Sri Lanka--Culture Smart! by Emma Boyle

Author:Emma Boyle [Boyle, Emma]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-85733-624-5
Publisher: Kuperard
Published: 2011-01-11T05:00:00+00:00

A Muslim ceremony is both a social and a religious event, which typically consists of two parts: the nikah, or signing of the marriage contract in the mosque, and the waleema, the ceremony that marks the consummation of the marriage. After the customary rituals have concluded, guests are often treated to a lavish feast, and celebrations may go on for days.

It is common for mixed-faith unions to marry with the customs of both religions.

Death

Each religious group observes its own customary funeral rites; Buddhists and Hindus prefer to cremate their dead, while Christians always bury theirs in order to facilitate their resurrection. Muslims also prefer to bury their dead, doing so without a coffin and in shallow graves, and this is done within twenty-four hours of the death.

In most cases except that of Muslims, the deceased lies in an open coffin in a “funeral house” (the home or family of the deceased) for a set number of days, to allow friends and family to pay their respects. Oil candles are lit and windows are kept open for both superstitious and sanitary reasons.

When it is time for the funeral ceremony Hindu families surround the coffin, place oil on the deceased’s head, and put rice and flowers inside the coffin. People wear light-colored clothing and often follow the coffin to the cemetery or burial ground on foot.

Most funerals are attended by the whole family and by everyone who knew the deceased; however Muslim and Hindu women (if it is a cremation) are not permitted to be present. A person who did not directly know the deceased—such as a friend of the deceased’s close relations—may also attend the funeral to give support to the bereaved. Posters of the deceased are customarily pasted on to walls, while white flags strung along fences and roadsides provide a guided path to the funeral ceremony.

After the funeral is over, families continue their vigil in the house, with the windows open, until seven days have elapsed. On the final day Buddhists offer dana, or alms, to monks. This practice—an offering whose merits it is hoped will be transferred to the dead—is performed again after three months, and yet again after a year, to mark the first anniversary of the death.

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