DEATH RITUALS

Death Rituals

Death Rituals

Introduction

Festivals and rituals have played an important role in developing an understanding of the social network of societies. They have existed since the dawn of humankind and remain vital to civilization today. Their role is recognized by anthropologists as central to the understanding of human culture, customs, and beliefs; as such, anthropologists have studied festivals and rituals ever since anthropology emerged and developed as a scientific field of study in the second half of the 19th century (Alexander, 1997). There is an extensive body of literature and much anthropological debate on how festivals and rituals should best be defined, why they are important, and what kinds of events they may include. In the history of mankind death is a constant that paradoxically has continued to evolve. Death is both a time before which one cannot cheat and a sequence surrounded by mystery. Traditionally it has been seen as a gateway to the beyond, resulting in a system of accompanying gestures and rituals. Although varying throughout history and across cultures. This paper explores the different forms that rituals may take and discusses mechanisms linking death rituals and identity development processes.

Discussion

The term ritual has had many and varying definitions throughout history. The earliest and most basic dictionary entries refer to ritual as “relating to rites or ceremonies”. Further depiction of rituals often described them as established or orderly actions or performances. Festivals and rituals often occur around the major events of the human life cycle. Fertility, childbirth, naming, healing, initiation, adulthood, marriage, death, and funeral rites are just a few examples of this phenomenon (Wagner, 1984). Rituals are often symbolic and are defined as any customary behavior or routine that may vary by location (e.g., manners of greeting), or as prescribed by religious, spiritual, cultural, or political traditions (e.g., rites related to birth or death). Erik Erikson described identity development as occurring along three clusters: society-inward, person-outward, and an interaction between individual and society (Erikson, 1968). Rituals may be analyzed similarly. On a societal level, rituals have the sociological power of making it possible for people to distinguish between groups. On a personal level, rituals determine group affiliation and detail self-identification. From a developmental perspective, studying engagement with rituals contributes to understanding personal identity development and also illustrates how communities maintain cultural cohesion over time (Schwartz, 2001).

Death seems a paradigmatic example of what can be called a "social fact". The meaning of death is socially defined, and the nature of the funerary rituals of grief and mourning reflect the influence of social context in which they occur. Thus, different cultures tackle the problem differently. Small differences are imposed by the very personal concept of death of each. Moreover, the type of death ("good" or "bad" death) is also consistent with a direct burial style (Auger, 2000).

Death is the inevitable fate of all human life and it is natural to panic and distresses their reality, especially when one looks closely at the risk of dying or when it affects ...