Music and Rituals
Music can serve as a very important way of connecting with
each other and creating the atmosphere of an event. I haven’t had a lot of experience with
rituals, but I have been to one recently. Almost two months ago on September 11th,
2024, my uncle passed away. This was the first big death that I have had in my
family. Many of the songs played provided comfort and reminded us of our
spiritual beliefs. The song “wind beneath my wings” by Bette Midler played
as I was sitting with my family. The lyrics of this song carried a deep
appreciation for someone who has been a guiding force, comparing their support
to the wind that allows a bird to fly. This metaphor underlines the idea that
the person being honored has played a crucial role in the singer’s successes
and happiness. This song really explained the role that my uncle played in my
family and who he was as a person. Instead of making everyone cry more it
triggered the good memories that we had of him. This song changed the
atmosphere from sadness and grief to gratefulness and gratitude.
During his funeral my cousins and I were asked to sing a
song per his request. This was very meaningful to my family, but this was both
an honor and an emotional challenge for me. As I stood at the front of the church,
I could feel everyone sad filled eyes on me. The song we had to sing was “Amazing
Grace”. I had heard of it before but never really listened to it except for singing it
to myself the couple of days before the funeral, so I would know the words. "Amazing
Grace" written by John Newton really gives the sense of being lost and
found, letting us know that with grace we have hope and can be healed no matter
what. As we started to sing it was quite with people crying in the background.
Then I remember people standing to their feet singing with us. Then my family
stood up and started singing, and everyone in the church was singing “Amazing
Grace” together. I could not understand how this one song could change the
setting from quiet and sad to hope and joyful.
Hi Norah! I am so sorry for your loss. I think it was nice how even in those bad times you and your family still found a way to change the mood by remembering the memories and all the experiences that you shared with that person.
ReplyDeleteHi Norah, I did not knew the existence of the first song but I really enjoyed listening to it. She has an amazing voice and even the lyrics make sense. Nice job for your blog, keep going !
ReplyDeleteHi Norah! I'm so sorry to read about your loss, but thank you for sharing these memories with us. Funerals are never easy, to experience or to talk about. At a time of such high emotion, it makes sense how music plays such a big role in the mood of the gathering. It sounds like your family chose music that not only represented who your uncle was as a person, but allowed everyone to mourn and to think of all the good memories at different points in the ceremony – I think that's beautiful. Much love <3
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