02-13-2011, 01:57 AM
Funeral Customs — Cross-Cultural Funeral Rites
A friend of mine is Dominican and when her brother passed, she sent me a video presentation that their family had done to a very religious song. It included a photo of the funeral home and him in the casket and all the flowers. I decided to do some research and found a great study on multi-cultural funerals in USA. It is really interesting and explains many of Maytee' spractices. I think you will be more understanding if you read it. Sorry I am posting so much...I only posted the Latin American portion, however.
By LaVone V. Hazell, MS, FT, LFD
For the past two decades, the traditional funeral rite has been in transition for various reasons: changes in social stratification due to a declining economy and shrinking resources; increased immigration to the United States; neo-local spread of the family to many geographic locations; increased demand for cremations; decline in religious practices and increased secular observances; and a shift from ancestral to contemporary funeral rites.
However, in thanatological terms, there are cultural universals that have remained consistent in funeral services: announcing the death, care of the deceased, a method of disposition, a possible ceremony or ritual, and some form of memorialization.
According to sociologist Norman Goodman, Introduction to Sociology (1992) the United States is characterized as a “nation of immigrants,” reflecting vast cultural diversity. Within a culture, there are many subcultures possessing unique traits that set them apart from each other. As a funeral service professional, I have been privileged to arrange and direct funeral rites that have been rich in cultural diversity. I, for more than two decades have felt privileged to be part of a society that requires the care and respect of the dead, regardless of the social, economic, religious or ethnic position of the deceased within the community.
Latin American Funerals
In contrast, Latin Americans hold wakes for a minimum of two days (for twenty-four hour spans), with an open casket for viewing, a full Catholic funeral Mass and burial in a Catholic cemetery. Funeral rites are also communal events within the Latin culture. Social position and economics are secondary, with all family, religious and community members donating whatever is necessary to give the deceased a “proper” burial. The Latin-American community has also embraced the Pentecostal religion.
There isn’t a pronounced variation in funeral rituals among Hispanics of Cuban, Puerto Rican and Dominican descent. One custom that does differ in the Latin American culture, as compared to other cultures, is the use of photography of the deceased during parts of the funeral rite. A family member explained that the pictures were used as a marker to preserve the death as an important historical event in the heritage of the family and also as an acknowledgment of the “Rite of Passage” for the deceased. In more than any other cultural funeral service, children are significantly included in the entire rite. Reverence for the dead from one generation to another is held in very high esteem. Latin Americans show no particular interest in the adaptation of contemporary or secular rituals during the funeral rite.
A friend of mine is Dominican and when her brother passed, she sent me a video presentation that their family had done to a very religious song. It included a photo of the funeral home and him in the casket and all the flowers. I decided to do some research and found a great study on multi-cultural funerals in USA. It is really interesting and explains many of Maytee' spractices. I think you will be more understanding if you read it. Sorry I am posting so much...I only posted the Latin American portion, however.
By LaVone V. Hazell, MS, FT, LFD
For the past two decades, the traditional funeral rite has been in transition for various reasons: changes in social stratification due to a declining economy and shrinking resources; increased immigration to the United States; neo-local spread of the family to many geographic locations; increased demand for cremations; decline in religious practices and increased secular observances; and a shift from ancestral to contemporary funeral rites.
However, in thanatological terms, there are cultural universals that have remained consistent in funeral services: announcing the death, care of the deceased, a method of disposition, a possible ceremony or ritual, and some form of memorialization.
According to sociologist Norman Goodman, Introduction to Sociology (1992) the United States is characterized as a “nation of immigrants,” reflecting vast cultural diversity. Within a culture, there are many subcultures possessing unique traits that set them apart from each other. As a funeral service professional, I have been privileged to arrange and direct funeral rites that have been rich in cultural diversity. I, for more than two decades have felt privileged to be part of a society that requires the care and respect of the dead, regardless of the social, economic, religious or ethnic position of the deceased within the community.
Latin American Funerals
In contrast, Latin Americans hold wakes for a minimum of two days (for twenty-four hour spans), with an open casket for viewing, a full Catholic funeral Mass and burial in a Catholic cemetery. Funeral rites are also communal events within the Latin culture. Social position and economics are secondary, with all family, religious and community members donating whatever is necessary to give the deceased a “proper” burial. The Latin-American community has also embraced the Pentecostal religion.
There isn’t a pronounced variation in funeral rituals among Hispanics of Cuban, Puerto Rican and Dominican descent. One custom that does differ in the Latin American culture, as compared to other cultures, is the use of photography of the deceased during parts of the funeral rite. A family member explained that the pictures were used as a marker to preserve the death as an important historical event in the heritage of the family and also as an acknowledgment of the “Rite of Passage” for the deceased. In more than any other cultural funeral service, children are significantly included in the entire rite. Reverence for the dead from one generation to another is held in very high esteem. Latin Americans show no particular interest in the adaptation of contemporary or secular rituals during the funeral rite.