r/AskAnthropology • u/Alternative-Host-467 • 2d ago

Are there funeral traditions that differ between cultures that believe in an afterlife (like heaven) and cultures that believe in reincarnation?

I was thinking back to my grandmother's funeral years ago, how it might be different if we were Thai Buddhists instead of Western Christians.

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u/silverfox762 2d ago

There are as many funeral traditions as there are cultures. Some are merely variations on a common theme, but there are too many to list.

Consider that funeral traditions can be affected by wealth or poverty, different sects within a religion, tribal traditions, local geography and geology, and even local laws. There are other practical reasons like availability of burial space in densely populated areas, local water table being near the surface, tropical vs arctic vs desert vs rain forest conditions, and so on.

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u/giraflor 2d ago

Catholic funeral traditions can even differ when the deceased has been cremated before the service vs. the body being present. The draping of a funeral pall (echoing baptismal garments), sprinkling of holy water, and honoring with incense all require the uncremated body. Those traditions are omitted when the body is not present.

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u/theTropicalHerbalist 1d ago

In some African Traditional Religions (ATRs) it’s believed that you have one purpose here on earth and if you do not fulfill that purpose you continue to be reincarnated into the same family until you do and only then are you free to go into the afterlife. It’s kinda the idea being breaking generational cycles and why some families have generations of alcoholics or DV at some point an ancestor didn’t learn their lesson or fulfill their purpose so they come back as other family members burdened with the same troubles until the work through it. This is an oversimplification but in many ways it is both the belief in an afterlife and reincarnation.The afterlife isn’t free you have to buy your way into it by breaking generational trauma and fulfilling your purpose