The ruler of the proud Moche people, is a person who must demand respect while holding to the traditions of our ancestors. My father, the king, died during conquest this season. As is tradition, the ritual that puts him to rest must be elaborate to show his power and prestige. I being the new king of these people, am responsible for ensuring that he can pass into paradise. A key part of this ritual requires sacrificial captives that we have collected during raids along our borders. We store the wretches near the great pyramids in preparation of the great ritual, they are provided with the bare minimum to stay alive. I went down to the pits today to see them, once great warriors of their tribes will now serve as a reminder of my father’s power …show more content…
The prisoners, all men, are paraded nude around the pyramid with hands tied and ropes around their necks like animals. Many are confused and frightened, but our warriors leading them along with weapons at the ready prevent them from acting up. At the top platform with me are several priests and priestesses who take a direct role in guiding the ritual to come. They are elaborately dressed, one wearing a headdress to look like a bird, others with various masks and crowns (Sipan). All of them were adorned in gold that glinted as they reflected the torch …show more content…
Now that the slaughter was complete, I descended the steps of the pyramid; priests trailing close behind. I entered the courtyard and the priests following me placed ceramic effigies of the dead prisoners next to each body, the ceramics were then smashed to signify the death of their soul (Huaca de la Luna). With a wave towards the guards and a small nod, they quickly descended on the fresh corpses, desecrating them by taking heads, limbs, and fingers as trophies. The bird priest drawing his tumi knife and expertly skinning one of the corpses, leaving behind a mess of blood, muscle, and bone. This would later be consumed as part of the ritual dinner, not something I am particularly looking forward
Ancient Egyptian culture was largely focused on the afterlife. One of their most important deities, Osiris, became the ruler of the Underworld through death. The pharaoh and elite class prepared for their impending deaths throughout their lives. Much of what survives from ancient Egypt today was found in tombs and temples of the dead. When one of the elite died, the process of laying him or her to rest was extensive. Harold Hays explains that “the ritualized process of embalming and mummification is usually stated as lasting seventy days” (Hays 5). "Funeral Procession, Tomb of Pairy" shows two of the processes that Hays details. The first depicted is the procession to the tomb. Pairy’s body would have already been through several processions, mummification, and embalming. This particular procession’s goal is to lead not just the body, but also the spirit into the afterlife. People of both high and low classes attended this procession, carrying with them the tomb goods (Hays 6-7). The second depicted
Before dropping the bones into the pit they waited the signal of the master of the ritual. After the signal has been giving they can finally place the bones of their loved ones in the pit and have a sense of peace for their loved
“As slaves come down to Fida from the inland country, they are put into a booth, or prison, …. being all stark naked… each of the others, which have passed as good, is marked on the breast, with a red-hot iron, imprinting the mark of the French, English, or Dutch companies.”
The novel Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko follows a young man, Tayo through his journey beginning when he returns home to the Laguna Pueblo Reservation, from World War Two; and is very ill. During the narrative Silko introduces us to Tayo's life before the war, which gives insight to reasons of why Tayo is ill. Through out his illness Tayo goes through many ceremonies both literally and metaphorically to try to cure his ailment. One of the ceremonies that is performed, is lead by Old Ku'oosh, the medicine man, where he performs a cleansing ceremony for someone who has killed someone in battle, even though Tayo doesn't recall killing anyone. However, he adds that this ceremony, which he has been performing for many of the returning war soldiers, has not worked for all of them. He then recommends another medicine man with the tools to cure and perform ceremonies, for the old ceremonies, since the white man had arrived, have not been able to cure the new diseases. Along with the medicine man ceremonies he also goes to American "white" doctors, which also acts as some what of a cleansing for him. In his case vomiting is can also be used as a ceremony for Tayo because he uses it to cleanse his body of the poisons and evil, both physical illness and mental illness. The ceremonies that Tayo goes through whether traditional through a medicine man or contemporary like visits to the psychiatrist and stays in the hospital, all add to his recovery, either through physical or mental cleansing.
The religious procession, with their full regalia and stoic expressions, belied the emotions that were surely heavy laden. Their slow, methodical pilgrimage hinted that they were beginning what would ultimately be a funeral procession. The brave young men, escorted by their elder counterparts, were led to slaughter much like sacrificial lambs. The fact that they were escorted sends the message that they were truly doomed, much like prisoners being led to their executions. Finally, the awful silence radiated throughout the land.
The inherent desire to belong to a group is one that is fundamental to human nature. In his article “Evolution and Our Inner Conflict,” Edward O. Wilson writes, “A person’s membership in his group – his tribe – is a large part of his identity.” Wilson explores multilevel group selection and the proclivity for people to define themselves based on their belonging to the group. He goes on to say that people often form these groups with those who look like them and belong to the same culture or ethnic group. In the novels Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko and The Puttermesser Papers by Cynthia Ozick, the identities of the protagonist are predominantly shaped by the ethnicities and heritages that they identify with. The identity of Tayo, the protagonist of the novel Ceremony is largely shaped by his ethnicity as both a Native American and part white. Tayo’s background leads directly to his own identity as an outsider and is central to the storyline. In the novel The Puttermesser Papers by Cynthia Ozick, the title character Puttermesser’s identity and subsequently her story is also influenced by her Jewish heritage.
Teotihuacan is an ancient Mayan city that can be found about 25 miles away from modern Mexico City. This large ancient city has several pyramids and the third largest pyramid is The Temple of the Feathered Serpent. The pyramid is hardly the most famous one associated with this archaeological site but it did gain popularity during the 1980s because of a series of discoveries of curious tombs located below the structure. There are over two hundred sacrificial burials that archaeologists believe were buried as a part of a dedication of the temple. The way that the bodies were laid out doesn’t have a specific meaning yet because the bodies seem to be grouped together in certain locations. The bodies are both from men and women, with the men having weapons and jewellery buried with them which probably indicated that they were warriors. Archaeologists believe that the temple may have been the resting place of a great leader as well thanks to a large deposit of liquid mercury that was
The system was based on their religion and corresponded to their agricultural cycle, and feasts were celebrated with human sacrifice as an indispensable ritual. The ritual death of a human being was regarded as the culmination of any ceremony, but the extraction of the heart was the main ritual that preceded the slaying. The blood of victims was considered to be filled with the power to communicate with the supernatural world (Gonzalez Torres 1992:116). The priests in charge of these rituals sprinkled the collected blood on a sacrificial stone and the stairs of the temple pyramid. It is thought that they threw the bodies of victims from the top of the temple pyramid to sanctify the stairs with their blood. Rituals performed before and after the heart extraction often depended on the month/ deity, such as flaying of the victim in the month Tlacaxipehualiztli, shooting a victim with arrows in Huey Tecuilhuitl, and sacrifice by fire in
Then the sand was sunk. If we look back throughout history we can see many customs that may seem odd, or even barbaric, to us but were everyday events to these ancients. people. The. For example, the Aztecs conducted sacrifices, to their Gods, in which they tore out their victims heart with a knife, and their priests and warriors proceeded to eat the victims flesh.
Leading up to the celebration the girls are taught a certain dance that must be performed at the ceremony. “the new initiates are brought into town for the first time since the initiation process began…” At the ceremony the Mende girls wear a Sowei mask and costume which is considered to be the embodiment of the river spirt Sowo. Once the mask and costume is on the person transforms and her actions are no longer hers but are the actions of the spirt Sowo. A sacred dance is performed and dance moves represent the strength and power of woman as members in the Mende community. “Sowo mask are divided into three structural components- the neck, face, and coiffure. Carved from a single block of lightweight wood, the masks weigh only two to four pounds. The mask displays a shiny black surface representative of the value assigned to smooth dark skin.” The rings around the masks neck demonstrates a trait that is considered beautiful in Mende cultures. Every mask has a different hairstyle, representing the style of the woman the mask is made for, you can see items such as shells, metal and claws on the coiffure.
The funerary rituals introduced by the Egyptians were the most intricate, spiritual rites in their times and, perhaps, even to this day. Their elaborate customs, tombs, and gifts to the dead were representative of their pious, devoted nature. Albeit not all were as imposing as the oldest and still remaining Seven Wonder of the World, the Pyramids of Giza, all were meaningful and sacred. The Egyptians, highly reverent of their dead, adopted ornate, religious burial practices to fit to every member of their society.
“…she thrust her hands in and kneaded the flesh, careful not to dislodge the bones. I asked her why it mattered that they remain connected. “The meat needs the bone nearby,” she said, “to borrow its richness.”” (3852)
lower class was to bury the body in the desert sand for a lengthy period of
The most common ancient Egyptian burial practice is the mummification process as depicted in source B. Mummification is a ritual that embalmers performed when a pharaoh died. Source B is a photograph of the canoptic jars which are a main component of the mummification process. The first step in the mummification process is the removal and preservation of most of the internal organs, such as the lungs, the stomach, the liver and intestines. These organs are then separately embalmed and placed into canoptic jars as source B reveals. These jars were often decorated with one of the four animal-headed sons of the god Horus. Each head is believed to be the protector of each organ within the jar and is dedicated to a specific deity. The preservation of the organs is significant as they allowed the dead person to breathe and eat in the afterlife. The internal organs were then wrapped and put into either the body or put in boxes instead of sitting in jars. Canoptic jars were still placed in the tomb but they were solid or empty and provided a symbolic purpose. In Tutankhamun’s tomb the canoptic jars were discovered in a shrine that was found in the treasury room of the tomb. Source B is useful is when understanding the mummification process.
The servants of the king, symbolically known as the prophets, were sent to complete the King’s bidding and to inform the guests of the upcoming wedding banquet. Rather than accept as per ...