JEWISH

BELIEFS
Beliefs may vary depending on whether the Jewish person is Orthodox, Reform or Conservative. Jews believe
that when they die they will go to Heaven to be with God. This next world is called Olam HaEmet or ‘the world
of truth’. Death is seen as a part of life and a part of God’s plan.
PREPARING
Family and friends will gather. A rabbi may be called to offer comfort and to pray for the person who is dying.
AT THE TIME
The person’s eyes are closed, the body is covered and laid on the floor and candles are lit. The body is never left
alone. Eating and drinking are not allowed near the body as a sign of respect. In Jewish law, being around a dead
body causes uncleanliness so often the washing of the body and preparations for burial will be carried out by a
special group of volunteers from the Jewish community. This is considered a holy act.
FUNERAL
Jews may not be cremated or embalmed. In Israel a coffin might not always be used but outside of Israel a coffin
is almost always used. The body is wrapped in a white shroud. Mourners have the opportunity to express
anguish. Tears are seen as a sign of sadness and show that the mourner is confronting death. Mourners also tear
their clothing as an expression of grief.
BURIAL
The burial takes place as soon as possible following the death. Pallbearers will carry the casket to the grave. A
family member will throw a handful of earth in the casket with the body. This is to put the body in close contact
with the earth. Jewish law says each grave must have a tombstone to remember the deceased. Flowers are
generally not used at Jewish funerals, nor are they placed on the grave, visitors to the grave often leave a small
stone as a token.

AFTER
A candle is lit after returning from the cemetery to mark seven days of mourning called Shivah. This is when
people can offer sympathies to the mourners. A meal is prepared by friends to help the mourners regain their
strength. Each year the anniversary of the death is commemorated according to the Hebrew calendar. This day is
observed as a solemn day of remembrance.

Native American Death Rituals

While each Native American tribe is unique in its death practices, there are some common beliefs about death
and the burial process held by many tribes. Since Native Americans do not organize time through structured
calendars, their bereavement practices often center on natural elements and seasons. It is important to understand
traditional beliefs about death and burial rituals as a way to preserve these cultures and respectfully help Native
Americans dealing with death.

General Beliefs
Depending on how traditional the family is, Indian burials take significantly more time than typical American
funerals. These families don't like to rush the process which can take up to several days to
complete. Autopsies are typically frowned upon in most occasions because Native Americans tend to discourage
any contact with the deceased's body. Many believe the spirit will leave the body through rituals and ceremonies
where family and tribe members must help it on its way. If the body is cut open in an autopsy, the spirit may not
properly begin its journey after death.

Sioux Practices
Pat Janis, the Oglala Sioux Tribe's Burial Assistance Program Director, and medicine man Two Dogs share
traditional and modern death rituals among the Sioux tribe in the Rapid City Journal. Generally, the Sioux
believe it takes four days after burial for the spirit of the deceased to journey to its next resting place. They
believe death is not an end of life, but the beginning of another journey for the spirit.

Tree or Scaffold Burial

Traditionally, the Sioux would place the body of the deceased in a tree or on the platform of a scaffold that stood
about eight feet above the ground, and the remains stayed there for one year. The body was treated as if it still
had life. The person was clothed in his or her best clothing and sewed into an animal skin. This bundle was
placed on the scaffold along with the deceased's possessions and food items. After one year the body was buried
in the ground.

Combination of Rituals
Today, many Sioux practice both traditional and modern Christian death rituals. This process takes about two
days where the family of the deceased holds wakes over both days in a large area. Wherever the wake takes
place is also where the funeral takes place since they prefer not to move the body until the actual burial. The
family of the deceased feeds everyone in attendance over the course of the two days and at least one family
member has to stand by the body at all times

At the funeral, the Christian ceremony is usually performed. Afterward, a medicine man performs a more
traditional ceremony with prayers, songs, and a drum group. After each ceremony, friends and family take turns
paying their final respects to the deceased by giving him "spiritual foods" called wasna or pemmican to help the
spirit on its travels. Gifts for the spirit, such as knives and shawls, are also placed in the casket before burial.

Chippewa Rituals

The Chippewa traditionally believe the spirt leaves the body after burial, not just after death, so they prefer
immediate burials. They also subscribe to the belief that it takes a spirit four days after burial to reach happiness.
This belief drives their ritual because family members see it as their duty to help the spirit move on as quickly as
possible.

Fires to Guide the Spirit

A pow-wow is held at the deceased's home the night after the burial. Before dark, one person lights a fire at the
head of the grave, and this fire is lit every night for four nights to help guide the spirit.

Feasting and Disposing of Possessions

At the end of the fourth day after burial, a medicine man presides over a feast and is responsible for giving away
all the deceased's belongings. Each person who receives an item must give a new piece of clothing in return. All
these new clothes are wrapped in a bundle and given, along with a dish, to the closest living relative. This person
then hands out each article of new clothing to someone he or she finds worthy.
Honorary Meals
The deceased's loved one keeps the dish and carries it for one year to every meal he or she attends. It is filled
with food to honor the deceased.

Kiowa Practices
According to Toby Blackstar, a Native American funeral director, the Kiowa believe in-ground burial is the only
acceptable way to release a body after death. They believe the Creator birthed the body from the earth, so it must
return to the earth through decomposition.

For the Ponca Tribe, there is a fear of the deceased which drives their death rituals. They are afraid the dead will
resent them and his ghost will haunt anyone with his possessions. So, the tribe burns all the deceased's
possessions, even if they are valuable. Any remaining family members who shared a house with the deceased
person then move into a new house.

Navajo Rituals

The Navajo also believe a spirit will come back if it is not buried in the correct manner. They don't necessarily
fear the return of the spirit for their own safety, but more because they want the spirit to go on. Due to this belief,
the Navajo value dying outside the house so the spirit can't linger in the home.

Once a person dies, the body must go through a traditional cleansing ritual as soon as possible. Two nude men
covered in ash cleanse the body. Afterward, three family members wrap the body, load it on a new horse, and
lead it as far north as they can. The family members then bury the body and conceal the grave. The horse is
killed and buried too so it can help the spirit move on.

Iroquois Practices

As a general practice, these tribes buried their dead in graves and traditionally took a more vengeful approach to
death. Decades ago, they practiced revenge through torture of the person responsible for a loved one's death, but
these practices evolved into required payments of money rather than life. Taking a man's life cost ten strings
of wampum and taking a woman's life cost twenty because she was valued for her ability to have children.

Mourning Wars
If a loved one was killed by a person from another tribe, the matriarch of that person's family could ask tribal
warriors to take a prisoner from the tribe of the murderer. These mourning wars often involved a planned raid on
another tribal village for that sole purpose.

Once captured, the matriarch would choose whether the prisoner was adopted into her family or tortured based
on her level of grief. If torture was chosen, all village members had to take part as a signal of ending the person's
old life. The Iroquois valued strength in numbers, so the tortured prisoner would often get adopted into the tribe
as a replacement for the person they lost.
Condolence Ceremony
At some point in history, these mourning war practices were replaced by the Condolence Ceremony, particularly
for clan and tribal chiefs. During this ceremony, members of several tribes would come together to mourn the
loss as a nation rather than just the deceased's family mourning a family member on their own.

These sacred ceremonies have not been well documented because they are deeply personal to Iroquois tradition.
What is known is that leaders of another tribe were charged with conducting the ceremonies which included
recitations of actions individuals could take to grieve the loss and comforting words. A string of wampum is
presented by all the nations as one for each specific recitation, which could vary by tribe and circumstance.

Community Death Feast

One modern practice by the Oneida Nation is the Community Death Feast. These annual feasts are held once
each spring and once each fall to honor those who have died. Each person in the community brings a traditional
food like corn mush, wild berries, wild rice, or venison to share with the whole group. One plate is filled with
some of each shared dish and placed in a private are just before sunrise as a token for the dead.

Traditions Meet the Modern Age

While modern Native American death rituals today may look very different from those practiced hundreds of
years ago, there are often some elements of the traditional beliefs still included in their practices. Many of these
rituals and beliefs aren't well documented and are considered sacred, so they remain shrouded in mystery to
outsiders as Native Americans continue to honor their dead.

Hispanic Culture of Death and Dying

The traditional Hispanic culture of death and dying reflects this demographic group's values and religious faith.
Funeral and burial rituals reflect the culture's high regard for family.

Hispanic Culture and Family

In Hispanic culture, relationships with immediate and extended family members is very important. Family
members look to each other for emotional support during difficult times. Part of this support is in the form of
family members caring for loved ones who are ill or dying as opposed to looking to professional caregivers to
take on this role.

Caring for the Dying

In traditional Hispanic families, the bulk of care provided for a terminally ill family member is performed by
female relatives who are unlikely to ask for outside help to cope with the stress of looking after someone who is
close to death. Some Hispanic families may resist the idea of placing a seriously ill family member in a nursing
home or other type of facility. Ideally, the ill person is cared for at home until he or she passes away someone
with a family member remaining by their side until the end. Spending time with a family member who is close to
death also allows relatives to resolve outstanding issues within the family.
Anticipatory Grief
The news that a family member is seriously ill may trigger anticipatory grief in close relations. The surviving
family members start to experience feelings of loss before their loved one dies. While it is acceptable for women
in this culture to show emotion after someone dies, they may not feel comfortable breaking down in front of the
terminal patient. The knowledge that a person will die combined with the uncertainty of not knowing when the
event will happen can be very stressful for family members.

Religious Faith

The majority of Hispanics are Roman Catholics. The Church teaches that the soul is eternal and continues on
after the physical body has died. This religious faith also treats all human life as sacred.

Pain and illness may be seen as a test of the individual's and the family's religious faith. In some cases, the
patient's and family's faith in God may interfere with the patient agreeing to comfort measures, such as pain
medication, that might make him or her feel more comfortable.

The family of a seriously ill individual may reach out to the local priest for support in the time prior to death;
once the person has passed, the priest will provide support and assistance with funeral arrangements.

Last Rites
A Catholic, on his or her deathbed, is given last rites by a priest and is anointed with holy oil for this purpose.
The priest hears the dying person's confession and offers absolution. The patient, when able, receives
Communion and a blessing from the priest.