Modern mummification has been a popular technique that is gaining steam in the past couple of years. Learn about how the process is done should one be interested in such an elaborate way of being preserved.
Mummification, as everyone is familiar with, has been an ancient form of preservation used by the Egyptians and others as well, like the Chileans. Although the latter race didn’t use such a methodical way of doing the process, the Egyptians were known for their expert ways of mummifying a body to help preserve the remains of great kings, queens and other people.
It may seem a little odd that in this present day and age, there are people who want to be mummified and kept preserved in some way without decaying away. They’re now looking for a more memorable way of passing on from this life, making the idea come off to others as both weird and creepy. Death is now looked upon as something that one cannot just give-in to the old way, with modernized methods being introduced to make your departing, well… something to talk about.
The idea behind mummification was to be able to dodge death and remain immortal somehow, where modern technology steps in to do the same even today. Cryogenics is a technique using the mummification process by freezing the body of the deceased to help preserve it for future observations. The decaying process is obstructed, using low temperatures to stop one’s molecular structure from decaying and further breaking down.
It all started right back in the year 1967 where a professor from California named James H. Bedford tested out the science behind the technique of cryogenics. When he passed away due to cancer, he was frozen in liquid nitrogen at a temperature of 321° below 0°F. A lot of people followed in the footsteps of James, in the hope that the cause of their deaths could be reversed and that they’d be brought back to life. These organizations till date are receiving bookings from those who want to sign up for their cryogenic technique of freezing their bodies after they’ve passed on from this life.
Modern Mummification for Humans
A religious group that goes by the name of Summum, are rooted in Salt Lake City, Utah who initiated their modern mummification center in the year 1975. It was headed by Summum Bonum Amen Ra or Corky Ra, who introduced and reinvented the idea of mummifying a body and preserving it after it was devoid of life.
Today the modern mummification pyramid is open for those who wish to have their bodies mummified using the modernized version of the process, while then being buried in their very own custom-made bronze sarcophagus. For a price of $70,000 you can choose to be entombed or buried. So far the center has been able to work out this idea only on pets, where none of the humans who’ve signed up so far are dead yet to avail from the process themselves.
The people at Summum believe that people carry what they call an ‘essence’ that lingers post one’s death (even in the case of animals), where this essence is preserved through mummification to help it transition to its rightful place. A preserving chemical is used during the process, where they believe that if science can tweak the technique to perfection, it can even be used as a method for cloning (since the DNA of the body remains intact after the preserving process).
⚰ After the funeral formalities have been dealt with and completed, the body is taken from the funeral home to Summum in Salt Lake City, where it is readied for the mummification process. The first step in the process are the Rites of Transference where the body is cleansed and then bathed before the internal organs are carefully removed after an incision’s made at the organs’ exit point.
⚰ The organs are then cleansed well while the incision made in the body is still left open. The organs and the body are then submersed in what is known as a baptismal font which contains a special concoction of chemicals and preservation fluids. The body when immersed in the liquid mix, is done so while the rites of Transference are simultaneously given.
⚰ After the rites have been completed, the body is then removed from the baptismal tank, where the organs are replaced within the body’s cavity and the incision is sealed off. The body of the deceased is then cleansed again with a final anointing oil applied to it.
⚰ The body is then wrapped with layers of cotton gauze, where silk wrappings follow in some cases. A polymer layer is then placed above this, followed by another layer of fiberglass resin to preserve the body from external exposure.
⚰ The body is then taken to the pyramid building where the Rites of Transference are given again. The body is finally placed within a stainless steel or bronze mummiform (coffin-like case) and filled with quartz granules, gold, jewels or amber resin, as the body is tucked into heaps of this. The mummiform (or traditional burial casket depending on one’s choice) is then welded shut and kept in a sanctuary or buried in a graveyard.
The mummification process provided by Summum is the only esoteric organization that provides such a service to those who may interested. It may seem like something straight out of a movie, but these things actually do happen in real life. Who knows, maybe you’d be intrigued and willing to give it a shot too.
