The Loss Of A Loved One

One of the main purposes of this paper is to define death rituals and why it is so important for people to perform them. It is also important to understand that not mater the differences in background, religion, social status or heath, everyone is prone to participating in the rituals. According to Reeve, (2011) the definition of death related rituals are a “ceremony, directly involving at least one person and the symbols of the loss and, usually, directly and indirectly involving others. The ritual involves heightened meaning and emotion and is often experienced as spiritual. It is focused around a specific situation or event and involves out-of-the ordinary activities.” As part of this definition of death ritual, it is important to understand that every

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

There are many different types of people in the world. Different hair color, skin color, languages, religions, talents, etc. but there is one thing we all have in common, we all die. There is no one who can out run the long arm of death. People can however, have different attitudes and feelings towards death. For example, “Some of us know for sure that death is the implacable enemy of life. Others of us know for sure that death is the portal though which we enter a higher form of existence,” (Kastenbaum, 2012, p. 38). With these different feelings about death come different ways to mourn or celebrate the life of those lost. In Tibet there is a ritual performed by Tibetan Buddhist known as “Sky Burials”. The purpose of this paper will be to discuss the details of this ritual and where it originated.

The Buddhists believed that body of a dead person should be removed with dignity and be treated properly out of respect for the memory of what the deceased person had done when he was alive. His past action (Karma) will determine what his future life will be. In Buddhism death is not being called to eternal rest to lie in the bosom of the creator god “but a continuation of a process in another form of life. As far as Buddhists are concerned, there should be no religious reason to object to this practice. In fact, if such a post mortem could help the living by providing members of the medical profession with more information which could enable them to cure diseases it should be considered an act of merit on

In this paper, we will discuss the different death rituals performed in different cultures. We view death rituals from Native Americans, Africans, those of the Chinese decent, and endocannibalism from the Fore tribe of Papua New Guinea. Death is universal to all people in every culture. Responses to how one deals with death and dying differ greatly. Death rituals are usually based on beliefs. This can come from religion, history, language, and art.

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 biggest stressor in a family’s experience is a death. Stress levels can be different if deaths are sudden or even if the death was known to be coming. Also, at different ages the stressors of a death in the family can differ greatly. The experiences of a death of a child, death of a sibling, death of a parent, and/or death of a spouse/partner all have similarities and differences.

Every individual experiences the act of death, and most persons experience the death of someone they know of. Whether family, kin, or someone infamous, the living deal with the process of dying. Anthropology seeks to understand the universal process of death ritual and how different cultures deal with death differently. An anthropologist can extract social values of a given culture, past or present, from how death ceremony is practiced. Such values could be regarding political hierarchy or an individual’s status in a society, and about a culture’s spiritual or religious faith. By exploring death ceremony in ancient Egypt, contemporary Hindu death practice in India, and current North American funerary rites, it can be illustrated that

An Egyptian funerary ritual consists of death and the soul’s journey to the afterlife. Historian Bunson once said, ”Eternity was the common destination of each man, women and child in Egypt”, however, not an Egypt in the clouds or sky, but one that mirrored one’s life on earth. The Fields of Reeds was the Egyptian afterlife which was a perfect reflection of the deceased’s life on earth. These burial rites were practiced as early as 4000 BCE and help reflect this vision of eternity. Next was the mummification process, which was practiced in Egypt as early as 3500 BCE. After a person had died, the family would bring the body to embalmers. Then the embalmers would offer three choices to the bereaved. The first was (Ikram, 53) which involved the family agreeing upon a price and leaving the task to the embalmers. For ( Ikram, 53) the embalmers would have the internal organs removed, to help preserve the body. Then the organs were put in jars and left in tomb with the wrapped body. The second chose was (Osiris) and it was the most expensive of the three choices. If this process is chosen the body is laid out on a table and the brain is extracted from the body, before they deceased is wrapped and buried. The last choice of the three is (Nardo, 110) which represents the cheapest of them all. In this choice nothing was removed from the body, the embalmers would simply wash out the intestines

Egyptian Mummification and the Afterlife The study of humans is commonly known as anthropology. One major topic of humankind that anthropologists study is culture. Culture is described as the beliefs, customs, arts, etc. of a particular society, group, place, or time.

Loss, transitions, and grief affect all people young and old. Losses and grief can be a result of unemployment, miscarriage, loss of hearing or vision, loss of physical or cognitive abilities, infertility, cancer, illness, moving, ending a relationship, not receiving a promotion, becoming an empty nester, a rejection letter from a university, and numerous other losses. Hayhoe (2006), states a period of change as a transition, which is determined by an individual’s own perception whether it is good or bad (p. 63). “All transitions bring a sense of loss for the old path and uncertainty about the new path” (Hayhoe, 2006, p.64). Specifically, Hayhoe studied the effects of unemployment on people. The research found “unemployed individuals show

The children will invite a monk at the request of the parent to recite scripture and mantra to ensure a serene and peaceful death. After the person is declared dead, the Buddhist believe that consciousness may remain in the body for approximately three days, therefore, the body is not touched or moved.

My interest in the issues of grief and loss is to learn as much as I can to help others as well as myself. I am not completely healed from my grandmothers loss, but I am getting there. I know many people who are not even close to acceptance. Their losses took a toll in their lives and can’t seem to find a way out. I want to be able to help them find a way out. My personal goals for this course is to fully comprehend loss and what it does to people. Everyone is different when it come to dealing with loss. I want to be knowledgeable to help those who are not.

Traditionally, Japanese people have multiple celebrations: tea ceremonies, kimono, and religious burial practices, including prayers, wakes, and purification of the dead. Main religions that are still originating in Japan are Buddhism, Shintoism, and Christianity (Adams, Henry). In Japanese families, religion affiliation reflects how they abide and fit within the society and what they practice and value. The two main belief systems follow Buddhism or Shintoism; the beliefs in both are so similar that in some circumstances they are hard to differentiate. “Buddhism adheres to a sense of non-violence, unselfishness, and mental peace. The main idea of life and death revolves around the terms ‘Near Shore’ and ‘Far Shore,’ which refers to the land of the living and the land of the dead and Kami (Gods) (Adams, pg. 1, 2015).” Moreover, they believe that death will eventually induce to enlightenment. Many practices of Buddhism affect the ritual of burial of a loved one. A Japanese funeral

It was said that a monk, named Phra Mahabut, was required to help appease the spirit of Mae Nak and eventually perform exorcism. The temple Wat Mahabut was named after him, and where the Mae Nak shrine is. Bouté (2012) explains that Buddhist monks traditionally perform funeral rituals for those with a ‘good’ death, whilst spirit priests would perform rituals for those who died in a ‘bad’ death. Over the years, monks begin to lead a ‘second funeral’, or a ‘specific ceremony’ for those with a ‘bad’ death. It is interesting that a more explicit definition of a ‘bad’ death, which includes ‘children under ten, women who die in childbirth and those who die a violent death’ (Bouté, 2012). Bouté (2012) further provides insights on what happens to the bad dead by explaining that they are buried, instead of the usual cremation. This coincides with the legend of Mae Nak where she was buried with the help of villagers. It is implicitly suggested that part of the reason why Mae Nak was malevolent and wrathful was because there was no proper ceremonies to appease her (Ladwig & Williams,