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5. Final Disposal of Human Remains
- Georgetown University Press
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91 Assume that we are confronted with the dead body of a man. What disposition shall we make of it? Shall we lay it in a boat that is set adrift? Shall we take the heart from it and bury it in one place and the rest of the body in another? Shall we expose it to wild animals? Burn it on a pyre? Push it into a pit to rot with other bodies? Boil it until the flesh falls off the bones, and throw the flesh away and treasure the bones? Kenneth Iserson, Death to Dust The physicality of a human corpse is undeniable. It is a carcass, with a predisposition to decay, to become noisome, obnoxious to the senses, and harrowing to the emotions. Disposal of such perishable remains is imperative. Ruth Richardson, Death, Dissection and the Destitute Chapter 5 Final Disposal of Human Remains Without proper disposal, a corpse not only gives sensory offense, it poses some danger of contagion to the living. Decent disposal also signifies respect and fidelity to the deceased, consistent with the hope and expectation of the vast majority of people that their remains will be afforded a dignified final disposition. And proper disposal of remains can give comfort and perhaps closure to survivors, often fulfilling a sense of responsibility toward the cadaver on both the natural and supernatural planes.1 Cultural traditions shape the appropriate mode of cadaver disposal and provide a paradigm for its safe management.2 Rituals for the dead have been performed since time immemorial and are among “the most enduring of all cultural traditions.”3 Those rituals often aim to protect the soul or spirit of the fallen.4 Human remains have traditionally been associated with a lingering spiritual presence—whether the lingering presence is considered to be housed within physical remains, a hovering spirit, or just part of collective memories. Survivors therefore feel a duty to “ensure the speedy release and future wellbeing of the departed 92 | Final Disposal of Human Remains spirit.”5 Few survivors ever want to offend the spirit of the departed, especially if they believe that spiritual retaliation for neglect is a possibility. The notion that the postmortem conduct of survivors could affect the soul’s fate was widespread as the pattern of American funerary rituals evolved. While assuring undisturbed rest has been the overriding object of American methods of disposal of human remains, a variety of other rites partially aimed at spiritual reinforcement commonly form part of final disposal.6 After a corpse is transported to a funeral parlor, cleaned, and embalmed, a series of ritualized events typically occurs. A wake is held (with or without an open casket); a funeral service is held (whether at a religious institution, a funeral home, or the place of ultimate disposal); and finally, the corpse is sent to its ultimate disposition, most often lowered into the ground.7 The last step, final disposal of the corpse, may or may not be accompanied by a brief committal ceremony. Burial Underground burial has been a principal means of securing eternal repose for tens of thousands of years.8 Perhaps the original impetus for burial was to promptly remove the smell of rotting flesh and simultaneously prevent access to the corpse by scavengers or cannibals. Custom and religion have supplemented the original motivations for decent burial. Ancient Romans and Greeks believed that souls could not enter the lands of the dead if their bodies had not been buried.9 Jews adopted burial as a fulfillment of the biblical statement “for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”10 Early Christians supplanted cremation of human remains with burial as an adaptation of Jesus Christ’s entombment and resurrection. Christ himself resurrected Lazarus from his tomb. And Christ preached that “The hour cometh wherein all that are in graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God. And they that have done good things shall come forth unto the resurrection of life; but they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of Judgment.”11 The United States was and is a largely Christian country, so burial early became “the disposal of choice” here.12 Christian cadavers were typically laid to rest underground to await resurrection; the coffin sup- [44.212.26.248] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 14:54 GMT) Locus of Burial | 93 posedly protected against external disturbance in the meantime.13 In colonial and early republican times, cadavers were buried without a great deal of...