Death & Grief Care

In many indigenous cosmologies, death is not an ending. It’s a transformation of relationship.

The dead do not disappear, they change their way of being with us. They remain present in memory, in the body, in dreams, in land, in ritual and in the ways we continue to speak their names and honor them. People are not afraid of dying, they are afraid of being forgotten. This page is dedicated to death work rooted in remembrance, presence and relationship.

In indigenous death work, I am specialized in altar and shrine building and I create ceremonies and collective acts of remembering as ways to honor our dead and tend to the grief as a living process. Shrine building is not decoration, it’s a practice of intention and attention and a way of saying: You are not forgotten, you still belong.

While in the west and in the Eurocentric paradigm the moment you are dead you are forgotten and even erase from the visible realm, in indigenous and vernacular traditions, caring for the dead is part of caring for the living. Reintegrating the dead in the visible realm and honoring them and creating a space for new forms of conversations to unfold.

the shrines or altars I build are spaces of connection between worlds, between generations, between the visible and the invisible. they hold, objects, nuts, water, fabric, offerings. These spaces invite slowness, listening and reverence. They allow grief to be witnessed, and remembrance to become collective.

Death & Grief Care is an invitation to remember, to honor, to restore relationship with the dead and the grief they let us with. In Eurocentric paradigm, it’s relearning how to live in right relationship with death, with loss and with those who came before us, which we must always honore.

Photos by Francesco Gaviano

A display of black, white, and brown beans arranged in a circular pattern on a white cloth. Behind the beans, there is a blue fabric backdrop with white tie-dye circles. In front of the backdrop, there are three glasses of water and one glass of yell
Wicker basket containing assorted stones, seeds, and small decorations on a blue and white patterned fabric.
A woven basket filled with small stones and a pear sits on a blue tablecloth with white circular patterns. In the background, there is a lit white candle in a holder and part of a wooden stand supporting a slab of wood. A framed picture is partially
A circular pattern made from different colored beans on a white cloth, with a bowl of dried grape leaves below it on a granite surface.
Display of small sake bottle, water bottle, and yellow juice bottle next to a mosaic of beans on white cloth, with a blue and white tie-dye cloth backdrop.
Colorful circular pattern made of different types of beans on white crumpled paper background.
Illustration of brown spiders climbing on a black background.
Close-up of a cartoon-style brown animal face with one eye visible, featuring a black outline, black eyebrow, and black nose.

I accompany individuals, families, and collectives in the creation of remembrance shrines or altars as an away to honor their dead and to tend grief in a grounded, embodied and respectful way. Each shrine is unique and responds to the person being honored, the context of the loss, the land and the people involved. The process may include conversation, listening, ritual gestures, objects…This work is slow, intentional and relational.

A lit white taper candle in a gold-colored holder, a bowl of dried leaves, and a small wooden boat model on a black cloth, with a plain wall background.

How it works

The process may include:

  • an initial conversation to understand the context and intention

  • Guidance on materials and elements (what to gather…)

  • the building of the shrine together or on your behalf

  • a simple ceremonial moment of remembrance, if desired

  • guidance on how to ten or close the altar over time

This work can take place:

  • in private homes

  • in community or collective spaces

  • in public spaces (for a public mourning or memorial moments)

  • during gatherings, workshops or memorial moments

Options

OPTION 1: SHRINE ACCOMPANIMENT

(I guide you, you build)

Includes:

  • One preparatory conversation

  • Guidance on altar elements

  • ceremonial orientation

  • Guidance on the maintenance

Fee: 450 Euros TTC

OPTION 2: SHRINE ACCOMPANIMENT

(I build/ Co build the shrine)

Includes:

  • One preparatory conversation

  • Altar design and creation

  • a ceremonial moment of remembrance

  • Guidance on maintenance

Fee: 850 Euros TTC

OPTION 3: A COLLECTIVE ANCESTRAL SHRINE

A collective shrine for many ancestors

Includes:

  • Preparation and collective intention-setting

  • the design and creation of a living shrine for many ancestors

  • ritual gestures and offerings to establish and tend a collective ancestral presence

Price Upon request

OPTION 4: COLLECTIVE & PUBLIC REMEMBRANCE SHRINES

(For groups, events, memorials and public figures)

For:

  • community or collective gatherings

  • public or institutional spaces

  • memorials and commemorative events

  • honoring the life of a public or widely known person

This work responds to the social, political, an spiritual dimensions of collective grief.

Pricing is discussed case by case, based on context, scale, preparation, and materials.

Please note:

This price does not include materials and does not include travel costs, particularly for work outside of Lisbon. These elements will be discussed with care and clarity beforehand, based on the specific context of the altar.

Ethics of the Work

Shrine and Altar building and ceremonial accompaniment are relational and spiritual practices. It is a work that is guided by ethical responsibility to the dead, the living, the land, and the traditions that inspire it. It asks for respect, slowness and an openness to relationship rather than consumption.

This offering is not

  • Therapy

  • crisis intervention

  • religious conversion

  • spiritual performance or entertainment

  • art installation

  • aesthetic production

Requests are approached with discernment, and I may decline invitations that would compromise the integrity of the work or risk appropriation, harm, or simplification.

A drawing of a brown bear's face with one eye, eyebrow, and part of the nose visible.
Multiple small brown spiders crawling in different directions against a black background.

Let’s co-build a shrine

Interested in creating a shrine of remembrance for one of your loved ones or your ancestors, and in exploring another dimension of connection with them? You are invited to share a few details below. I will be in touch with care and attention.