Death Practices Among the Circassians in Israel: An Ethnolinguistic Study

Abstract

This paper investigates the death practices in the largely undocumented linguaculture (interwoven ways of speaking and living) of the Circassian-speaking village of Kfar Kama in Israel. It employs two approaches, ethnography and the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM). Through the ethnographic approach, the paper provides a detailed account of what happens from the moment a person dies in Kfar Kama to the 40^th-day memorial. Using NSM, the paper presents eight explications (simple definitions) and cultural scripts (short texts capturing cultural norms) related to death practices in Kfar Kama. The findings contribute to the fields of linguistics, thanatology, and anthropology, among other fields.

Introduction

Background and Aims of the Article

Exploring death practices through ethnographic and linguistic frameworks offers at least three contributions. First, it records cultural knowledge, which is especially important for communities whose traditions and practices have not been documented and therefore might be lost. Such documentation can reveal the richness of the linguistic expressions and the cultural beliefs surrounding mortality in these communities. Second, it allows cross-cultural comparisons of how different religious and cultural communities talk about death and deal with it. Third, it helps cultural outsiders gain an insider’s perspective into the values and traditions of a certain linguaculture (interwoven ways of speaking and living).

Numerous studies have investigated death practices in a myriad of cultural and religious communities (Abu-Lughod, 1993; Corr et al., 2019; Hänggi & Diederich, 2017; Hertz, 1960; Manevich & Aluma, 2025; Parkes et al., 2015; Salimi & Ruhani, 2023; Selin & Rakoff, 2019, among many others). Nevertheless, only a few have been published in English—often with brief descriptions—about such practices among the Circassians, an ethnic group that originally inhabited the northwest Caucasus (Jaimoukha, 2001, pp. 182–185; Kunupova & Petrova, 2020, p. 93; Lash & Haron, 2018, p. 252), and no research has examined their death practices in Israel. The aim of this paper is thus to document the death practices and present cultural scripts (short texts written in a simple language) surrounding death in the Circassian Muslim community of Kfar Kama, Israel.

The structure of this paper is as follows. The next subsection gives a brief account of who the Circassians of Kfar Kama are. This is followed by the Methodology section, which sheds light on two approaches employed in this study, viz. ethnography and Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM). The Study section provides an ethnography (detailed description) of what happens from the moment a person dies in Kfar Kama to the 40th-day memorial. The Discussion provides a linguistic analysis of some concepts and cultural norms, using the NSM approach. The last section is the Conclusion.

The Circassian Community of Kfar Kama

There are approximately 5,000 Circassians in Israel, and they live in two villages: Rehaniya in Upper Galilee and Kfar Kama in Lower Galilee. Kfar Kama is the larger of the two. Despite their small numbers, the Circassians in Israel are widely recognized for successfully maintaining their cultural identity and language while also integrating into broader Israeli society.

The Circassians originate from the Northwest Caucasus region and refer to themselves as Adiga, a word which means ‘the ideal person.’ During the 1860s and 1870s, Russian military forces took control of the Caucasus region, forcing survivors to relocate to Mediterranean coastal areas under Ottoman control (Minahan, 2016, pp. 106–108; Schwartz & Shogen, 2024).

As a result of this exile, the village of Kfar Kama was founded in 1878 by 1,150 Circassian immigrants belonging to the Shapsugh tribe. These Circassian immigrants preceded Jewish settlement in Lower Galilee by nearly three decades. Initially, the settlers attempted to sustain themselves through livestock farming, which had been their primary occupation in the Caucasus. Frequent attacks from local Bedouin tribes, however, made this livelihood unsustainable and pushed the settlers toward agriculture (Reichel, 2010, p. 255).

Beyond their historical settlement patterns, the Circassians’ cultural identity is shaped by their complex religious heritage. The Circassians practice Sunni Islam, but their religious identity reflects a complex historical evolution. According to Reichel (2010, pp. 252–253), the community’s religious history spans three transitions. They were Christianized between the third and sixth centuries and practiced Christianity until the 18th century, when most of them converted to Islam as the Ottomans expanded their influence into the Caucasus during that century. Today, while most Circassians follow Sunni Islam, they continue to observe distinctive traditions that originated before both their Islamic and Christian periods. This layered religious heritage demonstrates how the community has adapted to changes while preserving elements of their most ancient cultural practices.

This cultural preservation continues in their contemporary Israeli context. Since Israeli independence, the Circassians have held full citizenship status while working to preserve their cultural distinctiveness. This ongoing effort to balance societal integration with heritage maintenance characterizes their contemporary experience.

One of the most visible aspects of this balancing act is evident in the community's language use. The linguistic situation in Kfar Kama is complex. People speak four languages for different purposes: Circassian as their native language, Arabic mainly for Qur`anic reading, Hebrew as Israel’s official language, and English for academic purposes and international communication.

This multilingual complexity also reflects broader changes in the community’s educational approach. Educational practices have evolved significantly over time. While instruction occurred in Arabic during Ottoman and British periods, Reichel (2010, p. 254) notes that Hebrew became the primary educational language in the 1980s. This shift reflects broader community strategies for integration within Israeli society.

Owing to the use of Arabic and later Hebrew in education, Circassians in Israel do not read or write the Circassian script, which is used elsewhere and is Cyrillic-based (i.e., similar to the scripts used by Russians and other Slavic peoples). Instead, they mostly use the Hebrew script to transliterate Circassian when, for example, they want to text each other.

Today, the community maintains traditional social structures alongside participation in Israeli institutions. Religious and educational organizations serve dual functions of spiritual guidance and cultural preservation.

Methodology

In exploring the Circassian death practices in Kfar Kama, two approaches are utilized: ethnography and Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM). The former is used to give a detailed description of these practices, while the latter is employed to explain the meaning of certain concepts and norms in a relatively simple and universal way. The following subsections shed light on these two approaches.

Ethnography

Hammersley and Atkinson (2007) describe ethnography as the study of social life through sustained participation and observation in natural settings, often complemented by interviews and other forms of data. Put differently, ethnographers seek to give detailed accounts of cultural phenomena by observing, experiencing, and documenting them while living in the communities where these phenomena occur.

This study provides a general, albeit detailed, description of the death practices among the Circassians of Kfar Kama. This description begins with the moment a person passes away and continues through the funeral, days of mourning that follow, and the different memorials. It does not focus on a single case but rather presents the common rituals and social expectations typically observed in the community, with the aim of capturing shared cultural patterns rather than the unique details of one family.

This detailed description is based on one of the author’s lived experience as a Circassian from Kfar Kama who attended numerous funerals there. This cultural insider’s perspective facilitated access to the different death practices in Kfar Kama. Having reflexive awareness of the limitations of the individual perspective, this author also verified and gathered knowledge through conversations with family members, elders, and friends across generations. This helped overcome potential limitations associated with personal experience, such as assuming shared knowledge and overlooking variation. Consultations were especially valuable for understanding how certain customs have been preserved while others have changed over time. Notably, all the consultations were conducted with consent, and no identifying details are revealed.

Natural Semantic Metalanguage

Natural Semantic Metalanguage, or for short NSM, is a linguistic approach that aims at analyzing meaning through largely self-explanatory and cross-translatable concepts. This approach has been developed by Anna Wierzbicka (ANU, Australia), Cliff Goddard (Griffith University, Australia), and colleagues since the 1970s. Four of its key constructs are: semantic primes, semantic molecules, explications, and cultural scripts.

Semantic primes are simple, universal concepts, such as I, you, people, think, want, many, and a few. These concepts are so simple that they cannot be defined using simpler words. They are also universal in the sense that they have exact equivalents in nearly all languages. Their cross-translatability is evidenced by longstanding research on languages that belong to distinct language families, such as English (a Germanic language), Arabic (a Semitic language), and Japanese (a Japonic language) (Amberber, 2008; Goddard & Wierzbicka, 1994, 2002; Levisen, 2024; Peeters, 2006).

Semantic molecules are relatively complex concepts. Some of them can be defined via semantic primes only, e.g. child, while others are defined via semantic primes and simpler semantic molecules, e.g. mother (Goddard, 2021). When used in definitions, semantic molecules are followed by an ‘m’ in square brackets.

An explication is a definition that uses semantic primes and molecules, ensuring maximal simplicity and cross-translatability. Likewise, a cultural script is a short text that employs semantic primes and molecules to capture a certain cultural or religious norm (Goddard & Wierzbicka, 2004, 2014; Habib, 2022).

Study

This section includes three subsections. The first and longer subsection presents a general ethnography of death practices observed among the Circassians in Kfar Kama. The second subsection offers a brief account of the changes that occurred in some of these practices over time. The third subsection highlights the locally distinctive features of Circassian practices in comparison with broader Sunni Muslim practices.

An Ethnographic Account of Death Events in the Circassian Muslim Community of Kfar Kama

The following four subsections provide a detailed description of what happens from the moment a person dies in Kfar Kama to the completion of the condolence reception. In particular, they shed light on the community’s initial response to the person’s death, the grave preparation, the purification washing, the funeral, and the condolence reception. Unlike in many ethnographic studies, this description is a general one rather than a case-specific. Thus, it outlines what typically happens when someone dies in Kfar Kama.

It is worth mentioning that Circassian words are romanized and glossed in single quotes. For words borrowed from Arabic, their etymons (the source words from which they are derived) are also provided but only at first mention. Here is an example: the Circassian word janaza ‘funeral’ (etymon: Arabic janāzat (جنازة)).

Initial Response to Death

When someone dies in Kfar Kama, a doctor first confirms the death. The nuclear family, close relatives, and extended family are then informed. A family member notifies one of the administrators of a WhatsApp group called ʾinnā li-ʾallāh wa-ʾinnā ʾilaih rājiʿūn ‘We belong to Allah, and to him, we return,’ a common Arabic sentence used by Muslims upon someone’s death. This WhatsApp group consists of several administrators and community members and serves as the primary source for announcing the death to the wider population.

The community response operates through clearly defined administrative roles. The Chief Administrator coordinates and passes information to all relevant parties, including notifying the muezzin (a man calling Muslims to prayer) about the funeral. The muezzin then recites the sal ‘death announcement’ in the mosque. The term sal derives from the Arabic word ṣalāt (صلاة) ‘prayer,’ adapted by the Circassians to refer specifically to death announcements. The announcement follows specific naming conventions. Generally, the given name, father’s name, and family names of the deceased are mentioned. When reporting the death of a married woman, her family name prior to marriage (but not her married name) is mentioned. If the deceased has performed ḥajj ‘pilgrimage to Mecca,’ the honorific title ḥajji ‘pilgrim’ (etymon: Arabic ḥājj (حاجّ)) is added to the announcement.

Meanwhile, other administrators handle practical preparations. The Cemetery Administrator organizes the grave digging, equipment, and all related technical aspects. The person in charge of preparing the deceased oversees the ghusl ‘purification washing’ (etymon: Arabic ghusl (غسل)) and the preparation of the deceased for burial. Those who prepare the deceased for burial are not always the same individuals. This role often falls to people close to the deceased or someone who wishes to participate in this process as an act of psapa ‘a charitable or virtuous deed.’ The Logistics Manager handles disposable supplies and other logistical needs. With these administrative roles coordinated, the community immediately begins physical preparations for burial.

The local council also plays a practical role, supplying disposable items such as cups and plates, as well as towels for the purification bath. The mourning hall itself is provided free of charge. In winter, portable heaters are brought in, while in summer mobile air conditioners are set up in the yard, ensuring that mourners can gather in comfort regardless of the season.

Grave Preparation

Digging the grave is exclusively undertaken by men, with greater social expectation placed on the young men of the village, though any available men may assist. A message is sent to the WhatsApp group to notify everyone of the scheduled digging time. They begin the digging process with a bulldozer. Afterward, the digging continues manually using shovels to ensure the finishing touches are clean and uniform. Sometimes, blocks or wooden planks are placed inside the grave to prevent the soil from falling back in. While the grave is being prepared, the deceased’s body undergoes ritual purification.

Purification Washing

Men perform the ghusl ‘purification washing’ for men, and women perform it for women. The deceased is covered with a white cloth or towel to ensure that the awra ‘intimate parts of the body’ (etymon: Arabic ʿawrat (عورة)) are not exposed. For men, the awra is defined as the area from the navel to the knees. For women, the definition is the same as for men, but it is mustaḥabb ‘recommended’ (etymon: Arabic mustaḥabb (مستحب)) to cover from the chest to the ankles

First, the deceased is covered with a white towel to conceal the awrah. The people in charge of the washing begin by performing regular amdaz, the act of washing some parts of the body with clean water, as part of the preparation for Muslim prayer, known in Arabic as wuḍūʾ (وضوء). Afterward, they wash the deceased by hand with water first, then with water and special soap, and finally with water and kafur ‘camphor’ (etymon: Arabic kāfūr (كافور)). They wash the right side first, then the left side, repeating this process three times in total. When washing the area of the awara, the person washing the deceased must wrap their hand with a thick white towel.

Once the purification is complete, the deceased is wrapped in a kafan ‘burial shroud’ (etymon: Arabic kafan (كفن)). A total of three wrappings are used for a man and five wrappings for a woman. Finally, the shroud is tied in three places: at the soles, knees, and head. The head is tied last, just before the deceased is taken for burial. If the deceased is at home, the entire preparation process takes about three hours. If the deceased is at a hospital, nursing home, or abroad, it may take longer.

The Funeral

The janaza ‘funeral’ (etymon: Arabic janāzat (جنازة)) consists of two parts: carrying the deceased from their home to the cemetery and performing the salat aljanaza ‘funeral prayer,’ a special prayer conducted specifically for the deceased. Performing these two parts takes approximately forty minutes, and participating in them—according to Islam—provides a spiritual reward equivalent to two Mount Uhuds, one for accompanying the deceased and another for the prayer and burial. Mount Uhud is a mountain near Medina in Saudi Arabia, and the symbolism indicates the greatness of the reward.

During the janaza, the men of the community, the burial supervisor, and the imam ‘prayer leader’ (etymon: Arabic imām (إمام)) gather at the deceased’s house. Several men carefully bring the deceased to the yard. Once the deceased is in the yard, the imam leads a group dawa'h ‘supplication’ (etymon: Arabic duʿāʾ (دعاء)), with all the men participating. Women listen from inside the house and respond with ʾāmīn ‘Amen,’ the customary response after supplication. In compliance with Islamic teaching, women do not attend the janaza ‘funeral,’ but they may visit the cemetery after the funeral, although they do not commonly do it. The restriction on women’s attendance is explained by the view that women are more emotionally vulnerable, which makes it harder for them to remain composed during such events.

Furthermore, grief should be expressed in a controlled and dignified way. Excessive crying or uttering certain phrases is discouraged, as life and death are both understood to be part of Allah’s plan.

Culturally, it is preferred for the deceased to be taken directly from the home to the burial, and it is customary to give charity on behalf of the deceased before the body reaches the cemetery, usually in the form of a symbolic amount of money.

Some men then carry the deceased’s casket to the cemetery on foot, which is the usual practice, although difficult weather conditions—such as rain in winter—may require alternative transportation. Upon arriving at the cemetery, they perform the janaza namaz ‘lit. funeral prayer’ and begin the burial process. They place the deceased in the grave lying on their right side, facing south toward Mecca.

After covering the corpse with soil, the imam ‘prayer leader’ and those present squat, and the imam tells the deceased how they should answer three questions asked by two angels. These questions and their answers are as follows: (1) “Who is your God?”, and the answer should be “Allah,” (2) “Who is your Prophet?”, and the answer is to be “Muhammad,” and (3) “What is your religion?”, and the expected answer is “Islam.”

Muslims believe that two angels come to the grave, sit the deceased up, and begin questioning them. The outcome depends entirely on the deceased’s answers. Those who answer correctly experience peace and tranquility in the grave until yawm al-qiyāmat (يوم القيامة) ‘day of judgment.’ The grave expands and becomes a comfortable, illuminated place. Those who answer incorrectly face immediate punishment known as ʿadhāb al-qabr (عذاب القبر) ‘grave torture.’ For these individuals, the grave becomes narrow and dark, and some believe the deceased sees what awaits them in hell, suffering torments until the day of judgment.

Exceptional Cases

While funerary customs are generally observed in a consistent manner, there are particular situations in which the usual practices are adjusted. One example is when death occurs through an accident that leaves the body badly damaged. In such cases, the traditional purification washing is not performed. The body is also not brought home. Instead, it is prepared at the cemetery or another designated location and returned to the family already wrapped and ready for burial.

Another exception arises when death takes place in Mecca. Here, the body is not returned to the home country, since passing away in Mecca is considered a unique blessing. To die in the holy city while performing ḥajj ‘major pilgrimage,’ ʿumrat ‘minor pilgrimage,’ or even during an extended stay is regarded as a great honor. In contrast, when death occurs abroad in another location, the body is usually transported back to the homeland for burial.

Special rules also apply to children and infants who have not yet reached puberty. For them, there is no requirement to perform yiga’kwa ‘recitation of the Qur`an and prayers’ or the janaza sala ‘funeral prayer.’ However, their bodies are still given the purification washing (ghusl) and wrapped in a kafan ‘shroud.’

The category of shahid ‘martyr’ (etymon: Arabic shahīd (شهيد)) provides another important exception. Those who die in the cause of God are not washed. Rather, they are buried with the clothes they were wearing at the time of their martyrdom. It is worth mentioning that, in Islam, the Arabic term shahīd ‘martyr’ refers to a wide range of individuals whose deaths are regarded as honorable. These include infants and children who die prematurely, women who pass away in childbirth, those who drown, victims of natural disasters, people who die in car accidents, pilgrims who pass away during ḥajj, individuals who die in fires, travelers who lose their lives on the way to or from work, and those who die from severe stomach-related illnesses (Habib, 2014). For such individuals, the usual purification washing (ghusl) is required.

Tkhawshakhwa ‘Condolences’ and yiga’kwa ‘Reciting the Qur`an’

The location of condolence visits is determined by the family. It is either in the deceased’s house or in a community mourning hall. Women are always seated in the house. As for men, they may be seated in a separate section of the house, apart from the women, or, more commonly, in the community mourning hall.

The tkhawshakhwa ‘condolence’ lasts three days, including the day of burial. Visiting hours are strictly gendered: women visit women from 10:00 to 12:30 and again from 16:30 to 22:00, while men visit men from 16:30 to 22:00. These hours are set according to the family’s preferences and may shift slightly with seasonal changes, such as Daylight Saving Time and Standard Time. The visits are never mixed.

People coming to offer their condolences would use some common phrases, such as alla yerḥamo ‘may God have mercy on him’ (etymon: colloquial Arabic alla yirḥamu (الله يرحمه)). They can also utter the Circassian sentences takhm jannata karit ‘may God grant him Paradise’ or takhm jannat ahlou yish ‘may God make him or her among the people of Paradise.’ These expressions serve as short prayers for the soul of the deceased while at the same time providing words of solace to the grieving family.

Each day of the mourning period, women perform yiga’kwa ‘recitation of the Qur`an and prayer,’ which takes place in either akhcham ‘evening’ or yatch ‘night,’ depending on the season. Notably, some women in the community keep a Qur`an that is divided into thirty small booklets. When someone passes away, they lend it to the mourning family, and it is returned after the mourning period ends. This division into thirty juz ‘parts’ (etymon: Arabic juzʾ (جزء) and its plural form ʾajzāʾ (أجزاء)) makes it possible to complete the recitation of the entire Qur`an quickly on behalf of the deceased. Once the khatam Qur`an ‘completion of the Qur`an’ (etymon: Arabic khatm al-qurʾān) is achieved, a shared dua ‘prayer’ is made for the deceased.

While the family of the deceased sits in mourning, community members arrive to express condolences and provide support. Women gather in the house to recite the Qur`an and make dawa’h ‘supplication prayer.’ The wider community assists by preparing meals, offering hot and cold drinks, and bringing baked goods.

The baked goods include ḥaluj (a traditional fried pastry filled with Circassian cheese), lukama (small fried sweetened dough), cookies, and stew dishes. The stew dishes are eaten by family members sitting in the tkhawshakhwa, while ḥaluj and lukama are distributed to those who participate in the yiga’kwa. Cookies and pastries are traditionally shared with community elders at the end of each day during the three-day mourning period.

During the tkhawshakhwa, the women of the deceased’s family take on the responsibility of hospitality, preparing trays of desserts, drinks, and other necessities. They serve tea, water, and bitter black coffee to the women who come to recite the Qur`an, but always with attentiveness and respect. Nothing is offered while a guest is reading; instead, the hosts watch carefully for small gestures such as a lifted glance, a slight movement of the hand, or a shift of the body, and respond immediately by refilling a cup or offering a tray. This quiet reliance on body language ensures that the guests’ prayers are not interrupted and that every act of hospitality is carried out with dignity.

When the recitation ends, the woman leading the yiga’kwa makes a dawa’h aloud, followed by the others. Immediately afterward, the women of the family circulate with trays, distributing water, desserts, and bags of ḥaluj to those who participated. At the close of each day, any remaining food is shared with the village elders and with those who sit in mourning alongside the family. These practices reflect the Circassian value of honoring those who extend a helping hand during times of grief: while joyful moments are celebrated with warmth, sad occasions are treated with even deeper respect, reaffirming the importance of communal solidarity.

While, according to Islamic teaching, the mourning period should end on the third day, some Circassians conclude it on the fortieth day. On that day, they hold a khatam ‘completion ceremony,’ during which the family distributes lukama ‘small fried sweetened dough’ to elders, female relatives, and other members of the community.

Change Over Time

Funerary traditions, like many cultural practices, have evolved over the years. In the past, the mourning period lasted seven days, but today it has been shortened to three, including the day of burial. Visiting hours have also changed. Previously, there were no limits, and families would sit throughout the entire day, waiting to receive visitors. Today, the number of hours has been reduced to ease the burden on the grieving family, and the schedule is arranged according to the family’s convenience.

Restrictions on attending joyous events have also shifted. In the past, relatives of the deceased avoided weddings and celebrations for forty days. Today, this practice is less commonly observed, with some families continuing it and others choosing not to. For close relatives, particularly the nuclear family, the traditional period of restriction is one year, although this, too, is less strictly followed nowadays.

Another change relates to idda (etymon: Arabic ʿiddat (عدة)), which refers to the waiting period for widows or divorced women. According to Islamic law, a woman whose husband has died may not remarry until some four months have passed. In the past, women in the village observed this period with great strictness, remaining at home and refraining even from going into the yard. Today, younger women may leave the house for necessary purposes only, such as employment or medical care. Muslims regard idda as a divine command, and they believe that one of its purposes is to ensure that the widow is not pregnant.

Circassian Versus Sunni Muslim Practices

The Ethnography section has provided a detailed account of death practices in Kfar Kama. Notably, some of these practices are common to other Sunni Muslim communities, while others appear to be characteristic of Kfar Kama and, perhaps, of other Circassian-speaking communities.

The locally distinctive practices include the following. Firstly, there is the use of a dedicated WhatsApp group to announce the death of a member of the Circassian community in Kfar Kama to the wider community. Secondly, when reporting the death of a married woman, her family name prior to marriage and not her married name is mentioned. Thirdly, there is the assistance provided by the local council. It should be noted that, in Israel, a local council is the authority that manages the affairs of a village or a small town, while in cities this role is fulfilled by municipalities. Both local councils and municipalities are governmental authorities and, generally speaking, do not take part in religious ceremonies. Fourthly, gendered visiting hours for offering condolences appear to be characteristic of Kfar Kama, particularly the fact that only women pay condolence visits from 10:00 to 12:30; among other Sunni Muslims in Israel, at least, men and women typically visit at the same time, though they sit separately. Fifthly, the offering of Circassian food, such as ḥaluj and lukama, is characteristic of Kfar Kama and, most probably, of other Circassian communities. In other places in Israel, during condolence visits, Muslims typically offer coffee and dates, while Christians offer coffee (cf. Habib, 2024, 2025). Lastly, some of the linguistic expressions employed, such as takhm jannata karit ‘may God grant him Paradise,’ are also distinctive.

The remaining practices, such as the funeral rites, are shared with the wider Sunni Muslim world. This indicates that Islamic funerary traditions provide the general framework, while individual communities develop their own locally specific norms.

Discussion

One of the first concepts that the reader has encountered in the ethnographic section was that of sal. This concept has been glossed as ‘death announcement,’ but the gloss is far from capturing the full meaning of this concept. As has been indicated earlier, this concept derives from the Arabic word ṣalāt ‘prayer,’ but now has a different meaning, i.e. announcing the death of a person through the mosque loudspeakers to inform the community and invite them to participate in this person’s funeral. This concept can be spelled out in relatively simple terms as follows:

Explication for: (At That Time) the Muezzin Said sal About Someone

a. (At that time) the muezzin [m] said something like this in the mosque [m]. People in Kfar Kama could hear it well:

i. ‘One family [m] here wants to say this to all of you [m]:

“We [m] want you to know that something very bad happened to us

A short time before (this time)

This happened: one of us died

We feel something very bad because of this

We want you to know when the funeral [m] will happen

We think like this:

1. You will want to know this

2. When you know it, you will feel something because of this

3. You will want to be (with us) at the funeral”’

In the explication (simple definition) above, most words are semantic primes, i.e. they are simple and universal. Other words, such as mosque and family, are semantic molecules (relatively complex words). They are indicated by the notation ‘[m]’ but only at the first mention of each of these words.

As has been discussed, attending the janaza ‘funeral’ is regarded as both a cultural and religious duty. For anyone present in the village, it is considered respectful and even obligatory to participate, regardless of the deceased’s age, gender, or social standing. The same expectation applies to condolence visits during the tkhawshakhwa. Those who are unable to attend in person are expected to call the family and offer condolences by phone. To refrain from participating in either form is considered disrespectful and even shameful within the community. This social obligation can be captured in simple language as follows:

A Cultural Script for the Necessity of Participation in Funerals and Condolence Offering

a. When someone dies in Kfar Kama, it is good if someone from Kfar Kama thinks like this:

i. ‘I am from Kfar Kama

ii.I know many people here well

iii. I know that one of them died a very short time before now

iv. If I can be with this someone’s family for some time, I want to be with them, like other people often do when someone dies

v. If I cannot be with this someone’s family, it is good if I do something with something called ‘telephone.’ Because of it, I can say something like this to this someone’s family: “I know that someone from your family died a very short time before now. I cannot be with you. I want you to know that I think about you”’

b. It is good if this someone does this, it is very bad if this someone doesn’t do it

Clothing is also an important aspect when participating in a funeral or visiting the mourning family. Modest dress is required, reflecting both religious values and cultural expectations. For women, this includes wearing a shamiya ‘headscarf’ along with a long dress or skirt and long sleeves. For men, it involves pants that extend below the knee and a suitable shirt. Such attire signals respect for the deceased, the family, and the sacred nature of the rituals. This norm can be spelled out in relatively simple terms as follows:

A Cultural Script for Wearing Decent Clothes

a. It is like this in Kfar Kama:

i. A short time after someone dies, many people want to be with this someone’s family for some time because they want them to feel something good

ii. The clothes [m] of these people are like this:

1. When people see women [m] here, they can see their faces [m], they can see their hands [m]. At the same time, because of the clothes of these women, people can’t see any other part of the body

2. When people see men [m] here, people can see their heads [m], they can see their arms [m]. At the same time, because of the clothes of these men, people can’t see any other part of the body

iii. When people do this, this someone’s family can think like this:

1. ‘Because this someone died, these people feel something (very) bad like we feel something (very) bad’

b. It is good when something like this happens

Note that the word very appears in parentheses. This is because the intensity of the feeling depends on factors, such as the age of the deceased, the manner of death, and the biological or emotional closeness of the relationship.

Praying for the deceased is a religious and social norm that is followed by people in Kfar Kama. The funeral is the central and most important prayer, but it is not the only one. People in Kfar Kama make the effort to read the Qur`an on behalf of the deceased, as they believe that this, along with other prayers, help in the forgiveness of the deceased’s sins.

A Cultural Script for Praying for the Deceased

a. It is often like this in Kfar Kama:

b. When someone dies, before the body of this someone is in the ground [m], it is very good if something like this happens:

i. This someone’s family wants many people to be in one place for some time; these people know this someone’s family

ii. This someone’s family does something, because of it, these many people can know what the family wants

iii. These many people want to be with the family

iv. Because of this, after some time, these people are in this place with this someone’s family [m] for some time

v. The imam [m] is in this place

vi. These people say things to God [m], like they often do in the mosque [m] when they want God to do good things for them

vii. When they say these things to God, they want God to do good things for this someone; because of it, this someone can be in the place where good people are after they die

c. After the body of this someone is in the ground [m], it is very good if something like this happens: people say things to God, because they want God to do good things for this someone. Because of it, this someone can be in the place where good people are after they die

As has been shown, community support is a central feature of the mourning period, and both institutions and individuals contribute in different ways. Family relatives and neighbors, especially women, prepare dishes or bring whatever assistance can ease the burden on those sitting in mourning. This norm of extending a helping hand to the family can be couched as follows:

A Cultural Script for Helping the Bereaved Family

a. It is like this in Kfar Kama:

i. When someone dies, people want to be with this someone’s family for some time

ii. At the same time, they want to do good things for this family because they know: this family can’t do many things as it often does because they feel very bad

iii. Because of this, people are with this family, people do good things for this family

It has also been shown that language plays a central role in Circassian mourning practices, offering both religious expression and emotional comfort. Here are two explications of two common phrases of condolence:

An Explication of: I Say to You: Alla Yerḥamo ‘May God Have Mercy on Him’

a. I want to say something good to you now

b. I know that it is like this:

 i. Someone in your family died a short time before (this time)

 ii. You feel something (very) bad because of this

c. I want you to know that I feel something bad because of this

d. I want to say something because of it, as people say when it is like this

e. I say: I want God to do something very good for this someone. It is like this:

i. People can do things, God doesn’t want people to do them

ii. Because of it, something very bad can happen to these people after they die

iii. They can live in the place where bad people live all the time. This is very bad.

iv. If God wants, God can do something very good for someone. Because if it, this someone doesn’t live in the place where bad people live after they die. This someone lives in the place where good people live after they die all the time. This is very good

f. I want this to happen to this someone

Component (e) of the explication above aims to capture the meaning of God’s having mercy on the deceased. It states that people sin, and their sins can lead to eternal damnation. However, if God forgives their sins, they can live in Paradise forever. The next explication is similar, albeit shorter:

An Explication of I Say to You: Takhm Jannat Ahlou Yish ‘May God Make Him or Her Among the People of Paradise.’

a. I want to say something good to you now

b. I know that it is like this:

 i. Someone in your family died a short time before (this time)

 ii. You feel something (very) bad because of this

c. I want you to know that I feel something bad because of this

d. I want to say something because of it, as people say when it is like this

e. I say: I want God to do something very good for this someone. Because of it, this someone can be in the place where good people are after they die

It is worth noting that, when speaking with children about death, gentler expressions are employed to help them grasp the idea of loss without confronting its severity too directly. Adults may say jannatm makouzar ‘went to Paradise,’ takhm yidzh makouzar ‘went to God,’ or duniyam yaḥazar ‘left this world.’ Here is a cultural script that captures this norm:

A Cultural Script for Speaking to Children About a relative’s/Friend’s Death

a. It is like this in Kfar Kama:

b. When someone dies here, I can want to say something about this to a child [m]:

c. I cannot say: ‘this someone died,’ ‘this someone cannot be with us anymore’

d. If I say it, the child can feel very bad. I don’t want this

e. I can say:

i. ‘This someone is in the place where good people live after they die’

ii. ‘This someone is with God’

iii. ‘This someone is in another place now, this place is not part of the very big place where all people live’

Notably, such phrases reframe death as a transition or return, making it easier for children to understand and accept. In this way, language itself becomes a tool for guiding both adults and children through the experience of mourning, blending faith, tradition, and compassion.

Conclusion

This paper has explored death practices in the Circassian community of Kfar Kama, whose linguaculture (its interwoven ways of speaking and living) is largely undocumented. It has provided an ethnographic account of death practices in this village, alongside eight explications (simple definitions) and cultural scripts (short texts capturing norms). The findings show that Islamic traditions generally guide how death is handled, including how funerals are prepared and conducted, as well as how the community mourns. Men and women have different roles in these practices, and there are specific ways of talking about death, especially with children.

Documenting these death practices and death-related expressions helps prevent them from sliding into oblivion. Linguacultures are constantly changing. Without proper documentation, many of their elements risk being forgotten and becoming inaccessible. Recording and analyzing these elements can preserve the memory of the past. This, in turn, can enable cultural insiders (e.g., Circassians from Kfar Kama) and outsiders (Circassians and non-Circassians living elsewhere) access to old traditions and linguistic expressions.

Additionally, the documentation of these practices and linguistic expressions helps linguists, culturalists, thanatologists, and anthropologists, inter alios, to compare various linguacultures and point out the similarities and differences between them. Recognizing the similarities can help different people see what they have in common, thereby reducing prejudice and bias. Appreciating the differences can foster respect and promote a vision of the richness of humanity.

The Circassian linguaculture in Israel remains a largely uncharted area of research not explored by linguists, culturalists, thanatologists, and anthropologists. It is hoped that this research will encourage other scholars to investigate this linguaculture and unpack its rich heritage.