RITUALS FOR THE DEAD (BlogPost #2)

                             Funerals are the worst ceremonies in everyone's life. We go there to mourn for someone that we lost and we have to respect purely the dead. A funeral could last for a week just like my grandfather's funeral, it lasted very long because there were a lot of guests and a lot of rituals. I think their was day of the funeral where they fed the whole neighborhood and they managed to fit all of them around their house. He's funeral followed the tradition in there province so all the rituals that were done was new to me. They were very strict, even my choice of the color of my clothes were needed to be changed but I respect their beliefs so I followed them all.The experience was extraordinary when I stayed there, a lot of things happened and everything was new to me.

                              Burials for the dead in ancient Egypt takes a lot of time and money. The article Egyptian Burial by Joshua J. Mark from ancient.eu.com explained this a lot.

                                 When a man dies all the women in his household would cover their faces with mud then they would wear a girdle. They would also beat their bared breasts and this will also be done if a woman dies then the men would do the ritual. After this ritual the body would be taken to be mummified.It was said that the most expensive procedures were the ones who were deceased because their body needs to be cleaned and some parts should be removed. Before the mummification is done the family needs to choose on what kind of coffin will they use for the dead and these coffins depend on what is the economic status of the family. Even if ceremony of the burial is expensive the poor could still have it because they believed all should be properly treated and if not the soul of the dead would haunt the living. The last ritual is the Opening of the Mouth Ceremony, it could be done while before placing the mummy in the tomb or during the funeral process. The priest will recite spells then he would use a ceremonial blade on the dead's mouth, arms and legs so the body could still move. When the tomb is sealed the priest will recite more spells and prayers so the dead could move on it's afterlife.

                                  

                               I never knew being dead could be so expensive. The preparation for the belief of afterlife needs a lot of work and rituals but still the dead is not sure if it would be granted an afterlife. I think this rituals were not only for the dead but also for the loved ones who were left. The ceremonies was a way of keeping them busy so they would not mourn a lot and can manage to move on. The ceremonies for the dead was a way to respect their existence before but how would they appreciate it if they are dead?

                                  

                               The article Why Is the Funeral Ritual Important? by Alan D. Wolfelt from griefwords.com gave six mourning needs for an individual who lost someone.  

                                The first need is to acknowledge the reality of the dead where the left loved one should accept the death of a person so they are the ones who would make choices for the funeral of the dead. The second need is to move toward the pain of the loss, it says that it is okay to let out all your feelings during the funeral but you should be able to get it all out in order for you to move on or accept it. For the third need, the loved ones should be able to recall all the good memories of the dead so the mourning would lessen. The fourth is to develop a new self-identity because the one that left can no longer help or contribute to yourself so developing a new self-identity could mean that they have accepted the death. The fifth need is to search for a meaning why the person died. Lastly, the need to receive on going support from others. A funeral is the time to share your support to others, care and love should be shown so the left loved one would fell better.

                                I think the sixth reason is the most important because it shows that we are not alone. To face this kind of situation is very hard if you are alone. You will ask a lot of questions to yourself which will not help on accepting the death of someone. No one wants to loose anything so I think we should treasure our life.

 Al