Our lady of the Lake College

Death and Dying in different cultures

By

Travis Lambert

Submitted to

Dr. Marion Cahill

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

Psych 2330

Death and dying in different cultures

Regardless of their obvious differences all religions and cultures are united by the
inevitability of death. The ways in which cultures and religious faith differ is how each deals
with death through unique rituals and ceremonies. This author, just like every other human
being, at one point in life, has pondered about what will happen when our time is up here on this
Earth. It is interesting to see how other cultures prepare a person for their coming death, and
how the immediate friends and family come to terms with the passing of a loved one. This paper
analyzes the different customs of the religions of Islam and Christianity, as well as the Japanese
culture. The goal of this paper is to elaborate on what preparations are made, how the funeral is
carried out, and how honoring and celebrating the dead helps with grieving for all of the parties
involved.
A consistent belief across religious faiths and across cultural ethos is the belief that the
dead cross over into some sort of an afterlife. The Christian tradition emphasizes the existence of
a heaven where one will go and be with God for the rest of eternity upon death. On the other
hand there is the possibility of being thrown into the fiery pits of hell for all eternity. One may be
allowed into heaven if he or she has abided by the traditions and rituals set forth by the church in
question. If these expectations are not met then one may be declined the opportunity of heaven
and cast down to hell. Many religions adhere to a similar dogma. In the Islamic religion one is
also judged before a God and you are either deemed worthy of entrance into a paradise or you
are thrown into a hell. As Baydala (2006) explains, Islamic paradise, also called The Garden
(Janna), is a place of physical and spiritual pleasure, with lofty mansions (39:20, 29:58-59),

delicious food and drink (52:22, 52:19, 38:51), and virgin companions called houris (pg. 289).
It is Islamic belief that there is a hell that has seven doors leading to a fiery crater of various
levels the lowest of which contains the tree Zaqqum and a cauldron of boiling pitch. The level of
hell that one is damned to depends on the degree of offenses committed. Suffering is believed to
be both physical and spiritual (Baydala, 2006). These two religions immensely differ, but when
it comes to death, and the afterlife, most religions have this same understanding. There are ten
thousand five hundred different religions in the world which negates the possibility of any
religion being absolutely correct and therefore invalidating all of them (Houk, 2012). Religious
affiliation is the greatest factor of determining the process of death and dying than culture,
although culture also plays a role. Culture is a broader term that may encompass many different
religions.
Burial rituals differ greatly depending on geography and religious affiliation. What may
be accepted in Japan might be unacceptable here in America. In Japan, death is integrated into
everyday life. Every morning an elder woman of the family might make offerings to a family
alter in the house to honor the dead spirits of the familys ancestors. Offerings may consist of
sweets, snacks, and fruit (Tsuji, 2011, pg. 28-33). Also, a priest may go from house to house
making visits to chant a sutra on the anniversary month of one of that familys dead relatives
(Tsuji, 2011, pg. 28-33). Conversely, in America, we may go and visit the spot where a family
member or a friends body lays to pay our respects, but nothing to the magnitude of the homage
the Japanese pay to their dead each day. It is believed in Japan that honoring their family

members this way will somehow keep the dead alive in the world of the living (Tsuji, 2011,
pg. 28-33). In honor of the dead, extensive preparations are made for the dying.
In Japanese and Islamic culture there are well defined ways of preparing ones kin for
passage into the afterlife. A ritual observed by the Japanese as explained by Tsuji (2011) is
when, The nearness of death is signified by matsugo no mizu, the rite of the last water, in which
next of kin wet the lips of the dying person (Tsuji, 2011, pg. 28-33). After that person dies there
are certain events that then take place. The family will have a wake, a funeral, a cremation, and
bone-picking ceremony. The bone-picking ceremony consists of the cremation of the body at a
lower temperature than is customary in America. High temperature cremation cremates (show
the difference) After the bone-picking there is a feast. Rituals and ceremonies continue every
seven days until they reach the forty-ninth day after the person has died. Although, all of these
rituals are used to honor the person that has passed; the ceremony on the forty-ninth day is the
most elaborate and draws in the most people. This ritual is recognized as when the deceased
persons spirit, which up to this point is believed to have been in limbo, enters the realm of the
dead and becomes a new Buddha. On the one-hundredth day after the person has died they have
another ceremony. Afterwards, they have rituals on certain annual anniversaries of the death
(Tsuji, 2011).
Just like the Japanese, the Islamic people have their own set of rules and laws that govern
how a person needs to be cared for. These rules and laws are seen from their death bed until they
are laid to rest in their casket. When death approaches, those around them offer assistance to sit
them all the way up, or at least turn their face toward Mecca, so that they can recite words of

remembrance and prayer (Starkey, 2009). Their last words to show their faith must be, I bear
witness that there is no good but Allah (Starkey, 2009, pg. ?).
Muslims, upon death, commonly bury their dead as soon as possible and they avoid
embalming or cremating the body. The greatest honor you can show the dead is by burying their
body within 24 hours of them dying. They believe that death is not a means to an end, but rather
a means to the afterlife. In Islamic culture, it is thought that life continues after death, and in this
respect it is essential to preserve the body (Starkey, 2009). Cremation is not only looked down
upon, but it is outright forbidden in Islamic law (Starkey, 2009). Urgency is brought upon them,
because they fear the soul of the dead may get lost if not buried in a timely manner. In some
locations, since they do not like a grave to be all alone in the desert, they will travel for up to
three days to have a corpse buried in a cemetery (Starkey, 2009).
These modern practices differ from eighteenth century customs. The women would fall
shrieking, and continue to do so, until the body was buried. The first thing they did was wash the
corpse on a large table, which every home has. Then, they pack all the orifices with cotton, to
prevent anything from coming out, and causing the body to be unclean. They then lay the body
in a type of coffin that is very similar to coffins in America. They have an extension at the head
of the coffin for the head there is a wooden battoon, about a foot long, that stands up, on which
the prepared head-dress of the deceased is placed, if a man; but if a woman, it is not her headdress, but an old-fashioned one (Starkey, 2009, pg. 291). Also, they do not lay the deceased on
their back. Instead, they are laid on their right side with their feet facing north, so that the

deceased are facing Mecca (Starkey, 2009, pg. 286-302). All of this is done as to ease the mind
of those left behind by the deceased.
In a Christianity tradition funerals do not hold as high of an importance as their foreign
counterparts. The funeral starts off with a wake. This is where the family and friends get to see
the embalmed bodies of their loved ones, or they can view the erne that the deads ashes would
be in. There may be a mass that is given in honor of the dead. In most cases the men of the
family will carry the casketed bodies to a hearse. The hearse then leads a precession of mourner
filled vehicles to a burial site. At the burial site a few more words are mentioned before the body
is lowered into the 6 foot deep hole. After everything is done, the family comes together at one
of their houses for a feast, and a lengthy night of telling stories about times past with the dead.
The ones whom were closest to the person who is now deceased may visit the a few times a year,
but after many years the number of visitations annually may dwindle.
It is our custom to believe that death is not an end, but it is a transition to the other side.
If it isnt so final then one should not grieve for the one who has passed, but instead grieve for
the ones left behind (Starkey, 2009). For the one who is left behind is left to survive without that
person or thing that was so commonly active in their life. Grieving and knowing that there is an
afterlife helps in alleviating the pain of losing a loved one. As in the Japanese culture when they
honor their ancestors every day. These daily activities are helping them come to terms with not
having that close relative or friend in their life anymore. The fact that the dead are being
honored everyday puts them on a Pedy stool and makes death almost desirable. A desirable and
honorable death is what formulates an easier passing for the dying and grieving parties.

Grieving is a natural and necessary part of death. Yearning reflects an intermittent,

recurrent wish or want, to recover the lost person. Research has shown that the death of a loved
one is most frequently followed by yearning and acceptance with most of the negative feelings
diminishing after six months (Hodge, 2008). The grieving process is said to be more like a roller
coaster ride than a process with stages. The ups and downs of grief often involve rapidly
changing emotions, which can inhibit everyday life. For most individuals, grief becomes easier
to cope with over extended time. Many grieving spouses report that even though time has
brought more healing, they never completely come to terms with their loved ones passing. Most
of reported just learning to live with it(Hodge, 2008).
The rituals of these religions are instilled to immortalize their patrons. It is concluded
that believing in an afterlife is beneficial for the grieving persons mental health. It is not in
ones best interest to believe that once deceased, the route of life goes nowhere. Again, it is this
authors conclusion that rituals are not put forth for the one who is dying. Once they are dead,
and if there is no afterlife, then all that has happened in their life is useless and meaningless.
They will no longer be aware of existence.

References
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doi:10.1163/156853708X358236
Starkey, J. (2009). Death, paradise and the Arabian Nights. Mortality, 14(3), 286-302.
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terk, K. (2010). You Can Only Die Thrice: Death and Dying of a Human Body in Psychoanalytical
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