grotesquerie collectanea

Blood-letting (also known as phlebotomy or venesection) is the practice of ciphering blood from a vein. Starting in Egypt in 1000 B.C., draining blood was performed to rid someone of evil, or of an evil spirit or demon. (For thousands of years, people considered disease to be a curse that was put on them.) The treatment was often performed by witch doctors, sorcerers, or priests, depending on the culture.

Timing can get oddly specific...

In the 1400’s, astrology also played a role in blood-letting, as signs of the zodiac denoted various body parts. The planets had to be in the correct alignment in order for the procedure to be completed. Through the centuries various religions also played a role in phlebotomy. For instance, the Talmud specified blood-letting should be done on specific days of the week and month, while Christianity had some similar guidelines. Islamic leaders also believed blood-letting was very useful for fevers.

There are way too many AWESOME pictures of astrological maps of the body. Map goes like this:

Aries — Head Taurus — Neck Gemini — Arms & shoulders Cancer — Breast Leo — Shoulderblades & Sides Virgo — Stomach & intestines Libra — Hips & buttocks Scorpio — Genitals Sagittarius — Thighs Capricorn — Knees Aquarius — Ankles Pisces — Feet 

More body maps under cut! Sources under cut as well.

I learned about these so-called "necropants" from a friend. When she described it as being gruesome, I enthusiastically invited her to tell me more. The enthusiasm turned into disgusted fascination once I knew what necropants were. If you think the term sounds as neat as I did, savor that just a moment before the following knowledge changes it forever.

So. Necropants are pants made from the flayed skin of a corpse. They are believed to bring wealth to the wearer. Here's a very generous description of the practice.

If you want to make your own necropants (literally; nábrók) you have to get permission from a living man to use his skin after his dead.

After he has been buried you must dig up his body and flay the skin of the corpse in one piece from the waist down. As soon as you step into the pants they will stick to your own skin.

A coin must be stolen from a poor widow and placed in the scrotum along with the magical sign, *nábrókarstafur, written on a piece of paper. Consequently the coin will draw money into the scrotum so it will never be empty, as long as the original coin is not removed.

To ensure salvation the owner has to convince someone else to overtake the pants and step into each leg as soon as he gets out of it. The necropants will thus keep the money-gathering nature for generations. 

The sorcery could only be performed by two men, and the one had to die of natural causes.

*Here is a picture of the nábrókarstafur stave.

One source says the coin must be stolen at Christmas, Easter, or Whitsun (pentecost). Fortunately, the nábrók practice was considered to be "unusual behavior" in their time. Origin is 17th Century Iceland.

Also, here's a picture of a replica of the pants, if you so wish. Sources under cut as well.

"I give easement and rest now to thee, dear man. Come not down the lanes or in our meadows. And for thy peace I pawn my own soul. Amen."

I came across this concept in a short story and found that it was based on an existing ritual. The idea is that, when someone passes, their sins may be transferred to another living human being so that the deceased can rest in peace. Supposedly the sin eater will take on the sins of the entire household of the deceased.

The ritual is typically performed by eating bread & ale, passed to the sin eater over the dead body, or picked up from resting on the body's chest. Historically, the sin eater was most often a poor person, and shunned by society. Avoided like the plague, one might say.

One might ironically note that a sin eating ritual doesn't seem entirely necessary if one is in belief of Jesus, who may be considered a sin eater.

Sources