The Transition from Life to Afterlife
As I mentioned above, ancient Egyptians were preoccupied with life after death, and many of their most intriguing rituals centered on assuring one's gratifying afterlife. What really distinguished Egyptian religion from that of Mesopotamia, was that any man or woman could share in the benefits of an afterlife. As one historian has put it: "death meant a continuation of one's life on earth, a continuation that, with the appropriate precautions of proper burial, prayer, and ritual, would include only the best parts of life on earth - nothing to fear, but on the other hand, nothing to want to hurry out of this world for." At the core of Egyptians' preoccupation with the afterlife lay a crucial belief about the nature of the human. Egyptians believed that man was made up not only of body and soul, but also of a third nature, the ka. The ka was believed to be the indestructible vital principle of each person, which left the body at death but which could also return at other times. This explains why the Egyptians mummified the dead: so that the ka, on its return, would find the body not decomposed. This also explains why tombs were filled with wine, grain, weapons, sailing ships and so on - this way the ka would find everything it needed in the afterlife; otherwise, it might come back to haunt the living. The transition from life to death and afterlife was a complex one. Egyptians believed that, upon death, each human being would appear before Osiris to be judged. In effect, one needed to assert truthfully that one had not committed any sin, making a negative confession that justified admittance into the blessed afterlife. Judgment Day went something like this: Upon death, the body was mummified. This is the process by which the body was preserved for the ka to find and use in eternity. Mummification required first the careful removal of all internal organs which Egyptians believed crucial to the functioning of the body. These organs included the lungs, liver, stomach and upper intestines, and lower intestines. Each of these organs would be placed in special containers called canopic jars. Interestingly, note that the list of important organs did not include the brain, which we now know to be the center of cognition and all body functions. Instead, thinking it worthless, the brain would simply be pulled in bits through the nose and thrown out! The rest of the body would then be desiccated. That is, all fluids would be removed, including water in the skin, which would be removed by placing the body in salt. Once desiccated, the body would be anointed with oil and wrapped in strips of fabric, placed in a coffin, and sealed. While the body was being mummified, one's ka was being led by Anubis, the jackal-headed god of mummification, to the presence of Osiris and a tri-bunal of 43 other gods. The proceedings were recorded by Thoth, god of wisdom and scribe of the gods. Standing before the tribunal the ka was then asked to name each of the judges and make the Negative Confession. One's utterance of the Negative COnfession would be measured for its truthfulness, literally, by weighing one's heart, believed to be the center of man's human existence, against the feather of the goddess Ma'at, which stood for truth. If one's heart was lighter than the feather, one was judged worthy of the afterlife; if the heart was heavier, then the heart was eaten by a hybrid crocodile monster and one's existence came to an end. If judged worthy, the ka comes back to find its body, as well as the material goods it will need in the afterlife. Upon finding its body, the ka enters it through the mouth, which was ceremonially opened by priests during a special celebration. The re-entry into the body was so crucial to the afterlife that if anyone really wanted to ruin your eternal life, all they had to do was crush the mouth of your mummy. This actually happened, and archeologists have found mummies which have had their mouths destroyed! The final slides in this presentation show ancient depictions of this process and should help you better understand how Egyptians envisioned the passage from life to death to afterlife. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask me.