Robert Resendiz @01088448 03/6/2013

Cremation is and old custom that varies in different parts of the world, there are many cultures that participate in this mortuary practice. I will be researching cremation in three different parts of the world Japan, India and The United States. A focus will be specifically to these regions and will be devoted to cross-cultural comparisons based on information collected. The specific data used will show the unique nature of the mortuary practices and religious beliefs, as well as the differences and similarities from the different regions during different time periods. Traditionally in Japan Shintoism and Buddhism are practiced in harmony throughout the many regions. Today, there are many more religions that are practiced by the large population, but Buddhism is dominate. Although religion is not practiced on a daily basis for many people, for much of the culture certain religious rituals are practiced like births, birthdays, and deaths. Cremation has been practiced by nearly 99.4% of the population as of July 2011. Cremation numbers are at high due to natural disasters, large population with confined spaces, and tradition. For many years Japan has been in harms grasps with natural disasters tearing apart at its roots. Today earthquakes and tsunamis constantly accumulate the dead, crematoriums have been overflowed with bodies. The Japanese have been forced to make large mass graves containing victims of these natural disasters. These temporary makeshift graves are being created to help relieve the overwhelming increase of bodies in crematoriums. With still much of the country recovering from destruction, fuel and supplies are increasingly scarce. With some crematoriums shut down from damages caused by recent earthquakes and tsunamis, much of the dead are sent to other crematoriums where many are already overwhelmed with the volume of deceased. As

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supplies start to flow through the country, crematoriums are once again starting to fire up once again. Traditionally during a Japanese Buddhist cremation a number of steps are taken in order for the body and soul to be separated then cremated. Following the passing of the individual, the body is washed by either relatives or hospital staff. After the person dies representatives communicate with loved ones in charge of funeral services once clean the body is dressed accordingly to relatives request. Mortuary representatives apply cosmetics and final touches before the wake is held. Once funeral arrangements are completed the wake is held for the deceased, and family and friends visit. As the body is moved from dry ice to the casket, family never leaves the bodies side. The dry ice is used to help preserve the body since the Japanese do not believe in embalming techniques. Once the body is placed at the shrine, burnable objects including candy, tobacco, and money are placed along with the body. These objects placed in the casket are usually items that the deceased enjoyed during life. The money is placed in the casket for the toll to pass the River of the 3 Hells. Once a Buddhist priest prays for the deceased the funeral begins. As tablets with the deceased information is placed at the front of the casket, incense is offered to the body by the family in hierarchal order. Following the relatives offerings, the priest conducts the ceremony reading varying scriptures from the sutra scripture. After final prayers are held those attending are allowed to pay respects; following is the closing of the casket.

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Family still by the caskets side follow it to the crematorium. As the family follows the casket and crematorium staff to the oven, they say final goodbyes to the body. The family and a staff member view the body leave the casket into the oven where the door closes sealing the body. The staff member instructs the family to return at a certain time after the process has completed. Once instructed to return, family members place ashes in the urn and in tradition certain bones are collected for family. With the urn wrapped in a white cloth, it is held for 49 days according to Buddhist tradition. On the next day, the urn is to be placed in the family plot. In the United States cremation was not in the public eye until 1876 when a Dr. Julius LeMOYNE built the first crematorium in Washington, Pennsylvania. By 1913 the Cremation Association of America was created and consisted of 52 crematoriums. Within the year of 1913 nearly 10,000 cremations took place. As of 2009, according to the Cremation Association of North America there are over 2,000 crematoriums and nearly 900,000 cremations have taken place. With a little under 37% of the deaths in America handled by cremation, the Cremation Association believes that this trend will increase by double the amount by 2018. Since the United States is a melting pot of cultures and religions my main focus is primarily on the Catholic Churchs views of cremation past and present in the states. The Catholic Church has practiced the interment of the deceased since the early times of Christianity, believing that the human body as the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit.

During 1964, the Holy Church lifted the ban on cremation only to be used under specific circumstances not to cremate against Christian beliefs. The church also specified that cremated remains were not to be allowed in churches, in regards to Christian belief. With many Christian

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orders revised, majority state that Funeral services and prayers are to be held before the body is cremated. Speculation between followers and the church was the fact that the church believed that cremated people were not able to ride on Judgment Day. With many rules and regulations in place, many Christians opted to be cremated after the vigil and the right of committal remains is held. These are the blessings placed upon the cremated remains allowing them to pass on to the other world. With many people having different reasons for cremation majority of people feel that it is the most viable and economic decision. With cremation taking place within 48 hours of a passing cost is cut to nearly a quarter of the cost. Without the use of mortuary facilities for wakes and viewings cost for cremation is affordable for loved ones. In India, with the vast population practicing Hinduism cremation is a common practice all over its region. Specific rituals depends on the individuals status or caste, whether it may be a commoner or royalty. With the body wrapped in a white linen cloth and white flowers laid upon the body as it lies on the pyre. Rites associated to the disposal of the body empower the soul to journey successfully from the stage of ghost to the realm of the ancestors. If rite of passage is improperly done the soul will remain at the status of ghost. Once cremated the ashes are then scattered into the Ganges. In traditional customs men are the only ones permitted on cremation grounds; women are forbidden from being on cremation grounds. Many of the cremations are held in the Holy city of Varanasi near the Holy Ganges River leading to the Indian Ocean. Hindus believe that cremation is necessary in order to separate the body from the soul, this is necessary in order to cut the circle of reincarnation and karma. Karma is the belief that all actions have an equal repercussion.

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In present day India, with populations dramatically increasing as time goes on; so is the death rate. According to UNICEF, Indias crude death rate for 2010 was 8 million people. With this many open air cremations a poor quality of life for the living occurs. With more contaminants being introduced into an open environment, all this does is increase air and water pollution. With much of Indias major population cities and rivers polluted, air and water quality decreases from much of the ash and silt floating through much of the air like smog. The Ganges being the life blood of the city is contaminated from already being used by people to bathe, wash dishes, wash clothes, and use the restroom and to top it off dump human ash in. Along with the ash, large amounts of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gasses are being released into the atmosphere harming the environment further. With cremation becoming more of a popular trend because of affordability, I believe that numbers are going to increase steadily over time. No matter what religion someone is, due to limited space and money it is the wiser choice. As for India and there problems with cremation pollution, we could only hope these people would create crematoriums in order to help reduce contamination.

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Bibliography:

DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI and TOKO SEKIGUCHI 2011 Japan Tsunami Cremation Rule. Electronic Document, Accessed April 10. http://costofcremation.net/uncategorized/japan-tsunami-cremation-rule/

Billy Hammond 2001 Japanese Buddhist Funeral Customs. Electronic Document, Accessed April 10. http://tanutech.com/japan/jfunerals.html#Japanese%20Funerals

Jeffrey Hays 2011 Funerals in Japan: Cremations. High Costs, Beliefs about Death and Buddhist Customs, Electronic Document, Accessed April 15. http://factsanddetails.com/japan.php?itemid=604

Hilary Brenhouse 2011 Why Mass Burials Are Another Cause For Grief in Japan. Electronic Document, http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2062605,00.html

Author Unknown 2012 History of Cremation. Electronic Document, Accessed April 20. http://www.cremationassociation.org/?page=HistoryOfCremation

Fran Helner 2013 Cremation: New Options for Catholics. Electric Document, Accessed April 20. http://www.americancatholic.org/newsletters/cu/ac1097.asp

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Vijay After Life Services 2011 History of cremation, Electronic Document, Accessed April 25. http://vijaygas.in/history_of_cremation.htm Carolyn Brown Heinz A Hindu Cremation in Nepal. Electronic Document, Accessed April 26. http://www.csuchico.edu/pub/inside/archive/99_02_11/top_story2.html UNICEF 2003 India Statistics. Electronic Document, Accessed April 26. http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html

Cremation Society of Great Britain 2011 International Cremation Statistics 2011. Electronic Document, Accessed April 27 http://www.srgw.demon.co.uk/CremSoc5/Stats/Interntl/2011/StatsIF.html Australian Museum 2010 Disposing of the Dead- Cremation. Electronic Document, Accessed April 28. http://australianmuseum.net.au/Disposing-of-the-dead-Cremation