Considering the fact that the human body decomposes rapidly within days, mummies inspire both fascination and revulsion in people. When I look upon the pictures of the great pharaohs of Egypt, like Seti I, Ramses II and Thutmosis III, all I see is the finality of death that stopped these great men from achieving even greater feats. It is really hard to believe that I’m actually looking at the faces of people who died thousands of years ago. Whilst I’m fascinated, I’m a little repulsed with a sense of creepiness. I can’t put my finger on it exactly, but I think it’s to do with the fact that “he shouldn’t be here”. It seems in our perception of the world; there is no place for the dead. In the modern world, there is very little association with our dead.
Unlike the Torajan tribe from Indonesia, we do not live with our departed relatives for anything more than a few days or weeks. They can live with their dead relative for a few years, planning for the best funeral and waiting for the perfect time to bury them. Among the Chinese in Singapore, the body is displayed for a few days or weeks (depending on the deceased’s level of seniority and social circle size) and it is sent to be cremated, and the ashes will be stored in a nearby temple or church. It is rare for people to bring the ashes home for ancestor worship. We have so little interaction with the dead that they inspire fascination in us.
I guess the mystery of what lies after death fascinates us too much. We all know that we are mortal and death may take us away anytime. Unfortunately, we have no idea what lies after death. Some people fear death so much that they seek immortality. The great Qin Shihuang poisoned himself to death whilst searching for the elixir of immortality. It was widely believed in China that mercury was a magical liquid, the First Emperor’s court alchemists prescribed it to him every day as a means to prolong his life until the proper elixir could be found. The great conqueror who unified China, created a uniform writing, uniform system of weights and measures, made major plans to build the Great Wall of China, etc died of mercury poisoning in the end. It was ironic how the quest to prolong his life ended up shortening it. Let us look at immortality beyond the physical extension of a normal human life-span. We could say that Qin Shihuang achieved immortality in the end; he would be remembered in history as the man who unified China, executed thousands of Shamans and Fortune tellers (he didn't bury the Confucian scholars as they were a minority at that time) and killed millions of people through forced labor in his construction projects. It probably wasn’t what he had in mind. Although we roughly know where his tomb is, there probably won’t be much left of his body. He died during his last inspection tour around China, his Prime Minister didn’t disclose this to anyone whilst they rushed the entire entourage back to the Capital. By the time they reached the capital and placed Qin Shihuang into his giant mausoleum, the body had already severely decomposed (it was summer and they had to place drag 2 carts of rotten fish behind Qin Shihuang’s carriage to mask the smell). Not a very nice end for such a great man, eh?
Immortality as the “postponement” of death could be achieved through mummification too. The ancient Egyptians believed they could only have an afterlife if their physical remains were preserved. They lived forever through the preservation of their bodies. The Chinchorro preserved their dead for sentimental reason- to ensure the memory of their loved ones forever. Many South American cultures preserved their dead for the sake of ancestor worship. They believed that the mummies of their ancestors would listen to their prayers and answer them.
Most people are under the impression that the only civilization that preserves its dead is that of the Ancient Egyptian. They are wrong. Now, let me show you some examples of mummies from around the world- some are natural and some are artificially created. The information provided here are from my own research based on readings done across the past 10 years. Unfortunately, I’m not as updated as I would like to be. So please let me know if you’re spotted any mistakes.
1. Chinchorro Mummies- They pre-date the Egyptian mummies. The earliest is from 5000BCE, so they were already ancient when the Egyptians started preserving their dead. So far, they are the oldest artificially made mummies found. As there were no written records, it is inferred that they created mummies as a way of remembering their loved ones, rather than for religious purposes of the afterlife and what not. There are 3 different methods of making these mummies, you can read more about them here- http://www.mummytombs.com/mummylocator/group/chinchorro.htm
2. Egyptian Mummies- They range from being very well preserved mummies to badly decomposed skeletons. It depends on the skill of the embalmer and the person being embalmed. Normally, high status individuals are preserved with the greatest care and skill. Nothing but the best linen, spices and oils are used. In my opinion, I would say that the mummy of Ramses II is the best preserved- he looks like he’s still sleeping and his sharp nose is still there. Most of the time, the embalmers wrap the corpse too tightly, so the nose ends up very badly squashed. In the case of Ramses II, they did it perfectly, it was properly stuffed and the wrappings weren’t too tight. Did you know, in between the 18 – 19th century, many Europeans consumed “mummia” (there are variations in spelling) as a health tonic. This “mummia” was made of ground Egyptian Mummies. I wonder if you could call that postmortem cannibalism or something…
Egyptian mummies are black, not because it is their original skin color nor is it because they were coated with tar. A recent experiment showed that the skin blacked after the body is dried out with Natron (a form of salt). The original body belonged to a Caucasian, by the time the body dried out, it was a black, shriveled corpse (Thank goodness, they didn’t film the corpse’s face; I was eating while watching the documentary).
3. Inca Mummies- This has been my recent interest. There are mummies are made naturally by the cold, dry climate in the high altitudes and there are mummies made artificially through some unknown means. So far, natural mummies are that of sacrificial children. When the Inca community was faced with a natural disaster such as droughts, they chose the most beautiful children in their tribes for sacrifice. These children were treated like royal subjects, given the best food eat and the most beautiful clothes to wear. When they were sufficiently “fattened up”, they were brought up into the mountains, fed a beer brew with sedatives in it. They were placed in a hole that was dug for them. The beer made them groggy and they drifted off to sleep, the eventually die in their sleep of hypothermia. They died to save their village, these sacrifices were supposed to bring the village’s prayers personally to the Gods. Based on inscriptions and accounts from the conquistadors, we know that the Incan Kings were preserved for the sake of ancestor worship. However, Pizarro ordered his soldiers to burn all the royal mummies (I still hate Pizarro for doing this) because the Catholic faith was against ancestor worship. As a result, we will never find out how the Incans preserved their dead Kings via artificial means.
4. Chinese Mummies- Many people don’t know it, but China has the BEST mummies in the world. You know why? They are flexible. Scientists were astounded when the mummy of Lady Dai (of Western Han Dynasty) was found- her skin was smooth and supple. They could actually perform a normal autopsy on her and blood could be drawn from her veins (she was a Type A!). Her joints have not lost their elasticity; you could probably dance a polka with her if she only she had retained the ability to control her limbs at will. No other preserved body in this world, including the bodies preserved in formaldehyde (or other forms of fixatives), has retained any form of suppleness and flexibility. Lady Dai’s body was discovered immersed in some yellowish fluid. So far, cinnabar (red mercury), has been identified as one of the ingredients. Beyond that, no one knows what the special formula is.
5. Kabayan Mummies- These mummies are from the Philippines! They are artificially created
by the Ibaloi tribe. They literally smoke the body dry. You can read more about them here- http://www.mummytombs.com/mummylocator/group/kabayan.htm
6. Bog Mummies- They are naturally created by the acidic condition in peat bogs. There are very little bacteria in Bogs and plenty of tannic acid created by the decaying plant matter. Most of the bog bodies look like they have been squashed; this is because of the ever increasing weight of peat that accumulates over them across the centuries. The interesting thing about bog bodies are normally quite “floppy” due to decalcification during their stay in the bog. Some are normally no better than pieces of human leather that still maintain human characteristics (aka facial features). Bog mummies are usually victims of murder or sacrifice. A bog was the perfect place to conduct a murder, it was a dark and misty, not a place where many people would venture to in the night. Bodies would sink into the bog, away from the sight of human eyes. It was the perfect hiding place for murder victims.
7. Mummies of Saints- This is quite a new research topic from me. These are what the Catholics call incorruptibles. Apparently, these Saints are so pure of soul that God forbade the decomposition process. Some bodies are said to give off the smell of roses (no decay of death) and produce a layer of sacred oil, which is collected and sold as relics. You can see some pictures of them here-http://www.geocities.com/goody.geo/artgallery.html Most people of faith believe that these mummies were created naturally according to God's will. There has been recent evidence that some of the Saints have been embalmed in secret by their followers. I'm not quite sure about that, but I'm waiting for more concrete evidence to establish if the incorruptibles are natural mummies or artificial ones.
8. Modern Mummies- I nearly forgot about this... Thanks WK! Mummies were not only created by our ancient ancestors, they still are being created today! If anything, the methods improved over time. Modern mummies look like they are merely asleep. Good examples would be good ol' Lenin (the founder of Soviet Russia) and the beautiful Eva Peron. The exact formula of chemicals used to preserve comrade Lenin is a Russian secret. Based on a documentry I watched last night, the scientist who came up with this formula also offer this mummification services to the Russian mafia. Eva Peron was so popular among the masses in Argentina that there Pope received thousands of requests to make her a saint. She was embalmed by Dr Pedro Ara who developed a method of infusing wax into every single cell in the body, making in permanently incorruptible. Her beauty was so well preserved that apparently, one of the officers who guarded her body was charged with "commiting unchristian acts" with it. Looks like her beauty will never fade unless someone starts a fire too near her.
These are merely a few examples of mummies from around the world. You could look up for more mummies in the internet.
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