Cremation versus Earth Burial in African Traditional Setting
It is a normal practice for any human being to be buried when they die, and the process of disposing the body differs depending on personal choice or wish, tradition, or situation at the point of death. The most common methods of disposing bodies are cremation or earth burial. In African traditional setting, earth burial is more predominant, but due to increasing demand for land, cremation techniques which is becoming more popular in developed countries is finding low level of acceptance due to existing traditional belief regarding funeral rites.
Cremation is the use of high temperature burning, vaporization, and oxidation to reduce dead animal or human bodies to basic chemical compounds, such as gases and mineral fragment retaining the appearance of dry bones.
History of cremation
Cremation dates back to the late Stone Age as evidence by finds of decorative pottery urns in western Russia among the Slavic peoples. Modern cremation began after professor Burnetti of Italy displayed his model at the 1873 Vienna Exposition (cremation Association of North America 2002). In 1876, Dr. Julius Lemoyne built the first crematory in the United States in Washington, Pennsylvania. In 1884, the second crematory opened in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Groups behind early crematory openings included protestant clergy who desired to reform burial practices and members of the medical profession who were concerned about the unhealthy conditions around early cemeteries. By 1900, there were 20 crematories in operation in the United States (cremation Association of North America 2002) (History of cremation).
How a dead body is cremated
Cremation of a dead body is carried out at a temperature ra...
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...ey don’t see any reason why a close relative will want him/her to be burn out of existence forever.
The case now is; are the Africans still going to hold on to their tight decision due to their beliefs to embrace cremation of the death at the expense of earth burial even in this age that civilization has given a better option that will not only preserve land which is limited in supply but will eliminate scary tomb stones and reduce funeral cost? I am a Christian and I believe in earth burial, but the fact still remains that if I did not make my burial plan while still alive, then the decision to how I may be buried will solely be left in the hands of the living who will choose whatever is convenience for them. The truth however is that whatever method you choose your remains to be disposed of after death, you have but once to die and after which you exist no more.
“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.
Nebraska gives credit to the Blue Springs Cemetery as the “Oldest Recorded Cemetery” in Nebraska. The first burial and death recorded was that of Allen R. Johnson, on January 25, 1862. Johnson, who drowned in the Big Blue River, died on September 26, 1857 (125 Year). Originally, the Johnson family buried their son in a field on the family farm. They later, after the founding of the cemetery in 1860, exhumed the body and reburied their son in the new cemetery. His death is also marked as the first recorded white death in Gage County (Petersen, Minute Book).
The time period for Egyptian mummification is from their Predynastic Period (4650-3050 BC) until after the New Kingdom (1069 BC-395 AD). The Egyptians believed in Polytheism, which the religion of worshiping more than one god. Since they believed in more than one god, they believed in Osiris, the earthbound god of the dead, and Re, the sun god. These two gods were critical to the Egyptians, because they counted on those two gods to lead people into the afterlife. In order to achieve the afterlife, a proper burial had to take place for the dead. The Table of Sinuhe, a twelfth dynasty text, described the preparation for a funeral for someone who is elite in Egypt, which included: constructing the grave on an elite location, with both a public chapel and a private burial chamber. The Egyptians did this to preserve the name of the deceased, and their objects that were given to the deceased to help guide them to the afterlife. The family of the deceased then needed to choose which of the three embalming processes was right for them. There were three types of mummification processes: there was the most expensive and most elaborate process; the second way contained some of the steps from the first way to embalm a person, but was very limited; and the last way would be the cheapest and least elaborate way to embalm someone. The embalmer was astute man, who was respected and had the same privileges as the priests did. Nevertheless, this belief in life after death affected the population of Egypt and their art, architecture, technology, and their legal practices, which would be that no one could do any damage to a dead body. Historians find all this information from two writers, who wrote different pieces of text on mummification.
They believe that if this is not done, the dead person may become a wandering ghost, unable to properly live after death and ultimately a danger to those who remain alive. African peoples have a common custom of removing the dead body through a hole in the wall of a house instead of through the door. It is said that this will make it difficult for the dead person to remember their way back to the living especially because the hole in the wall is immediately closed. Sometimes the body is even removed feet first. A zigzag path may be taken in order to get to the burial site, or thorns scattered along the way, or even a barrier hoisted at the grave itself because the dead are believed to strengthen the living. Others take special steps to ensure that the dead are easily able to return to their homes. Some people are even buried under or next to their homes. It is believed that at the graves, the spirits hover over on the earth and are restless until they are brought home which is seen as an extremely dangerous situation for the family.Family members even take some of the earth covering the grave and put it in a bottle and proceed home with the assurance that the deceased relative is accompanying them to look after the family as an
This play is ultimately concerned with one person defying another person and paying the price. Antigone went against the law of the land, set by the newly crowned King Creon. Antigone was passionate about doing right by her brother and burying him according to her religious beliefs even though Creon deemed him a traitor and ordered him to be left for the animals to devour. Creon was passionate about being king and making his mark from his new throne. Although they differed in their views, the passion Creon and Antigone shared for those opinions was the same, they were equally passionate about their opposing views. Creon would have found it very difficult to see that he had anything in common with Antigone however as he appears to be in conflict with everyone, in his mind he has to stand alone in his views in order to set himself apart as king. Before he took to the throne Creon took advice from the prophet Tiresias who had so often had been his spiritual and moral compass, and yet in this matter concerning Antigone he will take advice from no one, not from the elders of Thebes, or even his own son Haemon.
The body is taken to the synagogue, there the chevra kadisha starts the purification of the body by washing it from head to toe. This is considered a new transition for the deceased. Some synagogues conduct a taharah during this process. It consists of Torah readings, and other prayers.
were 10 doors and at end there was a statue of Osiris, the god of the
Death is the equalizer of all life. Throughout time people have constructed death in many different ways. For ancient civilizations, such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, Ugarit, Greece, and Rome, death consisted of burial rituals and practices, the construction of monuments, murals, and stele, and offering libations to the dead. These civilizations shared many aspects in their perceptions of death and the afterlife, but those perceptions also varied enough to be individualistic and unique to each civilization. Among the many differences between civilizations’ perceptions, some of the variations involved the location of graves, the type of monuments constructed, the structure of the funeral, and preparation of the dead body for the funeral. The relationship
The funeral ceremonies and burials of the Igbo people are extremely complex, the most elaborate of all being the funeral of a chief. However, there are several kinds of deaths that are considered shameful, and in these circumstances no burial is provided at all. Women who die in labour, children who die before they have no teeth, those who commit suicide and those who die in the sacred month – for these people their funeral ceremony consists of being thrown into a bush.
I have chosen to plan my own funeral and post mortem arrangements with the minimal budget of $2,700. Since I have such limited funds to work I have decided to cremate my body instead of the more traditional burial in a coffin. Cremation is a cheaper alternative to an earth burial, more environmentally friendly, and increasing in popularity throughout the United States. This is a practical choice especially for someone with a small budged, burials in this day and seems more unnecessary and obsolete in a society of growing population and
According to Leming and Dickinson, Hindus believe that cremation is “an act of sacrifice” because they are offering their bodies 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.
The ancient Egyptian burial practices are fundamental to the beliefs of ancient Egyptians. There are many different forms of burial practices; however the main form of practice of ancient Egyptians was the mummification process as seen in source B. Through the use of source B along with other sources, the following response will analyse the ancient Egyptian burial practices.
... In the next portion of my ten page paper, I will explore the other topics stated in my thesis. My final paper will merely be a continuation of the topics that I have written about in this paper. I will explore and go into depth with the topic of human embalmment and its significance to the work of modern medicine today. I would also like to compare modern day embalment for funerals with embalment rituals used in Ancient Egypt.
to the Pet cemetary. Louis answers her honestly and later Rachel and him have an