The Anthropology of Death

By: Hanna H., Matthew C., and Ka-lee S.

How do different cultures view death and deal with

the grieving process?

Stages of Grief

• Denile• Anger• Barganing• Depression • Acceptance

Different Causes of Death

• 1) natural • 2) accidental• 3) homicidal• 4) suicidal• 5) undetermined• 6) unclassified

Cell Death Stages

• Necro Biosis• Necrosis• Clinical

• Brain Death• Sematic

JapaneseCulture

Tsuya, (the wake), or (to pass the night)

When a Japanese person dies…• Matsugo-no-mizu or (Water of the last moment)• Sakasa mizu tub or (reverse water) • The body is dressed• Spend the night with the body• *Also, the body is often surrounded by candles,

incense, offering rice, and other items that are supposed to put the spirit of the dead at ease.

Soshiki, (the funeral)• While the wake is going on, a funeral firm is usually contracted to

setup and build an altar in either the home of the deceased, or a hall.

• The funeral occurs• The body is placed in a coffin• Rice with one or two chopsticks standing in the upright position.• Crematorium• In modern times family and friends travel to a restaurant for a

catered meal. • Before cremation, the family prepares a zuda-kunichi and places it

around the neck of the deceased.• The ashes of the deceased are placed in an urn.

Shonanoka

• On the seventh day..

Shiju-kunichi

• On the 49th day after the death of the person it is assumed that the deceased has begun their new life in the land of the dead.

• The urn containing the ashes• Posthumous name (placed on the funeral

tablet)• It is also believed that the final judgment is

passed on the deceased on the 49th.

American Culture

Understanding It

• Understand an individual's perspective of death/dying• Even beyond the treatment of human remains, the way in

which we celebrate remembrances speaks to our culture. • The ancient Egyptians believed that a name remembered

was a soul perpetuated while the Japanese still celebrate a culture of ancestor worship. These types of traditions are carried on in American society through the continuance of family names and cultural traditions such as Christmas.

• There are three parts to every American funeral

When someone dies…

• They are embalmed• Buried or cremated• New sub-culture • Even though dying is a natural part of existence,

American culture is unique because of the way we view death.

• Rather than having open discussions, we tend to view death as a feared enemy that can and should be defeated by modern medicine and machines.

Customs

• The Wake, Visitation or Viewing• The Funeral Service• The Burial Service• Private Services

Ancient Egyptian

Beliefs in the rebirth after death.

• Became their driving force after Death• Mummification• Were buried in sand pits• Now stoned tombs• Organs

Australian Culture

Colonial Tribes

• There are at LEAST 25 different cultures that have either the same rituals for death or different.

• Cochieans, Ghonds, Bongas

Rituals

• Most burn the body or bury them but some put them in weird places or put things on them to keep spirits calm.

Ways of the tribes

• When they cremate the body they either dump the ashes in to a nearby river or preserve them in clay urns. Or they smoke the body and feed them to the village animals.

American Views of Death Quotes

•“American practices in the present

day represent the economical,

psychological symbolic aspects of

their lives. In terms of economic

explanations, some people assert

that American funeral practices

denote the nature of capitalism and

materialism. “(British Humanist

Association website, 2003)

•“Death customs in the US represent the core

beliefs of society; that life is sacred. Most

American funerals are characterized by a

comfortable and natural public display of the

corpse on his last day of viewing. The reason

for this is that society wants to portray an

acceptance of the fact that bodies will

decompose with time and that no one is

trying to indicate that they have been

repulsed with this. On the other hand, bodies

are made simple enough in order to display

the fact that they have not been manipulated

as capitalist systems normally do.” (British

Humanist Association website, 2003)

Australian Views of Death Quoted by Americans

•"Whosoever is unclean by the dead shall be put outside the camp, that they defile not the camp in the midst of which the Lord dwells."

•”There is nothing quite so good as burial at sea. It is simple, tidy, and not very incriminating.” - Alfred Hitchcock

•The sun, the dog, the flesh-eating bird these are the ways ancient to dispose of the dead Aryan -most holy and commanded by Ahura Mazda. O Man! Away with your pride and arrogance that refuse to follow the way of your Aryan ancestors - it is your science modern that strives to pollute and destroy, despite the earth's cries. Come, all Aryan fellow-men, let us vow The ancient way of Dakhma-Nashini pure and most effective, we shall adhere to As our Aryan forefathers did in Iran. - from the "Saga of the Aryan Race" by Porus Homi Havewala.

Work Cited• Axelrod, Julie. “The 5 Stages of Loss and Grief." The 5 Stages of Loss and Grief. Ed. Julie Axelrod. Psych Central, 30 Oct. 2012. Web. 28 Oct. 2012.<http://www.articlesbase.com/writing-articles/death-and-burial-customs-a-cultural-comparison-1919769.html>• Jackson, Wayne. "Death And Burial Customs: A Cultural Comparison." Death And Burial Customs: A Cultural Comparison. Ed. Wayne Jackson. N.p., 1997. Web. 29 Oct. 2012.<http://www.crystalinks.com/egyptafterlife.html>http://animewriter.wordpress.com/category/japanese-misc/japanese-death-beliefs-customs/http://www.articlesbase.com/writing-articles/death-and-burial-customs-a-cultural-comparison-1919769.htmlhttp://voices.yahoo.com/death-dying-american-perspective-7514046.html?cat=5http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=11985&cn=174

• • Axelrod, Julie. "The 5 Stages of Loss and Grief." The 5 Stages of Loss and Grief. Ed. Julie Axelrod. Psych Central, 30 Oct. 2012. Web. 28 Oct. 2012.

• • http://www.articlesbase.com/writing-articles/death-and-burial-customs-a-cultural-comparison-1919769.html

• • Jackson, Wayne. "Death And Burial Customs: A Cultural Comparison." Death And Burial Customs: A Cultural Comparison. Ed. Wayne Jackson. N.p., 1997. Web. 29 Oct. 2012.

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• • https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/825-funeral-customs-past-and-present

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loss-and-grief/• • Awofeso, Niyi. "Burial Rituals As Noble Lies: An

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• • http://wyfda.org/basics_2.html• • http://flatrock.org.nz/topics/older_and_under/

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