Re: Mourning, funerals

From: Jane Williams <janewill_at_mail.nildram.co.uk>
Date: Tue, 4 Nov 1997 19:26:29 +0000


Lee said:
> I think what I was trying to get across at the end of my input was that
> death in most barbarian cultures seems to have been a celebration, not
> something that was mourned as in most modern societies.
A fair point, though I still think the dead person would be missed. And if their death was unpleasant (which most deaths are), that would be regretted.

Would the funeral not contain at least some element of trying to ensure that the dead person found themselves the best possible of the alternative after-lives? Praising their deeds in an attempt to convince the gods? (I wonder if this is where the idea came from that speaking ill of the dead is a bad idea? It doesn't actually make any sense in isolation, after all).

> It seems that barbarians were more concerned that the dead didn't come
> back to life more than grieving for the person.
Very true, but I doubt if this would translate to Glorantha. The Ressurrection spell exists, even if not in as much abundance as some games would suggest. And ancestor spirits are *expected* to take part in clan life!
There might of course be attempts to ensure that the dead didn't come back as *undead*, but burning the body would be quite enough, surely?

> IMO the funeral ceremony was the grieving period and would take a
> couple of days to complete (whith preparations, burial, celebration
> afterwards, etc).

Mmmm. Ever lost anyone close to you? The grieving period generally takes a bit longer than that.

> If you are looking for something simple (such as the excellent death rune
> in ashes suggestion), it seems the Scotts would wear black or grey kilts to
> signify someone died, though how long these were worn for, I do not know.
Nice one. And grey is easier to come by than black, too. What period of history are you quoting here, though? If it was a "kilt", that makes it pretty modern.

Jane Williams                     jane_at_williams.nildram.co.uk
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~janewill/gloranth/index.shtml

Powered by hypermail