Hi everyone! A few days ago, I finally completed a research report that I've been working on for over a month. Here it is, and I hope you enjoy it!

Ancient Egyptian Funerals

By Finn Sweeney

The ancient Egyptians are known for many things: pyramids, the Sphinx, pharaohs. However, they are best known for one thing in particular: mummies. The ancient Egyptians believed that the body needed to be judged by the gods before its soul could enter the afterlife. For this reason, they developed an elaborate mummification system to make sure the body was well preserved for judgement. In addition, the mummy’s burial was accompanied by a great number of rituals and ceremonies, and the body was buried with a large amount of grave goods, aiming to help its soul in the afterlife. The beliefs of the ancient Egyptians dictated that by preserving and burying the body, the deceased’s soul could find happiness in the afterlife.

The first step was to preserve the body. The process was started by breaking one of the skull bones and extracting the brain through the resulting hole using a metal hook. Then, a cut was made in the body’s left flank using an obsidian knife, and the organs were removed through the cut. The stomach cavity, now empty, was filled with myrrh powder and other substances before being stitched shut. The body was then covered with natron salt and left to dry for a period of seventy days.

The organs of the deceased were believed to be a vital element of survival in the afterlife, and thus they received the same treatment as the body. They were removed from the body and carefully treated with natron. They were then stored in jars called canopic jars. The jars were flat bottomed, and slightly larger at the neck than at the base. They were originally sealed by a simple wooden stopper, but this eventually evolved into a head-shaped stopper, representing a human or the god that protected the organ within the jar. The canopic jars were usually stored in a wooden chest, which was placed near the sarcophagus in the tomb.

By the time the body had finished drying, it was little more than skin and bones, and the embalming could begin. The body was cleansed, anointed with oils, and wrapped in linens. The hands, fingers, and feet of the mummy were wrapped first, followed by the torso and then the entire body. In addition, protective charms and amulets were placed between the many linen bindings. Embalming priests assumed the role of Anubis, the jackal-headed god of mummification, during the mummification, sometimes even wearing a jackal mask, and a Lector priest kept up a constant incantation of spells and prayers throughout the entire process.

Once the mummy had been embalmed, a mummy mask was placed over its head and shoulders, to make sure that the deceased could be recognized in the afterlife. If the deceased was of high rank, gold caps were placed over their fingers and toes, and their eyes were replaced with jewels. After all this had been done, the mummy was placed in its sarcophagus. The sarcophagus was originally coffin-shaped, but by the New Kingdom period it had evolved into a human shape. The mummy was typically placed in the sarcophagus with both arms clasped across its chest, a posture that mimicked Osiris, god of the dead.

Once the body had been preserved, embalmed, and placed in its sarcophagus, it could then be buried. Ancient Egyptian tombs went through many changes over the centuries. In the early periods of ancient Egypt (the Badarian and Nagada I periods), shallow graves contained a single body laid on its left side and facing west, along with a variety of grave goods. By the Nagada II period, important leaders were being buried in monumental brick tombs, while the masses continued to be buried in shallow graves. During the Archaic period, the custom of leaving food offerings in tombs began, and early attempts at mummification were made.

By the Old Kingdom period, pyramids were being built, their sloping sides representing a ramp allowing the pharaoh’s spirit to ascend to the gods. By the end of the Old Kingdom, pyramids were no longer being built. Although the practice was briefly reintroduced in the Middle Kingdom, it was abandoned altogether in the New Kingdom, when pharaohs began to be buried in rock-cut tombs in the Valley of the Kings.

The funeral cortege could begin as soon as the body had been mummified and placed in its sarcophagus. The mummy was placed on a canopied, open-sided shrine, which was in turn placed on a boat-shaped bier on a sled drawn by oxen. An assortment of grave goods and food offerings were also carried in the procession, to be buried with the mummy. Wailing women, professional mourners paid for their services, were an important part of all funeral corteges, and a high-ranking dignitary walked in front of the cortege at the funerals of pharaohs or important officials. The procession often made its way to the edge of the Nile, where it was transported by boat to the west bank. This was a representation of the deceased’s journey from the land of the living (the east bank) to the land of the dead (the west bank).

The Opening of the Mouth ceremony was performed on the mummy when the cortege reached the site of the tomb. During the ceremony, the mummy was anointed, and certain parts of the body, such as the mouth and eyes, were touched with items such as chisels and knives, to reanimate them and allow the deceased to use them in the afterlife. In some cases, the leg or heart of a slaughtered ox was held towards the body, perhaps to pass on the strength and vitality of the animal. The ceremony was usually performed by a sem priest; however, it was sometimes performed by the son and heir of the deceased, as a final act of piety.

After the Opening of the Mouth ceremony had been completed, the sarcophagus was placed in the tomb and sealed inside, along with a variety of grave goods and the canopic jars containing the organs. One of the items present in every tomb was the tomb stelae, which listed the deceased’s name, as well as prayers to certain gods. The tomb was filled with offerings food and drink, to sustain the deceased during their journey to the afterlife. Statuettes called shabtis were also placed in the tomb to represent servants, and a statue of the deceased was present as well, to replace the body should it ever disappear. Once the tomb had been sealed, the family and guests partook of a feast, to honor the deceased’s memory.

The ancient Egyptians believed that a person consisted of five parts: two physical parts (their name and shadow), and three invisible parts, the ka (their life force), the ba (similar to their personality), and the akh (their spirit).

A person’s ka was created at the precise moment they were born, and continued as that person’s “double” throughout life and death. The ka lived on after death, and, like the body in life, it required nourishment, which was why food offerings were left in tombs. It did not physically consume food or drink, but instead absorbed its life-giving forces. The ba was similar to a person’s personality that made them unique. Gods could also have a ba, as they also represented power, and the ba of a god would be the god’s physical form. For example, the Apis bull was regarded as the ba of Osiris. For the body of the deceased to survive in the afterlife, it had to be reunited with its ka every night. Since the physical body was unable to do this, it was up to the ba to make the journey. The akh was created by the union of the ka and the ba, and was the form in which the deceased lived on in the afterlife. The akh endured forever as an unchanging spirit.

The ancient Egyptians believed that before the deceased would be allowed into the afterlife, they were judged by a council of 42 gods. They would have to make a “negative confession,” claiming that they had never committed evil deeds, and they would have to repeat this confession to every member of the council. The deceased then begged their heart not to betray them in the Weighing of the Heart ceremony, in which the heart was weighed against a feather, the symbol of justice. If the heart brought the scales into balance, the deceased would be granted access to the afterlife. However, if the heart was too heavy with sin, the deceased could not enter the afterlife, and instead faced the open jaws of Ammut, Devourer of the Dead, a creature that was part lion, part crocodile, and part hippo.

The only way for the deceased to find pleasure in eternity was if their body had been properly preserved and buried; or so the Egyptians believed, at least. Thus, the ancient Egyptians spent centuries developing an elaborate process for mummification. Tombs constantly changed and evolve, moving from simple shallow graves and brick tombs to imposing pyramids and finally the Valley of the Kings. The Egyptians, in time, also created a religion, which guided them in the mummification and burial processes. Thousands of years after their kingdom fell, the customs of the ancient people of the Nile continue to fascinate us, and they tell us the incredible story of this ancient civilization.

Bibliography

Strudwick, Helen. The Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. London: Amber Books, 2006.

David, Rosalie. Handbook to Life in Ancient Egypt. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 1998.

Romer, John. A History of Ancient Egypt: From the First Farmers to the Great Pyramid. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2012.

Mark, Joshua J. “Ancient Egyptian Burial.” World History Encyclopedia. January 19, 2013. worldhistory.org/Egyptian_Burial/.

“Ancient Egyptian funerary practices.” Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/Ancient_
Egyptian_funerary_practices.