Intro to Funeral Service - History Terms

Chadwick's Report

1840's reported on unsanitary conditions in London created by intramural burials, the high cost of funerals and the first use of the death certificate.

Anubis

Egyptian god of embalming said to be human in form with the head of a jackal.

Osiris

Egyptian god of the underworld and judge of the dead.

Crier

English custom of Middle Ages which lasted until the 19th Century; a person who walked the streets calling out the name of the deceased and asking people to pray for the soul of the departed.

Funeralis

Latin term for "torchlight procession"; the word "funeral" is also derived from this term.

Purgatorial Doctrine

a Catholic belief that those whose souls are not perfectly cleansed must undergo a process of cleansing before they are allowed entrance into Heaven.

Sexton

a church caretaker who also assumed responsibility for grave digging, church property management, and ringing of bells in the church yard cemetery. In the Middle Ages, most funeral practices were under the direction of the church officials.

Fisk Metallic Coffin

a form fitting, air-tight metallic coffin patented in 1848; it was designed to improve the ability to preserve a body and had a glass plate which allowed for viewing of the face of the deceased.

Cortege

a funeral procession

Obsequies

a historic term for funeral ceremonies.

Effigy

a life size, waxen dummy of the deceased. It was often used at state funerals in place of the deceased body due to the inability to preserve the body for long periods of time.

Trocar

a long, hollow tube used by embalmers to inject fluid into cavities and remove excess liquids; patented in 1868 by Samuel Rogers of Philadelphia.

Hand Pump

a method that applies a continuous flow of embalming solution via manual manipulation of a hand held mechanism.

Soul Shot

a mortuary "fee" paid to insure the entrance of the decedent's soul into Heaven.

National Foundation of Funeral Service

a non-profit educational trust established in 1945 to advance the education of the funeral profession; it is currently merged with the NFDA as Funeral Service Foundation.

Life Signals

a patented method designed for early American coffins to alert the living if someone was buried alive; created due to a fear of pre-mature burial.

Trade Embalmer

a term originated when a portion of the original graduates of early embalming courses left regular employment with a single firm to provide their services to firms that had no formally trained embalmer.

Undertaker's Buggy

a term referring to the vehicle used by undertaker's to transport mortuary paraphernalia to homes where funerals were held. This vehicle was similar in appearance to the hearse, but was much less ornate.

Funeral Trolley Car

a train car specially designed to run on a city trolley line while transporting the casket and mourners to cemeteries outside the city.

Drummer

a traveling salesman who went from town to town selling their products. Early funeral directors and embalmers obtained their products and training in this manner.

Hearse

a vehicle specially designed for the transport of casketed remains; derived from the French word "herse." The term originally referred to a stationary framework of wood that held candles and decorations places around the coffin. The term used prior to this was "bier," often used interchangeably until the middle of the 19th Century. Term used today more frequently is "funeral coach."

American Board of Funeral Service Education

agency/organization with responsibility to accredit colleges and programs of mortuary science funeral service education.

Praeco

also known as a "crier," this was an individual in ancient Rome who summoned participants to the public funeral.

Wake

an ancient Hebrew practice; an act which was used as a precaution against premature burial featuring family and friends sitting with the deceased; continued as an act of piety during the Middle Ages (vigil for the dead).

Mound Burial

an ancient Viking custom which involved placing the deceased and all his items necessary for the spirit to maintain the position held on earth in his boat; the boat was set afire and the deceased cremated; the pyre was then covered with earth.

Gravity Injector

an apparatus used for the purpose of injecting arterial fluid during the arterial phase of the embalming process. The apparatus relies on gravity to create the pressure required to deliver the fluid to the vascular system.

Order of the Golden Rule (OGR)

an association with limited membership established in 1928; committed to quality services and high standards; membership limited to one independently owned firm per community; currently known as the International Order of Golden Rule (IOGR).

Inviter to Funerals

an individual whose specialty was associated with funerals in Colonial America; this individual called personally upon those persons expected to attend funerals. This position was often by municipal appointment.

Layers Out of the Dead

an occupational specialty in many larger American cities by the end of the 18th Century; a predecessor to the "Undertaker."

National Association of Colleges of Mortuary Science

an organization established in 1942 for privately sponsored schools with a goal of advancing mortuary education.

National Selected Morticians (NSM)

an organization which features a limited membership body formed in 1917; it is based on membership of one member firm per city; currently known as Select Independent Funeral Homes (SIFH).

Circle of Necessity

ancient Egyptian belief that the soul of the deceased would make a 3000 year journey and return to the body. Once reunited, the whole man would live with the gods. This belief created the need for embalming.

Professional Mourners

ancient Roman and Greeks hired persons to shriek, tear hair, and rend garments in order to insure an adequate display of public emotion; these individuals hired were often women.

Barber-Surgean

approximately 1540-1745, were the sole agency permitted to embalm and perform anatomical dissections in the city of London.

Bloodletting

belief or practice of draining a quantity of blood to cure illness or disease.

Natron

bodies immersed in this solution were dehydrated to help prevent decay. It is a salt found in dry lake beds and was used by ancient Egyptians during body preparation. (The solution was believed to be composed of chloride, carbonate, sulfate of sodium, and nitrate of potassium and sodium.)

Extramural Burial

burial that took place outside the walls of the city, introduced during ancient Roman times.

Ogee Design

characterized by an "S" shaped curvature, it was a design feature added to square sided caskets to reduce excess weight and space. This design feature was primarily incorporated into metal casket design.

Jewish Funeral Directors of America (JFDA)

chartered in 1928 to promote harmony among the Jewish funeral directors and elevate the practice of their profession.

Burial Club

created in 1800's London by the "poor" people as a means to afford funerals; costs were shared by others via weekly collections; were the forerunners of industrial insurance.

Immediate Burial

disposition by earth burial without any form of funeral rite at the time of disposition.

Direct Disposition

disposition of human remains without any rites or ceremonies.

Funeral Feast

during the Middle Ages, the wake served as a feast to welcome the principal heir to his/her new estate. For the ancient Greeks, it ended the fast of the bereaved.

Animistic View

early Roman view of the afterlife which emphasizes the soul as the vital principle. The soul at death hovered around the place of burial and required constant attention of the descendants to be happy. Neglect would bring evil upon them.

Necropolis

essentially the "City of the Dead." In ancient Egypt, these cities were located just outside city limits and contained places for burial, mortuary temples, and residence for mortuary workers.

University Mortuary Science Education Association

established in 1961; this organization represented college and university based funeral service programs.

Bier

forerunner of today's hearse; a hand stretcher on which the uncoffined body was carried to the grave.

Style "E" State Coffin

forerunners to today's cloth covered casket; a cloth covered coffin designed in 1885 by the Stein Coffin Co. for ex-President U.S. Grant. This coffin helped elevate the acceptance of cloth covered caskets.

Leagues of Prayer

formed by lay persons in the Middle Ages to bury the dead and to pray for the souls of the departed.

Cremation Association of North America (CANA)

founded in 1913, it is an international organization of cemeterians, cremationists, funeral directors, industry suppliers, and consultants. It was originally formed to promote cremation as a modern, safe, and hygienic way of dealing with the dead human body.

Casket

from the French term "casse" meaning "jewel box" or container for something valuable; came into dominant use in patent literature for burial receptacles in 1890's in America. A rigid container which is designed for the encasement of human remains and which is usually constructed of wood, metal, fiberglass, plastic, or like material, and ornamented and lined with fabric.

Coffin

from the Greek word "kofinos"; utilitarian container designed to hold human remains, often anthropoidal in shape.

Adaptive Funeral

funeral rite that is adjusted to the needs and wants of those directly involved; altered to suit the trends of the times.

Burial Case

generic term used in America to designate all burial receptacles as new variations of the coffin were being offered.

Anthropoid

human shaped; some early coffins were described as this shape.

Elysian Fields

in Greek mythology, the Greek version of Heaven.

Pagan

in ancient Rome, a follower of polytheistic religion; also refers to an individual who has little to no religion and who delights in the sensual pleasures and material goods; a heathen; also refers to an "irreligious" or Hedonistic person.

National Funeral Directors and Morticians Association

incorporated in 1938 as the National Negro Funeral Directors and Morticians Association; the present name was adopted in 1957 and its' goal is the representation of specific interests of African-American funeral directors and embalmers.

Canopic Jars

jars made of alabaster, limestone, basalt, clay, and other materials used by the early Egyptians to store viscera of the deceased.

Sarcophagus

massive coffins cut from a single mass of stone in ancient Egypt to protect from grave robber. The term aslo refers to modern day caskets recognized as being massive in size constructed of copper or bronze. Derived from the Greek terms sarco (flesh) and phagus (eaters). These terms were used based on what was seen when caskets were opened and the bodies were found to be in a state of decay.

Designator

master of ceremonies and director of ancient Roman funeral processions.

Cremation

method of disposing of the dead body via fire; first attributed to the ancient Greeks.

Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards

organization of licensing agencies in North America; responsible for the national licensing exam known as the "National Board Exam"' established in St. Louis in 1904.

Casket Manufacturers Association

organization of the casket manufacturers intended to facilitate sharing of information (now known as the Casket and Funeral Supply Association).

National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA)

organized in 1882 as a professional organization for funeral directors and embalmers. It is the oldest and largest national funeral service organization in the world. The association provides advocacy, education, information, products, programs, and services to members which allows the membership to improve and enhance the quality of service offerings to families they serve.

Undertaker's Mutual Protective Association

originated in Philadelphia in 1864; the first formal organization of undertakers; this organization kept a "black book" of objectionable and delinquent customers which was shared among members only.

Catacombs

originated in ancient Rome as excavated cemeteries cut out of soft rock for the tombs of wealthy Christians; later became a place for religious rites to avoid persecution.

Burial Vault

outer enclosure for caskets placed in the grave; originally intended to prevent grave robbery.

Furnishing Undertaker

person who provided supplies and merchandise to funeral undertakers who were dealing directly with the public. The supplies included door badges, carriages, livery, etc. This position served as the role of "middle man."

Cooling Board

portable table on which the body was placed while the corpse cooler was in use; later became the embalming table when embalming was done in the home of the deceased.

Funeral Undertaker

provided services of organizing and facilitating funeral details as an occupation; also referred to as an "undertaker."

Catafalque

raised platform (with or without a canopy) used for a body to lie in state.

Restorative Art

refers to a systemic treatment of cases involving repairing of injuries due to disease or trauma. The treatment plan was developed in 1912 by Joel Crandall, a New York City embalmer.

Pollinctores

refers to ancient Roman embalmers who were either slaves or employees of Libitinarius.

Burial in Woolen Act of 1666

required that woolen cloth be substituted for linen in the shroud and lining of the coffin; was an attempt to shift the use of imported linen to the expanding paper industry of England and provide customers for the wool industry. Heavy fines were assessed for violation; act was not repealed until 1814.

Libitina

the ancient Roman Goddess of corpses and funerals.

Libitinarius

the head undertaker in ancient Rome; a secular role model for the modern day funeral director; the undertaker conducted business at the Temple of Libitina where deaths were also registered.

Undertaker

the original term applied to those whose occupation included the organization and facilitation of funeral activities; used interchangeably with the term funeral director.

Mystery Cults

the religious and philosophical belief of the ancient Greeks emphasizing spiritual aspects of the afterlife and the hope of joining the cult god in a wonderful existence in eternity.

Corpse Cooler

type of ice chest placed over the torso of the body in order to slow down the process of decomposition prior to the funeral. It was typically a responsibility of the undertaker to provide ice and change the ice when it melted.