Holy relics, battle trophies, decor and other reasons why bodies are preserved after death

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

When a person dies, then his usual body is buried or burned. In some cultures, a fast burial is a tradition (for Jews and Muslims), while there are countries (for example, Sweden) where it can take several weeks from the moment of death to the day of the burial. In some cultures, humble funerals are practiced with traditional mournful chants, while in others (often in African) people sing and have fun, seeing off the deceased on their last journey. And there is an alternative option - the body parts of the deceased are preserved after their death. For various reasons.

1. The relics of the saints

It turns out that if someone lives a righteous and holy life, then this is not enough to allow him to go after death to eternal rest. There are hundreds of body parts allegedly belonging to various saints that are still venerated by believers today. Historically, the Roman Catholic Church has been particularly interested in collecting relics. And it was she who preserved many similar relics: from the head of St. Catherine of Siena (still on display in the Basilica of San Domenico in Tuscany) to the language of St. Anthony of Padua, the blood of St. Januarius, the foreskin of the infant Jesus, the finger of the Apostle Thomas and the entire body of St. Mark. However, other religions also have their own relics. For example, you can find a Buddha's tooth in a temple in Sri Lanka and Muhammad's beard in the Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul.

2. Battle trophies

Body parts have also been collected as spoils of war throughout history. Perhaps due to the influence of films, it is widely believed that Native Americans (Indians) came up with the idea of scalping their victims. In fact, the Greek historian Herodotus wrote that Scythian warriors had to bring enemy scalps to their ruler back in the 5th century BC. While there is evidence that some Native Americans scalped their enemies, so did the white settlers on the frontier, who used scalps as evidence of the death of the "Redskins" in order to receive a reward for them. The spoils of war were not limited to scalps.

The famous commander and emperor Napoleon, after his death on the island of St. Helena, was actually "dismantled for souvenirs." The doctor who performed the autopsy took all the internal organs of Napoleon, as well as one external, and the most intimate. "Souvenirs" were distributed among those present at the autopsy, and the priest was allegedly given several ribs. Napoleon's penis was eventually bought at auction for $ 3,000 and is now in New Jersey.

3. Decorations

As creepy as it sounds, pieces of the dead are sometimes used to create art. In Tibet, intricate weaves were carved from bones to make the "apron" worn during special ceremonies. Kapalas, cups made from human skulls, were used during tantric ceremonies. They were adorned with precious metals and precious stones and were often placed on Buddhist altars. In the 18th century in France, Jean-Honore Fragonard created complex sculptures from human remains. In his "Men without Skin", anatomy and art were combined to show the human internal muscles and organs. He skinned hundreds of human and animal corpses to make his sculptures. Many of Fragonard's bizarre creations can still be seen at the Fragonard d'Alfort Museum in Paris.

4. Medical science

One of the most "normal" reasons for the preservation of human body parts after death is the development of medical science. The study of anatomy began in earnest in the 18th century, aided by the activities of "corpse snatchers" who plundered the graves of recently buried people. The "stolen" bodies were dissected in front of an audience of medical students, interested amateurs, and bored gentlemen seeking disgusting thrills.

For example, surgeon Robert Knox has frequently demonstrated the art of dissection in public. However, people still donate their bodies to science today. Despite the fact that many medical schools have abandoned the physical dissection, it is still considered an invaluable experience for future surgeons. After autopsy, bodies donated "in the name of science" are either privately cremated or returned to families for burial.

5. Curiosity

During his lifetime, Jeremiah Bentham was an internationally renowned philosopher and social reformer. Born in London in 1748, Bentham spent most of his career pursuing jurisprudence and learning how to improve it. He professed the doctrine of utilitarianism, which suggests that human behavior should be governed by "the greatest good for the majority," and not by religious principles.

Bentham was a committed atheist and free thinker. He advocated universal suffrage and the decriminalization of homosexuality, which was extremely advanced for an 18th century thinker. As an atheist, Bentham objected in principle to the idea of a Christian-style burial. According to Bentham's wishes, his body was dismembered after death.

The scientist's skeleton, crowned with a wax head, is seated on a stool in a hallway at University College London (UCL). Bentham's mummified head was removed from the skeleton after it began to decompose. It is kept in the UCL storerooms and is sometimes displayed for the public to see. In 2006, Bentham's body was again used in the name of medical science to take DNA samples from his head.

6. Treatment

Sometimes body parts are used as "vaccinations" to prevent death. In parts of Uganda, the blood and body parts of dead children are still used in "treatment" to prevent various diseases and deaths, and "to ensure prosperity." Worst of all, children are being deliberately killed to support this gruesome trade.

Since the first child sacrifice was recorded in 1998, more than 700 mutilated bodies have been found. The killings are believed to have been carried out by healers who collect blood due to its alleged ability to cure disease. And body parts are sold as amulets "to attract wealth." Although this practice is illegal, it still occurs in rural Uganda.

7. Things from the remains

Sometimes the remains of the dead were turned into useful but disgusting things. The famous poet Lord Byron had a cup made from a human skull. The cup was lined with silver and used as a drinking vessel. It was believed that it was dug up by Byron's gardener in Newsted Abbey, after which the eccentric poet "liked".

Even more dire was the fate of William Lunn. He was one of the last Tasmanian aborigines to live on the Furneau Islands. European settlers considered them "ignoble savages" and the "missing link" between humans and apes. Many people died from diseases brought in by the colonists. Cholera swept across the islands, destroying the indigenous population. Even after their race was officially declared extinct, the Tasmanian aborigines continued to suffer at the hands of the colonists. Members of the Royal Society of Tasmania dug up some of the bodies and put them on public display. William Lunn's head was cut off and his scrotum was turned into a tobacco pouch.

8. Magic

The belief in magic is strong in many cultures, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. One such belief system called ju-ju can be used to help or harm believers. Ju-ju is believed by many to endow an object with magical properties, so, for example, a person's hair can contain his spiritual essence.

Amulets containing this essence can protect or harm, depending on the spells used. Ju-ju priests use menstrual blood, hair, nail clippings, body parts, and blood taken during childbirth to create magical spells that bind the faithful to the priest and make them do as they are told. Oddly enough, ju-ju was used to control women and to force them to engage in prostitution. Many of these women feared that the priests might harm them.

9. Interior decoration

In the Sedlec Ossuary in Bohemia, you can find a huge chandelier made of bones, and all the bones of the human body were used in it. In fact, the church used the remains of 40,000 corpses to decorate the chapel in such strange ways. There is also a cross made of bones. In Rome, in the small Capuchin church of Santa Maria della Conchezione, the remains of about 4,000 monks are kept, and not in crypts or tombs, but as decorations.

The walls are made of skulls, and three full skeletons of Capuchin monks "welcome" visitors upon entering. One of the most distinctive chapels is located in Čermna, Poland. Every centimeter of walls and ceilings is covered with the bones of victims of plague and war. The remains of another 20,000 bodies can be found in the basement. The chapel was created by the local priest Vaclav Tomasek. After his death, Tomasek's skull was placed on the altar of the chapel, where it remains to this day.

10. Evidence of murder

Sometimes body parts were taken as evidence that someone had been killed. When Japan invaded Korea in the 16th century, samurai warriors cut off the noses of their enemies, partly as trophies, and partly because they were paid according to the number of enemies killed. The noses, and sometimes the ears of the dead, were brought to Japan and stored in "tombs of noses." Discovered in the 1980s, one of these tombs contained more than 20,000 alcohol-treated noses.

Some people in Korea have asked for their noses to be returned to their homeland, while others feel that they should be properly destroyed. Also, noses and ears were buried in a suburb of Kyoto in a mound 9 meters high.