2023-11-25 06:37:22
Published25. November 2023, 07:37
Museo de las Momias: The tragic fate of the screaming mummies of Guanajuato
A strange museum in Mexico rivals any ghost train. Its main attraction: 111 mummies with bizarrely disfigured faces. This is her story.
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A total of 111 mummies are on display at Mexico’s Museo de las Momias de Guanajuato.
imago images/Lucas Vallecillos
These are victims of a cholera epidemic in the 1830s.
imago images/Lucas Vallecillos
They are also called the “screaming mummies of Guanajuato”. This is because their mouths are open as if to scream.
IMAGO/imagebroker//Michael Runkel
That’s what it’s regarding
The central Mexican city of Guanajuato has a unique museum.
On display are 111 mummies of cholera victims who once might not be buried.
The corpses were mummified in the warm, dry air.
Today they are a tourist attraction.
But researchers fear that they pose a health risk.
What did the Guanajuato mummies die of?
In the 1830s, Mexico, like many other countries, was hit by a severe cholera epidemic. In Mexico City alone, five percent of the population died of diarrheal disease. Guanajuato suffered so many victims that space in the underground cemeteries became scarce. Above-ground crypts were hastily created into which the bodies were placed.
Why did the corpses become mummies?
Guanajuato has a very warm and dry climate. This meant that the partially embalmed corpses in the above-ground crypts were mummified over the years. When local authorities introduced a burial tax in 1865, many families might not afford to keep their deceased relatives in the crypts. So the crypts began to be opened in order to store the bodies in other places. The sight that greeted the people made their blood run cold.
Why do the mummies of Guanajuato “scream”?
It is the faces of the mummies that still scare people today. They look like they’re screaming in agony. But they didn’t die like that. The screaming faces are due to the fact that following death, their jaw muscles relaxed, their jaws dropped, and their mouths opened. This facial expression was recorded forever through mummification.
How did the mummies become an attraction?
Word quickly spread in Guanajuato regarding what had happened to the mummified cholera victims. Curious citizens began paying cemetery workers a few pesos to take a look. This in turn led to enterprising individuals removing even more mummies from the crypts. Their number rose to 111 by the early 20th century. Soon the mummies were a top attraction and were shown around Mexico. In 1968 a separate museum was built, the Museo de las Momias de Guanajuato. However, individual mummies are still sent on tour from time to time to this day.
Who are the mummies of Guanajuato?
You don’t know that regarding most mummies. When they were removed from the crypts, not all of them might be identified. The early mummy tourists also had fun taking the nameplates of the identified corpses with them as souvenirs. The identities of only a handful of mummies are known. For example, regarding a woman who died during childbirth. Her six-month-old fetus might be the youngest mummy ever.
Why do researchers warn once morest visiting the museum?
Mexican government experts said in late March 2023 that the mummies might pose a health risk to the public. At least one mummy was found to have a dangerous fungal infection. Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History said, according to a report by the AP news agency: “It is worrying that they are still being exhibited without protecting the public from biological threats.” The institute called for the danger that the mummies might pose to be better investigated. The institute also hopes to learn more regarding the identities of the mummies, including from DNA samples. The goal is to give relatives the opportunity to one day bury their ancestors with dignity.
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