History of Egypt, Chaldæa, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, Volume 6 (of 12)Maspero, G. (Gaston)
History
History of Egypt, Chaldæa, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, Volume 6 (of 12)
Maspero, G. (Gaston)
Civilization, Ancient; Egypt -- History -- To 640 A.D.; History, Ancient; Middle East -- History
Over the first covering of the mummy already alluded to, there was
sometimes placed a strip of papyrus or a long piece of linen, upon which
the scribe had transcribed selections--both text and pictures--from The
Book of the going forth by Day: in such cases the roll containing the
whole work was placed between the legs. The body was further wrapped in
several bandages, then in a second piece of stuff, then in more bands,
the whole being finally covered with a shroud of coarse canvas and a
red linen winding-sheet, sewn together at the back, and kept in place by
transverse bands disposed at intervals from head to foot. The son of the
deceased and a man of the roll were present at this lugubrious toilet,
and recited at the application of each piece a prayer, in which its
object was defined and its duration secured. Every Egyptian was supposed
to be acquainted with the formulas, from having learned them during his
lifetime, by which he was to have restored to him the use of his limbs,
and be protected from the dangers of the world beyond. These were
repeated to the dead person, however, for greater security, during the
process of embalming, and the son of the deceased, or the master of the
ceremonies, took care to whisper to the mummy the most mysterious parts,
which no living ear might hear with impunity. The wrappings having
been completed, the deceased person became aware of his equipment, and
enjoyed all the privileges of the instructed and fortified Manes. He
felt himself, both mummy and double, now ready for the tomb.
Egyptian funerals were not like those to which we are accustomed--mute
ceremonies, in which sorrow is barely expressed by a furtive tear:
noise, sobbings, and wild gestures were their necessary concomitants.
Not only was it customary to hire weeping women, who tore their hair,
filled the air with their lamentations, and simulated by skilful actions
the depths of despair, but the relatives and friends themselves did not
shrink from making an outward show of their grief, nor from disturbing
the equanimity of the passers-by by the immoderate expressions of their
sorrow. One after another they raised their voices, and uttered some
expression appropriate to the occasion: To the West, the dwelling of
Osiris, to the West, thou who wast the best of men, and who always hated
guile. And the hired weepers answered in chorus: O chief,* as thou
goest to the West, the gods themselves lament. The funeral _cortege_
started in the morning from the house of mourning, and proceeded at a
slow pace to the Nile, amid the clamours of the mourners.
* The chief is one of the names of Osiris, and is applied
naturally to the dead person, who has become an Osiris by
virtue of the embalming.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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