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Mummification In Ancient Egyptian Religion

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Mummification
Mummification started back around 2600 B.C., during the Fourth and Fifth Dynasties. The Ancient Egyptians believed that the body was the house for the soul. And that even after death, the spirit could only live if the body was preserved forever. If the body was lost, so was the spirit. “In Egyptian religion, the spirit was made up of three parts: the ka, the ba, and the akh. The ka remained in the burial tomb, using the offerings and objects placed within it. The ba was considered the soul of the person, and it was free to fly outside of the confines of the tomb. And it was the akh that traveled to the Underworld for judgment, and to gain entrance into the Afterlife” (Writer873.) mummification most likely started when bodies were buried in the sand on the outside of the villages. The heat and sand would draw the moisture from the bodies thus naturally preserving them. It was only after ancient Egyptians started building tombs did they have to find a way of preserving the bodies themselves. In the beginning only pharos and high priests were allowed to be mummified. It was believed that the Pharaoh would go into the heavens and join his father, the sun god. His family and high ranking officers could also attain …show more content…
For use in the afterlife vital organs would be bandaged and placed individually in Canopic Jars. The jars were made of several materials such as limestone, calcite or alabaster. The finishing touch would be the stoppers being shaped like human heads, and later as Jackal, Baboon and Falcon heads. These jars were usually grouped in fours and placed alongside the Sarcophagi, and were supposedly guarded by the Sons of Horus. The baboon-headed Hapy guarded the lungs. The human-headed Imsety was the guardian of the liver. Jackal-headed Duamutef guarded the stomach and upper intestines and falcon-headed Qebehsenuef guarded the lower

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