Mummified remains in the Tomb of Niperpathot, Mountain of the Dead, Siwa
The mummification museum in Luxor gives an excellent
overview of the mummification process of ancient Egyptians. During the
process four of the internal organs are removed and kept separately in
different canopic jars each being protected by one of the four sons of
Horus and each of its cap depicting a different animal. The lungs are stored
in a jar with a baboon head, the stomach in a jar with a jackal's head,
the liver in a jar with a human head and the intestine in a jar with a
falcon head. The brain is also removed, but unlike the other organs it
is discarded since the ancient Egyptians realised long ago that it is absolutely
useless. The brain is actually removed through the nose of the deceased
without using any surgery on the skull! The one organ which is always left
in its place is the heart. According to their beliefs (mentioned in the
book of the dead), the heart of the dead is weighed against a feather (belonging
to the Goddess Maat) and unless the heart is lighter than the feather (implying
that the person has not committed any sin in his/her life), (s)he will
not be allowed to enter the underworld. God Anubis would save the heart
from the demoness Amut iff the heart passes the weighing test.
The vacant areas left by the organs are then filled
with packets of natrun salts, available locally in abundance, which does
the dual job of dehydrating the body and prevent it from collapsing. The
body is then embalmed with different types of oils to reduce the brittleness
of the bones and the skin. Finally it is clothed in linen to finish the
mummification process. The entire process could take upto 70 days. Before
burial, there is one final ceremony called the opening of the mouth where
the high priest taps the mouth of the mummified body to restore its ability
to speak in the afterlife. The ability to speak is very important because
unless the magic words are uttered by the deceased in the afterlife (s)he
will not regain the services of the internal organs preserved in the canopic
jars or get access to the underworld. The walls of the tombs are inscribed
with these magic verses and passwords so that the pharaoh is not forced
to learn them by heart before he dies!
