Egyptian Afterlife

Tcapable of Contents ·         Introduction2 ·          ecuwork forceical Information, chief(prenominal).3-6 o         Mummification...3 o         Journey to Yaru..4 o         Recitation to the Gods4 o         Myth and Rituals.5 o          scuttle of the M awayh nonice5 · Conclusion5-6 · Bibliography.7 Egyptian laterlife Introduction          numerous superannuated civilizations of the intro do been unraveled, b bely angiotensin-converting enzyme in break officular interests me the most. The surprise spirits and lifestyle of the superannuated Egyptians are contrasted what perpetu eithery contrasting of its time or to each bingle time at all. These Egyptians had developments and beliefs that are still in some shipway a mystery, provided as the years go by, we capture to learn more. If you ever wondered wh at the stand forings of some burial traditions or what mummies very were, youll call back give away as you take aim a wide. I go out discuss the military operations and beliefs of Egyptian time to come.          Egyptian aft(prenominal)life General/Main Information Once an Egyptian dies, there are several(prenominal) things that foundation be done with their proceeds. wizard thing that we nonice that can be done with the remains is the process of dry gangrene, which was just right off performed on certain people. So lets showtime there. The process of cold gangrene is the form of embalming practiced by the ancient Egyptians that changed over time from the Old Kingdom (ca. 2750-2250 B.C.), when it was available and if to kings, to the impudently Kingdom (ca. 1539-1070 B.C.), when it was available to bothone. The level of mummification depended on what one could afford. The most fully developed form convol uted five basic steps: 1. All of the interna! l organs, establish forward out the burden, were take away. Since the organs were the runner parts of the luggage compartment to disassemble but were necessary in the afterlife, they were mummified and put in canopic jars that were contumacious in the tomb at the time of burial. They would take out the abdomen and clean it with palm wine. The heart was believed to be the s feed in of intelligence service and emotion and was, therefore, left wing in the tree trunk. The brain, on the other hand, was regarded as having no significant value and, beginning in the New Kingdom, was removed through the nose and discarded. 2. The body was packed and cover with natron, a salty drying agent, and left to dry out for cardinal to litre daytimes. By this time all the bodys liquid had been confined and scarce(prenominal) the hair, skin, and bones were left. 3. The body cavity was stuffed with resin, sawdust, or linen and shaped to restore the dead individuals form and feat ures. They would also fill the body with myrrh and other spices. 4. The body was past tightly absorbed in publicy layers of linen with numerous good bunch charms, or talismans, wrapped between the layers. The most important amulet was the scarab beetle, which was placed over the heart. Jewelry was also placed among the bandages. At each stage of wrapping, a priest recited spells and prayers. This unit procedure could take as long as 15 days. after the wrapping was complete, the body was put into a shroud. The completed mummification process excessivelyk about seventy days. 5. Perform the honoring of break the mouth of the florists chrysanthemum - if this were non done the mummy would non be able to eat, drink, breathe or talk. The mummy would past be placed in a coffin, which then would be placed indoors a tomb, the sterling(prenominal) of tombs macrocosm a pyramid but only Pharaohs and queens could realize pyramids built. Egyptians paid vast amounts of mo ney to produce their bodies properly preserved. T! hey would urgency all the things they had used when they were alive, so their families would put those things in their graves. The Egyptians believed that when they died they would drop a journey to a nonher homo where they would lead a new life. The Egyptians believed that to get to the afterlife they would sting to pass through a dangerous place with perils such as monsters, boiling lakes, fires and particularly nasty snakes that spat out poi news. These evils could be thrash by the right spells and the Egyptians often wrote devour the spells on composition and left them in or move up the coffin. If they overcame the evils they would reach the render of Yaru (the Egyptian afterlife) and meet their friends again. But first they had to pass the grea try study of all in the mansion house of Two Truths. This test involved weighing the heart, the only organ which had been left in the body. The heart was placed on one locating of a balance and in the other side was pl aced the fledge of Truth: the Feather of Truth held all the lies and sins of their past life. The 3 coarse divinity fudges, Osiris, Anubis and Thoth, decided the result of the weighing. If the heart passed the test then the absolutely person was allowed to enter the render of Yaru. This was where he went to set out his eternal reward where he wandered the shadow land that was the recapitulate of the Nile Delta. No famine or sorrows bothered him in this blessed afterlife. But if the heart failed the test then a fright monster discernn as the Devourer ate it. The devourer was part crocodile, part hippopotamus, and part lion and once it had eaten a heart the at peace(predicate) person was gone forever. former(a) translations just believed that if the heart weighed too heavy, he would be impel to the animal gods who tear him to shreds. Here, I gestate found a recitation that some may get hold of said to the Gods upon his/her look with them: Homage to thee, O grea t God, Lord of Maati! I adopt come unto thee, O my L! ord, and I slang brought myself hither that I may behold thy beauties. I know thee, I know thy name, I know the name of the forty-two Gods who live with thee in the Hall of Maati...I assimilate not committed sins against men. I have not opposed my family and kinfolk. I have not acted fraudently in the Seat of Truth. I have not known men who were of no account. I have not defrauded the humble man of his property. I have not done what the gods abominate. I have not vilified a slave to his master. I have not inflicted pain. I have not caused anyone to go hungry. I have not do any man to weep. I have not committed murder....I have not encroached on the handle (of others). I have not added to the weights of the scales...I have not operate the cattle away from their pastures. I have not snared the geese in the goose-pens of the gods. I have not caught fish with bait made of the bodies of the corresponding kind of fish. I have not stop water when it should flow...I am pure, I am pu re. I am pure...         This recitation, when studied, was seen as a prohibit one. Instead of stating what the Ka had done, the Ka stated what he has not done. The Ka was the duplicate world that was stored in the heart as a vital promote possessed by every being. In addition to a ka, each person had a ba. The ba was the soul of the person. afterwards stopping point, the ka and the ba were united into one entity called the akh, which is an aspect of the sun. They thought that if the body was preserved after goal the ka and ba would still remain alive. This is why the Egyptians thought mummification was so important. Myth and Rituals         A popular idea of death and rebirth was based on the legend of King Osiris, whom the Egyptians believed was killed and dismembered by his jealous brother Seth, reassembled by his faithful wife Isis, and brought spinal column to life by his son Horus. When the Opening of the mouth observance was done at Egyptian funerals, it was a reenactment of the ce! remony Horus had performed for his father. After his rebirth Osiris became known as the god of the underworld.         The Opening of the Mouth Ceremony         On the 70th day after a persons death, when the embalming and wrapping were completed, the mummy was placed in a coffin and taken to the tomb. The body was transported as part of a long line of people and possessions. tight-fitting to the mummy were two women representing the goddess Isis and her baby Nephthys. Behind these two was a group including mourners, priests, and servants carrying tomb furnishings. The canopic government agency with the mummys internal organs was carried individually in line. One of the priests burned-over incense and sprinkled milk along the path. At the tomb, the group was met by dancers and a priest who read spells in honor of the dead. undermentioned came the very important Opening of the Mouth ceremony, based on the Osiris legend. A priest eroding a jackal-h eaded mask representing the god Anubis held the mummys coffin upright maculation another priest affected the mouth of the mummy with ritual instruments. The Egyptians believed that from a persons death until the surgery of this ceremony the body could not hear, see, or speak. Once the ceremony was finished, the use of the senses returned and the deceased could eat and drink in the afterlife. After the ceremony an offering of food, ointment, and turn was passn to the deceased. With this completed, a large funerary banquet was enjoyed by the mourners, with entertainment in flattery of the dead provided by musicians and dancers. musical composition the banquet was going on, the deceased was placed inside the tomb, and the footsteps of those who had been inside were swept away. Now the deceaseds soul could return to the body. Conclusion         Without any further discoveries, this is what is known of the afterlife procedures, beliefs, and rituals. Of course, thei r beliefs are directly cogitate with the Egyptian re! ligion, just give care other religions have their beliefs of a blissful afterlife. The Egyptian polytheistic views are unique though, and powerfully emphasize the preservation of the tangible body. Like the Hindu belief of reincarnation, the Egyptian beliefs slightly resemble that idea of being brought back to life. As aforementioned, the myth of Osiris claims he was reincarnated by his son, and could possibly mean that those who die strive for the same goal of being brought back.         One thing that I did not find was anything regarding to Ancient Egyptians having a religious law that would adjust if the heart would fail or pass. From previous education, though, I consider that Egyptians did have a mark to live by, such as the legislation of Hammurabi and rules for praising each divine being. But the Code was more of a course of order of government kind of of an order of religion. It gave them rules of what to do and what to do and the punishments for not enforcing each law. contrasted Christianity and some other religions that give sets of rules to live by day by day, the ancient Egyptian religion, from my knowledge, only gave sets of rules of how to respect and praise the Gods and Goddesses.         We still have oft to learn about the ancient Egyptians and their customs. The unique characteristics of this culture by all odds bow out my interest, but after researching and analyzing, I find the ancient Egyptians sanely simple-minded in the lifestyle area but impressively advanced in technology compared to the rest of the world at that time. I also wonder, because of their simplicity in beliefs, how these beliefs began and who introduced their religion. Bibliography: Brewer, Douglas, and Emily Teeter. Egypt and the Egyptians. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. Spencer, A.J. destruction in Ancient Egypt. New York: Penguin Books, 1982. http://www.bergen.org/AAST/Projects/Egypt /religion_report.html http://www.paganculture.com/eg! yptian.html (and other website) If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: OrderCustomPaper.com

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