A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial, entombment or cremation with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect the dead, from interment, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honour. Customs vary between cultures and religious groups. Funerals have both normative and legal components. Common secular motivations for funerals include mourning the deceased, celebrating their life, and offering support and sympathy to the bereaved; additionally, funerals may have religious aspects that are intended to help the soul of the deceased reach the afterlife, resurrection or reincarnation.
The funeral usually includes a ritual through which the corpse receives a final disposition. Depending on culture and religion, these can involve either the destruction of the body (for example, by cremation, sky burial, decomposition, disintegration or dissolution) or its preservation (for example, by mummification). Differing beliefs about cleanliness and the relationship between body and soul are reflected in funerary practices. A memorial service or celebration of life is a funerary ceremony that is performed without the remains of the deceased person. In both a closed casket funeral and a memorial service, photos of the deceased representing stages of life may be displayed on an altar. Relatives or friends may give out eulogies in both services as well.
Funerary art is art produced in connection with burials, including many kinds of tombs, and objects specially made for burial like flowers with a corpse.
Etymology The word funeral comes from the Latin , meaning funeral, by way of the Old French funeraille.John Ayto, Dictionary of Word Origins New York: Arcade Publishing/Little, Brown and Company, 1990, p. 243
Overview
Funeral rites pre-date modern Homo sapiens and date to at least 300,000 years ago. For example, in the Shanidar Cave in Iraq, in Pontnewydd Cave in Wales and at other sites across Europe and the Near East, archaeologists have discovered Neanderthal skeletons with a characteristic layer of flower pollen. This deliberate burial and reverence given to the dead has been interpreted as suggesting that Neanderthals had religious beliefs, although the evidence is not unequivocal – while the dead were apparently buried deliberately, burrowing rodents could have introduced the flowers.
Substantial cross-cultural and historical research document funeral customs as a highly predictable, stable force in communities. Funeral customs tend to be characterized by five "anchors": significant symbols, gathered community, ritual action, cultural heritage, and transition of the dead body (corpse).
Religious funerals Bahá'í 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 more than one hour's journey away 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 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. Since there are no Bahá'í clergy, services are usually conducted under the guidance, or with the assistance of, a local Spiritual Assembly.
Buddhist
In many Buddhist traditions, funerals are intended not only to commemorate the deceased but also to assist their transition into a future rebirth. Merit-making activities, ritual chanting, and offerings are commonly performed on behalf of the dead. In Theravada Buddhist funerals, monks also commonly chant scriptural verses to remind mourners of the impermanence and suffering of life. In Tibetan Buddhism, death is often understood as a transitional process rather than a final ending, and religious practice is believed to influence the deceased's journey and future rebirth. Cremation is the preferred choice, although burial is also allowed. Buddhists in Tibet perform sky burials, where the body is exposed to be eaten by vultures. The body is dissected with a blade on the mountain top before the exposure. Crying and wailing is discouraged and the (body breakers who perform the ritual) laugh as if they are doing farm work. Tibetan Buddhists believe that a lighthearted atmosphere during the funeral helps the soul of the dead to get a better afterlife. After the vultures consume all the flesh, the smash the bones into pieces and mix them with tsampa to feed to the vultures. In Tibetan Buddhism, signs such as retained bodily warmth and delayed decomposition may be interpreted as evidence of spiritual accomplishment and a "good death".
Christian
Congregations of various Christian denominations perform different funeral ceremonies, but most involve offering prayers, scripture reading from the Bible, a sermon, homily, or eulogy, and music. One issue of concern, emerging at the beginning of the 21st century, was the increasing use of secular music at Christian funerals, a practice generally forbidden by the Catholic Church.
Christian burials have traditionally occurred on consecrated ground such as in churchyards. There are many funeral norms in Christianity. Burial, rather than cremation, has been the traditional practice amongst Christians, because of the belief in the resurrection of the body. Although cremation has been increasingly common, some denominations forbid them. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops states: "The Church earnestly recommends that the pious custom of burying the bodies of the deceased be observed; nevertheless, the Church does not prohibit cremation unless it was chosen for reasons contrary to Christian doctrine" (canon 1176.3).
Hindu
Antyesti, literally 'last rites' or 'last sacrifice', refers to the rite-of-passage rituals associated with a funeral in Hinduism.
A dead adult Hindu is cremated, while a dead child is typically buried.J Fowler (1996), Hinduism: Beliefs and Practices, Sussex Academic Press, , pp. 59–60 The rite of passage is said to be performed in harmony with the sacred premise that the microcosm of all living beings is a reflection of a macrocosm of the universe.Terje Oestigaard, in The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Death and Burial (Editors: Sarah Tarlow, Liv Nilsson Stutz), Oxford University Press, , pp. 497–501 The soul (Atman, Brahman) is believed to be the immortal essence that is released at the ritual, but both the body and the universe are vehicles and transitory in various schools of Hinduism. They consist of five elements: air, water, fire, earth and space. The last rite of passage returns the body to the five elements and origins.Carl Olson (2007), The Many Colors of Hinduism: A Thematic-historical Introduction, Rutgers University Press, , pp. 99–100
The final rites of a burial, in case of untimely death of a child, is rooted in Rigveda section 10.18, where the hymns mourn the death of the child, praying to the deity Mrityu to "neither harm our girls nor our boys", and pleads for the earth to cover and protect the deceased child as a soft wool.Wendy Doniger (1981), The Rig Veda, Penguin Classics, , see chapter on Death
Among Hindus, the dead body is usually cremated within a day of death. In Hindu tradition, the body is usually kept at home with the family until it is time for cremation. A typical Hindu funeral includes three main stages: a gathering or wake in the home, the cremation itself (the ) and a follow-up ritual called the ceremony. The body is washed, wrapped in white cloth for a man or a widow and red for a married woman, the two toes tied together with a string and a (red mark) placed on the forehead. The dead adult's body is carried by family and friends to the cremation ground near a river or water and placed on a pyre with feet facing south. The eldest son, male mourner, or a priest then bathes before leading the cremation ceremonial function.Carrie Mercier (1998), Hinduism for Today, Oxford University Press, , p. 58 He circumambulates the dry wood pyre with the body, says a eulogy or recites a hymn, places sesame seed in the dead person's mouth, sprinkles the body and the pyre with ghee (clarified butter), then draws three lines signifying Yama (the deity of the dead), Kala (time, the deity of cremation) and the dead. The pyre is then set ablaze, while the mourners mourn. The ash from the cremation is consecrated to the nearest river or sea. After the cremation, a period of mourning is observed for 10 to 12 days, after which the immediate male relatives or the sons of the deceased shave their head, trim their nails, recites prayers with the help of priest or Brahmin and invite all relatives, kins, friends and neighbours to eat a simple meal together in remembrance of the deceased. During the mourning period, sleeping arrangements in the home change too. Mattresses are taken off the beds and placed on the floor and, for twelve days, everyone in the household sleeps on the floor as part of the funeral customs. This day, in some communities, also marks a day when the poor and needy are offered food in memory of the dead.Colin Parkes et al. (2015), Death and Bereavement Across Cultures, Routledge, , pp. 66–67 In most Hindu communities, the last day of the mourning is called (the thirteenth day) and, on this day, items of basic needs, along with some favourite items of the deceased, are donated to the priests. On the same day, the eldest son of the family is ceremonially crowned (), for he is now the head of the family. A feast is also organised for Brahmins, family members, and friends.
Zoroastrian
The belief that bodies are infested by Nasu upon death greatly influenced Zoroastrian burial ceremonies and funeral rites. Burial and cremation of corpses was prohibited, as such acts would defile the sacred creations of earth and fire respectively.Vd. 7:25 Burial of corpses was so looked down upon that the exhumation of "buried corpses was regarded as meritorious." For these reasons, "Towers of Silence" were developed—open air, amphitheater like structures in which corpses were placed so carrion-eating birds could feed on them.
Sagdīd, meaning 'seen by a dog,' is a ritual that must be performed as promptly after death as possible. The dog is able to calculate the degree of evil within the corpse, and entraps the contamination so it may not spread further, expelling Nasu from the body.Denkard. 31 Nasu remains within the corpse until it has been seen by a dog, or until it has been consumed by a dog or a carrion-eating bird.Vd. 7:3 According to chapter 31 of the Denkard, the reasoning for the required consumption of corpses is that the evil influences of Nasu are contained within the corpse until, upon being digested, the body is changed from the form of into nourishment for animals. The corpse is thereby delivered over to the animals, changing from the state of corrupted to that of , which is "dry dead matter" and is considered to be less polluting.
A path through which a funeral procession has traveled must not be passed again, as Nasu haunts the area thereafter, until the proper rites of banishment are performed.Vd. 8:15 Nasu is expelled from the area only after "a yellow dog with four eyes, or a white dog with yellow ears" is walked through the path three times.Vd. 8:16 If the dog goes unwillingly down the path, it must be walked back and forth up to nine times to ensure that Nasu has been driven off.Vd. 8:17-18