Mister Bee

THE REPUBLIC OF KIRIBATI
"When somebody died, all the relatives of the kaainga held a mourning
ceremony. The body was anointed with coconut oil which had been
scented with sweet smelling flowers.

The body was left in the centre of the maneaba while it decomposed,
and as the flesh fell away it was carefully wiped off the bones. While
this was taking place the elderly relatives of the dead person would
usually keep a vigil beside the body. Sometimes the near relatives
expressed their sorrow by mixing some of the liquid which dripped out
of the body with their food before eating it. After all the flesh had
been removed from the bones, these were placed in a burial ground near
the kaainga. In some cases the skull would be kept separate and
displayed in the house.

The Gilbertese people believed that at death the spirit left the body
and proceeded northwards to the place where Nakaa waited making nets.
Some spirits were trapped and others were able to return, eventually,
to hover near their ancestral lands."

ABORIGINALS in AUSTRALIA
The mourning rituals of the Arunta and Warramunga tribes of Australia:
"The mourning rituals of these tribes are very similar and vary only
during the burial of the deceased. I started my presentation by giving
the following background information regarding the beliefs of both
tribes. The Arunta and Warramunga tribe’s incorporate rituals into
every aspect of daily life, and the customs associated with death are
of the utmost importance. They centered their lives on a strong belief
and connection to the spirit world, which is evident by their mourning
rituals. Therefore, these cultures participate in complex mourning
rituals concerned with helping the spirit return to the land of the
dead and allow the life of the tribe to get back to normal…The
mourning periods of these tribes are lengthy and are divided into two
phases. The burning down of the deceased’s camp marks the commencement
of the first phase of mourning. During the first phase life changes
dramatically for the entire tribe and it can last for a period of
12-18 months. During this period no person is permitted to mention the
name of the deceased, except if absolutely necessary, and then only in
a whisper. The reason for this is the tribe is afraid that uttering
the dead man’s name will disturb and annoy his spirit. Furthermore, if
a dead man hears his name his spirit will think that his people are
not mourning him properly and he will haunt them in their sleep.
In addition, to not speaking the dead man’s name, the entire tribe is
prohibited from visiting his grave – until the ceremony of
Urpmilchima, which takes place during the second phase of mourning.
Other forms of mourning, which are completed by the entire tribe
include the tribe’s people inflicting bodily harm on themselves to
show that they are in mourning. For example, the Gammona of the
deceased, which are the single men of the tribe that are eligible to
marry the dead man’s daughter – cut themselves on the shoulder when
their possible father-in law or Ikuntera dies. In fact – every man
bears on his shoulders the raised scars that remain to show that he
has properly mourned his Ikuntera. Women and other men of the tribe
may also inflict wounds on their bodies to show that they are in
mourning…"

Mourning for loss of tradition depicted in art:
" French artist Gauguin lived in Tahiti in the late nineteenth
century, his painting Nevermore poignantly recorded, like carbon
dating, the mourning of the Polynesian people for a world passed, a
way of life lost forever by the arrival of the white man in the
Pacific. "