Indigenous burial rites prohibited

Isidoro Sainz de Alfaro y Beaumont; Pedro Ocón.

Circular, que dirige el Senor Gobernador de la Sagrada Mitra á los Parrocos, Eclesiasticos y Fieles Cristianos del Arzobispado de Mexico, sobre Ereccion de Cementerios fuera de las Poblaciones.

México City, Oficina de Doña María Fernández de Jaúregui, 1809.

8°. [2], 36 pp.

Contemporary marbled paper wrappers.

First and only edition of a detailed explanation regarding the rules and regulations for burying the dead in the Archdiocese of Mexico. Due to widespread neglect of Christian burial practices among the local population, the Archbishop of Mexico commissioned his cousin, Inquisitor Isidoro Sainz de Alfaro y Beaumont, to author this work. Sainz de Alfaro, a cousin of both the Archbishop and Viceroy Francisco Javier de Lizana y Beaumont, aimed to reinforce the importance of following these burial customs. He supports his argument by citing Old Testament examples that emphasize the necessity of proper burial administration, echoing a decree issued by the Viceroyalty in 1787. The author writes: “From this very certain fact, it can be deduced that the practice of burying the dead outside of towns is perhaps as old as the world. The horror they cause the living, the stench they exhale, at the same time that by a kind of natural instinct they impel man to get away from their presence, have always forced the Nations of some culture to preserve mortals from contagion and damages that can result from multiplying burials in the Towns.”

This copy is signed in ink on the final page by Isidoro Sainz de Alfaro y Beaumont, and on behalf of the governor, by secretary Pedro Ocon.

Condition: covers stained. Labels on front cover and verso of title-page. Title-page stained, rest slight to minor spotting throughout. Otherwise in good condition.

Reference: Medina, Mexico, 10306; Palau 285401.