By Taofik Adekunle Jimoh (JAAT)
Actually, there is nothing supernatural or phenomenal about why some dead bodies don’t decompose. Yes, some bodies are buried after being sealed in a coffin, so when sunlight and air cannot penetrate, a texture like wax forms all over the dead skin; and this prevents the body from decomposing. Science calls this adipocere.
I understand that Africans believe this to mean someone is a saint, or at least a good person, but it’s not. Yorùbá Fuji musician Saheed Osupa even dedicated a side of one of his albums to ask if adipocere means someone is a good or bad person.
I myself have witnessed a corpse of a dead Muslim which was found to be intact years later, and Muslims trooped there to pray. Authorities even left the place open for a few days before they sealed it again when people were able to abuse the ‘privilege’.
A month or two ago, a corpse of a nun found intact years later was also idolized. The news says, “Catholics celebrate ‘miracle’ as body of long-dead nun found ‘incorrupt'”
Hundreds of people even have traveled to the monastery in a small Missouri town to view the nun’s body that seemingly has no signs of decay four years after her death.
The probably most popular would be Elizabeth of Aragon, a Spanish princess turned Portuguese queen turned Roman Catholic saint, who has been dead for 680 years, but her hand—and presumably, the rest of her body—remains impervious to the effects of decomposition.
In some cultures, adipocere-covered corpses were believed to be supernatural, and their existence was attributed to various myths and religious beliefs.One such belief was that the formation of adipocere was a sign of divine intervention.
Some cultures believed that the deceased had been chosen by the gods to be preserved in this manner, and that their body had been transformed into a holy relic. Adipocere-covered corpses were treated with great reverence and were often placed in special shrines or tombs, where they were worshipped and venerated as sacred beings.
In other cultures, adipocere-covered corpses were believed to be cursed or haunted. Some people believed that the presence of grave wax was a sign that the deceased had been possessed by evil spirits or demons, and that their body was now a vessel for dark forces. Adipocere-covered corpses were often avoided and feared, and were sometimes even destroyed to prevent their curse from spreading.
In more recent times, adipocere has been the subject of scientific research, and its formation has been studied as a means of determining the length of time a body has been buried. However, the myths and religious beliefs intertwined with adipocere-covered corpses continue to fascinate and intrigue people to this day. Whether viewed as sacred relics or cursed vessels, these no-decomposing dead bodies have captured the imagination of cultures across the world, and continue to inspire stories and legends that endure through the ages.
*Jimoh Taofik Adekunle ( Jimson Jaat Taofik) writes from Offa, Kwara State.*
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