Pallbearer

This article is about a role at a funeral. For the 1996 film, see The Pallbearer. For the wrestling manager, see Paul Bearer. For the band, see Pallbearer (band).

Pallbearers carry the casket of Major Douglas A. Zembiec, USMC (1973–2007).

A pallbearer is one of several participants that help carry the casket at a funeral.

Some traditions distinguish between the roles of pallbearer and casket bearer. The former is a ceremonial position, carrying a tip of the pall or a cord attached to it. The latter do the actual heavy lifting and carrying. There may otherwise be pallbearers only in the symbolic sense if the casket is on an animal or vehicle.

In Western cultures, the pallbearers are usually male family members, close friends, or colleagues of the deceased. A notable exception was the funeral of Lee Harvey Oswald, in which reporters, pressed into service to carry the coffin, outnumbered the mourners. In some Asian cultures, pallbearers are not to be members of the family but are outsiders, given a tip to perform the services of pallbearer.

Etymology

A "pall" is a heavy cloth that is draped over a coffin. Thus the term "pallbearer" is used to signify someone who "bears" the coffin which the pall covers.

Method of carrying

Pallbearers in Canada or the USA will sometimes carry a casket by the handles, and at around waist height, rather than on the shoulders of the pallbearers, but there is no standard method as witnessed by image searches for North American pallbearer methods.

In the United Kingdom, Australia, and Ireland, the casket is often carried on the shoulders, and the handles are for the most part decorative.