Strange Funeral Practices That Were Normal in Ancient Egypt, but Would Be Considered Quite Unusual Today

The experiential differences that show themselves from culture to culture manage to astonish us as well as you. If you are interested in Ancient Egypt and Egyptian mythology, we want to take you on a cultural journey that will probably attract your attention and that you will enjoy reading until the end.

1. Mummification

Like many cultures, the Egyptians were one of the societies that believed in the existence of life after death. Although the definition of the concept of afterlife has changed over the centuries; His existence has always remained eternal. Well, did you know that the foundations of this practice are associated with 2 different concepts attributed to the human soul? ‘Ba and Ka’.

So much so that, according to this belief; During the day, “Ba” stands next to the family of the deceased and gives them support. “Ka” travels to the other world.

At night time, ‘Ba’ and ‘Ka’ must return to the body of the deceased. However, if the person’s body is damaged or becomes unrecognizable, the ‘Ba’ and ‘Ka’ cannot complete their journey and the person’s soul is lost forever.

For this reason, preserving the body by mummification had a very important place in Ancient Egypt.

This practice, adopted by everyone from the working class to the ruling class, has become an indispensable part of funeral ceremonies.

Of course, the economic difference between classes was also one of the factors that determined the quality of mummification workmanship.

While the rich people preferred craftsmen who offered high quality for the mummification process, the poor people who could not afford this used our star, the Sun.

With this method, the bodies kept under the scorching heat of the sun were salted and preserved after a while.

However, this method was later shelved as the traditional mummification process became more widespread and cheaper.

2. Rituals and Spells

In ancient Egypt, one of the practices that would help the deceased pass into the afterlife was rituals and accompanying spells. With the help of rituals and spells organized by the relatives of the deceased, it was aimed to prevent the person from going to the underworld, that is, hell.

When it comes to the definitions and uses of these spells, the famous “Egyptian Book of the Dead” was widely used by the public with the many spells it contained.

Perhaps the most well-known of these spells was the spell number 30, which was used to assist the deceased during interrogation in the afterlife.

In this interrogation, the person’s heart is placed on one side of the scale in the middle; A feather was placed in front of it. If the weight of the feather was more than the weight of the person’s heart, it would be understood that he had lived a good life and he would be rewarded as a result. Spell number 30 was a spell cast to ensure that this inquiry would be concluded for the benefit of the person.

3. Worldly Items

Unlike most known cultures, in ancient Egypt worldly possessions do not remain in the world; He was buried with the person. The reason for this was the belief that the deceased might need these items wherever he went.

In fact, when necessary, even a person’s pets and servants were mummified after being killed and buried with their owners.

Although this practice is not associated with ostentation, many valuable items and jewelery were found during grave excavations.

For this reason, the graves of rich people were the target of grave robbers at that time.

The people who wanted to get rid of this wanted to protect the graves; They cursed these thieves who entered the graves without permission with the spells they cast according to their own beliefs.

4. Inscriptions and Wall Art

You now know that the ancient Egyptian people took death and life after death very seriously and took all the precautions they deemed necessary. One of these measures was grave inscriptions, which were thought to facilitate a person’s transition to the afterlife.

These inscriptions, believed to be quite powerful, were indispensable for a tomb.

Although these inscriptions were initially preferred only by the elite class, they were later frequently used by the common people with the spread of the Egyptian Book of the Dead.

Likewise, the murals found in the tombs served a similar purpose.

It was believed that the images depicted on the wall depicted the experiences that the person would experience in the afterlife. For this reason, in order for these to come true, pleasant memories of the deceased or the dreams he had while he was alive were usually depicted on these walls.

5. Bowl Tombs

It is known that this method, which is generally used to bury children, is also used for adults when necessary. Most of their bowls are recycled versions of pottery used for food.

However, recent research has revealed that the belief that this method is used due to financial inadequacies is wrong.

Accordingly, the pottery had a symbolic meaning for the ancient Egyptian people; mother’s womb. With this method, which appears as a concrete reflection of the mother’s womb, just like a baby coming into the world; It was believed that the dead would be reborn on the other side.

What do you think about it?