|
Concepts of the Afterlife
The Personality
The Egyptians’ concept of the personality was complex and had a direct influence on their belief in immortality. It was probably formulated early in the Old Kingdom. Some elements were believed to function only in life, while others were regarded as immortal. The body was the essential link between the deceased and his former earthly existence, since it was regarded as a means of supplying him with food and drink for spiritual sustenance in the afterlife. Mummification was developed so that the body could be preserved and remain recognizable to the deceased’s spirit. In case the mummy was damaged or destroyed, statues of the owner and magical spells were placed in the tomb to act as substitutes and to enable the deceased to receive food and drink. During his lifetime other elements such as his name (which was written on his mummy or statue to confirm its identity) and his shadow (considered to be the focus of his procreative powers) were regarded as integral parts of the personality. KA Some elements were directly related to an individual’s immortality. The most important, the ka (spirit), was the person’s life force, which acted as his guide and protector from birth onward. During life this was sometimes regarded as his double and thought to incorporate all the qualities and characteristics that make an individual unique. Essentially, it was the “self” or personality. On death the ka separated from the body and became the immortal spirit of the owner. The ka nevertheless still retained a vital link with the preserved body and depended on the food offerings brought to the tomb. In art representations it is shown either as a human figure with upraised arms or as a pair of upraised arms. To ensure an individual’s immortality, it was essential that the link between the living and dead was maintained. Correct performance of the funerary rites and continued provision of the material needs of the deceased, especially food and drink, were vital to enable the deceased to attain immortality. In order that the deceased could regain his life force and in order to restore the senses to his body so that he could continue to function and receive his offerings, the funerary priest performed special rites at the burial. Known as the Ceremony of Opening the Mouth, this involved the priest touching the mummy, tomb statues, and figures in the wall reliefs on the mouth, hands, and feet with an adze to restore the life force to them. BA AND AKH Another immortal element was the ba (soul), represented as a human-headed bird. This force had the ability to leave the body after death and travel outside the tomb to favorite haunts of the deceased. Force believed to help both the living and the dead was the akh; this supernatural power was also represented with a bird form. .
.
The Changing
Eternal World With the “democratization” of the afterlife that occurred from the Middle Kingdom onward, it was believed that everyone could expect an individual eternity if they led a good life. The nature of this afterlife and where it would be spent, however, varied according to the earthly status of the individual. By the beginning of the Old Kingdom there was a firm conviction that the king would ascend to the heavens when he died and pass his eternity sailing in the sky in the sacred bark; he would be accompanied in this boat by the gods and he himself would become fully divine, finally joining his father, Re, the sun god. Other Egyptians could only experience a vicarious eternity through the king’s bounty: His family and the nobility were provided with tombs, funerary possessions, and endowments through royal favor; the craftsmen who prepared and decorated the king’s tomb and funerary goods gained immortality through their participation in his burial; and the peasants who labored on his pyramid also hoped for a share in the godking’s eternity. By the Middle Kingdom a less rigid idea of this royal celestial hereafter continued for the kings, but now wealthy people and even the peasants anticipated individual resurrection and immortality. Those who could afford to prepare and equip fine tombs hoped to pass at least part of their eternity there, enjoying the benefits provided by the tomb goods. Wall scenes, models of servants, magical inscriptions, and other equipment were all designed to give the tomb owner the opportunity to continue the influential and comfortable lifestyle he had enjoyed in this world. Special sets of figurines (ushabtis) were even placed in the tombs to relieve the owners of the agricultural labors they would otherwise have to undertake in the underworld. The tomb was regarded as the house of the deceased and included a burial chamber and an offering chapel where the food offerings could be brought by the family or the ka priest. A false door was provided in the tomb structure to allow the deceased’s ka to pass from the burial chamber to partake of the offerings. With the increased influence of the god Osiris from the Middle Kingdom onward, it was believed that all worthy persons could spend eternity in the kingdom of Osiris. This was envisaged as a place of lush vegetation, a mirror image of the cultivated land of Egypt, that was situated somewhere below the western horizon or on a group of islands. This kingdom is sometimes called the “Fields of Reeds,” and the inhabitants were believed to enjoy eternal springtime, unfailing harvests, and no pain or suffering. The land was democratically divided into equal plots that rich and poor alike were expected to cultivate. This situation was welcomed by the peasants, but the rich tried to avoid this eternity of agricultural labor by providing themselves with lavish tombs and equipment. These three main concepts of the afterlife eternity spent in the sky, in the tomb, or in the Fields of Reeds largely reflects the hopes and aspirations of the royalty, the wealthy nobles and middle classes, and the peasants and continued long after the Middle Kingdom, although the conditions found within these eternal worlds were to some extent regarded as interchangeable. .
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Concepts of the Afterlife
|
||||
