^{Death & Dying}

^{By: Marquise Pina}

^{“Life lives, life dies. Life laughs, life cries. Life gives up and life tries. But life looks different through everyone's eyes.”}

^{Death and Dying.}

^{Death and dying is a touchy subject because its apart of so many cultures and has so many different meanings or should I say topics. Death and dying are two different things that almost represent the same thing. What I mean is death is more compiled of some or something that has died.}

^Death:

^Noun:  

^{1.       The action or fact of dying or being killed; the end of the life of a person or organism.}

^{2.       An instance of a person or an animal dying.}

^-Google

^{There are very different burial views for different cultures:}

^{In India bodies are cremated on a pile of logs at a ghat(a flat area near the riverbank and temple) and ashes are thrown in the river}

^{In Mexico the dead are commemorated in a special Days of the Dead celebration on the first and second of November. Offerings are made to the deceased, and survivors visit grave sites, sitting on them in a celebration of life. Others set up altars at homes, decorating them in flowers. Places are set at the table for dead loved ones, and special pumpkin bread and bread of the dead is cooked. The country fills with bones and skulls, ranging from candy to skeletons dressed for specific professions.}

^{A lot is known about Egyptian burial, thanks to the attractiveness of the pyramids that served as tombs for their kings. The bodies were treated with spices, herbs and chemicals so that they became mummies rather than decomposing. The corpses were then placed in cotton cloth wrappings and put inside of a wooden case that was put inside of another case that was decorated with details of their life and a mask of their face. This was then placed in a coffin that was put in a sarcophagus. However, the bodies of poor people were treated less elaborately, but on the other hand cats, sacred animals, were mummified.}

^{in the muslim religion they have a very clear set of protocols for dealing with the deceased. The body must be placed on its sides and washed with warm water and soap, generally by a member of the same sex, with the final washing having scented water. There must be an odd number of washings some of the stomach's must be pushed out, and the teeth and nose must be cleaned on the outside as a form of ablution (spiritual cleansing). Then the body is dried, perfumed, and wrapped in white cloth. Burial prayers are then said facing Mecca before a silent procession takes the corpse to its burial, where everyone shares in filling the grave with soil and a second pit with bricks while saying additional prayers.}

       ^{For Jamaica although practices have changed, they still involve celebrating nine night, which is a celebration to support the relatives of the dead and provide for the body's safe journey to the next part of life. It is held in a veranda or a bamboo and coconut tent next to a house. Fried fish, cake, & bread sits on a central table and is left until midnight so that the spirit of the dead can drop by for a snack. The ceremony also involves dancing extensive singing and 100-proof rum. It ends nine nights after the death though additional singing must occur 40 nights later, when supposedly the soul has ceased roaming and will no longer pester the living. Journey cakes are also laid with corpses, and often vodoo ceremonies will occur to help put souls to rest.} 

^{“America: The contemporary method of dealing with the deceased popular in other countries as well involves a minister being present at the time of death. Doctors will complete a death certificate, though sometimes coroners are needed to investigate deaths or act in lieu of a physician. A funeral director (or undertaker) is called then to take the body to a funeral home and arrange for burial. Often the body is embalmed, where chemicals are flushed through blood vessels with about a gallon remaining to help preserve the tissue as well as make the body appear better with pink coloring. Cosmetics are also used to make the body more lifelike and brighter. Caskets are used in place of coffins, with the difference being that caskets are simple rectangles. They range from simple to elaborate, wood or metal, and they have an inner lining. At a wake, the body is placed on display. Funerals entail prayer, praise of the dead person. The body is then carried to the hearse by pallbearers and bury the casket in the cemetery. Other times, the casket may be placed inside of a burial vault. Others may opt for cremation.”}

^{PART 2}

^{From shows such as near death experience (on the E! network) real people (not actors) are said to have seen themselves die. They say they have seen themselves dying while doctors are trying to save them. They say they were floating in the air watching or things such as actually seeing your life flash before your eyes. I don’t know if it is true or not but I heavily believe that will happen and if I do see this and I’m fortunate to overcome death, I will tell people about it because face it that’s fucking amazing.}

 

^{While looking up information about death and dying I came across a lot of things I didn’t know about it such as:}

^{What an Thanatologist is. Thanatologist is a word for saying the study of dying.}

^{Also how there are so many blogs and columns dedicated to death and dying such as  http://the-ddic.com/ or http://hudds53.wordpress.com/}