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Quotes & a paper
Jan. 4th, 2006 09:28 pmI am going to start a new tradition. I am going to add a quote to either the beginning or ending of my entries. Just because I have so many and most people like to read them. (This will also help me weed my collection.)
“It is lonely here, living in the hazy moment between the alarm and the awakening, where the dream precipitates madness…” - ?
The following is my Compare and Contrast paper for World Civ Ancient to 1648. I made a 42 out of 50 on it so I was pretty happy (even though the teacher didn't tell us it was out of 50 and the first thing he said before handing them back was that he was very disappointed in us. We all thought it was out of a 100).
The Customs of Dying
As a society, we find death to be a fascinating but depressing subject. When a person dies we immediately connect it to things, funeral homes, graveyards, flowers or cremation. These customs and mental images have been handed down to us through time; it is not very often that we think about where the things we do for the dead come from.
The country of England is old and small; the people in the 1500s came to a time when they started running out of places to bury the dead. In these cases they would dig up coffins of old graves and would take the bones to a “bone-house” and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, one out of twenty-five coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. To stop doing this they would tie a string to the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. A person would then sit out in the graveyard all night for their “graveyard shift” to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be “saved by the bell” or was considered a “dead ringer.”
Also in the 1500s lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the drinkers out for a couple of days. A person walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around eating, drinking and wait to see if their loved one would wake up, hence the custom of holding a “wake.” If the person was truly dead the mourners would bring flowers and set them around the body to cover the decaying smell.
In today’s world we now have better ways to check and see if someone is dead, heart monitors, pulse readers, and other various ways. But one thing that has not changed about death, in any country, is that the style of your funeral service will be affected by your status and/or your wealth.
With the unexpected death of Princess Diana we saw an example of the prompt ceremony usually associated with the death of royalty. The funeral of President Kennedy reflected how a country, such as the USA, dealt with the death of a modern day ‘Head of State’. It is common for such funerals to have a church service and a funeral procession where a strong military presence is expected. This is major contrast to the mass graves of the earlier plague victims of who were simply thrown on a wagon and taken to a large grave that held up to a hundred bodies, or more, at a time.
Tombs also reflect the status of the dead. They also give an indication of amount of wealth a person had at the period of death. In pre-dynastic times, circular huts were replaced by rectangular houses and the shapes of graves changed accordingly too. In Egypt, tombs often were used to bury their important dead. Ordinary citizens of Egypt were mummified and then buried in shallow graves in the sand with stones on top to keep the jackals from digging up and eating the bodies.
The things we know about tombs and funeral rites come mainly from ancient Egypt. The complex religious system and way of recording history has made it almost easy for us to understand. I say ‘almost’ because for many years we could not translate Egyptian hieroglyphs. It was not until the discovery of The Rosetta Stone in 1799 that we were able to translate through the use of the other languages featured on the stone.
The climate of a country affects funeral practices. In hot countries it is the practice of getting rid of the body immediately, for health reasons. Colder countries do not have this issue. In Iceland hunters found the remains of eight mummies buried since 1475. The mummies were found well wrapped for their journey and were buried with seventy-eight items of clothes for their journey to the other side. We have mainly seen this practice in Egypt were the pharaohs were buried with many of their possessions so they would be comfortable in the afterlife.
Egyptian society seems to have had a lot of influence on the rest of the world. As I just said above mummies were found in Iceland, when we hear or read the word ‘mummy/mummies’ we automatically think of Egypt. Because of the warm climate the bodies of the dead were better preserved because hot sand dried the moisture out of the bodies. The burial chambers of the royals were cut at the bottom of deep shafts underground. These shafts were lined with stone or wood while the bodies were put in wooden coffins. Unfortunately these chambers were cold and damp and the bodies rotted. Upon realizing this the Egyptians experimented until they found that a natural salt like substance called Natron, left behind when the Nile flooded, absorbs water and is a natural anesthetic. This began the practice of removing the insides of the bodies and replacing it with stuffing and herbs. Not many people know that honey can be used as an alternative embalming substance.
Today it is often the custom to visit the graves of the dead especially at Christmas, Easter or during November (the month of the holy souls.) In Egypt they had a beautiful festival of the West valley, it was a time for celebrating at the mouth of the tombs with picnics. Food has always been an important part of funerals. It was not started but most likely enhanced by the Greeks, the practice of bringing food to the funeral and giving it to the mourners.
The Romans funeral procession, consisted of their dead being carried on a bier accompanied by torch bearers. A family member would call out the deceased’s name three times then throw three handfuls of dirt to cover the body. Now it is more common for flowers to be thrown on the graves.
Death is still the final barrier; and the way we treat our dead reflects on our society and its values. Every country, every race has its own way of burying their dead. There are sepulchers and shrouds, graves and mausoleums. The American Indians sent their deceased to the great hunting ground in the sky; sailors go to Davy Jones Locker. The Norsemen sent their dead to Valhalla, while in Greek legend, their spirits found their Heaven in the Elysian Fields.
One thing that is common among all cultures and funeral practices is the giving of a eulogy. A eulogy is the way of expressing your grief, memories of the deceased and well wishes for their journey, wherever they may be headed.
Citation
Esser, Jim. Brainerd High School http://www.brainerd.net/~esserste/essays/mclit.htm (accessed October 19, 2005)
Unknown creator. http://www.henry.k12.tn.us/teachers/claxtonm/webpags2/Egyptpresent/Egyptbur/egypt2laura1/sld001.htm (accessed September 17, 2005).
Unknown creator. http://www.rom.on.ca/egypt/case/about/burial1.html (accessed October 4, 2005)
“It is lonely here, living in the hazy moment between the alarm and the awakening, where the dream precipitates madness…” - ?
The following is my Compare and Contrast paper for World Civ Ancient to 1648. I made a 42 out of 50 on it so I was pretty happy (even though the teacher didn't tell us it was out of 50 and the first thing he said before handing them back was that he was very disappointed in us. We all thought it was out of a 100).
The Customs of Dying
As a society, we find death to be a fascinating but depressing subject. When a person dies we immediately connect it to things, funeral homes, graveyards, flowers or cremation. These customs and mental images have been handed down to us through time; it is not very often that we think about where the things we do for the dead come from.
The country of England is old and small; the people in the 1500s came to a time when they started running out of places to bury the dead. In these cases they would dig up coffins of old graves and would take the bones to a “bone-house” and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, one out of twenty-five coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. To stop doing this they would tie a string to the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. A person would then sit out in the graveyard all night for their “graveyard shift” to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be “saved by the bell” or was considered a “dead ringer.”
Also in the 1500s lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the drinkers out for a couple of days. A person walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around eating, drinking and wait to see if their loved one would wake up, hence the custom of holding a “wake.” If the person was truly dead the mourners would bring flowers and set them around the body to cover the decaying smell.
In today’s world we now have better ways to check and see if someone is dead, heart monitors, pulse readers, and other various ways. But one thing that has not changed about death, in any country, is that the style of your funeral service will be affected by your status and/or your wealth.
With the unexpected death of Princess Diana we saw an example of the prompt ceremony usually associated with the death of royalty. The funeral of President Kennedy reflected how a country, such as the USA, dealt with the death of a modern day ‘Head of State’. It is common for such funerals to have a church service and a funeral procession where a strong military presence is expected. This is major contrast to the mass graves of the earlier plague victims of who were simply thrown on a wagon and taken to a large grave that held up to a hundred bodies, or more, at a time.
Tombs also reflect the status of the dead. They also give an indication of amount of wealth a person had at the period of death. In pre-dynastic times, circular huts were replaced by rectangular houses and the shapes of graves changed accordingly too. In Egypt, tombs often were used to bury their important dead. Ordinary citizens of Egypt were mummified and then buried in shallow graves in the sand with stones on top to keep the jackals from digging up and eating the bodies.
The things we know about tombs and funeral rites come mainly from ancient Egypt. The complex religious system and way of recording history has made it almost easy for us to understand. I say ‘almost’ because for many years we could not translate Egyptian hieroglyphs. It was not until the discovery of The Rosetta Stone in 1799 that we were able to translate through the use of the other languages featured on the stone.
The climate of a country affects funeral practices. In hot countries it is the practice of getting rid of the body immediately, for health reasons. Colder countries do not have this issue. In Iceland hunters found the remains of eight mummies buried since 1475. The mummies were found well wrapped for their journey and were buried with seventy-eight items of clothes for their journey to the other side. We have mainly seen this practice in Egypt were the pharaohs were buried with many of their possessions so they would be comfortable in the afterlife.
Egyptian society seems to have had a lot of influence on the rest of the world. As I just said above mummies were found in Iceland, when we hear or read the word ‘mummy/mummies’ we automatically think of Egypt. Because of the warm climate the bodies of the dead were better preserved because hot sand dried the moisture out of the bodies. The burial chambers of the royals were cut at the bottom of deep shafts underground. These shafts were lined with stone or wood while the bodies were put in wooden coffins. Unfortunately these chambers were cold and damp and the bodies rotted. Upon realizing this the Egyptians experimented until they found that a natural salt like substance called Natron, left behind when the Nile flooded, absorbs water and is a natural anesthetic. This began the practice of removing the insides of the bodies and replacing it with stuffing and herbs. Not many people know that honey can be used as an alternative embalming substance.
Today it is often the custom to visit the graves of the dead especially at Christmas, Easter or during November (the month of the holy souls.) In Egypt they had a beautiful festival of the West valley, it was a time for celebrating at the mouth of the tombs with picnics. Food has always been an important part of funerals. It was not started but most likely enhanced by the Greeks, the practice of bringing food to the funeral and giving it to the mourners.
The Romans funeral procession, consisted of their dead being carried on a bier accompanied by torch bearers. A family member would call out the deceased’s name three times then throw three handfuls of dirt to cover the body. Now it is more common for flowers to be thrown on the graves.
Death is still the final barrier; and the way we treat our dead reflects on our society and its values. Every country, every race has its own way of burying their dead. There are sepulchers and shrouds, graves and mausoleums. The American Indians sent their deceased to the great hunting ground in the sky; sailors go to Davy Jones Locker. The Norsemen sent their dead to Valhalla, while in Greek legend, their spirits found their Heaven in the Elysian Fields.
One thing that is common among all cultures and funeral practices is the giving of a eulogy. A eulogy is the way of expressing your grief, memories of the deceased and well wishes for their journey, wherever they may be headed.
Citation
Esser, Jim. Brainerd High School http://www.brainerd.net/~esserste/essays/mclit.htm (accessed October 19, 2005)
Unknown creator. http://www.henry.k12.tn.us/teachers/claxtonm/webpags2/Egyptpresent/Egyptbur/egypt2laura1/sld001.htm (accessed September 17, 2005).
Unknown creator. http://www.rom.on.ca/egypt/case/about/burial1.html (accessed October 4, 2005)
