The Importance Of Death

All cultures have developed ways to deal with death in a respectful manner. The mix of cultural/religious attitudes and behaviors surrounding death and dying can become very complex (Carteret). When a death actually occurs, some individuals suddenly choose to break with tradition entirely, which often creates chaos within families. Religion can be thought of as a cultural system of meaning that helps to solve problems of uncertainty, powerlessness, and scarcity that death creates (Carteret). When looking at monotheistic religions, Christianity and Islam are two examples. Both Christians and Muslims believe death is a transition to a more glorious place and both believe in the sovereignty of a God in matters of loss. The Koran or Bible are

A central theme in all ancestor worship is that the lives of the dead may have supernatural powers over those in the living world-the ability to curse, give, or take life (Carteret). In some cultures, worship of the dead is important, and includes making offerings of food, money, clothing, and blessings. For example, in China, there is the annual observance of “sweeping the graves” and as its name suggests, it is a time for people to tend the graves of the departed ones (Carteret). In cultures where ancestor worship is common, the acceptance of organ donation and cremation may be

In many countries, family members may become very upset if a physician reveals bad news directly to the patient. So, a key question in cross-cultural health care situations would be: Who do you want me to talk about test results or diagnosis? (Carteret). When it comes to expressing grief, there are many different ways which depends on the culture. In some cultures, showing grief, including wailing, is expected of mourners because the more torment displayed and the more people crying, the more the person was loved (Carteret). This can be related back to “The Andaman Islanders”. The Andamanese strongly believe in weeping at funerals to show their grief, however weeping isn’t all about sorrow. It is also represented by joy, as they also believe in weeping during joyous occasions, such as weddings. The author, Radcliffe-Brown, explains the rite of weeping as being an expression of that feeling of attachment between persons which is of such importance in the almost domestic life of the Andaman society (Radcliffe-Brown, 152). In other words, the purpose of the rite is to affirm the existence of a social bond between two or more persons. Radcliffe-Brown also regards the rite of weeping as being the affirmation of a bond of social solidarity between those taking part in it, and as producing in them a realization of that bond by arousing the sentiment of attachment