Aboriginal Death Rituals Essay

Death is universal, and every culture has its own ways of coping with it. Death rituals and grief can range from how someone is laid to rest to how he/she is memorialized. Every culture and religion has a unique way of burying, grieving and memorializing their dearly departed. Personally, the most interesting of rituals come from Native Americans, Tibetan Buddhist, Malagasy people from Madagascar, and Australian aboriginal mortuary rites.
The Native Americans believe that if you hear an owl it may foresee death. The cry of coyote is believed to be a sure sign of looming evil or death. They never completely close the coffin to permit the spirit to be free. When the grave is dug the space around it is carefully checked. No foot prints should
be left in or around the grave. It is done this way so that the spirit guide will not take the wrong spirit. When someone in the community dies three or four members have a different responsibility to achieve. They will wrap the body of dead in a brand new blanket. Then they will put the body on the brand new horse. They will guide the horse north of their village. When they feel they went far enough they will bury the body and execute the horse. The horse should bring the body into the afterworld.
Tibetans have made a science out of the course of dying. It is just an exchange of a rugged and old body of this life with a new and fresh body of the next. Similar to changing your clothes when they are old and worn out. Buddhists see death as a process and not as an ending. It is thought that the dead have wisdom and sensitivity nine times that of a regular person, so the thoughts and effects of the living have a huge effect on the dead soul. Thus, showing strong sorrow as the person dies and afterward is not respectable because it may provoke attachment by the dying not to leave this life and disturb them from concentrating on the Buddha.
The Malagasy people of Madagascar believe that the spirits of people who have passed away will not join the world of their ancestors until after the body has completely decomposed. To assist the process, families perform a memorial tradition called Famadihana, “the turning of the bones” over the numerous years after a person has died. In this custom, families exhume the bodies of loved ones they’ve lost from family crypts or burial sites and rewrap them in fresh silk burial coverings, usually once every seven years. After the body is freshly-wrapped, they will raise it into the air as a group and dance with it around the tomb. The ritual allows the Malagasy people to re-connect with and acknowledge their ancestors, even after death. They feel that they owe their ancestors everything. The service involves a lively celebration, with live music, singing, dancing, drinks, food, and family assembled to rejoice life, honor the dead, and connect with loved ones. The occasion is like a family reunion, where both the living and the dead are invited! Unlike solemn funeral traditions around the world, famadihana is a time for celebration and laughter, not mourning. Relatives from around the world, as well as important people from the town, and even the occasional passersby are welcome to join in the event. Australian aboriginal ceremonies play an important part in Aboriginal life.
Small ceremonies, or rituals, are still practiced in some remote parts of Australia, such as in Arnhem Land and Central Australia. These take the custom of chanting, singing, dancing or ritual action to summon the Ancestral Beings to guarantee a good amount of food. The death of a person in this culture is a time when people often paint themselves white, cut their own bodies to display their sorrow for the loss of their loved one, and conduct a series of rituals, songs and dances to ensure the person’s spirit leaves the area and returns to its birth place, from where it can later be reborn. There are two full types of burials that are to be conducted. The primary burial is when the body is laid out on an raised wooden platform, sheltered in leaves and branches, and left several months for the skin to rot away from the bones. The secondary burial is when the bones are collected from the platform, painted with red ochre, and then distributed in different ways. Sometimes a family member will bring a portion of the bones with them for a year or more. Sometimes they are wrapped in paperbark and put in a cave shelter, where they are left to disintegrate with time. In parts of Arnhem Land the bones are placed into a big dead log and left at a designated area of bushland. The dead log is a dead tree trunk which has been naturally hollowed out by the action of
termites.
Funeral practices are deeply rooted in culture and around the globe immensely varied traditions reflect a wide spread of beliefs and values. Death and grief being normal life events, all cultures have established ways to cope with death in a humble manner. Interfering with these practices can disrupt people’s ability to cope during the grieving process. Grief is a multi-faceted answer to loss. Death is worldwide, and every nation has its own way of handling it. Death rituals and grief can go from how someone is laid to rest to how he/she is remembered.