Life may be absurd, but in Belize and the Caribbean, death merits communal traditions. On the ninth night after a person’s death, food, stories and drumming are part of a celebration, where the spirit of the deceased passes, and mourners ritualistically encourage the dead to leave the world of the living and rest in peace. (Photo from Belizean Journeys)
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing.
Macbeth soliloquy (Act 5, Scene 5, lines 17-28)
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