Mummification final
- 1. Mummification By Karen Mayberry
- 2. Introduction The Ancient Egyptians had a set of burial customs they believed were necessary to live on after death in the Afterlife.
- 3. How to make a Mummy? The body is taken to an ‘Ibu’ where it is washed with good smelling palm wine and rinsed with water from the Nile. The internal organs are taken out. We need to do this as they will rot if left in. The organs are dried in salt called Natron and placed in Canopic Jars. Click here for a video on removing organs.
- 4. How to make a Mummy? The brain is removed with a long hook which is pushed up the nose. The heart is not taken out as they believed your intelligence came from your heart not your brain. The body is stuffed with Natron to dry it out. After 40 days it is rinsed and then covered in oils to keep the skin soft. The body is stuffed with sawdust, leaves and linen so that it looks life-like. Finally, good smelling oils are rubbed in and the body is now ready for wrapping in linen.
- 5. Wrapping a Mummy The head and neck is wrapped in fine linen, each arm, leg , finger and toe is wrapped separately. Amulets or charms are placed between the layers of linen to protect him on his way to the Afterlife. An Isis knot to protect the body The Ankh The heart amulet The Plummet to keep him balanced in the Afterlife.
- 6. The Final Stages A priest reads out spells while the body is being wrapped to ward off spirits and help him on his journey. A papyrus scroll with spells from the Book of the Dead is placed in the wrapped hands. Each layer of linen is painted with liquid resin to help it glue together. Next a cloth is wrapped around the body and a picture of the god Osiris is painted on it.
- 7. Canopic Jars. Hapy the Baboon headed god protects the lungs. Duamutef the Jackal headed god protects the stomach. Qebehsenuef the Falcon headed god protects the intestines. Imsety the human headed god protects the liver.
- 8. Funeral A funeral is then held where his family mourns his death A ritual called “The Opening of the Mouth” is performed so that he can eat and drink in the Afterlife. Finally the mummy and his coffins are placed in a large stone coffin called a Sarcophagus in the tomb. The family arrange furniture, clothing, valuable objects, food and drink in the tomb. Figures called Shabtis (his servants) are also put in the tomb. Shabtis magically come to life when there is work to be done.
- 9. Journey to the Underworld The mummy is now ready for the journey to the Underworld. There his heart will be weighed on the scale of Maat against the feather of truth by the god Anubis the jackal headed god. Thoth Scribe of the gods the Ibis headed god records the result. If his heart is lighter than the feather he is allowed to pass into the Afterlife. If not he is eaten by the waiting creature called Ammut who has the body composed of a lion, crocodile and hippopotamus.
- 10. Timelines Funery chapters appeared in tombs. 1600 BC Spells became standard text for the elite during 18 th Dynasty. 1500 BC Book papyri of New Kingdom and Ramesside periods. 1300 BC
- 11. Bibliography Canopic Jars of Horwedja-Flickr.com Mummy on flickr-flickr.com Kist uit de 27-31e dynastie on flickr-flickr.com Mummies of Ancient Egypt. How are mummies made-2.si-umich.edu Egyptian Book of the Dead-egyptartsite.com Ancient Egypt for kids-Book of the Dead-egypt.mrdonn.org How to make a Mummy-Youtube
Editor's Notes
- #4: The Ancient Egyptians had a set of burial customs they believed were necessary to live on after death in the Afterlife. How was a person prepared for the Afterlife? Preparation First we take the body is taken to an ‘Ibu’ where the embalmers wash his body with good smelling palm wine then rinse it with water from the Nile. Next we make a cut in the left side of the body and take out the internal organs. We need to do this as they will rot if left in. Next we dry out the organs in a salt called Natron and place them in Canopic Jars. Hapy the Baboon headed god protects the lungs. Duamutef the Jackel headed god protects the stomach. Qebehsenuef the Falcon headed god protects the intestines. Imsety the human headed god protects the liver.
- #5: To remove the brain a long hook is pushed up the nose you stir it around to smash it up and then you pull it out. The heart is not taken out as they believed your intelligence came from your heart not your brain. The body is now covered and stuffed with Natron to dry it out. All of the fluids and rags from the embalming process will be saved and buried with the body. After 40 days we wash the body again with water from the Nile. The body is then covered in oils to keep the skin soft. The body is next stuffed with sawdust, leaves and linen so that it looks lifelike. Finally good smelling oils are rubbed in and the body is now ready for wrapping in linen. Wrapping. We next wrap the head and neck in fine linen, each finger and toe is wrapped separately. Next we wrap each arm and leg separately. Amulets or charms are placed between the layers of linen to protect him on his way to the Afterlife. An Isis knot to protect the body, the Ankh, the heart amulet and the Plummet to keep him balanced in the Afterlife. A priest reads out spells while the body is being wrapped to ward off spirits and help him on his journey. The embalmers tie the arms and legs together and a papyrus scroll with spells from the Book of the Dead is placed in the wrapped hands. More linen is wrapped around the body and each layer is painted with liquid resin to help glue the linen together. Next a cloth is wrapped around the body and a picture of the god Osiris is painted on it. Finally a large cloth is wrapped around the body and tied with bandages that run from top to bottom and around the middle of the mummy.
- #9: Break into bullets and summarise if needed.