Page 10 - aruba-today-20210105

Tuesday 5 January 2021 locAl
A10

The cult of the death Episode LXXXVI -86

ORANJESTAD — Throughout history man provoked and
forged his form of existence within his natural environ-
ment. He learned of his ecosystem and how to adapt
and dominate towards civilization. Caring for his dead
was also a very important part of life and that was no dif-
ferent in Aruba.

When we look at how each group or tribe cared for their
deceased, we find that our Aruba ancestors also performed
their special ceremonies of devotion and respect. Caring for
her deceased relatives was an honor. From archaeological
finds, much of their social and political organizations can be
determined and, by studying the remains of their tombs, a
differentiation in their status and hierarchy can be estab-
lished for each individual by their remains, for example. The
inhabitants of the large villages practiced four or five differ-
ent forms of burial. These differences undoubtedly represent
social differences in these Dabajuroid communities. The
background of the recorded differences remains a mystery
until now, but the differences, by any doubt, are evidence
of the status of individuals, families or groups within the com-
munity.
The dead were buried in the ground within the village and
some with special gifts in their grave. However, some were
found without any gifts. This means they were buried without
any gifts, or the gifts were perishable and disappeared with-
out a trace for us. The gifts that we find in some of the dead
were buried in large clay pots or urns: direct burial-urn. In
fact, the dead are buried twice. The corpse is first buried in
the ground, after a few months or even years, the bones are burial. the indigenous Guajiros, residents of the
excavated. These bones or skeletal remains subsequently We have a fairly clear idea of the whole peninsula of the same name on the bor-
obtain their permanent resting place in a fairly small vessel. process of burial in secondary urns from der with Venezuela and Colombia. More
If, after such a procedure, the bones are buried in a large existing descriptions of such “double” comparisons can be made between the
container, the archaeologist may misinterpret it as direct urn burials. They are practiced to this day by Guajiro and the pre-Columbian popula-
tion of Aruba, such as their environment,
food and religion, which had everything
to do with how the natives, particularly
from this area, related to the world of the
dead and beyond. How to prepare each
of your deceased relatives for their spiri-
tual journey through the underworld and
into the land of their dead ancestors and
friends. There is evidence that Dabaju-
roid people, in addition to these types of
burials within the village, have done buri-
als in caves outside the village.q

To get to know a little more regard-
ing Aruba’s and its cultural origins we
highly recommend you to book your
participation in our cultural encoun-
ter session.

A mind opening revelation and en-
tertaining island experience.

Mail us at etnianativa03@gmail.com,
our facilities and activities take place
close to high rise hotels.