Mummies of Egypt

Mummy - a creature, or what is depicted in most of the movies,  a villain. Having a body covered with hundreds of bandages and white cloth, and moving forward with its stiff steps, mummy is not a creature which receives a lot of love. But moving away from the movies and coming back to reality, a mummy is basically a person or an animal, whose body has been purposely dried to preserve it for the afterlife of the creature. Often showcased in the movies, which is actually wrong, a mummy can never attack a person by waking up from its tomb, but it is indeed real.

The practice of preserving a dead body has been done by many civilizations- be it the African civilization or the ancient European.

This process of preserving the body, or mummification, had various rituals which depended upon the culture. Some cultures allowed all the citizens to do mummification, while in some only rich people were allowed. Deadly sunlight or freezing cold often helped in mummification too. Whereas sometimes, mummification took place accidentally. There were numerous reasons for this. Sometimes it was due to temperature and sometimes it was due to the food they ate. Though there were many ancient dynasties practicing it, the most famous mummies among them were of Egypt. The Egyptian priests, who had a specialty in making mummies, were known as embalmers. This process of making a mummy required at least 70 days. First of all, the organs which could get decayed easily were removed, the first one being the brain. It was removed through the nostrils of a creature, and in a manner that does not disturb the facial structure of the creature.  The same happened with the abdomen and chest and in the end only the heart of the person was left which was considered to be the center of a being and also its intelligence. The other parts like the stomach, liver, lungs, etc. were placed in jars which were known as Canopic jars. After this, the person was dried by inserting packets of natron, a salt known for its drying properties, and also rubbing it on the person’s body. After the drying of the body was done, the packets were removed and the body was washed a little to remove the salt. To make the body look like it was in its life form it was stuffed with linen, from where the body was sunken, and also false eyes were made. And then the wrapping began. The wrapping was done by a linen cloth, and the mask was used to cover the face above which the linen was placed. At some places, warm resins were placed and then the covering resumed. Hundreds of meters of linen were used in this process. When the preservation was done, it was the time for the ceremony. The main ritual of the ceremony was the OPENING OF THE MOUTH. Special instruments were used by the priests to open different parts of the body, which were needed by the creature for an afterlife, one of them being the mouth. Apart from this, the canopic jars and the belongings of the creature were also buried so that it could continue its afterlife in comfort. 

The Egyptians were considered to be people full of life, due to which they made plans for their death beforehand. They wanted their afterlives to be as comfortable as their normal lives. As this ritual was expensive, people belonging to royalty and upper castes were able to do it properly. Sometimes, it included the common folks too. The animals connected to people of power and wealth were also mummified, while some were mummified due to their religious importance.

Though the mummies were known before too, now as the technological developments are emerging, the archeologists are able to research more about them. They are using X-ray machines, without harming the covers, to find more about the bodies. To find their diseases and their cure. 

Being silent for centuries and centuries, the Egyptian mummies still continue to speak about their scientific importance.

Name: Ahana Bajpai

School: Delhi World Public School

Class: 8th