Death, Funerals, and Spiritualism

Flashcards about death, funerals, and spiritualism

What are two contrasting attitudes about death?

Dead and gone from the world OR dead but still here.

What is a common reaction when the dead are believed to have left society?

The dead's return is undesirable and more likely to be feared.

How are funerals often viewed in societies where the dead remain active members?

Funerals help the deceased loved one return to society in a new status.

What is the function of a 'cult of the dead'?

To separate the living from the dead and aid survivors in overcoming grief.

What is the core belief of ancestor worship?

Ancestors play a strong and positive role in the prosperity of the group.

What is the purpose of customs established in ancestor worship?

To assure the comfort of the dead in their afterlife.

What is a secondary burial?

Reburial of human remains, often involving a period of storage or preparation.

How many stages are there in Berawan funerals?

Four stages.

What happens to the body in stage 1 of a Berawan funeral?

The body is prepared and put into an earthenware jar for 10 days.

What is the primary activity in stage 2 of a Berawan funeral?

The body is stored in the house or graveyard until enough money is raised.

What main actions occur during stage 3 of a Berawan funeral?

The body is cleaned, and as it deteriorates, secretions are collected and the body consumed.

What happens in stage 4 of a Berawan funeral?

The remains are removed and placed in their final resting place.

According to Berawan beliefs, what must happen to the body for the soul to be liberated?

The body must be entirely decayed.

What does the 'Great Feast' mark in Berawan funerals?

The end of the body's decomposition and the passage of the soul to the land of the dead.

What is endocannibalism?

The consumption of the flesh of someone within family or social group, often tied to grieving.

How does exocannibalism differ from endocannibalism?

It involves consuming strangers or those outside the social group, often with a consumeristic or asocial motive.

What was the purpose of European (medicinal) cannibalism?

Human parts were thought to treat diseases.

What is the War'i practice regarding the deceased?

Eating the flesh of the deceased as a way to honor them, based on social relationships.

Who are the Difuntos?

Recently deceased.

How are social memories shared during the Day of the Dead?

Through stories of the dead shared at gravesites.

What is the purpose of food offerings during the Day of the Dead?

Offerings for the dead, shared with the living, to facilitate and symbolize social interactions.

What does 'sociality' refer to in the context of Day of the Dead?

Showing care and respect, same for yourself and living friends and relatives.

What is the main purpose of the lavish funerals in Indonesia?

Makes it easy for spirit to enter paradise, helps to keep social/familial connections.

What role do the Doms play in Indian cremation rituals?

They cremate bodies, it's a family tradition they are born into, bottom of the caste/hierarchy.

Why are bodies cremated according to Indian tradition?

To end the cycle of coming back and liberate the soul.

In American funerary practices, what actions are commonly performed on corpses?

Autopsies, embalming, dressing up corpses & putting makeup on them.

What is the primary goal of these actions?

Keep them looking alive in death, find reason why & how people die, want closure.

What role do healers play in Spiritualism?

Healers enter a trance or state of semi-consciousness, allowing themselves to be used by spiritual forces for healing.

What did the Fox sisters claim to experience in their home?

Rappings, intelligent communication with spirit.

What is a séance?

A gathering where people attempt to communicate with spirits.

What is a basic tenet of Spiritualism?

Survival of consciousness, humans could communicate with dead through proper channels.

What is ectoplasm?

Physical manifestation of spirit energy.

How did Spiritualism influence the women's suffrage movement?

Women were mediums which gave them public voices.

Name 3 forms of spirit communication

Mediums, rappings/knocks, spirit boards, automatic writing, spirit photography

What are some forms of spirit manifestation?

Apparitions, ectoplasm, levitation, voice phenomena.

What is

Compilation of ghost stories, 1848 England, Catherine Crowe, mostly crisis operations.

How did Victorian scientists approach the study of spiritual phenomena?

Thought it was worth studying, with interest in reconciling science with spiritual phenomena.

What were the objectives of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR)?

Apply scientific methods to spiritual and psychic claims.

How did the SPR try to study paranormal activities?

Systematic experimentation, collected evidence, apply techniques and technologies of science to spiritualism claims.

What was the focus of the case study of Leonora Piper?

Trying to find the source of supernatural knowledge (subliminal mind and subconscious states).

What shift happened in the study of ESP?

Shift from survival of consciousness to exceptional mental states like ESP extra sensory perception.

What methods do Anomalies research use?

Qualitative and quantitative methods.

What claims did parapsychology make to legitimacy?

Scope, terminology and methods.

How did scientists approach to skepticism?

Social mission was to debunk & demystify, rejected an entirety of psychical research, secular humanism, new philosophy/movement, anti-religion.

What is Secular Humanism?

Belief that humans are capable of being moral ad good without God (reason, ethics, and philosophical naturalism), rejects religious dogma, superstition, and pseudoscience.

What conflict arises from boundary work?

Struggle over who can represent the 'truth'.

What do Skeptics emphasize when ghost hunting?

Being objective.

What are the characteristics of intelligent hauntings?

Returned spirits, awareness, interaction, provide answers to questions in real time.

What defines residual hauntings?

Residual energy, imprinted in objects like a recording, no meaningful interactions.

What is a poltergeist?

Entity causing physical disturbances, intelligent, most associated with young girls, unconscious psychic outbursts.