The usual meaning of the word Mortaja refers to the cloth used to wrap the corpses at the time of burial.
There is another meaning in Cuba, Dominican Republic and Panama: mortaja refers to the sheet of paper used to roll cigarette tobacco.
SYNONYMS FOR Mortaja
Shroud
Cloth
Notch
Shroud
Shroud
Vestment
Sheet
ORIGIN OF Mortaja
Mortaja is a word that has different meanings according to its etymological root, mortaja comes from the Latin “mortualia” which can be translated as “mourning clothes” and this in turn derives from “mortuus” which means “dead”.
The shroud is very similar to a sheet, although according to each culture its characteristics vary.
Generally speaking, shrouds are white, since it is a color that symbolizes purity. In a way, they allow people to be all equal in the tomb, that is to say, without any difference between rich and poor, as far as clothing is concerned.
However, and going beyond these symbolisms, there are other customs in various countries in which the use of shrouds is dispensed with. In some regions only tunics are used and in others the most normal thing is that the clothes of the deceased are used directly.
The notion of the term mortaja has another etymological origin from the Middle French mortaige, which refers to a notch or incision made in one thing to fit another.
CURIOSITIES OF Mortaja
The well-known Brotherhood of the Sacred Mortaja is a group that in Spain, performs parade during Holy Week that represents Jesus descending from the cross with his sacred shroud.