Hindu Funeral - Photo by See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Cases: judgments of inadequacy by parents or grandparents for grieving for too long, in a way considered too dramatic, or for making minors follow certain rules connected with mourning (e.g. dressing in a certain way, prohibition of attending parties during the mourning period); refusal of autopsies on bodies for reasons connected with the fate of the soul after death; requests to carry out certain rituals (e.g. lighting fires, incense, vigils, dances, funeral banquets, celebrations of the dead) in cemeteries, other public spaces or in the domestic sphere; dismantling of native/indigenous burial sites for the construction of residential and/or commercial areas; appropriation by cultural bodies and private individuals of human remains and grave goods belonging to indigenous tribes for scientific and/or tourism-commercial purposes.

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Cultural test

Legal Insights

Anthropological insights

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Proposed balancing act: Forms of mourning should all be recognised and not necessarily be considered traumatising for the children involved, for the good of educational pluralism; forms of mourning that prevent remarriage or require certain people to marry (e.g. the groom's brother, or levirate, motivated by descent and/or economic reasons) should be rejected as impacting on the right to marry; forms of burial should generally be recognised unless they pose a serious risk to public health as there is a risk of poor hygiene; the ancestor worship, even if it takes place in a festive manner (dances and banquets), is carried out intensively in the domestic sphere (periodic prayers, altars to ancestors) and therefore should also be admitted as it does not impact on other significant constitutional rights. Human remains, funerary objects, and all sacred objects linked to the cult of the dead and belonging to indigenous populations must be considered for their spiritual and existential value and not as mere objects of scientific study or collectibles.

Bibliographic references

Legal Bibliography

Eronia, O. (2009). La turbatio sacrorum tra legge e cultura: il caso della riesumazione della salma di S. Pio. Cass. pen., fasc. 2, 2009, 739. (Nota a Ufficio Indagini preliminari Foggia, 14 aprile 2008)
Goodchild, L., & Kelley, L. A. (2021). Aboriginal burial disputes: A guide on hearings in New South Wales. Australian Bar Review, 50, 446. October 2021.
Kuprecht, K. The concept of "cultural affiliation" in NAGPRA: its potential and limits in the global rights, International Journal of Cultural Property, 2012, 19(1), 33-63
Nafziger, J.A.R. " Protection and American Graves Repatriation of Indigenous Cultural Heritage in the United States." In Cultural Heritage Issues: The Legacy of Conquest, Colonization, and Commerce, edited by James A. R. Nafziger and Ann M. Nicgorski, 37-79. Leiden, The Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2009.
Ramuschi, M. (2020). Su alcune variazioni in tema di sepolcro. Diritto di Famiglia e delle Persone (Il), fasc. 3, 2020, 697. (Nota a: Cassazione civile, 20 agosto 2019, n. 21489, sez. II)
Renteln, A. D. (2004). The Cultural Defense. Oxford University Press. (pp. 159-182)
Ruggiu, I. (2012). Il giudice antropologo: Costituzione e tecniche di composizione dei conflitti multiculturali. Franco Angeli, Milano. (pp. 39 and following)
Trope, J.F., and Walter R. Echo-Hawk, (1992) The Native American Graves Protection and Legislative History. Arizona State Law Journal 24 (1992): 35-76
United States Government Accountability Office (U.S. GAO). Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act: After Almost 20 Years, Key Federal Agencies Still Have Not Fully Complied with the Act. Report to Congressional Requesters (Doc. GAO-10-768, 2010). Washington, DC: GAO. July 2010.

Anthropological bibliography (recommended reading)

Favole, A. (2003). Resti di umanità: Vita sociale del corpo dopo la morte. Editori Laterza.
A fundamental text for understanding the enormous variety of practices aimed at managing the bodies of the deceased. The author offers an interesting ethnographic review of such practices, as well as a more strictly theoretical reflection on death and mourning.

Valeri, V. (1979). Lutto. Enciclopedia Einaudi, vol. 8.
Anthropological entry on mourning in the Einaudi Encyclopaedia. It offers insight into the topic, both in general terms and with some ethnographic examples.

Il Post. (13/07/2020). "Per le minoranze musulmane i problemi non finiscono nemmeno dopo la morte". Link (Last consulted 13/09/2023).
Article in Il Post concerning the Muslim funeral rite and the problems that emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Anthropological bibliography (for more details)

Ariès, P. (1998). Storia della morte in Occidente. Bur Rizzoli.
Ariès, P. (1980). L’uomo e la morte dal medioevo ad oggi. Editori Laterza.
Gusman, A. (2010). “Introduzione. Altri addii. Trasformazione dei riti funebri in contesto migratorio”. In A. Gusman (a cura di), Altri addii. Trasformazione dei riti funebri in contesto migratorio, Fondazione Fabretti Editore, Torino, pp. 1-14.
Sozzi, M. (2009). Reinventare la morte. Introduzione alla tanatologia. Editori Laterza.