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Taphophilia (dot) Com...
A repository of morbid curiosities:
Thanatology and Taphophile Issues, Cemetery,
Funeral Industry and Death Related News.
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Graveyards of Chicago:
The People, History, Art, and Lore of Cook County Cemeteries
By Matt Hucke And Ursula Bielski. Discover a Chicago That Exists Just Beneath the Surface - About Six Feet Under! Take a tour of Chicago's permanent residents! Please visit the Lake Claremont Press website to purchase your copy of Graveyards of Chicago today!
Green-Wood Cemetery Arcadia Publishing announces the release of Alexandra Mosca's historic account of one of New York's most famous cemeteries. Aracdia Publishing's Images of America series has an extensive catalog of many cemetery publications! Please visit Arcadia Publishing to purchase your copy of Green-Wood Cemetery and to browse other available titles!
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Epitaphs: The Magazine for Cemetery Lovers By Cemetery Lovers
For information regarding subscriptions, single issues, submission guidelines, deadlines, classifieds or advertising for future issues, please visit The Cemetery Club.
Guardians of the Soul: Angels and Innocents, Mourners and Saints, Indiana's remarkable cemetery sculpture
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West Springfield Massachusetts: Stories Carved in Stone by Rusty Clark features information on early New England gravestone carvers with more than two hundred photos and illustrations. Please visit the Dog Pond Press website.
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Man Who Likes Working With the Dead |
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Written by DeadGirl
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Monday, 18 April 2005 |
April 18, 2005
Ngumbao Kithi
Nairobi
Tucked between dozens of disfigured bodies is 37-year-old Charo Mwaduna Kaisha, a mortuary attendant at the largest referral hospital in the province, Coast General.
Calm, short and well-built, he takes his job seriously. The mortuary is his office and he calls it his second home.
Every morning, he peruses the entry book to find out how many bodies were brought from the hospital, or other quarters, the previous night.
"Then I personally check the mortuary to ensure that the bodies are properly secured and preserved."
Married with four children, Kaisha (usually called Charo) is one of the best known people at the hospital.
He was born and raised in the remote village of Chapungu, Paziani sub-location, Bamba division, Kilifi district. He sees his work as a link between the dead and the living.
"I preserve the dead and calm down the living. I do this remembering that one day I will be stored in these coolers - lifeless."
Despite his little education (he dropped out after Standard Eight) Kaisha knows how to deal with grieving relatives. "Every day I encounter all sorts of people mourning their loved ones. I always ask them to thank God for being alive. Death is God's will. That way, I calm hundreds of people daily. By putting myself into the shoes of the person coming to collect a body, I make friends with many people."
Kaisha ensures that bodies are properly preserved to slow the decomposition process. He then walks into his office, next to the body collection area, and attends to documentation of bodies before they are released for burial.
At his window office, mourners can be heard calling his name. He peruses death certificate notification, mortuary and hospital charge receipts and other requirements.
The most taxing job is accompanying people to the fridges to identify bodies. He first counsels them, then takes them to the main mortuary for the identification exercise. This helps to control their grief.
Inside the main mortuary, four other attendants are helping people to identify their relatives' bodies. They then dress the bodies and put them in coffins for transportation and burial.
He says: "Most of the attendants were attached to wards to collect bodies and bring them here. But my case was different; I was employed and brought straight here."
That was on December 7, 1995. He beat a field of 37 people seeking work as mortuary attendants. Three days later, he received his letter of appointment.
"During the first three months, life was hell for me. I could hardly sleep after work. But with time I developed shock absorbers. Now I enjoy the job."
His most difficult assignment came a few months later when he was asked to perform a post mortem. It involves cutting through a body and picking out vital parts for the doctor to examine.
Other difficult jobs include looking after bodies of accident and robbery victims.
His most memorable time was November 2002 after the Kikambala hotel bomb blast in which several people died.
Some of the bodies were torn and bloody. It was difficult to identify which part belonged where. But he used his experience to help grieving relatives piece together the parts.
"This was the most trying period of my life. I have never seen bodies of the dead cut into pieces like that. But I drew strength from the experience and helped the relatives as best as I could."
The attendants undergo a mandatory medical examination every six months to ensure they are in good health.
Kaisha dismissed as far-fetched claims that many mortuary attendants take drugs and other illicit drugs to cope with the work.
"Personally, I don't take drugs; nor smoke cigarettes. I drink beer and mnazi (palm wine); about two bottles of the latter once in a while in the evening. I'm not a seasoned alcohol consumer."
He agrees, however, that smoking cigarettes and drinking water or soda inside the morgue is in order. "It is not strange to do so because we are used to the working environment. Even having a bite while inside here is not strange."
Outside the mortuary, Kaisha has many friends - and some foes. "Many people accept me as a human being while others avoid me because of my job.
"Some think I smell like a mortuary. They run away when they see me. But others have accepted me and even sympathise over my job."
http://allafrica.com/stories/200504180672.html |
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Taphophilia?
taphophilia (taf′ō-fil′ē-ă)
ORIGIN:
From the Greek words taphos, meaning "tomb" or "sepulcher" and philia, meaning "attraction or affinity to something, in particular the love or obsession with something"
DEFINITION: 1. An excessive interest in graves and cemeteries. 2. A love or fondness for funerals, graves, and cemeteries. 3. In psychiatry, a morbid attraction to graves and cemeteries
Quote Repository
“The cradle of the future is the grave of the past.” Franz Grillparzer
Shirtless and Sculpted
The Men of Mortuaries 2008 Calendar is now available! All sale proceeds benefit KAMMCARES, a breast cancer foundation.
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