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Modern
& Ancient Funeral Rites on the Internet
Below
are links to sites on the Internet covering the Funeral Rites
of various modern and ancient cultures. If you find that one of
these links is not functioning, would you be so kind as to notify
us via email at admin@thefuneraldirectory.com
and we will investigate promptly. Use the links on the left-hand
side of this page to jump to a link of interest.
Momento
Mori: Death and Photography in Nineteenth Century America
A memento
mori is a form of image that urged a European person of the late
Middle Ages to "remember thy death." To do this, a memento mori
might represent death as a human skeleton--perhaps as the Grim
Reaper gathering his harvest--or it might depict human bodies
in an advanced state of decay....
African
Rites
Of Passage
There are a huge variety
of different customs associated with death. Many of them are
concerned with the transition of the soul, and laying the
soul of the dead person finally to rest. This may take some
years. Considerable thought is devoted to burial places. Some
bury their dead underneath the compound or house. For others,
it is important to remove the body to a burial ground some
distance away. The Baganda, in Uganda, prepare a grave for
each individual when they are still children.
African
American
Cross-Cultural
Funeral Rites
Within the African-American
community, there exists a wide array of burial rituals which
are specific to ancestral roots in West Africa. Funeral rites
of the Caribbean tend to be elaborate, steeped in religious
ceremony (usually Protestant), and grounded by cultural heritage.
Despite the declining economy, the last rites are considered
the final rite of passage for those whose elders passed down
specific customs from the West Indies. The funeral is a communal
affair in which each person has explicit duties to perform.
American
Funeral Rites: A Historical Perspective
People have always died at all points in history and the living
have always mourned
the death of loved ones with some type of ceremony. The typical
funeral that is popular in
modern day America is, however, a very recent happening. In
the past, funerals tended to be
very plain, a pine box, family and friends caring for the
body, and simple burial. This is in
dramatic contrast to the modern funeral that is carried out
by professionals who transform the
dead body into a living memorial.
Ancient
British
Littering
the countryside of the British Isles are thousand upon thousand
of barrows. They can be seen standing alone on a windswept hill
or clustered together in a farmers field. Sometimes you will find
them miles from anywhere on a deserted moor and other times they
might stand beside a busy road. For centuries they have been steeped
with legend and folklore and, more often than not, have been associated
with dark forces of magic but what exactly is a barrow?...
Ancient
Roman
Lycia, as
a coastal region, was an integral part of the Roman empire, but
never supported a great population...
Ancient
Greek
According
to Homeric belief, when a person died, his or her vital breath
or psyche left the body to enter the palace of Hades, king of
the dead. The psyche once it had fled the body existed merely
as a phantom image, perceptible but untouchable. The wall separating
the living from the dead was virtually impenetrable...
The
Greek Cemetery
Most Greek
cities placed their cemeteries along the main roads outside the
city walls in order to avoid disease and religious pollution,
and perhaps even to avoid wasting valuable urban space.
Antebellum
Period in Louisiana
The most deadly
diseases to strike Louisiana during the antebellum period were
cholera, smallpox, malaria, and yellow fever. In an epidemic year
the mortality rate could reach as high as sixty percent of those
who contracted a disease...
Aztec
Death in ancient
Aztec Mexico formed an integral part of daily life and was considered
just a further stage in the continuation of life towards the individual’s
final resting place. Death was to be found everywhere in the form
of sacrificial rites, religious rituals, mourning celebrations
and funerary festivities...
Buddhist
BuddhaNet™
is the result of a vision to link up with the growing world-wide
culture of people committed to the Buddha's teachings and lifestyle,
as an on-line cyber sangha. In this way, an ancient tradition
and the information superhighway will come together to create
an electronic meeting place of shared concern and interests...
Most Japanese
funeral services are held in a Buddhist style. The following is
a description of a Japanese funeral. Of course, there exist many
variations...
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2060.html
Contrary to
the wedding custom, the funeral ceremony is conducted completely
in a Japanese way...
http://www.kt.rim.or.jp/~etshioda/customs.html
Celtic
Customs on Death
As
the ancient festival of Samhain was held in honour of the Sun
God's death and transition to the dark lands of Under wave where
he then resides as Lord of Death, this is the time that the old
Celtic peoples came to terms with death and pondered on their
own meeting with the Dark Lord...
Chinese
Customs on Death
The burial
of the dead (cremation is traditionally uncommon) is a matter
taken very seriously in Chinese societies. Improper funeral arrangements
can wreak ill fortune and disaster upon the family of the deceased.
Having
Money To Burn
The Ching
Ming Festival or Tomb-Sweeping Festival in Taiwan, is a traditional
festival and a national holiday (as it coincides with the date
of death of the famed President Chiang Kai-shek) and is usually
celebrated on April 5, although the dates may vary from district
to district and even within family heritage.
Christian
Worship
Rationale
Of Funeral Rites. These are not to serve as the primary funeral
liturgies of the church. Normally, a congregation is invited to
gather and participate in the funeral liturgy as it does with
the one provided in Christian Worship...
Classic
Athenian
In
the ancient Mediterranean world there was hardly room for choice:
not only was marriage destiny, but so was death. The identity
of the Classical Greek world is established through the traditional
sacrifices and rituals that were practiced in these times of bliss
and mourning...
Contemporary
English Cemeteries
Graveyards
can be attractive yet unsettling places. They are often quiet
enclaves in a town, havens for wildlife in the countryside, and
romantic monuments in decay; but also places which evoke fears
of our inevitable fate, and which remind us of sad losses from
our past...
Cross-Cultural
Funeral Rites
For the past
two decades, the traditional funeral rite has been in transition
for various reasons: changes in social stratification due to a
declining economy and shrinking resources; increased immigration
to the United States; neolocal spread of the family to many geographic
locations; increased demand for cremations; decline in religious
practices and increased secular observances; and a shift from
ancestral to contemporary funeral rites...
(Contains
Information on an African American Funeral)
Guanches
When a Guanche
died, especially if he were an achimencey or noble, a long period
of mourning and preparation for the afterlife began...
Hawaiian
Speculation
ran rampant after two ancient caskets containing the bones of
Big Island ali'i, King Liloa and his great grandson, Lonoikamakahiki,
disappeared from O'ahu's Bishop Museum in February 1994...
Hinduism
A Hindu
approaching death works diligently to finish all his business
of this lifetime, the allotted portion of his total karma
carried into this birth to face and resolve. If death comes
while loose ends remain (misunderstandings unresolved, misdeeds
unatoned for or obligations unfulfilled), another lifetime
may be required to expire that karma...
How
I Sent My Father to Heaven
Proceedings
of Hindu Death Ritual
Frequently
Asked Questions on Hindu Funerals
Incan
A widespread
custom throughout Peru was to bury the bodies of the dead with
all of their most prized possessions and with their most beautiful
and best-loved women...
Islamic
Islamic
Rituals at Death
http://www.understanding-islam.com/related/text.asp?type=question&qid=732
Burial is
a Collective Obligation: There is a consensus that burying a dead
body and covering it is a collective obligation (fard kifayah).
If some Muslims bury the dead body, it would absolve the rest
of them from this obligation. Allah, the Almighty, says: "Have
We not caused the earth to hold within itself the living and the
dead?" Qur'an 77.25-26...
http://www.isgkc.org/Fiqh_Death.htm
For followers
of Islam, as with many other faiths, death is the end of life
on this earth and the beginning of a life hereafter. For Muslims
"Death is not final, but a temporary separation from the beloved
person, who will be brought back to life on the Day of Judgement
and, if God wills, be reunited with his family once more"...
http://www.globalideasbank.org/LA/LA-26.HTML
Death
Rituals Among Muslims
The burial:
Muslims bury their dead as they believe that the dead body
must be respected and not harmed in any way. At the point
of death, a chapter from the Quran is read and a few drops
of holy water are given to the dying person. After death,
the body is bathed, anointed with scents and draped in a seamless
white shroud. The Muslim custom states that the body should
be buried within 24 hours of death.
http://festival.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2577228.cms
Japanese
After the
dying hour: Water to moisten lips of a deceased; Phone to notify
the family and relatives of death; Contact the ceremony hall Life
Care...
Jewish
Jewish
Funeral and Mourning Customs
I have been to funerals for family members and friends who passed
away. All funerals have different procedures depending on the
deceased persons religion and desires. Each religion has its own
customs. When my mother passed away recently, I became aware of
my friends wanting to pay respect but felt awkward as to what
customs and procedures were being used. Several readers suggested
that an article be written in JDCC News on these customs and what
readers need to be aware of.
http://www.thefuneraldirectory.com/jewishcustoms.html
The Jewish
Funeral–A Celebration of Life By David Techner. Every segment
of society has its social traditions, including funeral customs.
Even if we have not been exposed to these in person, most of us
are aware of the"Irish Wake," or the Jewish practice of "Sitting
Shiva." Although we may have heard or seen these rituals, too
many of us are unfamiliar with the meaning behind the actions....
http://www.biomed.lib.umn.edu/hw/jewish.html
Web site
of the Jewish Funeral Practices Committee of Greater Washington,
including material on Jewish Funerals, Burial, and Mourning Jewish
Mourning Customs...
http://www.jewish-funerals.org/mourning.htm
Properly understood,
death is a stage in the journey of life. The recognition that
life is finite and that death is a reality that must be anticipated
and accepted is one of Judaism's most profound insights...
http://www.utah.edu/hillel/mourning.htm
Because
we love, when a loved one dies we feel sorrow and grief. These
reactions are both normal and healthy. When death takes a
loved one, life seems empty and the future dark. Jews have
guidance at sad times in our lives, because tradition has
outlined ways to deal with death and its grief. Modern psychology
has recognized the therapeutic value of the Jewish rituals
and practices which help us to express our grief rather than
repress it, to talk about our loss with friends and to move
step by step from inactivity to normal living. This booklet
was written to provide an understanding of customs as observed
at Beth El. It is offered to guide our members and explain
our traditions...
http://www.vbs.org/religious/mourning.htm
Korean
Korean funeral
rites reveal a great deal about how Koreans view death, and
in particular, how they cope with the death of a close family
member. Koreans held that if a person had succumbed to either
illness or from natural causes outside the comforts of the
home, the deceased spirit would roam aimlessly to eventually
become a ghost or, kaekkwi....
Mayan
The ancient
Maya believed in recurring cycles of creation and destruction
and thought in terms of eras lasting about 5,200 modern years.
The current cycle is believed by the Maya to have begun in either
3114 B.C. or 3113 B.C. of our calendar, and is expected to end
in either A.D. 2011 or 2012...
Medicis
Under the
rule of the House of Medici, 15th century Florence saw the start
of pomp and circumstance accorded to funeral rites, but the first
deceased to have been accorded this honour was not a member of
this powerful family but a vip from the art world, Michelangelo,
whose fame had already spread worldwide...
Methodist
The general
guidelines for funerals are contained in the rubrics of the United
Methodist Church as found in the Book of Worship (1992), pages
139-141...
Mexican
Death
in ancient Aztec Mexico formed an integral part of daily life
and was considered just a further stage in the continuation
of life towards the individual’s final resting place.
Death was to be found everywhere in the form of sacrificial
rites, religious rituals, mourning celebrations and funerary
festivities. Therefore it comes as no surprise to us that
so much attention was paid to the whole idea of death and
the implications involved with it. The present paper will
deal with one particular aspect of the so-called ‘death
cult’ among the Aztecs, which concerns the disposal
of the dead and the supernatural and cosmological ideology
behind it.
The
Day of the Dead
Mexico
honors those gone but not forgotten. More here:
http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/muertos.html
Mongolians
After the
Revolution of 1921 Mongolians started to change their burial rites...
Native
American
A Native American
Lesson in Grief
One of the most common questions that family and friends ask
is how long does it take to "get over" the death
of a loved one. Native American culture holds many lessons
about grief and its duration. The Native American legend of
the Caterpillar people holds lessons for us all in grief.
This legend is traditionally told during funeral services
of the Shoshone.
Lakota
Tribe
Funeral and
grieving rituals from the Native American Culture are diversed
and profound. The Lakota, a plains tribe who once inhabited a
large portion of the central northern plains, pays tribute to
the soul of the deceased with rituals seeped in tradion.
Quaker
My interview
was with Ellen Louise Black (a pseudonym) a retired home school
social worker. Her cultural difference is Quaker religion, yes,
they still exist in Richmond, IN. She is a mother of three and
is about 70 years old. She is from a family in Iowa and has a
heritage of Quaker beliefs...
Roman Catholic
Catholic Register.
Just what are the church’s rules about funerals? Here’s what the
1983 Code of Canon Law has to say on the subject...
http://www.catholicregister.org/1999/special/hallowed/hallowed6.html
The Catholic
church may provide funeral rites for those who die by suicide.
The church recognizes the delicate situation: We do not condone
suicide, but we do pray for the dead..
http://www.rpinet.com/ml/2503bi1.html
Planning the
Funeral Rites of the Church. The Church recognizes that the occasion
of the family's first viewing of the body of the deceased at the
funeral home can be an emotionally difficult time. Accordingly,
the Church provides a brief prayer service to support you at the
time of the first viewing of the deceased at the funeral home...
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Garden/9699/funeral.htm
Russian
In Russia there is a unique tradition surrounding funeral
proceedings. It is as follows:
When a person dies, the family is required to invite many
guests to their home to come and say farewell to their friend.
If a priest is nearby, he may say a blessing at this event.
Most Russian villages are too small to have a priest or a
church so the blessing is said by the family.
Singapore
Funeral
customs & the wake
The burial of the dead (cremation is traditionally uncommon)
is a matter taken very seriously in Chinese societies. Improper
funeral arrangements can wreak ill fortune and disaster upon
the family of the deceased.
Traditional
Chinese
On the passing
away of the father, the eldest son becomes the head of the family.
If the eldest son passes away, his second brother does not assume
leadership of the family. Leadership passes to the eldest son
of the eldest son or the grandson of the father. He must assume
the responsibilities and duties to the ancestors on behalf of
the family...
Victorian
Mourning Customs
Victorian
Mourning Customs from Collier's Cyclopedia published in 1901.
During times of health and happiness, it is perhaps rather trying
to be asked to turn our thoughts into doleful channels; but sooner
or later in our lives the sad times comes, for "Who breathes must
suffer, and who thinks must mourn," and we have perforce to to
turn our minds to the inevitable and share "the common lot of
man"...
Vietnamese
The Vietnamese
attach great importance to two traditional family obligations
– to care for their parents in their old age and to mourn them
in death...
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