All along, we've been secretive about death.
But with regard to death, each place has different customs and rituals, some of which are lost in history, and some of which still exist under the cultural cover.
Today, Xiaoyin shares a few special "death rituals" with you to see these different niche cultures.
- 01 -
Before dying, give a layer of oil?
United Kingdom
The Medieval West had a very high level of religious belief, and the continuity between life and death was extremely strong.
Therefore, death became a topic of common concern, and the place to go after death was also widely concerned by people at that time.
In order to ensure that the soul can escape from purgatory and go to heaven, the rituals before death must be carried out according to the procedure, including the "dying oil" that Xiaoyin wants to talk about today.
The "dying anointing" is considered the culminating part of the separation ceremony in preparation for death, as well as an important ritual of reconciliation with God and access to heaven.
"The priest, with the thumb of his right hand dipped in holy oil, made a cross in the eyes, ears, nostrils, mouth, hands, feet and back of the deceased, symbolizing the search for God's forgiveness for every part of the sinful body."
People in medieval England believed that anointing before death was good for both the body and the soul, making the dead believe in God and his preaching, and making the soul of the dead resistant to demonic attacks.
Nevertheless, "dying oiling" is still considered the most horrific act of death rituals.
Because whether it survives or not, it declares death: if it is oiled but not dead, then the person will be considered a walking dead.
The medieval papacy also inherited this oiling ritual, but this time it has changed, and the "dying oiling" has the meaning of healing the soul and includes the concept of restoration.
If the person who has been oiled is recovered, the place where the oil is applied will be cleaned and the used water will be poured into the fire; if he dies, the dead will not be cleaned.
- 02 -
Put a scythe around your neck to deal with vampires?
Poland
As we mentioned just now, the Middle Ages had a high degree of religious belief and fear, the dead would perform various rituals in order to enter heaven, and the legend of the return of the dead and the immortality of vampires has always been rooted in the hearts of people in the Middle Ages.
At that time, there was a folk legend that if the undead were buried without being baptized after death, they were likely to climb out of the grave and become vampires.
Therefore, in medieval Britain, farmers in some places would unload eight corpses and burn them to the ground.
However, most people elsewhere are still afraid that this move will blaspheme, so they will take other compromise methods, such as "nailing" corpses and stabbing the thighs with iron rods.
A more "gentle" way that archaeologists have found in Polish cemeteries is to put a sickle around the neck.
When medicine was underdeveloped, people died of some strange disease, and the locals often could not explain why.
They classify all unexplained causes as supernatural, and the dead are treated as supernatural beings, including what we call vampires.
Therefore, it will be buried in some ways that seemed to be "warding off evil spirits" at the time, and if the body is resurrected, the scythe on his neck can instantly cut off his head.
Such a ritual was not extensive, and of the 185 remains excavated, six bones were buried in this way of "warding off evil spirits", including an adult man, three adult women and a child.
- 03 -
Kiss before killing, I suspect you're in PUA?
Italian Mafia
Italy has always been labeled romantic, but it's not limited to being in love.
In Italy, when an authentic mafia wants to take someone's life, it will give that person a romantic "kiss of death" in advance as a frightened romantic farewell.
Many people's impressions of the Italian mafia come from the classic film "The Godfather".
Source: The Godfather
The first time federal authorities confirmed the existence of the mafia stemmed from a kiss.
In 1962, Victor's kiss to Valach causes Valach to defect in fear, and the coalition government deals a devastating blow to the Mafia.
And this is also an important proof that the federal government confirms the existence of the mafia.
However, even if it has once led to the destruction of the regiment, such a "kiss of death" has not stopped.
During the 2011 Italian police surveillance, there was a scene that excited the people at the time: the godfathers of the two families in San Lorenzo kissing at the end of the meeting.
But that wasn't something to be excited about, because a few weeks later, the kissing party was strangled to death in the hotel's public restroom.
Source: The Godfather 2
This is not uncommon in Italy.
In 2014, Italian police arrested 91 mafia members based on two middle-aged men kissing on the street.
In 2015, shortly after two men with Camora family initials and Klingon beards kissed, one of them turned into a corpse.
Due to the high incidence of incidents, the Italian police even began to use the "kiss of death" combined with big data face recognition to handle cases.
Even so, the mafia did not change such a death ritual.
In June 2020, a victim was kissed by a stout man at the airport, and a few days later, his body appeared on the construction site.
Some may think this approach is too stupid and absurd, but the inspiration for "Kiss of Death" was not a whim, it came from the Biblical Kiss of Judas.
Source: The Kiss of Judas
And the Kisses of the Italian Mafia are not all death.
According to the psychiatrist and criminologist "Corrado De Rosa":
In the Italian mafia, kisses on different parts also have different meanings: a kiss that falls on the cheek means "equality", a kiss that falls on the hand means loyalty, and a kiss that falls on the lips means condemnation and death. ”
Today, kissing the lips also has the meaning of "rest assured, must be confidential". So you can see a lot of Italian mafia members who keep kissing the crowd when they're arrested.
If you go to the Italian three regions on a whim, but you are suddenly kissed. This may not be peach blossom luck but the gaze of the god of death, and at the same time you will also accept the spiritual PUA, after all, this is like the king's scepter, referring to who panics.
- 04 -
Buried digging, digging and burying?
China
Turning your gaze back to the east, the "second burial" of the Han chinese in South China must have a name.
Secondary burial is a very old burial custom, and it is also a common burial custom in primitive society, that is, the bones are buried twice or more times.
In modern society, "secondary burial" is still widely popular in the Han chinese areas of southern China, and the southern part of Taiwan is called "picking bones".
Although the specific customs of the place are different, the reasons for choosing a "second burial" are mostly the same.
The main and most important of these is feng shui.
In the history of our country, feng shui has always occupied a place in culture. It can be said that feng shui theory has penetrated all fields, including funeral rites.
In many places, it is believed that decomposing corpses will destroy feng shui, so the location of the first burial is more casual, mostly hillside or wasteland.
After seven or ten years, after the body has decayed, people ask the gravedigger to remove the coffin, and the bones will be cleaned out and the remaining flesh and blood on it will be washed, and some teeth will be knocked out, and then the washed bones will be buried in the permanent tomb with good feng shui.
The cemetery for secondary burial is also more important and needs to be determined by Mr. Feng Shui.
Because a good feng shui place suitable for the dead will allow the souls of the dead to rest and obtain supernatural power from feng shui to ensure the prosperity of future generations.
In Uncle Ying's "Mr. Zombie", there is a dramatic embodiment of this culture and factors.
- 05 -
Cut the abdomen, not want to die, just want to die to show you
Japan
For Japanese belly cutting, whether you have seen it with your own eyes or not, inkers should be no strangers.
For a while, it seemed that cutting the abdomen had become a Japanese way of life, and sometimes I really doubted whether the Japanese had a concept of pain and bloodshed in their minds.
However, Japan's belly cutting is not for death, it is more like a ritual.
And this, we have to start from the first belly-cutting ghost. Now let Xiaoyin travel back to 989 AD to give you a report. (A little bloody, don't look at it for kids)
Source: Japanese drama "One Life"
At that time, there was a gang of thieves named Fujiwara Yoshi, who was about to be arrested by the government.
Officers and soldiers rushed into his mansion and found Fujiwara sitting serenely in his shirt, with a samurai sword and sake in his hand, not knowing what to do.
When the officers and men did not dare to rush forward, they saw this ruthless man pour wine on the knife, then wipe it with a cloth, directly stab himself in the abdomen with the tip of the knife, and then make a horizontal stroke, the blood gushed out, and the abdomen was also cut in one word.
Fujiwara's behavior shocked everyone present, and although it is not known why he committed suicide, the Japanese people with clear brain circuits were deeply moved by this "aesthetic of violence".
Soon, the aesthetic of self-destruction quickly conquered all of Japan and became a glorious template for the samurai class to show their courage.
The samurai showed their loyalty and bravery as a samurai by dissecting the "soul in their belly" to the human being, while also having the purpose of releasing their souls for eternal life.
Therefore, the important thing when cutting the abdomen is not to die, but to die for you to see.
Source: Japanese drama "Cut belly"
By the middle of the 19th century, Japan was forced to open its doors. One samurai killed 11 Frenchmen, and the Japanese government held a "belly-cutting and thank-you-sins conference", which shocked many Westerners, but this time it was not recognized.
Time goes back to the present, although the samurai class has been completely banned, but their legends still remain on the "jianghu".
Although there are many rituals about death, in most cases it is a sign of love for life.
Because of its cultural function, the ritual of death has also become one of the perspectives of anthropologists to understand human society.
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Resources:
2008 "Standardization" or "Legitimacy"? ——The Great Unity of Chinese Culture from the Perspective of Folk Beliefs and Etiquette[J] Journal of Historical Anthropology (Volume VI)
2010 "The "Mixed View" of Ritual Research and Social Theory"[J] Northwest Ethnic Studies
2015 Sichuan Funeral Network "Archaeologists Find Strange Funeral Rituals"
Chinese History: The Aesthetics of the Japanese Samurai's Cut Belly
2017 "The Road to Heaven: A Microcosm of Death Rituals in Medieval Britain"