THE MUMMIFICATION PROCESS
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EGYPTIAN MUMMIFICATION
Egyptian
embalmers were so skilled that people mummified four thousand years ago still
have skin, hair and recognizable features such as scars and tattoos.
The
word mummy comes from the Arabic
mummiya, meaning bitumen or coal and every Egyptian, except the most abject
criminal, was entitled to be embalmed and receive a decent burial.
The
body was taken to the embalmers by the relatives, who then chose the method and
quality of mummification. The best and most expensive methods were used on the
wealthy, but there were cheaper alternatives for the poor.
The
Greek historian Herodotus, who lived in the fifth century BC, described the different methods:
The Most Costly
Draw
out the brain through the nostrils.
Take
out the whole contents of the belly, and clean the interior with palm-wine and
spices.
Fill
the belly with pure myrrh, cassia and other spices and sew it together again.
Cover
up in natron for seventy days.
Wash
the corpse and roll it up in fine linen.
Less Costly
Fill
the belly with oil of cedar-wood using a syringe by the breech, which is
plugged to stop the drench from returning back; it dissolves the bowels and
interior organs.
After
the appointed number of days with the natron treatment the cedar oil is let out
and the corpse is left as skin and the bones.
Returned
the corpse the family.
For the Poor
Cleanse
out the belly with a purge.
Keep
the body for seventy days of natron treatment.
Return
the corpse to the family.
CANOPIC JARS
Except
for the heart, which was needed by the deceased in the Hall of Judgment, the
embalmers removed all of the internal organs from the body. These were placed
into four vases, called Canopic Jars. The lids formed the shape of the Four
Sons of Horus. The liver was associated with Imset who was depicted with a
human head. The lungs were associated with Hapi who was depicted with a
baboon’s head. The stomach was associated with Duamutef with the head of a
jackal. The intestines and viscera of the lower body was associated with the
falcon headed Kebechsenef.
NATRON
Natron
is a naturally occurring white, crystalline mineral salt which absorbs water
from its surroundings. It was mined from dry lake beds and used in the
mummification process to soak up water from the body.
After
seventy days in natron the dried out and shriveled body was washed and rubbed
with oil and fragrant spices. The inside was packed with cloth before being
wrapped in linen. The face was painted to make it look lifelike and the hair
neatly arranged.
The
chief embalmer, dressed as Anubis (god of embalming), would bless the diseased
and priests said prayers to help the dead person on his way into the next
world. Finally, the body was wrapped in linen bandages which were soaked in
resin and magical amulets were placed within the bandages as symbols of power,
protection, and rebirth. The body was then returned to the relatives who placed
it in a wooden coffin.
COFFINS AND SARCOPHAGI
A
coffin is the rectangular or anthropoid (human shaped) container that held the
mummified body. The sarcophagus was the stone or wooden outer container which
held the coffin or coffins.
Coffins
were often decorated both on the inside and outside in a variety of styles.
Some have been found with images of food offerings on the inside to sustain the
deceased. The exterior of many Sarcophagi are painted with eyes on the side
that faced east because it was believed that the dead person could look out at
the world and see the rising sun.
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