Burial
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objects in it, and covering it over. A funeral is a ceremony that accompanies the final disposition. Evidence suggests that some archaic and early modern humans buried their dead. Burial is often seen as indicating respect for the dead. It has been used to prevent the odor of decay, to give family members closure and prevent them from witnessing the decomposition of their loved ones, and in many cultures it has been seen as a necessary step for the deceased to enter the afterlife or to give back to the cycle of life.
Methods of burial may be heavily ritualized and can include
The location of the burial may be determined by taking into account concerns surrounding health and sanitation, religious concerns, and cultural practices. Some cultures keep the dead close to provide guidance to the living, while others "banish" them by locating burial grounds at a distance from inhabited areas. Some religions
Alternatives to burial include cremation (and subsequent interment), burial at sea and cryopreservation. Some human cultures may bury the remains of beloved animals.
History
Intentional burial, particularly with
Though there is ongoing debate regarding the reliability of the dating method, some scholars believe the earliest
In ancient Egypt, customs developed during the
Prehistoric
During the Early Middle Ages, the reopening of graves and manipulation of the corpses or artifacts contained within them was a widespread phenomenon and a common part of the life course of early medieval cemeteries across Western and Central Europe.[8] The reopening of furnished or recent burials occurred over the broad zone of European row-grave-style furnished inhumation burial, especially from the 5th to the 8th centuries CE, which comprised the regions of Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, the Low Countries, France, and South-eastern England.[8]
Reasons for human burial
After death, a body will decay. Burial is not necessarily a
Human burial practices are the manifestation of the human desire to demonstrate "respect for the dead". Cultures vary in their mode of respect.
Some reasons follow:
- Respect for the physical remains. If left lying on top of the ground, scavengers may eat the corpse, considered disrespectful to the deceased in many (but not all) cultures. In Tibet, sky burials deliberately encourage scavenging of human remains in the interest of returning them to nature, just as within Zoroastrianism, where burial and cremation were often seen as impure (as human remains are polluted, while the earth and fire are sacred).
- Burial can be seen as an attempt to bring closure to the deceased's family and friends. Psychologists in some Western Judeo-Christian quarters, as well as the US funeral industry, claim that by interring a body away from plain view the pain of losing a loved one can be lessened.
- Many cultures believe in an afterlife. Burial is sometimes believed to be a necessary step for an individual to reach the afterlife.
- Many religions prescribe a particular way to live, which includes customs relating to disposal of the dead.
- A decomposing body releases unpleasant gases related to decomposition. As such, burial is seen as a means of preventing smells from expanding into open air.
Burial methods
In many
Some burial practices are heavily ritualized; others are simply practical.
Burial depth
It is a common misconception that graves must be dug to a depth of six feet (1.8 metres). This is reflected in the common euphemism for death of six feet under.[12] In fact, graves are rarely dug to this depth except when it is intended to later bury a further coffin or coffins on top of the first one. In such cases, more than six feet may be dug, to provide the required depth of soil above the top coffin.[13]
In the United States, there is no nationwide regulation of burial depth. Each local authority is free to determine its own rules. Requirements for depth can vary according to soil type and by method of burial. California, for instance, requires only 19 inches of soil above the top of the coffin, but more commonly 30 to 36 inches are required in other places.[13] In some areas, such as central Appalachia, graves were indeed once dug to a depth of six feet to prevent the body being disturbed by burrowing animals. However, this was unnecessary once metal caskets and concrete vaults started to be used.[12]
In the United Kingdom, soil is required to be to a depth of three feet above the highest point of the coffin, unless the burial authority consider the soil to be suitable for a depth of only two feet.[14]
The earliest known reference to a requirement for a six-foot burial occurred in 1665 during the
Natural burial
Natural burial—also called "green burial"[17]—is the process by which a body is returned to the earth to decompose naturally in soil, and in some cases even protect native and endangered wildlife.[18] Natural burial became popularized in the UK in the early 1990s by Ken West, a professional cremator operator for the city of Carlisle, responding to the U.K's call for changes in government that aligned with the United Nations' Environmental Program Local Agenda 21. In addition, there are multiple green burial sites in the U.S. Green burials are developing in Canada (Victoria, BC, and Cobourg, Ontario), as well as in Australia and Ireland.[19]
The increase in popularity of alternative burials can be seen as a direct choice of the individual's want to distance themselves from religious practices and spiritual locations as well as an opportunity to exercise their act of choice.[20] The desire to live through nature as well as concern for the environment have been the backbone of the green burial movement. The use of coffins made from alternative materials such as wicker and biodegradable materials as well as trees and other flora are being used in place of headstones. Both practices provide sustainable alternatives to traditional burial practices.[20]
Natural burials have been attracting people for reasons outside of environmental and sustainability factors as well. With the expansion of urban centres, ecological corridors gradually disappear. Cemeteries for burial plots preclude alternative uses of the land for a long time. By combining these two aspects (need for connectivity and land take imposed by cemeteries), two positive results can be achieved: protecting memories of the past and connecting ecosystems with multiple-use corridors.[21] Green burials appeal to people for economic reasons. Traditional burial practices can be a financial burden causing some to turn to green burials as a cheaper alternative. Some people view green burials as more meaningful, especially for those who have a connection to a piece of land, such as current residence or other places that hold meaning for them.[20]
Types
Conservation burial
Conservation burial is a type of burial where burial fees fund the acquisition and management of new land to benefit native habitat, ecosystems and species.[18] This usually involves a legal document such as a conservation easement. Such burials go beyond other forms of natural burial, which aim to prevent environmental damage caused by conventional burial techniques, by actually increasing benefits for the environment.[22] The idea is for the burial process to be a net positive for the earth rather than just neutral. Scientists have argued that such burials could potentially generate enough funds to save every endangered species on the planet.[18] The Green Burial Council certifies natural and conservation burial grounds in the U.S. and Canada.[23]
Memorial reef
The memorial reef is a natural, alternative approach to burial. The cremated remains of a person are mixed in with concrete and then placed into a mold to make the memorial reef or eternal reef.[24] After the concrete sets, family members are allowed to customize the reef with writing, hand prints and chalk drawings. After this, the eco-friendly reefs are placed into the ocean among other coral reefs where they help to repair damage to the reefs while also providing new habitats for fish and other sea communities.[24] It has become a new way to memorialize the passing person while also protecting the marine environment. The high cost of the memorial reefs has caused this alternative form of burial to remain minimal and uncommon. This kind of natural burial is practiced in permitted oceans in the U.S., specifically in locations around Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, New Jersey, Texas and Virginia.[citation needed]
Alkaline hydrolysis
Mushroom burial
Mushroom burial has been developed by Jae Rhim Lee and her colleagues to address the impact traditional burial approaches have on the environment. It is an eco-friendly process which consists of dressing the cadaver in a bodysuit with mushroom spores woven into it, nicknamed the Infinity Burial Suit.[27] Rhim developed her own mushrooms by feeding them her hair, skin, and nails to create a mushroom variety that will best decompose human remains. As the mushrooms grow, they consume the remains within the suit as well as the toxins that are being released by the body. Rhim and her colleagues created this suit as a symbol of a new way for people to think about the relationship between their body after death and the environment.[27]
Tree pod burials
Another method of natural burial is being developed to plant the human body in fetal position inside an egg shaped pod.[28] The pod containing the body will form a biodegradable capsule that will not harm the surrounding earth. The biodegradable capsule doubles as a seed which can be customized to grow into either a birch, maple, or eucalyptus tree. The goal of this method is to create parks full of trees that loved ones can walk through and mourn, as opposed to a graveyard full of tombstones. This method aims to return the body to the earth in the most environmentally friendly way possible.[28]
The tree pod method originated in the UK but is now becoming a more popular method of burial.[29] The definition of natural burial grounds suggests that people are being buried without any kind of formaldehyde-based embalming fluid or synthetic ingredients, and that the bodies that are being returned to the earth will also be returning nutrients to the environment, in a way that is less expensive than other available burial methods. Not only are tree pods a more cost effective and environmentally friendly way to memorialize loved ones, this method also offers emotional support. The memories of loved ones will be immortalized through the concept of a deceased person having a medium (trees) that will continue to live and grow.[29]
Prevention of decay
Bodies are often buried wrapped in a
These containers slow the decomposition process by (partially) physically blocking decomposing bacteria and other organisms from accessing the corpse. An additional benefit of using containers to hold the body is that if the soil covering the corpse is washed away by a flood or some other natural process then the corpse will still not be exposed to open air.
Inclusion of clothing and personal effects
The body may be dressed in fancy and/or ceremonial clothes. Personal objects of the deceased, such as a favorite piece of jewelry or photograph, may be included with the body. This practice, also known as the inclusion of grave goods, serves several purposes:
- In burial shrouds, which range from very simple to elaborate depending on the culture.
- The inclusion of ceremonial garb and sacred objects is sometimes viewed as necessary for reaching the afterlife.
- The inclusion of personal effects may be motivated by the beliefs that in the afterlife people will wish to have with them what was important to them on earth. Alternatively, in some cultures, it is felt that, when a person dies, their possessions (and sometimes people connected to them such as wives) should go with them out of loyalty or ownership.
- Although not generally a motivation for the inclusion of grave goods with a corpse, it is worth considering that future archaeologists may find the remains (compare time capsule). Artifacts such as clothing and objects provide insight into how the individual lived. This provides a form of immortality for the deceased. In general, however, clothing buried with a body decays more rapidly than the same buried alone.[30]
Traditions
Body positioning
Burials may be placed in a number of different positions. Bodies with the arms crossed date back to ancient cultures such as
In nonstandard burial practices, such as
Orientation
Most often, a burial will be oriented to a specific direction for religious purposes, as are the case for persons of the
In an Islamic funeral, the grave should be aligned perpendicular to the Qibla (the direction to the Kaaba in Mecca) with the face turned to the right along the Qibla.
Inverted burial
For humans, maintaining an upside-down position, with the head vertically below the feet, is highly uncomfortable for any extended period of time, and consequently burial in that attitude (as opposed to attitudes of rest or watchfulness, as above) is highly unusual and generally symbolic. Occasionally suicides and assassins were buried upside down, as a post-mortem punishment and (as with burial at cross-roads) to inhibit the activities of the resulting undead.
In
They bury their dead with their heads directly downward, because they hold an opinion, that in eleven thousand moons they are all to rise again; in which period the earth (which they conceive to be flat) will turn upside down, and by this means they shall, at their resurrection, be found ready standing on their feet. The learnèd among them confess the absurdity of this doctrine; but the practice still continues, in compliance to the vulgar.
— Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels, Part I, Chapter VI
Swift's notion of inverted burial might seem the highest flight of fancy, but it appears that among English
Burial traditions throughout the world
South Korea
South Korea's funeral arrangements have drastically changed in the course of only two decades according to Chang-Won Park.[35] Park states that around the 1980s at home funeral ceremonies were the general norm, straying away from anywhere that was not a family home. Dying close to home, with friends and family, was considered a 'good death', while dying away from home was considered a 'bad death'. This gradually changed as the upper and middle class started holding funerals in the mortuaries of hospitals. This posed an issue for hospitals because of the rapid increase in funerals being held and maxing occupancy. This resolved when a law was passed to allow the civilian population to hold funerals in the mortuaries of hospitals. The lower class then followed suit, copying the newly set traditions of the upper classes. With this change, the practice of cremation became viewed more as an alternative to traditional burials. Cremation was first introduced by Buddhism, but was banned in 1470.[35] It was not until the Japanese colonization period that cremation was reintroduced in 1945 and later lifted the ban. It took until 1998 for cremation to rapidly grow in popularity.[35]
Tana Toraja
A
Australian Aboriginals (Northern Territory)
Northern Territory
Iranian people
Graves are free if the owner is poor, some ancient people ancient Iranians burial colored the dead body while others feed the body to vultures and birds or burned the bodies.[38][39][40] Body parts cut during the procedure are sometimes buried separately.[41]
Burial among African-American slaves
This section needs additional citations for verification. (May 2008) |
In the
At death, a slave's body was wrapped in cloth. The hands were placed across the chest, and a metal plate was placed on top of their hands. The reasoning for the plate was to hinder their return home by suppressing any spirits in the coffin. Often, personal property was buried with slaves to appease spirits. The coffins were nailed shut once the body was inside, and carried by hand or wagon, depending on the property designated for slave burial site.
Slaves were buried oriented East to West, with feet at the Eastern end (head at the Western end, thus raising facing East). According to Christian doctrine, this orientation permitted rising to face the return of Christ without having to turn around upon the call of Gabriel's trumpet. Gabriel's trumpet would be blown near the Eastern sunrise.
Burial in the Baháʼí Faith
In the Baháʼí Faith, burial law prescribes both the location of burial and burial practices and precludes cremation of the dead. It is forbidden to carry the body for more than one hour's journey from the place of death. Before interment the body should be wrapped in a shroud of silk or cotton, and a ring should be placed on its finger bearing the inscription "I came forth from God, and return unto Him, detached from all save Him, holding fast to His Name, the Merciful, the Compassionate". The coffin should be of crystal, stone or hard fine wood. Also, before interment, a specific Prayer for the Dead[42] is ordained. The body should be placed with the feet facing the Qiblih. The formal prayer and the ring are meant to be used for those who have reached 15 years of age.[43]
Locations
Where to bury
Apart from sanitary and other practical considerations, the site of burial can be determined by religious and socio-cultural considerations.
Thus in some traditions, especially with an animistic logic, the remains of the dead are "banished" for fear their spirits would harm the living if too close; others keep remains close to help surviving generations.
Religious rules may prescribe a specific zone, e.g. some Christian traditions hold that Christians must be buried in
Royalty and high nobility often have one or more "traditional" sites of burial, generally monumental, often in a palatial chapel or cathedral.
In North America, private family cemeteries were common among wealthy landowners during the 18th and 19th centuries. Many prominent people were buried in private cemeteries on their respective properties, sometimes in lead-lined coffins. Many of these family cemeteries were not documented and were therefore lost to time and abandon; their grave markers having long since been pilfered by vandals or covered by forest growth. Their locations are occasionally discovered during construction projects.
Marking the location of the burial
Most modern cultures mark the location of the body with a
In many cultures graves will be grouped, so the monuments make up a necropolis, a "city of the dead" paralleling the community of the living.
Unmarked grave
In many cultures graves are marked with durable markers, or
Anonymous burial
Another sort of unmarked grave is a burial site with an anonymous marker, such as a simple
Many countries have buried an unidentified soldier (or other member of the military) in a prominent location as a form of respect for all unidentified war dead. The UK memorializes 'the Unknown Warrior' in Westminster Abbey; France's is buried underneath the Arc de Triomphe; Italy's is buried within the Monumento al Milite Ignoto in Rome; Canada's is buried at the National War Memorial in Ottawa; Australia's is located at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra; New Zealand's is located in Wellington; Russia's memorial is in Alexander Garden in Moscow, and the U.S.'s is located at Arlington National Cemetery.
Many cultures practice anonymous burial as a norm, not an exception. For instance, in 2002 a survey for the Federal Guild of German Stonemasons found that, depending on the location within Germany, from 0% to 43% of burials were anonymous.
Secret burial
In rare cases, a known person may be buried without identification, perhaps to avoid
Following Walt Disney's cremation, his ashes were buried in a secret location in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, California. Some burial sites at Forest Lawn, such as those of Humphrey Bogart, Mary Pickford and Michael Jackson, are secluded in private gated gardens or mausoleums with no public access. A number of tombs are also kept from the public eye. Forest Lawn's Court of Honor indicates that some of its crypts have plots which are reserved for individuals who may be "voted in" as "Immortals"; no amount of money can purchase a place. Photographs taken at Forest Lawn are not permitted to be published, and their information office usually refuses to reveal exactly where the remains of famous people are buried.
Multiple bodies per grave
Some couples or groups of people (such as a
Individuals who are buried at the expense of the local authorities and buried in potter's fields may be buried in mass graves. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was once believed to have been buried in such a manner, but today it is known that such burials were never allowed in Mozart's Vienna, whose magistrates refused to agree to the burial regulations decreed by Joseph II.[48] In some cases, the remains of unidentified individuals have been buried in mass graves in potter's fields, making exhumation and future identification troublesome for law enforcement.
Naval ships sunk in combat are also considered mass graves by many countries. For example,
Sites of large former battlefields may also contain one or more mass graves.
Catacombs also constitute a form of mass grave. Some catacombs, for example those in Rome, were designated as a communal burial place. Some, such as the catacombs of Paris, only became a mass grave when individual burials were relocated from cemeteries marked for demolition.
Judaism does not generally allow multiple bodies in a grave. An exception to this is a grave in the military cemetery in Jerusalem, where there is a kever achim (
Cremation
There are several common alternatives to burial. In cremation, the body of the deceased is burned in a special oven. Most of the body is burnt during the cremation process, leaving only a few pounds of bone fragments. Bodies of small children and infants often produce very little in the way of "ashes", as ashes are composed of bone, and young people have softer bones, largely cartilage. Often these fragments are processed (ground) into a fine powder, which has led to cremated remains being called ashes. In recent times, cremation has become a popular option in the western world.
There is far greater flexibility in dealing with the remains in cremation as opposed to the traditional burial. Some of the options include scattering the ashes at a place that was loved by the deceased or keeping the ashes at home. Ashes can also be buried underground or in a columbarium niche.
A method with similar benefits is freeze-drying the corpse.
Live burial
Sometimes people are buried alive. Having no way of escaping interment, they die in place, typically by asphyxiation, dehydration, starvation, or exposure to climate. People may come to be buried alive in a number of different ways;
- Intentional: buried alive as a method of execution or murder, called immurement when the person is entombed within walls. In ancient Rome, Vestal Virgins who broke their vows were punished in this way.[49]
- Accidental: A person or group of people in a cave, mine, or other underground area may be sealed underground by an cave in, avalanche or other natural disasteror accident.
- Inadvertent: People have been buried alive because they were mistakenly pronounced dead by a coroner or other official.
Edgar Allan Poe wrote a number of stories and poems about premature burial, including a story called "The Premature Burial". These works inspired a widespread popular fear of this appalling but unlikely event. Various expedients have been devised to prevent it, including burying telephones or sensors in graves.
Burial at cross-roads
Historically, burial at
Superstition also played a part in the selection of crossroads in the burial of suicides. Folk belief often held such individuals could rise as some form of undead (such as a vampire) and burying them at crossroads would inhibit their ability to find and wreak havoc on their living relations and former associates.
Burial of animals
By humans
In addition to burying human remains, many human cultures also regularly bury animal remains.
By other animals
Humans are not always the only species to bury their dead. Chimpanzees[citation needed] and elephants are known to throw leaves and branches over fallen members of their family groups. In a particularly odd case, an elephant which trampled a human mother and child buried its victims under a pile of leaves before disappearing into the bushes.[51] In 2013, a viral video caught a dog burying a dead puppy by pushing sand with its own nose.[52] It is presumed, however, that since dogs retain the instinct to bury food, this is what is being depicted in the video.[53] In social insects, ants and termites also bury their dead nestmates depending on the properties of the corpse and the social context.[54]
Exhumation
Exhumation, or disinterment, is the act of digging something up, especially a corpse. This is most often done to relocate a body to a different burial spot; families may make this decision to locate the deceased in a more pertinent or convenient place. In shared family burial sites (e.g. a married couple), if the previously deceased person has been buried for an insufficient period of time, the second body may be buried elsewhere until it is safe to relocate it to the shared grave.
Exhumation of human remains occur for a number of other reasons, including
In most jurisdictions, a legal exhumation usually requires a court order or permission by the next of kin of the deceased. U.S. law allows disinterment "only for the most compelling of reasons" and with the permission of close relatives and the cemetery official.[55] Also in many countries, permits are required by some governing agency to legally conduct a disinterment.[56]
In folklore and mythology, exhumation has also been frequently associated with the performance of rites to banish undead manifestations. A historical example is the 1892 Mercy Brown vampire incident of Rhode Island.
Changing burial location
Remains may be exhumed for reinterment at a more appropriate location for various reasons.
- The passing of time may mean political situations change and a burial can take place in different circumstances. Pentonville Prison in London on 3 August 1916 and buried in the prison grounds but his body was exhumed and given a state funeral in Dublin on 1 March 1965.[57]
- Deceased individuals who were either not identified or misidentified at the time of burial may be reburied if survivors so wish.St. Petersburg.
- Cemeteries sometimes have a limited number of plots in which to bury the dead. Once all plots are full, older remains may be moved to an religious and local burial laws. In Hong Kong where real estate is at a premium, burials in government-run cemeteries are disinterred after six years under exhumation order. Remains are either collected privately for cremation or reburied in an urn or niche. Unclaimed burials are exhumed and cremated by the government.[59] Permanent burial in privately run cemeteries is allowed. In Singapore, cremation is preferred by most Singaporeans because burials in Singapore is limited to 15 years.[60][61]After 15 years, Singaporean graves will be exhumed and the remains will either be cremated or re-interred.
- Remains may be exhumed and reburied en masse when a cemetery is relocated, once local planning and religious requirements are met.Venerable or the Blessed are sometimes exhumed to ensure their bodies lie in their correctly marked graves, as their gravesites usually become places for devotees to gather, and also to collect relics. The bodies may also be transferred to a more dignified place. It also serves the purpose to see if they are supernaturally Incorrupt. An incorrupt corpse is no longer considered miraculous, but it is a characteristic of several known saints. Exhumation is no longer a requirement in the beatificationprocess, but still may be carried out.
- For ethical and cultural reasons, repatriation and reburial of human remains may be carried out when museums and academic institutions return remains to their place of origin.
Cultural aspects of exhumation
Frequently, cultures have different sets of exhumation taboos. Occasionally these differences result in conflict, especially in cases where a culture with more lenient exhumation rules wishes to operate on the territory of a different culture. For example, U.S. construction companies have run into conflict with Native American groups that have wanted to preserve their burial grounds from disturbance.
In
Jewish law forbids the exhumation of a corpse.[63]
The majority of Muslim jurors maintain that an individual buried in a mosque must be exhumed and that offering prayers in such a mosque renders the prayer invalid. Jurists, however, hold that mosques built around already existing graves are to be demolished.[64][65]
In England and Wales once the top of a coffin has been lowered below ground level in a burial if it is raised again, say for example the grave sides are protruding and need further work, this is considered an exhumation and the Home Office are required to be notified and a full investigation undertaken. Therefore, grave diggers in England and Wales are particularly careful to ensure that grave sites are dug with plenty of room for the coffin to pass.[66]
Reinterment
Reinterment refers to the reburial of a corpse.[67]
Secondary burial
Secondary burial is a burial, cremation, or inhumation that is dug into a pre-existing barrow or grave any time after its initial construction. It is often associated with the belief that there is a liminal phase between the time that a person dies and finally decays.[68]
Alternatives to burial
Alternatives to burial variously show respect for the dead, accelerate decomposition and disposal, or prolong display of the remains.
- Burial at sea is the practice of depositing the body or scattering its ashes in an ocean or other large body of water instead of soil. The body may be disposed in a coffin, or without one.
- Funerary cannibalism is the practice of eating the remains. This may be done for many reasons: for example to partake of their strength, to spiritually "close the circle" by reabsorbing their life into the family or clan, to annihilate an enemy, or due to pathological mental conditions. The Yanomami have the practice of cremating the remains and then eating the ashes with bananapaste.
- Cremation is the incineration of the remains. This practice is common amongst Hindus and is becoming increasingly common in other cultures as well. If a family member wishes, the ashes can now be turned into a gem, similar to creating synthetic diamonds.[69]
- Whether cryonics constitutes a method of interment, rather than a form of medical treatment, remains under debate. See also information-theoretic death and clinical death.
- Excarnation is the practice of removing the flesh from the corpse without interment. The Zoroastrians have traditionally left their dead on Towers of Silence, where the flesh of the corpses is left to be devoured by vultures and other carrion-eating birds. Alternatively, it can also mean butchering the corpse by hand to remove the flesh (also referred to as "defleshing").
- Gibbetingwas the semi-ancient practice of publicly displaying remains of criminals.
- Hanging coffins are coffins placed on cliffs, found in various locations, including China and the Philippines.
- Ossuaries were used for interring human skeletal remains by Second Temple Jews and early Christians.
- Promession is a method of freeze drying human remains before burial to increase the rate of decomposition.
- Resomationaccelerates disposal through the process of alkaline hydrolysis.
- Sky burial places the body on a mountaintop, where it decomposes in the elements or is scavenged by carrion eaters, particularly vultures.
Adapting traditions
Burial
As the human population progresses, cultures and traditions change with it. Evolution is generally slow, sometimes more rapid. South Korea's funeral arrangements have drastically changed in the course of only two decades according to Chang-Won Park.[35] Around the 1980s at home funeral ceremonies were the general norm, straying away from anywhere that was not a family home. Dying close to home, with friends and family, was considered a 'good death', while dying away from home was considered a 'bad death'. This gradually changed as the upper and middle class started holding funerals in the mortuaries of hospitals. This posed an issue for hospitals because of the rapid increase in funerals being held and maxing occupancy. This quickly resolved when a law was passed to allow the civilian population holding funerals in the mortuaries of hospitals. The lower class quickly followed suit, copying the newly set traditions of the upper classes. With this change, cremation also practice more as an alternative to traditional burials. Cremation was first introduced by Buddhism, and was quickly banned in 1470. It was not until the Japanese colonization period that cremation was reintroduced in 1945 and later on lifted the ban. It took until 1998 for cremation to rapidly grow in popularity.
Funeral ceremonies
According to Margaret Holloway,[70] funerals are believed to be driven by the consumer's choice, personalisation, secularization, and stories that place individual traditional meta-narratives. It has been studied that funeral homes in the UK are most concerned with comforting the grieving, rather than focusing on the departed. This study found that modern day funerals focus on the psycho-social-spiritual event. Modern day funerals also help the transition of the recently passed transitioning to the social status of 'the deceased'.[clarification needed] The article found that funeral homes do not adhere to traditional religious beliefs, but do follow religious traditions.
See also
- Bed burial
- Burial Act 1857 – UK law about exhumation
- Burial mound
- Corpse road
- Museum of Funeral Customs
- State funeral
- Superburial
- Thanatology
- Tower of Silence
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