Liminality / Mourning
By Monica Demott
(formerly University of Iowa)
Funerals or memorial services are among the most important events within a community. They are an expression of a society's most deeply held beliefs about life and the spiritual world from which we come and to which we ultimately return. Funerals are held months, or even years, after a death so that the family can prepare a feast for the entire village. The deceased's body may or may not be present at the funeral. Burial is usually a private event, with little ceremony, that takes place soon after death. Here, pallbearers at an Asante funeral in Ghana lower the coffin into the grave.
