What do ancient people do to bring souls to the afterlife?

The ancients have performed various funeral customs in order to safely send the soul of the deceased to the afterlife.

Wu

For the Mayans, dead bodies are usually placed in the mouth of corn.

The Maya believed that the afterlife existed and called Xibalba . It was a creepy place, with ruling gods and bloodthirsty predators. Xibalba is the only place for dead souls if they overcome a series of challenges.

In Mayan culture, funeral customs play an important role. Accordingly, dead bodies are usually placed in the mouth of corn. Corn is considered as a nutrient for the deceased souls on their difficult journey to reach the eternal resting place Xibalba. Corn is also considered a symbol of rebirth of the soul.

Besides corn, people also put in the deceased person's mouth the pearl . Some people believe that those jewels are used by the souls of the dead as a currency during their journey to Xibalba. There is also the perception that the only gem placed in the mouth of the dead is equivalent to the endless energy source of corn grain.

Amulet

The ancient Egyptians believed that talismans had magical powers in protecting from evil and bringing luck to their owners. Therefore, they wear charms on their necks, wrists, fingers and ankles from a young age. Not only do they use charms when they are still alive, the Egyptians also use them for the deceased when going to the afterlife.

Amulets are used by Egyptians in funerals.

Hundreds of amulets were used by the Egyptians in funerals. However, the use of charms depends on the wealth and preferences of each person. Accordingly, the selected amulets will be carefully placed on different parts of the mummy during the burial process. Some amulets can be placed anywhere but there are also charms that are placed in the correct position.

One important thing is that the priests will read the prayers and perform rituals to place those amulets during the funeral. One of the most popular Egyptian charms used is the beetle-shaped heart charm. This amulet will be placed in the position of the deceased's heart so that it is not separate from the soul of the dead when going to the afterlife.

Those who feared such an unexpected thing could read the spell on that charm to prevent that heart from betraying its owner.

Another important amulet for the dead is a "way of enchantment" to help the deceased safely travel from Earth to the afterlife. Charms are often mentioned in the "Book of the Dead".

Amatl

In the heyday of the Aztec civilization, when a low- or middle-class citizen dies, the priest will perform a burial rite and prepare the dead to the afterlife. Accordingly, the priest will preside over the rituals including: pouring water on the head of the deceased as well as wearing clothes for the deceased depending on conditions, properties or causes of death.

For the Atzec, the deceased will be wrapped in paper as the bark of the bark is called amatl.

Specifically, if the deceased dies of drinking too much alcohol, he or she will wear clothes with the symbols of Tezcatzoncatl - the god of wine and drunkards. People also put a water bottle next to the dead body so that the dead will not be thirsty in their journey to the afterlife.

One of the most important rituals for the Aztecs is to wrap the deceased's body in paper made of bark called amatl (aka amate ). The use of this special paper has its own reasons. Accordingly, the deceased uses the amatl for the first time to safely pass 2 mountains. Second , people use amatl to help the dead do not encounter any danger when crossing the road protected by the giant snake. The third is amatl paper that helps the dead soul pass through an intersection. Fourth , Amatl helps the dead souls cross 7 deserts and 8 hills. Finally and most importantly, Amatl helps protect the dead from the North wind.

In addition, to overcome the challenges, the Aztecs also burned the dead man's clothes and arms so that the warmth from the burned body could protect the dead soul from the cold north winds.

Killing a Techichi dog is also an important part of the funeral because it is believed that the animal will become the companion of the dead in the journey to another world.