Ancient Egypt Process Of Mummification

Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system made up of polytheistic beliefs and rituals. Religion played a large role in every aspect of the ancient Egyptians lives because life on earth was only seen as part of an eternal journey. In order to continue that journey after death, one needed to live a life worthy to continue. The Egyptians believed that the afterlife could only be achieved if the body of the dead was preserved, so that they could use it in the afterlife. Egyptians devoted much of their time and wealth preparing for the afterlife. The ancient Egyptians created a process to preserve their bodies, this process was called mummification. The practice of preserving the bodies of the dead were both ritualistic and spiritual. Mummification

Mummification begins when the embalmers wash the dead’s body. They then make a small incision on the left side to remove many of the internal organs. The internal organs must be removed because they would be the first thing the body begins to decompose. (Mummification) The Egyptians would keep the liver, the lungs, stomach and small intestines, they would be then washed and covered in natron to dry them out. The Egyptians did not believe that the brain was the center of human intelligence and feelings, but the heart was, so the heart remained in the body because it would be needed in the afterlife. The Egyptians did not understand what the brain was truly for and found no need to keep it so they would remove it by shoving a long hook into the nose. The hook was used to smash the contents of the brains and then to remove them. The body would then be covered and stuffed with natron to begin the process of drying out the body. The embalmers would wait forty days until removing the natron. After the forty days, the body is once again washed and then covered in oils. The dehydrated organs would be either wrapped in linen and returned back to the body or they would be placed in their own canopic jar. To make the body appear lifelike it would be stuffed with materials, such as sawdust, linen or leaves. (Mummification) The process of wrapping the mummy would then take

“Forty-two gods would listen to the confessions of the deceased who claimed to be innocent of their crimes against the divine and human social order,” (Egyptian civilization - Religion - Life after death). The person’s heart would then be placed on the scale, counterbalanced by a feather that represented Ma’at. If the heart was equal in weight to the feather or lighter, then the person had achieved immortality. If the heart weighed more than the feather, it would be devoured by the goddess, Amemet, meaning they had not obtained life in the afterworld. However, if a pharaoh passed the test, then he became one with the god Osiris (Egyptian civilization - Religion - Life after death). The akh was another spiritual entity that was only found in individuals whos souls were worthy because they were good people in their past life. Those who were criminals were not allowed to have a akh. “An akh is the blessed or ‘transfigured’ soul of a person who died and whose soul had been judged by Osiris and found maat kheru- justified. An akh was an effective spirit, one could still influence events in this world,” (The Egyptian Soul: the ka, the ba, and the