Reaching the Fathers
The second in a series of guest posts which consider the question, ‘What is the purpose of a funeral?’ by Jenny Uzzell The first ‘purpose’ of funerals that I am going to consider is the one that, arguably, has the least relevance to most people in the modern western world. For most of human history […]
A eulogy sandwich is not enough to nourish grief
As Jenny Uzell embarks on a series of posts which will consider the knotty question, What Is A Funeral For? it’s worth reflecting on what has been a game of two halves, funeralwise, in the last fortnight. Two people have expressed contrasting approaches to a funeral. First, there was Dave Smith, who arranged the funeral […]
What would you like to see on your TV?
When media people phone the press office here at the GFG-Batesville Shard, their requests for information often conform to whatever they suppose to be trending. “We’re doing something on living funerals. Are these catching on?” “No.” “We’re doing a documentary about the dying process and we want to film someone actually dying. Can you help […]
Circling once more
India’s Zoroastrian community is breeding vultures so that it can once more dispose of its dead atop Towers of Silence. Once vulture rich, with a population of around 400 million, India has seen a steep decline caused by poisoning. The vultures have been consuming painkilling meds administered to cattle. Their decline to a few thousand […]
No more faking it
A fine feminist manifesto here from Grace Mutandwa in the Zimbabwe Standard: A group of my female friends are tired of being stuck in the house during funerals while their boys hang out at the shops and do fun things. The girls want to know why it is cool for the boys to visit the […]
Tattoo – A friend in death?
The Rise of the Maori Tribal Tattoo By Ngahuia Te Awekotuku University of Waikato, New Zealand Body adornment – swirling curves of black on shoulders, thighs, lower back, arms, upper feet, rear calves – has become an opportunity for storytelling as well. Some symbols represent children born, targets reached, places visited, and increasingly, memories of […]
Hot and noisy
From time to time we consider the purpose of a funeral as an event which enables mourners to express complex, disorderly emotion. Funerals in countries untouched by, or resistant to, chilly Nordic Protestant norms of self-restraint are notable for an exuberance which chilly Nords tend to regard as unbefitting, chaotic and emotionally incontinent. It’s not […]
How they do it in Zambia
In a delightful article in the Sunday Times of Zambia titled Food at Funerals in Zambia, which doesn’t actually get around to talking about Zambian funeral food at all, the writer describes current funeral customs in that country. In the countryside, the old customs are alive and well: When death occurs, news spreads very fast. […]
Where fresh air strikes openly and freely
In Namibia, Michael M Liswaniso, writing for AllAfrica.com, deplores the new custom of spraying air freshener at funerals. I will start by saying: Eish no please, enough is enough! It is partly inhumane and implies that our loved ones smell when we use air fresheners moments before we lower the coffin into the ground. I […]
Kicking the bucket in Swaziland
The Times of Swaziland is in a lather about deceaseds, feckless young men and undertakers. Terrific stuff, this. They could care less how they lead their sorry lives. All they want is to get a great send-off when they ultimately kick the proverbial bucket. It’s so discouraging. Funeral undertakers are having the time of their lives, […]
