Anubis was the protective deity of cemetaries, credited with the invention of embalming because he helped Isis to preserve her brther Osiris, whose body wass the first to be mummified. Usually depicted as a reclining black jackal, or a man with a jackal head, he was thought to ward off scavengers. Osiris's blackness symbolized the rich soil of Egypt and the appearance of a mummified course. |
| Mummification was a complex procedure which involved a series of detailed operations and rituals. To begin with, the body was washed and purified, and then the perishable organs were removed. First, the brain was extracted through the nasal passage using a long metal hook, and then the left side of the body was opened up to remove the liver, lungs, stomach and instestines. The brains were discarded as worthless, but the heart, which was seen as the seat of all thought, was left in place. The removed organs were then washed and dried seperately with natron (a type of sodium salt), treated with aromatic oils and resins, wrapped in linen, and then placed into the four Canopic jars-so-called because of a long-standing misconception that they were related to human-headed jars that were worshipped as manifestations of Osiris in the Delta port of Canopus. Each jar was then entrusted to the care of one of Horus's four sons, who were believed to be present at the soul's final judgement before Osiris. The liver was protected by the human-headed Imsety, the lungs by the baboon-headed Hapy, the stomach by the jackal-headed Duamutef, and the instestines by the hawk-headed Qebehsenuef. Each creature featured on the stopperrs of the jars. After evisceration the body cavity was washed out and scented then stuffed with temporary packing which included natron to help dry the body's interior. Natron was also placed over the corpse for forty days. During this stage in the process, the body lost up to seventy-five per ceent of its weight. The temporary stuffing would even be removed and the body cavity refilled with fresh natron and resin-soaked linen to restore its former shape, after which cosmetic decorations were made. After being coated in cedar oil and scented resins, the body was wrapped in bandages while priests read out the appropriate incantations from The Book of the Dead. |
