TED字幕.docx

TED字幕.docx

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TED字幕

Lifethatdoesnotendwithdeath

Ithinkit'ssafetosaythatallhumanswillbeintimatewithdeathatleastonceintheirlives.Butwhatifthatintimacybeganlongbeforeyoufacedyourowntransitionfromlifeintodeath?

Whatwouldlifebelikeifthedeadliterallylivedalongsideyou?

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32Inmyhusband'shomelandinthehighlandsofSulawesiislandineasternIndonesia,thereisacommunityofpeoplethatexperiencedeathnotasasingulareventbutasagradualsocialprocess.InTanaToraja,themostimportantsocialmomentsinpeople'slives,thefocalpointsofsocialandculturalinteractionarenotweddingsorbirthsorevenfamilydinners,butfunerals.Sothesefuneralsarecharacterizedbyelaborateritualsthattiepeopleinasystemofreciprocaldebtbasedontheamountofanimals--pigs,chickensand,mostimportantly,waterbuffalo--thataresacrificedanddistributedinthenameofthedeceased.Sothisculturalcomplexsurroundingdeath,theritualenactmentoftheendoflife,hasmadedeaththemostvisibleandremarkableaspectofToraja'slandscape.Lastinganywherefromafewdaystoafewweeks,funeralceremoniesarearaucousaffair,wherecommemoratingsomeonewho'sdiedisnotsomuchaprivatesadnessbutmoreofapubliclysharedtransition.Andit'satransitionthat'sjustasmuchabouttheidentityofthelivingasitisaboutremembranceofthedead.

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05Soeveryyear,thousandsofvisitorscometoTanaTorajatosee,asitwere,thiscultureofdeath,andformanypeoplethesegrandioseceremoniesandthelengthoftheceremoniesaresomehowincommensurablewiththewaythatwefaceourownmortalityintheWest.Soevenaswesharedeathasauniversalexperience,it'snotexperiencedthesamewaytheworldover.Andasananthropologist,Iseethesedifferencesinexperiencebeingrootedintheculturalandsocialworldthroughwhichwedefinethephenomenaaroundus.Sowhereweseeanunquestionablereality,deathasanirrefutablebiologicalcondition,Torajansseetheexpiredcorporealformaspartofalargersocialgenesis.Soagain,thephysicalcessationoflifeisnotthesameasdeath.Infact,amemberofsocietyisonlytrulydeadwhentheextendedfamilycanagreeuponandmarshaltheresourcesnecessarytoholdafuneralceremonythatisconsideredappropriateintermsofresourcesforthestatusofthedeceased.Andthisceremonyhastotakeplaceinfrontoftheeyesofthewholecommunitywitheveryone'sparticipation.

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40Soafteraperson'sphysicaldeath,theirbodyisplacedinaspecialroominthetraditionalresidence,whichiscalledthetongkonan.Andthetongkonanissymbolicnotonlyofthefamily'sidentitybutalsoofthehumanlifecyclefrombirthtodeath.Soessentially,theshapeofthebuildingthatyou'rebornintoistheshapeofthestructurewhichcarriesyoutoyourancestralrestingplace.Untilthefuneralceremony,whichcanbeheldyearsafteraperson'sphysicaldeath,thedeceasedisreferredtoas"tomakala,"asickperson,or"tomama,"apersonwhoisasleep,andtheycontinuetobeamemberofthehousehold.Theyaresymbolicallyfedandcaredfor,andthefamilyatthistimewillbeginanumberofritualinjunctions,whichcommunicatestothewidercommunityaroundthemthatoneoftheirmembersisundergoingthetransitionfromthislifeintotheafterlifeknownasPuya.

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48SoIknowwhatsomeofyoumustbethinkingrightnow.Isshereallysayingthatthesepeoplelivewiththebodiesoftheirdeadrelatives?

Andthat'sexactlywhatI'msaying.

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00Butinsteadofgivingintothesortofvisceralreactionwehavetothisideaofproximitytobodies,proximitytodeath,orhowthisnotionjustdoesnotfitintoourverybiologicalormedicalsortofdefinitionofdeath,IliketothinkaboutwhattheTorajanwayofviewingdeathencompassesofthehumanexperiencethatthemedicaldefinitionleavesout.IthinkthatTorajanssociallyrecognizeandculturallyexpresswhatmanyofusfeeltobetruedespitethewidespreadacceptanceofthebiomedicaldefinitionofdeath,andthatisthatourrelationshipswithotherhumans,theirimpactonoursocialreality,doesn'tceasewiththeterminationofthephysicalprocessesofthebody,thatthere'saperiodoftransitionastherelationshipbetweenthelivingandthedeadistransformedbutnotended.SoTorajansexpressthisideaofthisenduringrelationshipbylavishingloveandattentiononthemostvisiblesymbolofthatrelationship,thehumanbody.Somyhusbandhasfondmemoriesoftalkingtoandplayingwithandgenerallybeingaroundhisdeceasedgrandfather,andforhimthereisnothingunnaturalaboutthis.Thisisanaturalpartoftheprocessasthefamilycomestotermswiththetransitionintheirrelationshiptothedeceased,andthisisthetransitionfromrelatingtothedeceasedasapersonwho'slivingtorelatingtothedeceasedasapersonwho'sanancestor.Andhereyoucanseethesewoodeneffigiesoftheancestors,sothesearepeoplewhohavealreadybeenburied,alreadyhadafuneralceremony.Thesearecalledtautau.

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03Sothefuneralceremonyitselfembodiesthisrelationalperspectiveondeath.Itritualizestheimpactofdeathonfamiliesandcommunities.Andit'salsoamomentofself-awareness.It'samomentwhenpeoplethinkaboutwhotheyare,theirplaceinsociety,andtheirroleinthelifecycleinaccordancewithTorajancosmology.

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33There'sasayinginTorajathatallpeoplewillbecomegrandparents,andwhatthismeansisthatafterdeath,weallbecomepartoftheancestrallinethatanchorsusbetweenthepastandthepresentandwilldefinewhoourlovedonesareintothefuture.Soessentially,weallbecomegrandparentstothegenerationsofhumanchildrenthatcomeafterus.Andthismetaphorofmembershipinthegreaterhumanfamilyisthewaythatchildrenalsodescribethemoneythattheyinvestinthesesacrificialbuffaloesthatarethoughttocarrypeople'ssoulfromheretotheafterlife,andchildrenwillexplainthattheywillinvestthemoneyinthisbecausetheywanttorepaytheirparentsthedebtforalloftheyearstheirparentsspentinvestingandcaringforthem.

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26Butthesacrificeofbuffaloandtheritualdisplayofwealthalsoexhibitsthestatusofthedeceased,and,byextension,thedeceased'sfamily.Soatfunerals,relationshipsarereconfirmedbutalsotransformedinaritualdramathathighlightsthemostsalientfeatureaboutdeathinthisplace:

itsimpactonlifeandtherelationshipsoftheliving.

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56Soallofthisfocusondeathdoesn'tmeanthatTorajansdon'taspiretotheidealofalonglife.Theyengageinmanypracticesthoughttoconfergoodhealthandsurvivaltoanadvancedage.Buttheydon'tputmuchstockineffortstoprolonglifeinthefaceofdebilitatingillnessorinoldage.It'ssaidinTorajathateverybodyhassortofapredeterminedamountoflife.It'scalledthesunga'.Andlikeathread,itshouldbeallowedtounspooltoitsnaturalend.

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33Sobyhavingdeathasapartoftheculturalandsocialfabricoflife,people'severydaydecisionsabouttheirhealthandhealthcareareaffected.Thepatriarchofmyhusband'smaternalclan,NenetKatcha,isnowapproachingtheageof100,asfaraswecantell.AndthereareincreasingsignsthatheisabouttodepartonhisownjourneyforPuya.Andhisdeathwillbegreatlymourned.ButIknowthatmyhusband'sfamilylooksforwardtothemomentwhentheycanrituallydisplaywhathisremarkablepresencehasmeanttotheirlives,whentheycanrituallyrecounthislife'snarrative,weavinghisstoryintothehistoryoftheircommunity.Hisstoryistheirstory.Hisfuneralsongswillsingthemasongaboutthemselves.Andit'sastorythathasnodiscerniblebeginning,noforeseeableend.It'sastorythatgoesonlongafterhisbodynolongerdoes.

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54PeopleaskmeifI'mfrightenedorrepulsedbyparticipatinginaculturewherethephysicalmanifestationsofdeathgreetusateveryturn.ButIseesomethingprofoundlytransformativeinexperiencingdeathasasocialprocessandnotjustabiologicalone.Inreality,therelationshipbetweenthelivingandthedeadhasitsowndramaintheU.S.healthcaresystem,wheredecisionsabouthowlongtostretchthethreadoflifearemadebasedonouremotionalandsocialtieswiththepeoplearoundus,notjustonmedicine'sabilitytoprolonglife.We,liketheTorajans,baseourdecisionsaboutlifeonthemeaningsandthedefinitionsthatweascribetodeath.

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48SoI'mnotsuggestingthatanyoneinthisaudienceshouldrunoutandadoptthetraditionsoftheTorajans.ItmightbealittlebitdifficulttoputintoplayintheUnitedStates.ButIwanttoaskwhatwecangainfromseeingphysicaldeathnotonlyasabiologicalprocessbutaspartofthegreaterhumanstory.Whatwoulditbeliketolookontheexpiredhumanformwithlovebecauseit'ssointimatelyapartofwhoweallare?

Ifwecouldexpandourdefinitionofdeathtoencompasslife,wecouldexperiencedeathaspartoflifeandperhapsfacedeathwithsomethingotherthanfear.PerhapsoneoftheanswerstothechallengesthatarefacingtheU.S.healthcaresystem,particularlyintheend-of-lifecare,isassimpleasashiftinperspective,andtheshiftinperspectiveinthiscasewouldbetolookatthesociallifeofeverydeath.Itmighthelpusrecognizethatthewaywelimitourconversationaboutdeathtosomethingthat'smedicalorbiologicalisreflectiveofalargerculturethatweallshareofavoidingdeath,beingafraidoftalkingaboutit.Ifwecouldentertainandvalueotherkindsofknowledgeaboutlife,includingotherdefinitionsofdeath,ithasthepotentialtochangethediscussionsthatwehaveabouttheendoflife.I