Releasing the Soul

Sharon recalls working as a hospital nurse and attending to a child who had just died. The family requested that she open the window to release the child’s soul, but the hospital windows did not open.

Taking the situation in stride, the family, while chanting, escorted the soul out the hospital room, into the elevator and out again on the first floor to be released through the front door.

Although Sharon cannot remember to which Asian group this family belonged, they may have been Hmong, adapting their ritual of directing the soul to heaven. The practice is not limited to Asian cultures; some traditional Jews observe soul-releasing as well.

In the 15th century, when a death occurred, Jews and Christians in Germany and France poured out all the water in and near a house. The French believed that the soul of the deceased might drown unless they emptied all vessels.

A later explanation was that before leaving on its journey, the soul first bathes and dries, thus contaminating all the water, necessitating its being spilled. There may be a link between this and describing a person who has died as having “kicked the bucket.”

Norine Dresser’s latest book is “Multicultural Celebrations” (Three Rivers Press, 1999). E-mail: norined@earthlink.net.