‘Dead has no power’ - Mortician speaks on faith and ‘spirits’ in the funeral home

As I walked into the embalming room at Jones Funeral Home and Supplies in Kingston on Sunday, I immediately felt the weight of the room.

The air was thick with the scent of various chemicals used in the trade permeating the space. Tools such as clamps, scissors, needles, and vials of chemicals were spread out across stainless steel tables, and morticians were getting ready to begin the meticulous process of preparing the deceased.

Amid the organised chaos stood Christina Millwood Nicholson, an experienced mortician conducting a workshop aimed at equipping funeral directors and embalming professionals with valuable information to enhance their expertise and knowledge in the field.

It was hard not to wonder whether the morticians, and other persons integrally involved in the after-life industry, take precautions to protect themselves from duppies. Michael Jones, CEO of Jones Funeral Home and Supplies, conceded that spirits exist, but was emphatic in his belief that the dead is powerless.

"The dead knows nothing," he told me matter-of-factly. "I don't need a guard ring, no black magic, no rum. I am a child of God."

"The dead has no power over me," he said.

"Look," he said with a quiet confidence, "spirits are real, but the Bible teaches me that the dead know nothing. People do a lot of crazy things because they don't understand that. But I've learnt the truth. The dead can't hurt the living, and if you don't fear them, they have no power."

Jones didn't mince words. He explained that many of his colleagues wore guard rings or used charms, not because they had to, but because of a deep-seated fear.

"I'm a child of God," he said. "I don't need a guard ring. I speak, and demons tremble. I cast demons out of people. The dead cannot return and hurt anyone. I believe the Lord and Saviour protects me, and that's all I need."

One of the bodies on which Millwood Nicholson conducted an embalming demonstration was that of a murder victim. Jones reasoned that if the dead man had power, it would have avenged its killing.

"The man that is dead cannot return and hurt the guy who killed him. I know that death has no power over the living. So there's nothing to worry about. I am not afraid."

When I asked him if he believed that Jamaica would move away from these superstitions any time soon, he was candid.

"No," he said. "Because people are still holding onto what they've been taught. Spirits are real, but how you deal with them -- that's what matters. And I deal with them by relying on my faith."

Inside the embalming room, the body of the murder victim lay on the table as the skilled hands of the embalmers began their meticulous work. The process involves replacing the body's natural fluids with a chemical solution. Embalming preserves a deceased person's body by disinfecting, restoring, and maintaining its condition. This process kills harmful microbes to ensure safety, slows decomposition, and can improve the appearance of the deceased. The team had to find a specific artery to inject the embalming chemicals into the head in order to maintain its shape. One of the participants, Evangelina Darymple Norman, spoke about the science behind the work.

"We study pathology, anatomy, physiology, and chemistry -- just like doctors and nurses," she explained. "The difference is, we care for the dead."

There was a deep irony in her words, as I noticed that the morticians were visibly teary-eyed. Their eyes were misty, but it wasn't grief that brought on the tears. The chemicals used in the embalming process often irritate the eyes, leading to what appeared to be tears of sorrow, but were, in reality, an unavoidable side effect of the chemicals.