Understanding grief through culture

Perspectives on death and mourning

“Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it.” — Haruki Murakami

Growing up in the remote countryside of the Caribbean, death was a prominent event that often pierced the quiet of the days, but mostly nights. It announced itself through the haunting sound of a conch shell horn, blown by the death announcers. This eerie and sombre horn music would slowly approach, accompanied by a loudspeaker broadcasting the news in my native Créole:

“Tout moun, Phillip te pasé.
Phillip, pitit gason Monsieur ak Madam So-ak-So, te mouri.
Phillip, yon sèl la nou tout te konn tankou [Antre Nickname].
Pa Phillip ke yo rekonèt kòm [Yon lòt Phillip],
Mais, Phillip Monsieur ak Madam So-ak-Soo
Mamay la , Phillip ale.”

Woy (wail).

Translation

“Everyone, Phillip has passed away.
Phillip, the younger son of Monsieur and Madam So-and-So, has died.
Phillip, the one we all knew as [Enter Nickname].
Not the Phillip known as [Another Phillip],
But Phillip Monsieur and Madam So-and-So
Children, Phillip is gone.”

Woy (wail)

Before full access to telephones, most islands in the Caribbean relied on conch shells as a means of…