Mummification In Egypt Research Paper

In the Egyptian exhibit at the Carnegie Museum, mummification practices express Hertz’s idea of death as a reflection of a tear in the fabric of society. When a person in any civilization dies, it is evident that the social, emotional, legal, and financial responsibilities of the deceased are relocated and adjusted to the living. Since the dead do not bury themselves, the living perform and act out burial practices to memorialize and reflect the legacy and social status of the deceased. Mummification is a kind of embalming process that preserves the body before arriving into the afterlife. In Egypt, kings or high status elites were seen to be mummified and buried in elaborate ways which shows a strong desire to secure and preserve in …show more content…
The ka represents the individual’s vital force or spirit. During life the ka remains separate from the body. At death, a person is said to travel to their ka in the afterlife. The ba, or animation, is an element of the soul. The ba is the part of the spirit that is free to leave the tomb and travel about the earth during the day, but must return to the tomb during the perilous night. The ba comes into being when the ka and the dead body are united in the afterlife. This cycle relates to Turners idea of rebirth and reincarnation. The spirit of the deceased is believed to travel on a journey to the afterlife and the burial preparations assure the spirit will be protected during this time of travel. To the Egyptians, the Nile river was crucial for agriculture, a source of transportation, and symbolic in religion and ritual practices. Boat building was prominent during this time and is seen to be symbolic in funeral rituals for powerful dynasties in Egypt. Overall, ancient Egyptians believed in the afterlife and spent their lives preparing for it. Pharaohs built the finest tombs, collected elaborate funerary equipment, and were buried in luxury which can be seen in the archaeological record