This article analyzes the process of constitution of funerals in civic liturgies, emphasizing their relationship with other historical phenomena, as the conformation of the national imaginary, the modern individualization process, and the changes in the ways death is dealt with. So, it intends to conjugate elements about the configuration of a specific field of research, which is not really developed. Criticizing the analyses centered exclusively on the political and intentional uses of the past, it emphasizes the importance of considering the utopian and imaginary dimensions of the rituals and civic parties, and suggests the relevance of this reflection to think about the development of historiography.
funerals; civic rituals; nationalism