Context of Mourning During the Pandemic: Spaces, Rituals, Outgoings, and Survivors
Ömer Canpolat, Hatice Yaprak CivelekThis research deals with the experiences of people who lost relatives during the COVID-19 pandemic, the ways they understand and cope with death, and the sad picture they create through space and rituals. Qualitative data was composed based on narratives gathered with indepth interviews with 15 volunteer participants who reside in Kocaeli and have socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, religious, and age-based differences. The focus was on pandemic-reported deaths and the locations, rituals, and human feelings and experiences associated with these deaths. Narratives from a group of participants who lived at the threshold between death and life during the pandemic showed that religious beliefs, spiritual values, and solidarity are still crucial in dealing with the resulting decimation. They deeply conveyed the loneliness and intensity of pain based on adverse economic effects, particularly the increase in poverty, the deciduous knowledge and opinions that create uncertainty about the virus, the lack of a sense of coming together and solidarity created by rituals. The changing sadness and understanding in the face of someone else's death, the marginalization of individuals caught in the pandemic, the utilitarian contributions of today's people and societies in the emergence of pandemics are remarkable issues. The phenomenological approach was taken as a guide for the methodological process–theoretical fiction touching the pandemic and death. An argument was developed mainly using sociological and anthropological approaches.
Salgında Yas Bağlamı: Mekânlar, Ritüeller, Gidenler ve Kalanlar
Ömer Canpolat, Hatice Yaprak CivelekCovid-19 salgını sırasında akrabalarını kaybeden kişilerin ölümle bağdaşık deneyimlerini, ölümü anlamlandırma ve baş etme biçimlerini mekân ve ritüellerle oluşturdukları hazin resimle ele alan bu çalışmada anlatılara dayalı olarak bir niteliksel veri oluşturulmuştur. Derinlemesine görüşmeler, Kocaeli ilinin çeşitli mahallelerinde ikamet eden ve sosyoekonomik, kültürel, etnik, mezhebi ve yaşa dayalı farklılıklara sahip on beş gönüllü katılımcı ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Salgın kaynaklı olarak bildirilen ölümlere ve bu ölümlerle mütecanis mekânlara, ritüellere, insan duygu ve deneyimlerine odaklanılmıştır. Salgın süresince ölüm ve yaşam arası eşikte yaşayan bir katılımcı grubundan gelen anlatılar, ortaya çıkan ölümlerle baş etmede dini inançların, manevi değerlerin ve dayanışmanın hâlâ çok önemli olduğunu göstermektedirler. Menfi ekonomik etkilerin; bilhassa yoksulluğun artışının, virüse ilişkin belirsizlik yaratan çeşit çeşit bilgi ve görüşlerin, ritüellerin yarattığı bir araya geliş ve dayanışma duygusunun eksilişlerine dayalı yalnızlığı ve acının yoğunluğunu derinlemesine aktarmışlardır. Başkasının ölümü karşısında değişen hüzün ve anlayış, salgına yakalanan bireylerin ötekileştirilişi, günümüz insanının ve toplumların salgınların ortaya çıkışındaki faydacılıkla belirlenmiş katkıları dikkate değer meselelerdir. Salgın ve ölüme dair metodolojik süreç kuramsal kurgu için fenomenolojik yaklaşım rehber alınmıştır. Ağırlıkla sosyolojik ve antropolojik yaklaşımlarla geliştirilen bir argüman yaratılmıştır.
It is believed that it is important to understand the death-related experiences of individuals who lost their relatives during the COVID-19 pandemic and the ways of coping with death. The pandemic not only affects states and their economies but also deeply affects the people psychologically and sociologically. In this context, people experience difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic because they are constrained to stay away from each other, unable to visit each other, unable to go to funerals and burials, being alone or unable to mourn and perform rituals. The pandemic is also said to have caused an increase in poverty. In this study, in addition to all these factors, we focused on the deaths reported due to the pandemic and the places, rituals, human emotions, and experiences associated with these deaths. In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 volunteer participants residing in various districts of Kocaeli province and having socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, sectarian, and age-based differences.
It is believed that it is important to understand the death-related experiences of individuals who lost their relatives during the COVID-19 pandemic and the ways of coping with death. The pandemic not only affects states and their economies but also deeply affects the people psychologically and sociologically. In this context, people experience difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic because they are constrained to stay away from each other, unable to visit each other, unable to go to funerals and burials, being alone or unable to mourn and perform rituals. The pandemic is also said to have caused an increase in poverty. In this study, in addition to all these factors, we focused on the deaths reported due to the pandemic and the places, rituals, human emotions, and experiences associated with these deaths. In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 volunteer participants residing in various districts of Kocaeli province and having socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, sectarian, and age-based differences.
It has often been said that the COVID-19 pandemic will inevitably bring about many sociological (and accordingly, political), economic, and psychological effects on all world societies. It has already been observed that many social and cultural changes are being experienced, human relations have weakened, consumption habits have changed, and even religious rituals have changed. In addition to these, it should be emphasized that the COVID-19 pandemic has made the existing and known inequalities more visible worldwide. In summary, according to the findings of the study―the narratives from the participants who lived at the threshold between death and life during the epidemic―religious beliefs, spiritual values, and solidarity are still very important in coping with the deaths that occur. Further, the changing sadness and understanding in the face of someone else's death, the othering of individuals caught in the epidemic, and the contributions of today’s people determined by utilitarianism in the emergence of pandemics are remarkable issues.