Category Archives: Old age

Retirement, seniority, death, funerals, remembrances

The Power of the Coffin

Nationality: Ghanaian/British
Primary Language: English
Age: 23
Occupation: Student
Date: 4/24/2024

Text: 

Me: “Is there any rituals or traditions that you or your family have for the dead?”

B.A.: “Yes. In Ghana there is something known as ‘fantasy coffins’”

Me: “Could you give me more insight on what that means?”

B.A.: “ It’s  a unique funeral tradition, that is made up of these custom-made coffins that reflect the deceased’s life, interests, or profession. Some examples I’ve seen or heard of are  fish for a fisherman or a car for a driver, symbolizing their passage into the next life.”

Context:

B.A. became fascinated with this practice after a trip to Ghana where he had to  attend a relative’s funeral. He remembered his mom explaining to him what the coffin itself represented. And now views these coffins as a powerful form of artistic expression that honors the individuality of the deceased. 

Analysis:

This tradition also illustrates how funerals can celebrate life rather than merely mourning death. The personalized coffins serve as a final tribute, as a memorable piece that showcases the essence of the deceased’s life. It also can represent their legacy and the part of them that they want to continue celebrating even in death. 

Gujarati/Jain Death Rituals Regarding Food

Context: The informant, A.V., is an 18 year old student with parents who immigrated from Gujarat; her family practices Jainism. Recently, her grandmother passed away, and this is what she observed immediately afterwards. Her grandmother, known as “Ba” lived with her family, and passed within the home.

Text: “When Ba passed away, a bunch of family friends came over almost immediately and when they asked my mom what they could do to help, she told them to start throwing out all the cooked food in both the refrigerator and freezer. I was really confused, so later I asked her, and she told me that if someone dies in the house, none of the cooked food is safe to eat anymore because like something about bad energy spoiling the food? Or like the aura of death in the house? I don’t remember. My cousin said it was probably because in olden times, they didn’t have much separation between the kitchen and where the death happened and also probably didn’t have good food storage, so whatever emanated from the body might end up getting in the food and making it unsafe.

The other thing was, until Ba was cremated, we weren’t allowed to make any food in the house. Family friends had to bring us food, like we couldn’t cook at all. My mom said it was partly because of the bad aura, because the house was like impure, but also partly because the spirit could linger and you want it to pass on. She said that like practically it was probably because people were supposed to have time to grieve without having to think about food, plus if people brought you food, you would have a strong community around you. Either way, it’s just kind of something you do. It doesn’t really matter if you believe in reincarnation or spirits or anything it’s just something you have to do.”

Analysis: Beyond any scientific reason that has to do with spoiled food and body-related fumes, the disposal of cooked food seems like an extension of contagious magic; as the body has died in the house, the food is no longer safe to eat because it contains that same aura of death. Rather than having an object that is once in contact always be in contact, with one having the ability to affect the other, it’s that two objects in contact with the same object (house) can affect each other. It’s almost a contagion syllogism if anything. One passing away makes the food no longer safe to eat. If anything, it’s contact magic in that the body touching the house affects the house’s purity and anything made within the house is unclean until the body is cremated, or purified.

The Lady with the Pearl Necklace

Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Performance Date: 3/31/2024

Text:

“My mom told me a story about when she saw a ghost/dead person before, she said that she was walking down the street with her cousin, and then she saw this woman and she had a pearl necklace. The lady was like ‘oh would you like to buy this from me?’ and she said ‘oh I can’t buy the necklace let me go just tell my mom and see if she has any money’. Then the lady was like ‘no just like, like you can have it, you can have it you don’t have to pay for it I just want you to have the necklace’ and my mom said ‘ no no I can’t take it for free let me go see’. So then my mom remembers that this like elder lady had a green sweater on. Then she goes back into her house and there were a bunch of people surrounding her dining room table and she was very confused so she goes in and she’s like ‘oh mom this one lady like she was asking me to buy her pearl necklace, can I have some money to give to her?’ and then her mom was like ‘oh what did she look like, who was this woman, have you ever seen her before?’ and my mom was like ‘no I haven’t seen her’ so then my grandma was like ‘okay what did she look like’. My mom starts describing this woman and telling her like that she had a green sweater on and then the entire room goes silent, and just goes quiet, and they’re like ‘okay go to the other room’ and then my mom was like ‘okay that was weird’ so then she goes to the other room but stays near the door. Then my grandma was telling her sister that the woman that my mom had described had just been like, they had just had her funeral mass. Like the woman was dead and they were going to put her body in the ground and my mom was freaked out and she got chills and everything and then they never saw the woman again, obviously, because she had died.”

Context:

M is a 19 year old student from a town right outside of Chicago, IL, and she explained to me a ghost story that her mother told her about when she was younger. M explained that her mother grew up ‘not wealthy’ which is contextual to the story where she declines to buy the necklace, as this was when she was younger. M’s mother grew up in a small town in Mexico, El Sauz, Guanajuato. She thinks that this was around October when she was very young, probably about 9 or so. Although her mom experienced this and fully remembers it, M doesn’t think her mom fully believes in ghosts. M also doesn’t fully believe in ghosts herself, she thinks she would first try to explain a situation with logic and reasoning, before fully believing that it was a spirit.

Analysis:

M’s ghost story reflects a complex interplay of personal beliefs, cultural narratives, and family dynamics. It highlights the enduring significance of folklore and tradition in shaping individuals’ perceptions of the supernatural, while also underscoring the human capacity for skepticism and rational inquiry in the face of mysterious encounters. It encapsulates the tension between belief in the supernatural and skepticism. While M’s mother experienced a seemingly paranormal encounter, both she and M approach the story with a degree of skepticism. M’s mother’s hesitation to accept the pearl necklace for free and her subsequent confusion when she learns about the woman’s death reflect a blend of belief and rationality. The story takes place in a small town in Mexico, where beliefs in ghosts, spirits, and the afterlife may be deeply rooted in cultural folklore and traditions. The encounter with the ghostly woman wearing a green sweater and offering a pearl necklace resonates with traditional ghost stories that often feature encounters with benevolent or unsettled spirits. The story unfolds within the context of family interactions, with M’s mother consulting her own mother about the encounter. The family’s reaction to the description of the woman and the revelation of her death underscores the importance of familial connections and shared experiences in processing supernatural events. The story’s setting in a small town in Mexico adds layers of historical and cultural significance, contextualizing the encounter within a specific geographic and temporal framework. The time of year, possibly around October, may also carry symbolic meaning, aligning with cultural traditions such as Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) when the boundary between the living and the dead is believed to be particularly porous.

Indian burial ritual

Text:
AS-“It is a weird burial ritual. Well, weird for other villages near my town, because no one except our village does this.”

Interviewer-“Has your always been doing it or did something happen in the village for everyone to shift from the ‘traditional’ burial rituals?”

AS- “I don’t know. It has always been like that. Maybe it was because my village mostly houses farmers and their land, and the rituals just symbolize their connection to their land. Anyways, coming back to the ritual. It is not something extremely groundbreaking but, in our village, instead of cremating out dead near a river and throwing their ashes into the water, our dead are cremated on familial ground and buried right there.”

Context:
AS is a middle-aged woman born in a small village in eastern parts of India. She spent most of her childhood in the village that she talks about, but moved out to attend school in a different city. Her father was buried following the same burial ritual that she describes in the above text.

Analysis:
In the above burial ritual, we see the impact of local sentiments into a more widespread cultural practice. By shifting from the widespread tradition of cremating beside a river, the village tradition of burying the dead on familial grounds integrates a smaller community’s culture with that of a bigger one. It is an example where we can see social norms and meanings (here, a farmer’s connection to their land) integrating with religious customs.

Namaz E Janaza

My informant is Pakistani and has lived in many countries worldwide, yet has deep knowledge of his culture and is very associated with certain events and occasions that occur in Pakistan.

Funeral Ritual:

This prayer, typically known as “Namaz E Janaza” is a common type of prayer “performed at funerals”. It is a ritual that has “existed in Islam for a very long time” and is “very important to our religion and culture.” The ritual is illustrated by a “group of people that are praying as the body is put in front of them” He states that it is because “everyone is praying towards god when the body is also there” conveying the influences of religion on their life. The informant also states that it is “the same Islamic prayer from the Qur’an that people read.” It is a widely known tradition in South Asia, specifically Pakistani culture when it comes to funeral rituals and events that must take place in order to properly bury a body.

Context:

The ritual is “always performed by men in a room separate to the women,” and the informant continues to assert that “they cannot be together and a woman cannot speak the prayer to the body” highlighting the strict nature of this ritual and the specific cultural customs on death and funerals. It is usually done in Pakistan but also occurs in other Muslim countries that still honour this method of performing the funeral ritual. It is a very important aspect of how the body is sent to heaven and is a pivotal step in “family healing using religion and ensuring they continue in heaven”

Analysis:

The religious aspect of funerals is very common in many cultures, however, in Islamic culture, the split of the men and women into separate rooms signifies the power that the prayer holds as it is part of their tradition. Death and prayer being portrayed in a ritual allow families to use the religious scripture provided to them as a mode of grieving their loved ones in a structural manner, making it easier on the family that is closer to them. Although, the formality of the occasion eliminates personalisation of the funeral and family members when burying and honouring the dead as they must follow the known written words instead of making them uniquely theirs, which is seen in other cultures. However, it is a religious and important part of their cultural identity, therefore, the prayer does not solely mark the death of an individual but paves a path to their god that they are praying to, following the practices of their culture and tradition as it is passed down.