Ritual Offerings in Burials
The desire to bury our dead with items dates back, as far as we now know, to the Neolithic period. Members of the Natufian culture -- one of the first civilizations that didn't rely on nomadism -- created the first cemeteries by burying their dead in graves lined with a thick carpet of herbs and flowers. Occasionally they were buried with food, skins of drink, weapons of their time, the adornments of their station, and even sacrificed animals and slaves. As cultures developed and burials became more elaborate, the objects placed within tombs were representative of that culture's idea of what the dead will need in the afterlife.
Although we rarely send our dead off with the weapons, food, and drink necessary for a journey through the Underworld or Otherworld in these modern times, we still tuck treasured items in with them as a remembrance -- wedding bands, cigars, a favourite bottle of booze. These are all equally valuable treasures for the dead to carry with them. But what does it offer the living? Simply that we have provided one last connection with the living that keeps them a alive in our hearts and a part of our lives. We have cared for them one last time and given them what they need. This is a practice, whether ritualized with magic or done as a silent gesture, that I highly encourage everyone to do. Mementos should not be reserved for the living.
We buried Remington on Thursday night. My partner Eric dug his grave and set him in it while I laid a satchel of offerings on him. The bag was made of fabric, thread, and cords left from making my ritual dresses as a Qadishti and a Morrigan priestess. Remington always loved to lay on them while I was measuring them out. I sewed them all together and filled it with a scoop of cat food, a handful of treats, and another handful of catnip. All of Remington's favourite things. He had a rough life before he came to live with us, and we had promised he would never be denied these things again. I had to make sure I gave them to him one last time.
