The Native American: Book of the Dead

By: Fritz Zimmerman

Narrated by: George Utley

The Native Americans believed that the soul never dies, and death was a transition from this world to the next. Preparation for this journey was diverse across the vast geographical expanse of North America. Burials could be above ground on a scaffold or tree, cremation, mummification, sometimes the bones were saved, and a mass burial was conducted, caves and fissures in rocks were used to inter the dead.

Some buried the owner's horses and dogs with the body. Human sacrifice was practiced, slaying the wives or slaves and placing them within the graves. Some tribes left the remains to elements to be eaten by wild animals. In contrast, lavish burial mounds were constructed over the dead. Ghosts of the dead were feared, and in some cases, the corpse was immediately buried, and their house burned that the spirit may not return.

The mourning rituals were just as diverse. Many tribes mourned the dead for extended periods that included cutting their hair and gashing their bodies with wounds or even cutting off their fingers to show their grief. Somber crying and wailing could be heard for days in the villages. Eighty-three different tribes' burial rituals are described in detail from first-hand accounts. This is your arcane journey into the spirit world of the Native Americans of North America.

©2020 Fritz Zimmerman (P)2020 Fritz Zimmerman