From this side to the other side: a phenomenological analysis of cemetery workers' experiences in the face of the numinous

The goal of this investigation was to study how cemetery workers handle mythical and numinous aspects related to death in everyday life and related to the cemetery itself. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with cemetery workers employed in the Bonfim Cemetery in Belo Horizonte, in the stat...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Rabelo, Elizabeth Avelino, Mahfoud, Miguel
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2020
País:Brasil
Institución:Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG)
Repositorio:Memorandum (Belo Horizonte)
Idioma:portugués
OAI Identifier:oai:periodicos.ufmg.br:article/14930
Acceso en línea:https://periodicos.ufmg.br/index.php/memorandum/article/view/14930
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Realidades múltiplas
Psicologia e religião
Cemitério
Coveiro
Multiple realities
psychology and religion
cemetery
cemetery worker
Descripción
Sumario:The goal of this investigation was to study how cemetery workers handle mythical and numinous aspects related to death in everyday life and related to the cemetery itself. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with cemetery workers employed in the Bonfim Cemetery in Belo Horizonte, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brasil.  Three subjects were interviewed and Van der Leeuw’s methodological guidelines were followed for the phenomenological analysis.  Four sense units were identified from cemetery workers’ experiences in the face of the numinous a) the cemetery’s haunting feeling; b) the crossing of the border from 'here' to 'there'; c) the movement from this side to the other side; d) the manifestation of the border between this side and the other side. It can be concluded that, while dealing with the flexible and permeable border separating the familiar from the foreign, each cemetery worker establishes distance and a relationship with that border and with the mythical aspects related to death.