Licensed clinical social worker and graduate adjunct faculty member Sherry Smelley thought the 5,000-year-old Indian Mounds, rumored to have been an ancient ritual space, would mark the perfect spot for her 15th annual Honoring and Remembering Ceremony on Monday.
When Smelley held teaching her graduate-level grief and bereavement class at the University, the country had just suffered the 9/11 attacks. To honor all military personnel, first responders and loved ones who lost their lives or risk their lives every day, Smelley helped her first class organize a University ritual to honor their sacrifice.
She said rituals are “universal” because they have been an integral part of societies across the globe throughout history.
“It seems to bring people together as a community … there’s this symbolic connection to the persons that have been lost,” Smelley said.
Besides the Indian Mounds, other aspects of the ceremony held cultural significance as well.
The LSU ROTC participated in both a presentation and exit of colors as a way to recognize men and women in the military. A reading of Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem “Charge of the Light Brigade” and a guitar rendition of the Dixie Chicks’ song “Travelin’ Soldier” followed.
Organizers illustrated the feeling of loss through the poem “Our Little Candle” and James Taylor song “Fire and Rain.” Next, attendees commemorated the lives of those they had lost with a reading of Mary Elizabeth Frye’s “Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep,” followed by a performance of Jeff Buckley’s “Hallelujah.”
To wrap up the ritual, a bagpiper played the “Scottish Walk-Away,” a Scottish tradition in which the bagpiper continues playing melodies as he walks away from a funeral until he is out of sight. The bagpiper symbolizes the spirit of the deceased person, gone but not forgotten.
Social work graduate student Alex Hazlaris said the class began working on the ceremony the first day of the semester. Through Smelley’s class, she said she has learned how to handle grief in a healthy way.
“There’s no quick fix for loss,” Hazlaris said. “It’s just a part of life and something we have to deal with.”
Though most students enrolled in the class learn how to provide comfort to their future clients, Hazlaris said it has also been beneficial for the students’ personal lives. Grief is different for everybody, she said.
Though people grapple with loss in various ways, Smelley said grief is overall “an expression of love.”
Mass communication freshman Adrienne Falgout attended the ceremony to remember two of her childhood friends who passed away. Though she did not bring a memento, she said she thought it would be nice to participate in a peaceful ritual honoring them.
“I meant to bring some flowers,” Falgout said. “They remind me of life, and it’s nice to think about life when people die.”