III.

Funeral and Mourning Rituals

The actual funeral—conveying the deceased to the place of burial, cremation, or exposure—also provides an occasion for ritual. Frequently, transporting the body develops into a procession by detailed prescriptions. In Hinduism, the procession to the place of cremation is led by a man carrying a firebrand. The mourners at one point walk around the bier; in former times among some groups, a widow was expected to throw herself onto the burning pyre of her husband (see Suttee). Finally, the cremated remains are deposited in a sacred river. In ancient Greece, Egypt, and China, servants were sometimes buried with their masters. This form of human sacrifice was based on the belief that in the afterworld the deceased continued to need their services.

In modern Western societies, funeral rituals include wakes, processions, the tolling of bells, the celebration of a religious rite, and the delivery of a eulogy. Military funerals often require special salutes fired by weapons. Jewish tradition prescribes a seven-day period of seclusion (shivah) following the funeral of a close relative.

The desire to preserve the memory of the departed has resulted in many kinds of memorial acts. These include preserving a part of the body as a relic, building monuments, reciting elegies, and inscribing an epitaph on a tombstone. See also Catacombs; Crypt; Dolmen; Mausoleum; Megalithic Monuments; Sarcophagus; Tomb.