I think that's true Mr Red. The bereaved want to honour their lost one's wishes. I think the whole funeral culture is a good way for the sad family left behind to express their grief formally in a structured way. I just wouldn't personally want to burden my friends and family with doing special things on my behalf while they're coping with their loss and all the documentation, Probate of the Will and so on that it entails.

In Africa it's an absolutely huge thing. The entire extended family arrives from far and near, plus neighbours, numbering in their hundreds, and they all expect to be fed. Griots come and sing the praises of the dead for hours on end, and they too demand payment. The women scream and wail at the tops of their voices. It's very distressing for a Western-culture person, but I tend to think it's cathartic. They wouldn't dream of cremation. The body is washed and prepared by the women and the men bury it. No funeral directors there!