The Ancient Egyptians' Funeral Practices
The ancient Egyptians had a well-developed set of funeral practices that had developed over the generations. The Egyptians were firm believers in life after death and therefore they believed it was vital to ensure immortality after someone died. They, therefore, conducted different rituals before burying their dead. They carried out protocols such as casting spells, mummifying the corpse and also burying the corpse with goods and items that they believed were crucial in the afterlife of an Egyptian. According to the ancient Egyptians, every human being has a life force or a soul referred to as ka that was believed to live on after the body was dead (Stokstad & Cothren, 2018). However, the ka
The Role of the Ka in the Afterlife
The ka needed a vessel or a body to inhabit in the next life. The Egyptians, therefore, came up with elaborate funeral practices that ensured their dead moved effectively and safely into the other life after death. The ka of a member of the royal family especially a departed king was considered very important and had to be provided with a comfortable home. The Egyptians believed that the dead king would continue serving their wellbeing even after life. The burial sites of the kings and other royals were filled with statues and supplies to serve them in the afterlife.
Evolution of Egyptian Funeral Practices
History of ancient Egypt indicates that the old kingdom enjoyed political and social stability. During this period, the kingdom accumulated enormous wealth. The ruling royal family was very rich and hence they commissioned big and complex tombs for the royal family members (Stokstad & Cothren, 2018). The tombs were well decorated and had elaborate carvings. The burial process in ancient Egypt went through gradual change which saw ancient practices discarded and replaced by new customs. In the earlier days, the funerals were simple where the body buried in shallow simple oval pits with very few gods accompanying the body. Over the years, funerals became more complex and the bodies were placed in baskets and later the use of wooden coffins was introduced. However, what caught the eyes of the archeologists were the latest tombs and the pyramids. Such tombs were found to contain a variety of items such as jewelry, games, and food.
Mastaba: The Most Common Tomb Design
The Mastaba was the most common tomb design used by the upper class in the society. The Mastaba was one-storied building with a flat top and had an underground chamber where the body was buried (Stokstad & Cothren, 2018). Initially, they were made of mud brick but later cut stone was used. Sometimes the Mastaba had a burial space big enough to accommodate the whole royal family. The Mastabas were constructed in the same area and the area labeled the city of the dead. The pyramids at Giza are the most evident Mastabas in Egypt. They were designed to have four slanted faces that were angled to represent slanting sun rays. It is believed that deceased kings buried in the pyramids used the sun rays that hit the walls of the pyramid to join Ra their sun god (Stokstad & Cothren, 2018). The ancient Egyptians had a strong sense of life after death. However, the average man and the low class had little or no chance of getting into the afterlife. The Egyptian funeral practices were an important part of their customs and their tombs are a big part of their history. Their architectural design was one of a kind and can only be found in Egypt.
References
Stokstad, M., & Cothren, M. W. (2018). Art history. Upper Saddle River: Pearson
