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The ancient Egyptians believed that

mummification would guarantee the soul

passage into the next life.

In no other civilization have such elaborate

preparations for the afterlife been made in the

preservation of the dead.

Egyptians believed that you had a ba (body) and

ka (spirit) - an Egyptian had a soul, which flew

away at death.

The soul flew around, to get back home it was

necessary that the soul be able to recognize the

body from which it had come.

Hence the body of the deceased was preserved in

the best possible way. It was mummified.

A period of seventy days was required for the

preparation of the mummy.

Step 1: Announcement of Death

This first step was to let the people know that

someone had died. A messenger was sent out to

the streets to announce the death. This allowed

people to get themselves ready for the mourning

period and ceremony.

Step 2: Embalming the Body

The second step was taking the body to be

embalmed. The embalmers were located in

special tents or buildings. These buildings were

called embalming workshops or Beautiful

Houses, and were maintained by teams of

priests. The Beautiful House was more like a

butcher's shop. Often times during the

embalming, the priests would have to step

outside to get away from the horrible smell.

Step 3: Removal of Brain

The first part of the body to be removed was the

brain. Egyptians did not know the purpose of the

brain, so they thought it was a waste of space. To

extract the brain, a hook was inserted through

the nose. The embalmers pulled out as much as

they could, then put it in water to dissolve. Some

people think the water was then thrown out, but

others think it was taken with the mummy to the

burial chamber.

Step 4: Removal of Internal Organs

Next to be removed were the internal organs: the

liver, the lungs, the stomach, and the intestines. A

small slit was made on the left side of the

abdomen, then the embalmers reached in and

pulled out the organs. Each of the organs was

individually mummified, then stored in little

coffins called canopic jars. There were four

canopic jars, one for each of the organs. These

jars were protected by the four sons of Horus.

Imset protected the liver.

He had the head of a human.

Ha'py watched over the lungs.

He had the head of a baboon.

Duamutef looked after the stomach.

He had the head of a jackal.

Qebehsenuef looked over the intestines.

He had the head of a falcon.

Once the internal organs were removed, the

inside of the body was washed out with palm oil,

lotions, and preserving fluids. Next the body was

stuffed with linen, straw, or other packing

material to keep the general shape of the person.

Sometimes the embalmers were careless and

either stuffed too much or too little. This caused

the mummy to look puffy or disfigured.

Step 5: Drying Out Process

The body was placed on a slab and covered with

either nacron or natron salt. The slab was tilted

so that the water would run off into a basin.

This removed moisture and prevented rotting.

The body was taken outside and let dry for

about forty days. After the body was completely

dried out, the wrapping of the body began.

Step 6: Wrapping of the Body

Wrapping the body was a painstaking process.

The body was anointed with oils, and a gold

piece with the Eye of Horus was placed over the

slit in the abdomen.

Hundreds of yards of linen were used to wrap

the body, and each toe and finger was wrapped

separately. Charms, amulets, and inscribed

pieces of papyrus were placed between each

layer of bandage. Egyptians believed that these

charms had magical properties that would

protect and bring luck to the body.

The wrapping process would be stopped every

once in a while so that the priests could say

certain prayers and write on the linen. A final

shroud was placed on the mummy to keep all

the wrappings together.

Mummia was added to the shroud to "glue" it

all together. (That's where the word "mummy"

comes from.) Sometimes false eyes were inserted

and make-up applied. Then a painted portrait

mask was placed over the mummy's head so

that dead person's soul (Ka) could recognize its

owner. The mummy was then placed into a

painted, decorated coffin.

Step 7: Final Procession

The last step of mummification was the final

procession. The final procession was where the

family and friends of the deceased walked

through the town on their way to the burial

place.

Mourners were paid to cry so that the gods of

the other world would see that the person was

well loved. The more people who cried, the

more he was loved, and the better chance he

had of going to the after world. Before the

mummy was taken inside the tomb, a ceremony

called the "Opening of the Mouth" took place.

Opening of the Mouth

The Opening of the Mouth was performed by

priests outside the burial chamber. This was one

of the most important preparations. The family

of the mummy recited spells while the priests

used special instruments to touch different parts

of the mummy's face. The Egyptians believed

that the mummy would not be able to eat, see,

hear, or move in the afterlife if this ceremony did

not take place.

The mummy was then laid in the burial chamber

along with all of his belongings, the canopic jars,

and the Book of the Dead. The Book of the Dead

was not actually a book, but a collection of over

200 magic spells written on papyrus. This book

contained instructions on how to achieve eternal

life. Then the tomb was sealed.

Weighing of the Heart

The most important task to achieve

immortality was not actually seen by anyone.

This task was called "The Weighing of the

Heart." Egyptians believed that the most

powerful part of a person was his heart.

The heart was never removed from the body,

because it was considered to be the center of a

person's being. In this ceremony, the gods of

the underworld judged the mummy's heart, or

how well he behaved during his natural life.

Maat, the goddess of truth, brought out her

scale; on one side was the mummy's heart, and

on the other was the Feather of Truth.

Anubis, the god of the underworld, made the

final judgment, and Thoth, the scribe god,

recorded it all. If the heart balanced the

feather, the soul of the mummy was granted

immortality. If the heart was heavier than the

feather (if the sins outweighed the virtues), the

soul was doomed to a horrible fate. The heart

was thrown to a monster called Ammit, or

Devourer of the Dead.

THINGS YOU DIDN’T ABOUT MUMMIES:

*Mummies used to be used to cure illnesses a

few hundred years ago. A medicine called

"mummy" was used as a cheaper, more readily

available substitute for asphalt, another popular

medicine of the time. "Mummy" was supposed

to stop bleeding, and was used for fractures,

paralysis, epilepsy, coughs, nausea, poisoning,

and liver and spleen disorders.

*Ground up mummies were used as fertilizer.

*In the late 1800's, paper manufacturers used

mummy wrappings for wrapping paper.

*Mummies have been used as a cheap source of

fuel in trains.

*In some areas, people would pay great amounts

of money to see a mummy being unwrapped.

*As magic powder -King Charles II of England

used to collect the dust and powder that fell

from collections of mummies. He would rub this

powder into his skin, all over. He believed that

the "ancient greatness" of the mummies would

rub on to him.

*As ornaments -A display case with the hand or

foot of a mummy became a very popular

ornament for Victorian mantelpieces.

*In painting-Sixteen-century artists believed

that adding powdered mummy to their paint

would stop it from cracking when it dried.

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