Cremation

Throughout the night there I sat, staring into the fire; it was brilliant. Crimson and gold tongues dancing together like long lost lovers, sending a shower of sparks rising amongst plumes of white smoke into the night sky with every kiss. The slow dance the flames preformed as I sat staring, was hypnotic, their movements aligned perfectly to a tempo in which I could not hear, yet I could feel and see the warmth radiating from this duet, temporarily chasing away the chills and the ever-encompassing darkness.

Throughout the evolution of mankind fire has been a pivotal element in which we base our lives, we use fire, to light our houses and provide heat, it is also there to cook the food which nourishes our bodies. Fire helps create and destroy civilizations, but most importantly it helps us to define and ascribe meaning to the metaphysical world that we create for ourselves through ritual and ceremony. Fire is seen as a purifier, and a destroyer. Because this element holds traits so radically different in meaning we as humans can do nothing but admire it, as we have throughout history.

Through the use of fire, our ancestors have been ritualizing the burning of the deceased; this act referred to as cremation and it has many different meanings depending on the culture in which it is practiced. To better explain the proceedings and importance of cremation in this post I will use Hinduism as an example for description.

Cremation of Gandhi - January 31, 1948

In the case of Hinduism the process of cremation follows a sacred post life ritual referred to as the Antysti, and is fully outlined within the Grihya Sutras. In the Hindu religion cremation is a pivotal ritual, which must be preformed on the deceased. Because Hinduism views the body as a vessel in which the soul only temporarily resides as well as because of the cosmic understanding that time and existence is cyclic in nature; the soul must be purified and freed from the body through cremation so it can proceed to its next destination. Because of the strong belief in this ritual, it is believed that if the cremation is not preformed properly or not preformed at all, the soul of the deceased will become disturbed and will not leave this state of existence, instead remaining to haunt the remaining living family members. Because fire is associated with purity and has the ability to scare away daemons, and spirits it is the chosen medium to dispose of the body.

The origins of cremation predate written history; the first textual account of cremation was documented in Hindu texts around 1,200 B.C.E. and by that time cremation was already a well-established custom. Although cremation was not the only method of body disposal, there is archaeological evidence of internment style burials in large amounts that predate the modern cremation customs. Even today not every person is cremated; infants are buried because it is believed that their soul does not need purification. The Hindu religion has three main stages of preparation before cremation

They are 1.) Completion of the vows, 2.) Atonement and finally 3.) a ritual bath in the holy water from the Ganges river. Only once these three acts are done can the body be cremated.

Manikarnika cremation Ghat in Varanasi

One of the most popular places for cremation in India is along the Varanasi, here the deceased are cremated in huge ghats which dot the shores of the holy river. In 1933 Patrick Balfour described this image as a journey “Through stagnant water, thick with scum and rotting flowers, we drifted towards the burning ghats, where a coil of smoke rose into the air from a mass of ashes no longer recognizable as a body. One pyre, neatly stacked in a rectangular pile, had just been lit, and the corpse swathed in white, protruded from the middle.” (1987. Eyewitness to History, edited by John Carey)

Mummy, can i have another?

When one thinks of a mummy, generally (In my case anyways) the imagery that first flashes into mind is that of an undead wrapped in tattered bandages with arms raised parallel with the ground pursuing the grave robber which had desecrated its tomb in the search of gold and glory.

Although, this depiction is not the reality of mummification, but we can attribute this impregnation of contemporary imagery as a result of  our North American popular cultures portrayal of mummies within film and literature as relentless protectors of the cursed treasure found within their tombs. I believe it is safe to say that you are familiar with the movie "The Mummy" which was released in 1999, where the mummy of Imhotep is accidentally awakened through the reading of a page of the book of the dead, and once released wreaks havoc among the living in order to regain his body and his lover. Anyways little nine year old me LOVED this depiction of mystery and immortality which constituted the mummy of Imhotep and has led to much curiosity surrounding the topic. Therefor it is my intention to properly portray the reality of Mummies, and mummification within past and present culture, with the goal to hopefully stimulate your curiosity in the same manner that mine was many years ago.

mummify
vb -fies, -fying, -fied
1. (Social Science / Archaeology) (tr) to preserve the body of (a human or animal) as a mummy
2. (intr) to dry up; shrivel

Throughout time, as the human species age and our culture grows we can observe countless variations in the methodology of how different cultures manipulate their dead. This manipulation is a reflection of unique life stressors and religious/spiritual beliefs of individual peoples. Through the observation of the many unique processes of human cultural treatment of their dead, we can attempt to understand ourselves as a species. Although almost every culture through out the ages relates with death in a different manner, one practise continues to arise throughout the globe in many different times, and cultures. This similarity is the act of mummification of the deceased, which is a practise in which the body of the deceased is preserved throughout the ages through intentional human ritual or in some cases  unintentionally through natural means.

It is believed that the earliest cases of mummification which began roughly 7000 years ago, can be attributed to the Chinchorro people which resided within the isolated and harsh environments of Chile. The Chinchorro people began artificially mummifying their children, infants, and fetuses, although the reasoning as to why they began this practise is unknown there is speculation that mummification began as the result of chronic arsenic poisoning due to longterm exposure to the high levels of arsenic contained within the Camarones river and surrounding area. Some of the resulting effects of chronic arsenic poisoning are; internal cancers (lungs, liver and kidneys), as well as high infant mortality (resulting from damage to developing organs), and perinatal death. By understanding the effects of living in such a hostile environment we can begin to speculate on the possibility that the Chinchorro peoples practice of mummification of their infants and fetuses began as a cultural adaptation to an environmental stressor, which later developed to the practice of mummifying adults as well as infants.

Although mummification might have its beginnings with the Chinchorro people, it is not by any means an isolated event. Many cultures throughout history have practised mummification. One of the most commonly known civilizations which practiced mummification were the ancient Egyptians, although the first first evidence of intentional mummification began around 3500 B.C.E., a few other examples of this are the Bog bodies in Eastern Europe, as well as in Italy, Greenland, China and Mexico.

In my opinion the most intriguing instance of mummification as a cultural practise was done by the Shingon Priests of Japan, which preformed a long ritualistic practise of self-mummification, in order to reach a state of enlightenment and Nirvana. This process of self-mummification began with the Shingon-shu school of Buddhism which was established in the Heian period (794-1185) and is broken into three 1000 day periods in which the priest undergoes an excruciating regiment in order to prepare the body for mummification.

The first 1000 day period the priest eats only nuts and grains which can be found only around the temple, followed with rigorous exercise to help deplete the body of moisture and fats, if that was not hard enough the priest also meditates in the most extreme conditions, such as icy mountain streams, this is done so the priest can train himself to rid the body of pain through the focusing of the mind which will in tern allow him/her to become closer to Buddha. Onces the first phase is complete the priest then enteres the second 1000 day period where the diet is reduced even further to minute amounts of pine bark as well as pine roots, this is done to eliminate the body of all fats, which would aid in the decomposition of the body after death. Near the end of this second phase the priest then begines to consume a tea made from urushi tree sap, this sap is normally used to laquer pots and furniture, which also causes tremendous strain on the physical body of the priest, drinking the tea causes the priest to vomit and become sick, which acts to aid in drying the body before death. The urushi tea also acts to toxify the body to the point where insects will not aid in the decomposition process. The final 1000 day stage, is the most difficult, the priest is then locked into a stone tomb with an air hose and a bell, where he/she must remain in the lotus position meditating for their remaining days. The bell is present as a form of communication between the priest and the outside world, he/she must ring the bell once a day to signify that he/she is still alive, and once the bell stops ringing the fellow priests on the outside remove the air hose and seal the tomb for the remainder of the last 1000 day period. Upon the completion of the last phase the tomb is opened to determine whether or not the priest was able to reach nirvana and effectively self-mummify. This process is long drawn out and very difficult  thousands of priests have attempted this process but only 24 have been found to be successful to date.


Sources:
mummify. (n.d.) Collins English Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged. (1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003). http://www.thefreedictionary.com/mummify

http://users.physics.harvard.edu/~wilson/arsenic/arsenic_project_introduction.html

http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?pid=s0717-73562005000200010&script=sci_arttext

http://www.agorajournal.org/2005/Lowe.pdf

Hi, this is the part of the blog where i am supposed to introduce myself, so lets get to it!

First of all I would like to say thanks for taking the time to go over the thoughts and material that I will be posting here in the future. So.. seeing as you are going to be following this blog throughout the term lets get a bit personal, lets start with who I am, and what I am about.

I go by the exciting and VERY unique name of Michael Mitchell... okay so it might not be that original but its mine! Currently I attend a University located on the west coast of Canada, and am working towards obtaining a first class education with the goal of completing university with a major in Anthropology as well as a minor in Biology. 

I know you are wondering what exactly this blog will contain, and what its significance is, well it is my intention to continuously develop and expand my base of knowledge regarding the significance of death, as an act, a ritual, and a right of passage within the context of human culture and development through the ages, and it is here that I will explain my newly developing and ever changing perspective on this topic.

Death poem by: Ōta Dōkan (1432 - August 25, 1486)

Had I not known
that I was dead
already
I would have mourned
the loss of my life.

[Translation, Yoel Hoffmann]