Funeral customs



The afterlife (Halhaim)
The way in which Frilanders deal with death is strongly influenced by their belief in the afterlife and in Fate ("Wurd"): death is therefore not feared but seen as a new phase of existence. According to the Ferna Sed religion every living being consists of a "lik" (corpse/body) and a "saiwal" (soul). The soul is permanent but the body is temporarily and has to be periodically renewed. When the body stops functioning the soul travels to the afterlife, which is called "Halhaim" in Friland and is the domain of the earth goddess Fri. In ancient times Halhaim was seen as an underground world in the north, but these days it is usually regarded to be a place outside our universe. In Halhaim someone is reunited with his or her ancestors and can rest until that person decides to return into a new body. This always happens voluntarily and within the blood line of the family. It is therefore also believed that for example a grandfather can be reborn into his own grandchild, it often happens that certain ancestors are even invited to do this by naming the child after him or her.

Other forms of afterlife
He who dies a hero's death on the battlefield will go to "Walhal" (Hall of the fallen, Walhalla) and becomes part of the Ainharjars, the army of the god Wodan. Here one can drink with the gods at their table and there are "Walkuzan" (Valkyries, Choosers of the fallen), beautiful women who make sure that the heroes will not lack anything. Therefore there is no greater honour than to be admitted there. In wartime Frilanders are known to celebrate when one of their kinsmen has fallen on the battlefield, because despite their grief they believe that this person has achieved the highest possible ideal: for few mortals deserve a place in the hall of the gods.
        Souls who can't part with this world remain as spirits. Usually near their grave or at places they visited during life. People who had a malevolent character during life, can cause lots of trouble as evil spirits (usually called "gram" or "draug"). The biggest troublemakers even crawl back into their dead body and return as a "wişargangar" (returner) to haunt the living. These days most Frilanders no longer believe in this, although in 1997 someone in Laugmor was dug up and robbed of his head and limbs to make sure that he could not return again. As you can imagine the man in question had made himself quite unpopular in his village.
        In contradiction to Christianity the Ferna Sed belief does not know the concepts of "sin", "hell" or "purgatory". Though someone does have to face the gods and the ancestors after death and explain themselves to them. Therefore a "nişung" (dishonourable person) will definitely experience some form of consequence for his actions. Despite this, revenge is something that preferably has to be taken on earth, most Frilanders therefore support the death penalty and also see this as an acceleration of the moment at which someone has to appear before the gods.

Cremation
These days cremating is performed in an oven but regarding the ritual use of some wood types, especially of fruit bearing trees, a branch is often symbolically placed next to the body before it enters the oven. In ancient times the ashes were often buried in a wagon, ship or mound. Nowadays the urn is often placed in a grave field, small mound or family grave. Some urns have the shape of the face of the deceased, others are decorated with religious depictions.

Burial
In Friland the dead are buried with the head towards the north (Halhaim). Christians however, are buried with the head towards the east (Jerusalem). It is customary to give the deceased grave goods for the journey to the afterlife: food, tools, weapons, personal possessions, etcetera. Often two twigs are buried along as well: a twig of the elder bush, which protects against evil spirits and prevents the deceased from haunting, and a twig of the juniper, which is also called "kwikhaldar" (life holder) and gives the deceased new life force. After the burial family and friends often eat a funeral meal to honour the deceased. A part of the food they are about to eat is laid near the departed, sometimes beer or mead is also poured over the grave to let the deceased join in with the funeral meal, which is often a combination of grief about the loss of a loved one and joy about the fact that this person is reunited with the ancestors.

Graveyards
Burial places, where urns are also buried by the way, are often enclosed by a channel or a hedge of elder bushes. According to folklore this keeps the spirits in to prevent them from haunting. Burial places are also usually placed north of the city, again because of the association with the afterlife. Around burial places there is often a ring-shaped road because at funerals a procession is usually held, in which the mourners carry the deceased over the road around the burial place in the same direction as the movement of the sun, which always sets but rises the next day.
        In earlier times graves were also used to mark boundaries and some people even let themselves be buried under the doorstep of their house, so their spirit could protect their family against ill. Sturaldiz, the first king of Friland, even ordered his mound to be built near the coast so he could protect the country against invading enemies.
        However, the most spectacular burial place of Friland is the Daudanberg, the largest burial place in the country. For thousands of years the mountain has been raised a little each time to create room for new graves: at the bottom lie the first Frilanders from the Iron Age and at the top the people from the 21st century. The Daudanberg is one of the holiest places in the country.