Hindu urn burial in Norway: an option for the future? by Hans Hadders

Hindu urn burial in Norway: an option for the future?

Hans Hadders

Department of Public Health and Nursing, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

ABSTRACT

Is open pyre cremation and ash dispersion in running water the universal default disposal for Hindus? Images of open pyre cremation and ash dispersion at the banks of the river Ganges still perpetuate our popular Orientalist perceptions of Hindu disposal; an ancient, exotic and unchanging traditional practice. However, such perceptions obscure the empirical reality. Hindu funeral practice in South Asia as well as in diaspora, have been in constant flux, regulated and changing greatly during the last century. Inhumation has been a major alternative to cremation for Hindus in South Asia and in diaspora during the last century. In this paper, I highlight a few novel examples of recent establishment of Hindu urn burial sections within municipal cemeteries in Norway. These cases show a continuation of traditional Hindu funeral practice in South Asia, as well as change and innovation adopted in Norway. However, none of the 300 urn graves within the two established Hindu cemetery sections in Norway have been utilised so far. What are the underlying factors for Hindu urn burial which renders the option noncompliance? Why do the majority of Hindus in Norway continue to opt for dispersion of ashes in their land of origin or in Norway?

Introduction

KEYWORDS

Cremation; burial; disposal; Hindu; regulation

This article explores the development of modern Hindu cremation practice and urn burial as a legitimate form of disposal in diaspora. I highlight a few novel examples of recent establishment of Hindu urn burial sections within municipal cemeteries in Norway. These cases illustrate the continuation of traditional Hindu cremation practice, as well as change and innovation in diaspora. However, none of the 300 established urn graves within the two established Hindu cemetery sections in Norway have been utilised so far. Why are Hindus in Norway slow to adopt urn burial in the established municipal cemeteries? In this attempt to explain some of the reasons and rationales behind cremation practice and regulation policy, I draw on published literature, legal acts, official websites, documentation from public hearings, interviews, and personal communications and observations gained during my habitation and fieldwork in South Asia and Norway. I illuminate Hindu minority groups´ delicate balancing between the demands for cultural integration by the majority host population, with their need to retain cultural integrity within their own

CONTACT Hans Hadders hans.hadders@ntnu.no Department of Public Health and Nursing, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

group. I explore the politics of regulation and how various actors deal with Hindu burial and cremation in diaspora over time.

Theoretical approach

Utilising insights from actor-network-theory, Mol (2002) launched the term enactment to describe the multiple ‘doings’ in medical practice, which manifest themselves in relational networks between actors and actants, human and non-human, such as health-care personnel, medical equipment, legal acts, protocols and procedural manuals (Latour, 2005). In this paper, I focus on interventions (Mol, 2002, p. 152). I describe various actions by positioned actors, contributing to different and context-dependent ‘enactments’ during cremation and burial practice. Mol underlines that, ‘If practice becomes our entry into the world, ontology is no longer a monist whole. Ontology-in-practice is multiple’ (ibid., p. 157). Following her approach, I argue that Hindu cremation and burial practice in diaspora is a multiple affair, embedded in material, social, legal, ethical, aesthetical, and economical practice – at collective as well as individual levels. The process of affording certain ontologies and preventing others is covered by Mol’s and Law’s notion ‘ontological politics’. Mol’s and Law’s notion ‘ontological politics’ is a further development of Foucault’s concept governmentality (Law, 2004; Mol, 1999).

Burial in Norway

Currently, approximately 70% of the Norwegian population are members of The Church of Norway (Statistics Norway, 2018). This Church has belonged to the Evangelical Lutheran branch since the 16th century when the relationship between the church and state was very close. The Church of Norway became a state church with the founding of the Norwegian constitution in 1814 and remained so up until the 21 of Mai 2012, when § 2 of the constitution was changed and church and state separated formally. According to the revised § 2 the foundation for the Norwegian constitution is based on a Christian humanistic heritage and the constitution shall safeguard a state based on democracy, judicial and human rights and individual freedom to practise religion (Church of Norway, 2012; Hadders, 2013).1 However, the traditional link between state and Church remain strong. Church of Norway still receives its funding from state and municipalities, priests, and bishops remain government employees.2

Christian inhumation has been the major prevalent method of disposal practised since Christianity was established in Norway. Burial grounds, so-called ‘churchyards’, for coffins were established by local communities and parishes near churches. The Church of Norway is responsible for maintaining most cemeteries and crematoria in Norway except for crematoria in some municipalities, for instance, Oslo and Vestfold. Maintaining private crematoria is illegal. Current cremation rate in Norway is 43% and, in most cases, urns with ashes are buried in public cemeteries (KA, 2019). Chapels and crematoria are open for all faiths and communities. The Norwegian church parish council in cooperation with local municipalities execute this mandate at the local level. It is important to underscore that private or cooperative undertakers usually assist family members with mandatory funeral arrangements and formalities. These commercial agents coordinate their services with the Church of Norway, parish council and the municipality.

Nevertheless, the Church of Norway still carries the major responsibilities for all funerals in Norway, including all faiths and organisations, for instance, for Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and The Norwegian Humanist Association. This system resembles the organisation of the sector in the other Nordic countries (Ministry of Culture, 2008). Over the last decades, the minority faith organisations groups have been designated their own areas within the cemeteries and groves maintained by the Church of Norway. However, the Jewish communities in Oslo and Trondheim, and some Christian communities in Norway, have had their own cemeteries prior to 1997 (The Act of Religious Communities, 1969; The Funeral Act, 2012). Up until recently, the Church of Norway routinely consecrated entire cemeteries. Today, Church of Norway no longer routinely consecrates entire cemeteries or cemetery sections. At contemporary cemeteries, grave sections and graves are consecrated by the Church of Norway on request. According to the Funeral Act of 2012, all religious faiths and organisations are entitled areas of their own within the public cemeteries. For instance, currently approximately 50 municipalities have established separate areas within cemeteries for Muslims.

There are some 2000 officially approved cemeteries in Norway today. At present, there are crematoria in only 26 out of the 428 municipalities in Norway.3 The Church of Norway manages 21 of these crematoria and municipalities manage five of these crematoria (KA, 2019). The modern cremation process in Norway is industrial, highly regulated and supervised by various laws, standards and professionals. The crematorium is secular and open to all creeds. Most crematoria have more than one oven. The use of a coffin is obligatory for cremation. Initially, crematoria in Norway did not have a reception or ceremony room for relatives and mourners. However, more recently constructed crematoria have with such non-confessional facilities. Other faiths can utilise Christian chapels and premises if they wish where there is no other option. According to § 10 of The Funeral Act of 2012, cremation can take place as long as cremation is not against the wishes or religious conviction of the deceased. A minimum of three days prior to cremation the local police must be notified in order to make clear that there is no forensic investigation or need for autopsy (Hadders, 2013; The Funeral Act, 2012).

Regulation of burial and dispersion of ashes in Norway

Generally, citizens of Norway shall be buried in an officially approved cemetery. This applies to inhumation of bodies as well as inhumation of cremated remains in urns. The Funeral Act strictly regulates disposal of ashes (The Funeral Act, 2012) and it is forbidden to disperse cremated ashes at public Norwegian cemeteries. Urns with ashes shall be buried within six months of death. The storage of ashes in columbarium is not an option in Norway under current Funeral Act. The only exception to burial of all the ashes in a public cemetery in Norway is limited ash dispersion in nature. According to § 12 of The Funeral Act, division of ashes is forbidden (The Funeral Act, 2012). Either a single urn with all the ashes is buried at a public Norwegian cemetery, or all the ashes are scattered in nature. The Funeral Act of 2012 allows limited scattering of the undivided ashes outside public cemeteries, albeit still under strictly regulated conditions.4 Thus, all the ashes must be contained in specified types of urns and either dispersed undivided at granted designated sites or buried at a cemetery. Permission to scatter ashes in the nature in any Norwegian county can be obtained from the relevant regional County Governor.

Uncultivated and less frequented, unpopulated, desolate areas such as large lakes, rivers, fjords, open sea, mountainous regions and woodlands can be considered sites for dispersing ashes (The Funeral Act, 2012).

At the age of 15, one is eligible to apply to the County Governor to have one’s ashes dispersed. If no application has been made prior to death, close relatives can make an application if it is clear this was the wish of the deceased. Close relatives are also eligible to apply for children under the age of 18 (The Funeral Act, 2012). Most applications are granted and the practice to disperse ashes has increased in popularity considerably over the last 15 years. The County Governor of Oslo/Akershus received 92 applications for permission to scatter ashes in Oslo/Akershus County in 2009. In the same year, there were approximately 200 granted applications for permission to scatter ashes in the whole of Norway. In 2017, there were 520 granted applications and in 2018, there were 747 in the whole of Norway (KA, 2019). Private cemeteries are generally forbidden in Norway. For this reason, any site used for ash dispersion must be strictly anonymous. According to Norwegian law, citizens have far-reaching rights for recreational use of nature, forests, mountains, rivers and lakes, on public as well as private land. The stringent regulation of ash dispersion in Norway is partly based on tradition and the safeguarding of integrity and privacy for all within these public and private spaces.

Cremation and burial in the Hindu context

The belief in transmigration and reincarnation plays a central part in the cosmology of the broader religious traditions in India. This belief is tied to cyclical rebirth, known as samsara, and moral ideals for righteous living, known as dharma. Further, tied to these concepts is the idea of karma, the belief that every action has an effect, closely tied to merit, sin and atonement, determining future rebirths. The goal is salvation and release from the cycle of rebirths. Dharma, karma, samsara and salvation are connected to a wider cosmology through various notions of cosmogony, eschatology and soteriology. These cosmological notions have developed over thousands of years and are seminal in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism and have far-reaching consequences for mortuary practice and cremation. Cremation is the main form of disposal practised within all these Indian faiths (Davies, 1997, p. 82–83; Filippi, 1996; Flood, 1996; Parry, 1994; Hadders, 2013). In what follows I shall focus solely on Hindu mortuary practice.

Hinduism contains several main traditional strains. One unifying fundament is the Veda scriptures, which have evolved out of the Vedic religious tradition established during 1750–500 BCE. These scriptures consist of a large body of canonical literature, divided in four major parts, composed in Sanskrit, the sacred language of Hinduism. Another important source is the Purana traditions (Jacobsen, 2004).5 These sources contain the revelation of dharma; ideas of ‘truth’, ‘duty’, ‘ethics’, ‘law’ which uphold society and cosmos and make up the rules for virtuous conduct and righteous life. Flood (1996, pp. 11–12) comments that ‘The nineteenth-century Hindu reformers speak of Hinduism as the eternal religion or law (santana dharma), a common idea among modern Hindus today in their self-description’. A second aspect of Hindu tradition is that it contains a great number of sects or organisations (sampradaya). Most of these traditions share an idea of a sacred societal order known as varna-asrama-dharma; ‘duties, ethics and law tied to class, society and life stages’ (Jacobsen, 2004, p. 21).

Majority of Hindus are cremated, and the funerary ash is scattered in running water for the self or soul to be purified and reborn in another realm and form (Jacobsen, 2004, p. 30). Ascetics and very young children are usually buried, as they are considered separate from mainstream society; unaffected by sin and impurities.6 Ascetics are often buried in siting position, their graves are clearly marked, and their buried relics become places of reverence. (Filippi, 1996, pp. 171–176; Flood, 1996, p. 207; Parry, 1994, pp. 184–5; Hadders, 2013). Bloch and Parry underscore the lack of a focal point for continued memorialisation of individual or group within Hindu cremation practice. Common memorialisation after cremation among Hindus focus on the general reverence for ancestors on specified occasions, at home or at temple sites. As noted above, an exception is the practice of revered individual gravesites for saints or renouncers.

‘ nothing of the individual is preserved which could provide a focal symbol for group continuity. The physical remains of the deceased are obliterated as completely as possible: first the corpse is cremated and then the ashes are immersed in the Ganges and are seen as finally flowing into the ocean. The ultimate objective seems to be as complete a dissolution of the body as possible’ (Bloch and Parry 1982, p. 36)

Thus, it seems that in general memorialisation and burial are not accepted, as this practice would hinder the liberation of the soul. Nevertheless, burial, cemeteries, individual graves and memorialisation have been more common among Hindu communities than generally known. Mortuary practice in South Asia as well as in diaspora, have been in constant flux, regulated and changing greatly during the last century.

Further, inhumation was common pre - Hindu mortuary practice in ancient India. In pre - Vedic India inhumation had been a major alternative to cremation. There is some limited evidence that the Harappa people (mature Harappa period 2500–2000 BCE) buried their dead. Some limited evidence shows that, the early Aryans buried cremated remains of important members of their society in urns (Basham, 1985, pp. 176–7; Shinde et al., 2018). However, inhumation seem to have been the original dominant Indo-Aryan funeral form and there is some limited evidence that inhumation was the earliest form of disposal practised by Vedic Indians (Ondračka, 2020). Aboriginal groups in South Asia have traditionally practised inhumation. However, over the last century, with their increased contact with Hindu society, some aboriginal groups more often practise cremation (Hadders, 2001). More generally within Hindu society, low casts have commonly practised inhumation and inhumation has been more widespread in south India than in the North (Ondračka, 2020).

There are several instances of strong enforcement of ‘ontological politics’ within diaspora where Hindus have been forced to practice burial. For instance, in Pakistan, some 80% of the approximately seven million Hindus bury their dead due to marginalisation and lack of crematoria (Guriro, 2017).

It is obvious that the cremation practice varies considerably within all the various sects, settings and traditions known as Hinduism. Today electrical and gas-powered modern crematoria are becoming increasingly common in urban India and in diaspora. These developments influence and change Hindu cremation practice (Caixeiro, 2005; Firth, 1997, 2003; Hadders, 2018; Parry, 1994). One of the predicaments of studies of disposal practices in Hinduism is that ‘Hinduism’ is often taken as a given a priori, resulting in ahistorical ‘essentialisms’. Ancient textual prescriptions are taken as the norm, as if prescriptions

equal performed disposal practices. However, growing conceptual-methodological awareness of ‘local religion’, ‘vernacular religion’ and ‘lived religion’ acknowledges that both ‘norms’ and practices can and do vary considerably, especially when analysed on local, regional and state level (Nugteren, 2016).

Hindu cremation and burial in Norway

Due to globalisation and political conflicts in South Asia during the last couple of decades, there is a small group of approximately 25 000 Hindu immigrants Hindu immigrants in Norway, constituting about 0.5% of the entire Norwegian population of five million people. Of these immigrants, 60% are Tamil groups from Sri Lanka, various groups from North India (mainly from Punjab), and a small group of Guajarati immigrants who fled from Uganda during Idi Amin’s regime. Only 42% of these immigrants belong to registered Hindu organisations in Norway. In 2018, individuals registered as members of Hindu organisations in Norway consisted of 10,427 individuals (Statistics Norway, 2018). Hindus in Norway have a decentralised population pattern, and many perform their rituals mainly in their private homes. However, Tamil groups have several temples, and there are several other Hindu organisations who have centres and temples in several parts of Norway. In most places, Hindu centres and temples are housed within the same premises. There is a scarcity of Hindu priests in Norway. As far as I know, there is no Hindu funeral priest in Norway (Døving, 2010, pp. 7–8; Ruud, 2008, p. 53; Jacobsen, 2018a; Hadders, 2013).

Hindu cemetery section in Trondheim

Trondheim is one of the larger towns in Norway with a population of approximately 180,000 inhabitants. Moholt cemetery is one of the largest cemeteries in Trondheim, situated east of the Moholt Lutheran church, built in 1900. The first burial in Moholt was in 1901. In 1998, a modern architect designed a crematorium, with two ovens and a capacity of about 2000 cremations per year, was built at Moholt cemetery by the Church of Norway. Moholt crematorium is non-confessional and contains a non-confessional ceremony room with a capacity of 70 seats, adjacent to the main oven building. Urn burial is becoming increasingly common in Trondheim. In 2016, 62% of the deceased within Trondheim municipality were cremated at Moholt crematorium and almost all urns were buried. In Trondheim, ashes were dispersed in 37 cases while, for the whole of the country, ashes were dispersed in 747 cases (KA, 2019, pp. 128–129).

As a result of the Scandinavian trend to accommodate various minority groups and religious faith groups, Moholt cemetery established an ‘international cemetery’, designed by a landscape architect, in 1998. Presumably as a reflection of prevalent international communities, present in Trondheim at the time, the ‘international cemetery’ contained separate fields for; Hindus, Sikhs, Vietnamese, Thai and Muslim communities. The fact that the predominantly Buddhist Vietnamese and Thai communities received their own separate sections, instead of setting aside a section for Buddhist communities, may be a result of close cooperation between these communities and the Church of Norway in the establishment of the ‘international cemetery’. As far as I know, little communication took place between Hindu and Sikh communities and the landscape architect. However, The Church of Norway had some discussion with representatives from the various faith

communities that were involved. Within the ‘international cemetery’, 54 urn graves were set aside for Hindus, and 56 urn graves for Sikhs. Each urn grave at Moholt cemetery (1,5 m x 1,5 m) can contain four urns. Thus, a total of 216 urns spaces were set aside for Hindus and 224 urn spaces for Sikhs. Options offered within these sections were, anonymous urn grave – or urn grave with gravestone. The international grave sections are not marked on the site, except with a wooden pole with an administrative number for each section. However, they are marked on a publicly available map at the entrance of the cemetery and digitally on the internet. As of September 2020, some twenty years after the establishment of the ‘international cemetery’, no burials have taken place within the Hindu or Sikh sections. On the contrary, Vietnamese, and Muslim communities have utilised their sections frequently since establishment. Vietnamese Buddhist communities practise cremation and have opted for urn burial within their section at the ‘international cemetery’. The Church of Norway cemetery authorities in Trondheim have recently deregulated the Hindu and Sikh cemetery sections at Moholt, due to urgent need for more burial space, and the non-utilisation of the Hindu and Sikh cemetery sections. Since April 2020, these sections have been allocated for 53 coffin graves for the general Norwegian public. So far, five coffin burials have taken place at the former Sikh cemetery section. As far as I know the Hindu association in Trondheim has not been directly informed about these changes. However, the Hindu and Sikh fields have been omitted from the physical maps at Moholt cemetery and at the digital map available on the Trondheim Church of Norway homepage.

Hindu cemetery section in Stavanger

In 2007, Stavanger municipality invited entries to a project design competition for Jåttå cemetery with special focus on dignity and respect for individual religious convictions. Landscape architecture firm, Asplan Viak AS, won the competition with their project design for a public multi-confessional cemetery. Jåttå became the most recently established cemetery in Stavanger, inaugurated on the 11th of June 2012. The inauguration was celebrated by representatives of local religious communities, local politicians, those in charge of the municipal cemetery at Jåttå, and the media. The Jåttå cemetery was the first of its type in Norway and was planned and designed as a multi-confessional cemetery, with separate and clearly signposted grave field sections for Christians, Muslims, and Hindus. The establishment of Jåttå cemetery was in accordance with the current recommendations of the Funeral Act (The Funeral Act, 2012). The cemetery stretches over an area of 26,000 square metres and has a capacity for 2,042 inhumation graves; marked and anonymous urn graves, as well as coffin graves. There is a plan to build a separate nonconfessional ceremonial hall at the cemetery. The initial incentive to establish a Hindu cemetery in Stavanger came from the Hindu association of Rogaland County. At the time, the Hindu association had 70 members and the growing Hindu population in Stavanger region was estimated to be approximately 500–750. On the 19th of April 2006, the Hindu association formally requested Stavanger Municipality to establish a Hindu grave section at a prevalent cemetery in Stavanger. As a preliminary solution, before the completion of Jåttå cemetery, 10 urn graves were reserved for Hindus at Tjensvoll cemetery. These graves have not been utilised so far.7 There was extensive communication and cooperation between the Hindu association and the local cemetery authorities during the

establishment of the Hindu cemetery section at Jåttå. The Hindu grave field at Jåttå cemetery is clearly marked with a large glass signpost containing a map of the field, demarcating the Hindu urn grave section and the coffin section. The urn section has a capacity for 84 urns and the coffin section can contain 40 coffin graves. Each urn grave at Jåttå can contain one urn. The urn grave sections consist of a circular wall of low granite stones built around a small pond with a fountain of flowing water. The grave spaces are situated on the outer edge of the granite wall, with the option to attach individual names of the deceased on the outer surface of the wall. The running water symbolises the element of flowing water, auspicious for Hindus. As of October 2020, one instance of coffin burial for a deceased infant has taken place at Jåttå Hindu grave field.8 The Hindu grave field is open to all Hindus, irrespective of if they are members of a Hindu association or not.

A profiled individual case of Hindu ash urn burial in Norway

A moving, illustrative and individual account of a cremation practice adaption, can be found in the recently published autobiographical memoir Min annerledeshet, min styrke [My otherness, my strength] by Loveleen Rihel Brenna (2012).9 In what follows, I shall refer to this illuminating case in brief, in order to draw on Brenna’s narrative in my discussion below.

Brenna was born in north India (Punjab). At the age of five, she arrived in Norway together with her mother and sisters in 1973. Brenna’s parents were among the early Sikh and Hindu immigrants to Norway. Her father, who arrived in Norway in 1971, came from a Sikh family and her mother came from a Hindu family.10 After their initial temporary residence, the family settled in Kristiansand in the south of Norway. During their permanent residence in Norway, the family kept strong ties with the Sikh and Hindu diasporic community (Brenna, 2012). The broader underlying theme of Brenna’s memoir focus on her struggle to find her own personal identity as an emancipated woman, growing up within contemporary Norwegian society. An important event highlighted in her book, which is my major focus here, is the tragic premature death of her younger sister, Sima, in the year 2009, at the age of 32. In chapter two of the book, Brenna tells the powerful story of the quiet spring day when her parents had to ‘make the most important and grave decision of their lives’. On this day, her parents had to decide if they should disperse Sima’s ashes in running water or bury her ash urn in a Norwegian cemetery (Brenna, 2012, p. 16). They had to make the impossible choice between these two options due to the legal restriction within Norwegian law against dividing the ashes (The Funeral Act, 2012). For most parents with Hindu or Sikh background, the choice would have been straightforward; to disperse the ashes in running water, either in their ‘homeland’ or in Norway. However, the grieving family’s strong longing for a grave site to visit, a place where Sima would remain nearby, made the obvious option impossible for them. Many members of their diasporic communities had given them advice about what they ought to do, but in the end, Brenna’s parents decided for themselves, in compliance with the wishes of their children. They established a so-called ‘family grave’ at a traditional Norwegian cemetery.11 They chose a cemetery in Oslo, where Sima and Loveleen had most of their current social network. This grave became the family’s personal ancestral place, were their family members could finally be laid to rest and reunite in due time. At the end of her book,

Brenna describes how she stands by the family grave on a cold winter day, brushes of the snow on the tombstone, lights a candle and speaks to Sima. Brenna concludes metaphorically that with the establishment of their family grave, the Norwegian earth (which was initially alien to them) has become a foundation for their roots, an ancestral space of belonging in their new homeland (Brenna, 2012, p. 220; Jacobsen, 2018b).12

A contemporary contested case of Hindu ash urn burial in Norway

Hindu cremation practice in Norway is gradually changing. A member of the Hindu association in Trondheim recently said;

I prefer to disperse the ashes at sea . . . either in Sri Lanka or in Norway . . . I have a son; however, I do not think that he will bring my ashes for dispersion in Sri Lanka. I do not want to divide my ashes [e.g., scatter one part in Sri Lanka and one part in Norway]. Norway will be our [community’s] choice of the future . . . The younger generation most likely will prefer to have an ash urn grave a place of remembrance, like the common practice of the members of the Church of Norway. The traditional practice of our generation is finished. Hinduism prescribes that we shall disperse the ashes in water, but now things are changing . . . The new generation most likely will bury the ashes in the earth They prefer to remember their parents and need a [individual] memorial place for this purpose.

However, there is still a clear tension between the traditionally prescribed practice and the need for modern innovation and adaption in diaspora. A board member of the Hindu association in Rogaland expressed his view about Hindu disposal in Norway like this;

At Jåttå [Hindu cemetery] we can bury the ashes if we prefer. If anyone like to do so, that’s fine. But it has not happened so far because people want to scatter ashes in the sea [in Norway or in their homeland] The funeral homes assist when ashes are sent to country of origin for dispersion. That is an expensive affair [compared to dispersion in Norway] River and sea are fine [in Norway], but river is easier [less expensive] . . . It may be that eventually people decide to bury the ashes, as a form of memorialization Maybe they will adopt this aspect of the Norwegian culture; to remember the dead . . . Now we have the opportunity at Jåttå [Hindu cemetery] to have an individual nameplate at the grave site, if we prefer, when we bury the urn. But normally the Hindu practice is that we should not act like that after death; It’s not an individual place we go to . . . We should remember the dead only during specific days [of the year] . . . That is the important [Hindu] principle13 . . .

On the 25th of August 2020, an eighty-five-year-old Hindu woman died in a larger Norwegian town. Her funeral rituals were performed by her extended family and by the local Hindu community on the 31st of August. The extensive three-hour funeral ceremony ended with her cremation at the local crematorium. The ignition of her cremation was attended only by her children and close family. As the family planned for the funeral, they decided that some of her ashes should be scattered in Sri Lanka and that some ashes should be buried at a local public cemetery in her Norwegian hometown, where she has resided since 1997. As it is against the Norwegian law to divide the ashes in Norway, her grandchild sent an application to the local cemetery authorities (Church of Norway), explaining their predicament. With this application the family requested the authorities to make an exception and grant them the permission to divide the ashes in order to

realise their plan. The application was submitted on the 20th of August and written in Norwegian. I include my translation of the application letter below;

We plan to scatter the ashes in Sri Lanka, but due to the current Covid-19 situation this will be postponed for a year or two until it is safe to travel for the family. We are a large Hindu family who would like a grave we can visit after our grandmother’s death. Grandmother has 7 children (two in Germany, one in Canada), 23 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren in Norway. Therefore, we want a [grave]place where the family can gather to remember, honour and mourn grandmother together. It will also be a good place for her children here in Norway to come to when they need comfort.

I, my siblings, and cousins have had grandmother in our lives since 1997 here in Norway. We cannot remember a life without her. It hurts us not to have a memorial gravesite to visit when our grief is great. We want a place where we can talk to her, vent frustration, share sorrow and joy. For us it is an unfamiliar and painful situation, not to have a memorial grave site; like our friends [in Norway]. A place to visit like members of other religious faiths do. The reason for this predicament is that our religion only allows us to disperse the ashes in water. We see how attached our friends are to their loved ones’ gravesite and how they care and tend for these. We would like to have Grandma nearby and keep a place where we can feel Grandma’s presence.

My children and their cousins were very fond of and close to their great-grandmother, but unfortunately, they are too young to be able to remember her for the rest of their lives. A gravestone at a cemetery will help us all to remember her and honour her memory in the future. The children will always know where great-grandmother is. They will be able to understand death in the same way as other children in Norway, by being able to visit greatgrandmother’s grave.

Now that the head of our family has passed away, a grave will continue to connect the whole family. The grave will be a good reason for relatives and family from abroad to continue to visit Norway. It is also an incentive for the family living in Norway to continue to visit grandmother at the grave. It is desirable that the grave is used later for grandmother’s children here in our hometown who wish to share the family grave with her after their demise as a place of mourning. It does not matter where in in our hometown we are assigned a grave site for our dear grandmother

On the 28th of August the family submitted a small addition to their application, where they underscore the main reason for the need to divide the ashes;

Due to the Covid-19 situation, we want to bury one part of Grandma’s ashes, so that we can complete some of the funeral rituals and that Grandma’s soul finds peace according to our faith.

The Covid-19 pandemic hinders the family from traveling to Sri Lanka to disperse the ashes until further notice. According to our Hindu belief, the ashes must be dispersed [buried] within 31 days from the date of death. Thus, we want to divide the ashes so that some of [one part of] the ashes can be buried in a cemetery in Norway as soon as possible. 14

On the 15th of September, the local cemetery authorities declined the application. In their response they referred to the Funeral Act and explained to the family that they had to make a choice; either disperse all the ashes or bury all the ashes at a cemetery. In their reply to the family with the decision, the local cemetery authorities informed the applicant that they had taken advice from the national cemetery advisor. She underscored that the desire of the Hindu family to establish a family grave in a cemetery in Norway is not based on their religious conviction and therefore cannot be anchored in their legal right to fulfil their prescribed religious mortuary practice. Further, it is impossible for the local

cemetery authorities to go against the Norwegian law (e.g., The Funeral Act, 2012). The Hindu family was disheartened by the response and appealed the decision of their application. Thus, the decision was considered again by the local association of parish councils a second time, who declined the appeal application on the same grounds as at the time of the initial application. Their decision will be considered again by the local council of bishops. The Ministry of children and families has recently started a revision of the legal framework of cremation practice in Norway.

The family visited the urn with the ashes of the Hindu women at the local crematorium on her birthday in October. They brought flowers, lit candles and spent some time with the urn in a secluded room. The Hindu women’s fondness for family birthday celebration was developed in Norway and a result of Norwegian cultural influence. Birthday celebration is not a common practice in her native country.

Discussion

The Norwegian Funeral Act of 2012 is intended to be inclusive and contain a so-called flag paragraph with the following statement: ‘[f]unerals shall be carried out with respect for the deceased religion and worldview’. The Funeral Act of 2012 also intends to safeguard the rights of religious minorities (Official Norwegian Report, 2013; The Funeral Act, 2012).

The second paragraph of the current Norwegian constitution grants individual freedom to practise religion. Religious and secular individual rights have equal importance. The Funeral Act of 2012 and The Discrimination Act safeguard these religious and secular rights (e.g., non-discrimination and equal rights) in connection with mortuary ritual and practice (Høstmælingen, 2009; The Discrimination Act, 2017; The Funeral Act, 2012). In accordance with these acts, there is a budding tendency to increase accommodation of relatives’ needs at the time cremation events in Norway. Another driving force for this practice, the tenet behind the wish to include relatives in viewing or other leave-taking events, is to help relatives face the reality of death and assist them in their grief (Walter, 1999; Worden, 1991). Furthermore, more generally, accommodating relatives is an outcome of palliative care ideology and the late-modern trend to celebrate the social identity and biography of the deceased (Hadders, 2013; Hallam et al., 1999; Seale, 1998). Despite the gradual liberalisation within the Norwegian funeral sector, the current Norwegian legalisations and regulations often impede on minorities’ religious and secular rights. As I have illustrated with the profiled cases above, Hindus in Norway struggle to keep the delicate balance between strict Norwegian regulation and the demands of their community to comply with traditional conventional cremation practice and their individual needs (Brenna, 2012).

Hindu communities in Norway comply with Norwegian rules and regulation tied to their mortuary rituals and practice. As illustrated above, this entails considerable compromises and adaptations on their part. As far as I know, Hindu communities have not submitted any written complaint or accusation of discrimination to The Church of Norway or to the Norwegian authorities. One reason for this might be that these communities are modest and want to keep a low profile. Plesner and Døving underscore that the lack of conflicts in this regard can be explained by a common far-ranging compliance among minority groups towards the religious and cultural codes of the majority. Typically, you may hear them say ‘what we do at home we cannot do here’ (Plesner & Døving, 2009, p. 90). My impression is that Hindu communities in Norway have not yet asserted their full

legal rights and the various potential options established recently, in the wake of the liberalisation within the funeral sector.

Inhumation of ashes seems to be a counterintuitive option for most Hindus. This is mainly due to social conventions and the traditional eschatological, soteriological and theological factors described above. The funeral ritual is one of the most important life cycle rituals for Hindus and of great social significance for the family in this life and for the deceased in afterlife. Initially, the great majority of Hindus regular sent ashes back to their land of origin for dispersion. Up until the current date, several groups still follow this practice. This practice is usually performed within some weeks of the demise or, at most, within a year. In some rare cases, the deceased body has been transported to land of origin for open pyre cremation. Ash dispersion or cremation in country of origin can at times be tied to a need for repatriation and an invocation of a traditional ritual idealised past, involving great financial investment for travel and costly ritual procedures. Such conspicuous consumption can be motivated by social aspirations to gain social status.

Thus, none of the 300 established urn grave spaces within the two newly established Hindu cemetery sections in Norway have been utilised so far. Nevertheless, there is some evidence that some individual Hindus in Norway have been influenced by Norwegian cremation practice and have used cemetery options for ash urn burial. Random searches at some digital databases with records of ‘Hindu graves’ in Norwegian cemeteries resulted in several finds of instances of urn graves with tombstones. With the term ‘Hindu graves’, I refer to graves recorded as Hindu in the data base, or graves recorded of persons with traditional Hindu names. Although the Norwegian law does not allow division of ashes, there is a possibility that ashes may have been unofficially divided, e.g., buried as well as dispersed. It is more likely that individuals who have availed urn grave options in public cemeteries act independently and are less influenced by traditional cremation practice and the social conventions of the organised diasporic communities. As I have described above, this was the case with the Brenna family (Brenna, 2012). Younger generation Hindus who are influenced by individual and personalised trends prevalent in modern Norwegian society are more likely to adopt the option of urn burial and personalised grave monument or marker.

The Funeral Act of 2012 is intended to be inclusive and secular (Official Norwegian Report, 2013; The Funeral Act, 2012). For instance, The Funeral Act of 2012 advocates the use of the secular term ‘grave place’ (gravplass) instead of churchyard. Further, according to § 32 of the Regulation of The Funeral Act of 2012, relatives have access to be present during cremation when crematoria facilities permit this and when the wish to be present is motivated by religious or confessional sentiments. In a recent memo, The Ministry of Government Administration, Reform and Church Affairs encouraged a more lenient and uniform practice, within the framework of the current law, among County Governors when it comes to granting permission for dispersing ashes. At present, the practice among County Governors varies considerably (Ministry of Government Administration, Reform and Church Affairs, 2012; Regulation for the Funeral Act, for 1997-01-10 nr 16, 2013). The Ministry recommended County Governors to consider the option of dispersing ashes in larger rivers and lakes located in places with less public thoroughfare. These changes in the Funeral Act of 2012, and the Regulation came in force on the 1st of January 2013 (Regulation for the Funeral Act, for 1997-01-10 nr 16, 2013). The general trend over the last decade is that the practice, among County Governors, has become

more liberal when it comes to granting permission for dispersing ashes in nature. As Hindu groups in Norway become more aware of this liberalisation, it is likely that ash dispersion in Norway will increase in popularity and become an attractive option. This is partly due to the legal ban on dividing ashes in Norway, with urn burial as an unlikely option. As the Norwegian Funeral Act forbid division of ashes, it is hardly surprising that the 300 established urn graves for Hindus at Norwegian cemeteries have not been utilised. Most Hindu families strive to avoid conflict within family and community and comply with prevailing conventions to disperse ashes in running water. Thus, ash dispersion, in place of origin or in Norway, has been the preferred option for Hindus over time in Norway as this option is widely accepted within their communities. However, if dividing ashes would become a legal option in Norway in the future, it is more likely that Hindus would disperse some part of the ashes, in their country of origin or in Norway, while at the same time establish a family gravesite for urn burial in Norway.

Concluding remarks

In this paper, I have explored the ‘ontological politics’ contributing to different and context-dependent enactments of death and the dead through cremation practice in diaspora (Law, 2004; Mol, 1999). Handling of the corpse and cremated remains in Norway is managed with a large amount of regulation.

During the mortuary rituals following cremation, the deceased, known as preta (literally a ‘departed one’ who left the body), is in limbo and needs to be ritually cared for, purified and properly escorted to reach the afterlife. Proper performance of death rituals and ash dispersion in water is important to avoid that the deceased is afflicted by ghosts, goes astray and turn into a malignant ghost, instead of a benevolent ancestor (Michaels, 2016, p. 201). Death causes considerable contagion and is fraught with potential danger for mourners, as well as for the Hindu community at large. Therefore, mourners must observe several regulations and ritual rules to avoid polluting themselves and others.

The common purposes given for the observance of cremation practice among Hindus are to free the soul of the deceased from the corpse, remove impurities to ensure auspicious rebirth, heed religious and social duties, such as that of the son towards his father, and duty towards ancestors. Nugteren (2016, p. 121) emphasises that ‘[f]ailure to perform these [rituals] may negatively affect not only one’s own status, but also that of the dead relative’. Mourners’ insistence to perpetuate traditional ways of disposal is linked to strong social ties and binding social obligations to perform traditional cremation practices. Finally, the mourners believe that welfare and the prosperity of the family partly depend upon the blessing of the manes (Michaels, 2016).

Common orthodox objections against ash urn burial in Norwegian cemetery can be based on the belief that inhumation limits the re-integration of the body within the five elements and hampers the deceased soul passage to the world of the ancestors (Nugteren, 2016, p. 135). If division of ashes becomes a legal option in the future, it is more likely that the younger Hindu generation will adopt urn burial; either with an anonymous individual grave, or a grave with individual nameplate or tombstones. Urn burial can be practised, either in combination with ash dispersion in Norway, or in combination with ash dispersion in the land of origin if there is an impulse for repatriation. More extensive and detailed ethnographic research is needed to better understand how

Hindus reason, compromise, and re-invent their cremation and burial practice in diaspora (Firth, 1997, 2003; Garrey, 2003; Laungani, 1996).

Notes

1. Some parts of this paper are based on material from a previous publication by the author in a somewhat revised form (Hadders, 2013).

2. Any further discussion of the relationship between The Church of Norway and state falls outside the scope of this paper.

3. Earlier there were 38 crematoria in Norway. Due to strict environmental emission, regulations there are only 26 in operation at present.

4. Dispersion of ashes was first allowed within The Funeral Act of 1997.

5. Any further detail about this large body of literature and tradition falls outside the scope of this paper (see Firth, 1997; Flood, 1996).

6. At the time of snakebite, burial may be practised and in some cases of disease water burial is practised avoiding contagion.

7. Personal communication with Per Øyvind Skrede, in charge of Stavanger cemeteries.

8. Personal communication with Sissel Bryne Hedland, in charge of Stavanger cemeteries.

9. I am indebted to Ola Asp who made me aware of Brenna’s book.

10. Sikh cremation practice is in some ways like Hindu cremation practice. Sikhs sometime practise burial of ashes. However, there is a prohibition against the erection of any memorial.

11. Norwegian citizens have the legal right to 20 years of grave space for free; either a coffin grave or an urn grave. A coffin grave can contain eight urns (The Funeral Act,2012).

12. My father-in-law has lived and worked in Trondheim, Norway since 1971. He died on the 25th of September 2020 and was cremated at Moholt crematorium on the 2nd of October 2020. My mother-in-law and the rest of the family in Norway decided that father-in-law’s ashes should be buried at Moholt cemetery, at a traditional Norwegian cemetery section with traditional gravestones. Father-in-law’s urn was buried on the 10th of November 2020. A gravestone with a Hindu OM symbol, his name, date of birth and death, and with the common Norwegian gravestone inscription ‘thanks for everything’ was erected at the grave site in December 2020. My Hindu mother-in-law’s ashes shall be buried at father-in-law’s gravesite when she dies.

13. Quotes are translated from Norwegian to English by the author

14. Translation from Norwegian to English by the author. Author have got written consent from the applicant to use the anonymised translation of the application letter for publication.

Acknowledgement

I am indebted to the editors and reviewers of Mortality, and Susan Matland who have read and commented drafts of this article. Thanks to all the participants who generously shared their time. Department of Public Health and Nursing, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Technology and Science provided funding for this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Hans Hadders, PhD in social anthropology, RN, is an associate professor at Department of Public Health and Nursing, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and

Technology Trondheim, Norway. Hadders main research focus is on mortuary rituals and standardisation of death in South Asia and within the Norwegian health care.

ORCID

Hans Hadders http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4515-2780

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