Death and the Afterlife Flashcards

Flashcards about attitudes about death, ancestor worship, berawan funerals, endocannibalism, exocannibalism, spiritualism, and other forms of spirit communication.

Attitude about death: dead & gone

The belief that the dead have left society and their return is undesirable.

Attitude about death: dead but still here

The belief that the dead remain active members of society and the afterlife is a mirror reflection of our world.

Cult of the dead

Functions to separate the living from the dead and aid survivors in overcoming their grief.

Ancestor worship

Belief that ancestors play a strong and positive role in the prosperity of the group.

Ancestor worship customs

Customs established to assure comfort of the dead in their afterlife.

Berawan funerals

Borneo, secondary funerals, 4 stages of funeral rites.

Secondary burial

Reburial of human remains, something happens to body before 'burial'.

Berawan funeral Stage 1

Dies, body prepared, put into earthenware jar (lasts - 10 days).

Berawan funeral Stage 2

Body stored in house or graveyard (8 months or until enough money raised).

Berawan funeral Stage 3

Body kept 6-10 days for 'great feast', body cleaned, as body deteriorates, secretions collected & body consumed.

Berawan funeral Stage 4

Remains removed & placed in final resting place.

Berawan afterlife

At moment of death soul and body are separated, soul wanders while body decomposes, evil spirit can reanimate corpse, for soul to be liberated body must be entirely decayed great feast marks end of decomp and passage of soul into land of the dead.

"Great Feast"

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

Endocannibalism

Family, community, someone you know or in your social group. Tied to grieving.

Exocannibalism

Stranger, consumerism, asocial, body parts are a commodity, quality control, claims of indigenous cannibalism started around colonialism start, accusations supported reasons to colonize, propaganda.

European (medicinal) cannibalism

Considered medicinal, ended in 18th c., human parts thought to treat diseases, flesh, heart, bones, bone marrow, blood (most effective when drunk immediately after violent death of person in their prime), mummies (pills), body fat (used to dress wounds) consumed/used topically

War'i

Eating flesh of deceased as way to honor, rare, stories passed down, its about social relationships, very private.

Day of the Dead

Spirits in purgatory, able to roam earth, create altars, visit cemeteries where they clean and refresh sites, Difuntos can retaliate and living pulled into same moral universe, human and spirit world same moral plane.

Difuntos

Recently deceased.

Social memory

Stories of the dead shared at gravesite.

Food (Day of the Dead)

Mole, tamales, pan Muerto, etc., offerings for dead, shared with the living and the dead, facilitate & symbolize social interactions, mark special occasions, shared con confianza, reaffirms commonalities.

Sociality (Day of the Dead)

Showing care and respect = same for yourself & living friends & relatives, cemetery becomes temporary 'paradise on earth'.

Taboo - Death-Funerary rituals &beliefs of the afterlife in Indonesia:

Wait months or years to save for funeral, close members of family carry casket to location of funeral, fight water buffalo then sacrifice them to help deceased in afterlife, other entertainment, give offerings, say goodbye, body in tomb on cliffside, lavish funeral makes it easy for spirit to enter paradise, helps to keep social/familial connections.

Taboo - Death-Funerary rituals &beliefs of the afterlife in India:

Doms cremate bodies, family traditions born into the job, bottom of the caste/hierarchy, untouchable/outcasts, bodies cremated because of cycle of coming back, liberates the soul, bodies burned, ashes moved into the Ganges, souls now free. Flame from Doms, eldest son family seeking services shaves head, circles 5 times, then lights pyre in white robes. People near end of life go to Varanasi to die place.

Taboo - Death-Funerary rituals &beliefs of the afterlife in US:

Autopsies, embalm, dress up corpses & put makeup on them, Keep them looking alive in death, very lucrative, want reasons/answers why & how people die, want closure.

Spiritualism

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

Darwin & Wallace's theory of evolution

Doubts beliefs, questions come up of life after death.

Civil War in America

Deadliest battle in the country's history.

Swedenborgianism

Emmanual Swedenborg had a vision of snakes → happens in spirit world, tangible connection God→our world & spirit world, 'correspondence'-happens in reality.

"Hydesville Rappings"

1848, Fox sisters experience rappings in their home, intelligent communication with spirit, body buried under home, toured the country holding seances, birth of spiritualism.

Fox sisters

Kate, Maggie, Leah. Held seances, chased the publicity and money continuously (said they faked it, said they didn't, so on).

Basic tenets of Spiritualism

Survival of consciousness, humans could communicate with dead through proper channels, séance most popular communication (spirit boards & photos also used).

Legacies of Spiritualism

Introduced Hinduism & Buddhism to the west, made people demand truth, intro to eastern beliefs, precursor to women's suffrage movement, understanding of new tech (magnetism, electric telecommunication, photography).

Ectoplasm

Physical manifestation of spirit energy, sheep bladders, linen, cheese cloth, cotton, etc. shoved into orifices and later expelled at seances.

Women's suffrage movement

Women were mediums which gave them public voices.

Form of spirit communication

Mediums (trance or conscious), rappings/knocks, spirit boards, automatic writing, spirit photography.

Forms of spirit manifestation

Apparitions, ectoplasm, levitation, voice phenomena.

Ghost stories

Short story, existence/possibility of ghosts, prophecies or morality, emerged 19th c romantic era, sense of moral authority & science uncertainties, function is reflection on morality and question 'truth' and 'reality'.

"The Night Side of Nature"

Compilation of ghost stories, 1848 England, Catherine Crowe, mostly 'crisis operations', socially interested in ghosts, stories from respected citizens, spirit apparitions as serious object of inquiry.

Victorian science

1882, scientists thought it was worth studying, rise of psychological explanations, interest in reconciling science & paranormal phenomena.

The Society for Psychical Research (SPR)

1882 founded in Britain, 1885 US branch, wanted to apply scientific methods to spiritualist claims, conducted experiments with hypnotism, clairvoyance, mediumship, and hauntings, used statistical methods, tried to bring skepticism.

William James

Co-founder of ASPR, philosopher and psychologist, founder of pragmatism, father of American Psychology.

SPR objectives

Essentially ghost hunters, formed different communities, types of paranormal activities (haunted homes, moving objects, etc.) systematic experimentation, collected evidence, apply techniques and technologies of science to spiritualism claims.

SPR methods

Double blind testing and controlled lab settings formed different communities on types of paranormal activities (haunted homes, moving objects, etc.).

Case study of Leonora Piper

Trying to find the source of supernatural knowledge (subliminal mind and subconscious states did not explain the source of her knowledge.

Legacy of Psychical Research

Experiments and early psychical research established existence of subliminal consciousness.

The New Age Movement

1971, alternative to conventional religions, decentralized, no hierarchy, influenced by east Asian religions, bridge between science and religion, syncritic blend, anti-capitalist, anti-environmental destruction, invested in proof, fact, and science, invested in proof, fact, and science.

Parapsychology

Roots in psychical research, focus on provable things (events, ?), embarrassment over frauds, shift from soul → exceptional mental states like ESP → extra sensory perception.

Psi or anomalies researchers

Rebrand from psychical researchers → psi researchers, academics, changed their methods, qualitative (interview, observation) → quantitative (collecting numbers, statistics), narrower patterns of extrasensory focus.

Anomalies research

Experiments in controlled settings (dice, Zener cards, sleep studies, sensory deprivation).

Parapsychology claims of legitimacy

Scope - soul → mental states, terminology - paranormal phenomena → scientific and statistical terminology, societies → labs in universities.

Skepticism

Emerged in the 19th c. with psychical research, social mission was to debunk & demystify, rejected an entirety of traditional explanations, supports secular humanism, new philosophy/movement, anti-religion.

Secular humanism

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

Boundary work

Science vs not science, conflict of authority in science = struggle over who can represent the 'truth', new age, parapsychology, & skeptics, movements represent society of skeptical of orthodoxy & authority, doing things outside official institutions, national identity.

Ghost hunting

Emphasis on being 'objective', didn't want to seem/be financially motivated, using measuring tools/devices, records kept, client obligations.

Intelligent hauntings

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

Residual hauntings

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

Psychological hauntings

Not physically real but psychologically real, still has an impact on people, train conductor story (forgot he went to the memorial, photos appearing, thought he was being haunted).

Poltergeist

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

Possessions

Alien spirit entering body.

What is the attitude about Death: Dead & Gone?

The belief that the dead have left society and their return is undesirable, leading to fear and disruptions.

What is the attitude about Death: Dead but still here?

The belief that the dead remain active members of society in the afterlife.

What is the function of the Cult of the dead?

To separate the living from the dead and help survivors overcome grief.

What is Ancestor worship?

The belief that ancestors influence the prosperity of the group.

Where are Berawan funerals practiced?

Borneo, involving secondary funerals and a four-stage process.

What is Secondary burial?

Reburial of human remains after a period of storage or preparation.

What happens in the Berawan afterlife belief?

The soul separates from the body and wanders while the body decomposes.

What does the "Great Feast" signify?

Marks the end of the body's decomposition and the soul's passage to the afterlife.

What is Endocannibalism?

Cannibalism within a social group, tied to grieving.

What is Exocannibalism?

Cannibalism involving strangers, often associated with commodification.

What is European (medicinal) cannibalism?

The historical use of human parts for medicinal purposes in Europe.

What is the practice of War'i cannibalism?

Eating the flesh of the deceased as a way to honor them.

What happens during the Day of the Dead?

Spirits in purgatory roam the earth, and altars are created for them.

Who are Difuntos?

Recently deceased individuals.

What is Social memory?

Stories of the dead shared at gravesites.

What is the significance of Food during Day of the Dead?

Offerings for the dead, shared to symbolize social interactions.

What is Sociality in the context of Day of the Dead?

Showing care and respect for the dead, similar to living relatives and friends.

What are some funerary rituals in Indonesia?

Various rituals involving water buffalo sacrifice and tomb placement on cliffsides.

What are funerary rituals in India?

Cremation by the Doms caste, with ashes scattered in the Ganges River.

What are funerary practices in the US?

Autopsies and embalming to preserve the appearance of the deceased.

What is Spiritualism?

Healers enter a trance state to be used by spiritual forces for healing.

What did Darwin & Wallace's theory of evolution prompt?

Questions about life after death and the natural world.

What happened during the "Hydesville Rappings"?

Intelligent communication with spirits through rappings.

What are the Basic tenets of Spiritualism?

The belief in survival of consciousness and communication with the dead.

What is Ectoplasm?

Physical manifestation of spirit energy, often faked.

How did the Women's suffrage movement connect to spiritualism?

Mediums providing a public voice for women.

What are Forms of spirit manifestation?

Apparitions, ectoplasm, levitation, and voice phenomena.