HEY IT’S HUMP DAY!!!!
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I CONTINUE LOOKING AT WHAT MAKES US WHAT WE ARE TODAY–LET’S LOOK AT DEATH, DYING AND THE CEREMONIES THAT THEY INVOLVE.
Our word Jack-o-lantern was not originally for funny, carved, vegetables that lighted our way on Halloween night but rather another name for the phosphorescent light seen in swamps and marshy areas (also corpse light in England and fairy light in Ireland). It was in fact once believed to be the wandering soul of a person (in Sweden it is the soul of an unbaptized child) who had been denied entry to both heaven and hell and now just floats about and is often dangerous. OK there goes pumpkin carving for me.
Crows are felt to be unlucky or even scary by a lot of people (me included). The ancient belief was that Crows (and Ravens) are birds of evil omen and in fact in Celtic folklore they were bad and continued their legendary evil even after the coming of Christianity. A single crow met by a person is a unlucky, hearing one croak (on the left side in the morning) is a very bad sign and if a single one flies 3 times over a roof (or flutters around a window) it is a death omen for someone in the house.
Wakes came from the belief that one should never leave the departed alone until the burial. It was also believed that they should never be locked in, nor left in the dark. The friends and neighbors would ‘wake’ or watch by the corpse both in respect and to relieve relatives’ constant attendance. They were called ‘lykewakes’ when they were at night.
In Hamlet the fact that the witnesses of Ophelia’s death by drowning may well have been based on an ancient belief that the person drowned due to the spirits in the water taking them as their own and that it was very dangerous to take this prize from the spirits as they might well take the person who does the rescuing instead.
All peoples have legends of Demons and Devils from ancient times. In Greece there were hero daimons and evil spirits of disease that can cause harm. The Hindu demon–asuras had a nature unsuitable for angels and became their warring adversaries. In China deceased persons that didn’t make the good cut became demons, devils, and goblins who preyed upon mankind. Our Christian ones come from a combination of the Judeo base of the religion and the legends of our own ancestors. Interesting enough the most common incarnation of the Judeo-Christian appears to be based on Pan (Greek origins–but similar to Priapus worshiped in ancient Rome) with his ruddy complexion, goat ears, horns, beard , legs and hooves and was a spirit of excess. In countries that did not have demons other thing–life Fairies in Celtic countries were converted to meet the need.
Cemeteries are as old as man kind: the oldest burial in Europe to be discovered so far is the Red Lady in Wales which is 29,000 years old while a Neanderthal–those less than highly regarded ancestors–cemetery was found that dates back to 60,000 BC. Our shapes of current markers (a bit younger) appear to be modeled on ancient Egyptian burial monuments or stelae.
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Playing with names in a Ruidoso, New Mexico, cemetery:
Here lies
Johnny Yeast
Pardon me
For not rising.
Sources:
Guiley, Rosemary Ellen: ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WITCHES & WITCHCRAFT
Mack, Carol K. & Dinah: A FEILD GUIDE TO DEMONS, FARIES, FALLEN ANGELS, AND OTHER SUBVERSIVE SPIRITS
Radford, E & M.A.: THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS
Ravenwolf, Silver: HALLOWEEN