Liberian Death Rituals Although most individuals at one point in time of their life will experience death, each individual may have different views on death. How one handles death and bereavement of death can be influenced by many different factors such as tradition, region, religion, or culture. Some individuals may view death as morbid, other individuals may view death as a celebration of life. The Liberian population views death in a positive way, Liberians view death as a "totality of life" (DeSpelder & Strickland, 2015).
Religion in Liberia and Views on Death Liberia lies on the western "bulge" of Africa, this population practices several denominations that may contribute to ones positive outlook on death. Less than twenty percent
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Furthermore, when an individuals dies in Liberia, the deceased family washes the body while the mourners lay their hands on the departed (NewsHour Productions LLC, 2015). Once the ritual ceremony begins the entire community pay homage to the deceased. Women "wail" for the deceased as the men contribute the ceremony by singing and dancing (Minnesota Public Radio, 2015). Just prior to the ceremony ending a bowl is passed around to all the individuals present at the ceremony, fill with water used as ritual hand washing, and each individuals is to kiss the deceased on the forehead. Once the ceremony has ended, the dead body is then wrapped in cloth and buried on the land that adjoins the deceased 's house. The family believes that burring a loved one close to ones home will keep ones spirit alive, and will not be forgotten (Minnesota Public Radio, …show more content…
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Ebola Symptoms are the following: severe headache, fever, muscle pain, fatigue, weakness, diarrhea, abdominal (stomach) pain, vomiting, and unexplained hemorrhage (bleeding or bruising). Symptoms may appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure to Ebola, but the average is 8 to 10 days (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). The remains of a deceased individuals infected with Ebola continues to be contagious with Ebola for up to three days after the individual dies. Ebola lives on through bodily fluids such as: tears, saliva, urine, and blood (The Daily Beast Company LLC, 2014). Furthermore, when one dies the bodily contact continues as the body is washed and “wrapped in a shroud, mat or coffin and placed in the ground by several people, where more contamination is possible” (NewsHour Productions LLC, 2015). These sacred burial rituals have contributed to the spread of the disease named
Mortality, the subject of death, has been a curious topic to scholars, writers, and the common man. Each with their own opinion and beliefs. My personal belief is that one should accept mortality for what it is and not go against it.
In the United States and worldwide people have different culture, beliefs and attitude about death. Over the past years, death is an emotional and controversy topic that is not easy to talk about. Everyone have a different definition of what is death and when do you know that a person is really dead. In the book Death, Society, and Human Experiences by Robert J. Kastenbaum demonstrates that you are alive, even when doctors pronounce you dead.
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.
Death comes to all in the end, shrouded in mystery, occasionally bringing with it pain, and while some may welcome its finality, others may fight it with every ounce of their strength. Humans have throughout the centuries created death rituals to bring them peace and healing after the death of a loved one.
The afterlife can be described as the belief that an essential part of an individual's identity or the stream of any consciousness continues to show after the death of the physical body. In African culture and religion, life does not end with death, but it continues in another realm. The concepts of "life" and "death" are not mutually unique concepts, and there are no clear dividing lines between the two. Death does not end the life or change the personality of that individual, but it does cause a change in its conditions. This is expressed in the concept of the term ancestors. Ancestors are people who have died but who continue to live in the community and communicate with their families in reference to many African cultures. Death is usually
... to social disruption (Death and Dying, A sociological perspective). I was very shocked that mortality hadn 't been brought up. This makes me contemplate whether or not it is due to the private sequence in today 's society. It 's very interesting seeing the differences between American, Hinduism and Buddhism too. Growing up a catholic and being influenced by different people around me, I have conformed to the beliefs that I liked best. However, when we are young we were taught these ways. Until we are old enough to really understand them, we don 't realize how important they are in our perspective of society as we mourn. I also believe that if we are exposed to death when we are younger, we have a different way of coping with it. This study was very successful in helping me understand what constructed our perception of reality in association to religion and death.
Death is part of the circle of life and it's the end of your time on earth; the end of your time with your family and loved ones. Nobody wants to die, leaving their family and missing the good times your loved ones will have once you pass on. In the Mercury Reader, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross “On the Fear of Death” and Joan Didion “Afterlife” from The Year of Magical Thinking” both share common theses on death and grieving. Didion and Kübler-Ross both explain grieving and dealing with death. Steve Jobs commencement speech for Stanford’s graduation ceremony and through personal experience jumps further into death and how I feel about it. Your time is on earth is limited one day you will die and there are many ways of grieving at the death of a loved one. I believe that the fear of death and the death of a loved one will hold you back from living your own life and the fear of your own death is selfish.
Ebola can be spread in a number of ways. Ebola reproduction in infected cells takes about eight hours. Hundreds to thousands of new virus cells are then released during periods of a few hours to a few days. In most outbreaks, transmission from patient to patient within hospitals has been associated within the reuse of needles and syringes. High rates of transmission in outbreaks have occurred from patients to family members who provide nursing care without barriers to prevent exposure to blood, other body fluids such as, vomit, urine and feces. Risk for transmitting the infection appears to be highest during the later stages of illness. Those symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, shock, and frequently hemorrhaging. Even a person who has recovered from the symptoms of the illness may have the virus present in the genital secretions for a short time after. This makes it possible for the virus to be spread by sexual activity. Complete recovery is reached only when none virus’s cells are left in any body fluids. This is quite rare.
nsciousness after death, or maybe a combination of both, which creates this fear. The fear felt is undoubtedly universal. However, the ways in which it is dealt with are varied and diverse. The concept of human mortality and how it is dealt with is dependent upon one’s society or culture. It is the society, which has the greatest impact on an individual’s beliefs.
The symptoms of the two diseases are very different in multiple ways. From the reading, I know that it takes at least three weeks to even show signs of ebola. It takes the red death thirty minutes to show symptoms. Some of the ebola symptoms included chills, dehydration, fever, loss of appetite, nausea, shivering,
In 1976 the first two Ebola outbreaks were recorded. In Zaire and western Sudan five hundred and fifty people reported the horrible disease. Of the five hundred and fifty reported three hundred and forty innocent people died. Again in 1995 Ebola reportedly broke out in Zaire, this time infecting over two hundred and killing one hundred and sixty. (Bib4, Musilam, 1)
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.
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
The concept of human mortality and how it is dealt with is dependent upon one’s society or culture. For it is the society that has great impact on the individual’s beliefs. Hence, it is also possible for other cultures to influence the people of a different culture on such comprehensions. The primary and traditional way men and women have made dying a less depressing and disturbing idea is though religion. Various religions offer the comforting conception of death as a begining for another life or perhaps a continuation for the former.
Death is inescapable for all living beings. It is the one commonality all cultures share. It is an equalizer in a world of diversity. Although death itself is absolute, the practices which surround death are varied and complex from culture to culture and individual to individual. As Mike Parker Pearson elaborates: