This paper describes and compares funerals of three presidents, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Klement Gottwald and Václav Havel. They were all iconic characters of their time and their funerals reflect presidents'unique position. In the speeches of politicians and in the newspapers, the deceased presidents turned into supernatural beings, heroes, who gave their lives for their country. As a response to this "sacrifice", oaths of loyalty to their legacy were sworn and people committed to follow the path the presidents established. Theories of Maurice Bloch and Edmund Leach permit to show how the death of the head of the state, potentially destructive event, is transformed by the ritual and helps further strengthen the unity of society.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / Com o desejo de contribuir para a compreensÃo do lugar que o ritual funerÃrio catÃlico ocupa na sociedade atual, em que ocorrem tantas mudanÃas em intervalos de tempo cada vez menores, este estudo tem o objetivo principal de compreender o(s) sentido(s) que os vivos dÃo à morte de um ente querido, suas formas de organizaÃÃo em torno dela e os elementos presentes e, por vezes ausentes, nos rituais funerÃrios, atualmente desempenhados pelas empresas funerÃrias. Visando a este objetivo, observou-se, descreveu-se e analisou-se nove rituais funerÃrios dos moradores catÃlicos praticantes ou nÃo praticantes dos bairros Bom Jardim e Conjunto CearÃ, da cidade de Fortaleza, no CearÃ, ocorridos entre marÃo e novembro de 2014 e entre junho e novembro de 2015. Foram feitas tambÃm visitas aos cemitÃrios selecionados para a pesquisa, Ãs residÃncias no momento da ocorrÃncia de velÃrios e Ãs empresas funerÃrias mencionadas pelos agentes de pesquisa. Em princÃpio, elabora-se uma discussÃo sobre a morte enquanto um rito de passagem (VAN GENNEP, 2011) dotado de uma forte dimensÃo simbÃlica (TURNER, 1974). Considerando-se que a cena ritual se dà em um ambiente de interaÃÃo social (GOFFMAN, 2010), em que a ordem e a desordem desempenham um papel singular no tocante à organizaÃÃo ritual (DOUGLAS, 2014), desenvolve-se o conceito de ritual ao longo do texto.

Death is an ever-present fact in human life and it affects its life course. Stable form of funeral ritual is developed from the need for reconciliation with one's own mortality and loss of loved ones. Traditional funeral ceremony based on combination of lore and Christian ritual had changed due to changes in political and social life during the 20th century. Probably the biggest effect had the administration of communist party which lasted for 40 years and which used funeral ceremony as propaganda of its regime. The struggle with traditional Christian funeral was connected with an open fight with church as such and was caused by communist effort to dominate social life. Instead of traditional Christian funeral communism proclaimed cremation as an anticlerical burial option. Effects of communism then developed new funeral rituals. This text is motivated by the effort to identify perception of death and its changes in Czech republic in the second half of the 20th century, using literary and oral sources. It searches for an answer to the question of whether communist regime changed funeral ritual and tries to identify it in taped oral sources.

The intention of the Diploma thesis Rites of passage as a theme in the history textbooks is analyze the history textbooks of upper primary school in terms of rites of passage. This practical part is preceded by general introduction to the issue of rituals and rites of passage. The following is a discussion of selected rites of passage, which are weddings and funerals. Selected rites of passage determine the direction which is going analysis itself textbooks. In general I am interested in themes of weddings, funerals and all other facts that are associated with the issue in analyzing textbooks. Then I find out, how and what extent selected rites of passage are presented to pupils. So that pupils gain the most information from the particular way in view of the rites of passage, I deal also possibilities to enrich a certain representation of ritual. The conclusion summarizes the main reasons for the changes of rites of passage that appear in the history books for upper primary school. KEYWORDS ritual, rite of passage, textbook, funeral, grave, burial ground, wedding, wedding ceremony

(in English) The main topic of this thesis is both analysis and interpretation of the relationship between funeral rites, political power and society. Funeral rites are understood as a complex of performative, symbolic social acts, which are themselves comprised of various distinctive phases and signs. The meaning of these acts and signs is important because it can change the features and practice of the collective it is assigned to. The main purpose of this thesis is not only to perform a thick description of different kinds of communist funeral rite in the given time period but to interprate it in the wider social and cultural context as well. The concept of political religion as a heuristic tool was used in the thesis in order to distinguish an ambivalent nature of communist ideology which manifested itself in funeral rites. Funeral rites are analyzed as models for human behavior, which represent key values and norms of communist ideology. At the same time, funeral rites are analyzed as forms of cultural management. That is the reason, why are put under scrutiny not only the rites which are significant for society as a whole but also the funeral rites of individual actors.