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Burial beliefs in ancient egypt essay
Essay egyptian embalming and mummification process
Essay egyptian embalming and mummification process
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The funerary rituals introduced by the Egyptians were the most intricate, spiritual rites in their times and, perhaps, even to this day. Their elaborate customs, tombs, and gifts to the dead were representative of their pious, devoted nature. Albeit not all were as imposing as the oldest and still remaining Seven Wonder of the World, the Pyramids of Giza, all were meaningful and sacred. The Egyptians, highly reverent of their dead, adopted ornate, religious burial practices to fit to every member of their society. The grandeur with which Egyptians regarded their funerary customs does not come without explanation. They delighted in tying the occurrences of the natural world with supernatural dogma, and their burial practices exemplified this deluge of religion. A special deity was even attributed to cemeteries and embalmers: Anubis (Fiero, 46). Due to this deep sense of religion, a fixation with the afterlife developed within their culture. The Egyptian afterlife, however, is not synonymous of heave, but, rather, of The Field of Reeds, a continuation of one’s life in Egypt meant “to secure and perpetuate in the afterlife the ‘good life’ enjoyed on earth” (Mark 1; “Life in Ancient Egypt” 1). The pursuit of this sacred rest-place prompted the arousal of intricate Egyptian funeral rituals. Funerary Customs Perhaps the most notorious of burial practices originating in Egypt is that of mummification. Why such an extraordinary attempt was made to preserve cadavers may seem illogical to some, the reasons for embalming the dead made perfect sense to the Egyptians. Mummification kept corpses in a desiccate, pristine condition; the body must be suitable for the owner’s spirit to return for a rendezvous, as per Egyptian belief (Evans, 20).... ... middle of paper ... ...ld one day be a part of. Egyptian life was only a temporary engagement; the true pleasure came from crossing the Nile to the Field of Reeds where they would forever live in peace and luxury. Thus, Egyptian culture displayed the rise in significant funeral rites and burial practices. Works Cited Evans, Elaine Altaman. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Frank H. McClung Museum, College of Liberal Arts, University of Tennessee. Web. 02 Feb. 2014. Fiero, Gloria K. "Africa: Gods, Rulers, and the Social Order." The Humanistic Tradition. 6th ed. Vol. I. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2002. 44-62. Print. Prehistory to the Early Modern World. "Life in Ancient Egypt." Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Carnegie Museum of Natural History, n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2014. Mark, Joshua J. "Egyptian Burial." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient History Encyclopedia Ltd., 19 Jan. 2013. Web. 02 Feb. 2014.
Ancient Egyptian culture was largely focused on the afterlife. One of their most important deities, Osiris, became the ruler of the Underworld through death. The pharaoh and elite class prepared for their impending deaths throughout their lives. Much of what survives from ancient Egypt today was found in tombs and temples of the dead. When one of the elite died, the process of laying him or her to rest was extensive. Harold Hays explains that “the ritualized process of embalming and mummification is usually stated as lasting seventy days” (Hays 5). "Funeral Procession, Tomb of Pairy" shows two of the processes that Hays details. The first depicted is the procession to the tomb. Pairy’s body would have already been through several processions, mummification, and embalming. This particular procession’s goal is to lead not just the body, but also the spirit into the afterlife. People of both high and low classes attended this procession, carrying with them the tomb goods (Hays 6-7). The second depicted
“Divine of Body: The Remains of Egyptian Kings” was written by Robert Morkot, a lecturer in Archeology at the University of Exeter, and was published in Past and Present in 2010. In this article, Morkot argues that the Egyptian practice of mummification was not related to the western principle of relic-collection and that the remains of rulers weren't worshiped or put on display. Instead, the Egyptian obsession with the preservation of bodies was linked to their view of a complete body being essential as a place for the soul to reside after death. Current mummies are a controversial issue due to how, or if, they should be displayed to the public because the Egyptian Kings wouldn't have wanted to be put on display. The way in which they are displayed is more in line with the western view of relics than the religious significance with which the Egyptians intended them to be. The lack of this “relic view” of the mummified remains in Egypt is due to their “completeness view,” closely associated with religious practices of the time. Each person was made up of different elements, each having a different purpose, and together making up the essence of that person. Upon preservation, the body became a vessel for the soul, divine (after the incense rite) and non. The body was placed in a tomb, which became the place of rituals for awhile after death. These tombs were robbed many times over the years, but the primary motivation appears to have been the acquisition of valuables and not on the collection of relics. In many cases, after robbery, the mummified bodies would be re-wrapped and preserved along with all the rituals that went with it, showing how important it was that the body remain complete after death.
... burial places. Not only did it provide these individuals with an eternal essence, it was a demonstration of their wealth and taste. These burial practices are cultural dedications that engage with society. Though are not all the same, they provide the same type message. This message is in regard to the heavy presence of power at a certain time. The society of elites engages in the world, competes with each other and in this generates a sense of control. Creating tombs and spaces for themselves ensures them that their mark on the world lasts forever even when their body doesn’t. It is religious in that it provides space for someone who has died and ascended yet it is symbolic of the spirit where the individual can back to the high ether and be where the gods live.
The history and tradition of Egypt is one of the most greatly studied and admired of all past world civilizations. The lure of the pyramids and the specter of the sphinx have led many archeologists to dedicate his/her life to unraveling the mysteries of ancient Egyptian culture. Arguably, the most captivating aspect of Egypt’s past is that of mummification. Why did the Egyptians mummify their dead? What beliefs did the Egyptians have regarding the after life? What portion of the Egyptian civilization was mummified? What was the Book of the Dead? This is a mere sampling of the questions that come to my mind when I think of ancient Egyptian culture. I hope to lay forth answers to these questions and many more in the following pages dedicated to the history and purpose behind Egyptian mummification.
The time period for Egyptian mummification is from their Predynastic Period (4650-3050 BC) until after the New Kingdom (1069 BC-395 AD). The Egyptians believed in Polytheism, which the religion of worshiping more than one god. Since they believed in more than one god, they believed in Osiris, the earthbound god of the dead, and Re, the sun god. These two gods were critical to the Egyptians, because they counted on those two gods to lead people into the afterlife. In order to achieve the afterlife, a proper burial had to take place for the dead. The Table of Sinuhe, a twelfth dynasty text, described the preparation for a funeral for someone who is elite in Egypt, which included: constructing the grave on an elite location, with both a public chapel and a private burial chamber. The Egyptians did this to preserve the name of the deceased, and their objects that were given to the deceased to help guide them to the afterlife. The family of the deceased then needed to choose which of the three embalming processes was right for them. There were three types of mummification processes: there was the most expensive and most elaborate process; the second way contained some of the steps from the first way to embalm a person, but was very limited; and the last way would be the cheapest and least elaborate way to embalm someone. The embalmer was astute man, who was respected and had the same privileges as the priests did. Nevertheless, this belief in life after death affected the population of Egypt and their art, architecture, technology, and their legal practices, which would be that no one could do any damage to a dead body. Historians find all this information from two writers, who wrote different pieces of text on mummification.
Ancient Egyptians were very religious people with various beliefs and gods. Ancient Egypt consisted of the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and the New Kingdom. Not only is Ancient Egypt known for their outstanding architecture in pyramids, but also, their astonishing understanding of the human body. Mummification began around c.3500 BCE and by the Old Kingdom it had become a standard practice. Everything Egyptians did, including mummification had to do with their religious beliefs. They followed rituals to please the gods and therefore received something in exchange. Moreover, they believed that mummifying a body was preparing a person for their afterlife. The process of mummification changed depending on the person’s socioeconomic status.
The mummification process was very important in ancient Egypt. The rich pharaohs cared a lot about their mummification process, their funeral and their tombs. They did all what they could do to get the fanciest funeral and tomb. Some of their tombs were built out of mud brick or sometimes even stone. However, the poor citizens in ancient Egypt didn’t have as fancy funerals as the pharaohs had. They concentrated on their mummification process and that’s where most of their money went after their death.
Death is the equalizer of all life. Throughout time people have constructed death in many different ways. For ancient civilizations, such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, Ugarit, Greece, and Rome, death consisted of burial rituals and practices, the construction of monuments, murals, and stele, and offering libations to the dead. These civilizations shared many aspects in their perceptions of death and the afterlife, but those perceptions also varied enough to be individualistic and unique to each civilization. Among the many differences between civilizations’ perceptions, some of the variations involved the location of graves, the type of monuments constructed, the structure of the funeral, and preparation of the dead body for the funeral. The relationship
The Egyptians during this period took ample time and detail on the mummification process to ensure a successful transition from the netherworld to rebirth. The Coffin of Tentkhonsu, 1025-980 B.C., it’s a depiction of how the Egyptians valued and honored their elite members of society, as well as their gods. The Coffin of Tentkhonsu, itself dates back to the III intermediate period in Egyptian culture. The Egyptian believe was to join Osiris, whom was believed to have ascended to Netherworld and accomplished eternal life.
The Egyptians were marvelous masters at preserving bodies. Bodies at which are still intact for the most part today. The skin and other soft tissue is not there as they would not last all this time in a tomb. These bodie...
It is clear that tombs and burial rituals were a key element in the Egyptian society and their way of life as it ties into almost all things they did on a daily basis. Whatever a person’s status was when they were alive followed them into the afterlife. Food and luxury goods were buried with a person so that they could have it in the afterlife. The tombs became a person’s new house after they died. Therefore, making it as nice as possible was really important. Art work and clay models were added to a person’s tomb as material goods needed for the afterlife. They were also seen as decorations that kept the tombs looking nice. Throughout the years, Egyptian artworks on the inner parts of the tombs and on the coffins show a development in the Egyptian customs. Each new development was created to better preserve the bodies and comfort of the dead.
... learning about ancient medical practices in Egypt, therefore I have decided to continue research and expand my paper into a twenty page research paper for my final research paper at the end of the semester. In my next portion of my ten page paper I will explore the other topics stated in my thesis. My final paper will merely be a continuation of the topics that I have written about in this paper. I will explore and go into depth with the topics of human embalmment and its significance to the work of modern medicine today. I would also like to compare modern day embalmment for funerals with embalmment rituals used in Ancient Egypt. Another primary focus for the next installment of this paper will be a detailed argument of why it would be a wonderful and scientifically beneficial idea to fund and continue research of medical practices in Ancient Egypt.
Abydos was a cultural and religious center that held importance not just for those that lived there but to the region as a whole. Many Egyptian pharaohs had temples built at Abydos for their worship after they had traveled to the afterlife. Not surprisingly, the more affluent Egyptians at Abydos had tombs constructed incorporating drawings and murals depicting servitude to the gods and other activities in which they expected to participate when they joined with the gods (Casson 42). Included in the tomb would be grave goods such as food, clothing, musical instruments and anything else that would make the afterlife more pleasant for the owner of...
Egyptians believed that there were six vital parts that made up a person. Each of these parts were necessary in the journey from the physical world to that of the afterlife—the phenomenon of mummification is based off of this desire to preserve the important fragments of a person. The six main portions were the body, shadow, name, Ka (spirit), Ba (personality), and Akh (immortality). In order to ensure the Ka traveled safely to the afterlife, statues of the Ka were molded out of clay and put into the tomb with its owner’s body. The Ka had the same needs and desires as the person as it embodied the soul. The Ka was buried with food, drink, and other offerings that it would need in the afterlife to be comfortable. Like the Ka, other clay statues were often put into the tomb with the body. These statues were representative of magical servants who would take on any task that the person needed help with in the afterlife or journey to the afterlife. The Ba or personality entered the person’s body at birth and left with the person’s death. The Ba could easily move between the spirit and real world taking on various forms as it journeyed. Many believed that the Ba would control the dream state of a person. The Akh was the most important factor in the moving on process for Ancient Egyptian people. The Akh would leave the person at death and join spirits in the under world and would in theory live forever. The person’s body was viewed as glue that held all of these factors together on the journey to the afterlife. Mummification assured people that their body would be prepared and preserved so they could journey into the afterlife. ("Egyptian Religion." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6Th Edition (2013): 1. MAS Ultra - School ...
Magesa, Laurenti. African Religion: The Moral Tradition of Abundant Life. Nairobi: Pauline Pub., Africa, 1998.