Funeral Practices and Memorial Rituals

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Funeral Practices and Memorial Rituals

• What do we do after someone dies?

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Funerals as Rituals

• Ritual A symbolic activity performed by a group.
  
• Often done at crucial turning points or during
  crises.
• Provides order and familiarity during a potential
  time of chaos.

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The American Funeral System

• Critiques
• Too expensive in terms of time and energy.
• Distances us from death.
• In support
• Makes sense of a chaotic period.
• Reunites a scattered community.
• Constructive role in grief work (e.g., makes the
  death real).
• General public reports a fairly high level of
  satisfaction with the funeral industry.

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Tasks associated with the funeral ritual

• (1) Disposition of the body for health, social,
  and religious reasons the body must be removed.
  Different traditions, but respect is central in
  all.
• Contemporary American society
• Embalming grew in popularity after the Civil
  War. Removal of bodily fluids and replacement
  with artificial preservatives.
• Prevents the spread of disease and slows decay.
  Allows for open casket viewing.
• Not required by law, but without cant have a
  viewing without.

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(2) Disposal of Body

• Options include in-ground burial, above ground
  entombment, cremation, and donation.
• Burial Variety of waiting periods. Determined
  by religious views (e.g., Judaism requires burial
  within 24 hours), body preparation, gathering of
  family.
• Cremation 1800ºF. Water evaporates, other
  soft-tissue spontaneously combusts. Anything
  remaining is pulverized.
• Account for 25 of deaths now.

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(3) Making real the implications of death

• Allows for recognition and acceptance of death by
  the survivors.
• Seeing the body might make the death seem real.
• Some argue that this is undermined by making the
  deceases look alive and by not allowing people to
  view coffin being placed in ground.

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(4) Activates Social Support

• Family integration we live in a far-flung
  society. Gives everyone a chance to reunite.
• Jewish funeral system lasts almost a year.

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Cemeteries and Memorialization

• Resurgence of entombment and rapid increase in
  cremation.
• Increase in flush to ground markers.
• Makes grounds keeping easier.
• Use of memorial photography and video.
• Provides a tangible memory of the event.