Comment by maaarghk

Reminds me of a Gaelic word I found in a dictionary - somehow this is the second time I've got the chance to roll this out on HN:

Teurmnasg (lit. thumb binding). a bandage on the toes and thumbs of a dead person, to prevent his ghost from hurting foes.

I couldn't find anything to indicate the origin of this practice but it seems like what you've said here would pretty much make sense. Cool!