A Falling Leaf Returns To The Roots

After I die, I want to be gone for good. Cremation is probably my prior choice. And I want to go back to where I first come from. Not just back to my mother country China on a larger picture, I want to go back to where my ancestors came from. I think that is the only place where my soul could rest in peace.
I was born and raised in Shanxi province of Mainland China,and that land has always been my home city. My father comes from Jilin province, and traditionally, the section of hometown on my birth certificate would be my father's hometown, which is Jilin. So I always believed I was from northeast China where my father was born until one day my grandpa told me our ancestors first moved to Jilin province about 200 years ago from Yunnan province located on southwest part of China.
There's this old saying that a falling leaf should return to its roots. Eventually, we all go back to where we come from following our ancestry. I don't want to be inhumed, partly because I don't want to be dug up hundreds years later. Also because the ashes can travel everywhere.

Funerary Practices in Canada

    I was born and raised in Mainland China, so I don't really know that much about Canadian burial rituals. But as much as I know, Canada is a country full of diversities and different cultures.
I googled "modern funerary practices in Canada", and the only approprite answer to this blog topic is natural burial, which Dr. McGuire mentioned during one of our lectures.
    According to Wikipedia, natural burial is "a process by which the body of a deceased person is interred in the soil in a manner that does not inhibit decomposition and allows the body to recycle naturally. It is seen as an alternative to contemporary Western burial methods" .
    In Canada, there is an association called Natural Burial Association (NBA). This NBA is "an independent, non-profit organization established to help reduce the environmental impacts of conventional death care practices through education and awareness, and to leverage the sustained popularity of burial towards the acquisition, renewal and permanent protection of Canada’s natural lands for the benefit of people and the environment" (Wikipedia_Natural Burial).
    Depends on what religion an individual used to believe before death, his or her burial ritual might be very different. For instance, for people who believe in Bahá'í Faith, cremation is forbidden, and the deceased must be buried one-hour-drive away from where they die. Hindus prefer to hold the funeral before sunset on the day of death, and the oldest son will be in charge of the funeral with the company of Hindu priest. Cremation is also acceptable in Hindu religion, and the cremated remains of the deceased are usually taken back to India to be scattered in the Ganges River, or another method of final disposition may be chosen. (If you're interested in looking into more details about other religions' funerary practices, here's the site where I found the above information: click)

Hindu funeral_image credit

    I come from Nothern part of China where cremation is usually practiced, though I'm pretty sure that inhumation was once a more common burial ritual. Remaining bones of the deceased was very important to the Chinese, and it was believed that the spirit of the deceased would be attached to the body and bones for a period of time before he or she crossed over and went onto a new life cycle. I'm not sure if this was the case for every part of China, as the country is also multicultural-- 56 ethnic groups live there.

    Considering Canada has a large number of Chinese descendants, many traditional Chinese burial rituals might also be practiced.

A Brief Self-Introduction

    Hi everyone, my name is Yiran Zhang. I come from Mainland China, I'm a third year Anthro-major, and this is my fourth year in Canada. I enjoy traveling, reading, and meeting new people from different backgrounds. Although I'm a bit shy, I keep trying to build up new connections here.

    Archaeology is really not my strongest suit, but the approach this course takes into the study of archaeology draws my attention. I've always been interested in cultural anthropology, and I'm looking forward to learning traditions, rituals, and stories of different cultures from various points of time.