The Dynamics of Urban Funeral Ritual: Global Social Factors and Local Anthropological Contexts

Abstract

The article discusses the issue of interrelation of global and local sociocultural factors determining the structure and semantics of the contemporary urban funeral ritual. Varieties in the funeral ritual have to do with the historical, cultural, and demographical specifi cities of this or that town or region. Furthermore, particularities in ritual scenarios are infl uenced by the causes of death, life-time status and social connections of the deceased and, consequently, the composition and interaction of the fu-neral participants. The research draws on social anthropological studies conducted in 2011–13 in the Murmansk region towns of Apatity and Kirovsk. Two cases of funerals held in the situation of collec-tive death are examined in detail.