Abstract

TORRES, Delci. Funeral Rites as Symbolic Strategics that Regulate the Relationships Between People and Cultures. SAPIENS [online]. 2006, vol.7, n.2, pp.107-118. ISSN 1317-5815.

It is the result of a wide indagation over the death ceremonies and its semantics values, this reflection arises from an bibliography revision in order to present, oon the one hand some considerations over the celebration of several funeral rites as part of the idiosyncrasy of the death worship that each civilization pay tribute to this natural phenomenon due to the social and culturaltendencies. on the other hand show that these funeral rites are symbolic strategies that regulate the relations ships between people and cultures because they promote the grupal cohesion required to solve the problem stated by human being life on earth andanguis wich is the. It is generated by him because of his that he or she geneterates his/her fate alter death. This was a documental research. The conclusion drawn after this work confirs the initial thesis: the act of death is formalized by preestablished rules in order to do it more understandable and to regulate the relationship of the groups that participate in this act. In this way they are consideredlike humabeings that are sociocultural symbols that go in two different universes: the profane (earth) and the sacred (heaven). By consequence, the funeral rites acts as strategies that reinforce the sense of social survival and help people to understand their relationship not only with themselves but with his fellows and the world around.

Keywords : Funeral Rites; Symbolic strategies; Culture.