Their Fashions Of Mourning And Of Burial Are These:
- Whenever any
household has lost a man who is of any regard amongst them, the whole
number of women of that house forthwith plaster over their heads or
even their faces with mud.
Then leaving the corpse within the house
they go themselves to and fro about the city and beat themselves, with
their garments bound up by a girdle and their breasts exposed, and
with them go all the women who are related to the dead man, and on the
other side the men beat themselves, they too having their garments
bound up by a girdle; and when they have done this, they then convey
the body to the embalming. In this occupation certain persons employ
themselves regularly and inherit this as a craft. These, whenever a
corpse is conveyed to them, show to those who brought it wooden models
of corpses made like reality by painting, and the best of the ways of
embalming they say is that of him whose name I think it impiety to
mention when speaking of a matter of such a kind; the second which
they show is less good than this and also less expensive; and the
third is the least expensive of all. Having told them about this, they
inquire of them in which way they desire the corpse of their friend to
be prepared. Then they after they have agreed for a certain price
depart out of the way, and the others being left behind in the
buildings embalm according to the best of these ways thus:
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