HELP 17

VIII. Facets of Death: Memory, Mourning, and Magnificence

Chapter 8

Death is inevitable; every culture has attempted to reconcile with this fact of life through memory, mourning, and memorials. In this chapter, we will explore ideas on mourning from three different cultures: (1) Burgundy, France; (2) Rajasthan, India; and (3) Pre-Islamic Arabia. Time and place are important factors in understanding matters of life and death, as are culture, history of the people, and their socioeconomic context.

1) Burgundy, France: The Mourners statues evoke a splendid memory of the past. Also known as pleurants, The Mourners are a group of 40 alabaster statuettes expressing deep grief below the tomb of John the Fearless and Margaret of Bavaria. Between 15 and 20 inches tall, these funerary procession statuettes appear as though in a real mourning procession, passing through the open arcades of a monastic cloister. Placed between the black marble base and the tomb atop, the double arcade in between is embellished with trefoil arches, crocket capital, and pinnacles, typical of Gothic architecture. The statuettes are in various expressive modes of mourning: the open face and stern look of the bishop, who is carrying a staff in his left hand and an open book in the other. He appears to be in deep thought; his robe, brooch, and headdress accentuate the solemnity of the funeral and his wisdom is evident in his melancholy expression. The deacon carries a now-broken cross; his expression is of deep grief. His head falls back, eyes gleaning across the heavens above, while both his hands grip the ends of the cross. The choirboy in his simple youth expresses innocence and the perplexity over such a monumental occurrence as death. Some figures hold finely carved rosary beads, while one Carthusian monk is shown actually reading from his open book. Although intended for frontal viewing, the figures are also fully sculpted for viewing in the round. The figures seem to stand strong, independent of the actual subject of mourning, that is, the death of John the Fearless. Originally there were 41 statuettes, but 1 is lost. The figures are sculpted by Jean de la Huerta and Antoine le Moiturier, who in turn were influenced by the Dutch sculptor Claus Sluter (circa 1340–circa 1406) who created the tomb of the first Valois Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Bold (1342–1404, and father of John the Fearless.) John the Fearless commissioned his tomb to rival that of his father. John the Fearless was the second duke of the Court of Burgundy and ruled from 1404–1419, and was assassinated in 1419.

The figures are perpetually perambulating, mourning, and seeking salvation for the deceased. These solemn figures express the universality of mourning, but in the context of the tomb, they embody the Late Medieval devotion and piety typical of intense religiosity in the bleak period marked by the Black Death, famine, social discontent, and the Hundred Years War fought between England and France from 1337 to 1453. The figures are sculpted in Late Gothic style, where the figures appear to have no feet and are supported by their long, elaborate drapery, which has depth and complexity of folds.

The Mourners manage to evoke sadness in the viewers through the portrayal of their own grief. The 40 mourners represent actual clergy and laypersons from Dijon of 15th century, as they partake in a continuous procession of mourning and praying for the departed Burgundian King, John the Fearless, and his wife Margaret of Bavaria. The tombs are elaborate with figures of the deceased atop them, while the mourners themselves are placed below the tombs, on a black platform. The entire composition is a message of faith. Angels surround the ducal figures. The dukes wanted to ensure they would be among the Chosen on Judgment Day; hence, they relied upon their citizens from all strata of society–religious and secular–to pray and lament eternally for the deceased.

Yet, while we speak of the mourners collectively, they are individual in their expression of grief. The figures exhibit the diversity of the mourners, who are small in scale, but highly refined in artistic execution and demonstrate individuality. The drapery of the figures requires additional artistic vocabulary, such as volume, mass, movement, and gesture.

It is a common myth among Art Historians and students of Art History that no portraiture except of kings and queens exists in the Middle Ages, and that individuals come into art in the Renaissance period after the Roman period. Further, we learn that the Middle Ages figures were types/representations of the generic population. This is a myth, as the Mourners prove. Each figure has different attributes. Along with the hands in a specific task like holding or praying or wiping tears, the heads are well defined and purposeful. Take for instance the bishop, in all his authoritative glory, standing resolute, frontal, upright, and holding and wearing the attributes of his office. He is holding a book, as per tradition; what his hands hold is important because he is the embodiment of his position of power. Another figure is quite dramatic, unlike the stoic bishop, and is recognized by the curve of the drapery in the front. He appears to be looking at something very specific; what, we won’t know. We will never know. Then there is a man resting quietly, hands clasped, as if in deep thought. Another mourner’s hands are agitated, in motion, and he turns away from us and we have to turn to see him; there is a sense of evasion through his gesture. He is not paying attention to what is in front of him. Then there is a dull-looking official wearing a brooch, holding a book, head slighted tilted, and his garment envelops him. Another figure has his hands covered, wrapped in his sleeves. Then there is the radically individuated mourner in the way his hands indicate as if something needs to be picked up. Some of the mourners are calm, while some appear anxious. And there are yet others whose faces we cannot see or only see partially because they are covered with the cowl, as if these mourners are hiding their pain and looking at them might invade their very private pain.

There is wonderful detail on the figures, with brooches and buttons, carrying rosary or a book, wearing full robes with multiple folds. Each figure has a purpose, is imbued with a sense of personhood. There are young and older male figures. But in spite of their individual differences, they are collective in their act of mourning. Further, the mourners cannot be identical because if they were, they would be ‘one’ identity–one person–mourning. This defeats the purpose of societal mourning, represented through individual people, as per The Mourners catalog and Sophie Jugie, Director of Musee des Beaux Arts de Dijon.

Artists can create these individuals towing to artistic freedom for individuation of such mourners because if they were creating a duke or a duchess, there were very strict rules; works would be judged–plump lips on the duchess, curls in the hair and each hook on the duke’s belt had to be carved perfectly–so it would be very tedious and lack creativity.

“Show me the manner in which a nation cares for its dead and I will measure with mathematical exactness the tender mercies of its people, their respect for the laws of the land, and their loyalty to high ideals.” - Sir William Gladstone

The opulence of the tombs of Philip the Bold (1340–1416, reigned from 1363–1404) and John the Fearless (1371–1419, reigned 1404–19; assassinated in 1419) are typical of the Burgundian courts. The Burgundian courts encompassed the Low Countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg) and northern France, from the 14th century to the end of the 15th century. These came into possession of the dukes of Burgundy, descendents of the French royal house of Valois, when the Count of Flanders Louis de Male died. Philip the Bold, who was his son-in-law, inherited the Low Countries through his wife, Margaret of Flanders.

During the rule of Philip the Bold, his son, John the Fearless, and his successors, Philip the Good (1369–1467) and Charles the Bold (1433–1477) became patrons of the arts. The Dukes of Burgundy governed until 1477 when the fourth and last Duke of Burgundy of the Valois line, Charles the Bold, died on the battlefield, leaving no male heir, thus ending their dynasty.

Philip the Bold’s statesmanship and patronage of the arts created a sophisticated court that was a model to emulate. Grandeur in the forms of great banquets, grand civic tournaments and processions were held. The ducal libraries were among the most significant private collections, and over 100 tapestries decorated the ducal palace and residences, expressing the prevalent court taste for luxury items.

The dukes of Burgundy were immensely wealthy, and reigned from their capital in Dijon, France, which was a small town, but was transformed by Philip the Bold into a cultural location during the 15th century. A fine example of his statesmanship lies on the outskirts of Dijon at the Chartreuse de Champmol, a monastery founded for 24 monks to house the tombs of the dukes of Burgundy and their successors in perpetuity.

Philip the Bold’s tomb was created by Claus Sluter. John the Fearless commissioned sculptors Jean de la Huerta and Antoine Le Moiturier to create a tomb that would rival that carved for his father, but Claus Sluter provided the model for this type of monument.

His tomb was completed in 1470. Both Philip the Bold and John the Fearless were intrepid warriors and great patrons of the arts. Their legacies were elaborate above-ground tombs that combined recumbent effigies of the deceased with a series of mourning figures. The deceased would be assured of eternal salvation if accompanied by such mourners, who represent a cross-section of both clergy and ordinary people.

What happened and what we remember happening are two separate matters; the greater the memory, the more majestic the mourning.

In case of historical figures, the memory that we must contend with is a collective one. Hence, the figure is a representative to the larger spectrum of the population, if not to all of the populace. Specific to the dukes of Burgundy is the memory of great wealth, superior courts, and notable art. Because of their patronage to the arts, their legacy consists of fine tombs crafted by some of the best sculptors in Europe. The sculptors served the dukes during life; in fact, the artistic productions were subject to and depended upon the needs of the court, hence the memory of the deceased in building and designing their tombs in death was not merely a “job,” but rather an enactment of what the deceased dukes and duchesses meant in the memory of the artists. In other words, how were these elite members of society remembered by the artists?

Staying true to the medieval custom of devotional religion, the artists convey a deep message about the nature and representation of power in the execution of the tomb of John the Fearless and Margaret of Bavaria. What a fine testament the tombs are to the memory–not only in life but also in death–of the kings in the continuous lamentation of their death suffered equally by laypersons and clergy!

The funeral procession continuously perambulates below the actual tombs, in a gesture of deep mourning and seeking salvation for the deceased’ souls. The act of mourning itself is a form of contending with the fact of death. But even in death, the kings are not separated from their subjects. As the procession suggests, these would have been actual persons praying for the departed soul to attain salvation and unite in the Kingdom of God. The funeral procession is a collective mourning experience, and the exhibition of such rituals was important in the medieval period.

Medieval courts were full of pageantry and show. Yet, there was deep meaning, although contrived, associated to each ritual and ceremony, which was celebrated as part of dynastic pride and well-being. In light of cultural shifts from 19th century onwards, there has been a tendency to reduce or remove ritual of its content. But medieval culture cannot be understood rightly without its immersion in heraldic, chivalrous, and liturgical rituals.

The Book of the Duchess by Geoffrey Chaucer is deeply influenced by and reflective of French culture. The container of that culture and reproduction in writing is done with the aid of memory. The noblest medieval ideal that Chaucer presents is of the pursuit of love.

The lamenting young man in black is the epitome of medieval servitude, but rather than being a vassal to a human lord, his lordship is Love! The love is not yet personified, but the young man romanticizes love, referring to his own tribute to Love as that of a servant in body, mind, heart, and soul. He has no ulterior motives but to love only. He describes himself as a slate or white wall, which accepts anything that is put upon it. He speaks of pursuing love without any intention, except in his idleness, to be the greatest lover there was. What a lofty ideal! Yet, he prepared himself for love.

And then finally he falls in love, the greatest love, one might say, since he is devastated by the eventual loss of his love. He describes the physical beauty of his love, as well as her personality of moderation. But the trait he exalts her for is her ability to be truthful. The man agonizes over his love and repeatedly replays his feelings for her in his memory, fueling his love further. Until one day, he expresses his love for her and she rejects his majestic love! (Does she even know how hard it is to find a man like that!) Forlorn and dismayed, he laments another year, and expresses his love for her yet again. This time, she accepts and he “was quickly raised, as if from death to life.” What a beautiful symbolism Chaucer uses to revive love in a lover’s heart, as if to say, to not be loved is as good as not being alive.

Love is the highest form of truth because as the man in black says, “Love, who had listened so carefully to my request, had looked upon me so quickly, that she was, so help me God, so swiftly caught in my mind that I didn’t need to ask for advice from anywhere, but only looked to her and to my heart; for when her eyes so gladly beheld my heart, I believe, my own thought then, without a doubt, said it would be better to serve her for nothing than to serve another and be well-rewarded.” Love is the reward of love.

2) Rajasthan, India: Death is inevitable for all living things, but death has never affected the dead; it only impacts the living. It is those who are left behind that have to contend with the memory and mourning of the deceased. Every culture and civilization has had to deal with the certainty of death. However, the exhibition of death is the realm of the rich across all cultures, and that holds true even for the zamindars (land owners) in the rural areas of Rajasthan in India.

The zamindars are equivalent to the feudal lords of Medieval Europe. However, in India, the zamindars continue to exert their powers even to this day, especially in rural areas, which are also high in illiteracy. The zamindars may patronize education, literature, music, arts, and religion for the welfare of the subjects under their land jurisdiction, but there is an impression of cruelty and wickedness surrounding this class. Villagers never refer to the zamindars by name, but only as “Hukum” (literally, order or command–identifying them as embodiments of power) or “Sarkar” (government, authority) or even “Annadaata” (God of food.)

The women of the zamindars’ family are dissuaded from making any public appearance due to their high status. They live a very sheltered, veiled, and secluded life. Hence, when a zamindar dies, the women within the family are constrained by their high social status and are not permitted to display grief, or perhaps did not feel any. Sensing his own inconsequential but imminent death, the zamindar would hire a professional mourner to publicly cry after his departure from life.

Rudaali, literally translated as “Weeping Woman” is a professional mourner who is hired to publicly express grief and shed tears upon the death of these wealthy landlords. The custom is a variation of the Indian Medieval period sati practice–the wife burning alongside the funeral pyre of her deceased husband–in a grand public spectacle reinforcing the rigidity of the caste system and women’s secondary roles in society. While the sati practice was expected of women from all castes and classes until it was outlawed by the British in 1829, the practice of rudaali is confined to low-caste women. While sati focused on the self-immolation of the widows, thus ensuring their chastity, the rudaali practice emphasizes the haunting nature of death. She performs an act of great loss and bemoans the death of the upper-caste males. She is not expressing her personal loss in any way. The intent is for her to lend voice and theatrics to the great loss–real or imagined–of the deceased person on behalf of his family. Her performance is an indication of the wealth and social status of the deceased’s person.

The profession of a rudaali is quite a reputable one. First, she earns money for her services. In a village bereft of any wealth for the citizens, any income is good income. In addition to the monetary payment, she is also paid with grain and oil, a rare but necessary commodity. She is a working woman, and this is a paid job. Second, she is summoned for her skill and ability to glorify and mourn the deceased. She must have convincing mourning skills, thus be a good actress in this one “role” of her lifetime. Third, as a job requirement, she would be allowed to enter the haveli–mansion–of the deceased person, which would otherwise be completely barred to her because of her low caste. In matters of death, it appears that the caste division lines are blurred. Fourth, the person who comes to her home to summon her would want a commission for getting her this employment and continued employment. Hence, the rudaali must retain enough to earn her living, but compromise sufficiently to ensure future employment. She must be a businesswoman and negotiate well. Finally, death is spontaneous and it can also be slow. Hence, she must be prepared to leave her home and family, frequently with the messenger, to visit the nearby villages at any given time. This is most unusual where the expectations for women are to remain at home and take care of the family. But because of respect for the natural order of life, and the additional income for the family, the rudaali is allowed such a freedom.

Dressed in black and with unbound hair, the act of a rudaali’s mourning is magnificent. Visually, the rudaali dresses in black, the color of darkness, death, chaos, and primordial fears. Her overflowing robe suggests movement, but because of the excessive fabric, and its black color, the figure appears to be a silhouette–echoing the darkness of death–and eerie, almost like a shadow. Further, the performance is held at night, when there is no shadow or a blurred shadow caused by dim lights. This is an added reference to the temporary nature of the human body. While long hair is generally a feminine aesthetic for Indian women, the rudaali leaves her long hair unbound and it amplifies the unrestricted nature of lamenting. It could be a symbol alluding to the uncontrollable forces of nature themselves. Her mourning is a performance to be witnessed by all members of the household and others. It is never meant to be silent, but a spectacle for all to see, and hopefully remember in time of their own dying so that they may be remembered just as intensely. The rudaali makes her entrance into the open courtyard of the haveli by beating her breast, dancing spasmodically, shedding copious tears, screaming to God for such grave injustice, and rolling on the ground until she reaches the deceased person’s covered body, all the while loudly praising the deceased and lamenting his demise. Then she would touch the covered feet of the deceased, almost as if she is seeking his blessings. The ability to hire such a performer was a mark of social status. It was common to hire one rudaali, but it was possible to hire several, depending on one’s financial means. When in a group, the women do not compete with one another to be outstanding in their expression of sorrow, but rather complement one another to express the amplified grief in unison. In dance, too, they move close together, never divulging their identity or detracting from the focus of the performance.

The performance consists of loud crying, exaggerated sobbing and sighing. The rudaali’s words glorify the deceased, extolling his virtues of generosity, kindness, fairness, and compassion. The speech is enhanced with further sighing and wailing, screaming and shouting out for him to return, and cursing fate for taking such a noble soul from earth, because, as the rudaali would say, quite convincingly, “Without the Lord, of what use are the servants?” The lord is a reference to the upper caste, albeit dead male here, and the servants are the subjects that have been left behind, including her. Frequently, dance and song are a part of the performance, preceded by beating of the chest while being seated and standing. The dance is not choreographed, and is not meant to entertain. Rather, it is an expression of the solemn occasion and the slow, gradual, rhythmic movements of the dance symbolize the quiet respect attributed to this sad occasion. Irrespective of the kind of man he was while alive, in death, he is exalted, honored, and loved. The song may be accompanied by music, but it is the lyrics that matter on this occasion. The general themes of song are the irreverence of time, the erratic nature of fate, and myriad symbols associated with life changes, such as seasons and day and night.

How does a low-caste woman become a respectable mourner, a rudaali? She may be born or married into a family of a rudaali. But for a new initiate, it is her life story that marks her as a rudaali and establishes her reputation as one. Ill omens at her birth, such as the death of a parent, or early widowhood, being born under the influence of the planet Saturn, or on a Saturday, are good indicators for a potential rudaali. Such societal rejection dries up her reservoir of tears early enough and she becomes hardened by the facts of life. Yet, hidden under the exterior is a wounded soul, seeking social acceptance. Upon some encouragement by women folk or perhaps out of economic necessity, the woman is allowed to redeem her ill fate and karma. Even in the rigid caste and class structure of Medieval India, every person had a role to fulfill. By serving the upper caste/class men, those of good karma and favored by fortune, this destitute low caste/class woman has fulfilled her role in maintaining the social order. Hence in her service to society lies her redemption from her ill fate and karma.

3) Pre-Islamic Arabia: Pre-Islamic Arabia is known as Jahiliya, an Islamic concept of ignorance of divine guidance because it is prior to the revelations of the Quran made to Mohammed. The societies of this period exhibit polytheistic, nomadic and scattered, and clan identity, all of which were paramount to survival in the inhabitable desert. Life was harsh in the deserts of pre-Islamic Arabia. To ensure survival, clanship was vital and families were very tightly knit. To lose a loved one threatened the survivorship of the clan itself because it meant loss of already scarce skills, wisdom, and resources; further, it was a clear allusion to the mortality of each person. Hence, death rituals were elaborate and always communal.

Men and women expressed grief differently for the death of a family member. The men were silent in grief. This practice comes from the notion that crying is a weakness and hence men who cry are weak. The cultural value of emotional sternness is highly placed upon the men, as they cannot succumb even before the death of their loved ones. The true demonstration of grief for the deceased came from the women though, who screamed and wailed, tore their clothes and hair, hit their chest, hands and face, and also threw sand or earth on their heads, perhaps symbolizing the eventual return of our bodies into the earth or the sand.

As Islam spread in the Arabian peninsula after 622 CE, Mohammed strictly forbade wailing, condemning these heartrending cries as uncivilized and pagan ritual. This could have been to separate Islam from its pre-Islamic associations and assert the newly forming Islamic identity over the existing Jahiliya mourning practices. It is believed that Mohammed was particularly critical of all pre-Islamic mourning practices, especially of women who tore their clothes, recited dirges–funeral songs expressing grief,–and incited blood revenge and civil unrest.

Leor Halevi, author of the book Muhammad’s Grave: Death Rites and the Making of Islamic Society explains other differences and “reforms” that were brought about in Islam as a direct result of pre-Islamic practices. Muslim burials are a pre-Islamic tradition; however, the Muslims added the requirement for the corpses to face the Kabaa in Mecca, which is the center of Islamic prayer and religious life. Women were also prohibited by early Muslim laws to wash the corpses of male strangers, to accompany funeral processions, and to attend the burial ceremony at the cemetery. These restrictions did not originate in Arabia during the time of Mohammed in the 7th century, but in the 8th century cities of Iraq, as Islam spread from Arabia. Yet, pre-Islamic traditions and customs continued to coexist side by side with Islam.

Funeral rites and mourning rituals, specifically, underscore the plurality of Islam; as the new religion spread to different parts of the world, we see that culture, more than religion, shapes and organizes responses to death and loss. Gender and socioeconomic class also play a major role in influencing mourning ritual practices. In some cases, political environment also affected the response to death and mourning rituals.

In the Islamic country of Egypt, multiplicities of mourning practices exist. The general mourning practice is as follows: after death of a family member, the women of the family raise cries of lamentation called welweleh or wilwal, uttering the most piercing high pitch shrieks, and calling upon the name of the deceased, “Oh, my master! Oh, my resource! Oh, my misfortune! Oh, my glory!” The women of the neighborhood come to join with them in this lamentation. It is also a common practice for the family to send for two or more public wailing women (nedebbehs.) Each brings a tambourine, and beating them they exclaim, “Alas for him!” The female relatives, domestics, and friends, with their hair disheveled and sometimes with rented clothes, beating their faces, cry in like manner, “Alas for him!” In some cases, the women dye their shirts, head veils and handkerchiefs of a dark-blue indigo color. They visit the tombs at stated periods. Response to death by the poor is also marked by heartrending grief. These women cry as if they are pouring out their hearts; they yell and scream, beating their breasts and at times are so overcome with emotion that they fall into a faint. These expressions of grief continue for days. Expressions of grief differ widely between men and women, in both their attitudes and actions. Men are expected to exhibit more self-control by being less emotional, more rational, and more religious by reciting the Quran; the Quran is meant to provide solace in distressing times. The women lament emotionally by shrieking and wailing. Women are forbidden from attending funerals or reciting the Quran. They remain sequestered in the house of the deceased, while the men accompany the corpse for burial. During the three-day mourning period that takes place at the mosque and/or the home of the deceased, both men and women, along with family, friends, colleagues, and neighbors gather to listen to and even sometimes read the Quran. However, men and women are separated into two groups throughout the funeral and mourning rituals. Women wash the female dead and men wash the male dead in preparation for burial. Women are permitted to go to the grave and bury the dead, and are not forbidden to participate in the majority of funeral and mourning rituals. The only thing that women cannot do in the funeral rituals is to perform the funeral prayer. Urban women, on the other hand, express their grief by crying, dressing in black, and recounting the good deeds of the deceased. However, wailing aloud is not permitted to urban Egyptian women because it would appear as if they are protesting God’s will. Women are given freedom in expressing their grief. Men stand beside women and console them until they are calmed, but men don’t cry. They keep their grief and sadness private, even from their wives. Men can express their grief in any way other than crying.

Female peasants of Upper Egypt perform mourning dances and lamentations that last for three days or more. These women cover their faces and bosoms in mud, dancing wildly with drawn swords and palm sticks. In contrast, women attending the funeral of a devout sheikh do not perform the common wailing but rather, the more respectful ululations, which is performed by female professionals who expertly deliver the shrill and quavering cries of joy in a celebration of the sheikh’s passage to al-akhira, the afterlife.

In her book Veiled Sentiments, Lila Abu-Lughod writes about mourning, revenge, and poetry among a group of Awlad Ali Bedouin women who live in a village in the Western Egyptian desert. At funerals and for a month after, Awlad Ali women emit a stylized high-pitched wordless wailing (ajat.) Then they “cry.” As the author explains, “Crying involves much more than weeping; it is a chanted lament in which the bereaved women and those who have come to console them express their grief. Like the singing of poems, the chant takes the form of a short verse of two parts, the words repeated in a set order following a single melodic pattern. The special pitch and quavering of the voice along with the weeping and sobbing that often accompany it, make this heart rending.” This melancholy lament is an exclusively female response to death in this society; Bedouin men do not cry, although sometimes they may weep silently, though as a rule men offer condolences with a somber embrace out of which others must pull them. Men counsel bereaved relatives to “pull yourself together (shidd helak)” and console others with references to God’s will and God’s goodness. The only instances when men may cry is during ritual lamentation of “crying” for saints and holy men during yearly festivals. These gender-separated expressions of grief draw upon many of the early Islamic traditions of death and mourning, underscoring their historic origins and continued import.

From early Islam to contemporary Muslim societies, funeral rites and mourning rituals reflect ideals of religion, gender, politics, and aesthetics. They portray broad societal values and individual responses to human grief. Consistently, throughout the Islamic world, mourning and preserving the memory of the departed are women’s responsibilities. These are areas in which women are permitted to express themselves quite freely and openly. Women are the voices through which the dead are immortalized. Historically, too, female gods have dominated pre-Islamic Arabia. The goddesses Al-Uzza (the most mighty), Al-Lat (the goddess), and Menat (Death or fate or time goddess) were the most important goddesses to be worshipped and formed a triad in pre-Islamic Arabia. They survived even into Islam, where they are called in the Quran the three daughters of Allah. All three were worshipped as uncut aniconic stones and the idols of Al-Uzza and Al-Lat were two of the over 300 pagan idols at the Kaaba that were destroyed by Mohammed. Manat, or Maniya (Death personified), is mentioned in poetry as actively bringing a person to his or her grave holding out the cup of death. She is shown as an old woman with a cup and her symbol is the waning moon, an allegory for descending time.

ASSIGNMENT

Assignment: How does art express ideas of death and mourning? Explain your answer with specific examples and embed them in cultural, geographical, and historical contexts. In other words, what do people/cultures do (make, produce, recite, perform) to come to terms with death, and how does doing those "things" serve to grieve, mourn, honor, memorialize, and eventually cope with death and the loss of the deceased?

Requirements:

1) The discussion must be one page, excluding images.

2) Include two visual or performing arts mourning rituals from world cultures.

3) Make sure to use content and vocabulary from Chapter 8.

4) No factual, spelling, and grammar errors.

5)SOURCE PAINTINGS