History mystery: The Egyptian Last Ritual!

Most of the ancient civilization believed that there is a life after death and hence they comfort their beloved’s last rituals with so many procedures like opening of the mouth ceremony, mummification of the body, funeral feast etc for their afterlife. Let us view some of the interesting last rituals of Egyptians! Most of the Pyramids and Egyptian tombs were nearer to the Nile and are more particularly at the western side of the river. This because the deceased were buried facing the eastern side to face the sun and head pointing to the north direction and they never cremated the bodies of the deceased instead they mummified them and buried them.

The Great Greek historian Herodotus elaborate the ancient the mummification methods of Egyptians in detail. According to his observations there or three types’s mummification process according to the status and wealth of the deceased. The embalmers demonstrate in detail about the royal treatment which is a costly embalming method and the second one is of deluxe treatment and the third one is the most inferior treatment for poor. In the royal treatment they suck the entire brain through the nostrils with special tools and clean it thoroughly with some special solvent and side cut the belly of the deceased with a scared flint stone knife and remove the easily decomposing organs like intestine and clean it thoroughly with special aromatics and palm wine. They wash the body thoroughly and then they heavily pack the body with aromatics and like myrrh and salt and kept the body aside for seventy days and the body was wounded with muslin cloth before handed over to the relatives. In the mean time the deceased life size wooden image was prepared and the body will be inserted into it and will be stored in the burial chamber in a upright position.

In the second type, the body was not  cut opened  instead the body was filled with aromatics and cedar oil through anus and was injected to other part and the body was soaked  completely in some aromatic pickling agents for seventy days and the body was removed from the pickling process and they remove the cedar oil through anus and the oil came out with the digested stomach parts and the body was thoroughly packed and was  handed over to the relatives. In the third process which is meant for poor; they processed  the inner body with solvent and it was pickled for the same seventy days and at the end the body was washed and handed over to the relatives of the deceased. If the deceased was a commoner then the funeral process was very simple with the gathering of friends and relatives but if the deceased was a Royal then the procession was more elaborate with detailed affairs with funeral feast, procession and with some magical rituals including the sealing of the tomb. Ancient Egyptian procession started in the early morning down towards the Nile. The professional mourners and the relatives wailed loudly throughout the procession and they rubbed themselves with mud and ashes. With the body, foods and editable items for the feast and  burial ceremony was carried.

 An ox was dragged in a stand, which was served as a scapegoat for the deceased’s evil deeds in the earthly life. At the end of the procession the mouth opening ceremony was performed to open the mouth and eyes of the deceased for the eternal life. In the mouth opening ceremony the chief priest  spelled the prayers and touched the mouth and body of the deceased with the scared flint stone to symbolize, the God Horus opens the eyes and mouth for the afterlife. If the deceased was a Pharaoh then the body would be placed in the royal palace for the ceremonial visit to the public and the pharaoh’s widow wife stood next to the feet of the body and the mouth opening ceremony was conducted by the new pharaoh himself instead of the Chief priest. The oxen which were dragged along was slaughtered and sacrificed and the right foreleg offered to the deceased. At the final goodbye the priest chant the prayers poured out the Liberations and burn huge amount of aroma. If the deceased was a poor he was placed in a hole and if he was placed in sarcophagus within the tomb with the lot of things and objects needed for his walk to other life. At the end the tomb will be sealed and the feast was commenced at the tomb with the remains of the food and sacrificed oxen. Many of the tombs have false door and some with some holes to the convenience of the deceased Pharaoh to watch the sky and stars.