A thought about ancient Egyptian civilization always turns your mind to the “MUMMIES” and Pyramids.
These monuments, engravings, and the magnificent objects give a complex belief in the next world.
Ancient Egyptian believed that the “KA” (an entity related to the body) was able to drink, eat, smell and
enjoy the afterlife. The “BA” (the soul concept) could not survive without the physical body. According
to them, it was essential to preserve the body. They believed that a person could enjoy the afterlife after
his death by preserving his body. At the beginning, they buried their bodies in the deserts. After some
decades, mummification became a common and trusted trend.
Mummification process
The word “Mummy” came from the Arabic word “Mumiya” meaning “preserved body”. The
Mummification involves following different stages:
Washing and removing the body parts
A dead body was washed ritually. People believed in removing the
unessential organs like stomach, liver, lungs and intestines. They
usually preserved those parts in jars as they could contribute to the
decaying process. They believed that a brain is of no use, so they
generally disposed of the brains after getting it out through an iron
hook. They put the heart near to the throat of the body. They
supposed that a heart would provide the essential force to a
person’s afterlife.
Drying Process
After removing different organs, the ancient Egyptians would stuff the cavity with different spices and
the body then dried for almost seventy days. They also used salts for removing the moisture.
When everything was dried off nicely, mummies were ceremonially daubed with lubricants and scents.
After that, they cover that body with a dehydrate substance called, Natron. This substance dries up
the bodies rapidly, and then they were wrapped with the rags of canvas with sacred charms. Once the
bodies were preserved, they were placed to rest in a sarcophagus inside a tomb.
No comments: