HSP3U November 29th, 2013

 Anthropology studies humankind from past societies to our present society  It is important to understand how we interpret death, in addition to how other cultures interpret death  There are varying customs from around the world that we will be exploring

 Culture- unified set of values, ideas, beliefs, and standards of behavior shared by a group of people; the way a person accepts, and understands experiences over his/her life.  Canada= many cultures over its entire history  Learning about other cultural systems can enable us to better appreciate or shift our own patterns as needed.

 Why is it important to study and understand differences in culture around death?  We may stereotype around our own cultural practices and assume that others treat death and dying like we do. Better we understand the different cultural sensitivities so we can better reach out to those in need at such a difficult time.

 Death refers to the end of physical existence of a person: when all biological symptoms of a human being stop operating  Most civilizations around the world dispose of their deceased with rituals and spiritual traditions passed on from previous generations

 Ritual disposal of the body: generally cremation, or interment (tomb in the ground)  Cremation= Christian concept, “ashes to ashes”  Grave, crypt, mausoleum, pyramid

 Sky burial: placing body on a high ground (i.e. mountain) and leaving it for birds of prey  Birds of prey= “carriers of soul to Heaven”- Tibet tradition  “Body just an empty shell”

 Ancient times: delay of body’s decay process before burial= mummification or embalming before, during, after funeral

 Fishing communities: bodies placed in water= burial at sea  Mountain communities: hanging coffins in woods  Many cultures: graves grouped together on a plot of land called a cemetery or a graveyard

 Late 20th Century: ecological burial  Ecological burial= deep freezing, pulverisation, freeze-drying, burying the resulting powder- 30% mass  Space burial: rocket launches cremated remains into orbit; it has been done 150 times!

 Death penalty: killing of convicted criminal by the state for capital crimes  Historically: used by all societies to punish crime and suppress political dissent (expression of dissatisfaction with policies of government)  Contentious issue

 A prolonged state of violence involving two or more groups  Highly controversial- has existed since the beginning of time  Civil wars and Revolutions

 Martyr: a person who is put to death or endures suffering for their beliefs, principles or ideology  Martyrdom can be applied to a secular context as well (non- religious)  Term sometimes applied to those who die or are severely affected in support of a cause (soldiers fighting in a war, doctors fighting an epidemic, or people leading civil rights movements)

 The practice of terminating life of a person in a painless or minimally painful way to prevent further suffering  Laws around the world vary greatly  Controversial because of moral feelings regarding the topic, culture, religion, ethnicity