Jazz Funerals

After reading about Jazz Funerals I became fascinated with how different funerals in New Orleans are than other places around the world. Jazz funerals in New Orleans are a perfect depiction of second-line culture. They synthesize aspects of the healing arts and music traditions of VooDoo, African religions, and African American Christianity.

In numerous places around the world death is a time of sadness and mourning of the death of the person, whereas in New Orleans it is a celebration of the life that they lived. The music and dancing that happened at the funerals were supposed to help the deceased find their way to heaven and to represent the final release from the life that they lived on earth. Although this tradition wasn't welcomed in the Catholic churches, the black Protestants of New Orleans chose this as their funeral especially among the poor and oppressed and the musicians.

Although Jazz Funerals didn't gain much appreciation in the beginning, as time passed on the jazz funeral tradition grew to become the most wide-spread funeral type in New Orleans. Jazz Funerals were known to last for nearly a week and sometimes they had parades to honor the deceased. The funerals typically began with a march with the coffin carried by a horse-drawn hearse and accompanied by a brass band playing gloomy hymns. After the memorial service, the march would proceed to the cemetery and the tone of the church would remain somber until the the coffin had been placed in the ground.

After the casket was lowered a group called the "second line" would come in and play a couple more hymns. Yet, they weren't sad hymns they had a swing beat to aware the people that the mood was about to change. The music and dancing that took place after the lowering of the casket all the spirits were lifted and while everyone was in a state of happiness the group would all march back as one to the place of the reception. As funerals are supposed to be a time of mourning and death, New Orleans jazz funerals are a honor and a celebration to the departing of a soul from the earth to a better world.