Mummies

While there are several issues that people protest about mummies there are three categories, spiritual, ethical, and cultural. These categories do not necessarily cover all of the issues people have raised, but these seem to be the most vocal groups. These groups have several reoccurring concerns, such as the continued existence of the mummy, respect of its placement after death, and the rights they believe they have toward it.

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For the religious, they believe that the removal of these artifacts can cause divine retribution and that as the worshipers they should have control of the mummy ². The mummy of St. Bernadette Soubirous is on display in Nevers, France and is another mummy that is worshiped as she is a catholic saint ³. There is actually a precedent in Catholicism of the mummified and preserved body parts of saints being on display. I found no report of such a relic being stolen and placed in a museum, let alone a museum refusing to return the mummy. Why then, is it controversial to take the mummy of the Baikal Princess from her temple but unthinkable to remove St. Bernadette from her church ⁴? There is no law that covers this, but I believe that mummies that are already enshrined should be left to their religious following. There are thousands of mummies that are free from this issue to study.

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This does not cover the ethical issues some people have with this. There are those who believe that mummies should be put back where they were buried and left to rest. One person saying that several mummies unburied in his area were “human beings with the right to rest in peace” ⁶. This opinion has been repeated in regards to a number of mummies. Despite this the study of mummies and the artifacts that accompany them are also used for medical studies to improve current life ⁷. I believe that this is reason enough allow the study of mummies. It does not mean that they need be displayed. There are some mummies that people are horrified to see and if that is the case it seems to me that they should be stored in labs where they are safest thus, ending the issue of display for the most part. 

This does not mean that this covers cultural issues, the most common in my research being the removal of a mummy from the country or region. Some cultures are more vocal about this than others. I believe that this is easily solved with minimal moves of mummies and the building or placement of mummies in a museum in the area, such as the one in Argentina ⁸. While the building of this museum did not solve all issues, there were no complaints of the bodies being exported and allowed the local populace to perform the majority of ceremonies for the unearthing of the mummies ⁹. So while there is no way to stop all the controversy that surrounds mummies there are a number of ways to minimize it, and allow for all parties involved to be somewhat pleased.