The Significance of Religious Practices in Counselling the Bereaved in the Hindi Community : Guidelines for Educational Psycholo
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF RELIGIOUS PRACTICES IN COUNSELLING THE BEREAVED IN THE HINDI COMMUNITY - GUIDELINES FOR EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGISTS by Anisha Vittee MINI-DISSERTATION submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MAGISTER EDUCATION'S in EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY in the FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND NURSING at the RAND AFRIKAANS UNIVERSITY SUPERVISOR: Prof J Pillay April 2003 ABSTRACT This study investigates the various religious practices [rituals and ceremonies] performed by the Hindi Community in Lenasia during the period of grieving. The relevance of these practices and various ways in which they [rituals and ceremonies] could be incorporated into the modern form of psychotherapy is explored. The death of a loved one makes those grieving the loss perform different rituals and cultural practices, depending on their respective religious doctrines. For many, the performance of these activities serves as a means of "releasing" the dead and allowing themselves an opportunity to begin the healing process. Whilst these rituals and ceremonies are deemed essential to the grieving families, it is very often undertaken amidst great financial and emotional strain. Yet, this 'financial burden' is very often overlooked and the compulsion to satisfy the "ancestors" is adhered to. This study examines the specific rituals and ceremonies practiced by the Hindi Community in Lenasia with the emphasis on how educational psychologists could incorporate some of them into the modern form of psychotherapy. In this study, the research design, process of data collection and data analysis are described and the main themes, which emerged from the different data sources, are identified. These themes are discussed within the framework of existing psychotherapeutic models as well as cultural and religious beliefs and practices. The findings of the study revealed that all. Hindi people perform the various rituals and ceremonies during the period of grieving and they make use of various symbols in the process. Of great importance was that all Hindi people did not perform the rituals and ceremonies in exactly the same way, there was a degree of flexibility as well as inconsistencies in the manner of performing these rituals and practices. It was also very apparent that the Hindi community has a strong sense of spirituality and family bonds. The guidelines which were formulated made provision for the incorporation of the various rituals and ceremonies for educational psychologists as well as other therapists subscribing to different paradigmatic perspectives. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the all the participants who so readily provided me with information for this study. Most importantly, thank you for sharing of your grief and pain, which contributed to my growth as a therapist. To my family for their understanding and support throughout my studies, especially my mother who never ceased to believe in me. A special thanks to three very important colleagues, Jaiyen, Val and Dawn, for giving selflessly of their time, support and assistance. My sincerest gratitude to my late mother-in-law, Tara whose death was the 'spark' for this study. Your passing has left a void in the hearts of all those whose lives you've touched. Most grateful thanks is due to my father-in-law who spent hours 'educating' me on the Hindi philosophy of life and death. Thank you for sharing invaluable information without which this study would not be possible. Finally, a very special thanks to my supervisor, Prof. J Pillay for his unstinting support, guidance and encouragement. I appreciate all the extra time you have spent assisting me. TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ABSTRACT ii CHAPTER ONE 1. CONTEXTUALIZATION AND ORIENTATION OF RESEARCH 1 1.1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.2 THE CONTEXT AND RATIONALE OF THE STUDY 1 1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 3 1.4 THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY 3 1.5 THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS 4 1.6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 4 1.7 THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE 5 1.8 ETHICAL MEASURES 6 1.9 MEASURES TO ENSURE TRUSTWORTHINESS 7 1.10 TERMINOLOGY 7 1.10.1 Culture and Cultural Practices 7 1.10.2 Personal pronouns 7 1.10.3 Rituals and ceremonies 8 1.10.4 Bereavement, grief and mourning 8 1.10.5 Catharsis 8 1.10.6 Educational psychologists 9 1.11 THE STRUCTURE AND SEQUENCE OF THE STUDY 9 1.12 THE RESEARCHER'S PRESUPPOSITIONS AND ASSUMPTIONS 9 1.13 CONCLUSION 10 CHAPTER TWO 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 11 2.1 INTRODUCTION 11 2.2 CONCEPT CLARIFICATION 11 2.2.1 Bereavement, mourning and grief 11 2.2.2 Rituals and ceremonies 14 2.3 THE BASIC TENETS OF HINDUISM 17 2.3.1 A Diagrammatical representation of the scriptures in Hinduism 18 2.4 THE HINDI PERSPECTIVE OF DEATH 21 2.4.1 THE RITUALS AND CEREMONIES PERFORMED DURING THE PERIOD OF GRIEVING/MOURNING 24 2.4.1.1 At the time of death 25 2.4.1.2 On Cremation 2.4.1.3 Post death rites 28 2.5 THE COUNSELLORS' PERSPECTIVE ON GRIEF AND BEREAVEMENT 31 2.5.1 A Psychoanalytical Approach 32 2.5.2 A Humanistic Person-Centred Approach 34 2.6 CONCLUSION 37 CHAPTER THREE 3. RESEARCH DESIGN AND RESEARCH METHODS 38 3.1 INTRODUCTION 38 3.2 PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH 38 3.3 THE RESEARCH DESIGN 38 3.3.1 Qualitative 38 3.3.2 Contextual 39 3.3.3 Explorative 39 3.3.4 Descriptive 39 3.4 THE RESEARCH METHOD 40 3.4.1 Ethical Measures 41 3.4.1.1 Competency of the Researcher 41 3.4.1.2 Researcher-respondent relationship 42 3.4.1.3 Selected sample 42 3.4.1.4 Restoration of the participants 43 3.5 METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION 43 3.5.1 The literature Review 44 3.5.2 Secondary sources of data 45 3.5.3 Interviews 45 3.6 METHODS OF DATA ANALYSIS 47 3.7 VALIDITY, RELIABILITY AND TRUSTWORTHINESS 48 3.7.1 Internal and External Validity 49 3.7.2 Reliability 50 3.8 CONCLUSION 50 CHAPTER FOUR THE PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION OF THE RESULTS 51 4.1 INTRODUCTION 51 4.1.1 The Research Problem 51 4.1.2 The Context of the Study 52 4.1.3 Data Storage and Retrieval 54 4.1.4 Data Analysis 54 4.1.4.1 Table of Themes and Sub-themes 55 4.2 INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS 55 4.2.1 Identified Rituals and Ceremonies 56 4.2.1.1 Symbolic References 56 4.2.1.1.1 At the time of death 56 4.2.1.1.2 On Cremation 58 4.2.1.1.3 Post death 59 4.2.1.2 Flexibility in Practice 61 4.2.2 Inconsistencies of Rituals and Ceremonies 62 4.2.3 Spirituality 66 4.2.4 Influence of the family during the performance of the Rituals and ceremonies 68 4.2.5 The Psychological Impact of Rituals and Ceremonies 70 4.3 CONCLUSION 73 CHAPTER FIVE SUMMARY, LIMITATIONS ND RECOMMENDATIONS 74 5.1 Overview of the study 74 5.2 The Problem and Aim 74 5.3 The Research Design 75 5.4 Results 75 5.5 Guidelines for Educational Psychologists 77 5.6 Limitations of the study 81 5.7 Recommendations for further research 82 5.8 Final Comments 82 BIBLIOGRAPHY 85 APPENDICES Appendix 1: Glossary of Terms 88 Appendix 2: Extract from Interview 1 89 Appendix 3: Extract from Interview 2 90 Appendix 4: Extract from Interview 3 91 Appendix 5: Extract from Interview 4 92 Appendix 6: Extract from Interview 5 93 CHAPTER ONE CONTEXTUALIZATION AND ORIENTATION OF RESEARCH 1.1 INTRODUCTION This study focuses on the different religious practices in the form of rituals and ceremonies performed by the Hindi-speaking people in Lenasia during the grieving process. The role of these [rituals and ceremonies] as a means of aiding the healing process is examined. This introductory chapter presents the context and rationale of the study. A discussion of the theoretical background of this field of inquiry is given and the participants are briefly described. The research question, from which the aim of the study is drawn, is formulated and the aim and objective of the study is given. The research methodology of the study is explained. A brief overview of the structure and sequence of the study is given. Terminology used in the process of grief counselling and rituals and ceremonies are briefly referred to. The chapter concludes with a review of the researcher's personal assumptions and presuppositions, including the motivation for the study. 1.2 THE CONTEXT AND RATIONALE OF THE STUDY In South Africa, thousands of people are dying of AIDS related and other terminal illnesses (Pillay T: 2002:3-4) and crime and violence has escalated to a staggering proportion. Due to these misfortunes, many people are grieving due to the loss of significant others or simply because of the impact of the prevailing mayhem. In trying to determine the place of this topic within the social context, one would simply have to refer to the local newspapers to find a story of horror, rape, murder or AIDS death statistics. In this context, it is evident that there exists a need to understand how exactly do individuals, families or communities deal with these difficulties. Furthermore, what does the educational psychologists need to know so that grief counselling can be made more meaningful. Many have attempted to overcome the period of grieving using the various support structures such as families, churches or community 1 organisations; by performing different rituals and practices and a few may have sought psychological intervention. The researcher's observation of communities during times of death and mourning has shown that different cultures within communities responded differently according to their respective religious doctrines and practices.