Post by Graveyardbride on Jul 9, 2015 0:52:23 GMT -5
Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt
Much of our knowledge about ancient Egyptian culture comes from archaeological evidence uncovered in tombs. Objects, inscriptions and paintings from tombs have led Egyptologists to conclude that what appeared to be a preoccupation with death was in actuality an overwhelming desire to secure and perpetuate in the afterlife the "good life" enjoyed on earth. During the more than 3,000 years of ancient Egypt's history, traditional beliefs concerning the transition to eternal life persisted, with new ideas being incorporated from time to time. Most importantly for full participation in the afterlife, it was necessary to preserve the individual’s identity. Consequently, the body had to remain intact and receive regular offerings of food and drink.
The afterlife was assured by:
(1) Preserving the body through mummification.
(2) Protecting the body in a tomb in which the name of the deceased was inscribed.
(3) Providing the deceased food and drink or illustrations of food in drink the event no one was available to make the offerings.
To protect the spirit of the deceased, scenes and inscriptions were written on coffins and the walls of tombs. These texts included such things as adaptations of the myth regarding the death of Osiris and spells to protect the deceased on his or her dangerous journey to the underworld. Figures known as shabtis functioned as servants to the deceased. The final step in the transition to the afterlife was the judgment by Osiris, god of the underworld, in a ritual known as the Weighing of the Heart. If a person had led a decent life, he or she would be judged worthy of eternal life. Many spells and rituals were designed to ensure a favorable judgment and were written in the papyrus or linen Book of the Dead. All ancient Egyptians believed in the afterlife and spent their lives preparing for it. Pharaohs constructed the finest tombs, collected the most elaborate funerary equipment and were mummified in the most expensive manner. Others were able to provide for their afterlives according to their earthly means. Regardless of wealth, however, all expected the afterlife to be an idealized version of their earthly existence.
Mummification. The process of mummification, the form of embalming practiced by the ancient Egyptians, changed over time from the Old Kingdom (c. 2750-2250 BC), when it was available only to kings, to the New Kingdom (c. 1539-1070 BC), when it was available to everyone. The level of mummification depended on what one could afford. The most fully-developed form involved four basic steps:
(1) All the internal organs, except the heart, were removed. Because the organs were the first parts of the body to decompose – but were necessary in the afterlife – they were mummified and placed in canopic jars that were entombed along with the body. The heart was believed to be the seat of intelligence and emotion and, as such, remained within the body. The brain, on the other hand, was considered of no significant value and, beginning in the New Kingdom, was removed through the nose and discarded.
(2) The body was packed and covered with natron, a salty drying agent, and left to dry for 40 to 50 days. By this time, all the body's liquid had been absorbed and only the hair, skin and bones remained.
(3) The body cavity was stuffed with resin, sawdust or linen and shaped to restore the deceased's form and features.
(4) The body was then tightly wrapped in many layers of linen with numerous good luck charms, or amulets, wrapped between the layers. The most important amulet was the scarab beetle, which was placed over the heart. Jewelry was also placed within the bandages. At each stage of wrapping, a priest recited spells and prayers. The entire procedure could take as long as 15 days. After the wrapping was complete, the body was placed in a shroud. The entire mummification process took around 70 days.
Weighing of the Heart. The ancient Egyptians believed the heart recorded all the good and bad deeds of a person's life and was necessary for judgment in the afterlife. After a person died, the heart was weighed against the feather of Maat (goddess of truth and justice). The scales were watched by Anubis (the jackal-headed god of embalming) and the results recorded by Thoth (the ibis-headed god of writing). If a person had led a decent life, the heart balanced with the feather and the person was rendered worthy to live forever with Osiris in paradise.
The Ka and the Ba. Egyptian religion held that what we call the spirit, or soul, consisted of three distinct parts: the ka, the ba and the akh. Egyptologists characterize the ka (represented by two upraised arms) as the individual's "vital force" or "spiritual twin." When a baby was born, the god Khnum created his or her ka, modeling both body and spirit on his potter's wheel. Kings could have several kas; mere mortals had only one. During life, the ka remained separate from the body. At death, a person was said to have "gone to his [or her] ka." This was the Egyptian method of saying the ka had merged with the deceased's lifeless form. To survive, the ka required a body for its eternal home. The Egyptians believed the ka dwelt within either the mummy or the tomb statue (sometimes called the ka-statue), a necessary spare body in case the corpse should be destroyed.
The Egyptians called the second element of the soul the ba (or "animation"). It was the part of the spirit that was free to leave the tomb and travel about the earth during the day. The ba was obliged, however, to return to the tomb during the perilous hours of darkness. Artisans had several methods of showing the ba, sometimes as a bird, but most often as a human-headed bird. The ba came into being only when the ka and the dead body were united; without the ka and a mummy or ka-statue, the ba could not exist.
Ba on Coffin Fragment. For the ancient Egyptians, a person possessed many qualities, the most important being (1) the body, (2) the ka or vital life force, (3) the ba, (4) the akh or immortal spirit and (5) the name. The spirit-like ba appears to have been more important in the afterlife. The ba often was present alongside the deceased at his judgment before Osiris. This fragment (above) from a coffin's base depicts the ba with its wings outspread. Because this piece formed the canopy of an anthropoid coffin where the mummy's head lay, the ba's wings would have symbolically encircled the head, thereby protecting the deceased. The holes in the edges of the wood once held the dowels that locked this section to the coffin's side boards. The heads of two more gods are visible in the lower left and right corners. Their bodies would have continued on the coffin's sides. The decoration on the fragment's outer side has all but disappeared, exposing mud-brick plaster, thickened by straw, instead of the more common white gypsum plaster.
Shabtis. During Dynasty XI (c. 2025-1979 BC), a new type funerary object appeared in tombs: small statues in the form of nude humans, often wrapped in linen and placed in model coffins. They were inscribed with a prayer for food offerings, although they probably also functioned as an alternative abode for the ka (a person's vital force). By the Middle Kingdom (c. 2025-1627/1606 BC), the figures had become mummiform (above) in shape and their inscriptions clearly join the deceased with Osiris, the god of the underworld, who rose to prominence during this period. By late Dynasty XII (c. l850 BC), the statuettes' original function as a residence for the ka had expanded greatly. Although the original identification with the tomb owner was never lost, the figures were seen primarily as workers who performed a service for the deceased, and they became known by the ancient Egyptians as shabtis. Quickly, shabti-figures came to represent the deceased's servants in the afterlife and were so popular they replaced the model servant statues previously deposited in upper-class graves of the Old and Middle Kingdoms (c. 2750-1627/1606 BC). As their purpose shifted, so did their name, first to shawabti, then to ushabti. The latter may be translated as "Answerer," a reference to the statues' status as servants. From the New Kingdom through the Ptolemaic Period (from c. 1539-30 BC), shabtis toiled as farmers in the afterlife. Shabtis often carry hoes, seed bags, picks and water pots, reflecting their farming activities. Because most Egyptians were subjected to corvée (forced labor as a form of taxation), they purchased shabtis to stand as their substitutes when Osiris called upon them to farm the eternal fields. For the ancient Egyptians, the exchange of one individual for another to perform required work was an acceptable practice. Interestingly, there are shabtis that are inscribed for royalty and nobility, men and women who were not involved in the corvée, implying these people were not excused from labor in the afterlife. It has been suggested that as of the Third Intermediate Period, shabtis no longer were substitutes for the deceased, but similar to personal slaves.
Tombs. In the Predynastic Period (c. 4500-3100 BC), bodies were buried in the fetal position in shallow, rectangular or oval graves dug directly in the sand away from any arable land. With the founding of the Egyptian state at the beginning of Dynasty I (c. 3100 BC), burial practices changed and tombs began to appear. During the Dynastic Period, three basic tomb types evolved: mastabas, rock-cut tombs, and, for many kings up to the time of the New Kingdom, pyramids. During the first dynasties, the Egyptians began to build mastabas of mud brick. These early mastabas consisted of a rectangular-shaped chapel above ground with a burial chamber below ground. Mastaba tombs enjoyed great popularity in the Old and Middle Kingdoms. The later mastabas were often built of stone with larger chapels and a series of chambers above ground. The first known pyramid was the Step Pyramid of King Djoser at Saqqara (Dynasty III, c. 2700 BC). Its superstructure was a configuration of six squared-off mastabas of diminishing size set one on to of the other, with the burial chamber below ground. True pyramids had smooth sides. The Dynasty IV pyramids, including Pharaoh Khufu's Great Pyramid at Giza, were probably the largest ever built and consisted of large stone blocks faced with limestone. Later pyramids were smaller and usually had a rubble-filled core. Pyramids did not stand alone, but were part of a complex of buildings that included various temples. In areas with steep cliffs, the Egyptians tended to cut tombs deep into the rock. These rock-cut tombs first appeared in the Old Kingdom and by the New Kingdom, royal rock-cut tombs were widespread. These royal tombs were in a remote valley that we call the Valley of the Kings and consisted of a series of rooms cut into the sides of steep cliffs. Commoners also used rock-cut tombs that were often topped with small brick pyramids.
Sources: Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Death, Burial and Afterlife in Ancient Egypt by James F. Romano.
