from Verna’s Customs of Calatini

When people return to the Goddess, their families hold either body funerals or ash funerals. At body funerals, the deceased’s body is preserved with either potions or magic then placed in a wooden casket so it can be viewed during the funeral. Afterward, the body is incinerated using an ordinary fire or magic then poured into an urn. At ash funerals, the deceased’s body is incinerated then poured into an urn before the funeral then the urn is displayed. Both caskets and urns range from plain to ornate, but their materials and decorations are usually chosen with the deceased in mind.

Funeral services are typically performed by death priests, although other community priests and local priests will perform them as well. Funerals are opened with a prayer then sacred words are read about the Goddess’s love for her children and returning to her arms in death. After an uplifting hymn, the death priest gives a sermon about death and grief and joyful remembrance. This sermon is usually interspersed with anecdotes about the deceased gathered from the family. Then family members (or other loved ones) give eulogies about the deceased. Once they have finished, everyone sings a hymn of peace before the death priest ends the service. Afterward, many families adjourn to a funeral reception at their homes where they continue celebrating the deceased’s life.

After the funeral, ashes are either spread without markers, buried in cemeteries with gravestones, or stored in their urns at mausoleums or in family members’ homes.