Funerary texts or funerary literature feature in many belief systems. Its purpose is usually to provide guidance to the newly deceased or the soon-to-be-deceased about how to survive and prosper in the
afterlife
The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's Stream of consciousness (psychology), stream of consciousness or Personal identity, identity continues to exist after the death of their ...
.
Antiquity
The most famous example of funerary literature is that of the
ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...
ians, whose ''
Book of the Dead
The ''Book of the Dead'' is the name given to an Ancient Egyptian funerary texts, ancient Egyptian funerary text generally written on papyrus and used from the beginning of the New Kingdom of Egypt, New Kingdom (around 1550 BC) to around 50 BC ...
'' was buried with the deceased to guide him or her through the various trials that would be encountered before being allowed into the afterlife. The ''Book of the Dead'' followed a tradition of Egyptian funerary literature that dated back as far as the 26th century BC.
Similar practices were followed by followers of the cult of
Orpheus
In Greek mythology, Orpheus (; , classical pronunciation: ) was a Thracians, Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet. He was also a renowned Ancient Greek poetry, poet and, according to legend, travelled with Jason and the Argonauts in se ...
, who lived in southern
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and
Crete
Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
in the 6th–1st century BC. Their dead were buried with gold plates or laminae on which were inscribed directions about the afterlife.
In
Mandaeism
Mandaeism (Mandaic language, Classical Mandaic: ),https://qadaha.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/nhura-dictionary-mandaic-english-mandaic.pdf sometimes also known as Nasoraeanism or Sabianism, is a Gnosticism, Gnostic, Monotheism, ...
, the ''
Left Ginza''
and parts of the ''
Qulasta
The Qulasta, also spelled Qolastā in older sources (; ), is a compilation of Mandaean prayers. The Mandaic word ''qolastā'' means "collection".
The prayerbook is a collection of Mandaic prayers regarding baptisms ('' maṣbuta'') and other sa ...
'' serve as funerary texts.
Medieval
Tibetan Buddhists still make use of the ''
Bardo Thodol'' (also known as ""Tibetan Book of the Dead"", dating to ca. the 8th century), which describes the experiences of the mind after death. It is recited by
lama
Lama () is a title bestowed to a realized practitioner of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. Not all monks are lamas, while nuns and female practitioners can be recognized and entitled as lamas. The Tibetan word ''la-ma'' means "high mother", ...
s over a dying or recently deceased person, or sometimes over an effigy of the deceased.
Pure Land Buddhists regularly recite the ''
Amitabha Sutra'', which describes the Buddha
Amitabha and Sukhavati, the Western Pure Land, in brief detail. It is ordinarily recited at funerals or at memorial services.
In late 15th-century
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, the ''
Ars moriendi'' ("The Art of Dying Well") became one of the most popular and widely circulated early printed books. It was published in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
around 1470 as a guide to how to meet Death and avoid the temptations (Impatience, Pride, Avarice, etc.) that would consign a soul to
purgatory
In Christianity, Purgatory (, borrowed into English language, English via Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman and Old French) is a passing Intermediate state (Christianity), intermediate state after physical death for purifying or purging a soul ...
or, worse, to
hell
In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...
.
The ''Funeral Oration'' (
Halotti beszéd) is the oldest extant record of the
Hungarian language
Hungarian, or Magyar (, ), is an Ugric language of the Uralic language family spoken in Hungary and parts of several neighboring countries. It is the official language of Hungary and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. Out ...
, dating back to 1192–1195.
Modern
See also
* '' Bardo Thodol''
* Orphic poems and rites
* '' Ars moriendi''
* '' Left Ginza''
References
External links
*William Caxton, The book of the craft of dying, and other early English tracts concerning death (1917)
{{Death and mortality in art
Death customs
Religious literature
Cultural aspects of death
Religion and death