Death and Funeral Customs of the Ainu and Nuer Peoples

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The analysis of burial rites of ancient tribes is a constant component of the study of the past according to archeological data. The high level of interest in the thematic is due to transformations in the rituals that indicate changes in the social order and conditions of its existence. In many studies devoted to the problems of death, it is considered as an instantaneous event and the ritual associated with it, as a nonrecurring action. Meanwhile, in Japan, Sudan, and other traditional cultures it was believed that a special transitional period is needed between the moment of biological death and its acceptance by the public. This essay is aimed at a cross-cultural analysis of two different peoples’ death and funerary rituals- the Nuer of Sudan and the Ainu of Japan, Hokkaido. These tribes were chosen for research because of cultural differences that can be thoroughly analyzed and compared.

The Ainu are an ancient people that used to live in the vast territory from the Far East from Japan to Kamchatka. In the course of history, they were displaced by stronger ethnic groups, and gradually their territory was reduced to Hokkaido, southern Sakhalin, and Kuril Islands. After 1945, they began to live in Hokkaido only. Among the surrounding population, the Ainu are distinguished by a special anthropological appearance, which is peculiar and unexpected for the population of East Asia. The Nuer are a South Sudanese tribe of herdsmen attached to their cattle. Unlike most Sudanese tribes, the Nuers have no king and any other form of centralized government.

In many ethnicities, the sacral nature and imperative character of ritual prescriptions determine the stability and conservatism of funeral rites. However, there can be volatilities and it is important to understand how and to what extent they arose. The Ainu tribe, “settled in Hokkaido long before records began” (Yazawa 17), had a leveled burial norm, which further on became a custom. Whereas the Nuer believe that death is a single-time occasion and does not require attention and remembrance. On the contrary, it is better to concentrate one’s recognition on those, who are still alive.

Throughout centuries, in many religions of the world, people grieved for the hereafter. They considered worldly life as a test that has to be overcome. In the Ainu culture, there is a different perspective, that the life people live on Earth is more valuable than that of the spiritual one. As said by Campbell “this world is more attractive than the next” (72). The Ainu also have a firm belief in gods. They assume that gods reside among them in the forms of animals and people and assist them in many various ways and this is a valuable anthropological concept. It is a tribe of animists who believe that everything in the world, including natural phenomena, has a spiritual element (Brown et al. 294). This credence influences their perception of death and funerary. As a sign of their gratitude to the gods, every year as stated by Williams “the Ainu conduct rites of remembrance of ancestors” (41). This indicates how strongly their lives are connected to spirituality and death. Another important concept is that after death human bodies are supposed to be treated in a careful manner. This is explained by the fact that souls may take revenge and send illnesses and poverty to the living. However, only a soul, whose body is not taken care of, can cause misfortunes.

The “greatest” god in Ainu mythology is considered to be the Bear. After a person dies the Bear comes down to Earth in a physical form to take away the man’s soul. Campbell mentions that an essential idea of the Bear ritual is to break its body, as the god’s soul is captured in it (73). Men of the tribe gather and capture the bear and “break its body” with a tree trunk. Thus, after the death of the physical body, the God can return to its home. As for the souls, they generally do not possess people or go to heaven or hell as it is considered in many religions. Rather, they are given new lives as newborn babies. Anthropology describes this concept as “reincarnation” (Brown et. al. 295). Among the Ainu, reincarnation is known to be something positive, like a gift from the “Bear”.

Nuer is a tribe of cattle-holders, ethnically inhabiting South Sudan. A pastoral society that is economically developed around cattle breeding and the goods that the cattle give. Nuers are similar to their neighbors- the Dinka, with whom they mixed by marriage. Unlike the Ainu, in the Nuer culture, there is no such cult of admiring death. People are scared of it and find it a source of misfortunes. Moreover, Nuer people try to concentrate their attention on living people (Davies 116). The conception lies in the fact that the sanctity maintains in the living heirs. The Nuer believe in the value of life and that veneration of ancestors lies in the development of cultural standards and names. When a person dies, his body is buried quickly, the graves do not have any significant attributes and are soon forgotten. However, the tribe has a certain ritual to “remember” death. This ritual is passed with the gathering of all the community to commemorate mortality. The religion of the Nuer people is based on worshipping one god “Kwoth-a-Nhial” (Evans-Pritchard 1). However, unlike in many animistic or monotheistic religions, the Nuer God does not possess a physical essence. Rather, he is a spirit and is everywhere around. As people die, their souls are taken away by Kwoth.

The comparison of the two cultures can be started with the anthropological differences. After all, the Nuer and the Ainu distinguish by their racial origins. The Ainu tribes can be named the most ancient representatives of the Mongoloid race, while the Nuer are indigenous to Africa. The main agricultural practices of both tribes also vary. Cattle breeding is the general activity of the Nuer. In religious terms, cows in their culture are considered as almost sacred animals, which exist on a par with humans. The vision they have is similar to those of Hindus. In Hinduism, cows are holy and reckoned more efficient when alive, producing dairy than when they are dead. A similar conception is held by the Nuer. The Ainu, on the contrary, hunt and fish to get food. They consider salmon and moose meat to be the grace of gods and their contentment.

Religious beliefs also differ in both ethnicities, for example, the Ainu are animists, who believe that every natural phenomenon is spiritually possessed and sacral. They believe that gods can live among humans in their physical forms, that animals can also be deities, and even the sky, the Sun, and every other component of nature can be of a sacral essence. The religion of the Nuer has a different principle. These people believe in a God named Kwoth and think that he is a spirit. The spirit fulfills everything around them and even lives inside of them.

In both cultures, there are rites of burial and sacrificial offering although they are contrasting. On the one hand, the Ainu have a joyous and multi-stage funeral and the Nuer, on the other hand, are scared of death and try to avoid any ceremonies or remembrances. When a person among the Ainu is on the deathbed, he is put closer to the fireplace. The hearth represents a god and can cure the ill and injured. Then, the men of the tribe gather and pray for the ill to be cured. If the god of the fire does not heal the dying, then his soul passes through the flames to the afterworld. The second step of the ceremony is the celebration of death as it is a merry occasion. The Ainu remember their dead on a regular basis, making various offerings to their graves.

In contrast, the Nuer find death the evillest occasion and are afraid of it. When one of their people passes away, they cover him with a cow pelt and bury him as fast as possible. When the human is interred, his grave is tapped by women in order to make it unseen, without any humps. In this culture, it is thought that ancestors should be remembered in the form of their children. Their women keep the names of their husbands after death. Even if new children are born from other men, they still have the names of the dead. No souvenirs or any other kinds of attributes are buried with bodies. In Ainu culture, houses of the dead are often burnt down in order to pass them on to their afterlives. The Nuer prefer not to think of the hereafter and do not even talk about it to each other among the tribe.

There are major rites in the Ainu culture and the “Bear ceremony” is considered as one of the most significant and important. Every year the Bear god’s soul comes down to Earth and possesses the sacred animal to take away all the souls who have finished their worldly lives. However, the deity gets captured in its physical form and can not return to its home. This is why the tribe holds a ceremony, where it captures the Bear and chokes it with a tree trunk. This procedure allows to “break” the bear’s body and free the godly soul. In the Nuer culture, however, there are no important rituals connected with death. The only known rite is the remembrance of death, which is passed a few months after the burial. Nevertheless, this sacrament is usually held in order to not let death be disappointed in the people.

In conclusion, this essay has become a worthwhile piece of research, which allowed to explore two different ancient tribes and their ways of life. As every human is mortal, it is important to discover the funerary ceremonies and religious beliefs of peoples all around the world. An interesting thematic for future development would the anthropological concepts of marriage, as it would open the perception of life and fertility in opposition to death.

Works Cited

Brown, Nina, et. al. Perspectives: An Open Introduction to Cultural Anthropology. The American Anthropological Association, 2020.

Campbell, Joseph. Myths to Live By. Joseph Campbell Foundation, 2017.

Williams, Victoria. Indigenous Peoples: An Encyclopedia of Culture, History, and Threats to Survival. ABC-CLIO, 2020.

Yazawa, Yutaka. The Little Book of Japanese Living. White Lin Publishing, 2020.

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Death and Funeral Customs of the Ainu and Nuer Peoples

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