Book Of Coming Forth By Day Analysis

Dien Cai Dau by Yusef Komunyakaa, is a book of poems in which Komunyakaa talks about the hardships of the Vietnam War and his service to the American Army. These poems not only talks about what the soldier have went through but the families of the soldiers as well. This book allows the reader to feel for the soldiers because it vividly describes the harsh reality of being a soldier and how the war can change a person physically and emotionally.

Ancient Egyptian civilization was based on religion. Their belief in the rebirth after death became their driving force behind their funeral practices. Death was simply a temporary interruption, rather than an end to life, and that eternal life could be ensured by means of worship to the gods, preservation of the physical form thru mummification, substantial ceremonies and detailed burial policies and procedures. Even though many today have varying views of an afterlife, many of the funerary practices that originated in Egypt can be seen in present day funeral services.

Regardless of social strata, death and the afterlife were almost always valued by the living in ancient Egypt. The afterlife was birthed and designed for great societal rulers but eventually trickled down and was adopted by other levels of society (Murnane in Obayashi, 1992, p. 42). Death was interpreted as “new life in another state” by ancient Egypt, and the ultimate goal of immortality could be attained if specific burial arrangements were made for the dead. This was to avoid a final death of the soul known as the “second death,” and measures such as burial with food, drink, and personal possessions, were taken to aid the soul on its journey into immortality (Murnane in Obayashi, 1992, p. 36).

The tombs had two main functions. The first function was a place that provided an eternal resting place in which the body could lay protected from thieves and scavengers. The second function of the tomb was a place where cults and ritual acts could be performed to ensure eternal life (Taylor, 2001:136). The body of the person was buried along with their belongings in the tomb to ensure the individual had all the proper materials needed for the afterlife. The Egyptians usually did this because “Tombs were constructed to mirror aspects of the afterlife” (Olson, 2009). These tombs were not only a place where bodies of a deceased lay; it was also a place where rituals would take place. One ritual that was done on the bodies was the ‘Opening of the Mouth’. This was a burial ritual that “accompanied the placement of funerary goods in a tomb- and was a necessary step in the deceased’s rebirth” (Olson, 2009). One very important service that had to be done was the mummification process in which the removal of organs

Welcome, I am an Egyptologist from the British Museum, and I am here to talk to you about a fantastic civilization called Ancient Egypt. Ancient Egypt was an empire that began in approximately 3100BCE, and ended in 30BCE. In the time of Ancient Egypt, funerary customs were an important part of the Egyptian’s culture and beliefs and these customs evolved through time to become more elaborate, and common. The artefact I have chosen to explore with you is the book of the dead as it will provide you with a greater understanding of the complex funerary customs, and their beliefs in the afterlife.

The Egyptian during this time used the coffin to house the dead person’s body, as it was believed that only after

Starting from the front top of the coffin, it has a sculpted head showing the face of the Pharaoh. It is covered in gold leaf to represent the color of the skin glowing in the sun. On top of the head is a headdress of wings and dung beetle in the center. The dung beetle placed in two places and both are to represent reviving Meret-it-es. Going below the neck is a picture of Meret-ie-es on the right dress in white asking the god to be let into the afterlife. Underneath the picture, it shows detailed patterns I believe to represent jewelry she would have worn. Moving down the body, another set of wings and a dung beetle are placed near her heart. The dung beetle is holding a circle which I believe is to represent the heart of reviving her. Next is a woman with her wings open. Rosalie mentioned that the woman would close her wings at night and open them to wake up Meret-it-es. Across the pelvis shows a dead Meret-it-es with two women on each side mourning for her. Underneath that is Thoth, god of wisdom and writing. He is using an instrument to write that her spirit may enter the next world. Towards the bottom of her feet is hieroglyphs and a man on a boat with papyrus flowers. Unfortunately, I don’t know what the hieroglyphs; however, the boat represents the man taking her to the

Furthermore, the Gods were the responsible of defend and protect the afterlife for humans. In order to achieve the main objective of the human life, which was obtaining a position in the afterlife, people should show respect and behave in the God’s name (McKay, A History of Western Society, p. 22, Egyptian Religion.). So, basically the Egyptians were buried with this document in order to demonstrate respect to the Gods and help the crossing to the afterlife.

This inscription not only gives us a vivid detail of Egyptian beliefs but also the advancement and structural intelligence of the Egyptian. The inscription is located on the back of the mask in ten vertical and two horizontal protective lines of spell 151 from ancient Egypt’s Book Of The Dead. The spell refers to the opening of four doors, bricks of heaven, before reaching Thoth. Thoth was believed to be the scribe of the underworld; he was also in charge of the scales in Hall of Judgment of Heaven. Thoth used the scales to weigh the deceased heart against the feather of truth to determine if the individual was worthy to pass into the afterlife. If the heart weighed as light as a feather, not burdened with evil, the person would pass to the afterlife of heaven. Thoth would then record the results of the judgment. The inscription was intended to be a “road map” and protect for the pharaoh to use on his journey to the

The Book of the Dead is a book of spells that were thought to help the dead through the afterlife it was written on papyrus and placed in a coffin or burial chamber of the dead person. The Book of the Dead is actually not a real book it is a nickname for any or of the many magical spells that the Ancient Egyptians believed actually worked. Wealthy Egyptians hired scribes to create fancy designs on sheets of papyrus each with a spell, but they can include with their grave goods. But, you could buy a ready-made spell at the market which was on a piece of papyrus. Where there were blanks for you to write your name in, they were very popular you could chose which to place in your tomb after you

First, priests set to work to remove all the internal organs from the body, except for the heart, including removing the brain through the nose with a specialized instrument. Next, the stomach, liver, lungs, and intestine were placed in special jars known as canopic jars, to await burial. Lastly, removed all moisture, and meticulously wrapped the body. This was all part of the burial ritual, part of preparing the body for the Afterlife. The Egyptians firmly believed that each part had to be followed to the letter, in order to gain access to the Duat. One thing, which the Egyptians were concerned about was that the heart staying intact, often wrapping a sacred amulet or heart scarab with the mummy believing this would help in the event something happened to the heart. Additionally, spells were often cast on the amulets to prevent the heart from testifying against the dead in front of Osiris, as discussed in the piece “Weighing of the Heart”. All of this work was done in preparation for Judgment Day before Osiris. With this in mind, the idea that an entity is waiting in death to pass judgment upon the deeds that someone commits in this life to determine whether one is worthy of a blissful afterlife, is a common myth that can be seen in other religions and cultures as well. As Marie Parsons, writer for Tour Egypt details, at the funeral, the priests performed the special rites of the “Opening of the Mouth” ritual. The priest would “open” certain parts of the body, such as the mouth to eat, talk, breathe, and ears to hear, that the dead would need , not only in the Afterlife, but also to allow them to watch over their family and enjoy the offering left behind at the tomb each day. For example, part of the ritual was translated

Especially the Pharaohs and their families since a lot of hard work went into making sure their journey to the afterlife was a successful one. Meant for the eyes of the Gods, the Ancient Egyptians would set up these huge tombs that would be covered in artwork detailing the life of the person buried. Unlike the Ancient Greeks, the Egyptians wanted to preserve the body of the dead, so that the soul could be reunited with it for the after life. The mummification process was achieved by a priest who would purify, anoint, and touch the body to “restore the senses”. The mummified body was then placed in an inner coffin, which was placed in an outer coffin, which was placed inside a sarcophagus. The coffins and sarcophagi were highly embellished to represent the deceased's status, wealth, and importance in society. Painted with bright colors, smothered in precious stones these sarcophagi and coffins were the new everlasting home for the deceased, so a lot of hard labor was put into making the the burial pieces and tombs

The Book itself is written almost like a modern instruction manual, the various hymns and spells an actual part of a then-scientific process. The Book is meant as a kind of insurance policy for the soul, providing not only comfort to the deceased's soul, but comfort to the grieving family as well.

The Egyptians believed in magic bricks. When someone dies, they often place one magical brick on each side of a tomb to scare away evil spirits from the grave of the person that dies.

Artwork in the tombs of Egypt was considered the point of contact between the land of the living and that of the deceased. If certain formulas for the creation of art were followed and the right gods were supplicated, all Egyptians, from the wealthy to the poor, could look forward to completing their earthly life. Thus, they could successfully navigating the dangerous underworld and traverse into the blessed, eternal afterlife. Egyptian tombs were like secret art galleries that were never meant to be seen by human eyes. Instead, these amazing examples of artistic craftsmanship spoke only to an elite group of visitors – the gods .