Relic raiders afoul of cultural taboos, 'Anasazi sickness'

[Vex Harrow]

Respect for the dead is a common community more; it crosses tribal boundaries and the death rituals of numerous cultures are vast and varied—as are the taboos against disturbing the remains of the dead. Entire professions crop up around the psychological distaste for death, the problem associated with death and dying, and the repercussions of having a body to “dispose” of.

Modern day Indiana Jones type tomb-raiding comes with its own problems, but it also highlights the cross-cultural boundaries of different nations. The presence of “Anasazi sickness” in the cultural unconscious of the 4 Corners region in the Navajo culture is a reflection of the distaste for disturbing sacred places.

“We aren't supposed to be digging up anything like that,” Navajo medicine man David Filfred says. “It's the people who lived before us, and how they lived. They had their traditions, which deserve respect.”

And disrespect for either human remains or the ancients' belongings brings deadly bad medicine. According to tribal lore, it can lead to bad luck, ill health, even death.
Filfred points to what many here on the Navajo Nation call the "Anasazi sickness" as a factor in the suicides of two men indicted last month on federal charges of illegally trafficking in ancient Puebloan, or Anasazi, artifacts.

“You'll get blacked out. Just faint,” he predicts for those who disturb the dead. “It will cause something like, you don't care. Seems like there's no hope.”

Other Four Corners cultures report similar spiritual repercussions or "bad energy" for artifact looters. Elders believe bones, pots, amulets and other items buried with the dead -- whether today's Navajos or yesterday's faded Puebloan cultures – harbor spirits. These spirits command a wide berth and sicken those who disturb them, Filfred says. The torment may be either physical or mental.

Outsiders may scoff, but believers ask the same deference that other religions command.

The article on the subject is vast and interesting.

Link, via The Salt Lake Tribune.