Hindu Funeral Culture

Funerals can be so completely different within the cultures around the world. One that really sparked my interest was a Hindu funeral. It’s weird how one culture can have something be so completely different than the next even when having to do with the same thing, death. The planning of funerals and then what actually happens during them is what seems to be so oddly different, and will be the main concern throughout this paper. I think it seems so odd to me because it is not what we do here in the United States. To start out, a priest is usually contacted when a Hindu is approaching death. The priest joins the family with the dying person and they do the mantras chant (Hindu Funeral Traditions). The chant is a form of verbal behavior and communication, as that is kind of like a rule or custom in their culture. Having this rule in place allows for verbal communications to be able to happen within their culture. Before the person actually dies, they move the body to a grass mat on the floor, and they put a small amount of water from the Ganges River into the dying person’s mouth (Hindu Funeral Traditions). I thought that was strange, as moving the body to a grass mat and then putting river water into their mouths is just

The day after the cremation, they collect the ashes and the family gets to spread them wherever they want to. They said that traditionally the ashes should be immersed and spread into the Ganges River, but other rivers are becoming acceptable (Hindu Funeral Traditions). The mourning period for Hindus last between tens to thirty days, as the family will stay home and receive visitors during that time. One year after the death, the family will observe a memorial event called “sraddha” (Hindu Funeral Traditions). This is what pays homage to the deceased, which is what a ritual does, as we learned in class not too long