Within my community as in many African communities, death is
seen as a great and irredeemable tragedy even when such death occurs in old age. This despite the fact that as Paul Mboya
says, “as soon as one is born, his death is also planned.” The reverence with which the Luo people view
their ancestors is observed in the “performance of a series of rituals and many
feasts for the dead because of their strong fear and respect for the
dead.” They perform more than ten kinds
of different rituals for the deceased, largely held in their rural homeland in
the face of ongoing modernization and urbanization in overall Kenya. The Luos in this regard are generally known
in Kenya as a people who are seriously concerned with their burial place, far
more than any other ethnic group. The
Luo attitude towards their burial place evidently shows how much they fear and
respect the deceased ancestors whom they call upon to bless their homes. The community holds the strong belief that
if these rituals are not performed and if burial does not occur in a designated
place which is normally on the ancestral land, then chira (curse or bad luck) will follow the family
left behind.
Due
to advances in medical science, there is the thirst for more knowledge and the
prolongation of human life. In many
instances increased knowledge can be gotten from cadavers of people who once
lived but now are no more, before they are given a burial. However, Dr Gunther Von Hagens from Germany has
exclusively developed a system whereby cadavers are plastinated; frozen for all
time and transported from one part of the world to the other, for display and
awareness – not only for the medical student, but for the amateur, the curious
and shocked onlooker. The anatomy and
physiology exhibit developed by Dr Gunther von Hagens features more than 200
real, preserved human specimens, including entire bodies as well as individual
organs, body parts and transparent body slices.
The exhibits have toured Europe and Asia from 1995-2004, and has been
viewed by over 15 million people. The
most fascinating thing about the exhibits are that real bodies are plastinated
in everyday poses, this is as well what makes it most controversial. There is the basketballer in flight, a
ballerina pair, the poker playing trio, the archer or the runner and even a
pregnant lady lying down. The
plastinates are displayed in the context of science, health and medical
education, and create an “atmosphere” of respect. The key motive of the exhibition is described
in the Body’s World’s catalog, “For the medical enlightenment and appreciation
of lay people.”
It’s amazing to see different body organs in glass cases, and
to view the differences between healthy organs and sick organs; there are
startling differences for example between a healthy lung and the lung of a
smoker which is darkened by tar. The
demographics of the viewers is conspicuous; barely a handful of people with
African heritage, but crowds of Caucasians milling around. Pieter Gorcsum from Surinam tells me he’s
studying to be a nurse, and his school paid for him to attend the exhibition
for learning purposes. He is certain
that if it was not compulsory to attend, most likely he wouldn’t have come.
By
use of the plastination technique, Dr Von Hagens has irrevocably changed the
traditional field of anatomy and its’ audience, he notes that “The purpose of
plastination from its’ inception was a scientific one: to educate medical
students.” However, the interest of lay people in the plastinated specimens
inspired him to think of public exhibitions, which was followed by the
realisation that he had to offer a heightened sense of aesthetics to avoid
shocking the public and to capture their imagination. Prof. Dr Hans-Martin Sass
of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University states that “This
exhibit gives the public an opportunity usually reserved for medical
professionals. Viewers get a chance to
look inside their own bodies and experience the wonder and respect for what it
means to be human.” Dr Gunther von Hagens invented plastination in 1977 at the
University of Heidelberg, Germany and has continuously developed it since then. Plastination is a technique that stops the
decomposition of the dead body and produces solid, odourless and durable
anatomical specimens for scientific and medical training.
Many questions fill
the minds of those gazing upon these bodies and body parts; the biggest being
“Where exactly are the bodies from?”
There have been murmers and concerns that these bodies may have been
those of political prisoners from China, whose bodies were unidentified and
thus made use of in this way without their explicit consent. Yvonne de Vries of BodyWorlds Amsterdam
affirmatively states that all the bodies on display are of people from whom
consent has been obtained and expressed their wishes to further the knowledge
of others through voluntarily donating their bodies for this purpose. However, the BodyWorlds catalogue indeed
states that “though the full-body plastinates and the majority of the specimens
are from these body donors; some specific specimens that show unusual
conditions come from old anatomical collections and morphological institutes.” How about ethical issues? How right is it to
keep bodies unburied and preserved for all time in this fashion? Are the souls
of these ones having no rest but in continual wanderings? The BodyWorlds website explicitely states
that “Before the North American premiere of BODY WORLDS, a distinguished
committee of theologians, ethicists, academics and medical luminaries conducted
an independent ethics review.” The website continues to state that “In the case
of exhibits of plastinated human bodies or organs, a special review has to
verify that bodies and organs have been donated with full and informed consent
of the donors. It as well needs the
guarantee that exhibitions are in compliance with laws and regulations, in
particular when cultural, ethical or religious controversies can be
expected. These recommendations are
based on our concern for human and civil right, our high respect for personal
choice, and our understanding that sensitive issues such as the public display
of plastinated human bodies and organs will cause cultural and ethical
debates. Such debates however, are an
essential part of science education and of evaluating the role of science and
technology in society.”
It is the hope
of Dr Gunther von Hagens and his wife, Dr Angelina Whalley that as they travel
worldwide, The Body Worlds Exhibition,
will inspire visitors towards heart-centred and heart-healthy living.
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