Should I Shroud?
I recently attended a Shroud-Making workshop as part of the Yila Healing Festival with one of the best teachers of shroud making, Michele Elliot. What I learnt was incredibly exciting – and it started to reshape how we will do death better at Walawaani Way. What an insight!
My only previous knowledge of shrouding was that used by the Muslim and Jewish faiths – wrapping the bodies in shrouds and returning the bodies to the earth as soon as possible, along with many important customs and rituals.
Shrouding appeals to me – as it’s one of the best ways to allow the body to naturally return to the soil. A casket or coffin can act as a barrier by stopping the body becoming one with the soil – which is what it intends to do, breakdown and provide elements and nutrition to the soil. To me, it’s also the most graceful way to return to earth, the one with least resistance and also the fastest, the kindest and most beneficial.
Up until quite recently - you had to get permission from the Director-General to be buried in a shroud because of religious reasons only, but now you can state other reasons, ie: because it’s better for the soil, or spiritual reasons. A significant leap forward by the government in the movement of Doing Death Better.
I was a little dubious about attending the workshop at first - due to having an embarrassing little knowledge about shrouding for someone who was about to open a burial ground! My sincere lack of knowledge was the reason I thought I’d dedicate a of day learning to them - and to my pleasant surprise – I found out within a short period of time the answer that I wanted to hear:
YES – you can simply use your own King or Queen Sheet from home! This might not be everyone’s cup-of-tea but it’s great to know that this is an option for people. There is also the option of buying beautifully made shrouds in Australia made from organic cotton and hemp. Shrouds can also be top-shelf too.. the options are there to be taken depending on the preference and budget.
Shroud-making workshop in the Shoalhaven on the South Coast of NSW.
One misnomer which would be nice to rid in the death industry is the need to spend lots of money on someone who has passed – to show you “love” them… this emotional feeling is not uncommon and seen all over the world – but we need move away from this. Paying off an expensive coffin for years to come is not what the person you love would have wanted! Maybe it’s time to open up that Linen Cupboard… :)
Michelle handed a little package of needles and coloured thread to all the students to sit quietly and add some creativity to the fabric … time slowed down…it made me think for the first time that Walawaani Way could be the place of shrouded burials…following best practice and very good reasoning. Beautiful shroud burials… the best and fastest way for the body to return to nature.
To my relief during the workshop – I was able to decipher the actual folding of the Shroud over the body.
I had pre-conceived images of fumbling over a complicated routine of intricate folds – but how wrong I had been!
It’s so simple to shroud a body!
How to Shroud a Body:
Wash and dress the body, brush hair etc – Optional
Place a King or Queen size sheet on the floor
Place the body in a diagonal direction – so feet are at one of the pointy ends and the head is at the other pointy end
Fold pointy end of sheet over feet
Tuck sheet around body on either side of the body (it helps to have a few people tilting the body to the side)
There is the option to keep the face visual for all to see, or simply fold over the pointy end of the sheet to cover the face
(which can then be peeled back when needed.)Use material ties, ribbon or rope to secure the shroud – as many as you want but definitely around the feet, body and arms – a lovely idea is using womens’ scarfs or men’s ties found in the their dresser for a personal touch.
