Memoria or the medieval remembrance of the dead is integral to our understanding of medieval society. However, memoria was not just a liturgical practice intended to lessen purgatorial suffering, but a ‘total social phenomenon’ that impacted every aspect of life. This thesis follows in the tradition of the German Memoriaforschung school, especially the concepts formulated by Otto Gerhard Oexle. These concepts are here particularly applied to memoria as a group phenomenon. A particular contention of this thesis is that memoria was socially constitutive and thus not only a vehicle to remember the past but a means to create and maintain social groups. Therefore this thesis takes the form of series of case studies drawn from late medieval Livonia (present day Latvia and Estonia) c. 1400-1525. The groups chosen –associations of the urban elites, non-elite brotherhoods, the clergy and the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order – reflect both the strength of the surviving source material and the particular characteristics of the region. Each case study is considered through a series of research questions. How did memoria constitute and shape social relationships? How did memoria create and sustain groups? In what ways was memoria used for political purposes? How did groups use their past to maintain their identities in the present? What role did charity and the poor play? In addition to exploring the above themes, this thesis particularly argues that memoria was used to legitimize power by urban governments and by the Teutonic Order and the archbishops of Riga. This thesis also shows that memoria created the cultural memory of the Teutonic Order and the Rigan church. Memoria sustained the identities of urban elite groups and was essential to creating relationships between the urban elites and non-elite groups.

Esta pesquisa tem como foco a investigação das formas de expressão dos grupos familiares a partir dos espaços da morte da pólis ateniense no período inscrito entre aproximadamente 430 e o final do século IV a.C. Definido em função de um conjunto de mudanças significativas no conjunto arqueológico de contexto funerário no referido intervalo, o recorte cronológico adotado segue, portanto, as pistas de fenômenos da cultura material profundamente interligados e que nos sugerem uma forma peculiar dos grupos familiares se apresentarem e serem vistos nestes espaços. De fato, o desenvolvimento progressivo de novas formas de enterrar, de estruturas tumulares tipicamente clássicas e o surgimento de uma nova série de monumentos funerários com um repertório iconográfico tão original quanto padronizado, constituíram as bases para um estudo da categoria histórica ‘família’ (para aplicarmos um termo genérico, embora desconhecido na cultura clássica helênica em questão, senão como múltiplos termos e conceituações). Partindo majoritariamente de uma documentação de natureza arqueológica, procuramos, no decorrer do trabalho, identificar os principais conceitos e valores produzidos ao longo da trajetória de uso dos espaços funerários pelas famílias e como estes significados resultantes da intervenção direta em tais espaços remetem à dinâmica de reprodução dos próprios grupos e podem ser compreendidos à luz da conjuntura histórica de Atenas do século IV, principalmente. / The research that follows is focused on the investigation of the ways in which family groups expressed themselves within the funerary contexts of the Athenian polis from about 430 to the end of the fourth century. Defined by a set of remarkable changes registered in the archaeological material precisely in this period, the chronological span adopted follows thus the hints of material culture phenomena, all of them deeply interwined, suggesting that the family groups came up with a particular way of exposing themselves to social gazes. As a matter of fact, the development of new ways of burying, the equally new typical Attic tomb structures, as well as a freshly arising series of funerary monuments with new imagery (original and standardized at the same time) set the framework for the study of the historical category so-called ‘family’ by contemporary scholarship. We have chosen a set of archaeological evidences as a starting point so that it might help us to identify the main concepts and values created and performed by the families. We are interested in clarifying how the intervention of families in these spaces can lead us to the dynamic of its own reproduction and ultimately may be articulated to the fourth-century Athens and its particular historical moment.

Esta pesquisa tem como foco a investigação das formas de expressão dos grupos familiares a partir dos espaços da morte da pólis ateniense no período inscrito entre aproximadamente 430 e o final do século IV a.C. Definido em função de um conjunto de mudanças significativas no conjunto arqueológico de contexto funerário no referido intervalo, o recorte cronológico adotado segue, portanto, as pistas de fenômenos da cultura material profundamente interligados e que nos sugerem uma forma peculiar dos grupos familiares se apresentarem e serem vistos nestes espaços. De fato, o desenvolvimento progressivo de novas formas de enterrar, de estruturas tumulares tipicamente clássicas e o surgimento de uma nova série de monumentos funerários com um repertório iconográfico tão original quanto padronizado, constituíram as bases para um estudo da categoria histórica ‘família’ (para aplicarmos um termo genérico, embora desconhecido na cultura clássica helênica em questão, senão como múltiplos termos e conceituações). Partindo majoritariamente de uma documentação de natureza arqueológica, procuramos, no decorrer do trabalho, identificar os principais conceitos e valores produzidos ao longo da trajetória de uso dos espaços funerários pelas famílias e como estes significados resultantes da intervenção direta em tais espaços remetem à dinâmica de reprodução dos próprios grupos e podem ser compreendidos à luz da conjuntura histórica de Atenas do século IV, principalmente. / The research that follows is focused on the investigation of the ways in which family groups expressed themselves within the funerary contexts of the Athenian polis from about 430 to the end of the fourth century. Defined by a set of remarkable changes registered in the archaeological material precisely in this period, the chronological span adopted follows thus the hints of material culture phenomena, all of them deeply interwined, suggesting that the family groups came up with a particular way of exposing themselves to social gazes. As a matter of fact, the development of new ways of burying, the equally new typical Attic tomb structures, as well as a freshly arising series of funerary monuments with new imagery (original and standardized at the same time) set the framework for the study of the historical category so-called ‘family’ by contemporary scholarship. We have chosen a set of archaeological evidences as a starting point so that it might help us to identify the main concepts and values created and performed by the families. We are interested in clarifying how the intervention of families in these spaces can lead us to the dynamic of its own reproduction and ultimately may be articulated to the fourth-century Athens and its particular historical moment.

Death is a drastic event in one’s life. Through grief, mourning and bereavement, people heal the hurt of their loss of a loved one. Little research exists on bereavement in Black transitional societies of South Africa. As such, the objective of this study was to explore how widows in South African transitional societies, whose husbands have died of terminal illnesses, experience bereavement, and how they cognitively process and cope with the loss. The Participants’ bereavement process was defined as starting when they become aware of their husbands’ anticipated death (anticipatory bereavement). Unstructured and structured interviews were conducted with 10 widows from the community under study and a thematic analysis was performed on the data. Five themes emerged concerning the Participants’ personal characteristics, their challenges and how they dealt with them, their experiences of stressors, and coping. Although the Participants responded to the news of the deaths of their husbands in a similar manner, there were differences in other responses, reflecting individual differences in coping strategies. Some Participants seemed more adaptive, with greater openness and flexibility in social cognition and greater problem-focused coping, while others showed more negative emotions in social interaction, greater loneliness, and expressed relatively closed and inflexible social cognition. However, positive or negative responses and coping did not necessarily determine whether bereavement would be functional or dysfunctional. It was found that the Participants’ anticipatory bereavement did not ease or shorten their sense or period of bereavement after their husband’s death. A model of the cognitive-affective-motivational-behavioural network of bereavement was developed, taking into account the role of culture and how each Participant’s cognition, affect, and the kind of attachment to their husbands motivated their behaviours in particular ways in coping effectively or ineffectively with their bereavement. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Psychology / unrestricted

This dissertation explores the traditional Ba Venda concept of the after-life vis-a-vis the Ba Venda Christian understanding of eternal life. In this dissertation a historical background of the traditional Ba Venda and how there were reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ will be given. A comparative study of the traditional Ba Venda and Christian Ba Venda beliefs and practices is given. It will be noted that the Ba Venda Christians of BeitBridge district revert to traditional beliefs and practices concerning the dead. These rituals carried out by the Ba Venda Christians show the syncretistic elements practiced. A central question therefore is "Are the Ba Venda Christians operating on the basis of Christian concept of death and hereafter?" It is argued in this dissertation that the Ba Venda Christian concept of death and after life is the blending of Ba Venda Christian and Ba Venda traditional beliefs and practices, particularly when it comes to death and burial practices. / Religious studies / M.A.(Religious)

This dissertation explores the traditional Ba Venda concept of the after-life vis-a-vis the Ba Venda Christian understanding of eternal life. In this dissertation a historical background of the traditional Ba Venda and how there were reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ will be given. A comparative study of the traditional Ba Venda and Christian Ba Venda beliefs and practices is given. It will be noted that the Ba Venda Christians of BeitBridge district revert to traditional beliefs and practices concerning the dead. These rituals carried out by the Ba Venda Christians show the syncretistic elements practiced. A central question therefore is "Are the Ba Venda Christians operating on the basis of Christian concept of death and hereafter?" It is argued in this dissertation that the Ba Venda Christian concept of death and after life is the blending of Ba Venda Christian and Ba Venda traditional beliefs and practices, particularly when it comes to death and burial practices. / Religious studies / M.A.(Religious)

This study was about death rituals among the Karanga of Nyajena, Masvingo, Zimbabwe, who are a sub-group of the Shona people. This inquiry’s primary purpose was tripartite in outlook. First, it described the Karanga causes of sickness and death, and Karanga death rituals. Second, it explored the significance of these rituals to the Karanga people. Third, the study traced and identified the changes in the practice and significance of some of the rituals. The overall goal of this inquiry was to compose a brief manual for the performance of some of the Karanga death rituals. The inquiry divided the Karanga death rituals into three major categories, namely, pre-burial rituals, burial rituals, and post-burial rituals. The investigation employed qualitative research traditions, particularly ethnography, in the collection and interpretation of the relevant research data, in pursuit of the goals mentioned above. Postcolonial theory was used to give a theoretical framework to this study. This study was necessitated by the need of a written manual on the performance of Karanga death rituals. The study compiled the participants’ narratives concerning the praxis, meaning, and changes in the Karanga death rituals in an attempt to analyze and write them down for posterity. The inquiry found out that although the praxis of the rituals was still rememberd by many Karanga people, some of them were no longer performed, and their significance had been lost. Although the study acknowledged the inevitable dynamism of culture, it held that every ethnicity should have some cultural or religious constants so that its identity is not lost. Hence, the Karanga of Nyajena should retrace their footsteps back to their death rituals in order to rediscover and reaffirm their battered cultural identity and integrity. / Religious Studies and Arabic / D. Phil. (Religious Studies)