In the Jewish faith, death is seen as a natural process. Jewish rituals surrounding death focus on showing respect for the deceased and consolation for the living. After death, the body is never left alone. The body is laid on the floor, covered, and candles are lit with the “shomerim” meaning “guards” watching over the body. Many Jewish communities have a burial society, called the chevra kaddisha (holy society), that clean the body and wrap the body in a plain linen shroud. The body can not be cremated or embalmed and autopsies are discouraged. Coffins are not required according to Jewish customs, but if one is used, there must be holes drilled into them, so they come in contact with the ground. The dead are placed in a plain casket and buried within 24 hours, before sunset, on the day of death. Jewish mourning traditions begin grief with the tearing of one’s clothing (Rich, 1996). Mourners “cut their clothing with a razor- on the left for a parent; on the right for a spouse, child, or sibling- to symbolize the tear in life that death has produced (cite textbook, pg 358).” After burial of the deceased, a healing meal is made for the family, which is followed by the next phase of mourning, known as shiva. Shiva is a seven day ritual in where mourners sit on low stools or on the floor, do not wear shoes, do not shave, do not work, do not bathe, have sex, or eat meat, and remain in the same clothes they tore at the time of death. Following shiva, mourners do not attend social gathering for 30 days, this is known as shloshim. If someone is mourning a parents death, the “shloshim” is expanded to one year (Rich, 1996).
Funerals are very important ceremonies in Hindu tradition. Hindus see cremation as an act of sacrifice to God and...
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...t, monks will come and recite scriptures while mourners offer gifts. The body if taken to the cremation site on the fourth day while about eight monks carry a long white cord connected to the casket. At the place of cremation, family members take pictures by the casket and walk around the casket three times, symbolizing traveling through the cycle of death and rebirth. Ten “important people” then place a set of yellow robes on the white cord, after, the senior monk collects them. Buddhist tradition calls this symbolically contemplating the dead, which “brings merit to those who provide opportunity for the monks to do so (Cite text pg 366).” After the cremation the remaining ashes and bones are “made into the shape of a human being with the head facing east.” The remains are then put in a reliquary built in the monastery. Grief is not stressed in Buddhist ceremonies.
“In most human society's death is an extremely important cultural and social phenomenon, sometimes more important than birth” (Ohnuki-Tierney, Angrosino, & Daar et al. 1994). In the United States of America, when a body dies it is cherished, mourned over, and given respect by the ones that knew the person. It is sent to the morgue and from there the family decides how the body should be buried or cremated based on...
When someone dies their bones are burned and crushed into ash and consumed by the relatives. It puts a persons soul at peace to find a resting place within their family, it would be an abomination to bury them in the ground. Once this ceremony is finished the person is gone. Their name or person is never to be mentioned again.
Funerals have been around as long as humans have. “Research indicates that as far back as 50,000 years ago, man exhibited concern for the dead” Lensing (2001) stated. The Egyptians, Greeks and Romans also had rituals about death and the possibility of an afterlife. The Middle Ages society was one of the first socities to accpet the idea that death was a part of life and that all people had to die. Also during the Middle Ages, rituals of mourning became evident. In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the mourning rituals became more elaborate. The rituals included ornate tombstones and a plethora of mourning paraphernalia Lensing (2001).
As all humans are well aware death is inevitable. Human cultures and death have always been closely knit together. Varying between location, time, and struggles you may notice societies adopt and update their cultures and as these cultures change it sometimes if reflected by how a civilization honors their dead. In fact, the way a civilization’s way of honoring their dead is very important to historians and archeologists as they help put together pieces regarding religion, the civilizations stance on mortality, art style and tell stories that can further clarify history. The topic of death is an extremely broad subject having many confusing and sometimes hard to notice difference that are hard to distinguish. An example of this might be Greek
Without advanced medicine, Americans were familiar with death, as the common cold could easily turn fatal. After the death of a loved one, the family members would give the body a bath and store it in the coldest room of the house to prevent immediate decomposing. The body would only stay in the house until people had time to visit and say their goodbyes. The smell was unpleasant, so flowers would be brought in. This initiated the tradition of having flowers at a funeral. After that, the body would be buried next to other deceased family members in a simple, wooden coffin. For those that could afford it, an undertaker was hired to take away the body and hold a formal funeral. The undertaker would store bodies on blocks of
"Grieving and death rituals vary across culture and are heavily influenced by Religion (Medscape)." Cross cultural beliefs, ceremonies, and rituals allow for the deaths of individuals to be encompassed in a more organized social order (Death and Dying, A sociological perspective). The religious rituals encountered are often influential in funeral arrangements and grieving behaviors. On a sociological level, we can interpret these things in a more objective way. I believe that in order to understand religion and culture: we must first understand the concepts that may be seen as highly influential. These concepts include religion and culture in association with social class, social norms, social reality, and class systems. The two religions I found most interesting were Hinduism and Buddhism.
According to a study, many difficult cultures have the tendency to establish their methods of coping, whether it is through religion, culture, or/and personal ideologies (Chen, 2012). Mourning and burial ceremonies play a pivotal role for Lossography due to individuals having the ability and liberty to express melancholy and sometimes jubilation during the times they once had with their loved one. These types of beliefs and practices used as coping mechanisms can be very meaningful and profound for the comfort of the individual who’s going through a mournful experience (Chen, 2012). These types of coping mechanisms is important for Lossography, due to the fact that individuals are able to convey emotions through traditional practices, archaic arts and crafts, and spiritual rituals to fully find meaning with the death of their loved one. In addition, having established beliefs can definitely change the perception of what death signifies based upon religious and cultural expectations of the afterlife. However, not all cultures and religions put much emphasis into the afterlife. For instance, the monotheistic religion Judaism does not contain any interpretation of what happens after someone dies. Judaists believe that nothing happens after death, death is considered a taboo and not something that is commonly talked about for these religious individuals. Lossography, in religion may take on many forms for how death is perceived and for what actions can people take to ensure that their death will bring them to a place of peace, joy, and everlasting life. Lossography regarding religion, gives individuals hope that death is not the end, it gives them hope that knowing that person may not be here with us in the flesh, but that person is somewhere smiling down. Lossography in religion,
Death is an issue for all cultures and religions around the world. Most people fear this thing we call death because it brings out emotions in us all such as fear, sadness, and worry. Any man or woman is fated to encounter death at some point in their lifetime. Sometimes death can be caused by a natural disaster like a flood or earthquake. Sometimes, though, it can happen through man-made disasters like war, traffic accidents, and murder. Though all these different scenarios could happen there is always one ultimate price at the end for everyone, and that is death. Tibetan Buddhism is a belief of many in China, but the celestial burial is a practice so many choose to participate in. Sky burial is a disposal
After the death of a person the eyes are closed, so the person can finally rest in peace. Some Jews place the body of the deceased on the floor immediately after death. This is done to cool the body to slow the deterioration of the body and also fulfill the biblical prognostication "for dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return"(Genesis 3:19). A candle is then lit and placed near the corpse head to show respect to the soul that departed. In the past twenty-six candles were light around the body; twenty-six is the Jewish numerical number meaning "God." Today this is done only to show respect to the dead. Jewish people treat a close family members death similar to Americans. Relatives and friends of the deceased feel great distress, sorrow, and pain.
When death occurs, the body is prepared for viewing. People of the same gender prepare the body by laying their “hands across the chest, closing the eyelids, anointing the body with oil, and placing flower garlands around it.” (Leming & Dickinson, 2011, pg. 384). According to Leming and Dickinson, Hindus believe that cremation is “an act of sacrifice” because they are offering their body to God. The body is usually cremated on the bank of a sacred river. The book, Understanding dying, death, and bereavement offers an “invocation” that would be close to what a priest would recite, “Fire, you were lighted by him, so may he be lighted from you, that he may gain the regions of celestial bliss. May this offering prove auspicious.” Leming and Dickinson (2011) state that between 10-31 days post cremation, a feast (shraddha) is shared among mourners and priests. Shraddhas can last hours to days, depending on the wealth of the family. Once this shraddha is over, the mourning period comes to a close. It is said that the funeral is the second most important ritual, following a wedding, and that many families spend all the money they have on them, leading to impoverishment (Leming & Dickinson, 2011, p.
The subject of death and dying can cause many controversies for health care providers. Not only can it cause legal issues for them, but it also brings about many ethical issues as well. Nearly every health care professional has experienced a situation dealing with death or dying. This tends to be a tough topic for many people, so health care professionals should take caution when handling these matters. Healthcare professionals not only deal with patient issues but also those of the family. Some of the controversies of death and dying many include; stages of death and dying, quality of life issues, use of medications and advanced directives.
Funeral ceremonies are another important time for ceremonies, it is for the death of a person. People would paint themselves white, cut their own bodies to show their sorrows for the loss of their loved one (s). Then they would conduct a series of rituals, songs and dances, this is to ensure the person’s spirit leaves the area and returns to its birth place. The primary burial is when the body is laid out on an elevated wooden platform, covered in leaves and branches.
While the end of life experience is universal, the behaviors associated with expressing grief are very much culturally bound. Death and grief being normal life events, all cultures have developed ways to cope with death in a respectful manner, and interfering with these practices can disrupt people’s ability to cope during the grieving
While the Church offers comfort to those mourning the death of their loved ones that is not the primary purpose of the rites. Schmemann also explains this issue when he states that the job of religion is to comfort people, but the job of Christianity is to reveal truth (99). The truth is Christ Himself, who reveals to us the opposition of death. Therefore, Christianity doesn’t intended to reconcile us to death, but rather to Christ Himself. The prayers of the burial clearly proclaim this message, “I am an image of thy glory ineffable, though I bear the brands of transgressions…O Master purify him (her)…and grant unto me the home country of heart’s desire, making me again a citizen of Paradise.” The prayer then continues, “didst honor me with thine image divine, but because I had transgressed thy commandments hast returned me again unto the earth from which I was taken: Restore thou me to that image, and to my pristine beauty.” (Hapgood 379). In Christ we are able to finally attain the true reconciliation that we lost at the fall. It is evident that in no way death is treated as a normal event. Rather we contemplate on our renewal and reconciliation to what we once were. We had been made in that divine image and in paradise and we are desiring to return back to this state. However, it would be a mistake to think we are able to return to this state
Death is something that causes fear in many peoples lives. People will typically try to avoid the conversation of death at all cost. The word itself tends to freak people out. The thought of death is far beyond any living person’s grasp. When people that are living think about the concept of death, their minds go to many different places. Death is a thing that causes pain in peoples lives, but can also be a blessing.