Egyptian Funeral Beliefs

It’s not a subject we like to talk about but death is something that we are accustomed to. The funeral is a practice that most have witnessed at some point in their life. In fact, every single culture throughout history and the world have some sort of funeral rite or ritualistic way of handling the disposition of the deceased. The Egyptians had some of the most elaborate funerals involving the process of mummification, magic spells and the building of enormous tombs. Egypt as singled out as one of the ancient civilizations that have contributed indirectly to the modern day funeral.
The ancient Egyptians believed in an afterlife, that after a person died their spirt or “ka” lived on. They believed that the spirt would need a place to live so
the body would have to be well preserved. In order to keep the bodies preserved they would have to be mummified. This process was expensive only the rich and powerful could afford it. If you were amongst the rich, the process would take about seventy days to complete. The dead body would be taken to the embalmer who wore the mask of Anubis, the Egyptian god of mummification and the afterlife. The body would be cleaned and then the brain, heart, liver, lungs, stomach and intestines would be removed. Those organs would be embalmed separately in jars called canopic jars or burial vases. The cavities in the head and the body would be washed clean and covered in spices and resins. The body would then be laid in a alkali called natrum and cedar oil would be injected into the body cavities. The body would be wrapped in strips of linen. The process of wrapping could take up to two weeks to complete.