Death And Burial Rituals

The two cultures that I decided to compare and contrast is the Mexican culture and ancient Egyptians. Mexicans have embraced death as a part of life. The Mayan and Aztecs practiced human sacrifices which gave and example of acceptance of death. In Mexico when a loved one passed on to a better life the viewing traditional takes place at the family’s home. A catholic priest comes to the family’s home and leads a mass in honor of the recently departed. The coffin in placed on a table along with candles on the side. After the funeral the family members get together and pray for nine days to guide the deceased into haven and ask forgiveness for their sins.On the other hand Egyptians were buried in pyramids directly in the ground. Often bodies were

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.

Passing away has continuously been to a majority of people a prohibited subject in any conversations. Nevertheless, among African American societies death is one of the essential characteristics of culture. It is established that the manner in which death practices are handled among Africa Americans is completely different from other Americans of a different race. Furthermore, death amid the black populations is not viewed to be the moment of sorrow, but the moment to celebrate because the dead will no longer experience the hardships in the world. Although there is mourning at the funeral since the dead will be greatly missed, this moment is similarly time for celebration .Several African Americans might not be informed that a great number

The eyes of the deceased are closed and the body is laid out with their arms across their chest and head facing Mecca. After family and friends have washed the body, it is wrapped in a white shroud and prayers are said. Contact between the body and non-Muslims is discouraged. If a non-Muslim needs to touch the body, gloves should be worn. Male staff handle male patients while female staff handle female patients.

People here in the United States, tend to discuss the topic of death and burial as little as possible and is something people always put in the back of their mind. They do not think about it or discuss it until the proper moment has come. Someone dies, and we bury them. We do not go to great lengths to almost "drag-out" the experience of death, as other cultures do. There is an American tradition that people visit the person 's grave or other sanctified spaces on occasion, but that 's the extent of our interaction with the dead in American culture. This is also a topic that as Americans, are not discussed. In other places, in other cultures, and in other lives based on how one is raised, people are not always so squeamish about death and have a continuing relationship with the deceased bodies of their family members, friends, and neighbors.

In the funeral world there are a lot of different styles of funerals. For example, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic funerals. Both very different, but at the same time they have several things in common. In funerals there is an abundance of things to compare and contrast. We will be looking at different ways the notification of death is handled in both of these religions, removal, embalming, dressing/casketing, visitation requirements/rituals, and interment or cremation.

Death is part of life in every part of the world, and every culture handles it differently. Just like every other region in the world, the approaches to death in Latin America are unique to the area, and have changed over the years. The Pre-Colonial death rituals in Mexico, Peru, and Haiti each have their own method of addressing this inevitable tragedy. Never the less there are common threads throughout the Aztec, Inca, and Taino peoples. When the Europeans arrived in the Americas the beliefs and assumptions surrounding death changed, along with the rest of the cultural landscape. This tumultuous time eventually led to a very unique heritage for the modern people of Mexico, Peru, and Haiti.

How are the customary funeral and mourning rituals of Judaism, Protestant Christianity, Roman Catholicism, and Islam similar and different? Judaism and Islam have similar funeral practices. Both Islam and Judaism appoint the responsibilities of the burial of the deceased within their communities. Both traditions require the dead be buried as promptly as possible. It is for the body to be buried on the same day of the death. Islam and Judaism forbid embalming and routine autopsies as desecration of the dead. However, both religions consider organ donation as permissible. Muslims are strictly forbidden from the process of cremation, while Jewish rules on cremation can vary depending on the denomination. Conservative Jews oppose cremation while the process has become an increasingly more popular and acceptable practice among Reform Jews.

When seeking to compare my own cultural grieving norms to another culture, traditional Japanese culture comes to mind. I have always been fascinated with Japanese culture and history, and it seems to be vastly different from my own, not only my African American culture, but also that of my individualistic, American culture in general. Japanese mourning rituals are much more communal and shared throughout the community, especially in the family, of the deceased. The main focus of the grieving process is on the spiritual journey of the dead through the afterlife, rather than the on the lives of the living (Tsuji, 2011). Japanese rituals are steeped in tradition that is pasted from one generation to the

Have you ever wondered how other culture’s funerals play out? Diverse cultures have different religions. Therefore, funerals and mourning look different depending on their religion. The Greek, Roman, and Egyptian mourning and funerals are strange, fascinating, and somewhat gross.

Here in the United states it is common to have a funeral, this usually being called a receiving friends and family, where people gather and morn the death of the lost. “The funeral service include prayers; reading from the Bible; hymns; and words of comfort by the clergy” (U.S. Funeral Customs & Traditions). The funeral is often times followed by a burial either same day or soon following and gatherings where people bring food for survivors of the lost. To other countries such as Africa and Scotland, the U.S. probably doesn't give the proper

If the deceased is a male, then a group of men will prepare the body. If the deceased is a female, then the ladies will prepare the body (Soul Talk - The Taharah). According to the ritual laws the body is washed, cleansed, and dressed in a white tachrichin. Tachrichin are burial shrouds made of several linen garments, “which are sewn by hand without hems, seams, pockets or knots” (Witty, Abraham, and Rachel J. Witty).

The fear felt is undoubtedly common, however, the ways in which it is dealt with are varied and diverse. Death comes in different cultures and is celebrated differently around the world. Most cultures have specific and meaningful traditions and customs around death. American culture encompasses the customs and traditions of the United States. The United States is one of the most culturally diverse country in the world.

The Jewish tradition states that all that die should be buried in a plain wood coffin and to be dressed in unadorned white shrouds. In death Jews are all equal. The body is never shown at funerals; open casket rituals are banned by Jewish law. According to Jewish law, revealing a body is considered discourteous, since it allows not

The Dogon people, for example, memorialized the dead by using art in the form of colorful masks worn during a performance at the funerals. Their reasoning for this other than to honor the deceased was to lead their souls to where their ancestors are. This ritual is called a “dama,” and if they failed to do this, the souls of the dead would not be freed to the afterlife. These masks have a more