Amortajado is an adjective meaning dismal or sad. It is the past participle verb of “to shroud”, an ancient technique for treating corpses, usually performed by a professional to place shrouds on the body of the deceased.
SYNONYMS FOR Amortajado
Covered
Wrapped
Somber
Funereal
Prepared
Hidden
ORIGIN OF Amortajado
This word in disuse, refers to the technique of shrouding that is applied to the corpses when they are already rolled up, wrapped and carrying the shroud around the body as a wrapper.
Shrouded is the verb of the word “mortaja”, the cloth with which corpses are covered before being placed in the grave, and is a word composed of the prefix “a” from the Latin “ad” meaning “closeness”, the noun “mortaja” and the suffix “ado” meaning “result of”.
The procedure of shrouding is given after the death of the person and in some cultures, such as the Japanese among others, it is an important ceremony for the preparation of the body.
The shroud is a cloth similar to a sheet, although according to each culture its characteristics are originated by different causes, however and in general, the shrouds are usually white because this is a color that in many regions represents purity.
In this way the shrouds allow in a way that the people inside the tomb are all the same, and have no difference if he was rich or poor, as far as this clothing is concerned.
CURIOSITIES OF Amortajado
There are other customs in different countries in which the use of shrouds is omitted. In some of them, only tunics are used, and in others, the clothes of the deceased are worn directly.