Sending



The Sending (異界送り) is a ceremony performed by summoners in Final Fantasy X that helps guide the spirits of the dead to the Farplane. The performance of a sending takes the form of dance.

Nature
Unsent spirits eventually become fiends. When someone dies without accepting death, they walk around as an unsent who envy the living. The envy eventually turns to hate and resentment, which the pyreflies react to, turning them into fiends.

In rare cases, a sent spirit can leave the Farplane if they still have an attachment to the world of the living strong enough to prevent them from moving on to the next world. The only occurrence of this known to the player is when Jyscal Guado briefly leaves the Farplane to give Yuna a sphere of Seymour.

A spirit doesn't necessarily need to be sent in order to find its way to the Farplane; in fact, as there are only a limited amount of summoners, and their main job isn't performing the sending, but, rather, completing the pilgrimage, it is likely most people do not need a sending. Sending is required most commonly when a person dies in violent or otherwise unusual circumstances, as their spirit still has "unfinished business" back in the world of the living. Once an individual has accepted death, they will return to the Farplane without the need of sending. Even the individuals who go on to become unsent are shown to possess this ability.

Origin
Kagura (神楽, かぐら) is the ancient Shinto ritual dance of shamanic origin. The legend goes that the sun goddess Amaterasu became upset at her brother so she hid in a cave. Ame-no-uzeme began to dance and create a commotion in order to entice Amaterasu to come out. The (gods) tricked Amaterasu by telling her there was a better sun goddess in the heavens and Amaterasu came out and light returned to the universe.

In both ancient Japanese collections, the and, Ame-no-uzeme's dance is described as asobi, which in old Japanese language means a ceremony is designed to appease the spirits of the departed, conducted at funeral ceremonies. Therefore, kagura is a rite of tama shizume, of pacifying the spirits of the departed. Spirit pacification and rejuvenation in ancient Japan were usually achieved by songs and dances, also called asobi.

Music
The music that accompanies the sending is a solemn rendition of the "Hymn of the Fayth". It mirrors Japanese ceremonial music, complete with Japanese instruments. Aptly titled "The Sending" (異界送り), it is the third track in the Original Soundtrack and is composed by Masashi Hamauzu.

Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
To The Farplane, identified as sending in Japanese release, is Yuna's EX Burst in Dissidia 012 in which she summons forth her aeons to damage her foe. The Player needs to press the correct buttons in order to successfully chain attack.

Her pose from the promotional poster is included in the EX Burst's ending and pyreflies are presented during its entire performance.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy
Scenes from the sending in Kilika appear in Event Music Stage for Final Fantasy X Series.

Trivia

 * Yuna's original attire was changed from the dress seen in the gallery above to the furisode seen in-game, because Tetsuya Nomura wanted a dress that would "flow" when she performs the sending.

Besegnung