In society, there are a variety of ways to get rid of dead people. The bodies are left on the ground or placed on tree branches, buried in special houses, graves, crypts, or cremated. In many tribal societies, after a certain time, the buried body is removed, cleaned and again buried in a common grave.
Various funeral actions were often accompanied by rituals, the purpose of which, according to anthropologists, was to strengthen the community of people, to restore ties that weakened due to the death of one of the members of the collective. The purpose of these rites is obvious, despite all their differences. They were destined to facilitate the unhindered transition of the soul of the deceased to the afterlife, to protect it from becoming an evil spirit. In many societies, with the help of rituals, they tried to carry out the reincarnation of someone from the dead or his soul.
Offerings to the deceased. Wall painting of the ancient Egyptian pyramid.
In this regard, great importance was attached to the problem when the first funeral took place in history. Of particular interest is due to the fact that, as it is assumed, carrying out funeral activities implies awareness of death and a feeling of grief, and therefore, the beginning of such a practice means the birth of a religious feeling. However, with the existence of various ways to get rid of the bodies of the dead, their use has no clear justification. Anthropologists have studied societies in which burial was forbidden, because it was believed that this made it difficult for the soul to leave the body and its ascension to heaven. Yet there is no reason to think that people did not have a religious feeling or that they did not care about the future of their departed before the funeral practice became common. Maybe,precisely because of the importance attached to funeral activities, the funeral rite has become the norm in modern society, both in Europe and America.
To a certain extent, the form of the funeral process recognized by society depends on factors such as the environment and overall lifestyle. For tribes that were engaged in hunting and gathering fruits, especially nomadic tribes, it was more customary to leave the bodies of the dead on the surface, while sedentary peoples preferred burial.
Such a relationship has not been established with certainty, and therefore it is difficult to draw an accurate conclusion. However, it is obvious that the recognized methods of getting rid of deceased tribesmen usually had explanations in accordance with local religious beliefs.
Fear of death is widespread. According to James Fraser, author of The Golden Bough, this fear, or rather this respectful attitude towards the deceased, has given rise to a number of death-related actions in tribal societies. Various measures were taken so that the soul of the deceased could not find its way back home. If death overtook a person in the house, a hole was made in the wall to carry out the body of the deceased, and then it was repaired to block the way back. And this despite the fact that the removal of the body could be carried out through sufficiently large doors or windows. In the Solomon Islands, the funeral procession returns home along a different road, avoiding the one along which the body of the deceased was carried for burial, also so that the soul does not return.
Offerings to the deceased
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Offerings to the deceased
Ancient Egyptian pyramid mural
In many societies, the body of the deceased was tightly swaddled and even mutilated, believing that such measures would save the spirit from "vagrancy." In southeastern Australia, aboriginal tribes on the Herbert River break both legs of the deceased and pierce the lungs, stomach and other organs so that his spirit does not harm people.
Spirits are usually feared in the first days after death, because they have not yet begun their journey to a new place of residence and are most powerful. While some means are used to hinder the return of the spirit, others are used to send the soul on its journey. The Herbert River tribes bury a deceased person with all his personal belongings, and leave food and water in the burial place. He will take his personal belongings with him, and water and food will support him on the way. In other cases, slaves and animals could be sacrificed, which were buried with the deceased, especially if the person occupied an important place in society. The body was positioned in such a way that the face was turned in the direction opposite to the village, in the direction of the Land of the Dead. The purpose of these actions was similar:help the soul to reach the afterlife quickly and easily. Muslims bury their dead with their heads towards Mecca, Christians usually head to the east, many tribal societies place their dead towards the Land of their ancestors.
The inscriptions on the gravestones praise the dead and express the hope for their immortality. In some cases, magical objects or iron items are placed on the graves to protect the soul from wandering.
All cemeteries are sacred places. The word "cemetery" comes from the Greek meaning "resting place." Initially, it was applied to the Roman catacombs, then to the places consecrated by the church, later to any burial places of the dead. Special tree species were planted in cemeteries, for example, cypress and pine in China. It was believed that they give the souls of the dead strength for their journey to another world.
The animistic concept of the soul is more complex than that of Western religions. Often in these views there is not one soul or spiritual entity, but several, each of which awaits its own fate after death, or after death the soul is subject to division. Thus, in addition to resettlement in the afterlife, another soul or the spiritual essence of a person could expect reincarnation, and some funeral actions sought to facilitate this process. Indicative in this regard is the place where the body of the deceased is left or buried. Despite the fact that the spirits were feared, sometimes the burial took place in the houses where the deceased used to live. This was especially applied to dead babies or young children: it was believed that their souls were too undeveloped to cause harm. They believedthat burying children in or near the home will help their souls find their way back to their mother easily at the right time.
Not only the order of the body, but also the rituals accompanying the funeral performed a triple function:
1) to protect the living from the return of a spirit capable of causing harm;
2) help the soul move to the afterlife;
3) facilitate the process of reincarnation for the soul.
Rituals and ceremonies differ in form, but it is widely believed that the successful achievement of the goals set depends on the proper adherence to the accepted rules, which do not allow any deviations and omissions. Many societies have elaborate rituals that may include feasts and other celebrations.
Sometimes a year passes between the burial and the final ceremony, or even more. In such cases, funeral acts often end with a secondary burial rite, with the body of the deceased being removed, the bones cleaned and buried again, usually together with others who had a common descent by tribal or tribal character. The time interval is set aside because part of the soul of the deceased continues to remain in the body, and its release occurs only after the complete destruction of the flesh. The French sociologist Robert Héré, who first drew attention to such customs, believes that cremation emerged as a way to speed up this process. In any case, they believed that only after the final ceremony, the soul of the deceased reaches the afterlife. And only then can his successor be appointed, his property can pass to the heirs,and his ex-wife remarry.
Modern American ideas about the fate of the soul and funeral activities are an interesting contrast to tribal ideas. While they are very different and at times contradictory, ideas about the afterlife among America's highly diverse populations and burial practices are similar across the country. Common features are the rapid movement of the deceased's body to the ritual office, embalming, parting with the body, and movement to the burial site. The difference is that there is no direct connection between how a person is buried and what will happen to him in the afterlife.
See also: Places and types of burials.
