Funerals in Belgium

The hidden complexity of contemporary practices

Bibliographic Data

ID9350183
AuthorsFlorence Vandendorpe (0000-0003-1116-7992, corresponding author)
Year2000
Volume5
Issue1
Pages18-33
Publication date2000-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueMortality (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1357-6275 • E-ISSN: 1469-9885
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/713685989
OpenAlexW1974180892
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited12

This paper examines the way funerals are evolving in Belgium today. Drawing on non-directive interviews, ethnographic observations and survey analysis, it presents a detailed analysis of cremation and related practices. It shows that when put in the context of the general symbolic system by which individuals give meaning to their life, contemporary funerary practices appear to be much more complex and meaningful than is usually imagined. In contrast to the pessimistic view that is still frequently adopted among researchers entertaining a nostalgic - and mostly imaginary - view of the past, the hypothesis developed in this article is that these new funerary practices contain as many symbols and rituals as before, but that these are found elsewhere. Characterized by new forms and new meanings, the ceremonies of today do not necessarily appear in the same way and in the same places as before. But this does not mean that funeral rituals have disappeared

Aesthetics · Archaeology · Art · Context (archaeology · Directive · Epistemology · Ethnography · Everyday life · Meaning (existential · Pessimism · Psychoanalysis · Sociology · The Imaginary · Anthropology · Computer Science · Death, Funerary Practices, and Mourning · History · Philosophy · Psychology · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies

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