Music+of+Death

"**Taps**" is a famous musical piece, sounded by the [|U.S. military] nightly to indicate that it is "lights out". The tune is also sometimes known as "[|Butterfield] ' s Lullaby", or by the lyrics of its second verse, "Day is Done". It is also played during [|flag ceremonies] and [|funerals], generally on [|bugle] or [|trumpet]. The tune is actually a variation of an earlier bugle call known as the "[|Scott Tattoo]" which was used in the U.S. from 1835 until 1860, Taps" concludes many [|military funerals] conducted with honors at [|Arlington National Cemetery], as well as hundreds of others around the [|United States].[|[4]] The tune is also sounded at many memorial services in Arlington's Memorial Amphitheater and at grave sites throughout the [|cemetery]. It became a standard component to military funerals in 1891. Taps" is sounded during each of the 2,500 military wreath ceremonies conducted at the [|Tomb of the Unknowns] every year, including the ones held on [|Memorial Day]. The ceremonies are viewed by many people, including veterans, school groups, and foreign officials. "Taps" is also sounded nightly in military installations at non-deployed locations to indicate that it is "lights out". When "Taps" is sounded at a funeral, it is customary for serving members of the military or veterans to [|salute]. The corresponding gesture for civilians is to place the right hand over the heart.[//[|citation needed]//] The 21 Gun salute is done in honor of dead presidents, ex-presidents, or presidents elect. [|21 gun] []- Taps (military funeral) http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=27257 http://freekidsmusic.com/traditional-childrens-songs/amazing-grace/
 * Death** is the termination of the [|biological] functions that sustain a [|living] [|organism]. The word refers both to the particular processes of [|life]'s cessation as well as to the condition or state of a formerly living [|body]. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include [|predation], [|malnutrition], [|accidents] resulting in terminal [|injury], and [|disease]. One of the most famous american songs assioated with death is taps.

"**Amazing Grace**" is a Christian [|hymn] written by English poet and clergyman [|John Newton] (1725–1807), published in 1779. With a message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of the sins people commit and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God, "Amazing Grace" is one of the most recognizable songs in the English-speaking world. Newton wrote the words from personal experience. He grew up without any particular religious conviction but his life's path was formed by a variety of twists and coincidences that were often put into motion by his recalcitrant insubordination. He was [|pressed] into the [|Royal Navy] and became a sailor, eventually participating in the slave trade. One night a terrible storm battered his vessel so severely that he became frightened enough to call out to God for mercy, a moment that marked the beginning of his spiritual conversion. His career in slave trading lasted a few years more until he quit going to sea altogether and began studying theology. By: Jason, Frankie, Jonathan, Will and Ariana There are a huge variety of different customs associated with death in Nigeria. Many of them are concerned with the transition of the soul, and laying the soul of the dead person finally to rest. This may take some years. Considerable thought is devoted to burial places. Some bury their dead underneath the compound or house. For others, it is important to remove the body to a burial ground some distance away. The Baganda, in Uganda, prepare a grave for each individual when they are still children.

There are all sorts of rules governing how the dead are buried, what they should wear, and what food they should take with them. Echoing the funeral rites of ancient Egypt, there is a belief that death is a journey and one must be equipped for that journey.

In Old Calabar, southeastern Nigeria, the funeral of a king was accompanied by the sacrifice of a number of slaves, who would, it was believed, serve him in the after-life. But in 1852 all this changed. King Archibong was seriously taken ill. The slaves of the Duke Town plantations banded together, in protest of the possibility of being buried with their king. When he recovered inhumation or slave burial was forbidden. [|danny boy]#- Danny Boy [|crossroads] [|funeral song]#- Top Funeral Songs [|funeral music]- Funeral Music []

__ Military Funerals __

Prominent in a military funeral is the flag-draped casket. The blue field of the flag is placed at the head of the casket, over the left shoulder of the deceased. The custom began in the Napoleonic Wars of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, when a flag was used to cover the dead as they were taken from the battlefield on a caisson.

[|crazy death rituals] - crazy death rituals

[|american death rituals]- American Death rituals



Cave Burial – Hawaii
Cave burials. Photo by Extra Medium In the Hawaiian Islands, a traditional burial takes place in a cave where the body is bent into a fetal position with hands and feet tied to keep it that way, then covered with a tapa cloth made from the bark of a mulberry bush.Â Sometimes the internal organs are removed and the cavity filled with salt to preserve it.Â The bones are considered sacred and believed to have diving power.Â Many caves in Hawaii still contain these skeletons, particularly along the coast of Maui. __Hindu Death Rituals__

After the death of a family member, the relatives become involved in ceremonies for preparation of the body and a procession to the burning or burial ground. For most Hindus, cremation is the ideal method for dealing with the dead, although many groups practice burial instead; infants are buried rather than cremated. At the funeral site, in the presence of the male mourners, the closest relative of the deceased (usually the eldest son) takes charge of the final rite and, if it is cremation, lights the funeral pyre. After a cremation, ashes and fragments of bone are collected and eventually immersed in a holy river. After a funeral, everyone undergoes a purifying bath. The immediate family remains in a state of intense pollution for a set number of days (sometimes ten, eleven, or thirteen). At the end of that period, close family members meet for a ceremonial meal and often give gifts to the poor or to charities __Native American Death Rituals__

Burial customs varied widely from tribe to tribe. Indians disposed of their dead in a variety of ways. Arctic tribes, for example, simply left their dead on the frozen ground for wild animals to devour. The ancient mound-building Hopewell societies of the Upper Midwest, by contrast, placed the dead in lavishly furnished tombs. Southeastern tribes practiced secondary bone burial. They dug up their corpses, cleansed the bones, and then reburied them. The Northeast Iroquois, before they formed the Five Nations Confederation in the seventeenth century, saved skeletons of the deceased for a final mass burial that included furs and ornaments for the dead spirits' use in the afterlife. Northwest coastal tribes put their dead in mortuary cabins or canoes fastened to poles. Further south, California tribes practiced cremation. In western mountain areas tribes often deposited their dead in caves or fissures in the rocks. Nomadic tribes in the Great Plains region either buried their dead, if the ground was soft, or left them on tree platforms or on scaffolds. Central and South Atlantic tribes embalmed and mummified their dead. But during outbreaks of smallpox or other diseases leading to the sudden deaths of many tribe members, survivors hurriedly cast the corpses into a mass grave or threw them into a river.

Read more: [|Native American Religion - rituals, world, burial, body, funeral, customs, history, beliefs, person] []

__**Traditional Mexican Death Customs and Beliefs**__
Frances Toor, a folklorist who wrote the classic book “A Treasury of Mexican Folkways,” researched a variety of death and burial customs among traditional Mexicans, who are influenced both by their Indian and Spanish Catholic heritage. Catholics obtain the services of a priest or one of his assistants to help the soul “die well.” The Mayans leave a hole in the thatch above the dying person so the soul can exit the house. Most Mayans believe in reincarnation because they feel there are not enough souls to keep repopulating the earth, so they need to be recycled. Mexicans believe that the personality endures after death. This means that the dead need the same things as the living. The survivors cultivate an acute awareness and even fear of the dead and perform the proper ceremonies in order to appease them. Since the dead are conscious of what’s going on until they receive the last rites, if their relatives do not comply with their dying wishes, it is believed that they will return at night and beat them. The news of a person’s death travels via word of mouth or the village church bells, whereupon relatives and friends come with gifts of food, drink, candles, and even cash. The women prepare the food while the men arrange for the burial. Traditional Mexicans do not embalm bodies, and burial takes place 24 hours after death. The body is laid out on the ground with something hard under the head for a pillow, like bricks. Lighted candles are placed around the body, which is sometimes covered with flowers and an image of their favorite saint. In the villages around Mexico City, the body is laid on a cross of lime that is left on the floor during the novena (nine days of prayers) after the burial, and then the cross is buried in the grave. The Zapotecs believe the lime cross shortens the stay in Purgatory. The Mixtecs add finely ground charcoal on a background of sand, with little red stars, branches, and vases with flowers drawn with pulverized brick, similar to a Navajo sand painting. Wakes are held in which mourners socialize with food and drinks, play the guitar, dance, tell stories about the deceased and get drunk. Wakes for children are usually festive, with music and dancing, because Catholics believe children are free of sin and will go to Heaven. The corpses of children are dressed in saints’ costumes or like Virgins. There is a belief that if you treat angelitos (the bodies of children) well they will help you when you get to Heaven. They have fancy coffins with food, flowers and toys, or a clay jar so a baptized child can water flowers in Heaven. A small cross of wax or palm is placed in the hands, along with a crown or wreath of flowers. A band playing happy tunes and shooting off firecrackers usually accompanies the burial. Burials for adults are more somber. They are dressed in their best clothes with the remainder rolled up under their heads. Other possessions, like working tools, are included. The local band plays funeral dirges or other slow tunes. Most are buried in coffins but some are wrapped in petates (reed mats) or serapes or placed on boards. There is a belief that the road to the next world isn’t easy, so new sandals with heavy soles are provided. Mexicans have a generally fatalistic, stoic attitude toward death. Some groups, such as the Zapotecs of Oaxaca, weep and wail at a funeral. Others, such as the Mayans of Chan Kom, will not, because they believe a display of grief will delay the soul’s departure. Prayers are said to prevent demons and supernatural animals from gaining power over the soul. The Mayans believe that a good person goes to Gloria, where St. Peter waits at the gate with keys. If a soul has not been kind to children, the angelitos tell St. Peter and the soul will not be admitted. Men received in Gloria need to have led chaste lives before marriage and practiced faithfulness and gentleness in their marriage, obedience to their parents, kindness to animals, and piety. If they do not fulfill these moral requirements, they will go to Purgatory to be burned white—the color of purity—and then they will be received in Gloria. Very bad souls go straight to Hell. If a man has slept with his wife’s sister he’s transformed into a whirlwind that fans the flames for clearing cornfields for new crops. Anyone who leaves money behind without telling somebody cannot get to Gloria until he informs someone on earth. If a man dies without paying his debts, he may have to become a wild turkey or deer until his creditors meet and shoot the animal and sell the meat to recover the debt; only then he can go to Gloria. There are different myths about supernatural animals. The Otomís of Huixquilucan believe that a goat tries to prevent the dead from crossing the river, so they put hay in the coffin at the funeral and little boys throw stones at the imaginary goat. Another practice is putting a piece of prickly pear or maguey bark in the coffin for the dead to throw at the wild bull that tries to prevent them from crossing the plain to reach Purgatory. A popular Mexican story about the journey after death describes walking eastward for three years to a lake and being carried over by a black dog. After crossing the lake, the soul travels for three more years to the house of Jesus Christ. The man at the door tells the soul to wait until sunrise, whereupon the soul is given a letter to return to this world. For all Mexicans, the dead are a part of life and are never forgotten. They are honored every year during the fiestas of All Saints Day (November 1st) and All Souls Day or Day of the Dead (November 2nd), when they return to visit the living.

Mexican American Funeral Services
Since the earliest stages of Mexican culture, Mexicans have embraced death as a part of life. The Mayans and Aztecs were both warriors who practiced human sacrifice — which shows a casual acceptance of death. Combine this ancient belief with the Catholicism that missionaries brought to their country and funeral attendees will see a relaxed, yet deeply religious regard for death.This acceptance of death has defined some modern Mexican rituals, such as "The Day of the Dead", a celebration that honors those who are deceased. In celebration, many Mexicans decorate with skeletons that dance and play instruments. Although other cultures may regard this as irreverent, it is not meant to trivialize the loss of a loved one, but rather affirm their belief in an afterlife — and ease grief.

Funeral Preparations
Elaborate funeral preparations are done for elders in Chinese families. It is considered good and proper for children to go into debt in order to pay respect for older people at their funeral.

Caskets
While some traditional Chinese death rituals use the three-humped rectangle shaped casket, more modern Chinese use the Western-style caskets.

Preparation of the Body
Before a body can be placed in a casket it must be washed with care, dusted with talcum powder and dressed in the very best clothes from their personal wardrobe. All other clothing belonging to the person must be burned. The person is usually dressed in black, blue or brown but never red as it is believed that this will cause the corpse to become a ghost. The body is then placed on a mat with the face covered with a yellow cloth and the body covered with a blue cloth.

Preparing the Home for Chinese Death Rituals
All statues of deities in the home are covered with red paper and all mirrors are removed from sight. This is done so that no one sees the coffin in a mirror. It is believed that if you do see a coffin in a mirror, you will have a death within your own family soon. A white cloth is hung in the doorway of the home and a gong is placed outside of the door. If a male has passed, it is placed on the left side of the doorway and if a female has passed, the gong is placed on the right side of the doorway.

The Wake
If the person has died at home, his or her coffin is placed on a stand within the home. If he or she died away from home, the coffin is placed on a stand within the home's courtyard.Wreaths, photos and gifts are placed near the head of the deceased as it lays in wake. Food is placed in front of the coffin as an offering to them. During the wake, the person's comb is broken in two; one half is placed in the coffin and the other half is given to the family members. An altar is placed at the feet of the deceased person. There, a white candle is lit and incense is burned. Joss paper and prayer money are continually burned throughout the wake to ensure the deceased person has plenty of money in the afterlife. Those attending the funeral are required to light incense, bow to the deceased and place money in a donation box to help defray the cost of the funeral. It is customary for family members and women to wail at Chinese wakes. The larger the fortune is left to the relatives, the louder the [|wailing]. It is also customary for gambling to take place in the courtyards of the home. This is done to help family members stay alert during the wake and to take their minds off of the funeral.

[] African Death Rituals It is common to sacrifice animals as part of the death ritual in Africa. An ox is the popular choice, as it is believed this animal will accompany the deceased person to the land of their ancestors. Oxen also serve another purpose; There is a close relationship between birth and death. African beliefs in reincarnation differ from those of major Asian religions (especially Hinduism) in a number of important ways. ... A practice that seems to be disappearing in African urban areas is the home-bringing ritual, although it is still observed in some parts... I refer to bullfighting as a ritual because of the old established traditions and because there seems to be something spiritual about it. It seems to say something about how we face life, and death. One of the basic passes of a matador is called the Veronica.
 * Death Rituals in Africa - LoveToKnow Dying**

=**__Russian Death Rituals__**=  In Russia, rituals recognizing people who have died are a blend of folk beliefs passed on by Eastern Slavs and modern-day rituals. Russians celebrate the passage of the dead with superstitious rituals, as well as mourning and grieving their loss. > > ==Food for the Dead== > > ==Superstitious Rituals==
 * 1) ==Clothing==
 * Wearing weeds, or drab clothing in black, is a ritual established to prevent the dead from returning. Covering the head in a black kerchief and wearing black continues for 40 days after the death. __[|Women]__ who have lost older children unexpectedly, wear the dark colors for a year. Daughters mourning the death of a parent wear the weeds for one to six weeks. Men do not participate in wearing the weeds.
 * A glass of water covered with __[|bread]__ is placed in the windowsill or near the body immediately after death. For six weeks, at meal time a glass of vodka covered with bread is placed at the dinner table where the dead normally ate. This ritual pays tribute for the dead.
 * Rituals are incorporated in the mourning process, and include covering mirrors, stopping watches and taking the TV from the room where the body lies in wait. Superstitious that the dead will return to their home and take someone with them, when the body is carried away from the home for burial, it is carried with its legs extended forward and done so that no part of the body touches the __[|house]__ on its way out. Then when the body is removed, people sit in the chairs or on tables that held the coffin before turning them over for a length of time.

__**RELIGIONS RITUALS**__: []

Read more: [|Russian After Death Rituals | eHow.com] []
 * __Russian Funeral__**

[]

History of cremation:
Most archaeologists believe that cremation was invented during the stone age, about 3000 BCE. **1** It was most likely first used in Europe or the Near East. It became the most common method of disposing of bodies by 800 BCE in Greece, and by 600 BCE in Rome. However, other societies had other methods:
 * [[image:http://www.religioustolerance.org/_themes/topo/topbul1d.gif width="15" height="15" caption="bullet"]] || In ancient Israel, sepulchers (tombs or vaults) were used for burial; cremation was shunned. The body was exposed to the air of the tomb and simply decomposed over time. ||
 * [[image:http://www.religioustolerance.org/_themes/topo/topbul1d.gif width="15" height="15" caption="bullet"]] || The early Christian church also rejected cremation, partly because of its association with Pagan societies of Greece and Rome. Christians buried their dead in graves or in catacombs (underground vaults). ||
 * [[image:http://www.religioustolerance.org/_themes/topo/topbul1d.gif width="15" height="15" caption="bullet"]] || in ancient Egypt, bodies were embalmed. ||
 * [[image:http://www.religioustolerance.org/_themes/topo/topbul1d.gif width="15" height="15" caption="bullet"]] || in ancient China, they were buried. ||

In the afterlife they would need the same type of things they needed in this life so they took them with them into their graves. ||
 * dan, joe, chris, mike**
 * || The Vikings believed that after death they would join their gods in an afterlife much like the world we live in
 * || This gives us a wonderful insight into what they thought was important. Imagine what you would take with you into another life if you could. ||

Some burials were made in boats or even ships. Interestingly some people were buried in a ring of stones laid out to form the shape of a boat. ||
 * || [[image:http://www.lore-and-saga.co.uk/assets/images/autogen/clearpixel.gif width="24" height="1"]] || [[image:http://www.lore-and-saga.co.uk/assets/images/autogen/clearpixel.gif width="319" height="1"]] ||
 * || Men generally took their weapons and the tools of their trade while women were buried with domestic equipment and their jewellery.

We think that the Vikings believed that one of the ways to travel to the afterlife was by boat, perhaps if you couldn’t afford a real boat a stone one would have to do.

Of course the best way to travel on this final journey was in the company of the Gods. Odin and his handmaidens the Valkyries searched the battlefields for the bravest of the fallen warriors who would reside in Valhol feasting and fighting until Ragnarokk, the twilight of the Gods. While Thor collected worthy peasants and thralls to his great hall Bilskirnir. || Food and drink was often included in the grave too, presumably as a meal for this last journey.

The Vikings ate fish, seafood, meat, bread, cheese, fruit and vegetables in varying amounts depending upon availability and wealth.

Ale, cider and mead were the main drinks. Alcohol was considered safer to drink than water which it probably was because to make any of these drinks the first thing to do is boil the water. ||

Most other foods would only be available in the seasons that they grew and would be eaten fresh. || [|viking info] [|viking song]
 * [[image:http://www.lore-and-saga.co.uk/assets/images/autogen/clearpixel.gif width="37" height="1"]] || [[image:http://www.lore-and-saga.co.uk/assets/images/autogen/clearpixel.gif width="713" height="1"]] ||
 * || Preservation of food was an important skill, necessary to provide food in the lean cold months. Before Winter the spare animals would be slaughtered so the breeding stock could survive on what little available grazing was left. The surplus meat and fish would be smoked or salted to prevent it from rotting. Pulses like peas and beans could be dried. Grain was stored for grinding into flour to make flat unleavened bread.
 * dan, joe, chris, mike**
 * dan, joe, chris, mike**

1. As Death Approaches Traditionally, a Hindu dies at home. Nowadays the dying are increasingly kept in hospitals. 2. The Moment of Death If the dying person is unconscious at departure, a family member chants the mantra softly in the right ear. 3. The Homa Fire Ritual If available, a special funeral priest is called. In a shelter built by the family, a fire ritual (homa) is performed to bless nine brass kumbhas (water pots) and one clay pot. Lacking the shelter, an appropriate fire is made in the home. The "chief mourner" leads the rites. 4. Preparing the Body The chief mourner now performs arati, passing an oil lamp over the remains, then offering flowers. 5. Cremation Only men go to the cremation site, led by the chief mourner.Two pots are carried: the clay kumbha and another containing burning embers from the homa. 6. Return Home; Ritual Impurity Returning home, all bathe and share in cleaning the house. A lamp and water pot are set where the body lay in state. The water is changed daily, and pictures remain turned to the wall. 7. Bone-Gathering Ceremony About 12 hours after cremation, family men return to collect the remains. Water is sprinkled on the ash; the remains are collected on a large tray. 8. First Memorial On the 3rd, 5th, 7th or 9th day, relatives gather for a meal of the deceased's favorite foods. 9. 31st-Day Memorial On the 31st day, a memorial service is held. In some traditions it is a repetition of the funeral rites. At home, all thoroughly clean the house. 10. One-Year Memorial At the yearly anniversary of the death (according to the moon calendar), a priest conducts the shraddha rites in the home, offering pinda to the ancestors. This ceremony is done yearly as long as the sons of the deceased are alive (or for a specified period).
 * dan, joe, chris, mike**
 * [|indian death song]**