The first thing to do to determine the meaning of the term viaticum is to discover its etymological origin. In this sense, it should be noted that it is a word that derives from Latin, from “viaticum”, which in turn comes from “via”.
Viaticum was used to refer to the provision of food and money that a person needed to travel. However, during the Middle Ages it was used to refer to a tax that was collected from all who wished to travel along a road that belonged to the lands of a feudal lord. The concept, therefore, is used to denominate the money or species that are delivered to a person for his sustenance during a trip. For example: “The daily ration that the company gave me is barely enough to eat”, “I still don’t receive the daily ration from last month… do you know what happens?” , “As I spent little on food, I had money left over for the daily rate. ”
The travel allowance can be given to the traveler before departure, so that he has means of subsistence during the trip. Suppose an employee of a multinational company is sent from Chile to Germany to attend a conference. This person’s boss gives him the daily allowance before he leaves, so that he can pay for his hotel, food and travel on German soil. In other cases, the daily rate is paid after spending. A young man who raises money for a technology company makes several trips a day, spending money on train, subway and bus tickets. Every day, when he arrives at the end of the day, he presents the transport vouchers to the company’s administration and receives the corresponding money. This means that if the worker spent 45 pesos on travel expenses, he recovers them. In the field of religion, viaticum is the sacrament given to a sick person who is about to die. This sacrament consists of giving communion to the dying in preparation for his departure. This religious “rite” comes from an ancient Greco-Roman ritual in which a coin was inserted into the mouth of the deceased, under the tongue, as a way of paying the tax of passage to Hades. This coin was known as “óbolus”, the Greek term, and also as “viaticum”, the Latin concept. Viaticum, in this sense, by giving communion to the dying, establishes that it should not take place in certain circumstances. It is exactly said that it should not be done when the person in question cannot swallow, when he is unconscious or directly when he flatly refuses to receive that sacrament. Of course, this process is carried out by the parish priest, who must carry it out when it is evident that the dying person is still in full use of his mental faculties.
