eleven thousand moons they are all to rise again; in which period the earth (which they conceive to be flat) will turn upside down, and by this means they shall, at their resurrection, be found ready standing on their feet. The learned among them confess the absurdity of this doctrine; but the practice still continues, in compliance to the vulgar.”
Swift was perhaps exercising his storyteller’s licence (like poetic licence) to evoke this, but the English millenarians harboured the crazy notion that the world would be turned upside down at the Apocalypse as a badge of their eccentricity. There is a record of one such burial upside down by instruction. One Major Peter Labellier of Dorking, who died on June 4, 1800 “lies thus upon the summit of Box Hill, Surrey.” There are unverified accounts of such burials elsewhere, particularly in southern England.
African – American Slave Burials
Left with no option, the early Black – American community quickly learnt about the burial practices of their oppressors. They became familiar with the funeral procedures, and located suitable gravesite for their families and friends. The tasks of preparing the dead for burial, of making the coffin and of digging the grave were assigned to different members of the community. With their master overseeing the arrangements, the burial was held at night when the day’s work was over, and their friends from the nearby plantations were in attendance. The body was wrapped in cloth, the hands were folded across the chest and a metal plate was placed on the top of the hands.The plates were there to prevent them from haunting their homes by suppressing any spirits in the coffin. Personal effects were included in the coffin to
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