Nothing is created, nothing is destroyed, everything changes.
(The Lavoisier principle)
And yet humans cling to the past. Nostalgia sells (maybe that’s the secret of Facebook’s success?). For one reason or another, all cultures past, present, and perhaps future, mummify their dead. I am fascinated by the human nature, and as such, I read book after book about mummies. The reading usually takes place at night, after everyone falls asleep and silence sets in.
The last book I read overcame all my expectations – ” Eternal Remains: World Mummification and the Beliefs that Make it Necessary” by Ken Jeremiah is the first book (I know of) which details the how and the why of mummification.
It goes beyond the craft itself.
It goes beyond the sensational.
It touches the sweet spot of our common humanity – although our century looks like no other in terms of technological advancements (heck, I even type this at a laptop connected to billions of others users), we humans are the same in our hopes and fears.
I was familiar with many types of mummification customs, from the Ancient Egyptians, the European saints, the democratic Chinchorro tribes (which were the only culture to have mummified EVERY member of their own, including stillborn fetuses!), and even the Japanese monks who self-mummified. What surprised me in this book though were the many other types of Buddhist mummies, from gilded ones in Taiwan to the Daoist pursuers of immortality. Many Asian people viewed lack of decay as proof of spiritual progress, hence the wide reach of such kinds of mummification.
I find it difficult to imagine a social butterfly reading this kind of book. It’s a book written by an introvert for introverts.
As such, the ending of the book is worth its weight in gold : a tale between a cicada and its shell right after they separate. The cicada promises to “perform memorial rites” for the spirit of the shell, when the latter answers:
“When you don’t insert your own selfish will, you acquire the greatest happiness in the world and won’t be defeated by things. While you are alive, follow the way with everything you have; when you die, just be content with your own return. Why should this be so difficult?”[Chozanshi,2006]
And yet people don’t want to let their bodies go.
Anca Ioviţă is the author of Eat Less Live Longer: Your Practical Guide to Calorie Restriction with Optimal Nutrition available on Amazon and several other places. If you enjoyed this article, don’t forget to sign up to receive updates on her second book regarding a comparative biography of aging from the simplest to the most complex organisms known.
Great article! Social butterfly 🙂
I am glad you liked the book! I find the idea of immortality and the various perceptions of it by people all over the world fascinating. After 8 books published by four distinct (publishing) houses, including two forthcoming texts, I have explored mummification and spiritual ideas all over the world. For me, what is now most interesting is this question: Why are human beings not content with this life? In other words, why must there be more, something beyond this life? Why can’t people just accept it and be “okay with their own return?” This is an idea that has recently captivated me….What do you think? I wish you the best!
I am honored you commented on my blog!
I was fascinated about immortality and life extension in general since I was a child, actually since my father told me during a short astronomy late-night lecture that all people will die, just like stars are born and finally die. I perceived this fate so sad and unjust.
Why are we cultivating our brains, so that worms have fancy food for dinner? Such stories of “another life” are necessary to deny the certainty of death, whether the next life will be spiritual (like in most religions) or another chance at biological life (all medicine-derived technologies). I know such denial of death allowed me to go through engineering, medicine, research and now to currently work as a doctor – if I would accept death as natural, I would be useless in the hospital.
Have you read the book “The Denial of Death” by Ernest Becker? I enjoyed it a lot. Anxiety and depression are rampant during old age, and if denial worked when young, your own mortality hits you in the face when you look in the mirror and when your closed ones die one by one. I got to understand such patients a lot better since reading this book. The certainty of death is overwhelming as we age, especially right in the beginning. I noticed people in their 80s are quite resigned and peaceful about death, but people in their 50s-60s are like teenagers again. I’m glad you tackle this topic in your next book, can’t wait to read it!