Ghoul funeral traditions

Ghouls of Griss really only differ from humans in that cannibalism has been their primary way of ritually disposing of their dead since prehistory (and the extended effects of this practice on their cultural development). Since this is part of the basic premise, I know I need to establish their cultural norms fairly early on, and there are plot reasons to showcase them via a state funeral for a member of the Lord Proprietor's family (in other words, the Most Pompously Traditional a funeral could possibly be). However, there are some key aspects of the actual rites that I haven't figured out yet and could use some feedback on.

What I have so far is that there are two main ceremonies. First is the autopsy, which is also the reading of the will, because the will also designates who's going to eat which organs. A blessing is said over the body before it is cut open, then the will is read with each organ removed and set aside (and possibly marked with a kiss by its recipient as a sign of acceptance) as it is named. This is typically private, which benefits families who may like to keep any physiological surprises out of the public eye.

After this, the remains are cooked, then laid out on a table for the memorial ceremony in a symbolic representation of the body. (Using this time to resolve or suppress any inheritance drama is not strictly traditional but might as well be in practice.) Eulogies are given, a priest conducts the second round of blessings and oversees the distribution of food, and dinner is served. The service is complete once all of the organs have been eaten, signalling the end of formal solemnity, though a large funeral will have additional courses served afterward.

Here are some of the things I'm still thinking about:

• Which roles in the process would be considered religious or secular? The religious establishment is pervasive in the civic bureaucracy, less so the populace as a whole, but has no direct political power; the Lord Proprietor thinks of himself as an enlightened modern ruler who turned his city into a thriving metropolis, and his respect for the church is more than lip service but consciously less than pious.
• What meaning and importance is assigned to particular organs? Should the heart be considered the seat of emotions like it has historically for humans, or is the liver more important for its roles in digestion and general health, etc? So far all I'm sure of is that the brain doesn't have a lot of spiritual significance (for natural selection reasons).
• What happens to the bones and other strictly inedible parts? I decided other ghoul cultures preserve the skeleton on display, but I think here it would be thought of as a tasteless foreign practice. I sort of like the idea that they get ground up and used in either seasoning or cement, perhaps sculpted into a rather literal headstone and installed in architecture? But what about hair and skin and things?

Hmm, interesting!

Okay, the following are of course only suggestions: different cultures may assign different meanings and have practices.

The first two questions I'm not sure of how to help with: Different cultures have ascribed different meanings, so without knowing this specific culture more intimately it's hard to say what they might come up with. They could see the liver as the root of the will, and the heart the organ of thought, and the gall bladder the home of evil—or something else besides!

On the matter of what's religious and what's secular, it sounds to me like the practice might have become more secular over time.

If so, then I'd suggest comparing which elements are most spiritual, and which least, and from that thinking through the order in which they would become more secular.

It might also be worth considering where there might have been pressure for the secular to impose upon practices, either from the practitioners or from the secular bodies themselves.

As to the third question, some thoughts:

• Hair might perhaps be braided or otherwise woven into something wearable.
• Skin... surely could be eaten? We eat animal skin fairly often, so I'm not sure of why human skin might not be.
• As to bones, before you suggested it yourself, I likewise had it in mind that they might be ground up. Aside from your ideas, it occurs to me that the powder might be mixed with a liquid and combined with other substances to form something consumable. Perhaps a porridge of come sort?
  • It also occurs to me that there would be a fair bit of such porridge, and that I imagine that its base flavour wouldn't be all that appealing. So perhaps the bone-porridge is what goes to the least favoured relatives, or perhaps is even doled out to observers.
  • Bone-marrow, on the other hand, is really rich stuff, and I imagine could be a prized meal.

I don't have a particularly elaborate history for the country as a whole, but it's starting to sound like I should work on that. :P

For some additional background - Sonnambul is loosely inspired by 1910s-20s eastern Europe, especially Weimar Germany, Romania, and Istanbul. The basically universally-accepted purpose across the culture is that consuming the dead is an act of communion that allows their spirits to live on in the community and strengthen those who outlived them. The Thurmist Church has built this into its doctrine, believing that this weaving of souls is performed by Thurm - the Tower of God, the Panopticon, the platonic ideal of the City of Heaven who is manifest through all worldly cities that reflect it. (This is why they remain so influential in the bureaucracy - they see performing civil functions as a religious duty - as well as why the idea of grinding bones into concrete feels appropriate.) Their iconography is sort of Vampire-Catholic, with overtones of Kafka.

The idea of the living city has remained a widespread metaphor even as Thurm has become less popular, but the correlation of organs to city institutions is uniquely Thurmist, so I suppose that's the most important thing influencing the symbolism. The Church's view of both anatomy and urban planning is fairly outdated but "still spiritually true" - their ideal city is basically mediaeval, bigger and with modern technology but without any accompanying cultural changes that they can't allegorise. I know ghouls developed anatomical science faster than humans - a natural consequence of not having a stigma against human dissection - but not exactly how far they got past Galen when the Church was formed.

This is only half the response, I keep putting off the other half - the other problem I think is that I am not much of a gourmet, so while I am aware that most body parts can be cooked I don't really know which or how. I really don't want to rely on fava bean references, though. :P Porridge is a good idea, I had gotten as far as mincing the generic bits together but it might be better if sausage hasn't acquired a 'mystery meat' reputation in-universe.

(Not to worry about "different cultures may have different meanings and practices", either, though - they definitely do, I haven't worked out the details for all of them but my other favourites are the Xkeban-Kab worshippers who leave their bodies for carrion beehives and mellify their priests.)