Customs in Three Cultures
Death and Mourning:
Customs in Three Cultures.
Death and mourning rituals vary greatly from culture to culture, much of it depending on particular religious beliefs and practices. In exploring these traditions, people can gain a greater respect for cultural differences and have greater respect for the patients and people they work with. Explored here are customs of the Islamic, Maori, and Maltese cultures, only a very beginning of hundreds of rich cultural variations existing surrounding death and mourning.
Islamic Customs
There are several sects within Islam, such as the Sunni, Shiite, and Sufis, and customs may vary slightly based on which group a family belongs. Muslims typically prefer to die at home, but when a Muslim is dying in a hospital the family may feel anxious about whether or not the hospital attendants are familiar with Muslim death rites (Gatrad 521). While in the hospital, the religion encourages the patient to be visited because it “is considered a form of worship and ‘mercy’ . . . showered on the visitor” (Gatrad 521). Saying good words out loud in the presence of the dying helps make things more bearable because “The Prophet (s.a.w) said: ‘If you are in the presence of a sick or dying person, you should say good things, for verily the Angels say 'Aameen' to whatever you say’” (Aisha ¶ 4). As death approaches, relatives give the patient zam zam, or holy water, to drink. They will read verses from the Koran, and the dying patient is “encouraged to recite and redeclare his or her faith” (Gatrad 521). Artificial means of life-sustainment are not desired unless a good outcome is expected. In the hospital, when a Muslim has died, he or she should be turned towards Mecca, but often turning the face to the right side is considered sufficient. Limbs should be straightened, and all clothing should be taken off of the corpse by a person of the same sex as the deceased then covered with a sheet (Gatrad 521). Following this, the corpse must be ritually bathed before burial.
Post-mortem examinations are not allowed by Islam, but “when the law of the country demands it there is no alternative” (Gatrad 521). Muslims are never cremated, but always buried, and religious law (Sharia) does not allow Muslim women to attend the burial rites or any of the public rights surrounding the bereavement process (Gatrad 522). Finally, the issue of organ donation is different from sect to sect.
Maori Customs
The native tribe of New Zealand, the Maori, have their own unique customs surrounding dying and death as all cultures do. As the time of death approaches, the infirmed receives many visitors and watchers. Visitors first pay their respects to the dying by entering the bedroom and offering a Maori-style salute, then sitting with him or her for about a half hour; after a respectful amount of time, the visitor goes to the sitting room or kitchen to join in either the men’s or women’s gossip groups (Beaglehole & Beaglehole 92). This separation of the visitors reflects the “usual sex-division of Maori social activity” (Beaglehole & Beaglehole 92). The women have the duty of carrying out the death-watch, because the men were usually away working all day. Once the infirm has died, there is a three to five day tangi, in which celebration, discussion, speeches, consuming of food, drink, and arrival of visitors from come to pay their respects to the deceased (Beaglehole & Beaglehole 99). These customs are tribal, so it is not unusual if a Catholic Priest arrives to read prayers for the dead and lead hymns and a service (Beaglehole & Beaglehole 101). Only after the tangi is complete can the dead be buried. This is followed by a close accounting of expenditures of the tangi and the dispersal of the deceased’s property, which may be done in different ways depending on if there is a will or not (Beaglehole & Beaglehole 112).
Maltese Customs
At the time of death, a dish of salt is placed on the corpse’s stomach because there is a popular belief in Malta that salt will prevent early decomposition (Cremona 352). Mirrors are covered up in the room where the corpse lies, and some families even remove the furniture and turn around pictures (Cremona 352). Several other things must be done, including the washing of the corpse before shrouding, the closing of the eyes, raising of the chin, removal of do knockers and knobs, closure of house doors, lowering of window blinds, hiring of mourners, the 40-day lighting of an oil lamp before a Crucifix or image of the Madonna, and the giving of bread to the poor (Cremona 352-354). In the past, there were specific mourning clothes, but a simpler style of mourning-wear may be used now such as a black necktie or crape arm band (Cremona 354). Other mourning practices include that women stay indoors for several weeks except to go to Mass, while men may practice seclusion for only three to seven days (Cremona 355). Following the burial, a black cover is placed over the grave for several days; lower classes leave flowers at the grave while the upper classes regard the flowers as a profanity (Cremona 356).
References
Aisha, Bilial Abu (n.d.). Funeral Rites and Regulations in Islam. Mission Islam. Web. Retrieved 20 June 2012 from http://www.missionislam.com/knowledge/funeral.htm
Beaglehole, Ernest & Beaglehole Pearl (1945). Contemporary Maori Death Customs. The Journal of the Polynesian Society 54(2), 91-116. JSTOR. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20703006
Cremona, A. (1923). Maltese Death, Mourning, and Funeral Customs. Folklore 34(4), 352-357. JSTOR. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1256556
Gatrad, A. R. (Aug 1994). Muslim Customs Surrounding Death, Bereavement, Postmortem Examinations, and Organ Transplants. British Medical Journal 309(6953), 521-523. JSTOR. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/29724563
