Ghosts, Souls and Death

Human Universals:Every culture has a concept of soul, and an after life, but…Death is a biological occurrence with a myriad of cultural

interpretations…

The Soul

• The noncorporeal, spiritual component of an individual.– In anthropology, the term is seen as

exclusive to humans.– In many cultures, seen as departing from

the body during sleep to travel through space/time and meet with all sorts of people, including relatives

The Soul

• Where does the soul reside? How many souls within an individual?– Haitian Vodou: ti bonanj is the “little angel”

or the person’s consciousness and ego. Upon death, stays around the body for a bit and then moves on to heaven. Gwo bonanj or “big angel” comes from the ancestral spirits and is returned after death. This is the person’s life force that determines his/her character and intelligence.

The Soul

• Where does the soul reside? How many souls within an individual?– Jivaro (Ecuador): Each individual has 3 souls.

Nekas is the life force. Aruntam is acquired through visions and is necessary to reach the afterlife or “real” life. The miusak is the “avenging soul” that resides in the head and avenges the death of the deceased.

The Soul.• Where does the soul reside? How many

souls within an individual?– Ancient Egypt: Soul was made up of five parts:

• Ren (name). Given at birth. As long as the name was remembered and spoken, the person would live on.

• Ba (personality). The part of a person that would go to the Afterlife and live on, often represented by Ba birds.

• Ka (life force). Death occurs when this leaves the body. Also seen as going to the Afterlife and reuniting with the Ba.

• Ib (Heart). Essential to gain entry to the Afterlife. Good heart, Afterlife gained. Bad heart, the Ba, Ka and every other part of the soul would die a final death.

• Sheut (Shadow). A shadow was is always attached to an individual, therefore it must contain and important part of that individual. Often portrayed on tomb walls as a mini featureless figure behind the deceased individual.

Death and the Afterlife• Where/what is the “After Life?”• Transmigration: The soul passes from one body to

another (human, animal, inanimate object).• Reincarnation: A belief in an immortal, eternal soul that is

born again and again in different bodies.– Over 70% of the world’s religions have this at their core.– Hinduism: The goal of reincarnation (or samsara) is to attain

moksha or liberation from the limitations of space, time and matter. Karma is the cumulative result of actions (good or bad) from previous lives. Good actions equal good Karma and eventual attainment of moksha.

– Buddhism: Reincarnation as the transmission of Karma, but not of personality (as it is in Hinduism). The ultimate goal of reincarnation, and Buddhism is the cessation of desires and cravings. Only if this is achieved may one reach Nirvana.

• Purgatory: In Roman Catholicism, a place where souls go that are in a state of grace but need purification.

Ancestors

• Ancestor Worship–A catch-all term used by

anthropologists to describe the beliefs and behaviors surrounding the veneration of ancestors• This term is slowly falling out of

favor because in some cultures ancestors are seen as being venerated and attended, but not really worshipped.

Ancestors– Japan

• Ancestors as dead regular household members that are not in living memory. • Upon death, the soul will wander in uncertainty for a few days until it is

purified by a series of rituals performed by the family. After these cleansing rituals, the soul then enters the clean and peaceful world of the ancestors.

• The dead in Japanese society carry a moral authority, a perceived ability to lay down morals and values within the family. One does not want to do wrong for fear of shaming the ancestors.

• Geomancy when describing Japanese culture, Geomancy refers to:– A method of determining the location and orientation

of structures within the household (Feng Shui).

– The incorrect placement of furniture/objects or the overall structure of the house can lead to negative occurrences.

– If Geomancy can not reveal the misfortune, then the ancestors might be suspected.

Determining Death• What is the body? • What animates the body? • What is consciousness?• Is someone dead when their heart stops, but

the brain keeps on working? How about the other way around?– 18th & 19th century pull-cords. The heart as a

voluntary muscle?• Which is the seat of the soul? The Heart or

the Brain?– Modern western medicine: The Brain

• “Beating Heart Cadavers”– Ancient Egypt: The Heart

• The heart in mummification, the heart scarab

GhostsSouls without Bodies

• A manifestation of an individual after death that remains in the vicinity of the community. Generally seen as a negative force and can bring about illness and other misfortune.– Vs. Soul (which is seen as a positive force).

• Japanese Ghosts– Result of impure spirits of the recently dead who have not yet undergone

the correct rituals to become ancestors.– Ringu excerpt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_GQO1oWEwg

• Western Ideas of Ghosts– 6th Sense trailer:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG9AGf66tXM• White Noise trailer:• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haHHr5_VX7I• American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena (AA-EVP) • (From http://www.aaevp.com): “Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) concerns

unexpected voices found in recording media. It is a form of after death communication…. The Survival Hypothesis holds that we are nonphysical entities who are able to exist in the physical aspect of reality because of our physical body, but that when our physical body dies, we as Self, change our point of view to nonphysical reality. In effect, we exist before and after our current lifetime.”

• International Ghost Hunters Society – http://www.ghostweb.com/

VampiresBodies without Souls

A person who has died before his or her time and who brings about the death of friends and relatives until his or her corpse is “killed.”

“Vampire” legend comes from Eastern Europe, but stories of the undead coming back to torment the living abounds in countless cultures, throughout the millennia. Sekhmet (ancient Egypt) & blood. Eastern Europe:

Austria: 18th century. Officials noted the practice of exhuming dead bodies and “killing” them. Charges of vampirism included the accused looking bloated with blood seeping out of their orifices. Appearance due to natural decomposition of the body, which was not so clearly understood?

Bulgaria: 1-nostril Bavaria: Sleep with thumbs crossed and 1 eye open Moravia: Only attacked while naked Albania: Fond of high-heeled shoes

Africa… Asia… Rhode Island…

Bram Stoker, Vlad Tepes, Dracula, Elizabeth Bathory and the modern Vampire legend… Modern-day Vampire groups: http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/places/culture-places/food/us-vampires-pp.html

ZombiesBodies without souls

• A corpse that has been raised from the grave and animated

• Most closely related with Haitian Vodou– Not to be feared. Fated to live a life of

slavery on a plantation.– Wade Davis, The Serpent and the

Rainbow• Together with Haitian psychiatrist, Dr.

Lamarque Douyon, tracked down and recreated Zombie Powder, a type of powder that (allegedly containing pieces of dried puffer fish) causes the victim to appear dead. http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/places/culture-places/food/japan_pufferfish.html

• Davis emphasized the role of a powerful priest in depriving a person of their will, and psychologically helping to create this “zombification” process.

– In Haitian Vodou, the part of the soul able to be controlled by this priest is the ti-bonaj or their personality/individuality.