FUNERAL RITURALS

Funeral Rituals of Different Cultures

Amanda Robeau

Erin VonSteuben

English 102

17 March 2011

Funeral Rituals of Different Cultures

Funeral rituals are as old as civilization itself. A funeral is a ceremony held for the deceased before the burial. Every culture and civilization has their own unique funeral rites, rituals, and ceremonies for the deceased. The funeral ritual is the opportunity for family and friends to say their final goodbye to their loved one. Ancient burial customs of different cultures may seem strange but they obviously came about for a reason. Most funeral rites, rituals and ceremonies, that each culture practices dates back to their ancestors.

Ancient Egyptian Funeral Rituals

According to Raymond O. Faulkner (2011), Ancient Egyptian civilization believed in rebirth after death and this is how their funeral practices came about. Death was just a temporary interruption of life and eternal life was then ensured by mummification of bodies. Each Egyptian was believed to consist of the physical body, the ka, the ba, and the akh. In order for an Egyptian to enjoy and be protected from harm in the afterlife, each of these elements had to be sustained. Egyptians also believed that the only way to have an afterlife was through mummification (Faulkner, 2011).

The mummification process took seventy days and involved many detailed steps. All internal organs were removed from the body and separately treated. The organs were then placed in jars of clay or stone. The jars were called canopic jars and they were closed with stoppers in the shape of four heads, the human, the baboon, the falcon, and the jackal. These represent the Four Sons of Horus, which are the four protective spirits. The heart was removed and weighted against a feather. This was done to determine moral righteousness. The brain was taken out of the cranial cavity and disposed of because the Egyptians thought it was of no use. The body was then desiccated in a mixture of salts which was called natron. The final step was wrapping the body in linen with protective amulets inserted between layers and placed in a decorated anthropoid coffin.

The coffin and personnel belongings of the deceased were placed in the tomb. These belongings were put in the tomb to assist in their journey into the afterlife. The decorations on the tomb walls were also put there for the well being of the deceased in the afterlife. The Egyptians believed that there were three Gods Osiris, Isis, and Nephty, that would welcome the deceased to the underworld. Before the tomb was, sealed text was read from “The Book of the Dead.” “The Book of the Dead” was a collection of spells, charms, passwords, numbers and magical formulas for the use of the deceased in the afterlife.

Viking Funeral Rituals

Viking funeral rituals were much different from the Egyptians but are really fascinating. The Vikings were very fond of observing ceremonial funeral rituals for the deceased. Their funeral rituals varied in style, size, and method. When a Viking passed away they were cremated or ...