Ghyll:Ancestral burial tableau
The ancient Ghyllians had a special fixation with furniture; it permeated all phacets of their lifes. They bought and built furniture commemorating all and any occasions, the passing of a loved one, the moving into a new house, etc. Even after death, furniture was present. By -300 EC, entire graves were filled to the top with dining rooms, bedrooms and living rooms, lefting little room for the burial for the bodies of Ghyllians themselves. This, however, stopped approximately in -295 EC, as the rare wood found in the Cactus forests named Tablankel, became very scarce, due to overusage of chairs in burials. This forced the Ghyllians to develop a more minimalist approach. They finally came up with the Ancestral burial tableu. This, however, did not last long, as the Tablankel finally became extinct in -265 EC, and the Ghyllians, having forgotten about their furniture fixation, abondoned the including of any furniture in their graves.
Components of an Ancient burial tableau
As with any piece of furniture, an Ancient burial tableau can be made in any shape, and with any style. However, there are three main components found, in all of them:
The legs: These usually represent the overall view of the family and Society, of the buried Ghyllian. Proving that Ghyllians have no idealistic views of dead people, the legs of particullary evil and deranged characters are twisted, painted with dark colours and filled with accounts of their unspeakable horrours. The tableaus of good, benefitial characters to Society, have simple and elegant legs, painted with a single even coat of a bright colour.
The body: This is how the buried Ghyllian viewed her/himself. Often in the past, plans for this part of the tableau were made years ahead, the Ghyllian fearing the idea of his/her family not knowing how he viewed himself. This component was usually self-gratifing; most of the tableaus that have been found are in the same style: a golden edge in an elaborate pattern (a sign of a good life), the Tablankel wood polished to a bright green (a sign of good health), and in the sahape of a geometrical figure. However, strange bodies have been found, most of them, credited to deranged or eccentric Ghyllians, who had a more honest view about themselves.
The objects: On top of the tableu, objects were placed, each object representing a different passion or hobby of the deceased Ghyllian. The decision of what objects to place on the tableau, falled between the family and the Ghyllian itself. Most of the tableaus that have been found over the years, have at the most, three or four objects. However, when the grave of the famous Speedish Chef Briorus Jan-Vanderschusen was found, the discoverers were surprised by the sight an incredibly large tableau of about 1 kunanit large by 1 unanit wide, filled with thousands and thousands of objects. Even now, researchers are still puzzled by the significance of this exaggerated volume of objects.
The significance of Ancestral burial tableaus
Most researchers of this subject, have not been able to unearth why did the Ghyllian fixation with furniture began, or why would Ghyllians include it in their graves, but they do agree on one thing: the tableaus allow us to have a more complete view of the recent past in Ghyll, and how the Ghyllians lived.
Citations: Cactus forests, Tablankel, Briorus Jan-Vanderschusen.
--Mr. Stokes 00:23, 20 May 2005 (EDT)
