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FEATURED
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“Making Mobiles” by Karolina Merska: An artist’s manual on how to create beautiful Polish pajaki -
“Hands Up to the Sky” by Michael Franti & Spearhead: A surprisingly upbeat song about acknowledging both loss and the beauty of life -
Coping With Election Grief: While half of Americans are celebrating, the other half are in mourning
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Categories
Tag Archives: Cultural perspectives on death
“Living While Dying” by Cathy Zheutlin
An independent filmmaker explores the end of life
The point of Cathy Zheutlin’s poignant documentary, “Living While Dying”, is best expressed by the quote which opens the film: “The art of living well and dying well are one.” Zheutlin, a filmmaker who has reached the sixth decade of … Continue reading
The Spirit of The Dead According To Ojibwe Beliefs
Lee Staples, Ojibwe spiritual leader, facilitates traditional funerals on the Mille Lacs and Fond du Lac Reservations
Lee Staples, a spiritual leader for the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation in Central Minnesota, says that one must understand Ojibwe beliefs about life in order to understand Ojibwe beliefs about death. “We have within us Anishinaabe spirit, and we just … Continue reading
The Ars Moriendi, or “The Art of Dying”
A Medieval manual for death and dying
The Ars Moriendi (“The Art of Dying”) are two Latin texts dating back to 1415 and 1450, written to guide Christians through the process of “dying well,” according to Christian tenets of the late Middle Ages. The books inform the … Continue reading
The Teaching of The Ancient Yew Tree
How this tree has come to symbolize death in pagan cultures
The Yew tree is a species of evergreen conifer native to western, central, and southern Europe, northern Iran, southwest Asia and northwest Africa. Because of their toxic leaves and berries, yews were a symbol of death and rebirth in pre-Christian pagan … Continue reading
Ikipalin: The Dani Finger Amputation Ritual
The Dani of New Guinea traditionally practiced finger amputation when mourning the loss of loved one
The experience of grief is an intensely physical one; grief is often accompanied by sleep disturbances, loss of appetite, digestive disruptions and cardiac problems. There are cultural practices around the world that believe intentional physical pain is an important part … Continue reading
Memorial Diamonds for a Diamond Burial
Swiss company Algordanza will turn cremation ashes into man-made diamonds
A company in Switzerland has given new meaning to the sentiment that we carry the dead with us. Algordanza makes carrying your dead with you literally a possibility with their “memorial diamonds.” The Swiss company will compress your loved one’s … Continue reading
