Social Functions of Death, Cross-Cultural Perspectives

Death occurs in all societies, yet it evokes an incredible variety of responses. At the moment of death, survivors in some societies remain rather calm, others cry, and still others mutilate their bodies. Members of some societies officially mourn for months, while others complete the ritual within hours. In many societies, families are involved in preparing the corpse for the funeral ritual; in others, families engage professional funeral directors to handle the job.

The variety of responses to death are noted by Richard Huntington and Peter Metcalf in Celebrations of Death: The Anthropology of Mortuary Ritual. Corpses are burned or buried, with or without animal or human sacrifice; they are preserved by smoking, embalming, or pickling; they are eaten—raw, cooked, or rotten; they are ritually exposed as dead or decaying flesh or simply abandoned; or they are dismembered and treated in a variety of these ways. Funerals are times for avoiding people or holding parties, for weeping or laughing, or for fighting or participating in sexual orgies.

Whereas death rituals in the United States are generally subdued and rather gloomy affairs, some societies engage in rather spirited activities. The Bara of Madagascar, for example, engage in “drunken revelry” at a funeral—rum is consumed, sexual activities occur, dancing takes place, and contests involving cattle occur. Among the Cubeo of South America, simulated and actual ritual coitus is part of the mourning ritual. The dances, ritual, dramatic performances, and sexual license have the purpose of transforming grief and anger over a death into joy.

In most non-Western societies, death is not seen as one event, but rather as a process whereby the deceased person is slowly transferred from the land of the living to the land of the dead. The process is illustrated by rituals marking biological death, followed by rituals of mourning, and then by rituals of social death. The deceased person is often viewed as a soul in limbo during rituals of mourning, though he or she is still a partial member of the society.

Understanding Death Rituals

Ritual, defined as a symbolic affirmation of values that are culturally standardized through the expression of utterances and action, is an effective means of reinforcing these important sentiments. Ritual makes death less socially disruptive and less difficult for individuals to bear. Rituals differ from other behaviors in that they are formal, that is, [Page 879]stylized and repetitive in that these are performed in special places, occur at set times, and include liturgical orders.