-
Funeral Customs
- *Religious & death beliefs
- *Burial Customs
- *Preperations of the Body
- *Indvidual involved in the Funeral Service
- *Funeral Procession
- *the committal service
- *types of receptacles
-
Religious & death beliefs
- *early roman centuries they believed that the soul of a man hovered around the place of burial for it's continuing peace & happiness
- * greek & oriental eastern influnences into believing in a pleasant, wondrous & ecstatic existance in eternity or in the opposite
- * Epicurean phiosophy changed the belief that body & soul is composed of atoms & disinitergrated at death
- *Christianity set beliefs about man & is maker this became predominate
-
offerings of food and drink were for who?
the descendants gave the soul constant attention
-
The scheme of life soon became,
"Let us eat, drink & be merry, for tomorrow we die"
-
Influence of the Romans in general:
- * Constantine (314 A.D. to 379 A.D.)
- * they are credited w/ establishing occupational models forlcensing purposes
- * the first to establish a set of mortuary laws to protect the health of the living & establishment of Burial Societies
-
Burial Customs
- *times varied but both cremation & earth burial were practiced
- *for sanitaion reasons burial within the walls of the city of Rome was prohibited
-
Cremation was the normal practice in
753 B.C. to 100 A.D. (Period of the Republic of Rome)
-
Earth burial (inhumation) became the standard in
100 A.D. to 476 A.D. (Roman Empire)
-
The spread of oriental mystery cults, with their adhorrence of fire & the rise of Christianity with the emphasis upon hallowed nature of the body was the change to what?
Earth Burial
-
The great roads leading from the city became
lined with elaborate & costly tombs erected by the well-to-do
-
Columbaria
filled w/ niches for the urns holding the remains of the dead were often erected by speculators who rented urn space to those who were unable to afford appropriate resting places of their own.
-
The indigent class utilized
common grave pit or Commune Sepulchrum for the dead
-
Burial Societies fromed by
artisan class (craftsmen)
-
Preparation of the body was determined by the
status of the individual, determining the preparation procedure of the dead.
-
Customary Procedure:
- *body is washed with warm water
- * evisceration was only preformed for the well-to-do who could afford this treatment
- * superficial anointing of the body with oils & spices
- * the body was dressed in burial garment
- * the body was laid in their home for viewing, with the feet always positioned toward the front door
- * flowers adorn the couch which the deceased lay & incense was burnedin the home as a sign of mourning
-
The "White Toga"
was how the influential class was dressed
-
The period of lying in state lasted
from 3 days to a week, for the lower class & a week or longer for those of influential class
-
Individuals involved in the Funeral Service
- *Libitanrius-Head Undertaker
- *Designator
- *Pollinctors
- *Praeco or Crier
-
This individual was named this because he exercised his business at the temple or Grove of Libinial
Libitinarius- "undertaker"
-
Libitinari is the name associated with
the goddess or corpses & funerals
-
deaths were registered at this temple
Grove of Libitina who also served as local registrar's office
-
Master of Ceremonies & director of the funeral procession
Designator
-
slaves or employees of Libitinarius who prepared the body
Pollinctors
-
Praeco or Crier
function was to walkthe streets of Rome announcing the death of well-to-do & summoning the participants of the funeral
-
Customary Order & participants of Funeral Procession
- *Torch Bearers
- * Singers
- * Jesters
- * Actors
- * Deceased
- * Immediate Family & Friends
- * Personal Slaves
- * Freedmen who were former slaves & whom he liverated at his death
-
Torch Bearers
would lead & light the way since most processions were held at night
-
Singers
purpose was to sing the praise of the deceased
-
Jesters
function to entertain the observers
-
Actors
wearing masks of the deceased & his already deceased relatives, would act out scenes from the life of the deceased & summon the dead to the afterlife
-
Deceased
would be carried on a bier or couch by his slaves
-
The customary practices of the committal service
- *dedication of the burial ground o tomb
- *purification of the family & friends
- *casting of earth upon the deceased by the family
- *sacrifical offerings to the gods
- *conclamation mortis-the closing of the committal service
-
conclamation mortis
this was done by circling the deceased 3 times while crying out the deceased name & pulling their hair, rending (tearing) their garments & scratching their faces.
-
Types of receptacles
- *the earliest was creamtion urns for holding cremains
- *sarcophagus casket, made of limestone, utilized during early burial & entombment
|
|
