Mummification+Notes+from+Class


 * Mummification Notes **
 * Summary **
 * Symbol of Ancient Egyptians’ desire to continue living
 * Priests oversee the process
 * Must ensure that the deceased is fully equipped to make the journey into the afterlife
 * Do this through customs, rituals, and steps
 * Beliefs **
 * Egyptians believed that when a person dies, spirits are released from the body
 * The ka is the spirit
 * The ba is the personality
 * The akh is the power
 * The body must be preserved so that these spirits can recognize it and return to it
 * Without the spirits, the body cannot exist in the afterlife
 * Mummification Process **
 * Only the wealthy were preserved but eventually all were mummified in some manner
 * The complexity and care taken during the process tell us of their social status
 * Takes about 60-70 days
 * Step by Step **
 * Clothing is removed
 * Body is laid on a long, wooden table
 * An instrument, similar to a knitting needle, removes the brain
 * Egyptians believed it was useless
 * The heart is left inside the body
 * It was believed to be the center of intelligence and emotion
 * The mouth is cleaned and filled with scented linen
 * Anubis, the god of embalming, draws a line down the body
 * Another makes the incision and it chased from the area with curses
 * This ritual is performed to calm the spirits, because it is forbidden to injure another Egyptian
 * The contents of the abdomen and chest are removed
 * The intestines are put in a jar and made a prayer to
 * The inside of the body is washed with wine and spices
 * This flushes away materials that might cause decay – a disinfectant
 * The internal organs are treated with hot resin and packed in canopic jars
 * Rest of the body packed with rags and natron (salt) to dry it out
 * The drying process takes 40 days
 * The body is now covered and stuffed with natron which will dry it out. All of the fluids and rags from the embalming process will be saved and buried along with the body.
 * Canopic Jars **
 * Lids of the jars have heads of the gods to protect the organs
 * Protect the organs for the afterlife
 * Final Embalming Steps **
 * Once dried, the rags are removed from the body and it is washed with wine
 * It is restuffed with linen
 * The incision is sewn up
 * Final Ritual **
 * The body is now wrapped in linen
 * Uses about 150 yards
 * The attention to detail depends on the social class
 * Higher class will have each finger and toe wrapped
 * Lower class might be wrapped as a whole
 * Higher class might have pieces of jewellery or amulets placed inside the wrappings
 * Burial **
 * The entire mummy is placed into a sarcophagus (coffin) painted with the person’s portrait so that the spirits will know where to return
 * Prayers are chanted to ensure proper preservation
 * Book of the Dead **
 * A number of spells are said taken from the Book of the Dead
 * This book contains spells and prayers to help the person make the journey into the afterlife
 * The rich could order their own copy of the book of the dead while others would have they painted on the walls of their tombs, others were not buried with the book at all