This article reminded me of some odd traditions surrounding death. There is apparently a tradition in some cultures, now largely vanished, known as the “sin ea

This article reminded me of some odd traditions surrounding death. There is apparently a tradition in some cultures, now largely vanished, known as the “sin eater.” It goes beyond a religious deathbed confession in that the sin eater hears the worst sins, and takes on the weight of those sins, in return for a fee. It occurred in parts of the UK and India, but died out in the 1800s. Another is more modern, prompted or resurrected by the science fiction novel Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card. The author claimed that people were adapting the ceremony featured in the novel to their own deaths. (Typing from a phone, hard to share links, sorry)