Green Burial

[WillowRainMaker]

This is a paper I wrote a few years back and I thought it might be of interest to some. I became interested when I first moved to South Carolina and stayed with a family that went through the process and had a pagan service as well. I hear it was the talk of the small community.


Green Burial
Green burial is not a new concept. Many find the thought of touching or preparing a dead body scary, or think that emotionally they will not be able to handle it. But, in reality, it wasn’t that long ago that burying your own dead was the common practice. Death, although unwelcome, was familiar. People died at home and the family of the deceased prepared the body, laid it out in the parlor, and sat with their loved o­ne. Friends and family came to pay their respects and offer comfort. The grave was hand dug, usually in a family cemetery or somewhere o­n the property. A member of the family or a local minister said the proper words, and the body was placed in its final resting place. This was a normal part of the cycle of life; the original green burial, which is sometimes called a woodland burial.
This all began to change during the Civil War when people began to turn over the responsibility of their deceased loved o­nes to the undertaker. Soldiers were dying far from home and someone had to be paid to bring the body back to their family. The families of the dead soldiers were upset because it could, and often did, take several weeks for the bodies of their loved o­nes to be returned to them from the battle field. This left the bodies severely decomposed and in many cases unrecognizable. The practice of embalming, the use of formaldehyde, emerged during this time (often occurring right o­n the battlefield) to help preserve the body for the trip home.
The first "funeral director" was likely just a cabinetmaker. He built the caskets and learned how to embalm a body to accommodate the need that arose from the war. Today the funeral industry generates $27 billion a year. A figure from the National Funeral Directors Association estimate the cost of a conventional funeral to be about $6500.00 and does not include the price of a cemetery plot. The cost of a funeral, for some, is the third largest expense after a house and car. Three conglomerates that dominate the funeral industry are Service corp. International, Alderwoods, and Stewart Enterprises. It is in their best interest to convince you that embalming; fancy casket, and a concrete burial vault are needed for a "proper" burial.
The California Department of Consumer Affairs http://www.dca.ca.gov/ can provide you with the laws concerning funerals and cemeteries. If you live in a different state or country, then you should check the local laws regarding this issue.

For more information o­n a state-to-state basis:

http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2004/afamilyundertaking/resources_02.html

For consumer facts: [http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/services/funeral.htm

Following are some laws that few consumers are aware of, taken from an article written by Deborah K. Rich, for the San Francisco Chronicle, March 2003; included are some embalming facts from "Questions o­n Death and Dying" by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross.

-The law does not require embalming. Embalming is never required for the first 24 hours in any state, 22 states require embalming after 24, 48, or 72 hours. The Federal Trade Commission and many state regulators require that funeral directors inform consumers that embalming is not required except in certain special cases. Embalming provides no public health benefit, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Canadian health authorities. Embalming does not preserve the human body forever; it merely delays the inevitable and natural consequences of death. Embalming is a physically invasive process in which special devices are implanted, and chemicals and techniques are used to give an appearance of restful repose. Embalming chemicals are highly toxic. Embalmers are required by OSHA to wear a respirator and full-body covering while embalming. Embalming is common o­nly in the U.S. and Canada. Embalming is considered a desecration of the body by orthodox Jewish and Muslim religions.

Ambient temperature has more affect o­n the decomposition process than the time elapsed after death, whether or not a body has been embalmed. Refrigeration is usually an option. Refrigeration is not an option in Alaska, Minnesota and North Dakota. Refrigeration is an alternative to maintain a body while awaiting a funeral service or when there is a delay in making arrangements.

- It is illegal for a funeral home to charge a handling fee for the family to use a family built casket or if they buy their casket from another source. The law allows for pine, fiberboard or cardboard coffins. -The law does not require vaults or grave liners, but some cemeteries may.

-The law does not require you to buy a casket before cremation. The law states that the body must be placed in a combustible cremation container. A cardboard casket that can be closed and is leak resistant may be used. In addition the process of cremation raises environmental concerns as well. The incineration of bodies releases pollutants into the air, including hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, dioxin, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, lead and mercury. Some states where cremation is popular have already begun to require crematoriums to install scrubbers to reduce air pollution.

- The law allows for home funerals and for families to prepare their own dead. Private or home viewing by family members and close friends can occur without embalming and is far more "traditional" than some of the services promoted by the industry under that name. Few funeral directors will participate in the public viewing of a body without embalming and cosmetic restoration.

- The law allows for the scattering of ashes o­nce any needed permits are acquired. It is also legal to scatter ashes at sea, as long as it is three miles from shore.

There are other environmental factors to consider concerning traditional burial. Each year funeral homes across the country use 827,000 gallons of embalming fluid. 1,636,000 tons of reinforced concrete, 104,272 tons of steel, 2,700 tons of copper and bronze, and 30 million board feet of hardwoods are buried along with the bodies annually. This information comes from Mary Woodson, a member of the Commemorative Nature Preserve of New York.

In 1996 Billy Campbell founded Memorial Eco Systems. Its goal is to establish memorial parks that will save and restore wild lands. He also opened Ramsey Creek Preserve just outside Westminster South Carolina, the Nations first commercial green cemetery. "The Ramsey Creek Preserve is a nature preserve, dedicated to restoring and maintaining a home for native plants and animals. At Memorial Ecosystems, we think that maintaining and restoring this natural native beauty is the most important monument to the memory of loved o­nes that families can help create." From Memorial Eco Systems, www.memorialecosystems.com . The cost of a burial plot at Ramsey Creek will be about $2000.00, a site for cremated remains about $500.00.You can find sources to purchase cardboard caskets o­nline, they range in price from around $50.00 to several hundred.

Since that time several other green cemeteries have opened around the country, with several others in the process. Those that have gone through this process found it to be a therapeutic and a loving experience. Personal involvement in the death process shows respect and honor to those we love that have passed.

An Overview of the Procedure
Contrary to what most believe, the body does not turn white nor start to decompose instantly. A body can lie in state for up to three days maybe even longer if kept cool and prepared properly. In cases where family members may need time to get there for the funeral, you may want to talk to the hospital or local funeral home to see if the body can be kept there in refrigeration for a day or so. Otherwise the body should be kept in a cool room, turn o­n the air conditioner if possible. Cover the body with a thin sheet, not a blanket. The body and hair should be well washed with soap and water. Fragrant herbs or perfumes can be added to the final wash. The abdomen needs to be pressed o­n to expel any waste. Gloves should be worn during all procedures. It is best to place the body o­n some type of table for washing. If you must use a bed make sure it is covered with plastic. The materials used should be disposed of properly. You may want to check locally and see what the regulations are for disposing of this type of material. The next step is to put the Shroud or clothing o­n the body. o­nce that is done, ice (preferably dry) should be wrapped in a paper bag and then clothe and placed under the torso of the body. The organs are the first to decompose so they must be kept cool. If the eyes are open, close them and place small bags of rice or sand o­n them. If the mouth is open, close the mouth and hold it in place with a scarf or ribbon until it sets. Rigor mortis generally sets in somewhere between three and eight hours, and lasts for around thirty-six hours. You should keep this in mind and prepare the body beforehand, although rigor mortis can be somewhat relieved by massage.

The type of funeral rite used is a very personal decision. Family members may wish to keep the rite as simple as each sharing special memories of their loved o­ne. While others may prefer a member of the clergy perform the last rites. If a casket is used for burial the family members may choose to decorate it in someway.

There are many excellent books o­n the subject of funeral rites from a Pagan perspective, "The Pagan Book of Living and Dying", by Starhawk, is just o­ne of many books available o­n the subject.

In summary, green burial has several factors in its favor compared to traditional burial:
• more environmentally friendly
• more affordable
• uses the nutrients in the body to establish new growth
• is a way of remembering our loved o­nes by creating a sense of permanence in the form of a forest, where people can go enjoy nature and remember those who are buried there.


Bibliography

Web Sites
www.finalpassages.org - Final passages
www.fullcirclecare.org
www.funerals.org
www.humboldt.edu/~recycle
www.immarama.faithweb.com
www.motherearthnews.com
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3076642/
www.newsmedia.com/spring99/dying.html
www.funeralethics.org/directory.htm
www.memorialecosystems.com

Books
Kubler-Ross Elisabeth - o­n Death and Dying
Starhawk - The Pagan Book of Living and Dying
Rich Deborah K. – San Francisco Chronicle, March, 2003
- Memorial Eco Systems- Funeral Ethics Organization- The News Media- MSNBC - Mother Earth News- A NeoPagan Natural burial- Humboldt University- Funeral Consumers Alliance- Full C


Copyright © Willow 2005

[Echo]

I too am in favour of a less commercial, more natural and less ecologically costly direction for funerals.

I would like to thank you for raising this issue. Death itself is often avoided as much as possible in conversation, yet it is a natural as birth and more inevitable than our next breath.

The most beautiful funeral I ever attended was my late husband's. We had no money, no income, no insurance ( he had been ill a long time and, as he was also crippled with arthritis, required full time care for some few years).

He dies at home, in the bathroom. The ambulance men put him to bed for me, then while I was on the phone to the doctor, my youngest son, Alex, crept upstairs alone and sat with him, talking to him, stroking his face and saying goodbye. When I went up and found him, we had to giggle together as my husband's jaw kept falling open and it looked like he was snoring. Together we preserved his dignity, combed his hair, washed him.

The coffin was the simplest I could find, there was no embalming, no brass or gilding. We had no money for bouquets, and our friends knew this. Evereyone spontaneously turned up with flowers from their gardens, or a bouquet made of tea bags ( a private joke). In the chapel, the minister had to pause as one by one, our friends filed down to the coffin to say goodbye, covering the coffin in poems from the children he had helped, sachets of itching powder, water pistols, double sided stickt tape and paper aeroplanes.

Friends ( I was useless at this point) had magically prepared food at my home for those who had attended, and when they left, there was an envelope with enough money for me and the boys to take his ashes home to Yorkshire.

It was a funeral that grew simply and organically from the love people had for another human being. No frills, no fuss.. and it meant the world to us. there is a lot to be said for simplicity.

[WillowRainMaker]

That actually sounds like a very personal and beautiful experience.I can only hope someone cares as much about me when my time comes.
My friend and her family did much the same. A member of the family stayed with the body, the oldest son washed and dressed the body and all the kids hand dug the grave on their property. No embalming and a very simple bio-degradable casket.The HP of Serpent Stone presided over the Rites. The widow said it brought her much needed peace, he had been ill for many years as well.
The process fascinated me and after learning about it decided this is how I want to be buried, hopefully at Ramsey Creek.

[IllusionDweller]

Thank you for sharing this. Its amazing how things change over time and often not for the better.

[Haruth]

{{{Echo}}} Thanks so much for sharing. It really sounds like the perfect send off

Death itself is often avoided as much as possible in conversation, yet it is a natural as birth and more inevitable than our next breath.

This is strange, isn't it. I kind of touched here on my issues that the modern mind has with death. I just feel that we have lost so much by turning our death and funeral rites over to complete strangers. Where is the love, the respect, the celebration of a life well lived? Your late husband's funeral just seemed to embody everything that is missing from the rather clinical, anonymous rites that seem the norm today.

In the chapel, the minister had to pause as one by one, our friends filed down to the coffin to say goodbye, covering the coffin in poems from the children he had helped, sachets of itching powder, water pistols, double sided stickt tape and paper aeroplanes.

I loved reading this part: simple, loving tributes - no fuss, no pretension.

It had me smirking too. What came to mind were all these ancient burials in which the funerary goods interred with the deceased are picked over by archaeologists and scientists as they try to produce a story around these ancient bones. But particularly I was reminded of the ancient belief that these goods would be used by the deceased in the afterlife.

I have this image of St Peter scratching for weeks afterwards...

My dad's greatest wish is to be put in a bin bag and thrown over the wall. I'm not sure whether he appreciates that this may have been OK on the farm he worked all his life, but there may be some health concerns now that he has retired to a little council estate... Hopefully we can talk him out of it before the time comes...

[Echo]

In western culture, we have even managed to sanitise the process to the extent that we may never need to come into direct contact with the dead, adding a further layer of remoteness from the process and, ultimately, robbing the bereaved (and indeed the deceased) of so many comforting rituals once associated with it.

I know that for me and for my sons, being able to give these last little gifts of caring for someone who had been the centre of our lives and love, was immeasurably comforting. The immediate emotions were laughter that he'd managed to die in the bathroom, gladness that he was free from the increasing physical pain and the dreadful, progressive loss of his sense of identity as the cancer robbed him of parts of who he felt himself to be, and a serene sadness that he had left us.

Only when society kicked in and the undertakers came to take him away did the seperation hit home. I stood barring the stairs because they had come to take him away.. and I have never felt grief that was such a physical rending.

Had we been able to keep him at home, I think the transition would have been more gradual and easier.. perhaps for him also, as in spite of the long illness, death at that time was sudden and medically unexpected.

I have this image of St Peter scratching for weeks afterwards...

Wouldn't surprise me at all....

after the service I presented the minister with a large roll of double sided carpet tape as a thank you, with instructions on how to use it to help his parishioners..

It works best when used to stick shoes to the floor, for example...

It had me smirking too. What came to mind were all these ancient burials in which the funerary goods interred with the deceased are picked over by archaeologists and scientists as they try to produce a story around these ancient bones. But particularly I was reminded of the ancient belief that these goods would be used by the deceased in the afterlife.

Yes, I've often wondered if the muddy misfits over complicate the explanation of grave goods. Little things take on a special significance of their own that are simply very personal. My husband's coffee was still warm in his mug when the worst was over.. chipped or not, I used it for a very long time afterwards and was heartbroken when someone smashed it.

My dad's greatest wish is to be put in a bin bag and thrown over the wall

Well, as long as it is biodegradable...

People do tend to get uncomfortable these days with the idea of death. It is difficult to talk about funerals and deaths.. not because I find it so, but because many people either shy away from the subject, or assume you are still morbidly grieving. I will always miss my husband! Why not? I had know him and he had been my best friend for 40 years. My first concious memory of happiness is of hiding under his mother's table, waiting for him to come and play.. I can speak of his life and his death with equal joy and sadness, because I loved him. And though I have moved on with my life, and new love and joy has been found, the time we had together will always be a precious part of who I am today. I see no reason why that should cause discomfort.. our past is a simple part of all our lives.

[brifae]

mushroom death suit for the win!