Indians of the Mesa Verde

by Don Watson

Mummy of a Basket Maker woman

Bodies were usually buried in a folded position

Very soon after death comes preparations are made for the burial. The body is bathed and the hair is washed. The arms are folded across the chest and tied together to hold them in position. The legs are folded up against the body. Around the tightly-flexed body is wrapped a cotton blanket, then a large feather blanket. Finally the bundle is wrapped in a piece of matting and is ready for burial.

There is no cemetery and the burial may be made anywhere. When the weather is good the bodies may be buried out on the mesa top or anywhere in the canyon. Sometimes they are placed in crevices in the cliffs or in holes under large boulders. During the winter, when the ground is frozen and covered with snow, graves are often dug in the great trash pile in front of the cave. For generations the people have dumped their ashes and refuse there and it is not difficult to dig a grave in the soft, ashy material.

Occasionally death comes when a severe storm is raging outside the cave. Rather than face the storm the men of a burial party sometimes seal a body in an empty house or bury it in the trash room in the rear of the cave. The cave roof is too low for houses in that space so the long, low room is used as a trash room and turkey roost. When a body is buried there it is surrounded by perfectly dry materials such as ashes, dust, corn cobs, corn tassels and turkey droppings. The chill of winter prevents decay and the body begins to dry out. Soon all moisture is gone and only the bones and dried tissues remain. If no moisture reaches it, the dry, mummy-like body will remain unchanged for centuries.

After the grave is dug the tightly-wrapped body is placed in it. Food and water are placed in the grave, along with the personal possessions of the deceased; weapons, tools, jewelry and other articles which the spirit of the dead person will need in the afterworld. After the grave is filled with earth and rocks the members of the burial party return to their homes and purify themselves by washing their hair, vomiting and fumigating their clothing in smoke.

The spirit of the deceased does not leave the body for four days so each morning relatives place food and water on the grave. At sunrise on the fourth morning the spirit leaves the body and journeys back through Sipapu, into the Mother Earth, where the dead live in another world much like this one. As soon as the spirit is gone the relatives purify themselves and from this time on try not to speak of, or think of the dead person again. Grieving may cause sickness so the dead are best forgotten.

The winter passes slowly. For those who are strong and active it has no terrors although it may cause a certain amount of discomfort. For those who are weak and sick it becomes an ordeal. At no time during the winter is Cliff Palace free from sickness and suffering and the spirits of the people are often low. In January the cold becomes more intense. Scores of fires burn brightly in the great cave as the people attempt to drive out the cold. Some nights the temperature falls very close to zero. High overhead hangs a brilliant white moon and the snowy canyon is almost as light as day. From the cliff near the great ceremonial building comes the wail of a coyote: from the mesa top comes the mournful hoot of an owl. The cave is quiet except for low chanting in some of the kivas and the snoring of old men. Sometimes a baby whimpers or a sick person groans. Now and then a muffled scream echoes through the cave as an aged sufferer cries out from the agony of arthritis or an abscessed tooth.

There is little travel during the coldest periods. The men forego their hunting and visiting and everyone stays close to the sheltering cave with the single idea of keeping warm and well. The city is quieter now: there is none of the boisterous gaiety that was so pronounced during the other seasons.