Transnational funerary rituals between Catalonia and Senegal

Abstract

This text aims to present an ethnographic approach to the management of death and funerary practices among Muslims in Catalonia, particularly those from Senegal, and to the social, cultural and economic circumstances surrounding death in a migratory context. When a family member dies in Catalonia, most migrants chose to repatriate their deceased. In addition, in the event of a terminal disease, many migrants choose to return
to their place of origin. In Senegal, families with migrant members also state that they prefer their deceased to be repatriated to for burial. Repatriation is, in fact, well organised by different community charities. This organisation allows us to assert that repatriation is a collective process more than an individual option. This research aims to describe the process of repatriation and, at the same time, consider the multiple and complex reasons that may explain its relevance. These reasons shall not be found only in the countries of residence of these migrants or among the problems associated to the adjustment of the Islamic funerary ritual in Catalonia. We should also seek
them among their native societies and in their families. Therefore, the preference for repatriation among Muslim migrants living in Catalonia should not be seen only as a religious issue but as a much more complex phenomenon.

Keywords: social anthropology, religion, migration.