WARNING: THIS POST MAY GIVE YOU NIGHTMARES!
So as I have been researching about ancient cultures I have become fascinated with the Aztec Empire of Mexico. Last week I talked a little bit about the medical practices of the Aztecs and other pre-colombian cultures. Sadly, not even modern medicine has advanced enough to let us live forever and death is inevitable for us all. I stumbled across a video on the internet that freaked me out and intrigued me enough that I decided to investigate some more about Aztec beliefs about the passing from this world to the next. Before showing it though I need to explain a little first.
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| Quetzalcoatl and Mictlantecuhtli (god of the underworld) |
Legend has it that Quetzalcoatl, one of the three main gods of the Aztecs, traveled to Mictlan in the era of the "fifth sun" to restore live to the bones of the souls that had passed away in the previous four eras. Quetzalcoatl made a deal with Mictlantecuhtli, lord of Mictlan, to retake those bones to repopulate the earth. After some clever thinking and a narrow escape, Quetzalcoatl obtained those bones and shed his own blood to restore life to all those who had passed away. (Read more about the myth on THIS awesome website) Because of the sacrifice of Quetzalcoatl for all human kind, blood sacrifice was necessary to repay the gods.
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| Quetzalcoatl - The Feathered Serpent |
I dont want to get into the details of Aztec human sacrifice, as interesting as that is, but I wanted to talk a bit about other rituals that were done to send off souls to the underworld. Aztecs believed in multiple afterworlds, but the journey to Mictlan (a dark gloomy one for regular people) was said to be very long and treacherous. The dead were sent to the underworld with a "soul-companion" that was burned with them, and of course this companion was none other than man's best friend. This dog would accompany the spirit on the years-long journey until they finally arrived at Mictlan.
I wanted to wrap up by telling about the video that will surely give me nightmares tonight. The Aztecs, it seems, used various "whistles of death" to help ease the passing of the soul from this life to the next. Some of these whistles have been found in the hands of human remains and at burial sights. These have given us a good clue as to what an Aztec funeral must have sounded like. So here is a video with the sounds of various "whistles of death". Listen up . . .
Imagine being present at one of these ceremonies! Personally, it would freak me out, but the Aztecs had a very different view of death. Beliefs about death are the ultimate folk knowledge because it is something that HAS to be passed down from person to person. If no one taught you what to believe about the afterlife we would never know what to expect. Even in modern times, attitude about death varies greatly from culture to culture and religion to religion. I could talk on and on but i'm gonna finish up. I'm started studying this and am now enthralled so go look something up too and i bet you'll get hooked.
P.S. - If you want to hear the story of the man that made these whistle replicas watch THIS video.
Yeah, those whistles are exactly what I want to die to!
ReplyDeleteI think it is interesting that you called beliefs about death "the ultimate folk knowledge." It made me think about whether or not our beliefs about death continue to be the ultimate folk knowledge. I know that as members of the Church our beliefs about death are greatly influenced by our religion, but does that count as folk knowledge? I don't know. And do other, more book knowledge-type sources weigh in on belief? I'm not necessarily looking for an answer; it is just interesting to consider that there might be certain areas of knowledge (as in topics, like death), that are primarily within the realm of folk knowledge.
That's an interesting question. I think because everyone experiences deaths of loved ones throughout their life it's different for everyone. But it's definitely a unique experience to see how each culture generally handles death. This post about whistle blowing reminded me of how some Polynesian cultures mourn death by wailing all night long.
ReplyDeleteThat is crazy how he got into making death whistle replicas. Usually when I find a skeleton holding something my first inclination is not to try to play it.
ReplyDeleteLauren I would say that the folk knowledge part of how we view death is transmitted to us by watching people who have just experienced the death of a loved one. There seems to be a tendency in our communities for someone who has just experienced a tragedy to get up with a big smile and testify of the reality of the resurrection and eternal families and how this has eased their pain. because we see it we learn it, even though this practice is not communicated in the scriptures or through ecclesiastical "oral knowledge." No one tells us to we just learn it by observing.
I had and interesting experience with different mourning practices. A sister in my sister's mission died. The Americans took a very American approach to grief, stiff upper lip, sniffle, hug. There were some Spanish sisters who grieved as they had learned from their culture: wailing lament. For both groups the way the others mourned was weird to the other because it did not fit their expectations.
In some ways, I think the folk knowledge isn't the specifics that we believe about death, but more that we believe in an afterlife at all, and more what it looks like. To us, an afterlife exists, and it is a wonderful place that is happier than here, unless you are bad, in which case it is full of fire. And regardless of religion, because most don't have a doctrine of eternal families, I know a lot of people that hope and expect to see and know their loved ones on the other side. This I think is a "folk" expectation too.
ReplyDeleteI believe this because one of my earliest memories after the death of a loved one is crying for him, and my mom comforting me, telling me that I will see him again, that there is something after this earth life, and that it is a happy and safe place. I was too young to have read this, or accepted it from any institutionalized knowledge.
Sadly, in our world today, the folk knowledge or belief of an afterlife is dismissed more and more frequently along with a belief in God. *sigh*
I agree with Morgan. More specifically I think that a belief/testimony in the afterlife in general is very personal. You read the scriptures and you pray. You also receive formal instruction about it in sunday school class. When it comes to deaths of loved ones however i think is where it becomes the most like folk knowledge. Especially when you talk about specifics like, I know Grandpa George is up there happy with great grandma Erin... There are probably even family traditions associated with death like for funerals or just the stories you tell to honor the deceased
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