Ancient Egyptian Afterlife
The Ancient Egyptian Afterlife, in its core concept, consisted of every human being having physical and spiritual aspects. Every individual had a body, a "shadow", a personality or soul, a life-force, and a name. The heart was to be the center of one's thoughts and emotions. Upon the death of the physical body, the spiritual aspects were freed from their fleshly confinement and were able to move at will, but they retained their need for the physical remains or some substitute, such as a statue, as a permanent home.
|
|
|
The ultimate goal of the departed in the Ancient Egyptian Afterlife was to rejoin his or her soul and life-force and become one of the "blessed dead", living on as an "effective one". For this reunion to take place, the departed had to be found worthy in a trial, where his or her heart was weighed against what was called a "feather of truth". If found to be worthy, the deceased could continue their existence on earth, but in a spiritual form.
To prepare their dead for the Ancient Egyptian Afterlife, the Egyptians developed an elaborate framework of structure and ritual that encased burial customs they believed to be necessary for ensuring immortality. The customs included preserving the physical body by mummification, performing burial ceremonies, and entombing the body along with possessions that could be used in the afterlife.
Originally in Egypt, bodies buried in desert pits were preserved by natural desiccation. Dry, desert conditions served to preserve bodies in ancient Egypt. Eventually, wealthy Egyptians and royalty began to bury their dead in elaborate stone tombs. NO longer subjected to the natural drying that occurred in the desert, artificial mummification became necessary. Mummification involved removing the internal organs, wrapping the body in linen, and burying it in a rectangular stone sarcophagus or wooden coffin. By the Fourth Dynasty, the Egyptians had adopted the practice of preserving some body parts in canopic jars.
Over time, the Egyptians perfected the art of mummification, with the best technique taking 70 days and involving the removal of the internal organs, removing the brain through the nose, and removing the moisture from the body in a salts mixture called natron. Once the mummification process was complete, the body was then wrapped in linen with protective amulets inserted between layers and placed in a decorated anthropoid coffin.
The wealthier an Egyptian was, the more luxury items he or she would be buried with to accompany the necessities. Books of the dead were commonly included in the tombs of the wealthy, as were shabti statues, which were believed to perform manual labor for the deceased in the ancient Egyptian afterlife. Rituals were performed by the temple priest to re-animated the body and relatives were expected to bring food and offer prayers on behalf of the dead.
