I Want My Mummy!

Mummified monks are apparently quite popular in Thailand, Vietnam and in China too, although less so. The Tibetans have or at least did have until the Red Guards destroyed them, a few mummified rimpoches and lamas too. Some of the saints in Catholicism are deemed to be 'miraculously uncorrupted.' I don’t know what Communists call the mummified remains of Lenin and Mao, although when I saw the Great Helmsman back in the early 80's he looked decidedly 'waxy'. 'Do Not Expose To Naked Flame!' Singaporean Buddhists returning from travels in Thailand sometimes ask me what I think about or how I can explain the mummified monk they saw while they were there. I always tell them that amusing story about Ramases II. Ramases was the greatest of all the Egyptian kings, perhaps the greatest ruler of all time. His many titles included 'Conqueror of Syria', 'Subduer of the Hittites' 'Conqueror of Nubia' and the fact that he reigned for 66 years alone qualified him to be called 'The Great.' It is even thought by some that the 'Pharaoh' mentioned in the Old Testament is Ramases. When his mummy was discovered in 1881 it was shipped off to England. When it arrived at Tilbury the customs officers had to charge some duty on it but they didn’t know under what category it should be classed. Finally, Ramases II, King of Kings, was categorized under and charged duty as dried fish. The top picture is of Thai Buddhist dried fish (What's he need the sun glasses for?), the second is of the Sicilian Catholic variety and the bottom one is the original 'King of Kings' brand.