The land of Ancient Egypt has always been a fascination for me. I attribute this to the movies. The B movies we used to watch on TV as kids. I think most of them were older films, originating in the 1930s and 1940s. The horror flicks with Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney, and Boris Karloff. Yes, this is where the interest was sparked. The opening scene, often in the dark depths of some tomb in Egypt, all of them running around with their little pith helmets, a large, white toilet-papered mummy in tow.
Since that time, I perk up whenever there is an article about the ancient ways there. But a few misconceptions still swirl around Old and Ancient Egypt.
First of all, they did not ride camels. The camel was not used regularly in Egypt until the very end of the dynastic age (like around 3000 BC). Nope, instead, the Egyptians used donkeys to do the work. They also relied heavily on boats as a means of transport. You know, that big old Nile River running between all the towns on its banks.
It became their superhighway, and also their sewer. If they needed to go north, they rowed. They had the current with them. If they had to go south, they relied on the wind. The river connected all sorts of settlements and quarries through a system of canals. They were boaters, that’s for sure.
Here’s another misconception. Not everyone got mummified. Becoming a mummy after death meant you were rich in life. Mummification was an expensive and time-consuming process. Most of the dead Egyptians were buried in simple graves out in the desert.
But the Egyptians held complex beliefs when it came to the afterlife. As we have seen in the movies, that whole mummy thing. (Although movie mummies look much, much different than real Egyptian-in-the-tomb mummies.). Anyway, the afterlife. They kept in contact with the dead.
The tomb was designed as an eternal home for the mummified body and the ka spirit that lived beside it. When they created the tombs, they also made easy-access tomb-chapels that allowed the family, friends, and priests to visit all willy nilly. They could go in and say “hey” to the deceased and leave the regular offerings that the ka required. But it sounds like the actual mummy was in a hidden burial chamber which protected the mummy from harm.
Yet, from seeing all those movies, I don’t think those mummies needed any protection.
But the family didn’t only visit. They would go in on a regular basis and offer food and drink. I think what happened here is this. Ka would take the spiritual nourishment from the food, and then the family would eat the physical nourishment. Not to waste a single crumb.
Then, once a year, they had a big carry-in. Okay, they didn’t call it a carry-in. It was known as the “Feast of the Valley.” Families would spend the night in the tomb-chapels of their ancestors. What about that? Those long hours of darkness were spent drinking and eating by torchlight. Party on, as the living celebrated their reunion with the dead.
Finally, I’ve mentioned the ka without explanation. That’s because it is a little hazy. The exact significance of the ka remains a matter of controversy. There isn’t really an Egyptian definition. But, it seems to be the protecting force of the divine spirit of a person. The ka survived the death of the body and could reside in a picture or statue of a person.
There is so much more about Egypt that I love, especially the fact that men and women were equals in that ancient world. And women could be kings, easy-peasy. A really good part about their culture. And of course, both men and women were mummified.
And all of this, because I liked those old movies.
So as I come to a close, just one little question.
What did the Mummy movie director say when the final scene was done?
Okay, that’s a wrap!
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Make each day your masterpiece. –John Wooden
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If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way. –Napoleon Hill
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It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. –Confucius
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