Research Paper on:
Understanding Death Through Rituals

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
is the manner by which they ritualize death, an enigma of human existence that has puzzled, frustrated and angered man since the dawn of time. Why must people leave  this mortal life? What waits beyond the eternal sleep? Is there really life after death? Clearly, humanity has yet to uncover the seemingly unrealizable truth about death  and why the human body must cease to exist. In trying to cope with the inevitable, cultures developed different ways to pay homage to the deceased, while at the  same time allow mourners to process their own grief. These rituals, which can be quite diverse from one culture to another, represent the passage of body and soul into  another realm. Chinese death rituals have undertaken somewhat of a transformation from traditional rites; while many of the old ways are still undertaken, a percentage of contemporary society opting for  cremation services over and above conventional burial as a means by which to dispose of the body. Indeed, one can easily see how this tradition of modernity has been  responsible for severe separation between ancient and present-day approaches to a very delicate issue. Traditional death rituals that have maintained their place within some of todays Chinese societies include  wailing and white banners placed upon the home to indicate death; wearing all white for mourning; bathing the corpse in special water to eradicate "death pollution" (Watson, 1988, p. PG);  preparation and installation of a soul tablet in the deceaseds home domestic altar; and the exchange of money for ritual specialist. All of this is accomplished with the mindset  that "death does not terminate relationships of reciprocity among Chinese [...] all rituals associated with death are performed as if there were a continued relationship between living and dead" (Watson