What happens to the dead bodies of the Matis?
Ancestral sap transfer or "homecoming"
The dead Matis of the upper classes are handled with great care by the embalmers. The process involves two stages, the first is to treat the body to be preserved over time for the family to bid him farewell.
In the second stage, the body is placed in a cocoon that extracts the sap from the body, this sap is then given to the family who can inject it into their tree-house. Thus, each Matis keeps his ancestors with him in his dwelling.
- Embalming is a hereditary privilege granted by the Kings family to matisian nobility.
Burial
- Families who are not allowed to benefit from embalming are simply burying their dead in the ground.
Analysis
* It is likely that in ancient times, the Matis were burying their dead near their tree-dwellings, so the living homes, feeding on the sap of the dead, incorporated it in a natural way. The research of botanists helped to improve the process by directly injecting the sap in the tree-house. In the same time it deepened the social rift between the nobles and the commoners who were now made to bury their dead further away from homes, given the increasing density of cities in the cemetries.
