Mummification In Ancient Egypt
The Egyptians didn't always mummify their dead. In early times, the deceased one's body was placed in a reed coffin and buried in the desert sand. The heated sand dried the body, preventing decomposition. But when they started using wooden coffins for the dead, the sand couldn't get to the bodies and they began to rot.Mummification wasn't only for pharoahs. In Egypt, there were three levels of embalming. The highest level was practiced only on pharaohs and their wives. This method is almost the same as the second method of embalming, except the coffins and funerals were much more elaborate. This method consists of seven steps. It took about seventy days.
Mummification was very important to the ancient Egyptians because it was said that you could not live with the gods if they could not recognize you. Thus, it was imperative that the cadaver looked as closely as possible to the way that it did when it was living. The body had to be washed with the water from the Nile before embalming to purify the body. Then, the brain was extracted through the nose in small chunks with a metal hook. To do this, they broke one of the bones inside of the nasal cavity. To the Egyptians, the brain was a useless organ, as the heart was considered the center of intelligence, so they pretty much just threw it out. Now the skull was flushed with natron. Next, a five inch incision was made on the left side of the body, which extended from the bottom rib to the top of the pelvis, and all of the internal organs except for the heart and the bladder were taken out. This incision was covered again later with an amulet. The heart was left in place because the Egyptians thought that it was the center of thought and processing, and it was used for judgement in the afterlife. All of the other organs were wrapped in linen and placed in canopic jars. Each organ had a specific god to watch over it, and the heads of these gods were carved into the lids of the jars.
Next, the body was placed on a slanted embalming table and was covered with natron for forty days. Then the body was washed again. This wasn't really a ritual, it was mainly for sanitation purposes. It was rubbed with sweet smelling spices and the head and body were stuffed with linen to give the body a more life-like appearance. But even after this, the body still looked emaciated. The Egyptians would try to restore the body by making incisions and insering cloth and mud or sawdust.
Now it was time to wrap the mummy up. Each of the fingers and toes were wrapped individually, and the body was wrapped in more than fifteen layers of linen. In between these layers of linen, the embalmers put little amulets and other symbols of magic and protection.
Next the mummy was put in a coffin and taken to the burial site. People were hired to show their grief by crying and throwing dust on their hair. At the burial site, the priest performed a series of ritualistic ceremonies, including the opening of the mouth ceremony. This was when a priest touched the mummy with a special instrument to release their soul so it could do things that a living person could do, such as eat, talk, and hear.
Another ceremony was the Judgement of the Heart. This was when some of the Egyptian gods and goddesses "got together" and judged the heart of the deceased. The heart was placed on one plate of the Balance of Judgement, and the feather of Maat, the goddess of justice and equality was placed on the other side. If the heart of the dead person was heavier than the feather of Maat, the person wasn't honest. They would then be devoured by
Now they would bury the mummy deep inside of the tomb with all of its belongings, like jewels, statues, and furniture. The priest would read spells from the Egyptian Book of the Dead. If the mummy was a pharaoh, they would even have a huge pyramid or burial site all to themselves. Members of their family would make offerings like food and pieces of linen to take care of themself in the tomb.
After the mummy was buried, it was said that they were at peace in the afterlife.
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