 Funeral
Traditions by Country
Funerals in East Asia
In most East Asian, South Asian and many Southeast Asian cultures, the
wearing of white is symbolic of death. In these societies, white or off-white
robes are traditionally worn to symbolize that someone has died and can
be seen worn among relatives of the deceased during a funeral ceremony.
In Chinese culture, red is strictly forbidden as it is a traditionally
symbolic color of happiness. Contemporary Western influence however has
meant that dark-colored or black attire is now often also acceptable for
mourners to wear (particularly for those outside the family). In such
cases, mourners wearing dark colors at times may also wear a white or
off-white armband or white robe. When a coffin is lowered into the ground
the mourners will bow their heads and must not watch the coffin being
lowered into the ground. Sometimes, some members of the procession are
required to turn their backs and not look at the coffin as it is sealed,
entering the carriage, removed from the carriage and entering the ground.
They may also be required to wipe their faces with a white cloth. Paper
money and commodities constructed out of paper and bamboo are often burnt
for the deceased for use in the afterlife.
A traditional Chinese gift to the attendees upon entering is a white
envelope, usually enclosing a small sum of money (in odd numbers, usually
one dollar), a sweet and a handkerchief, each with symbolic meaning. Chinese
custom also dictates that the said sum of money should not be brought
home. The sweet should be consumed the day of and anything given during
the funeral must not be brought home. The repetition of 3 is common where
people at the funeral may brush their hair three times or spit three times
before leaving the funeral to ward off bad luck. This custom is also found
in other East Asian and Southeast Asian cultures.
Most Japanese funerals are conducted with Buddhist rites. Many feature
a ritual that bestows a new name on the deceased; funerary names typically
use obsolete or archaic kanji and words, to avoid the likelihood of the
name being used in ordinary speech or writing. The new names are typically
chosen by a Buddhist priest, after consulting the family of the deceased.
Most Japanese are cremated.
African Funerals
The custom of burying the dead in the floor of dwelling-houses has been
to some degree prevalent on the Gold Coast of Africa. The ceremony is
purely animist, and apparently without any set ritual. The main exception
is that the females of the family of the deceased and their friends may
undergo mournful lamentations. In some instances they work their feelings
up to an ostentatious, frenzy-like degree of sorrow. The revelry may be
heightened by the use of alcohol, of which drummers, flute-players, bards,
and singing men may partake. The funeral may last for as much as a week.
Another custom, a kind of memorial, frequently takes place seven years
after the person's death. These funerals and especially the memorials
may be extremely expensive for the family in question. Cattle, sheep,
goats, and poultry, may be offered in remembrance and then consumed in
festivities.
Some funerals in Ghana are held with the deceased put in elaborate "fantasy
coffins" colored and shaped after a certain object, such as a fish,
crab, boat, and even an airplane.
Funerals in Scotland
An old funeral rite from the Scottish Highlands is to bury the deceased
with a wooden plate resting on his chest. In the plate were placed a small
amount of earth and salt, to represent the future of the deceased. The
earth hinted that the body would decay and become one with the earth,
while the salt represented the soul, which does not decay. This rite was
known as "earth laid upon a corpse".
Mutes and professional mourners
From about 1600 to 1914, there were two professions in Europe now almost
totally forgotten. The mute is depicted in art quite frequently but in
literature is probably best known from Dickens' "Oliver Twist".
Oliver is working for Sowerberry's when this conversation takes place:
"There's an expression of melancholy in his face, my dear ... which
is very interesting. He would make a delightful mute, my love". The
main purpose of a funeral mute was to stand around at funerals with a
sad, pathetic face. The professional mourner, generally a woman, would
shriek and wail (often while clawing her face and tearing at her clothing),
to encourage others to weep. These people are mentioned in ancient Greek
plays, and were employed throughout Europe, but the practice largely died
out in the nineteenth century. They continue to exist in Africa and the
Middle East.
The 2003 award-winning Philippine comedy Crying Ladies revolves around
the lives of three women who are part-time professional mourners for the
Chinese-Filipino community in Manila's Chinatown. According to the film,
the Chinese use professional mourners to help expedite the entry of a
deceased loved one's soul into heaven by giving the impression that he
or she was a good and loving person, well-loved by many.
Funerals for heroes
Viking chieftains were placed in ships after their death, together with
tools and weapons. The ships were then set on a course out to sea and
set ablaze. This is still re-enacted as part of festivals in the north
of Europe, particularly at Up Helly-Aa and the Delamont Viking Festival.
Military heroes such as Nelson, Wellington and Sir Winston Churchill had
their coffins paraded through the city of London, placed on gun carriages.
The guns were originally pulled by horses, but are now pulled by sailors.
This is called a State Funeral.
Final disposition of the dead
Some cultures place the dead in tombs of various sorts, either individually,
or in specially designated tracts of land that house tombs. Burial in
a graveyard is one common form of tomb. In some places, burials are impractical
because the ground water is too high; therefore tombs are placed above
ground, as was the case in New Orleans, Louisiana. Elsewhere, a separate
building for a tomb is usually reserved for the socially prominent and
wealthy. Especially grand above-ground tombs are called mausoleums. Other
buildings used as tombs include the crypts in churches; burial in these
places is again usually a privilege given to the socially prominent dead.
In more recent times, however, hygiene laws have often forbid this.
Burial was not always permanent. In some areas, burial grounds needed
to be re-used because of limited space. In these areas, once the dead
have decomposed to skeletons, the bones are removed; after their removal
they can be placed in an ossuary.
"Burial at sea" means the deliberate disposal of a corpse into
the ocean, wrapped and tied with weights to make sure it sinks. It is
a common practice in navies and sea-faring nations; in the Church of England,
special forms of funeral service were added to the Book of Common Prayer
to cover it. Science fiction writers have frequently analogized with "Burial
in space".
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