culture to culture.

Ritual

can be defined as the symbolic affirmation of values by means of culturally standardized utterances and actions.

Western Perspective

Western societies prefer a professional take care of the body while others use certain members of the family, same sex burial societies, or certain funeral homes that cater to specific religious ritual.

In Western society, death is seen as a one-time event; others see death as …

a process of transferring from the land of the living to the land of the dead.

Some have rituals of social death.

Some consider communication with the dead impossible, others commune regularly.

Rite of Passage

Human beings construct rituals as one means of acknowledging and adapting to change.

In many cultures and religions, being dead is another ________ Often the dead are expected to cure illness, reward good deeds, and assure a good harvest.

status change.

All rites of passage have 3 sub-rites:

1. Rite of separation

2. Rite of transition

3. Rite of incorporation

1. Rite of separation-

those whose identity is undergoing change will be perceived by the group as different or "other".

2. Rites of transition-

a funeral ceremony would be a rite of transition.

3. Rite of reincorporation-

the community incorporates in a new way those who have taken on a new identity. Example: after-funeral meals; sitting Shiva.

Funeral rites are critical in many societies because they ….

ensure that the dead make the transition to the next stage of life or non-life (e.g. Buddhist or Hindu).

Burial Rite Functions

Give meaning and sanction to the separation of the dead person from the living.

Help effect the transition of the soul to another, worldly realm.

Assist in the incorporation of the spirit into its new existence.

Function

the extent to which a given activity promotes or interferes with the maintenance of a system

Manifest Function

When the consequence of the activity is as it was intended. (Going to a funeral to pay respects and show that you care)

Latent Function

consequences that contribute to social adjustment but were "by-products" of the manifest function. (The gathering at the funeral becomes a reunion)

Ethnographic Data

Emotion at death is nearly universal.

The most common emotion is crying, however, emotions range from ______ to ______ wailing.

Silence, exaggerated

19th Century

For most of the 19th century the mood was gloomy. Mourning was not only shown at funerals but also extended into everyday life for certain time periods, usually up to a year.

Women bore the burden of mourning; ______ of black clothing; used stationary with black borders.

2 years

20th Century

the funeral director was widely used and there was a shift in the gloomy feeling of a funeral to more of a rite of passage. The term "death denying society" was coined during this century.

Funeral director was the "stage manager"; family was the _____

"audience".

21st Century

Today funerals are sometimes termed a "Celebration of Life" showing the dramatic shift that funerals are now more accepted as part of the dying process.

Gender Differences in Mourning Behaviors

Women are expected to express more emotion than men do and we really don't know why~

Differences between male mourning and female mourning

o Women cry and self mutilate (internalize grief) more than men, who direct their anger away from self.

Customs of Death

There are 2 perspectives for viewing customs at death.

Each society creates different practices unique to the culture in which they occur.

There are common human needs (e.g. to dispose of the body) and each society creates practices, rites, meanings, and rituals, which are functional equivalents to those found in other societies. (This is the social anthropological perspective.)

Having a cultural framework prescribes "proper" behavior at the time of death:

Provides an established order

Gives comfort to the bereaved

Gives survivors something to do during the dying process and immediately thereafter, thus facilitating the coping abilities of the bereaved.

Cleaning, Decoration and Clothing the Body

Many cultures prescribe that the family prepare the body; others (U.S.) have a professional do the work.

Hopi Indians do not wash.

Generally the body is washed and ritually deodorized.

Some give the body liquor (preservative), water (to keep away thirst) or food.

Some dress the body in white and cover with various things; bark, leaves, blanket.

Symbolic clothing;

wedding outfit, best clothes, the clothes they died in.

Navajo reverse the moccasins why?

so the spirit can return

Body preparation by Specialist

Many societies use family or friends to prepare the body for burial. Other societies use religious societies. In the U.S. an embalmer is used.

Burying the dead is a ______social practice.

Common

How to bury is _____ determined.

Culturally

Embalming

the replacement of normal body fluids with preserving chemicals.

Embalming is done why? :

So the family can see their loved one

So the body can be transported long distances

2 primary forms of disposition are:

1. Cremation

2. Earth burial

Earth Burial

No longer the most widely used method.

Entombment is a form of___

above ground burial.

Entombment takes place in a _____.

Mausoleum

Cremation

Preferred method of final disposition by Buddhists & Hindus.

Becoming the primary choice in the U.S.

Cremation

After cremation the cremated remains (often termed cremains) may be ……

buried in a cemetery, placed into a niche in a columbarium, scattered, or simply kept by the family.

Cremated remains do not have the appearance of "ashes", are more like sand and are primarily _____

Bone fragments

Jewish Customs

Focus more on the bereaved than on the body

Bury within 24 hours if possible

No embalming

No viewing

Orthodox Jews use all wood caskets

A burial society (hevra'qaddisha') washes the body

Ritual begins with the tearing of garments or wearing a torn black ribbon

Shiva is a 7-day mourning period following the death

Quaddish is a doxology reaffirming the mourner's faith in God despite the fact of death

Yahrzeit is the yearly commemoration of the person's death.

Reform Judaism allows for…..

cremation & entombment

Christian Customs

Funeral is primarily a worship service that reflects the themes of victory and loss

A eulogy is common

Memorial Service

Viewing of the body is common

The funeral is typically held 2 to 4 days after the death

A meal is usually shared after the funeral

Memorial Service-

a service without the body present

Hindu Customs

Cremation is the preferred method of body disposition.

Belief that cremation is an act of sacrifice whereby one's body is offered to God.

The use of a funeral pyre is common (but not in the U.S.) .

Between 10-31 days after cremation, a Shraddha is prepared.

Next to the Hindu wedding, the Hindu funeral is the most important ceremony.

The funeral rites are very costly.

Shraddha

(elaborate ritual feast)

Buddhism Customs

Funerals rites include Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Thai Buddhist customs.

The temple is called the wat.

The family often witnesses the body being placed into the cremation chamber after the funeral.

Sorrow and lamentation are not emphasized during the funeral. The focus is on the impermanence of all things.

The funeral is a social event.

Typically there is entertainment.

The temple is called the ____ in Buddhism

Wat

Islam Customs

Burial is without necessary delay, usually within hours.

Burial is simple.

Members of the same gender wash the body.

Muslims are mourned at their mosques, not at funeral homes.

Flowers are planted instead of cutting flowers since they believe that every living plant utters the name of God.

Widow must stay in seclusion for 4 months and 10 days before she is allowed to remarry.

Flowers are planted instead of cutting flowers since they believe that every ….

living plant utters the name of God.

Widow must stay in seclusion for ___ months and ___ days before she is allowed to remarry.

4 and 10

Above Ground Burial

The practice of placing the body on a scafold or in trees for the purpose of allowing the body to decay or decompose. This type of burial is often the first step in the final disposition of the body. In the second stage the body is buried which is referred to as the secondary burial.

Ethnography

The systematic description of a culture based on firsthand operation.

Sati

A conterversal practice exercised rarely in some areas of Inda in which the widow throws herself onto the funeral pyre of her deceased husband. This most noble act of loyalty maker her a goddess who is worshiped at her cremation site.