Ancient - Minos (Sengo):
Rituals - Minos teach that dancing is invented by the gods and therefore is it used in most of their religious ceremonies and celebrations. When not dancing in a circle the dancers hold their hands high or wave them to left and right. They hold cymbals or a kerchief in their hands. The onlookers joined in, clapping and singing while musicians play the guitar, flute, sistrum, timpani drum, psaltirio, Sirigs, lyre, cymbals, keras and kanonaki.Minos burial rituals are extravagant. Gold and jewels are essential grave offerings of respectable and honored tombs. Minos people want whenever possible to be buried in their home city by their close family. The eyes and mouth of the dead person must be closed, and the body washed and anointed, with a laurel branch used to sprinkle sanctified water. A coin for Charon is fixed between the teeth. The body is then wrapped in a linen shroud and crowned with garlands, and sometimes laid on vine branches. Oregano is put on the body to ward off evil spirits. Finally, the body is laid in a standing coffin, with its feet facing the door, in the house for a whole day. Women lament, and men come to pay their respects. On the third day after death, before sunrise, the corpse is brought out in a procession to the cemetery. The women sing a funeral dirge with their hands placed on their heads.
