Download Lozano 1 Javier Lozano Gango - 2 10/25/13 The Mummy: An

Lozano 1
Javier Lozano
Gango - 2
10/25/13
The Mummy: An Undying Legacy
The mummy- an eerily well-preserved human corpse common to ancient
cultures- was first introduced and consequently made notorious by Hollywood in 1932. A
considerable amount of work, money, and time has been paid to make the mummy a
popular symbol in our culture, most notably from the blockbuster “Mummy” film series.
However, Hollywood had little to almost nothing to do with the creation of the iconic
character itself. Instead, the mummy came from a distinct combination of Egypt’s terrain,
religion, and the fancies of the at-the-time ruling dynasty.
The basal elements, and perhaps the most influential factors, that led to the
birth of the mummy are the terrain and landscape of Egypt. The extreme conditions found
within Egyptian borders such as the “scorching heat, bone-piercing cold, and a highly
saltine areas,”: came together to form the perfect conditions for natural mummification
(Reid 19). Temperatures in Egypt during the daytime, are capable of reaching 114 degrees
Fahrenheit, a temperature under which a body’s moisture would evaporate. Coupled with
a high environmental salinity, this would easily prevent the buildup of bacteria that
decompose carrion. Together, such conditions allowed for the accidental discovery of
preservation in 4000 B.C. Thereafter, preservation became a formal practice known as
mummification which, six thousand and thirteen years ago, was simply “[wrapping] the
dead in desiccated goat skin” and putting them in a pit of sand (El Mahdy 53). Without
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Egypt’s unique terrain and climate, mummification would have never been discovered,
never been expanded on, and the mummy that is known today would never have existed.
In addition to being the origin of mummification itself, the unusual landscape
of Egypt also gave rise to another instrumental component of the mummy: religion. The
Egyptians were beings with a discerning eye that saw patterns all around them. They
perceived the rising and setting of the sun and the annual flooding of the Nile River as an
indication of a renewal of life, or life after death (Hawass 121). The idea of the after-life
became heavily embedded into religion, ultimately affecting mummification by
reinforcing the preservation of the body in order to reach the afterlife.
Egyptians believed that in the beginning, when gods roamed the earth, two
siblings came into existence bringing chaos along with them: Seth and Osiris. Seth, the
god of disorder, spent ages conjuring plans to bring about the downfall of his brother,
during which time Osiris, the antithesis of Seth, had become a prominent leader known
for his kindness and benevolence. At last, Seth, plagued by jaundice and envy, was driven
into a fit of rage which provided him with cause to finally bring his plan to fruition
resulting in the murder and mutilation of Osiris (Ikram 18). Seth, not satiated by his
heinous act and still a puppet to his covetous nature, prompted to scatter Osiris’
dismembered body throughout Egypt. Osiris’ soul found itself lost without a body to
return to and was forced to roam the Underworld until his body was reassembled by his
wife Isis and embalmed by Anubis. After this, he revived and became king and ruler of
the Underworld (Reid 110).
Osiris’ tale was passed down as the “prototype mummy” tale, and inspired the
mummifications that would happen later (Ikram 18). Through him the idea of a ba, kah,
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and a sah were born, a personality, spirit, and a body. The ba, before returning to the
body, like Osiris, was believed to make a perilous journey to the Underworld, which, if
completed successfully, would allow for the polymerization of the ka, which lay dormant
within the body. The ba, yielding an akh or an everlasting life-force, was sometimes
allowed to join the ranks of the gods (Reid 113). Following Osiris’ example and reaching
an ahk metamorphosis became the Egyptian’s ultimate goal reinforcing the idea of
preservation of the body and allowing the art of mummification to thrive for nearly four
thousand years.
Four millennia provided Egypt with much change as a plethora of rulers and
dynasties came and went. On the other hand, four thousand years was not enough to
change Egypt’s religion. Everybody adhered strictly to the ancient religion. Even
foreigners who ruled Egypt embraced it. When Greece and Rome “usurped leadership of
the land, the foreign rulers often adopted the complex Egyptian pantheon of gods and
religious practices” (Hawass 121). Many foreign rulers took up Egyptian practices such
as marrying siblings and identifying themselves with gods. One of the most famous
examples is the Greek ruler Cleopatra who married her brother Ptolemy XIII and who
also presented herself as the reincarnation of the Egyptian goddess, Isis. A few foreign
rulers kept to their ancestral ways; however, they did not interfere with the kingdom’s
peoples’ beliefs. Nonetheless, religion and mummification continued to thrive with each
dynasty contributing their own interpretation of the process.
As time passed, submerging someone in hot sand, wrapped in goat skin came
to be known as an unworthy and antiquated process of preservation. Vermin of the desert
would eat food left for the ka, allowing it to die. Sometimes the body itself was consumed
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and the ba had no place to return to after its journey to the Underworld. The process was
seen as especially unfit for Pharaohs who were essentially seen as demi-gods by the
people.
Around 2650 B.C., aesthetics became a major focus of preservation (Wallis 154).
The deceased, instead of being thrown into a sand pit, were now being placed within
opulent tombs filled with riches worthy of gods. During this period, the person would be
wrapped in “linen bandages [which] were stiffened with plaster to create a case for the
corpse known as a cartonnage before it was placed in its sarcophagus” (Hawass 132). The
mummies, by this time, along with all the idols associated with it, although they still had
a long way to go, were beginning to resemble more and more the items seen on screen
today. By this period, the mummy had a few of its signature characteristics like its linenwrapped body and a sarcophagus. However, other important aspects such as canopic jars,
decorated sarcophagi, and a plethora of other items associated with the modern mummy
remained to be seen. Although the new modifications were aesthetically pleasing to the
eye, the process itself proved to be less efficient than the sand-burial at preservation
itself. This fact led to much innovation in the years that followed.
The new, inefficient way of mummification gave rise to many iconic
components seen in movies. Egyptians realized that a perfect preservation was impossible
every time so they sought to create other ways to ensure the deceased reached the
afterlife safely. The rush to create a perfect bridge to the afterlife resulted in the
appearance of the first pyramid. The construction is known today as the Step Pyramid and
is estimated to have been built in 2600 B.C. for King Djoser in Saqqara. The pyramid is
considered “to be a representation of the primordial mound that rose from the waters of
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chaos” and that as it had helped Re reach the heavens, it would do the same for anyone
placed inside (Reid 117). Many scholars today view the shape of the odd monument as an
indication that it was conceived as a stairway to heaven, “believed to have been trodden
by the ascending King [Djoser], on his way to the sung-god, Re” (Ikram 22). Whatever
interpretation is taken into consideration, most do agree that the construction was built in
order to facilitate or catalyze the deceased entrance into the afterlife. Pyramids soon
became a major component of the burial of high-ranking members of Egypt, most often
only constructed for the pharaohs.
Centuries later, during the Middle Kingdom’s reign which began around 2055
B.C., mummification took a more personal approach. Mummies were now being wrapped
in linen taken from the clothing of the deceased (Ikram 153). The idea behind using linen
from the person’s belongings was to provide the deceased’s ba with a way of recognizing
his/her former body through past possessions held in his/her lifetime. The coffins of
mummies, around this time, were also going through a makeover. Coffins began to be
painted with the person’s visage so that, in the case that the body became unrecognizable,
the ba would still be able to find its body through its representation on the coffin. The
same idea was applied to statues. Many times a physical rendition, constructed of pure
gold was left behind within the tomb, in close proximity of the person’s coffin whose
name it bore (Hawass 126). Such lavish effigies were usually protected by a writing of
religious verses and foreboding curses on the coffin.
During the reign of the New Kingdom, which lasted from 1500 B.C.to 1069
B.C., mummification reached its golden age. Artistic and scientific advancements were at
their height during this period. “The discovery of chemical preservatives led to evolution
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of a systematic process which was perfected during the 18th Dynasty” (Phatak). Natron,
the preservative discovered gave rise to a very complex process that lasted exactly
seventy days. The process began by purifying the person’s body with water before the
brain was removed. (MacFarquhar). After which the organs were removed, purified,
perfumed, doused in aromatic oils and finally placed in canopic jars (Reid 108). The body
cavity was purified and perfumed before it was lavished with enticing smells in order to
prevent foul odors from accumulating during the long process. The cavity was then filled
with Natron and left in peace for a forty day period after which the body was wrapped in
linen (Reid 116). Throughout the whole procession complicated verses from the book of
the dead were recited by high-ranking priests.
The tomb of the most famous mummy, Tutankhamun, is a testament to how
intricate the mummification process was at the time. The body of King Tutankhamun was
first “wrapped in sixteen layers of linen, [after which] it was placed in a gold anthropoid
coffin, which was then enclosed in two more boxes of limestone sarcophagi” (Hawass
134). The New Kingdom, considered the epitome of intellectual advancement of the
world at the time, and rich in culture, science, and art is likely the biggest influence and
inspiration for many stories, books, and movies concerning mummies in contemporary
times.
The mummy, one of the most notorious universal monsters, spent nearly three
millennia in the making. After many years of constant modifications, either aesthetic or
utilitarian, the mummy finally, along with all the sepulchral monuments it is associated
with, became ready to appear on screen. If Egypt’s landscape or religion would have been
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different or if the dynasties would have had anything other than a progressive mentality,
the mummy so many people have become fond of, would not exist today.
Works Cited
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El Mahdy, Christine. Mummies, Myth, and Magic in Ancient Egypt. New York, N.Y.: Thames and
Hudson, 1989. Print.
Hawass, Zahi . Valley of the Golden Mummies. New York, N.Y.: Harry N. Abrams, 2000. Print.
Ikram, Salima, and Aidan Dodson. The Mummy in Ancient Egypt: Equipping the Dead for
Eternity. New York: Thames & Hudson, 1998. Print.
MacFarquhar, Neil. "New Life for the Long Dead." New York Times Upfront. 08 Mar. 2004:
22. eLibrary. Web. 27 Sep. 2013
Phatak, Omkar. "Mummification Facts."Buzzle. About Buzzle, 20 Sept. 2011. Web. 27 Sept.
2013.
Reid, Howard. In Search of the Immortals: Mummies, Death, and the Afterlife. New York: St.
Martin's Press, 2001. Print.
Walllis Budge, E. A.. The Mummy. New York: Causeway Books, 1974. Print.