Comprehensive list of brief descriptions (1 to 3 paragraphs each) of
wooden casket / coffin traditions for different cultures and
religions.  (wood, metal, other materials, images, carvings, wood with
or without knots, superstitions, items buried, holes or no holes in
casket, pennies on eyes, objects in mouth, etc.)  Emphasis on casket
construction, not the other traditions.

Religions: Jewish, Christian, Catholic, Mormon, Shinto, Buddhist,
Muslim, Taoist, Confucian, Hindu, African Traditional & Diasporic,
Sikhism, Juche, Baha'i, Jainism, Neo-Pagan, Unitarian-Universalism,
Rastafarian, Scientologist, Zoroastrian.

Cultures: Aboriginal, Filipinos, Middle Eastern, African, Finnish,
North American, Amish, French, Norwegian, Arab, German, Polish,
Argentinian, Greek,  Portuguese, Asian,  Mexican, Guatamalan, El
Salvadoran, Russian, Australian,  Hungarian, Scandinavian, Austrian,
Indian, Scottish, Belgian, Indonesian, Singapore, Brazilian, Irish,
South African, Canadian, Israeli, South American,
Caribbean, Italian, Spanish, Celtic, Japanese, Swedish, Chilean,
Swiss,
Chinese, Korean, Taiwanese, Czech, Latin American, Turkish, Danish,
Lebanese, United States, Dutch, Mediterranean, Venezuelan, European,
Vietnamese

Answer MUST be comprehensive.

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Request for Question Clarification by umiat-ga on 29 Apr 2003 19:11 PDT

aarond144-ga,

 You have asked for an extensive amount of information for a small
price.

 You have 21 religions requiring 1-3 paragraphs each, and 57 different
cultures. Even if only one paragraph was written for each, that would
be 78 paragraphs, not counting the extensive amount of time required
to research this information.

 Speaking for myself, I "might" attempt to research this question if
it was in the $150 - $200 range. Please take a look at the pricing
guidelines. And remember, a researcher only receives 75% of the
question payment.

 Perhaps another researcher will tackle your question at this price,
but if I were you, I would reconsider your price if you really require
an answer!

 "Answer MUST be comprehensive" is merely another reason to stay away
from answering at the price you have posted! This is merely my own
opinion, however!

 umiat-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by digsalot-ga on 29 Apr 2003 20:15 PDT

I had your question locked for a while myself.  You are asking for
religious tradition as well as cultural tradition.

I will give you just one example of what you are asking for.  One of
the faiths you ask about is Catholic.  I presume you mean "Roman
Catholic" as opposed to all Catholic churches such as the Anglicans,
Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox (Coptic and Armenian churches) Old
Catholics, Byzantine Rite Roman Catholics and traditional Latin Rite
Roman Catholics.  Not all Catholic churches are in communion with
Rome.  If you use just the Latin Rite Roman Catholic Church alone,
there is first of all, a basic set of requirements applicable to all. 
Then within that Latin Rite tradition and built on top of those basic
requirements are the local and regional differences between, for
example, Mexican Roman Catholics and Irish Roman Catholics.  The same
would apply to any faith which has followers world wide.

So, there couldn't be a single answer for "Catholic" funeral
tradition.  If we covered Mexican funeral tradition, we would have the
Catholic tradition as practiced by Mexican Catholics.  However, that
would be divided even further by the Catholic traditions of those who
are mostly of Spanish origin and those of mixed Spanish and Indian
origin and those which are pure Indian in origin.  And then we would
have Mexican mortuary tradition as practiced by those Mexicans who are
not Roman Catholic.

This kind of question is right up my alley (so to speak) since I'm an
anthropologist and archaeologist.  However, to put it bluntly, I would
not take on this project even at the $200 price.

What you are asking for is that a researcher create an encyclopedia of
world mortuary practices.  Encoffining traditions alone would entail
the writing of at least a full volume.

If I may make a suggestion.  Break up your question into a series of
questions with each centered on a particular faith and the mortuary
practices within that faith on a global basis.  Each of these
questions would still be a major research project in its own right if
it is covered comprehensivly.

That way you will have a greater chance of our researchers taking them
on.  Even at that, you might not get every detail covered but it would
bring you closer to obtaining the information you want.

Cheers
digsalot

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Request for Question Clarification by journalist-ga on 30 Apr 2003 06:29 PDT

I had your question locked for a while, too, and found the amount of
information to be extensive for the offered price.  It's not that any
of my colleagues are attempting to secure more money unjustly - this
is a huge project and could easily be a complete publishable book on
burials when compiled.

Have you considered breaking down the question into many small
questions with smaller fees?  You may have a better chance of
gathering all the information that way and securing assistance from
many Researchers at once.

Best regards,
journalist-ga