Unlike common perception and practice of spending days in sorrow after death, many tribes across the world express their sorrow with a dash of celebration and dances. Repeated movements in sync become dance, and the solace of rocking and keening can be therapeutic. The aboriginal people of Australia sing and dance to evoke the clan totems of a dying person. Similarly it is common in Korea for a female shaman to do a cleansing ceremony for the soul of deceased so that it can achieve nirvana and to close the cycle of birth and death. The Kenga people of Africa perform Dodi or Mutu dances on burial day. The Dogon people of Mali perform the masked dances like the Lugbara people of Uganda and Angas of northern Nigeria. Similar practices are followed by tribes from North America, South America and India.

The Khasi people of Meghalaya commemorate death by celebrating with Ka-Shad Shyngwiang-Thangiap dance that starts with the day of death and continues till the last rites of the deceased are over. The dance signifies a blessing for the departed soul for its long journey from human to the spirit world. The dance starts at a place just outside the kitchen door and is supported by men who play music on flute, drums, and bamboo poles.