Mummies of the World
By Jay
It’s about time I wrote
something else on this blog. I don’t
know how many people actually take the time out to read these entries, but the
brothers can’t be blamed for trying.
This
is something that has been kicking around in my head for a while now, and I
figure now is better than next week or even next month though I should have
written it in January, 2012 when it was still fresh in my mind.
Last
year, in downtown Charlotte, they had the Mummies of the World exhibit, and my
wife (fiancé then) and I were eager to go and see what all the fuss was
about. We were fortunate to get tickets
for Christmas, and so we went a few weeks later. Unfortunately, we went on a Saturday when everyone
else was there. I detest crowds,
especially when you’re crammed in and people are waiting for you to move, which
was exactly what was happening the moment we arrived. I felt like I was part of this big squirming
worm as we waited in line to get in.
When I go to museums, I don’t like the feeling of people on all sides of
me. Who does? I want to take the time to enjoy the exhibits
without feeling the pressure of stepping aside.
Ah, well!...
Finally,
we reached a point where our tickets were stamped, and we were corralled into
an area and pressed together with the rest of the mass who were there to view the
mummies. A young woman, probably just
out of college, greeted everyone and gave us a brief background on what we were
going to see. She also stressed viewing
the mummies with respect, and
reminded us that we were in the presence of those who had once been alive. I wondered if there was anyone among us who
was so desensitized to death as to believe that what he was going to see was
not a dead body. And then I wondered
something else…
What was I doing there?
I
was holding the hand of my fiancé as if we were about to go on a peaceful
stroll through a beautiful garden. But
in a moment we were going to be viewing dead bodies --
shells which once contained living, breathing souls just like all the
eager, well-fed people in the room waiting to view them. The official exhibition catalog opens with
what is defined as Mummy Ethics. This states:
“All of the mummies and artifacts
presented in the “Mummies of the World” exhibition have been held and
established in well-respected European museum and university collections for a
century or more and have a traceable provenance. They were acquired at a time when collection
of archeological objects and human specimens were a common practice.
Our goal in our exhibit presentation
is to advance the relevance of anthropology in ancient global cultures, and to
provide visitors with an educational and scientific window into the cultures,
history and lives of the people who came before us.
We present “Mummies of the World”
recognizing that ethical guidelines of global museum partnerships demand that
human remains are treated with respect and dignity, taking into account the
interests and beliefs of the social, ethical and religious groups from which
the human remains originate.”
This
was essentially a euphemistic way of saying, “Hey, people! It’s okay to go in and gawk at a bunch of
desiccated corpses! Don’t feel
guilty! Enjoy yourselves!” Okay, this is a poor paraphrase, but you get
the picture.
I
wondered how many of those who actually viewed the mummies visited for
“educational” reasons. How many of us
were there to peek into the “scientific window” so that we could learn about
“the cultures, history and lives of the people who came before us”? I don’t deny there is a lot to learn from
studying the dead. It is very important
for anthropology, archaeology, biology, and a host of other scientific
disciplines. But what could Joe Public
actually get out of this besides satiating his morbid curiosity?
The
exhibit was small but very interesting. One
of the exhibits that I remember was that of a mummified cat that had been found
in Schwerin, Germany. I remember gazing
at it and thinking of my own cat at home.
I gazed at its savage looking teeth, once used to rip, tear and shred
some poor and unfortunate mouse or bird back in the 1800’s.
Another
particularly macabre looking mummy was an exhibit called “The Detmold
Child.” He was encased in a glass case
and appeared to be in either a sitting or crouching position. His eyes were shut and lips were closed. The entire lower part of his face had puffed
out and settled into his shoulders, so that he seemed to be without a neck when
viewing him from the front. He also had
a full head of brown hair. If I only had
that much hair on my bald scalp after 6500 years!
I
looked over to see a middle aged couple gazing at an exhibit called “The Tattoo
woman.” Apparently, this mummy had been
found in Chile and was dated to the 14th century. From the side, you could almost mistake her
for a young woman with long hair who was sitting down with her knees pulled up
to her chest. A direct view showed a
ghastly, bony corpse with the imprint of her (presumably) burial cloth
patterned into the mummified flesh of her face.
The couple was gazing at the morbid figure with blank and unreadable expressions
as if they were viewing a print of a still life, their arms around each other’s
waists.
But
the most disturbing mummies were left for the end. I guess the directors of the exhibit still
believe in the old motto SAVE THE BEST
FOR LAST. These mummies were called
“The Vac Mummies” and consisted of husband, wife, and their infant child. Apparently, the Orlovits family had been
found in a crypt in Hungary in 1994.
Michael Orlovits, the father, appeared the least mummified. He was laid out in a replica of the military
uniform in which he had been buried. His
face, which was nearly skeletal, held an almost painful expression -- almost as
if he were attempting to retain the remaining flesh which still clung
tenaciously to the bone. Veronica Orlovits,
Michael’s wife, appeared more composed and comfortable with her situation. She was laid out in her best white Sunday
dress and bonnet. Her arms and hands
were folded over her stomach in such a way as to suggest complete repose. Even her face, which was more preserved than
her husband’s, simply gave her the appearance of one who had been sleeping for
a very long time. It was only her mouth,
which was slightly upturned that seemed to suggest disgust with her condition
and a distaste for the natural condition of death and the process of
decay. The infant, Johannes Orlovits,
was situated in the middle of his parents.
He was wearing a child’s gown and bonnet, and like his mother, his tiny
hands were resting peacefully upon his chest.
His gray face appeared to be made out of clay rather than mummified
flesh, and the black empty holes where his eyes had been gave him a singularly
resigned expression – as if he had not even attempted to comprehend the
bewilderment and confusion of his single year on planet Earth.
When
we left the exhibit, we had to leave through the gift store where there was
everything from paperweights to pens to children’s games. Of course, I went to the books where I
purchased Mummies of the World: The Official Exhibition Catalog as well
as a much larger and more detailed volume called simply, Mummies of the
World (This is where the “educational” value of the exhibit was richly
detailed!). If only the mummies knew how
profitable their corpses would become.
This
brings me back to my main point. Why did I go? I still don’t have an answer for that. Was it because my brother, Craig, gave me the
tickets for a Christmas gift? I probably
would have gone anyway. Then why?
Was it simply just the morbid curiosity of seeing dead people? Am I nothing more than a shallow minded, nosy
looky loo? I don't know! I think I’ll go with the Mummy Ethics. That sounds good to me!
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