My grandma's funeral in rural Mexico had a rule I never expected

Last year my grandma passed away and the whole family went to her small town in Jalisco for the funeral. Everything was normal until the priest said no one could talk about how she actually died. Apparently in that village it's taboo to mention suicide during the burial mass because they believe it brings bad spirits. My cousin whispered that my grandma had been sick with depression for years and took her own life, but the priest shut him down real fast. The whole ceremony felt fake to me, like we were hiding the real her. I asked my mom about it later and she said it's just how things are done there, you don't air that kind of stuff in public. Has anyone else run into rules about death or suicide at a religious ceremony in another culture?

2 comments

2 Comments

joseph_coleman1mo ago

Oh man, that is really tough. Sorry you had to deal with that.

aaron8961mo ago

Sorry @joseph_coleman but the priest thing is actually pretty common in rural Mexico not just that one village.