Deck 10: Diversity in Death Rituals

Question 1

Romanticism and Sentimentalism fostered a more elaborate American funeral ritual where "therapeutic self indulgence" was encouraged.True

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Embalming was a common practice in colonial America.False

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Mourning behaviors are relatively free from gender influences.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The Egyptian embalming process was a secret method of preservation.

Question 5

Societies encourage both expressions of sadness and joy in their mourning rituals.

Question 6

Compared with the American funeral service at the beginning of the twentieth century, Puritan funeral services were more elaborate and sentimental.

Question 7

Americans during the Victorian era wore mourning clothes as one method for extending the period of lamentation.

Question 8

Crying is a universal grief behavior that is found in nearly all societies of the world.True

Question 9

The Bible records the fact that physicians embalmed the body of the Hebrew patriarch Jacob.True

Question 10

One of the functions of social rituals is to intensify emotions so that the group will share intensely a particular sentiment.

Question 11

Rituals assist individuals in the process of transforming their identities.

Question 12

New Orleans is where "jazz funerals" sometimes take place--dancing in defiance of death.

Question 13

The similarities between cultures are often greater than the differences.

Question 14

In most non-Western societies, death is seen more as an event than a process, where the deceased person is ushered into the realm of the spirits.

Question 15

The manifest social function of the funeral is to create a social gathering that fosters family unity.

Question 16

A concept of soul and immortality is not found in most societies.

Question 17

Modern methods of embalming were developed in the nineteenth century America.False

Question 18

The first embalming took place more than 1000 years before Christ.

Question 19

The Egyptian process of embalming required seventy days to perform.

Question 20

Against the background of death, life becomes transparent and fundamental social and cultural issues are revealed.True

Question 21

In most societies it is encouraged that someone be with the dying at the time of death.

Question 22

In most societies the body after death is usually cleaned.True

Question 23

Women tend to cry and self-mutilate during bereavement more than men.

Question 24

For the Kapauku Papuans of West New Guinea burial rites are determined by the deceased's status and cause of the death.

Question 25

The Christian tradition discourages the practice of embalming.False

Question 26

Mechanisms have been developed in most societies to control the anger of the bereaved and to channel it along nondestructive paths.

Question 27

A ceremony centering around transitions in life from one status to another is called a rite of passage.True

Question 28

The Islamic and Christian traditions forbid cremation as a legitimate method of body disposition.

Question 29

Anthropologist Radcliffe-Brown argued that those participating in ceremonial weeping come to feel emotion which is not sorrow but togetherness.

Question 30

A bier is often consumed to help people forget their grief and sadness.

Question 31

Rituals can only have positive functions, never negative functions.

Question 32

A bier is something used for cleansing a corpse in preparing for burial.

Question 33

Orthodox Jews and Muslims will attempt to bury their dead within twenty-four hours of the death.

Question 34

The practice by the Yanomamo Indians of eating the ashes of the deceased in order to charge a warrior up prior to going into battle is known as endocannibalism.

Question 35

"Manifest function" refers to consequences of behavior which are hidden and unintended.False

Question 36

One weeps at the death of a significant other only because of sadness.

Question 37

To exhume means to remove a corpse from its place of burial.

Question 38

In some societies one's rank or status in the community or village may determine the final disposition of the remains.

Question 39

A combustible pile for burning a corpse at a funeral rite is called a pyre.True

Question 40

The Day of the Dead is celebrated in Mexico on October 31.

Question 41

That which is left after cremation is called:

A)leftovers
B)ashes
C)cremains
D)cryonics
E)pyrmains

Question 42

The time period allotted for mourning is:

A)prescribed by law
B)dependent upon the status of the deceased and the relationship to the survivors
C)prescribed by culture
D)both a and b above
E)none of the above

Question 43

Jews, Muslims, Christians, Hindus, and Buddhists will all have some eating ritual after the funeral as a rite of reincorporation for the religious community.
Multiple-Choice Questions

Question 44

Type(s) of weeping noted by anthropologist Radcliffe-Brown include(s):

A)reciprocal ritual weeping
B)ceremonial weeping
C)weeping without tears
D)all of the above
E)both a and b of the above

Question 45

Which of the following is the most popular means of disposition in the United States?

A)entombment
B)cremation
C)earth burial
D)burial at sea

Question 46

Why should a student of death and dying become familiar with the death customs of other cultures?

A)to cause students to be critical of American customs
B)to promote ethnocentrism
C)to note that similarities are often greater than the differences and thus gain a greater appreciation of other cultures
D)both b and c of the above
E)none of the above

Question 47

Which of the following statements is false regarding the practice of embalming the dead body?

A)The first embalming took place more than 1000 years before Christ.
B)The Egyptian process of embalming required seventy days to perform.
C)Embalming was a common practice in colonial America.
D)none of the above

Question 48

Which of the following statements is FALSE regarding the practice of embalming the dead body?

A)Modern methods of embalming were developed in the nineteenth century in the United States.
B)Not all funeral directors are permitted to embalm a body.
C)Eighty percent of all bodies are embalmed before final disposition in the United States.
D)none of the above

Question 49

A combustible pile for burning a corpse at a funeral rite is a:

A)bier
B)cremation platform
C)pyre
D)levirate
E)none of the above

Question 50

Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding historical practices outside in the United States?

A)Anthropologists have discovered a few civilizations where the people do not recognize death with a funeral.
B)The Bible records the fact that physicians embalmed the body of the Hebrew patriarch Jacob.
C)The Egyptian embalming process was a secret method of preservation.
D)none of the above

Question 51

Which of the following is not an example of a rite of passage?

A)marriage ceremony
B)graduation ceremony
C)sports awards ceremony
D)funeral
E)all of the above

Question 52

A framework upon which the corpse and/or casket is placed for viewing and/or carrying is a:

A)pyre
B)bier
C)cadaver
D)pall holder
E)dibble

Question 53

Hindu funerals are very important religious ceremonies and are therefore relatively costly for families.

Question 54

For the Igbo, why is death not feared?

A)they do not believe in an afterlife
B)they feel death populates ancestral households
C)they believe the afterlife to be a peaceful existence
D)both a and b of the above
E)none of the above

Question 55

Which is NOT included among the functions of rituals?

A)validation and reinforcement of values
B)reassurance and feelings of security
C)reinforcement of group ties
D)restabilizing patterns of interaction
E)contributing to psychological tensions

Question 56

The "cult of the dead" refers to:

A)the practice of conversing with and making offerings to ghosts
B)the worshipping of ghosts
C)the morticians of primitive societies
D)both a and b of the above
E)none of the above

Question 57

Which of the following statements is false regarding cremation practices in the United States?

A)Cremation is ALWAYS less expensive than earth burial since one will save the expense of a cemetery lot and the funeral service.
B)Approximately one half of funerals in the United States will involve cremation.
C)When a body is cremated the remains look very much like ashes which can be found in a fire place.
D)all of the above

Question 58

The Yanomamo Indians in Venezuela and Brazil:

A)practice endocannibalism
B)are a passive people
C)are very affectionate toward their wives
D)practice infanticide and abortion
E)both a and d of the above

Question 59

Rites of Passage is a theoretical concept developed by which of the following social scientists?

A)Durkheim
B)Van Gennep
C)Malinowski
D)Radcliffe-Brown

Question 60

Which is an example from a funeral of a manifest function?

A)serves as a family reunion
B)to pay respects to the deceased
C)to let the survivors of the deceased know that you care
D)all of the above
E)both b and c of the above

Question 61

Which of the following religious traditions will attempt to bury their dead within twenty-four hours of the death.

A)Jewish
B)Islamic
C)Hindu
D)Buddhist
E)a and b

Question 62

The practice of eating the ashes of the deceased in order to charge one up for warfare and to display friendship and solidarity is called:

A)cremain chewing
B)endocannibalism
C)exhuming
D)usufruct
E)none of the above

Question 63

Which of the following religious traditions will have some eating ritual after the funeral as a rite of reincorporation for the religious community?

A)Jewish
B)Islamic
C)Hindu
D)Buddhist
E)All of the above

Question 64

________ is where "jazz funerals" sometimes take place--dancing in defiance of death.

A)New York City
B)Chicago
C)New Orleans
D)San Francisco
E)Dallas

Question 65

Cremation is the preferred form of body disposition for

A)Jews
B)Muslims
C)Hindus
D)Buddhists
E)c and d

Question 66

To remove a corpse from its place of burial is known as:

A)interment
B)levirate
C)exhuming
D)pyre removal
E)none of the above

Question 67

Which of the following religious traditions symbolically begins its mourning ritual by the rending (tearing) of garments.

A)Jewish
B)Christian
C)Islamic
D)Hindu
E)Buddhist