Death & Dying
Presented By:
Lisa Anderson
Patricia Carberry
Amanda Edwards
Joseph Mendler
Joe Salonga
Jennie Sones
Sandra Truman
Lilia Vandermeijden
What Is To Follow?
• The physical aspects of death
• Private mourning
• Various cultural perspectives
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Catholic
Jewish
Buddhist
Hindu
Navajo Indians
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Slavic
Aztec
Egyptian
American
When The Heart Stops Beating...
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Oxygen deprivation occurs
Followed by brain death within three minutes
Blood drains from capillaries
Build up of lactic acid and rigor mortis with
three hours after death
• Decomposition
Decomposition
The long and natural process of the body
being broken down into simple compounds.
• Bacteria begins the internal process
• Maggots begin the external process
• Putrefaction
• Various insects
– Beetles, mites, wasps, moths
Photo R. Major
Death Is Declared
• Certified by a medical officer with a death
certificate
• Time and cause of death
• Coroner
• Autopsy
Preparation Of The Body
• Depending upon religion, any of the
following may occur
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Body is washed
Body is bandaged
Cavities are filled
Embalming
Makeup
Body bag or casket
Refrigeration
Disposal Of The Body
• Depending upon religion, any of the
following may occur
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Exposure
Cremation
Burial
Eco-friendly
Private Mourning
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An unstable process
A lonely journey
Self doubt
Intense emotion
Detached from life
Unable to concentrate
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Disorganized
A lot of crying
Exhausted
Unable to sleep
Vivid dreams or
nightmares
Coping With The Grief
• Support groups
• Online sites on how to cope
• Therapists who specialize in grief
counseling
• Family and friends
Various Cultural Perspectives
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Catholic
Jewish
Buddhist
Hindu
Navajo Indians
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Slavic
Aztec
Egyptian
American
Catholic Beliefs
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Eternal life
Resurrection of the body
Burial takes place in a grave
Cremation is accepted in some
circumstances
Catholic Burial Customs
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Meeting with the family to prepare the funeral
Prayer held for the family at the funeral home
A prayer service held for the community
The main funeral is celebrated at the church
Prayers of committal take place at the cemetery
Jewish Traditions
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A Rabbi delivers a eulogy
A Cantor sings
Family and friends deliver memorials
Open caskets are not acceptable
Cremation is not acceptable, except for
Reform Jews
Buddhist Beliefs
• Individuals pass through many
reincarnations until they are liberated.
• Liberation is nirvana
• Funeral ceremonies consist of three
components:
– Sharing
– The practice of good conduct
– Developing a calm mind (Meditation)
Buddhist Burial Customs
• Often there will be three ceremonies:
– Service at the home of the bereaved
– Service at a funeral home
– After burial a service is performed either at the
home of the bereaved or at a temple
• Always an open casket
• Quotes are given from the Sutra (collected
sayings of the Buddha
Hindu Beliefs
• The individual soul has no beginning and no
end
• The reincarnation depends on the karma of
the person
• Once the true nature of reality is realized,
through many reincarnations, the individual
soul is lost upon death and becomes one
with Brahman, the one.
Hindu Burial Customs
• White clothing is customary at the funeral
• Hindu priests or senior male members of the
family are the major officials
• Cremation is practiced
• A last food offering is symbolically made to
the deceased before cremation
• The cremation is held at home
Navajo Indian Beliefs
• Life is a constant cycle of growth, death and new
life
• This cycle flows in a circular motion - all things
must begin and end at the same point
• There is no afterlife
• All but the very young and old generate evil
spirits
• Hooting of an owl forebodes death
• Coyote signifies the imminence of evil or death
Navajo Indian Burial Preparation
• Items to be buried with the body are gathered
• The dying person is taken to a special dwelling
to await death
• Four mourners are hired to prepare the body
– The body is bathed and dressed in fine clothing
– A Navajo blanket is placed with the deceased.
– Purification rituals are performed
Navajo Burial Customs
• Burial takes place on or after the fourth day
• After grave is dug, no footprints can be left
behind
• Once body is buried, all tools used are destroyed
• After the burial, mourners return to the village
by a different path, so the dead could not follow
• Today’s practices are similar to mainstream
American funerals, although the spiritual beliefs
remain intact
Slavic Beliefs
• Death is a separation of the soul from the body
• After death, the soul is judged based on its
behavior, character, and communication with
God
• This judgement determines whether the soul
travels to heaven or hell
Slavic Death Signs and Omens
• Dogs howling or owls screeching at night
means someone nearby will die
• If a bird flies into a house, someone in that
house will die
• A seriously ill person who suddenly
undergoes a state of euphoria will soon die
• Death will come soon to a dying person
who asks for special food or drink
Slavic Burial Preparation
• One prepares for their own funeral
• When a person dies, all mirrors are covered with
towels
• After death, eyes and mouth of the deceased are
closed
• Neighbors are relatives that were not close to the
deceased wash and dress the body
• Various wakes are held over the body to protect
against evil spirits
• Young children are asked to touch the feet of the
deceased
Slavic Burial Customs
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The coffin remains open during the ceremony
Relatives pay their respects
The pallbearers are male relatives
The coffin is placed in the grave so that the feet
point toward the cross
• All guests throw three
handfuls of earth on the coffin
• The grave is decorated with
flowers and wreaths
Aztec Death Rituals
“To the Aztecs death was not an altogether abhorrent idea, being little
more than an incident in the continuity between this life and the next”
Aztec Beliefs
• It is the manner of death, not the persons’
behavior in life that decides the individual’s
final destination in the afterlife
• Three destinations exist for the afterlife:
– Paradise of the sun
– Terrestrial paradise
– The underworld
Paradise of the Sun
• Warriors who died in battle or were sacrificed
assemble to greet the sun as it rises by beating
upon their shields
• Women who died during childbirth escort the
sun to the horizon
• Therefore, the sun is eternally kept in motion
through the help of the warriors at the rise and
the women at the set
Terrestrial Paradise
• Those who die of the following are sent to
this paradise
– Dropsy, gout, scabies, leprosy, drowning, or
struck by lightning
• This is the home of the rain god
• No cremation takes place in this case
• In loser classes, the burial takes place under
the floor of the house, to maintain
connection with the living
The Underworld
• Those that die of natural death or old age
are sent to this destination
• The underworld consists of a long road full
of perils and menaces
• This means of dying is not perceived as
desirable and honorable
Death of a Lord
• The deceased is shrouded in a
squatting position, then cremated
• The photo portrays fire on top of
the funerary bundle
• A slave is sacrificed by
extracting his heart to
accompany the lord in the
afterlife
• Wives were buried alive to serve
their husbands in the afterlife
Death of a Merchant
• He is cremated and
buried with his wealth
• Feline skins are placed
around him, with his
possessions, to enable
him to continue his
occupation in his final
resting place
Egyptian Beliefs
• They were sons of the sun god Ra (or Re)
• The pyramids were built to honor the gods
• The body’s life force or spirit, called the ka,
lived on after death
• To keep the life force happy, bodies are
mummified after death
• Only those free from sin can enjoy the
afterlife
Embalming
• The brain is removed through the nose
• The innards are removed through an incision
on the left side
• The body and major organs are placed in
occurring salt, called natron for a month
• This blackens the skin, so workers would dye
the body red for men and yellow for women
• Families would provide linen that had been
soaked in herbs to be placed in the empty body
cavity
Embalming, cont...
• The organs would be wrapped and either
placed back in the body or in special
containers in the tomb chamber
• The body and limbs were wrapped in cloth
strips and then wrapped in a shroud
• Another layer of cloth wrapped the entire
body, giving the appearance of a mummy
• Included in the wrappings were good luck
charms and trinkets
Egyptian Burial Customs
• The body was placed in a sarcophagus, or a
stone coffin
• Accompanying the body in the tomb was a
portrait statue in case the body dissipated
• Paintings on the inner walls and ceiling were
done to ensure happiness of the ka
• The chamber is then closed off after the burial
The American Definition of Death
• The irreversible cessation of life and the
imminent approach of death as we know it
• When the vital functions cease breathing
and circulation
• A modern view of death is the death of the
brain
American Outlook of Death
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Death sells newspapers and insurance policies
Creates plots for television programs
Acts as a crime deterrent
It can also measure the adequacy of social life,
such as national homicide rates
• Death moves from a cultural order, to an
institutional order, and finally to an individual
order
Facing Mortality in America
• In general, it is a taboo subject
• Medical professionals demonstrate that
dying can be a rich experience for both, the
terminally ill and their loved ones
• Living wills and advance directives are
becoming more common everyday
• They prevent disputes among families if
treatment ever becomes an issue
The Fear of Death and Dying
• The fear seems to be based on two things:
– The presence and certainty of death
– And the uncertainty of what follows
• Material welfare is used as a distracting
ploy to see death as an objective event
• Such approaches keep death outside of
ourselves, so we know death only as
observers, not participants
American Burial Preparation
• The most popular burials are those of cremation
or embalming, then either buried, stored in
mausoleum, scattered or destroyed
• Cremation allows a less personal representation
of the deceased
• The body can also be buried in a casket and laid
to rest in a cemetery, with a tombstone placed
over the grave
Immortality American Style
• The Alcor Life Extension Foundation
– http://www.alcor.org
– Cryonic preservation
– Freezing people for possible awakening later on
or possible future cloning
• Cards From Beyond
– Offer the ability to send cards to loved ones
after their death
Immortality, cont...
• Loving Pup, Inc.
– http://timelessmail.com/
– Leave family and friends an e-mail to be
delivered after you pass on
• AT&T Labs’ Natural Voices
– http://www.naturalvoices.att.com/
– Type your message and the voice cloning
allows the dead to utter your words
Resources
• The Physical Aspects of Death
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www.deathonline.net/decomposition/decomposition/index.htm
www.deathonline.net/what_happens/autopsy/autopsy_steps.cfm
http://web.utk.edu/~anthrop/index.htm
http://www.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/10/31/body.farm/
www.deathonline.net/disposal/cremation/process.cfm
www.funerals.org/personal/eco.htm
www.deadonline.net/what_happens/options/index.cfm
www.deathonline.net/index.cfm
http://web.utk.edu/~anthrop/index.htm
www.bbc.co.uk/health/ask_doctor/death_body.shtml
www.funerals.org/personal/eco.htm
Resources
• The Physical Aspects of Death, cont…
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www.le.ac.uk/pathology/teach/va/welcome.html
www.hbo.com/autopsy/
http://www.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/10/31/body.farm/
Books:
Modern Mummies, Christine Quigley, Mc Farland and Company,
1998
– What is Death: A Scientist Looks at the Cycle of Life, Tyler Volk,
John Wiley and Sons, 2002
– Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Mary Roach, W.W.
Norton And Company, 2003
– One Foot in the Grave: Secrets of a Cemetery Sexton, Chad
Daybell, Cedar Fort, 2001
Resources
• Private Mourning, Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, and
Hindu Perspectives
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http://www.buddhanet.net
http://www.webhealing.com
http://www.icctampa.org
http://www.americancatholic.org
http://www.biomed.lib.umn.edu
http://www.thefuneraldirectory.com
• Navajo Indian Perspective
– http://www.biomed.lib.umn.edu/hw/releasing.html
– http://www.espacoacademico.com.br/030/30ekeyes.htm
Resources
• Navajo Perspective, cont…
– http://www.jammed.com/~mlb/hogan.html
– http://www.sfu.ca/archaeology/museum/papers/contents/leml.ht
ml
– http://www.uua.org/clf/betweensundays/earlychildhood/Lessons
Loss.html
– Books:
– Native American Worldviews, Jerry Gill, 2002
– The Elements of Native American Traditions, Arthur Versluis,
1995
– A Native American Encyclopedia, Barry M. Pritzker, 2000
Resources
• Slavic Perspective
– http://web2.iastate.edu/!stdt_couns_info/cultureandcrisis/ukraine
.html
– http://hometown.aol.com/hpsofsnerf/
– http://death.monstrous.com/death_rituals_across_cultures_.htm
– http://www.showcase.ca/sixfeetunder/features/flashtour.asp
– Books:
– Chelovek pered likom smerti, Aries Philippe, Moscow, 1992
– Reinterpreting Russia, Geoffrey Hosking, 1999
– Death and Bereavement Across Cultures, Colin Murray Parkes,
1996
– In Search of the Immortals: Mummies, Death and the Afterlife,
Howard Reid, 2001
Resources
• Aztec Perspective
– Soon to be added
Resources
• Egyptian Perspective
– soon to be added
Resources
• American Perspective
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http://encarta.msn.com
http://www.mountsinai.org
http://www.mskcc.org
http://www.mercynorthiowa.com/new/archived/hospice/shtml
http://death.monstrous.com/common_rituals.htm
Encyclopedia of Death and Dying, Howarth, Glennys, and
Oliver Leaman, eds., 2001
– Understanding Dying, Death, and Bereavement, Michael R.
Leming and George E. Dickinson
– Death and the Afterlife: A Cultural Encyclopedia, Richard
Taylor, 2000