Burial

Burial, also called interment and (when applied to human burial) inhumation, is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. Usually, this is accomplished by digging a pit or trench, placing the person or object in it, and refilling it with the soil that was dug out of it.

Burial practices

In many human cultures throughout history, human corpses were usually buried in soil. Burial grounds have been uncovered all over the world. Mounds of earth, temples, and underground caverns were used to store the dead bodies of ancestors. In modern times, the custom of burying dead people below ground with a stone marker to mark the place is used in almost every modern culture, although other means such as cremation are becoming more popular in the west (cremation is the norm in India).

Related Topics:
Culture - Corpse - Mounds of earth - Temple - Ancestor - Custom - Stone marker - Cremation

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Different cultures bury their dead in different ways. Some of these practices are heavily ritualized; others are simply practical.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Prevention of decay

Embalming is the practice of preserving a body against decay, and is used in many cultures. Mummification is a form of embalming that is often more extensive, further retarding the decay process.

Related Topics:
Embalming - Mummification

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bodies are often buried wrapped in a shroud or placed in a coffin (also called a casket). A larger container may be used, such as a ship. Coffins are usually covered by a burial liner or a burial vault, which protects the coffin from collapsing under the weight of the earth.

Related Topics:
Shroud - Coffin - Ship - Burial liner - Burial vault

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

These containers slow the decomposition process by (partially) physically blocking decomposing bacteria and other organisms from accessing the corpse. An additional benefit of using containers to hold the body is that if the soil covering the corpse is washed away by a flood or some other natural process, the corpse will still not be exposed to open air.

Related Topics:
Bacteria - Flood

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In some cultures however the goal is not to preserve the body but to allow it to decompose — or return to the Earth — naturally. In Orthodox Judaism embalming is not permitted, and the coffins are constructed so that the body will be returned to the Earth as soon as possible. Such coffins are made of wood, and have no metal parts at all. Wooden pegs are used in the place of nails. Followers of the Islamic faith also prefer to bury their deceased so as not to delay decomposition. Normally, instead of using coffins the deceased are buried in a shroud, and the bodies of the deceased are not normally embalmed.

Related Topics:
Orthodox Judaism - Islamic

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Inclusion of clothing and personal effects

The body may be dressed in fancy and/or ceremonial clothes. Personal objects, such as a favorite piece of jewelery or photograph, of the deceased may be included with the body. This practice, also known as the inclusion of grave goods, serves several purposes:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• In funeral services, the body is often put on display. Many cultures feel that the deceased should be presented looking his/her finest.
• The inclusion of ceremonial garb and sacred objects is sometimes viewed as necessary for getting to the afterlife.
• The inclusion of personal effects may be motivated by the beliefs that in the afterlife a person will wish to have with them what was important to them on earth. Alternatively, in some cultures it is felt that when a person dies, their possessions (and sometimes people connected to them such as wives, see sati) should go with them out of loyalty or ownership.
• Though not generally a motivation for the inclusion of grave goods with a corpse, it is worth considering that future archaeologists may find the remains. Artifacts such as clothing and objects provide insight into how the individual lived. This provides a form of immortality for the deceased.

Body positioning

Burials may be placed in a number of different positions. Christian burials are made extended, i.e., lying flat with arms and legs straight, or with the arms folded upon the chest, and with the eyes and mouth closed. Extended burials may be supine (lying on the back) or prone (lying on the front). Other ritual practices place the body in a flexed position with the legs bent or crouched with the legs folded up to the chest. Many cultures treat placement of dead people in an appropriate position to be a sign of respect even when burial is impossible.

Related Topics:
Christian - Ritual

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In nonstandard burial practices, such as mass burial, the body may be positioned arbitrarily. This is a sign of disrespect to the deceased, or at least nonchalance on the part of the inhumer.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

With life and death being a way of life in the African-American slave community, slaves quickly familiarized themselves with funeral procedures and the location of gravesites of family and friends. Specific slaves were assigned to prepare dead bodies, build coffins, dig graves, and construct headstones. Slave funerals were typically at night when the workday was over, with the master present to view all the ceremonial procedures. Slaves from the nearby plantations were regularly in attendance. This may be an explanation to why countless African-American funerals, directly after slavery and up into the twentieth century, were held on Sundays, and are presently held on Fridays and Saturdays.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At death, a slave?s body was wrapped in cloth. The hands were placed across the chest, and a medal plate was placed on top of their hands. The reasoning for the plate was to hinder their return home by suppressing any sprits in the coffin. Often, personal property was buried with slaves to appease spirits. The coffins were nailed shut once the body was inside, and carried by hand or wagon, depending on the property designated for slave burial site. Slaves were buried east to west, with the head facing east and their feet to the west. This positioning represented the ability to rise without having to turn around at the call of Gabriel?s trumpet. Gabriel?s trumpet would be blown in the eastern sunrise. East-West positioning also was the direction of the home, Africa.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Marking the location of the burial

Most modern cultures mark the location of the body with a headstone. This serves two purposes. First, the grave will not accidentally be exhumed. Second, headstones often contain information or tributes to deceased. This is a form of remembrance for loved ones; it can also be viewed as a form of immortality, especially in cases of famous people's graves. Such Monumental Inscriptions may subsequently be useful to genealogists and family historians.

Related Topics:
Headstone - Grave - Immortality - Monumental Inscription

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Unmarked grave

In many cultures graves are marked with durable markers, or monuments, intended to help remind people of the buried person. An Unmarked Grave is a grave with no such memorial marker.

Related Topics:
Marked - Monuments - Grave

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The phrase "unmarked grave" has metaphorical meaning in the context of cultures that mark burial sites. As a figure of speech, an unmarked grave represents consignment to oblivion, an ignominous end. As a monument is a sign of fondness or respect, similarly a grave with no marker is a sign of disdain and disrespect - representing an intent that the person be forgotten utterly.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The corpus of Pope Formosus was actually disinterred, placed on trial (see Cadaver Synod), found guilty, and ultimately thrown into an 'unmarked grave' -- the waters of the River Tiber.

Related Topics:
Pope Formosus - Cadaver Synod - River Tiber

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

George W. Bush used the phrase "history's unmarked grave of discarded lies" in his speech to the United States Congress on September 20, 2001.

Related Topics:
George W. Bush - Speech to the United States Congress on September 20, 2001

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Anonymous burial

Another sort of unmarked grave is a burial site with an anonymous marker, such as a simple crucifix; boots, rifle and helmet; a sword and shield; a cairn of stones; or even lavish monuments. In this type of unmarked grave, no disrespect is intended. Rather, identification of the departed is impossible, yet it is desired that they be memorialised.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The United Kingdom has buried one of their unknown warriors in Westminster Abbey. France likewise honors an unknown soldier by burial underneath the Arc de Triomphe, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a monument in the U.S.'s Arlington National Cemetery is dedicated to American military personnel who have died without their remains being identified. These are extreme examples of anonymous graves, where the anonymity of the dead person is symbolic, indicating respect for all the unknown departed of war or calamity on a national scale.

Related Topics:
United Kingdom - Westminster Abbey - France - Arc de Triomphe - Tomb of the Unknown Soldier - U.S. - Arlington National Cemetery

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Secret burial

In some very rare cases, a person will be buried without identification, even when their identity is known. In some cases of infamous or notorious figures, this is to avoid desecration of the corpse or vandalism of the site. In others it may be for exactly the opposite reason. Famous graves often become tourist attractions, or destinations of pilgrimage. To avoid this the family or friends honoring the dead might bury them in an unpublicised place, a secret location, or in a grave with a false name — or no name at all — on the marker.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Walt Disney was cremated and the ashes buried in a secret location — Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery — one of many cemeteries that cater to the needs of famous dead people. Some burial sites at Forest Lawn, such as those of Humphrey Bogart and Mary Pickford, are secluded in private gated gardens, with no entry for the public. A number of tombs are also kept from the public eye. Forest Lawn's Court of Honour advertises that in some of the crypts beneath it are spots which no amount of money can buy, but individuals may be "voted in" as "Immortals." Out of respect for the privacy of the dead, no photographs taken at Forest Lawn are ever allowed to be published, and their information office usually refuses to say where famous people are buried.

Related Topics:
Walt Disney - Cremated - Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery - Humphrey Bogart - Mary Pickford

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Multiple bodies per grave

Some couples or groups of people want to be buried together, for example, a husband and wife. Since (in many cases) people die at different times, the exhumation of the first to die is often necessary. In other cases, the bodies may simply be buried side by side. Or if there was advanced planning the first person buried will be at a greater depth so that the second person can be buried on top at a shallower depth.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mass burial is the practice of burying dozens, hundreds, or thousands of individuals in one massive pit, much like a landfill for human remains. Most cultures view mass burial as a way of objectifying corpses, and is often viewed as a form of gross disrespect to the individuals being buried. Civilizations attempting genocide often employ mass burial for the people they kill in the genocide, as it is mechanically efficient, and coincides neatly with their goals of dehumanizing and destroying a segment of the population.

Related Topics:
Mass burial - Landfill - Objectify - Genocide

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

However, in some cases, mass burial is the only practical means of dealing with a number of corpses sufficient to overwhelm local resources, as in a major disaster.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In cases of mass burial, it is commonly of importance to survivors to later have the bodies exhumed, identified, and buried properly.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Cremation

In cremation the body of the deceased is burned in a special oven. Most of the body is vaporized during the cremation process, leaving only a few pounds of bone fragments. Often these fragments are processed (ground) into a fine powder, which has led to cremated remains being called ashes. In recent times, cremation has become an increasingly popular option in the western world.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There is far greater flexibility in dealing with the remains in cremation as opposed to the traditional burial. Some of the options include scattering the ashes on the ground or in a body of water, or keeping the ashes at home. Ashes can also be buried either underground or in a columbarium niche.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Live burial

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Live burial sometimes occurs, in which individuals are buried while still alive. Having no way of escaping interment, they die in place, typically by asphyxiation, dehydration, starvation, or (in cold climates) exposure. People may come to be buried alive in a number of different ways:

Related Topics:
Live burial - Asphyxia - Dehydration - Starvation - Exposure

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• An individual may be intentionally buried alive as a method of execution or murder.
• In Ancient Egypt, servants were sometimes intentionally buried alive with their Pharaoh in order to serve him/her in the afterlife.
• A person or group of people in a cave, mine, or other underground area may be sealed underground due to an earthquake or other natural disaster.
• People have been unintentionally (uncommonly) buried alive because they were pronounced dead by a coroner or other official, when they were in fact still alive.

Burial of animals

By humans

In addition to burying human remains, many human cultures also regularly bury animal remains. This is often necessary for hygienic reasons when the body cannot be disposed of in another way.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pets and other animals of emotional significance are often ceremonially buried. Most families bury deceased pets on their own properties, mainly in a yard, with a shoe box or any other type of container served as a coffin. The Ancient Egyptians are known to have mummified and buried cats, which they considered deities.

Related Topics:
Pet - Shoe box - Coffin - Ancient Egypt - Mummified - Cat - Deities

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

By other animals

Humans are not the only species to bury their dead. Chimpanzees and elephants are known to throw leaves and branches over fallen members of their family groups.

Related Topics:
Chimpanzee - Elephant

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~