FUNERAL RITUALS, 2: EXPERIENCES IN AMERICAN AND IN HUNTING/GATHERING SOCIETIES February 28, 2001

Example from your own experience n On a sheet of paper, take a minute to answer one of the following: –in a funeral which you witnessed, do you recall any allusions, symbols, or references the cycle of life, fertility, or continuity? –Do you recall anything about insuring that the dead be “peaceful”?

Hunting/gathering societies n What are some differences between hunting/gathering societies and agricultural (food-producing) societies?

Death beliefs and rituals in the hunting/gathering societies discussed by Woodburn n Take a moment and write down 2 features of the beliefs and practices about death among the groups discussed by Woodburn n Write briefly about how these features might be related to the way of life of these groups

A suggestive comparison n Are there similarities between how these hunting-gathering groups treat death and how death is treated in US society? n Do people in the US share with hunter- gatherers an orientation toward death that is distinct from that of agricultural- village society?