Egyptians and some of their secrets, such as how they built the pyramids, how they improved medicine, how they discovered mummification, have been striking people’s attention for a long time.
In today’s article, we will examine their intelligence and competency in mummification.
According to their lifestyles the most prominent thing that they strongly believed in life was after death. They believed that if they could keep the death bodies in good conditions, they would turn back to their bodies after they are resurrected. Thus, the death body had to be preserved since the mentioned rebirth would not happen if the body was demaged. So they discovered and then improved a technique called ‘justification’ which aimed to dry the human body with the help of natron, a type of salt. In this way they realised that the death body would seem and remain intact and there comes the mummification. Regardless of age, gender, and financial conditions; everybody had been mummified. However, the process was changing from person to person. There were 3 types of mummification.
The first one was the special one they were doing this process for important priests and kings. This process was done with intense care. They were removing the brain with the help of a hook. According to the Egyptians, heart is more important than brain because it manages emotions and decisions, so they keep the heart in the death body. Then, they put fragrance and resin in the brain hole which prevents the awful smell and decay of the remaining parts. After all, they were cutting the stomach and subtracting the main organs, putting them into cups that were believed to protect the organs. Lastly, they were massaging the whole body with natron and leaving it for about 30 to 70 days. After this process, the body was ready for mummification. They were washing the whole body and massaging it with scented oils, covering it by several layers of resin for the linen to stick. In the funeral, fort he noble people, they were decorating the mummified bodies with masks.
For people who were ordinary and didn’t have enough money they were using the second type. For the middle class, they were not making a stomach hole, instead they were filling it with cedar oil which melts the organs and empties them. They were then giving the organs to the family members of the death person.
For the lowest class the third style was done. They were emptying the organs quickly, letting them sit in the nation, and giving them back to their families.
There were 4 caps to protect the organs. These organs were very important, that’s why according to what they believed, the son of God Horus was protecting them. These gods were Hapi, Duamutef, Imset, and the falcon-headed Kebehsenuef (Qebehsenuef). Each had a role. Hapi was the monkey-headed god who guarded the lungs of the deceased. The stomach was guarded by the jackal-headed god Duamutef. Kebehsenuef was hawk-headed, protecting the small and large intestines. The human-headed god Imset protected the liver.
As you can see there was a caste system in Egypt and it influenced their religion too. They cared a lot about life after death and first discovered then improved mummification techniques. It may seem disgusting today but it was very important for Egyptians and this medical improvement helped us a lot in today's world.