Abstract

Death is an integral part of human life. Every culture has its own portrayal of death to commemorate and celebrate the life of the departed loved ones through various practices and traditions. This research is an effort to assess the Catholic understanding of death and burial practices in Pampanga, Philippines. A descriptive qualitative research design was used and a total of fifty-seven participants were purposively interviewed. Phases of thematic analysis were observed to assess the answers of the Kapampangan participants. Results showed that most Kapampangan people still observe death and burial practices accustomed to Catholic beliefs and folk/ traditional beliefs. Kapampangan people also developed their own attitude toward death which portrays their faith in God, relationship with relatives and friends, and commemoration of their departed loved ones.