engleski

Death, death-related rituals and mourning during three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia

Since the emergence of the new disease in November 2019, the life of people around the world has changed. The COVID-19 pandemic had an impact, not only on activities of daily living but also on traditions, customs and practices that had to be changed and adapted to the new circumstances. Although it seemed that COVID-19 would soon be brought under control, we have entered the second year of the pandemic. Due to the high mortality rates, daily death reports made death more ubiquitous and noticeable in our everyday life. The deceased were presented with numbers ; they were depersonalized, without names, faces, and identities. In the context of the pandemic, death and dying have become predominantly medical and biological processes, while at the same time other very important aspects were almost completely excluded – psychological, sociological and cultural aspects. People were unable to be with a loved one when they die, or unable to mourn someone’s death in person with friends and family, what is a part of our culture and one of the most important determinants to maintain good mental health after a loss. Such circumstances had led to dysfunctional grief and changes in the bereavement practice. In Croatia pandemic started in February 2020, when the first positive case was detected. Since then we have witnessed three pandemic waves. Each wave was unique with its characteristics and pandemic guidelines. Implemented epidemiological measures included several restrictions on funerals and services. The new rules were very strict in the first wave and prohibited certain death rites, rituals and practices. Even though the measures were less strict in the second and third wave, they led to disregard for the dignity and rights of the dead and their families. In our research, we compared the epidemic measures from each wave and how they affected the known death-related rites and rituals. We investigated how the COVID- 19 pandemic has affected the bereaved family members through their narratives of the death of their loved ones, through their personal experiences of loss, grief and mourning. Bereaved adapted to the rules by creating new strategies and new forms of funeral gatherings and burial ceremonies. The absence of basic and constitutive processes of grieving created a space for considering the need to find new models of individual and more private rituals.

COVID-19 pandemic ; mortality ; death-related rituals ; three pandemic waves ; Croatia

Program skupa: https://www.iuaes2021yucatan.org/draft- program/