Departures tell the story of an undertaker whose job is to prepare the dead for encoffinment. What intrigued me was that the filmmakers took a bold step in picking a rather distinctive subject for the movie; enconffinment. Despite doing so, this movie won 16 awards including the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 81st Oscars in 2009.
This movie introduced the audience to the Japanese culture of funeral beliefs and practices. In the Japanese culture, the body is washed and then dressed in a suit for the men or a kimono for the women. Make up is also applied to the face and body. The body is then taken to the place where the wake service is to be held.
Watching this film inspired me to reflect on my own religion’s funeral practices. I’ve only been to one funeral, my grandmothers. From what I can remember, the women in my family washed the body in the hospital and dressed her in a newly tailored attire; a white Punjabi suit. The body was then brought to the home where the deceased lived and a short prayer was held there which was attended by family members and close friends. As a sign of respect, I was asked to touch either my grandmother’s leg or face (I did not perform this act as it was frankly rather disturbing to me). The body was then brought to the crematorium (I did not attend this ritual as I was too young). Usually, the bodies are burned using a machine. However, my grandmother had wished for her body to be burned using logs. Her ashes were then scattered in a river. That is not all, after a period of time, a prayer was held in a temple. I’ve noticed that some families even hold prayers one year after the passing of their beloved.
As I have very little knowledge of my religion’s funeral customs, I conducted some research and found out the following:
1. In Sikhism a funeral ceremony is called “Antam Sanskaar,” or celebration of the completion of life.
2. Sikhs believe in reincarnation.
3. A Sidharan Paath, or a complete reading the Guru Granth Sahib is carried out over a period of ten days following the funeral ceremony after which formal mourning concludes.
4. Sikhism recommends that the ashes of the deceased be buried in the earth or scattered in flowing water such as a river or sea.
5. The eldest son or a close relative generally starts the cremation process – light the fire or press the button for the burning to begin
6. Customs and practices avoided in Sikhism include:
a. Lighting a lamp to guide the soul.
b. Offering donations on behalf of the soul.
c. Austerities performed on behalf of the soul.
d. Organized grieving such as wailing and lamentation.
e. Marking a grave site with a grave stone or monument.
During my little research, I stumbled across an Iranian mockumentary, Khab-e talkh” (Bitter Dreams) that revolves around the lives of undertakers in a small town in Iran. I would highly recommend the watch of this movie as the director used real locations, real workers of the graveyard, and a pseudo-TV interview technique of questions and answers.
psy317harvind 