葬礼

仪礼方式处理人类遗体,通常是想帮助往生者进入死後世界。墓葬可溯至十二万五千年前,坟墓的形式从简单的壕沟到大型土塚,甚至如金字塔那样大的石坟都有。长久以来也有采用洞穴为坟,如古希伯来人或印度西部、斯里兰卡成千上万的穴坟。水葬是维京人普遍采用的形式。火葬和在水上撒骨灰也很普遍,特别是在亚洲。在印度,死者遗体被丢入他们的圣河--恒河。有些民族(美洲印第安人帕西人〔Parsis〕等)则采曝屍方式处理遗体。在许多民族之中还有一种二次葬,通常和肉体腐败的持续时间一致。这反映了一种死亡观点,即死者自人世通往冥府,中间须历经若干过程。犹太教的习俗是尽速埋葬,祈祷者站在墓旁诵念祷文,而且通常在葬礼一年之後才会立墓碑。基督教葬礼通常要经过守灵,这是一种「看守」在死者身边的仪式,有时伴有宴客活动。信奉伊斯兰教的死者埋葬时,脸部需朝向圣地麦加

burial

Ritual disposal of human remains, often intended to facilitating the deceased's entry into the afterworld. Grave burial dates back at least 125,000 years. Types of grave range from trenches to large burial mounds to great stone tombs such as pyramids. Caves have also long been used for the dead, as in the case of the ancient Hebrews or the thousands of sepulchral caves (rock temples) of western India and Sri Lanka. Water burial, such as occurred among the Vikings, has also been common. Cremation and the scattering of ashes on water is widely practiced, especially in Asia; in India the remains of the deceased are thrown into the sacred Ganges River. Some peoples (American Indian groups, Parsis, etc.) employ exposure to the elements to dispose of their dead. Among many peoples, the first burial is followed by a second, after an interval that often coincides with the duration of bodily decomposition. This reflects a concept of death as slow passage from the society of the living to that of the dead. Jewish custom requires speedy burial; a prayer known as the Kaddish is recited at the graveside, and a gravestone is normally erected a year after burial. Christian burials are often preceded by a wake, a “watch” held over the deceased's body sometimes accompanied by festivity. Under Islam, the head of the dead must face Mecca.

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