What was the Role of Religion in the Major Celebrations in Their Lives Such as Births, Weddings, and Death in Ancient Egypt?
Death:
The Egyptians believed in the afterlife and that they would make a journey to another world after death and relive another, different life. This lead the Egyptians to perform the process of mummification on the deceased to help preserve their body for the after life. There was a strict step-by-step process to follow and the profession that would do this to the Egyptian would be the embalmers. Firstly they had to remove all the moist parts of the body that would rot over time and then the brain would be removed from the nostril with a hook and thrown away (as the brain was of no importance to them). The next step would be to make a cut on the left side of the body and remove all the internal organs such as the liver, stomach and intestines and let them dry out. Once these internal organs were dry, they were placed in special canopic jars. The heart was left in the body because it needed to be weighed against the ‘Feather of Truth and Justice’ in the afterlife. This process was believed to be done by the God Anubis. If the deceased had done anything bad in their previous lifetime, then their heart would be heavy so they would not be granted permission to proceed into the afterlife. Instead of going into the afterlife, Ammit (who was part hippopotamus, crocodile and lion) would devour them. However if the heart weighed the same as a feather, the deceased were able to go into the afterlife. The body was then covered in a form of salt called natron and left for 40 days so the body fats would dissolve and all the moisture within the body would be absorbed. After those 40 days, linen or sand would be stuffed inside the body to return its natural shape. The body was then covered in types of herbs, oils and resin. If the body was missing parts, or damaged in any way, they would replace these parts with wooden replicas so the body would be complete for it’s journey into the afterlife. Make-up, jewellery and a wig were most commonly applied to the body, the jewellery being protective amulets around the neck such as the Scarab amulet and the Wedjat eye amulet. After 70 days, embalmers would wrap the body in linen bandages and perform a series of spells and rituals to ensure the deceased had a safe travel into the afterlife. Finally, the body was given a mask and then placed in a coffin (sarcophagus). This final stage took 15 days. Just before burial, a ceremony called ‘Opening of the Mouth’ happened and the priest would touch the face of the coffin with multiple special instruments which would restore the mummy’s speech, sight and hearing for the afterlife. Then the coffin was put in a tomb surrounded by their valuable possessions and some small model workers (shabtis), who would work for the deceased in the afterlife. Instead of being buried with possessions, the rulers would be buried with treasure.
Childbirth:
During childbirth, many religious rituals would take place to keep the mother and baby safe and healthy. There were two main gods who protected mothers and their children. One of them was Bes, who repelled any evil spirits hovering around the mother and baby. The other was the most important goddess of pregnant women, childbirth and breastfeeding, Taweret. Taweret was a pregnant hippopotamus goddess. The strong importance of these two deities lead women who are pregnant or have children, to place two small statues in their house, keeping themselves and their child and children, protected from evil forces. Another ritual in ancient Egypt during childbirth was the placement of an ivory, crescent shaped wand that was believed to hold magical powers, on the stomach of the women giving birth. These wands would be decorated in carvings of multiple deities and animals such as snakes, lions and crocodiles.
Marriage:
In ancient Egypt, marriage was the normal way to live and anybody who was single was considered abnormal. Unlike some other civilisations, ancient Egypt didn’t have any arranged marriages for the lower classes and there has been no evidence suggesting that they used a formal marriage ceremony. To marry somebody in ancient Egypt, a man would carry gifts over to the intended bride’s home and if the gifts were accepted, she would take up residency with him. The average age of a bride in ancient Egypt was 13 years old and the average groom age was 18-21 years old. Once the bride and groom lived together, they were considered a married couple. Then there would be a contract drawn up determining the portions of the man’s assets to his wife and possible children. The ancient Egyptian women had the ability to have complete ownership of land, houses and running businesses.
In conclusion ancient Egypt was an extremely religious civilisation that followed many rituals to honour the gods that were believed to keep them safe and happy during the journey to the afterlife, childbirth and marriage.
The Egyptians believed in the afterlife and that they would make a journey to another world after death and relive another, different life. This lead the Egyptians to perform the process of mummification on the deceased to help preserve their body for the after life. There was a strict step-by-step process to follow and the profession that would do this to the Egyptian would be the embalmers. Firstly they had to remove all the moist parts of the body that would rot over time and then the brain would be removed from the nostril with a hook and thrown away (as the brain was of no importance to them). The next step would be to make a cut on the left side of the body and remove all the internal organs such as the liver, stomach and intestines and let them dry out. Once these internal organs were dry, they were placed in special canopic jars. The heart was left in the body because it needed to be weighed against the ‘Feather of Truth and Justice’ in the afterlife. This process was believed to be done by the God Anubis. If the deceased had done anything bad in their previous lifetime, then their heart would be heavy so they would not be granted permission to proceed into the afterlife. Instead of going into the afterlife, Ammit (who was part hippopotamus, crocodile and lion) would devour them. However if the heart weighed the same as a feather, the deceased were able to go into the afterlife. The body was then covered in a form of salt called natron and left for 40 days so the body fats would dissolve and all the moisture within the body would be absorbed. After those 40 days, linen or sand would be stuffed inside the body to return its natural shape. The body was then covered in types of herbs, oils and resin. If the body was missing parts, or damaged in any way, they would replace these parts with wooden replicas so the body would be complete for it’s journey into the afterlife. Make-up, jewellery and a wig were most commonly applied to the body, the jewellery being protective amulets around the neck such as the Scarab amulet and the Wedjat eye amulet. After 70 days, embalmers would wrap the body in linen bandages and perform a series of spells and rituals to ensure the deceased had a safe travel into the afterlife. Finally, the body was given a mask and then placed in a coffin (sarcophagus). This final stage took 15 days. Just before burial, a ceremony called ‘Opening of the Mouth’ happened and the priest would touch the face of the coffin with multiple special instruments which would restore the mummy’s speech, sight and hearing for the afterlife. Then the coffin was put in a tomb surrounded by their valuable possessions and some small model workers (shabtis), who would work for the deceased in the afterlife. Instead of being buried with possessions, the rulers would be buried with treasure.
Childbirth:
During childbirth, many religious rituals would take place to keep the mother and baby safe and healthy. There were two main gods who protected mothers and their children. One of them was Bes, who repelled any evil spirits hovering around the mother and baby. The other was the most important goddess of pregnant women, childbirth and breastfeeding, Taweret. Taweret was a pregnant hippopotamus goddess. The strong importance of these two deities lead women who are pregnant or have children, to place two small statues in their house, keeping themselves and their child and children, protected from evil forces. Another ritual in ancient Egypt during childbirth was the placement of an ivory, crescent shaped wand that was believed to hold magical powers, on the stomach of the women giving birth. These wands would be decorated in carvings of multiple deities and animals such as snakes, lions and crocodiles.
Marriage:
In ancient Egypt, marriage was the normal way to live and anybody who was single was considered abnormal. Unlike some other civilisations, ancient Egypt didn’t have any arranged marriages for the lower classes and there has been no evidence suggesting that they used a formal marriage ceremony. To marry somebody in ancient Egypt, a man would carry gifts over to the intended bride’s home and if the gifts were accepted, she would take up residency with him. The average age of a bride in ancient Egypt was 13 years old and the average groom age was 18-21 years old. Once the bride and groom lived together, they were considered a married couple. Then there would be a contract drawn up determining the portions of the man’s assets to his wife and possible children. The ancient Egyptian women had the ability to have complete ownership of land, houses and running businesses.
In conclusion ancient Egypt was an extremely religious civilisation that followed many rituals to honour the gods that were believed to keep them safe and happy during the journey to the afterlife, childbirth and marriage.