Different Cultures and Their Spirit Related Traditions

This is a guest contribution from Charles Phan.

Ghosts, spirits and mythical creatures have long been the fascination of many cultures. Almost all cultures in the world have their own vision of spirits, their own traditions and customs when it comes to spirits. Some offer gifts for ghosts, some fear them. But one thing is for sure, all cultures have their spirits. They come in many shapes and sizes, with different behaviours and different meanings. In order to fully grasp what a ghost may mean to a culture, you need to dive in much deeper and learn more.

Spirits around the World

When you travel the world, you will see many different beliefs and customs surrounding ghosts and spirits. These beliefs are centuries old and they often mark important historical events or cultural trademarks of a single culture. The terminology used in place of the word ghost or spirit often changes from culture to culture as well as from region to region within a single culture. But the original beliefs are often similar in nature and they are all equally fascinating. Starting with religions like Christianity or Buddhism, ghosts and spirits play and important role.

The White Lady

For instance, many rural areas and cultures in different regions believe in what’s called in general a White Lady. These ladies are often very young women who have suffered something tragic in their life like the death of a child, of a lover or have died themselves as a consequence of some tragedy. (Like La Llorona.)

These ladies are also commonly known as harbingers of death, meaning that someone will die if a White Lady is seen. They are often described a women who have lost or have been betrayed by a husband, lover or similar – these angry spirits are called Banshees in Ireland.

The Dead as Ghosts

Another universal belief around the globe is that the dead people turn into ghosts and show up as such in various places and to the people that have harmed them or people that they love. Most cultures in the world have this belief – that spirit is the soul of someone who has died. This dates back to the prehistoric cultures when people would praise the dead over all else. There are various religious practices that date back to that time. Funeral rites are designed to praise the dead person and their spirit.

“One of the common beliefs is that ghosts or spirits are held back because they are punished for something bad they did in their lifetime. In some cases, these spirits have some unfinished business.”, says Tina Farlan, a regular contributor to Draftbeyond and Writinity.

Angels

Most religions and cultures are also hardcore believers in angels, guardian angels or protective spirits. Some cultures believe that it is their ancestors in the forms of angels that are looking over them and guarding them from harm. These spirits are considered to be the souls of those ancestors which have continued to exist in the form of a spirit without the body, at least not in the physical sense.

These spirits are common link between many religions. In China, you can see that these ghosts are seen as highly respected spirits and that they are often considered an active and present member of the family. They are honored because the Chinese tradition believes that ancestral spirits bring luck and that they can help them achieve their goals.

Mists

Cultures across the globe are describing ghosts or spirits essences as mist-like, often connected with a location, an object or a person from their life. This is the famous painting of a ghost, the one we commonly see in movies and other media.

Many cultures also believe in spirit armies, ghost trains, ghost ships – for instance, The Flying Dutchman – and so on. Ghost animals are just as common, especially when connected to a human ghost.

“Many cultures have a ritual related to the spirits or ghosts, mostly in the sense of honoring them, banishing them or calling them. There are, for instance, seances. People believe that the dead can come back to haunt them and many cultures also have a distinction between bad spirits that want to harm them and good spirits that are either just there or want to help.”, says Steph Browns, an author at Researchpapersuk and Last Minute Writing.

The fact that we live in these modern times has not, in most cases, deteriorated the belief that there are ghosts or spirits out there. People find them compelling, fascinating and scary as well. Science cannot explain some of the strange occurrences and concepts that we have witnessed so this might be one of the reasons why.

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Charles Phan is a content writer at Gum Essays and Lucky Assignments with years of experience. Chris has a degree in Marketing and enjoys writing about business strategies, entrepreneurship and start up companies as well as customs and traditions from different cultures as a part of exploring the world.