Chaptr-13
Funeral
The care of funeral, the manner of burial the pomp of obsequies, are rather a consolation to the living than any service to the dead.
– St. Augustine of Hippo
A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, respecting, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. The word funeral comes from Latin funus, which had a variety of meanings including the corpse and the funerary rites themselves. Funerary rites are as old as the human culture itself, predating modern homo sapiens, to at least 300,00 years ago.
Religious Funerals
Hindu Funeral
Hindu funeral rites, sometimes referred as Antim Sanskar (last rites), is an important sacrament of Hindu society. Hindus believe in reincarnation and view death as the soul moving from one body to the next on its path to reach Nirvana. Death is a sad occasion but a funeral for an old person is as much a celebration as a remembrance service.
Traditionally, a Hindu dies at home. Nowadays many, especially the richer class, are dying in the hospitals. Knowing the merits of dying at home among the loved ones, Hindus bring the ill home. When death is imminent, kindred are notified. Family member keep vigil until the great departure, singing hymns, praying and reading scripture.
After death, the corpse is bathed and dressed in white, signifying purity. The body is decorated in sandal wood paste, flowers and garlands. Most upper castes Hindus cremate their dead, believing that burning of a dead body signifies the release of the spirit. The chief mourner, usually the eldest son, will light some kindling and circle the body, praying for the well being of the departing soul. After about 12 hours after the cremation members of the family return to the cremation ground to collect the ashes. Ashes are usually thrown into the Holy River like the Ganges or into a local holy river or the ocean.
The usual mourning period lasts for 13 days. During this period friends will visit and offer condolence. On 3rd, 5th, 7th or 9th day, relatives gather for a meal of the deceased’s favorite foods. On the 11th day a memorial service is held at home. The house is thoroughly washed and cleaned. A priest purifies the home. At the yearly anniversary of the death, a priest conducts the Shradha (rites for the deceased), rites. Shrada is a ritual performed for one’s deceased ancestors, especially parents. This ceremony is performed yearly as long as the son of the deceased are alive or for a specific period.
Buddhist Funeral
Among Buddhists death is regarded as an occasion of major religious significance both for the deceased and for the survivors. For the deceased it marks the moment when the transition begins to a new mode of existence within the round of rebirths. For the living ceremonies marking another’s death are reminder of life’s impermanenance, a fundamental aspect of Buddha’s teaching. In Mahayana traditions cremation is the common practice, with occasional mummification. In Tibetan traditions, the Tibetan Book of the Dead is read to the dying person. Great masters are often cremated, and their ashes stored as relics in stupas. In Tibet, firewood was scarce, and the ground often not suitable for burial, so the unusual practice of feeding the body to vultures or other animals developed. Known in Tibetan as jhatar (meaning “Alms to the Birds”), this practice is known as the ‘sky burial”. One can see this also as an offering to these birds, a last act of generosity and detachment to one’s own body.
Western Funerals
Ancient Greece
The Greek word for funeral (Kedeia)-derives from the verb, Kedomai, that means attend to, to take care of someone. The ancient Greek funeral since the time of Homer included the prosthesis, the ekphora, the burial and perideipnon. Prothesis is the deposition of the body of the deceased on the funeral bed. Today, the body is placed in the casket. The casket is always open in Greek funerals. An important part of the Greek tradition is the epicedium, the mournful songs that are sung by the family along with professional mourners (who are extinct in modern era). The deceased was watched over by his family the entire night before the burial, which is maintained still.
Ekphora is the process of transport of the mortal remains of the deceased from his house to the church. The procession in the ancient times, according to the law, should have passed silently through the streets of the city. After the ceremony, the mourners return to the house of the deceased for the peridepnon, the dinner after the burial.
Two days after the burial, a ceremony called the thirds; would take place, while eight days after the burial a ceremony called “the ninth” would take place. During “the third” and “the ninth” the relatives and the friends of the deceased would assembled at the burial spot. This custom is maintained until today. In addition to this, in the modern era, memorial services take place 40 days, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 1 year after the death and from then on every year on the anniversary of the death.
In ancient Greece, burial was common from 3000 B.C – 100 B.C. The cremation of the dead that appeared around 11th century BC was probably an influence from the East.
Ancient Rome
Funerals of the socially prominent were usually undertaken by professional undertakers called Libitinari. The funeral rites usually included a public procession to the tomb or pyre where the body was to be cremated. The most noteworthy thing about the procession was that the survivors wore masks bearing the images of the family deceased ancestors. Mimes (a performance without words), dancers, and musicians, and professional female mourners, took part in these procession.
Nine days after the disposal of the body, by burial or cremation, a feast was given and wine poured over the grave or the ashes. During this nine-day period, the house was considered to be tainted. At the end of the period, the house was swept out symbolically purge it of the taint of death.
Several Roman holidays commemorated a family’s dead ancestors, including the Parentalia held February 13 through 21, to honor the family ancestors.
The Romans commonly built tombs for themselves during their lifetime. The tombs of the rich were usually constructed of marble, the ground enclosed with walls and plated with trees.
Jewish Funeral
The Jewish funeral consists of a burial, also known as interment. Cremation is not acceptable. Burial is considered to allow the body to decompose naturally (dust to dust): therefore embalming is forbidden. Prior to burial the dead body is washed, ritually purified and dressed. Burial takes place in as short an interval of time after death as possible. This traditions practice may have originated from the fact that Israel was, and is, a country with hot climate. In Biblical times, there were few ways of keeping the dead body from decomposing. Allowing the dead of any person to decompose would be showing that person great disrespect. Thus, it became customary to bury the dead as soon as possible. There is no viewing of the body (unlike Christian) and no open casket at the funeral. In Israel, the Jewish funeral service usually starts at the burial ground. In the United States and Canada, the service begins either at a funeral home, synagogue (Jewish temple) or at a cemetery.
A hesped is a eulogy, and it is common for several people to speak at the funeral ceremony. When the funeral service has ended, the mourners come forward to fill the grave.
The first stage of the mourning lasts for seven days and is called Shiva (Hebrewseven). During this period, mourners traditionally gather in one house and receive visitors. The mourning family will often avoid any cooking and cleaning during the shiva period. Those responsibilities become those of visitors. The thirty-day period following burial is known as Shlohim (Hebrew-thirty). During Sholohim, a mourner is forbidden to marry, or attend religious festivals or shave. Those mourning a parent additionally observe a twelve-month period, counted from the day of death. During this period, most activity returns to normal, although the mourners continue to recite the mournier’s Kaddish (Jewish prayer praising God) as a part of synagogue services for eleven months.
Traditional Western Christian Funerals
Within the United States, Canada, and Western European countries, the funeral rituals can be divided into three parts: visitation, funeral and the burial service.
Visitation
At the visitation (also called a “Viewing”, “Wake” or “Calling hours”), in Christian or secular Western custom, the body of the deceased person is placed on display in the casket (also called a coffin). The viewing of the body takes place on one or two evenings before the funeral. The body may or may not be embalmed (prepared for preservation with chemical and spices), depending on the wishes of the family. The viewing is either “open casket” or “closed casket”. In cases when the coffin is closed, a picture of the deceased is placed atop the casket. The viewing typically, now-a- days takes place at a funeral home. The viewing may end with a prayer service.
Funeral
A memorial service, often called a funeral, is often officiated by a clergy. A funeral may take place at either a funeral home, church, crematorium or cemetery chapel. The date of the funeral is chosen by the family. Funeral services commonly include prayers, reading from a sacred text (Bible), hymns and words of comfort by the clergy. Frequently, a relative or close friend(s) will be asked to give an eulogy, which details happy memories and achievements. The common open casket service allows mourners to have one last opportunity to view the deceased and say goodbye.
Burial Service
A burial service is conducted at the site of the grave or cremation. Sometimes, the burial service will immediately follow the funeral. The funeral procession travels from the site of the memorial service to the burial site. According to most religions, coffins are kept close during the burial ceremony.
In many traditions, a meal often follows the burial or the funeral service, at deceased’s home, or church or at a reception hall.
Memorial Services
The memorial service is a service given for the deceased when the body is not present. The service takes place after burial at sea, after donation of the body to an academic or research institution, or after the cremated remains have been scattered, or when the body is not recoverable. These services often take place at a funeral home, school, work place, or other location of some significance. A memorial service may include speeches (eulogies), prayers, poems, or songs to commemorate the deceased. Public memorial services are often held for deceased important public officials or persons.
Islamic Funerals
Funerals in Islam (called Janazah in Arabic) follow fairly specific rites, though they are subject to regional interpretation and variation in custom. In all cases, however, sharia (Islamic religious law) calls for the burial of the body, preceded by a simple ritual involving bathing and shrouding of the body (wrap the body in a white cotton sheet), followed by prayer (Salat). Cremation of the body is forbidden.
Burial rituals should normally take place as soon as possible and include:
- Bathing the dead body.
- Enshrouding dead body in a white cotton or linen cloth.
- Funeral prayer.
- Burial of the body in a grave.
- Positioning the deceased so that the head is faced towards Mecca (Makah Al-Mukarramah).
Cremation
People are increasingly choosing cremation as a method of disposition of the dead body. Cremation can take place after traditional funeral services are held or the body can be cremated immediately in a direct cremation, with memorial service held afterward. Cremation can be a less expensive alternative to a traditional burial because some charges associated with traditional burial can be eliminated (embalming, flowers, purchase of grave site).
Entombent
The process of entombing a dead person is much the same as for earth burial, except that the remains are held in an above-ground depository, called mausoleum or tomb. Entombment was common in Ancient Rome. The mausoleum can be very simple or as grand as the Taj Mahal.
Anatomical Gift
A way of avoiding some of the rituals and costs of a traditional funeral is for the decedent to donate some or all of her/his body to a medical school for the purpose of anatomical dissection and teaching. Medical students and surgical residents study anatomy by dissecting donated cadavers. All medical schools rely on the generosity of “anatomical donor” for the teaching of anatomy and surgery.
Typically the remains are cremated once the dissection is done. Most medical schools now hold a memorial service at the time of cremation and invite the families. Making an anatomical donation is a separate transaction from being an organ donor. It needs little more paper works.
Summary
Funerals vary from religion to religion and culture to culture but the similarities are striking. However, all funerals follow certain rituals that allow people to express their feeling of loss. Rituals are important because they give a formal outlet for our emotions. Many people who are in mourning feel comforted by having rituals that they can count on to pay tribute to their loved ones. As St. Augustine said, funeral is rather a consolation for the living than any service to the dead.
Sources:
- Wikipedia.org/Funerals 1/3/2014
- Wikipedia.org/Funeral-Buddhism 1/9/2014
- Wikipedia.org/Bereavement-in-Judaism 1/14/2014
- Long, Thomas and Lynch, Thomas, “The Good Funeral, Death, Grief, and Community of Care”. Louisville, KY. Westminister John Knox Press, 2013