Understanding Mortality and the Life of the Ancestors in Rural Madagascar

Abstract

Across two studies, a wide age range of participants was interviewed about the nature of death. All participants were living in rural Madagascar in a community where ancestral beliefs and practices are widespread. In Study 1, children (8-17 years) and adults (19-71 years) were asked whether bodily and mental processes continue after death. The death in question was presented in the context of a narrative that focused either on the corpse or on the ancestral practices associated with the afterlife. Participants aged 8 years and older claimed that death brings an end to most bodily and mental processes. Nevertheless, particularly in the context of the religious narrative, they claimed that certain mental processes continue even after death. This assertion of an afterlife was more evident among adults than children, especially with respect to cognitive processes, such as knowing and remembering. In Study 2, 5-and 7-year-olds were asked similar questions in connection with the death of a bird and a person. Seven-year-olds consistently claimed that bodily and mental processes cease at death, whereas 5-year-olds were unsystematic in their replies. Together, the two studies replicate and extend findings obtained with Western children showing that, in the course of development, different conceptions of death are elaborated-a biological conception in which death terminates living processes and a religious conception in which death marks the beginning of a new form of spiritual existence.

How to Survive the Anthropocene: Adaptive Atheism and the Evolution of Homo deiparensis

“…Ritual practices deplete cognitive resources in such a way that people become more susceptible to the suggestions and narratives of religious authorities or ritual officers. Other studies suggest that ritual contexts even alter basic assessments about bodily and mental processes [50].…”

Death, Ancestors, and the Living Dead: Learning without Teaching in Madagascar

“…also Astuti & Harris, 2008), the results of the death studies, in which children of different ages were asked to judge which properties cease or continue to function after death, reveal that there is a moment in the life of Vezo children when they view death as causing the annihilation of every aspect of the person. Thus, while 5 year olds were as likely to predict continuity as discontinuity of functions after death (and they were as likely to attribute continuity to bodily as to cognitive, emotional and perceptual properties), 7 year olds were uncompromising in their judgment that all functions cease when a person dies.…”

Mais ou menos morto: explorações sobre a formação do conceito de morte em crianças

“…A segunda perspectiva exemplifica uma visão comum a inúmeras religiões no mundo, em que a morte é considerada uma metamorfose -o começo de outro tipo de vida que não obedece somente a processos biológicos. Neste ponto de vista, ela é vista como uma transição, não como um fim (Astuti & Harris, 2008;Bering, 2006; Harris & Gimenez, 2005). Este trabalho pretende conhecer como crianças conceituam a morte, e até que ponto elas consideram estas duas alternativas como compatíveis ou não.…”

“…Evidencia-se ainda que estas construções teóricas variam com a idade dos participantes. Por fim, estudos realizados em contextos culturais diversos (USA, Espanha e Madagascar) apontam para um mesmo padrão de construção do conceito de morte (Astuti & Harris, 2008;Brent et al, 1996;Harris & Gimenez, 2005).…”