Death in Different Societies - Essay Example

Introduction According to the story “The Masque of the Red Death’’, Edgar Allan brings out characters like Prince Prospero who attempts and is determined to avoid some dangerous plague referred to as Red Death. He hides in the abbey along with other many wealthy nobles; his abbey has seven rooms decorated with different colors. Through fate, a mysterious person enters each room and through this, Prospero and the guests dies as a result of confronting the stranger (Edgar 20). This story thus tries to show how death is inevitable and despite efforts put in place, it will always find ways of capturing its victims. The story revolves around death and its inevitability. It portrays many traditions of the Gothic fiction thus presenting an allegory of death and fate. It is therefore important to study and know how different societies deal with death and the meanings behind their actions. Death in Different Societies Over the years, the mystery of death have stunned many individuals and because no one knows what happens when after death, different societies have come up with tales on the origin of death, causes of death and implications of death. Different people have different believes on death, but the vast majority view death as a form of punishment from a supreme being usually referred to as ‘god’ or ‘the ancestors’. Very few people have embraced the reality about death and view it as natural, many still believe that death occurs as a result of fate or punishment (Lynn 327). To broadly understand death in different societies, we will attempt to look at what the societies believe are the causes of death, what are the remedies to the stated cause and whether death is avoidable by any chance. Death According to the Muslim Societies According to the Muslim community, death is normally regarded as the ultimate completion or end of the physical life of an individual. The dead person is normally referred to as resting because, this society believes that, in the end, the dead will be resurrected by God normally referred to as Allah. Since the dead are only resting, they believe that those who were righteous are capable of seeing visions of Allah even in immortal state. The wicked on the other hand, usually see hell in their visions. According to the Muslim society, there is heaven where the dead will go after judgment (Ivone 174). This place however is restricted to the pure Muslims; non Muslims can only get to heaven after they have been purified in fire, commonly known as the purgatory. In Muslim society, religious legends are worshiped and specific shrines are built for their remembrance. To date, Prophet Mohammed is worshiped and every Muslim knows that he was the most righteous person who ever lived. As a way of recognizing this, special shrine is built in Mecca where Muslims Faithful usually visit to pay their tribute to this hero. This process is done annually. When a Muslim dies, he is supposed to be washed, wrapped in a white clean cloth and buried the same day. This is done to honor the dead and give him last respect. People know very little in what happens after one is buried and they just believes that he or she will be resurrected when time comes. Muslims also believe in a holy war called Jihad. In this war, if someone dies in an attempt to do the will or Allah, he is guaranteed heaven. This is why, some fighters like Osama, having been convinced that they were doing service to God, would do anything without being human enough to reconsider his actions. When he died, the best thing was to bury him under water to avoid shrines and a repeat of the same cycle. Death in Traditional African Society Many traditional practices according to many traditional practices are coiled around death and resurrection. Many individuals believe in the existence of semi-divine powers and the intercession of spirits (Aloysius and Joanne 68). It is therefore important to appease the spirits if one is to avoid the painful consequences of death. There are also people who are believed to be able to talk directly to the spirits; these include witchdoctors or divine individuals. Before taking meals, one is supposed to pour some portion on the ground so as to feed the spirits and those who had died earlier. Africans believed in the passage rites, that is, the different stages in life from birth to death. Many believe that, death is brought about when the ancestors are angry and they can end up taking many lives if they are not placated in time. One of the ways of avoiding death according to these believes is to talk to the ancestors to plead on their behalf to the gods. Despite this, they still know that when death strikes it is inevitable. Fate plays a very key role when it comes to African believes. It is believed that, death is caused by fate. Through fate, ones destiny and time of death are determined. When fate strikes, one has no obligation but to oblige. According to African religions, death does not mark the end of life, one will continue living in another phase or realm of life after death. Religion thus plays a major role in instilling hope and reducing the fear on death issues. It is believed that those who have died continue to live in another form with the societies a concept referred to as the ancestry existence. The ancestors are therefore capable of talking to people and even warning them on their actions. Death According to the Hindu Societies According to Hinduism, death signifies a series through which anyone must pass. Hinduism believes that there are four stages or courses that are followed after death. Some of these stages are; ‘devayana’ this is where one meets with the gods, spiritually advanced stage where devotion is done; there is extreme meditation here, one is given time to prepare and purify himself before moving to the next heaven known as ‘Brahmaloka’ (Srinivasan 272). The Hindus perform various rights after death up to duration of six months. During this period, there is judgment by made by the gods to ascertain one’s destiny. If one is found not to have lived his or her life according to the teachings of the scriptures, he is born for the second time not as a human being but in another form which is sub-human. When one is reborn in inhuman form, he is supposed to reconsider his actions for him to be born again as a human being if he dies for the second time. Those whose ways are not just, will continue to be reborn as insignificant figures like the mosquitoes until they will change their ways Works Cited Aloysius, M. and Joanne, O’ Brien. African Traditional Religion, (3rd Ed.) New York, NY: Chelsea House publishers, 2009. Print. Edgar, Alan, P. The Masque of the Red Death. Boston: FQ Books Publishers, 2010. Print. Idelman, Jane and Ivone. The Islamic Understanding of Death and Resurrection. Oxford: Oxford University Press Publishers. 2002. Print. Lynn, Jenifer. Fate. Oxford: Delacorte Books for Young Readers Publishers. 2009. Print. Srinivasan. Hinduism for Dummies: Religion & Spirituality, (1st Ed.) New York, NY: Dummies Publishers. 2011. Print Read More