A funeral in Arnhem Land

While in Maningrida I had the privilege of going to a multi-day West Arnhem Land funeral. I am so thankful for the family allowing me to share in this experience as they mourned their loved one. It showed me that going through a long funeral process and spending days (not just a couple of hours) with relatives can really help with grieving. Note that Aboriginal people across Australia that do not all follow the same funeral practices. Even a lady from East Arnhem told me she didn't understand why people in West Arnhem mourn in a certain way.

The funeral went for about a week with hundreds of people from Aboriginal communities across Arnhem Land coming and camping together. Each community did their own dances and mourned the deceased.

One evening they put the coffin in the grave and had a church type service.

People then threw handfuls of dirt onto the coffin, then there was more dancing as the grave was filled in.

Then people brought up flowers to cover the grave.

The next day they had a cleansing ceremony - The lady's clan design was made in the sand.

Then a fire was lit in the middle and green leaves held over it to make smoke. The leaves were then brushed on those who were sitting around.

Then small groups took turns to be washed down with water.

Then the design was erased by people crawling in it.