Excerpt: Reminiscent

In the land of the dead, one becomes deaf, blind, mute. Sensation and feeling ceases.

It was well known amongst the ancients that without certain rituals performed over the dead body, the deceased’s soul will never know of these things again. To not be initiated into the dead world was a fear far greater than that of death itself.

The actual placement of the soul in the corpse was different in many cultures. In Egypt, it lay within the heart and so was preserved or replaced with a heart scarab. In South America, the soul was contained in the head, so warriors would decapitate their enemies and forbid their soul its final destination.

~ An introduction to Journey of the Soul
Professor Simon Jannick
International Institute of Human Rights and Biomedicine