The Aztec Funerary Ritual

The Aztec's have a pretty cool fun-for-all:

This is the Aztec's ritual call the 'Straw Death':

A priest would stand before a dead body and pronounce certain words.  We are but a ray of light in this world.  We are not immortal and after we have lived our lives, we will be extended an invitation by the God and Goddess of Hell.  We are invited to the Domain of Darkness, because our absence is eternal.  There is no light or windows, as there was when we were alive.  And do not worry, everyone gets the invitation.   *Preist puts a few drops of water on the head of the body*  The water created from life will lubricate your journey.  *Priest lays some certain papers on the body*  The pages, like the book of the dead papers, will also help the journey.

The Journey:

1. Pass the two dashing mountains
2. Pass the road where the serpant awaits
3. Pass the lair of the Green Lizard (hopefully a dragon)
4. Cross 8 deserts
5. Cross 8 hills
6. Not quite sure what this means: "And behold with what thou canst traverse the place of the winds that drive with obsidian knives.''
7. Now the perils of the Underworld Wary were to be passed and the soul arrives before Mictlantecutli (God of Death).
8. 'whence after four years he should fare onward until, by the aid of his dog, sacrificed at his grave, he should pass over the Ninefold Stream, and thence, hound with master, enter into the eternal house of the dead, Chicomemictlan, the Ninth Hell.'

Although not related to most of the 'Straw Death' ritual, I thought of this when I was reading the last section.

I thought this ritual was very interesting.  The Aztec's seem to have a very detailed perception of the passage to the underworld.  Who knew that living in eternal absence would be such a long and detailed process?

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