The Ancient Egyptian Burial Process Through The Old And New Kingdom

All throughout history, in all areas of the world, humans have wondered about the origins of the universe, the purpose of life, what it means to be human and what happens after death
(Religion Facts, 2010). Many ancient civilizations were based on religion; the Ancient Egyptian civilization was one of them. Good morning ladies, the function of the Ancient Egyptian burial process was to ensure an individual was guaranteed a high position in the afterlife. The purpose of this presentation is to investigate the structure, elements, underlying sacred beliefs, features and purpose that are evident in the Ancient death rite of passage. These components of ritual relate directly to the Ancient Egyptian’s core beliefs, through the Old and New Kingdom
Ancient Egyptians believed there were five parts that made the human soul. These were: Ka (Physical being. Ka inhabited the body and could eat and drink), Ren (Name. Ren was a magical part that could destroy a man if his name was obliterated), Ba (Personality. Ba endowed with the person’s individuality and personality) Akh (Relationships. Akh was the wills and intentions of the deceased and finally the most important) and Ib (Heart). Ib was the heart and source of all good and evil within a person (Seawright, 2001). After death, Ka separated from the body (Allen, 2007). One’s position in the afterlife was determined by the weighing of the Ib (Tour Egypt, 2014). During the separation rite of passage, the body was prepared for burial after one had passed away. In Ancient Egypt, a person entered the transformation phase and entered the underworld- Duat, once they had passed away (Seawright, 2001). Anubis, the God of the afterlife then weighed the heart (Tour Egypt, 2011). The heart was weighed on a scale against the feather of Ma’at (goddess of order, truth, and righteousness), if the heart weighed more than the feather it meant the person had less good than wicked (Tour Egypt, 2011). If the wicked outweighed the good, Ammut, a demon, devoured the heart; (head of a crocodile, the front half of the body of a leopard, and the
Eventually, Ancient Egyptians believed that being mummified was the only way to go to the afterlife. By the time of the New Kingdom- around 1570 BC to 1070 BC, Ancient Egyptians had perfected the art of mummification (Weitzman, 2012). By now, Ancient Egyptians realized the pyramids were attracting robbers so they started burying the elite in society or those who could afford it, in underground tombs. (Dollinger, 2001). This is a short video, which explains the mummification process. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k47Sbhesu8 play video of mummification process for around 1 minute). Continuing on, Ancient Egyptians believed that even after death, the spirit could only live on if the body was preserved forever in this process (Mark, 2013). The spirit was lost if the body was lost. The heart was the only organ left behind, as it was in control of feelings and was compulsory for entry into the afterlife (Caro 2001). The book of the dead was emplaced during the time of the New Century, around 1550 BCE to 50 BCE (Lepsius, 1995). The book was in great demand as it guaranteed protection against dangers of the afterlife and it was a symbol that could be added to the tomb (Norman, 2014). This book included the last judgment of the soul by the Afterlife God, Osiris (Akhet Egyptology, 2008). Ancient funerary rites accounted for sanitation and