How Did Pharaohs Become Mummified?
Ancient Egypt, a magnificent civilization, but just how did they treat their dead kings? This essay will explain what and why pharaohs became mummified, and how they did.
The Egyptians believed that a body had to be properly prepared in order to live on in a similar way in the afterlife, more importantly, they thought the body had to be preserved. The Egyptians embalmed and mummified their dead to preserve them, the body needed to be accompanied by its Ba and Ka, the person’s dead spirit and the person’s life energy. It would also need familiar possessions to take with him/her.
The journey to the afterlife was not an easy one, while you were dead you would wait for the mummification process to finish, while mummifying a body,
you had to dress up as Anubis and recite some of the 200 spells from the book of the dead to ensure a safe journey, after that, you would cross lots of snakes, fire pits and executioners. Finally when you reach the end of the journey, you will find yourself in the hall of two truths, where he weighing of the heart begins. Your heart is weighed against ma’at’s feather, your heart must be lighter than the feather or Ammit would devour your soul.
There are 10 steps to the mummification process, you needed to chant the spells from the book of the dead with a jackal mask while you worked, then wash the body with water or palm wine, you would then use a long hook and take out the brains from the left nostril, cut the left side of the stomach and remove all organs except the heart(it contains the personality), cover the internal organs with natron so they absorb all the moisture, rub them in oils and jar them next to the body. Cover the body with natron for 40 days to dry then rub the dry skin with oils and ointments. Place magic charms over the body and wrap them with linen dipped in gum. Place the gold linen mask on the corpse’s head then finally put the body in a coffin that looked like the pharaoh when he/she was alive. These are the 10 steps to mummification.
Mummification was very important because the body you had while you were alive was kept in the afterlife, therefore they took the greatest care in the processes. The ancient Egyptians did this practice on every pharaoh believing it was the right thing to do.
The Egyptians believed that a body had to be properly prepared in order to live on in a similar way in the afterlife, more importantly, they thought the body had to be preserved. The Egyptians embalmed and mummified their dead to preserve them, the body needed to be accompanied by its Ba and Ka, the person’s dead spirit and the person’s life energy. It would also need familiar possessions to take with him/her.
The journey to the afterlife was not an easy one, while you were dead you would wait for the mummification process to finish, while mummifying a body,
you had to dress up as Anubis and recite some of the 200 spells from the book of the dead to ensure a safe journey, after that, you would cross lots of snakes, fire pits and executioners. Finally when you reach the end of the journey, you will find yourself in the hall of two truths, where he weighing of the heart begins. Your heart is weighed against ma’at’s feather, your heart must be lighter than the feather or Ammit would devour your soul.
There are 10 steps to the mummification process, you needed to chant the spells from the book of the dead with a jackal mask while you worked, then wash the body with water or palm wine, you would then use a long hook and take out the brains from the left nostril, cut the left side of the stomach and remove all organs except the heart(it contains the personality), cover the internal organs with natron so they absorb all the moisture, rub them in oils and jar them next to the body. Cover the body with natron for 40 days to dry then rub the dry skin with oils and ointments. Place magic charms over the body and wrap them with linen dipped in gum. Place the gold linen mask on the corpse’s head then finally put the body in a coffin that looked like the pharaoh when he/she was alive. These are the 10 steps to mummification.
Mummification was very important because the body you had while you were alive was kept in the afterlife, therefore they took the greatest care in the processes. The ancient Egyptians did this practice on every pharaoh believing it was the right thing to do.