by Skylar
What’s the worst that could happen after death? Well, various cultures have diverse interpretations of the afterlife and lingering spirits that will always keep the past alive… Check out our analysis on the subject!
P.S. you might want to listen to the end instead of just reading the transcript to get some extra content…
Transcript:
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Hello and welcome to a very special episode looking into ghosts and the afterlife. I’ve often considered everybody around me, including myself eventually dying. Still… it’s the thought of reaching an absolute end of nothingness that terrifies us the most. Various cultures and beliefs from around the world have attempted to explain the subject, through which it is possible to gain a greater insight on humanity’s consciousness of our mortalities, as well as an awareness of the effects our distant past has in affecting our present world. In accordance with the theme, ‘After hours’ for our club wide newsletter, let’s delve into superstition and mythology on the unsettlingly mysterious afterlife, along with the spirits who remain haunting us.
Currently, the most popular conception of death is its western personification, The Grim Reaper. This phantom is commonly represented as a skeletal figure draped in a dark hood while holding a scythe meant for reaping and collecting the souls of the departed. While this legend as it was conceived was symbolic of the medieval period’s fear of the sickly and unknown, modern depictions now tend to portray it as a more mundane and inevitable force.
Meanwhile, the underworld in Greek mythology is ruled by Hades along with his kidnapped wife Persephone. Dead souls are transported across rivers by the ferryman Charon, towards the gates of the underworld guarded by hellhound Cerberus. The concept of a psychopomp guiding the deceased can also be identified in Abrahamic religions as Azrael, or the Angel of death, as well as the two deities from Chinese folktales Hei Bai Wu Chang, in charge of escorting the dead to the Supreme Judge of the Underworld, Yan Luo Wang.
Judgement is often seen as the final test a spirit must face to continue into the afterlife. Immoral actions committed in one’s life have consequences that carry on past death’s edge. The Hindu deity of death and justice, Yama is responsible for judging the dead’s worth based on karma accumulated throughout their life while Egyptian mythology mentions their guide to the underworld, Anubis weighing the deceased’s hearts against a feather to test for the weight of their sins.
Even with a separate realm for the departed to reside in, they remain connected to the living through their descendants or unfinished business. The Day of the Dead, or ‘Día de los Muertos’ is primarily held in Mexico to remember and celebrate the returning souls of deceased family members. Chinese cultures have The Hungry Ghost Festival where respect is paid to one’s ancestors with offerings while appeasing evil spirits that have been left to wander. In such instances, being neglected is suffering for the dead and it is the duty of the living to memorialise loved ones and those that came before them. Even more prevalent in many cultures is the concept of vengeful spirits who will not pass on peacefully due to their vengeance persisting after death, such as the kuchisake-onna who had been hideously disfigured by a jealous husband and la llorona who drowned her own kids out of spite.
These beliefs are a way to interpret and come to terms with something as frighteningly unknowable as death. They also serve as a reminder that the past has lasting consequences on our present world beyond death. Death is not just an ending that buries our lives prior, there will be lingering ghosts that never forget being wronged in life, and judgement in the underworld upon reflection of one’s past actions. That’s why death isn’t something to be avoided, it’s only through choosing to look past ignorance that we can resolve to make the most of our current life.
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