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Culture

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Submitted By ethornton
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Phase 2Individual Project
Elaine Thornton
Colorado Technical University
HUMN250-1303B-11 World Values and Cultures
Professor Bunch September 2, 2013

In India, Hindu residents create large funeral pyres on the River Ganges for their dead. This ritual burning of the dead is not done for everyone as some individuals are buried in a certain manner. Holy men are buried sitting upright while young children are not cremated as they are still considered pure. This may also be the reason why pregnant women are also not cremated. Individuals that passed away due to an illness or violence, such as leprosy, small pox, cobra bites, murder and suicide are also buried rather than cremated in the funeral pyres. One aspect of this ritual that can cause those that are outside of the Hindu religion to frown upon it is no longer practiced in most places as it was outlawed by the British in 1829 which is called sati. According to Renard (2001), “Incidents of sati still occasionally make headlines, but increasing social action on behalf of women’s rights continues to improve the situation all over India” (p. 302). Sati is the ritual suicide of a wife throwing herself or being thrown onto her dead husband’s funeral pyre to join him in the afterlife. The burial rituals that a society sets for itself help to build identity because a person is constantly in contact with the community that the person belongs to when they are born or married into it. According to Stutz (2010): Identity, it is argued, is constantly reproduced through inter-action with others (Barth 1969; Díaz-Andreu and Lucy 2005; Insoll 2007 etc.), and practices play a central role in this process (Jones 1997; 2007 [1996]). In other words, the ways in which we do things create markers of difference and similarity between groups of people. (p. 36)
In other words, while most people have their own individual identity it is shaped by the community that they are raised in and all of the rituals that encompass this community. It strengthens the sense of community for the living in a similar fashion. As a person is raised in their family to follow the pattern of life that others in the same society and community follow to ensure that they are given a “proper” burial that honors and respects their life among the rest of the community. “If it is not done or not done properly, it is thought, the soul will be disturbed and not find its way to its proper place in the afterlife and come back and haunt living relatives” (Hays, 2011, para. 2). This worry over not properly helping their ancestors find their way to being reborn and showing respect can help to modify behaviors in the community. No individual would want to have an improper burial for themselves or a member of their family because that would cause them to be seen differently by the community in a potentially negative way that could damage their family’s reputation. The main factor that has shaped this custom is religion, but a geographical factor does come into play, as well. The Hindu religion that many Indians practice calls for a funeral pyre to end a person’s life as it is helping to purify the person’s soul and send them off into the afterlife. According to Darian (2001), “Philosophically, the ritual offers the adherents symbolic participation in this phase of the cosmic cycle: returning to the undifferentiated (pralaya) state” (p. 61). After a body has finishing burning, the bones are thrown in to the waters of the Ganges as a final purification. Geographical factors play a role as some Hindu families either live close to the River Ganges or have to try to travel to the river on a pilgrimage towards the end of a loved one’s death. Those that are not able to travel do the same burial ritual, but at another sacred river closer to their local community. In conclusion, every culture may have a different method of dealing with death, but all cultures are alike in that they have particular rituals and customs that they follow after the death of a loved one. The burning of the funeral pyre on the River Ganges in the Hindu religion of Indians is just one step in their cycle of life as this river and other sacred rivers play a role in all stages of life. It may seem strange to some cultures to burn the bodies of loved ones, but this is used to honor their dead by helping to release their soul with the smoke from their body.

References
Darian, S. G. (2001). The Ganges in myth and history. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
Hays, J. (2011, January 1). http://factsanddetails.com/world.php?itemid=1343=55=354. Factsanddetails.com. Retrieved July 21, 2013, from factsanddetails.com/world.php?itemid=1343=55=354
Renard, J. (2001). The handy religion answer book. Detroit: Visible Ink Press.
Stutz, L. N. (2010). The way we bury our dead. Reflections on mortuary ritual, community and identity at the time of the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition. Documenta Praehistorica, XXXVII, 33-42.

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