Culture And Culture: The Funeral Traditions Of Western Culture

At some point in our lives, we all come to realize that death is a part of life. Cultural diversity provides a wide variety of lifestyles and traditions for each of the unique groups of people in our world. Within these different cultures, the rituals associated with death and burial can also be uniquely diverse. Many consider ritualistic traditions that differ from their own to be somewhat strange and often perceive them as unnatural. A prime example would be the burial rituals of the Native American people.

The process begins where the body is taken into an “ibu”, a tent also known as the “place of purification”. That is where the embalmers wash the body in palm wine and rinse it off with water from the Nile. The next step is when one of the men makes a small cut in the left side of the body and removes the liver, lungs, stomach and also intestines. It is important to remove these internal organs because they are one of the fastest to decompose. These internal organs are then washed and packed in natron, a mineral salt that contains hydrated sodium carbonate. The natron will dry out the organs. The heart is not taken out because Egyptians believed that the heart was the center of intelligence and feeling and the body will need it in the afterlife.

These events are taken to extreme measure, making sure every step is taken with care. Theorist Terence Lovat’s theory of the five step approach can be delivered in a Islamic death ritual through the series of events in the lead up and post of the funeral. The preparation of the funeral happens before the death of the person. When the Muslim is dying, someone must firmly but gently prompt the person dying to say the holy declaration prayer, this is called the Shahaada. People can then offer their condolences to the relatives and friends of the deceased, this in Islam is an important act of kindness. The next important factor is the physical cleansing of the body. The bathing of the corpse is an important part of ‘Sunnah the Prophet’, this is a part of the Islamic Shari’ah. The method, the style and the accessories that are used may vary from time to time and from place to place. After the body has been cleansed, the corpse is then wrapped in a plain simple cloth, this cloth is called ‘Kafan’ and the process called ‘Takfeen’. The main factor while wrapping the body is to respectfully cover the private part, so they aren’t visible to others. Islam traditions state that the cloth must be a material must be a gaudy style as well as the cloth not being too flashy, it is for this reason that most muslims pick a white cotton cloth. Perfume is often used on the cloth (Amjad,

African culture demonstrates a strong connection with deceased person, and believes that only a correct burial will bring a dead person peace. People in Africa strongly believe in spiritual life, thus their main goal during burial ceremonies is to address a spirit of a deceased person. An African funeral begins with removal of the body from home, which is done through a previously made hole in the wall of the home. Africans remove a dead body through the hole, instead of a door, to confuse a spirit and make sure that a spirit of a deceased person will not return back home, as a hole in the wall is immediately closed after removal of the body. In effort to confuse a spirit even more, they place thorns and sticks in a zigzag pattern along the way as body being taken to the place of burial.

This knowledge of death is common among many, including both Jewish and Modern Americans. However, even though this idea of inevitable death is noted in both Jewish texts and the Bible, the burial practices are not so similar. Early Jew and Modern American customs differ in terms of preparation of the body, funeral services and burial. Showing respect for the deceased is common among both cultures, however the way respect is shown is key to understanding their customs.

Today the Chinese population still follows these traditions with a few small exceptions of modern times. All elders are given respect in the Chinese society, those living or deceased. There is a question that still remains in this culture on how to prepare a funeral of unmarried adults and children. No respect is given to a person who died as a bachelor or bachelorette, or if they did not have children. They are not considered an elder and do not have children that prepare the funeral for them. Children are also shown no respect because they do not have anyone to prepare their death ritual. They are left at their funeral home and the family members preform these burials in silence. The children in Chinese families prepare funerals for elders. It is considered proper for the children of the deceased to go into debt in order to pay respect for the older people at the funeral. The body of the dead must be washed with care, dusted with talcum powder, and dressed in the nicest clothes from the personal wardrobe before being placed in the casket for burial. All of the other clothing that belongs to the deceased elder must be burned. The deceased is never dressed in red because it is believed that it will turn the corpse into a ghost. The body is placed on a yellow cloth with the face covered, and then the body is covered with a blue cloth. All statues of deities are covered with red paper and all mirrors are removed from site in the home when preparing the home for the death ritual. The mirror is removed so that no one sees the coffin in the mirror. If someone sees the coffin in the mirror, it is believed that you will have a death within your own family soon. A white cloth is hung in the doorway and a gong is placed outside the door of the home of the deceased. If the person who is deceased is a male, it is placed on the left side; if female, it is placed

The body should ideally face in the direction of Mecca. It is a religious requirement that the dead be buried as soon as possible and considerable family distress can be avoided by speedy production of the death certificate. The body will be washed and shrouded in simple unsewn pieces of white cloth. A funeral prayer is held in the local mosque, and family and community members follow the funeral procession to the graveyard where a final prayer is said as 138 the deceased is laid to rest. Events occur in rapid succession Department of Primary Health Care and General Practice, Imperial College School of Medicine, Norfolk Place, London W2 1 PG, UK JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF MEDICINE Volume 91 March 1998 and often the dead will be buried within 24 hours.

The mummification process is done in two phases, the first being embalming and the latter being wrapping and burial. There was a special place for embalming to take place known as the ibu. The ibu was called the place of purification. The first thing the embalmers do is to clean his body with aromatic palm wine and rinse it with Nile water. The next step involves removing all but a select few of the internal organs. The process used to remove the internal organs changed over time and varied with the wealth of the body in question. The heart was left in the body because of its necessity as the focal point of mental and emotional stability. The body’s fluids and rags used in this phase are left with the body for its burial. The body is left for a period of

God. All three religions believe that this God is the origin and source of all that exists. God

Masks of deceased persons are part of traditions in many countries. The most important process of the funeral ceremony in ancient Egypt was the mummification of the body, which, after prayers and consecration, was put into a sarcophagus enameled and decorated with gold and gems. A special element of the rite was a sculpted mask, put on the face of the deceased. This mask was believed to strengthen the spirit of the mummy and guard the soul from evil spirits on its way to the afterworld.

Criticisms of American funeral practices have been made publicly aware since the 1920’s, and actually go back to ancient times in the scope of human’s ceremonies for the dead. Since the first published argument against modern funerals various authors joined the movement publishing their disparagements of customs for the deceased; that in essence contend the grandiosity and lavish displays are merely a social and psychological representation of the monetary opportunity of funerals (DeSpelder & Strickland, 2015, p. 306-307). Even further, regarding the encompassing funeral industry as exploiting grieving loved ones for their financial gains, while disregarding the actual needs of modern society (DeSpelder & Strickland, 2015, p. 307).

This paper explores the many ways cultures deal with death, both before and after. Most cultures have different practices when it comes to rituals before and after death, but some rituals and beliefs are surprisingly similar. When it comes to health care, nurses need to be aware of any cultural needs of a client in this emotional time. Asking questions about what the patient and family want to happen is very important. For example, Muslims would like the same sex washing their loved one, and they would like the family to do it themselves. The nurse needs to know this to provide culturally competent care.

Some ways that Mongolia and American christian funerals are alike is that they both embalm the body before burial. They both have flowers for the funeral. In Mongolia how many flowers they bring is based on whatever class that they are in. Low classes have one flower, middle classes have a few flowers, and high classes have a whole lot of flowers. Another thing that they both believe that there is an afterlife. Also they both have somber occasion. Another thing is that they have respect for the person. Both of them have a will sort of thing. In Mongolia before the person they get to pick a bull to sacrifice when they die. In America you can pick how to do the funeral and where all do your belongings go also you pick where you are buried. In both places they pray during the service. Those are some of the reasons why Mongolia and the United States funeral customs are similar.

Mankind’s history of burial practices and funeral customs are as old as civilization itself. There is no specific way to planning a funeral. Every civilization and culture has provided for their dead in different ways. Religion and personal beliefs play an important role in the burial practices and funeral customs of a given culture or civilization. Furthermore, each civilization and cultured ever studied have three things in common: some type of funeral rites, rituals, and ceremonies; A sacred place for the dead; and memorialization of the dead. As far back as the time of Christ, burials have been noted to take place. In time burial and funeral customs have become very distinct, interesting and

After the funeral, it's time to move the body to the cemetery for burial. It is not recommended for Muslim women to attend burials due to the belief that women will easily break down. A grave is dug deeper than the deceased’s height. The body is laid in the grave facing