Death
blah blah stuff about death rates and junk yoo
Memorial
Vaso does have grave sites, but Vasian dead are not buried.. In the graveyard, or a memory field, a statue is placed in memoriam to the lost loved one, made by the deceased’s friends and family. The body itself is cremated and made into beads, some are used in the creation of the memorial statue to preserve the dead in artwork, others are given to friends and family to have a memento of them. If it’s a spouse that’s died, some of their funeral beads are added to their widow’s marriage pendant. Often, a widow will then wear both necklaces. This can be for life, or until the remaining spouse feels ready to move on.
Funeral Ashes
During the funeral itself, mourners will wear the wood ash from the loved one’s funeral pyre on their faces in tear-like marks. Every year after on the anniversary of the death, those closest to the deceased will again wear funeral ashes in remembrance. When the mourner decides to stop wearing the annual ashes is up to them, but the normal period is five years.
Memorial Beads
Each bead is hand made with a small amount of the loved one’s ashes mixed into glass, often by a skilled glass blower specializing in memorial beads. They can be made in a variety of colors, but it is cheaper to have them made all the same rather than different types of glass. If a professional bead maker can’t be afforded, there are those who will do the work for free and run on donations, but only offer clear glass.
Specialty beads can be made in shapes and patterns other than the typical solid-colored circular beads, though they are more expensive. These are more often used in familial charm bracelets and necklaces to make them more personal to the deceased.
Some of the memorial beads of the queens are given to the next ruler, while the rest are used for their field stone or given to remaining family. The reigning queen keeping the previous memorial beads is a tradition to show the support of the previous generations.
Specialty beads can be made in shapes and patterns other than the typical solid-colored circular beads, though they are more expensive. These are more often used in familial charm bracelets and necklaces to make them more personal to the deceased.
Some of the memorial beads of the queens are given to the next ruler, while the rest are used for their field stone or given to remaining family. The reigning queen keeping the previous memorial beads is a tradition to show the support of the previous generations.
Field Stones
The Afterlife in Vaso
Vasians, and creationists in particular, believe in the flow of energies from one form to another. Naturally, reincarnation fits into this. It is believed that, when a person dies, they change forms from physical to spiritual to aid in the balance of the world before eventually moving to another physical form. This form, however, isn’t always human. It is believed that a person’s actions influence what they’ll become in their next life. Those who do wrong or stray from their religion’s teachings will have their next life in the role of more menial task, such as a bug, while those who are seen as ‘good’ in one life will be rewarded in the next.