Death - Part 2
The "History of Death" by Michael Kerrigan speaks to a question that most of us must each answer (at some point in our lives). What Funeral Rites do we chose for ourselves. Some nuggets follow regarding funeral rites across history, in the near past, and current. |
| 1 |  | Planet Of Zeus
Afterlife
The Ancient Greeks conducted both burial and cremation. For burial, graves were simple - but were decorated with sumptuously carved stone monuments |
| 2 |  | Isaak
Sermonize
The Romans conducted burials - in Cemetaries established outside of City limits. In brief, the dead were banished safely beyond the realm of the living. |
| 3 |  | Poseidotica
Cronicas del Futuro
The Maya's kept their dead at close quarters. Often buried under the home, with the living residing atop their remains. |
| 4 |  | Altin Gun
Alem
The Catalhoyuk, who historically were in modern day Turkey, interred their dead under the floor of their home. Deceased babies and infants were buried at the dirty end of house (e.g., kitchen, living quarters). And the older-aged deceased (i.e., fully-formed) were buried under the ritually clean portion of house. |
| 5 |  | The Funkees
Point Of No Return
In Ghana, two funerals were conducted. The first funeral occurred after death. The second funeral occurred after the flesh had decomposed. Subsequently, the remains were placed within a hall of ancestors. |
| 6 |  | Shakti
Natural Elements
The Hindus conducted cremation over centuries, per Vedic texts written down before 1000 BC. And per directions written in approximately 500 BC. The dead were allowed to decompose, as early signs of transition to another state (i.e., reincarnation) - but were ultimately cremated via the burning of wood and ghee (added to make the fire burn hotter). Ashes were poured into the nearby river. |
| 7 |  | Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
The Greatest Hits of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Historically, Sikhs similarly cremated their dead and poured the ashes into the river. |
| 8 |  | Tibetan Sky Burial
Lamenta
In Tibet, the dead were historically laid on a mountaintop, out in the open, for sky burials. Here the body would be decomposed by animals, vultures, etc. |
| 9 |  | Persefone
Spiritual Migration
Buddhists historically placed the deceased body within a closed coffin and transported it to a place of cremation. A feast followed cremation and at appointed intervals until the mourning cycle was complete. |
| 10 |  | Ramblin' Roze
Old Time Revival
In China, the deceased were buried in tombs, which were constructed per feng shui and guarded by statues of spirit warriors at the entrance to prevent attacks by demons. |
| 11 |  | Church of Misery
Houses of the Unholy
In Japan, the dead were buried in graveyards with constructed shrines. The deceased were awarded special new names - to prevent calling them back (to the land of the living) should their mortal name be mentioned. |
| 12 |  | Om
Pilgrimage
Burial of the dead was a Jewish tradition. The burial took place speedily - either on the day of death or the next day. |
| 13 |  | Ghost (SWE)
Impera
Historically and currently, the Last Sacrament is conducted by Catholics - a final anointment of the body with holy oil to assure the best possible send-off into the beyond. Although historically strictly burial, the Catholic Church dropped objections to cremation in 1963. |
| 14 |  | Allah-Las
Worship The Sun
Muslims conducted burial under an expedited timeframe. The burial was organized as quickly as possible. The deceased' body was ritually washed, by a member of the same sex. Subsequently, the dead was buried in a grave without a coffin. Excessive lamentation was discouraged, as it was thought to disturb the dead. |
| 15 |  | Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
In England, funeral rites changed significantly over the years. In the middle ages, the poor were buried in shallow graves until their flesh decomposed, at which point they were dug back up, and the bones placed in a charnel house. Only prominent villagers had permanent graves in the 16th Century. And in the 17th Century, due to the Bubonic Plague, most dead were buried in a common grave - where both the poor and rich were buried together. |
| 16 |  | Black Sabbath
13
In England, by the 18th Century, burial was being conducted in the churchyard - where the succession of generations could be put on display. Burial occurred per the local hierarchy, with local aristocrats buried in tombs or in vaults below the church, gentry buried in aisles (with memorial tables on the walls), and the prosperous near the doors. The whole village was buried here - which provided a feeling of continuity - as the village was close knit in death as in life. Unfortunately, having a solid mass of decomposing human remains below the feet of service attendees became a health issue. If poor, there was no decent burial - and these dead were either placed in coffins into deep pits (with up to 17 or 18 others) or their bodies sold for medical research. |
| 17 |  | Solace
Further
In America, death was experienced as a communal event. Neighbors would historically gather at the bereaved house for comfort. Prior to the 19th Century, neighbors and family helped lay out the corpse - washing it, trimming untidy hairs, and providing a final shave (to a man). Only in the 19th Century did funeral services become professionalized - and this was primarily in the Cities only. However, at this time, there was no embalming and the poor were wrapped in winding sheets. The body was displayed in the best room in the house before burial within a soft pine wood coffin. The town would typically observe the coffin transported to the graveyard - and prior, the Scotch-Irish would hold wakes. |
| 18 |  | Living Colour
Time's Up
Most funerals in America occurred during the day. Pre-Civil War, African Americans held their funerals at night by the flickering light of torches - as the hours of darkness provided them their only autonomy. Funeral rites typically involved loud singing. |
| 19 |  | Embalmer
Emanations from the Crypt
Post Civil War - enter the Enbalmer. Embalming, an expensive process, was conducted to hold back the process of decay - so that people could visually see the deceased' body before their loved one was laid to rest. Embalming was only able to preserve the body up to the funeral and not much later. In the 20th Century, Funerary services were established - some say an industry that preys on ordinary families at their most vulnerable times. This occurred as Death was believed to be dirty - and the presence of death would contaminate the family house. Thus, the body would rest in a funeral home until being laid in the earth. Currently, no normal family takes on funeral responsibilities themselves. |
| 20 |  | Embers from Cremation
Eroding in the Fortress of Time
In the early 1900's, England opened a designated crematorium - which was primarily used by the self-conscious free thinking and forward looking intelligentsia. Although more modern, clean, and convenient than burial; cremation was impeded by the Christian belief in resurrection of the body. Today, nearly 72% or people are burned to ashes - via incineration at temperatures from 1,400 to 2,100 degrees F, which vaporizes soft tissue and reduces bones to ashes. |
| 21 |  | Planning for Burial
How to dress for burial
Environmental concerns exist with both burial (i.e., significant carbon footprint, steel- and hardwood-framed coffins, releases of formaldehyde and nutrients from embalmed bodies) and cremation (toxic emissions from crematoria, ash effects on soil and vegetation). As a result, Eco-Cemetaries are coming into fashion - where the dead can become part of an ecosystem. The deceased body is buried in a biodegradable textile and a cardboard coffin, and the grave may only be marked by a tree or GPS coordinate. The grass in the Eco-Cemetaries is not cut, but instead allowed to be colonized by wildflowers. |
| 22 |  | Cemetary
Last Confessions
More and more people are avoiding the cemetery, as their final destination, and instead choosing to not have any specifically locatable final resting place. For example, cremated ashes were primarily placed into a Garden of Remembrance in the past. But now, 60% of ashes are being released to more personalized locations - at a view or location where that person or their family loved. Thus choosing to have their final destiny evoke specifics of their lifetime. |
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