Quote

I am convinced that it is not the fear of death, of our lives ending that haunts our sleep so much as the fear... that as far as the world is concerned, we might as well never have lived.

 - Harold Kushner

The Piety Museum of Hungary

Piety Musem of Hungary

A fascinating find in Budapest is the Piety Museum of Hungary, a museum which illuminates the Hungarian way of death throughout recent history as well as hosting exhibitions on death around the world.

The museum hosts five exhibition rooms which display such diverse items as folk art and ethnographical material, mourning clothes and regalia, historical pictures and artefacts including death masks, coffins and urns, and three magnificent vintage hearses.

Established in 1991, the museum is one of a kind in Hungary - if not the world - and is well worth a visit not only for the Hungarian traditions, but also for the multicultural displays, ranging from pictures of Tibetan sky burial to Mexican Day of the Dead altars. 





Kerepesi Cemetery

It is located in the grounds of Kerepesi Cemetery, Budapest, which is one of the oldest Christian cemeteries in Hungary and one of the largest open-air statue parks in Europe. It is beautifully preserved and hosts stunning arcades, tombs and monuments, and protected green areas with interesting wildlife.

If you’re going that way or are interested, you can find more information here. on the National Graveyard Site.

Quote

Live as if you were to die tomorrow.  Learn as if you were to live forever.

 - Mahatma Gandhi

The Rising Cost of Funerals

The cost of funerals has increased by 71% in just eight years, according to the Cost of Dying Report 2012 by Sun Life Direct.

The report shows that the basic cost of a funeral has risen for the eighth consecutive year, and that 17% of people have struggled with the cost of funerals. 

In these austere times, it would seem that the necessities of life, food, shelter, and disposal of our dead, are the ones that increase most in price.

  

The good news is that although many of the costs of a funeral are over-inflated and even unnecessary, options do exist which can dramatically reduce the cost of the funeral. 

People are becoming increasingly aware that everything from coffin to funeral transport to flowers can be provided by the family and friends of the deceased - including the funeral ceremony itself. There is no legal requirement to use the services of a funeral director, and it is even possible to conduct burials on private land in the UK.

There are other elements of dealing with the deceased which are unnecessary, including embalming, which is more commonly termed 'hygenic treatment'. It is even possible to keep the deceased at home until the funeral, and in some cases, to dig the grave yourself. 

Family-led and DIY funerals where the relatives of the deceased deal with all aspects of organising the funeral, are becoming increasingly popular. The Natural Death Centre charity has a wealth of information on funerals, and can offer advice and help in the event of the death of a loved one. 

The government can also provide financial assistance for people on low incomes - click here for more information.

Natural Burial in the UK

Britain could be leading the way globally in natural burials according to recent research conducted by researchers at Durham and Bath Universities.

With natural, or woodland, burials, people are typically buried in woodland settings in an environmentally friendly, biodegradable coffin or shroud, and without having been embalmed.  This method of burial is becoming increasingly popular in the UK, with over 260 natural burial sites now in operation.

Reasons cited for the increase in natural burial include concerns over the environmental impact of other kinds of funeral,such as cremation, the cost compared with a traditional funeral, the burden on the family of maintaining a traditional grave, and the desire to reconnect with nature.  

The findings have been published as a book, Natural Burial: Traditional-Secular Spiritualities and Funeral Innovation by Professor Davies and Dr Rumble, one that will no doubt soon be gracing the shelves of the Carfax Library!

See the full story here.

Sex Ghosts of the Palermo Catacombs

This week, the Last Tuesday Society hosted a most fascinating lecture on Sex Ghosts of the Palermo Catacombs by Dr Paul Koudounaris.

The upbeat and colourful lecture with accompanying photo slide show recounted stories of some half a dozen lascivious ghosts, showing that the dead entombed in the catacombs in Palermo do not all rest in peace.  

The stories included those of a jilted bride, whose lustful ghost is known to haunt men who stand too long in front of her remains, a phantom knicker-thief, a pervy doctor ghost who chews his victims’ pubic hair ‘like a cow chews the cud’, and the spirit of a young girl who died from severe haemorrhaging after being forced by her circus performer husband to perform bestial acts in front of a well-paying crowd.  

Dr Paul Koudounaris is an author and photographer from Los Angeles, and has recently published a beautifully presented tome, The Empire of Death: A Cultural History of Ossuaries and Charnel Houses.

Cadavers in the Cloisters: The Medieval Way of Death

Tonight saw the popular annual Summer Death Lecture by Brompton Cemetery guide Robert Stephenson, held in the Grade II Listed Anglican Chapel in Brompton Cemetery, where we were met at the door by the Grim Reaper himself.

The talk was an exposition on the attitudes and customs associated with death in medieval Britain, as practised by royalty and commoners alike.  Accompanied with slides, various subjects were discussed including:

       - The book of hours and the rituals surrounding death.

        - Purgatory, and visions of Hell, and people’s beliefs in how to avoid them,
          including by visiting the tombs of saints.

       - Transi, or cadaver tombs, where a sculpture of the decaying body sits on top of the tomb.

       - The dance of death, showing death as a lively creature.

The lecture examined how attitudes towards death have changed, and perhaps suggested that death in England was once much more a part of daily life than it is today.

Brompton Cemetery, consecrated by the Bishop of London in June 1840, is one of the Britain's oldest and most distinguished garden cemeteries. The cemetery was one of seven large, modern cemeteries founded by private companies in the mid-19th century (sometimes called the 'Magnificent Seven') forming a ring around the edge of London.

Robert Stephenson is a qualified City of London guide and a tour leader at Kensal Green and Brompton cemeteries.  He teaches on London and Death Studies, and is also vice-chairman of the City of London Archaeological Society.

For more information about Brompton Cemetery and their events, visit www.brompton-cemetery.org.

Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it.

 - Haruki Murakami

London Funeral Exhibition 2012

This weekend, Carfax Studios spent a fun day out at the London Funeral Exhibition, held in the beautiful Chiltern Woodland Burial Site.

It was a great event, raising awareness about the importance of death and dying in modern society, and about the options available for end of life care and after death.

With exhibitors including The Natural Death Centre, Dying Matters, the Good Funeral Guide and The Bereavement Register, there were an interesting array of people to discuss the subject with.

There was a fantastic exhibition of coffins and urns, including willow coffins, cardboard coffins, and dissolvable and biodegradable urns. Also on display was a motorcycle hearse, a carriage hearse and a willow coffin on a pull-along cart.

In addition to stands there was plenty of entertainment - talks, storytelling, music from the splendid duo Nicetoy, puppet shows, basket weaving displays, and a barbeque (despite the rain!), and it certainly made for an interesting day out.
After spending time chatting with the exhibitors we walked around the burial site; it was such a peaceful space, with graves discreetly and beautifully marked, none of the gloom of traditional English cemeteries, but a nice space where nature can get on and do her thing undisturbed. And, crucially, the burial ground presents an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional burial or cremation.                        

Resomation

If you like the idea of an environmentally friendly funeral, another innovative idea alongside promession is Resomation.

Resomation is the dissolution of the body by a water and alkali based method called alkaline hydrolysis. The body is placed in a stainless steel vessel containing water, known as a Resomator, and potassium hydroxide, heat and pressure are applied. Within three hours, the body tissue is dissolved into a water like sterile liquid , and the soft bones are crushed in a processor, the same machine used to crush the bone remains in cremation . The liquid is recycled back into the water cycle, and the pure white ash may be handed back to the family as in traditional cremation.

Resomation was developed as an eco-friendly alternative to cremation and burial, and according to Glasgow-based company Resomation Ltd, it uses only a seventh of the energy used for cremation, produces no airborne mercury emissions, and the substitution of Resomation for cremation reduces a funeral’s emissions of greenhouse gases by approximately 35%.
Sandy Sullivan, Managing Director of Resomation Ltd, says: 'It is another choice that will appeal especially to those who wish to express their environmental awareness and concerns in a positive way in death as they did in their life.'

Resomation is not currently available in the UK, although the government has been approached about regulation and Resomation Ltd are currently awaiting the outcome. 

The process has, however, been regulated in some states in the US, and is available as an option in Florida.

Sandy Sullivan, Founder and Managing Director of Resomation Ltd, alongside the Resomator. 

Death can show us the way, for when we know and understand completely that our time on this earth is limited, and that we have no way of knowing when it will be over, then we must live each day as if it were the only one we had.

- Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

The Archbishop of York on the Importance of Discussing Death

Death is such an important issue, and something that every person will experience – as such, it is a vital part of life but still remains a taboo subject.

An article was printed in the Telegraph today in which the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, warns that the last taboo could be denying us all a 'good death'.

The article quotes some statistics which are quite incredible:

·        Only one in three people in Britain has ever discussed their wishes for the end of their life with a loved-one.

·        Eight out of 10 people admit being uncomfortable speaking openly about the prospect of our own death, even though a third think about it privately as often as once a week.
·        More than a third of GPs polled had never initiated a discussion with a patient about their end-of-life choices and in their own lives only 35 per cent had spoken to someone about their own wishes. [1]

Read the full article here.

It is amazing to think that for something that will affect each and every one of us, so few people discuss it, even when faced with it.  It can be a traumatic experience when people that we love die, and many people don’t like to confront the idea of their own death, but through discussing and confronting the subject of death, we believe that people can lead a fuller life.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­__________________________________________________________

[1] Quotes from Telegraph. (2012). The last taboo is denying us all a 'good death', warns Archbishop of York John Sentamu.  Available at - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/9262888/The-last-taboo-is-denying-us-all-a-good-death-warns-Archbishop-of-York-John-Sentamu.html.  Accessed 25.06.12.

Promession

Idea for cemetery for promated remains.

Promession is being hailed as a new ecologically friendly improvement on traditional internment as well as traditional cremation (‘wet cremation’).  The idea was conceived by Swedish biologist Susanne Wiigh-Mäsak, founder of Promessa.  

With promession the body is frozen to -196 degrees C by submerging it in liquid nitrogen; once frozen it becomes brittle and short vibrations are applied which, after freeze drying, reduce the body to an organic, hygienic powder which weighs around a third of the original body weight.

At this stage the powder has all of the water removed (65 - 70 %), and the metals within the body (such as mercury from dental fillings) are removed and recycled.

Not only is the resulting powder hygienic and organic, but there are no emissions of smoke or mercury to the air as there would be with cremation. The remains - called promains - are buried in an environmentally friendly coffin in a shallow grave, and within around six months to a year are absorbed back into the soil.  

The promains may be cremated if preferred, for religious or other reasons. Peter Mäsak of Promessa says: ‘This ‘dry cremation’ doesn't take any energy, it gives an energy payback of around 300kWh per cremation, in a very controlled burning process leaving no mercury and significantly reduced outlets of climate gases.’

Promession is not currently available as an option, but Promessa have several parties seriously looking into the possibility of becoming a promession provider and ordering equipment in 2012.

On the day when death will knock at thy door

What will thou offer him?

I will set before my guest the full vessel of my life.

I will never let him go with empty hands...

 - Rabindranath Tagore

'Space Burial'

For those that always wanted to fly or explore space, ‘space burial’ could be an interesting option, but it might not mean what it would at first appear to..

What is commonly termed ‘space burial’ is the practice of sending cremated remains (cremains) into space, and there are a number of different options for this, including launching them into the earth’s orbit, onto the lunar surface or into deep space. It is also possible for the cremains to be returned to earth in some cases.

With these options only fraction of the cremated remains, typically 1 or 7 grams, is sent into space.

Whilst this is a novel and interesting memorial act, it doesn’t deal with disposing of the entirety of the cremains - the rest can be scattered or buried as would be normal with cremains.

At first it might seem a worrying environmentally unfriendly way of marking the life of a loved one; however the capsule containing the remains is transported as a ‘secondary payload’, which means that they are part of a greater mission.

Another environmental concern could be ‘littering’ in space, but according to Celestis, the only team that conducts Memorial Spaceflights, ‘Celestis spacecraft are carefully designed so as not to create orbital debris. Each spacecraft stays permanently attached to a rocket stage that orbits Earth until the spacecraft harmlessly re-enters and is completely consumed by Earth’s atmosphere — blazing like a shooting star in final tribute to the passengers aboard.’[1]

A young company in the UK offers an alternative to this which sees the cremated remains scattered into the stratosphere. Stardust Ashes provides a service whereby an environmentally-friendly balloon carries the cremains to a height of up to 100,000 ft, where they are released from a lightweight biodegradable urn into the stratosphere.

This may not seem as high-tech as a trip into deep space, but the gentle carrying off of the cremains into the sky is certainly heartfelt– the first ash scattering held by Stardust Ashes was to commemorate the life of the founder’s grandmother.

These methods of commemoration seem designed to minimise negative impact on the environment; however the fact is that cremation – by far the most common means of dealing with human remains in the UK today – is significantly damaging to the environment.

But whilst cremation seems the only way in which these memorial acts are currently possible, there are plans afoot which may completely revolutionise the death industry to make it cleaner and greener, and which may provide an alternative method to cremation that may see our remains being sent off into the space via balloon or spacecraft in a much greener way.

More on green alternatives to cremation soon!
__________________________________________________________________
[1] Celestis. (2012). Frequently Asked Questions.[online] Available at http://www.celestis.com/faq.asp. Accessed 06.06.12.

Cryopreservation

Cryopreservation is the preservation of the body in liquid nitrogen at the point of legal death to preserve it in the hope that medical science will one day be able to resuscitate and heal it.

According to Alcor, who specialise in cryonics, ‘The object of cryonics is to prevent death by preserving sufficient cell structure and chemistry so that recovery (including recovery of memory and personality) remains possible by foreseeable technology.’ [1]

When the body legally ‘dies’, it is cooled and connected to a blood circulation pump to keep the cells alive and supplied with enough oxygen to preserve minimal function until it can be taken to the cryopreservation facility.

The water in the body is replaced by chemicals called cryoprotectants which are used to prevent ice formation when the tissues are
cooled to such low temperatures - this process of deep cooling without actually freezing is known as vitrification.

The brain can also be preserved independently of the the body, with the intention of future resuscitation and regrowth of a healthy body around it - this is known as neuropreservation.

No evidence exists that cryopreservation will be effective, and nobody has been revived from it to date, but with successful cryopreservation having been carried out on a number of human tissues, advocates of it believe that it will be truly possible in the future.
__________________________________________________________________________
1. Alcor. (2012). What is Cryonics?. Available at http://www.alcor.org/AboutCryonics/index.html. Accessed 01.04.12.

Just as a well spent day brings happy sleep,
so a life well used brings happy death.

- Leonardo Da Vinci

Dealing With Our Dead in the 21st Century

Throughout history there seem to be three main means of dealing with and disposing of our dead: interment in a grave or tomb, cremation, and exposure to the elements and wildlife.

As technology has progressed during the 20th and 21st centuries, mankind has devised a whole host of alternative ways to dispose of the dead, ranging from the environmentally friendly to the bizarre. But our dead are not always 'disposed of' as such - in this day and age we have found some interesting ways to mark our departed loved ones' lives. And in some cases, they are not even considered dead when they are legally dead...

Over the next few posts we'll explore some of the ways we treat deal with mortal remains in the 21st century, starting with Cremation Diamonds.

Cremation Diamonds

If you want to keep your deceased loved one with you at all times, there are a number of companies that will transform cremation ashes into a diamond you can wear or carry around.

Carbon derived from the cremation ashes is purified and, in a manner emulating the production of natural diamonds, subjected to immense heat and pressure over a period of time, from a few weeks to a few months. The resulting diamond is then cut and polished and can be set in jewellery.

Far from this being the limit, one can have diamonds made from hair and nail cuttings of a living person in the same way, or even the fur from a pet.

Get used to dying
before death arrives,
for the dead can only live
and the living can only die.

- Old Mexican refrain.

Dying in the Modern World

We are born surrounded by machines; we die surrounded by machines. Where once we were surrounded by family and underwent important rites of passage at these two most significant stages in our lives, in the modern world we often are born and die in cold, unfeeling sterility.

Medical science has done much to keep death and disease at bay, prolonging our lives, but in our search to defy death it seems we are distancing ourselves from our humanity.

When a person dies in a familiar environment surrounded by loved ones, there is the opportunity for a period of adjustment and realisation of what is happening, of the process of dying. When one dies surrounded by doctors - strangers - and machines, the body sometimes being bullied into retaining life, this must surely be more traumatic for the person dying, and for the family.  The situation and the people are unfamiliar, unconnected to the person who is dying.

As modern medical science has advanced, so we have become more removed from the family and important rites of passage during the most important transitional periods of our lives.

The King's Fund, which  seeks to understand how the health system in England can be improved, quotes an NHS Confederation survey which suggests that 56 % of terminally ill people would prefer to die at home, but only 18% achieve this, with 58% dying in hospitals, 17% in care homes and 4 percent in hospices.

This is a highly significant finding which demonstrates our society’s fundamental inability to manage how we die and to allow people to die as they choose.

According to findings quoted by The King’s Fund:

‘The pattern of death in the UK has changed dramatically in the past 100 years. At the end of the 19th century 85 per cent of people died at home, the majority from acute infections. Today 58 per cent of the 500,000 deaths each year occur in hospital, mainly from chronic long-term conditions. Long-term projections by Gomes and Higginson suggest that if current trends continue unchecked, fewer than one in 10 people will die at home by 2030 while deaths in institutions will rise by over 20 per cent.’[1]

What this means for the number of people wishing to die at home, is that whilst medical care is progressing, we as humans are being given less choice in how we live and how we die.  If we are subjected to dying in a situation that we do not choose or want, then our death is not likely to be a happy or comfortable one.

There are of course a great many people and organisations dedicated to caring for the dying and fighting for our rights to die how we will; amongst these are such organisations as Dignity in Dying.  Like all aspects of death, the subject of dying is international, political and often controversial.  We will examine this in greater depth  in the future.

Fundamentally, our rights in the important rite of passage of death have to a great degree been taken from us.

Our choices of what happens to our body when we die, however, are increasingly expanding, and next we will be looking at some of the more inventive ways people are finding to deal with our mortal remains.
_________________________

[1] The Kings Fund. (2011). End-of-life care. Available at http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/topics/endoflife_care/.  Accessed 20.03.12

"Do not seek death.  Death will find you.  But seek the road which makes death a fulfillment."

 - Dag Hammarskjold

Death and Dying

Death, the one true certainty in life, still remains the ultimate mystery.

Our views of death and what ‘happens’ to us when we die, along with how we treat our dead, vary vastly across cultures and from person to person.  Some treat death with solemnity whilst others view death as a celebration of life and the beginning of our next big adventure.

Despite claims of ghosts and reports of near death experiences, there is no scientific proof for what happens to us after death.  Many of our answers come from the state or religion: nearly all cultures and major belief systems propound in some form a notion of life after death.

Many Christians for example, believe in an afterlife, heaven and hell and even resurrection – they believe Christ himself rose from the dead.  Other religions like Hinduism and Buddhism believe in reincarnation, a cycle of birth, death and rebirth, until through various means one becomes liberated.  Some traditions continue to talk to and honour their dead long after they are gone.   

All of these beliefs inform the way that people choose to live, to die, and to deal with their dead.

Ever-changing social and environmental factors influence our beliefs and attitudes towards death.  This directly affects the way we treat our dead and dying, and, more importantly, the way we live our lives.

This blog sets out to explore the various perceptions of death throughout time and across the globe.