Honoring the Dead, Then & Now
The treatment and disposal of dead bodies differs from culture to culture. Here are some examples (see if you can guess which culture is lowbrow):
In the Solomon Islands of the South Pacific a body was traditionally placed on a reef where it would be eaten by sharks.
Muslims wash the body three times, wrap it in a white shroud, and place it into the ground with the head pointed toward Mecca.
The Inuit people put the corpses in igloos where it would be protected by the cold and preserved.
The Vikings would place a dead man on a small boat at sunset, set it adrift at sea, then the body was then set on fire. If the sunset was the same color as that of the fire, it meant that the deceased was bound for Valhalla, which was Viking heaven.
The Romans:
Images of sleep and rebirth were frequently represented on beautiful sarcaphagi. This is one from A.D. 210-220.
Americans get their final resting places at… Costco!
And at great discounts. Buy a few for the entire family (and get some muffins while you’re there, too.)
My daughters’ favorite has the pretty flower. Hey! You can never prepare too soon!
Some material from “The Bathroom Reader” (a really funny book).