UNESCO has declared the Austrian burial system an Intangible Cultural Heritage. This list already includes pastry chefs and Lipizzaner breeders. “It’s not often you see a funeral director so radiant in a professional context,” said Markus Pinter of the Federal Association of Undertakers.
There are 528 undertakers all over Austria, which are mainly organized as small family businesses. They have “a wide range of knowledge ranging from local social practices and symbols to individual design options to best guide the bereaved during the time of mourning,” the UNESCO website says. The Commission has recently included the knowledge and practice of local undertakers in the list of intangible cultural assets.
Examples include covering the coffin with a white cloth, laying down incense and charcoal, and not ringing bells at Buddhist funerals. The customs and rituals vary widely from region to region, says Markus Pinter of the Federal Association of Funeral Directors. Knowledge of this is necessary to be able to show the bereaved the appropriate empathy. The undertakers do not see themselves as “corporate coffin sellers”, but rather as advisers and supporters who respond as much as possible to personal wishes during the funeral.
The last way becomes more diverse
In addition, Pinter stated that the final paths became increasingly diverse. Examples are electronic memorial portals, Whatsapp parties and forms of natural burial. At the same time, the actual rituals have hardly changed over the centuries. “It’s not often you see a funeral director so radiant in a professional context,” Pinter says of its inclusion in the National UNESCO Register.
The undertakers are now members of an illustrious circle of excellent knowledge bearers – from the pastry chefs to the Lipizzaner breeders to the alpine mountain and ski guides.
Source: Krone
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