Egyptian Death Rituals And Belief

Ancient Egyptian culture is focalized around religion and century old tradition. Religion was integrated into every aspect of life, and played a role in nearly every decision a person would make. This is most evident in the customs surrounding burials, which the Egyptians took very seriously. The process following a death was a long and arduous one, with the mummification process itself traditionally spanning over a time of seventy days. Following this, the specificities of each burial would depend on one’s social standing and wealth. Though, generally the tomb would be beautifully decorated with hieroglyphs and paintings of the process of entrance into the Field of Reeds where one would live as they had in life, regardless of the status of the deceased. The body itself would often be decorated as well once the mummification process had been finished. The linen-wrapped body would be covered, either entirely or with pieces of cartonnage. This feature of the funerary practices of the Ancient Egyptians is the focal point of the following analysis; holding far more significance than it may appear to at first glance. Cartonnage held a significant amount of value to the deceased, bearing inscriptions of the spells and protective renderings of the many deities and symbols that would herald the ka, or soul, safely into the afterlife.

They believed that the gods punished them with floods and or famine. Their pessimistic outlook on life made them have bad premonitions towards their afterlife. They believed that at death that they were going to descend forever into a dark underworld, a huge cave filled with nothing but dust and silence. They tried to enjoy life as much as they could but did not look forward to the afterlife. Death was not the paradise that the Egyptians believed in. It was considered eternal hell. (Hause, 2001, pg. 10)

The Egyptians believed that the human soul used the first night after death to travel into the afterlife. The body, which the

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 Egyptians also regarded the concept of life highly, even after death◊2. This is shown in their extensive efforts to preserve the body of their pharaoh. Ancient Egyptians mummified their pharaohs because they believed their pharaohs ruled even after death. Everyone, of all classes, planned

While embalming specialized workers with an embalming background would do things like take the organs out of the body and fish out the brain with a needle, this was do to the belief that the

Egyptians believed that death was not the end of life but the beginning of another. But in order to pass onto the afterlife the body must stay intact which is why the emergence of mummification

The Egyptians belief about the afterlife is they embraced it. Ancient Egyptians were not afraid to die. Death was not considered an end to life. It was merely an interruption. They invested in their death, but their investment was not about death, it was about setting themselves up in the afterlife.

This excerpt discusses “Pyramid Texts,” which are collections of spells, hymns of praise, and offerings used to guarantee one’s transformation of physical mortality. During the Middle Kingdom “Pyramid Texts” became more available to common people they became known as “Coffin Texts.” The excerpt also discussed the details of a soul’s judging before the god of the dead, Osiris. The decease’s heart is weighed against Ma’at (principle of cosmic order) to determine the type of life he or she lived. This article provided good information on what the Egyptians believe happens to the soul after death and how it is different based on the life that was lived. It also gave in depth information on what they used to ensure they are judged correctly.

The Egyptians belief in the afterlife was the spirit was be take to the two lands in the afterlife which was a real place for the Ancient egypt and it was a heavenly place.They first took out all of the guts,blood, and intestines.Then they stuff the body.Next that put all of the guts and intestines in canopic jars so that person can use them in the afterlife.Then made a tomb for the body.Then once you were in the afterlife your heart would be weight.If your heart was light that means you were doing good deeds,but if your heart was heavy that means that you have been doing bad things.What was typically in the tomb was the body wrapped up with a mask and gold and jewelery.You be happy in the afterlife or sad.

An Egyptian funerary ritual consists of death and the soul’s journey to the afterlife. Historian Bunson once said, ”Eternity was the common destination of each man, women and child in Egypt”, however, not an Egypt in the clouds or sky, but one that mirrored one’s life on earth. The Fields of Reeds was the Egyptian afterlife which was a perfect reflection of the deceased’s life on earth. These burial rites were practiced as early as 4000 BCE and help reflect this vision of eternity. Next was the mummification process, which was practiced in Egypt as early as 3500 BCE. After a person had died, the family would bring the body to embalmers. Then the embalmers would offer three choices to the bereaved. The first was (Ikram, 53) which involved the family agreeing upon a price and leaving the task to the embalmers. For ( Ikram, 53) the embalmers would have the internal organs removed, to help preserve the body. Then the organs were put in jars and left in tomb with the wrapped body. The second chose was (Osiris) and it was the most expensive of the three choices. If this process is chosen the body is laid out on a table and the brain is extracted from the body, before they deceased is wrapped and buried. The last choice of the three is (Nardo, 110) which represents the cheapest of them all. In this choice nothing was removed from the body, the embalmers would simply wash out the intestines

The Egyptian belief in the afterlife affected the lives of all Egyptians. The Book of the Dead was a book containing many magical spells, designed to make the journey to the afterworld much smoother. This book could be purchased by any person with enough money, and most Egyptians would have their name inscribed

The earliest ancient Egyptians buried their dead in small pits in the desert sand. The heat and dryness of the sand dehydrated the bodies quickly, creating lifelike and natural mummies. The arid, desert conditions benefited the poor, who could not afford the elaborate burial preparations available to the elite. Wealthier Egyptians began to bury their dead in stone tombs and, as a result, developed the process of mummification. Mummification was the way in which the Egyptians attempted to control the decomposition of the flesh and preserve the body. It was considered vital to one’s afterlife and was an important process necessary for immortal existence. The mummified body provided a place for a person’s ba, or spirit to return to the body after

Egyptians believed that after you had past on there was a happier place called a Afterlife, an afterlife was an ideal world where all people are young and healthy. They had also believed that there was a ka or also known as a person's life force. When this person dies, his or hers ka had left the body and has become a spirit. However, it had all of the same needs that this person had when they were living. It needed to eat, sleep and things that entertain you. well if i had a choice to bring three things it would be my loved ones, a Soccer ball and then also sustenance.

First, a prayer was said to the goddess of birth and death, Ani; then Thoth, the god of scribes makes a speech. After a plea to the god Anubis (embalming), the god Horus introduces the goddess Ani to Osiris. Ani makes a speech, and then the deceased's heart--which was viewed as the seat of intelligence--was weighed against the Feather of Knowledge. The fearsome demon Am-mit waited beneath the scales to devour the soul if the heart proved to be too heavy to enter the afterlife.