Not All are Equal at Death: A Study on the System of Family Tombs Among the Syro-Malabar Christians of Kerala

Abstract

Christians equate death with hope, a viewpoint that is rooted in the belief in the resurrection of the body and in eternal life. Equated with this is the tradition of extravagantly conducting death rituals, a way some people think is showing reverence to the dead. One way of doing this, a tradition in Kerala believes, is by burying their dead in the family tombs. This research aims to explore the perspectives of Syro-Malabar Christians across occupational and economic categories on the system of family tombs in Kerala through semi-structured, in-depth interviews.

The respondents were categorised into two groups, based on ownership of family tombs. This categorisation corresponded with their economic status. In this essay, the perspectives of both groups regarding the ownership of tombs are discussed. These perspectives are further analysed using Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts of emotional capital and social space. It emerges that emotional capital is directly related to economic capital, which in turn determines the social space of individuals. This study thus presents a multi-layered understanding of a single aspect: the burial of the dead. It points out contrasting viewpoints of people based on the economy and social structure.

Keywords

Family tombs Syrian Christians economic capital emotional capital social space

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Alcock

S. E.

(1991). Tomb cult and the post-classical polis. American Journal of Archaeology , 95(3), 447–467.

Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly . (2015). A brief history . http://www.ernakulamarchdiocese.org/home/inner/1

Barrett

(2011). Anthropology of death: A critical overview. In

Balk

D. E.

(Ed.), Handbook of Thanatology: The essential body of knowledge for the study of death, dying, and bereavement . Routledge.

Bourdieu

(1985). Social space and the genesis of groups. Theory and Society , 14(6), 723–744.

Bourdieu

(1989). Social space and symbolic power. Sociological Theory , 7(1), 14–25.

Closterman

W. E.

(2007). Family ideology and family history: The function of funerary markers in classical attic peribolos tombs. American Journal of Archaeology , 111(4), 633–652.

Cottingham

M. D.

(2016). Theorizing emotional capital. Theory and Society , 45(5), 451–470.

Ernakulam-Angamaly Athiroopatha Niyamasamhitha (Malayalam) . (2009). Archdiocesan Curia .

Gillies

(2006). Working class mothers and school life: Exploring the role of emotional capital. Gender and Education , 18(3), 281–293.

10.

Hochschild

A. R.

(1979). Emotion work, feeling rules, and social structure. The American Journal of Sociology , 85(3), 551–575.

11.

Humphreys

S. C.

(1980). Family tombs and tomb cult in ancient Athens: Tradition or traditionalism? The Journal of Hellenic Studies , 100, 96–126.

12.

Jackson

E. N.

(1959). Grief and religion. In

Feifel

(Ed.), The meaning of death (pp. 218–233). McGraw-Hill.

13.

Kurukur

D. G.

(2002). Christavashabdhakosham (Malayalam) . P.O.C.

14.

Nowotny

(1981). Women in public life in Austria . Pergamon Press.

15.

Pallath

(2021). Code of Eastern Catholic Law: English Translation of the four apostolic letters issued Motu Proprio by Pope Pius XII . Oriental Institute of Religious Studies, India.

16.

Payyappilly

(2022). Cemetery. In

Payyappilly

(Ed.), Nazranikalude Acharanushtanagal (Malayalam) (pp. 96–129). Mar Louis Arts & Book Centre.

17.

Podipara

P. J.

(1986). The Latin Rite Christians of Malabar . St. Joseph’s Press.

18.

Reay

(2004). Gendering Bourdieu’s concept of capitals? Emotional capital, women and social class. The Sociological Review , 52(2), 57–74.

19.

Shott

(1979). Emotion and social life: A symbolic interactionist analysis. The American Journal of Sociology , 84(6), 1317–1334.

20.

Thomas

(2011). From Chattas to Churidars: Syrian Christian religious minorities in a secular Indian state [Doctoral dissertation]. The State University of New Jersey.