Prohibition of dying is a political
social phenomenon
Social phenomena or social phenomenon (singular) are any behaviours, actions, or events that takes place because of social influence, including from contemporary as well as historical societal influences. They are often a result of multifaceted pr ...
and
taboo
A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
in which a law is passed stating that it is illegal to die, usually specifically in a certain
political division
Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
or in a specific
building
A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and fu ...
.
The earliest case of prohibition of death occurred in the 5th century BC, on the Greek island of
Delos; dying on Delos was prohibited on religious grounds.
Today, in most cases, the prohibition of death is a satirical response to the government's failure to approve the expansion of municipal cemeteries. In
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, one town has prohibited death;
in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, there have been several settlements which have had death prohibited;
while in
Biritiba Mirim, in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, an attempt to prohibit death took place in 2005.
There is a falsely rumoured prohibition on recording deaths in
royal palaces in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, for rather different reasons
Ancient
Greece
The island of
Delos was considered a sacred and holy place by the
ancient Greeks
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
, and various measures were taken to "purify" the island and render it fit for the proper worship of the gods. In the 6th century BC, the tyrant
Peisistratus
Pisistratus or Peisistratus ( grc-gre, Πεισίστρατος ; 600 – 527 BC) was a politician in ancient Athens, ruling as tyrant in the late 560s, the early 550s and from 546 BC until his death. His unification of Attica, the triangular ...
, of the city-state of
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, ordered that all graves within sight of the island's temple be dug up and the bodies removed to locations on or beyond the perimeter. In the 5th century BC, under instruction from the
Delphic Oracle, the entire island was purged of all dead bodies, and it was forbidden for anybody else to die or give birth on the island.
Modern
Brazil
The mayor of
Biritiba-Mirim
Biritiba Mirim is a Brazilian municipality of the state of São Paulo. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 32,936 (2020 est.) in an area of 317.41 km². Its limits are Guararema in the north, Salesópolis i ...
filed a
public bill
Proposed bills are often categorized into public bills and private bills. A public bill is a proposed law which would apply to everyone within its jurisdiction. This is unlike a private bill which is a proposal for a law affecting only a single p ...
in 2005, to make it illegal for the people living in the town to die. Although no specific punishments have been presented, the mayor intends to target relatives of people who die with fines and even jail if necessary to get more space for tombstones.
The main reason for the attempt to pass such a law with such severe punishments if broken is that the town's 28,000 inhabitants apparently do not look after their health properly, making them more vulnerable to death, which would mean having to bury more corpses in the already full cemetery. Since the cemetery was inaugurated in 1910, over 50,000 people have been buried in 3,500 crypts and tombs. In November 2005, the cemetery was declared to be full and 20 recently deceased residents were forced to share a crypt, and several others were buried under the walkways.
The mayor, to support his uncommon proposal for a law, stated that 89% of the town is occupied by rivers, of which most are underground and serve as vital water sources for nearly two million people living in
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
, and that the remaining area is protected because it consists of tropical jungle. So, public land five times the size of the cemetery was set aside to provide space for a new one, which environmental experts claim will not affect water tables or surrounding tropical forest. The environment council decided to analyze such a solution carefully, while the state government had agreed to help build a new vertical cemetery; but, , nothing has been done, and the law has not yet been passed, leaving the situation in suspense.
["Brazil city proposes ban on death"](_blank)
BBC News. 14 December 2005.["No room at cemetery, so mayor in Biritiba Mirim proposes a ban on death"](_blank)
NBC News. 13 December 2005.
France
Three settlements in southern France have prohibited death. The mayor of
Le Lavandou
Le Lavandou (; oc, Lo Lavandor) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It derives its name either from the flower lavender (''lavanda'' in Provençal) that is prevalent in the area, o ...
outlawed death in 2000, after planning permission for a new cemetery was turned down due to environmental concerns. He described the new bylaw as "an absurd law to counter an absurd situation".
In 2007,
Cugnaux
Cugnaux (; Languedocien: ''Cunhaus'') is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France.
Population
The inhabitants of the commune are known as Cugnalais.
Twin towns
Cugnaux is twinned with these
* Cavarzere, Italy (Since 2 ...
also prohibited death, for similar reasons,
["Forbidden to die because of lack of room"](_blank)
Weird Globe News. 25 November 2007. Archived fro
on 26 August 2012. and was subsequently granted permission to enlarge the local cemetery;
["French village bans death"](_blank)
. AFP. 6 March 2008. inspired by the town's success,
Sarpourenx
Sarpourenx (; Béarnese: ''Sarporens'') is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France, notable for once having forbidden death by mayoral decree. The demonym is ''Sarpourenois''.
History
Never a large community, ...
was next to follow suit, in 2008.
Reuters. 5 March 2008. Archived fro
the original
on 26 August 2012.
Japan
The island of
Itsukushima
is an island in the western part of the Inland Sea of Japan, located in the northwest of Hiroshima Bay. It is popularly known as , which in Japanese means "Shrine Island". The island is one of Hayashi Gahō's Three Views of Japan specified in ...
is considered a sacred location in
Shinto
Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...
belief, and is the site of the
Itsukushima Shrine, a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
. Purity is of utmost concern in Shinto worship, and because of this, the shrine's priests have attempted to keep the island free of the pollution of death. Immediately after the
Battle of Miyajima
The 1555 was the only battle to be fought on the sacred island of Miyajima; the entire island is considered to be a Shinto shrine, and no birth or death is allowed on the island. Extensive purification rituals took place after the battle, to clea ...
in 1555, the only battle to have taken place on the island, the victorious commander had the bodies of the fallen troops removed to the mainland, and ordered that the entire battlefield be cleansed of the blood that was spilled, to the point that buildings were scrubbed and blood-soaked soil was removed from the island. Retaining the purity of the Itsukushima Shrine is so important that since 1878, no deaths or births have been permitted near the shrine. To this day, pregnant women are supposed to retreat to the mainland as the day of delivery approaches, as are terminally ill or the very elderly whose passing has become imminent. Burials on the island are still forbidden.
Spain
Death has been prohibited in the Andalusian town of
Lanjarón
Lanjarón is a municipality and town in the Alpujarras area in the province of Granada in Andalusia, Spain.
Lanjarón has a ruined castle and chalybeate baths.
This spa town is most famous, however, for its eponymous bottled water company, the ...
.
["Spanish Mayor Outlaws Death"](_blank)
Stiffs. 2 October 1999. Archived from the original on 26 August 2012. The village, with 4,000 inhabitants, is to remain under this law until the government buys land for a new cemetery. The mayor who issued the edict explains that the awkward new law is his response to politicians urging him to find a quick fix for a long-lasting problem.
The edict has become wildly popular amongst residents, even amongst political opponents of the mayor who issued the law, and was received with a sense of humor from most.
Myths
United Kingdom
A story sometimes reported in the United Kingdom states it is forbidden for commoners to die in a royal palace, such as the
Palace of Westminster, on the grounds that anyone who dies in a royal palace is technically entitled to a
state funeral.
However, this has been proven to be a
myth.
Norway
Contrary to popular beliefs, it is not illegal to die in the town of
Longyearbyen, Norway. There are simply no options for burial there, and terminally ill residents are flown to Oslo to live their last days. This is because the bodies of town members who died during the
1918 flu pandemic
The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...
have not decomposed due to the
permafrost, and there are concerns that the bodies still contain active strains of the virus.
References
{{Death
Prohibitionism
Legal aspects of death