Burial the of Mummy

Death for an Ancient Egyptian was sad, but at the same time it was also a time for celebration. Many preparations were made throughout the life of a Royal Egyptian. Tombs were painted with festive daily life, coffins were decorated elaborately, and many objects were stored with the dead so they could take those things with them into the afterlife. Professional mourners were brought in to grief someone they never knew and of course family members and friends who knew the deceased would also show up mourning the death of their loved one.

After mourning the death of a loved one, servants filled the tomb with belongings and special furniture. Objects such as canopic jars were carried to the tomb along with ushabti (small figures to help the deceased accomplish tasks in the afterworld). Statues of the deceased would also be included, along with gold, shrines, and cosmetic items.

Once the magnificent objects were added, the mummy was carried to the tomb entrance. The “Opening of the Mouth” ritual was then performed. Priests of low ranking purified the body with water and incense while higher-ranking priests uttered words from an ancient dialect that came from the Archaic Period. These priests used a knife to open the mouth of the deceased. This allowed the body to take food offerings and supposedly also renewed the five senses. This ceremony, depending on the person’s stature, could last days and in the case of high-ranking people, this ritual was also reenacted on statues and pictures all of which went into the tomb. An ox was then sacrificed and the leg was offered to the body. While the ceremony was taking place, family members prepared a festive feast for family, friends, and the professional mourners.

After the funeral was complete, outside the tomb a lector priest recited chants. At this time final offerings were added to the tomb and it was swept out. Out side the tomb mourners ate fresh cattle and bread while the priests made their way back across the Nile. Once all the celebrations were completed the tomb was sealed. Cemetery workers applied stone, rubble, and a plaster door stamped with a royal seal. Although the tomb was sealed shut, it was important that the Egyptian family add offerings to the tomb for as long as they could finance it. This was done in hopes that the loved one would not go through a second death in the afterlife – this could mean no return.

This whole burial process seemed elaborate and it was for the royal subjects, but what type of rituals were performed on peasants and skilled workers who had no means of financing such a magnificent burial? They simply were embalmed with little effort, enough to preserve the body and to allow the deceased to enter the afterlife. Elaborate tombs were mainly for persons who had wealth status, such as pharaohs, queens, royal subjects, etc.. Often times family members could not afford such tombs, so bodies of loved ones were buried in massive tombs filled with people of the same class and status.