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women have been associated with mourning practices
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since the Egyptians.
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There are tombs in the Valley of the Queens in Luxor
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that show professional mourners, women who have tears
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painted on their cheeks, from the time of the pharaohs.
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Whether that is true or not, the notion of Mater Dolorosa,
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Stabat Mater, "His mother was there,"
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is a Catholic trope of great power
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and importance in understanding how societies configure loss of life in war.
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So, the first point is that women and children,
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families are there.
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The second is there is a didactic function.