A Perspective On Death In Appalachia

A Perspective On Death In Appalachia by Donna Loughrige Throughout the ages, man has been faced with the inevitability of his own mortality. Man has tried to understand death so that he may not fear it as much. However, attempts to grasp the abstractness of it are difficult. Therefore, man has focused his attention throughout history on the final respects paid to others who have succumbed to the throes of death. The style a particular culture exercises reflects the sociological progress of those people. A review of the "mortuistic " mores of a particular culture, such as Appalachia, will enhance the understanding of the Appalachian personality. As the Appalachian customs concerning death are examined, the question to ask and to be answered is this—Are the mountain people quaint and/or unique in their approach to death? According to Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in her widely acclaimed book, On Death and Dying, mortuistic customs are an indication of a culture's "acceptance of a fatal outcome and help the family accept the loss of a loved one."1 Although isolation and environmental factors have caused modifications in burial and funeral customs in Appalachia, the practices that have evolved substantiate a deep, abiding respect for the dead, a sense of dignity, and a sacredness toward death. William Phipps, in his article "Traditional Appalachian Funerals", describes the Appalachian cultural heritage as "slower to be eroded by the acids of modernity than mainline America."2 Justification is made by the comparison of Appalachian customs with those of mainline America and the emergence of qualities of realism, reverence, simplicity, and humaneness in the Appalachian culture. Evident also is the desire to keep the body intact and inviolable. An example of keeping the body intact would be the imaginative uses of native materials . Hollowed out logs were used for coffins. The placing of stones and rocks around the coffin for protection is an example of the mountain peoples' attempts to keep the body inviolable. Also in attempts to keep the body more natural, the hands and feet were tied to keep the body in a natural position when rigor mortis occurred. Rags were used to keep the mouth closed.3 James Still in his novel, River ofEarth, makes the observation that pennies were often kept for years to be used to keep the eyes of the deceased closed.4 Are these customs any stranger than modern day embalming techniques and the use of steel vaults for coffins? The Appalachian people have demonstrated a self-sufficiency, the ability to respond to their isolation and environment, a pervading independence, and a capacity to make do with their situation. Evident is the Appalachian attitude of keeping the dead body intact and inviolable. Anticipatory griefas defined by Herman Feifil in New Meanings ofDeath is to 25 rehearse death as a way of anticipating it.5 To anticipate a loss is the first phase of bereavement. This phase is important in coping with inevitable death and is followed by other forms of mourning and resolution. Bereavement comprises an important series ofadjustments in which people realize and reaffirm relationships and recognize the transcience of existence. One aspect of anticipatory grief seen often in present times by health care providers in the Hospice movement is the preparation a patient and/or his family make for the patient's impending death. One author reported the story of an Appalachian woman who was seen shopping for a black dress to wear to a funeral. She found one that she liked and asked the store keeper permission to wear it outdoors to show her husband. This lady was choosing a dress for her husband's funeral; he had a terminal illness.6 Another preparation made prior to death is the decision one who is soon to die makes concerning his own body after death. Especially common was the decision of the clothes that were to be worn for the funeral and burial of the deceased. Health care providers in Hospice care across the country report that increasing numbers of people are making decisions concerning their own funeral and burial rites. These decision making processes enhance the grief work needed to cope with the inevitability of death...