Mummy (Undead)

The Mummy an ancient form of undead, guardian of ancient secrets and treasures. Species:  Undead Corporeal)  Other Names:  The Ancient Dead The word “mummy from the Arabic word mummia, which means bitumen. Bitumen naturally-occurring substance Arabs mistakenly thought for mummification dark color of the mummies in the Kingdom bitumen in  Habitat:  Mummies primarily dwell in Egypt in Great Pyramids, tombs mastabas mud-brick tombs and forgotten temples. However, mummies by no means Egypt the world to Mummy in place Egypt  Features  The Mummy shambling, corpse wrapped in soiled bandages. Underneath bandages rest of the body extremely preserved dried eyes red and glow in dark Mummy of amulet hangin, source of creature’s power. Behavior  the time Mummy rest within tomb. However, an intruder invades the tomb disturbs creature’s eternal rest Mummy awakens in rage and destroy  Abilities:  the Mummy demonic supernatural powers Mummy supernatural strength and endurance greater in Mummy bullets no effect on blades to penetrate the Mummy flesh, stemming supernatural power body Mummy in magic in death of Mummy depend on Mummy in Mummy of pharaoh high priest able form of swarm of scarab beetles become cloud of desert sand Mummy might able to summon plagues of biblical proportions command lesser mummies or forms undead. Lesser mummies extremely strong and relentless than single-minded killers for Mummy powers, perhaps most feared of the Mummy’s abilities the Mummy’s Curse an intruder steals tomb or foot inside of the Mummy choose to individual, depending on the severity of would- thief’s crime and angry the Mummy happens to moment Mummy by sacred law to consummate at which point it relentlessly pursue the individual until lay dead the Mummy desiccated hands the Mummy unable to pursue the individual for reason another hief sicken and waste away die and rise from the dead an undead servant of the Mummy. Slaying the Mummy:  Despite the Mummy’s strength and immunity to pain, the creature is not without its respective weaknesses. While it cannot feel pain, the Mummy destroyed by blast from powerful firearm like shotgun However, the Mummy’s major weakness is fire, common weakness the undead. Since mummies tend to dry and coated various oils and resins, the revenant tends to burn extremely Thus, fire the way to destroy the Mummy forever. another way to destroy mummy to destroy. Mummy existed for thousands of years. Most of had to reanimate,every once in great while of shambling undead from the tomb its revenge on those would dare the wrath of Osiris and desecrate the Mummy’s tomb. To understand this undead creature, one must first mummies made and could possibly the creature to reanimate. Mummification the Egyptian religion first being developed, the people realized way to preserve their kings would recognizable to both the people and their gods eternally. for the process of mummification was developed period of centuries, and finally perfected. The creation of Mummy complicated process, carefully developed through the centuries and involving mystic rituals still not completely today. Embalming believed to actually originated in Egypt, probably before 4,000 B.C. Although at least three different methods of mummification the most important and elaborate discussed Several different tools and materials were needed for mummification. Among these tools were bronze knives, hooks, and blade of obsidian naturally-occurring volcanic glass The materials included myrrh, cassia, frankincense, and resins of pine, and cedar trees. Others included an assortment of oils, from juniper, cedar, lettuce, and castor the key ingredient in mummification in natron.Known in Egyptian netjry, or “divine salt,” natron naturally-occurring salt compound composed of sodium chloride, sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, and sodium sulphate basically table salt and baking soda occurs in dried lakebeds in the Nile’s western delta, today known the Wadi Natrun. while dry, natron powerful desiccating agent, absorbing bodily fluids dissolving fat to completely dehydrate the body it could mummified.Now, for the actual process, it complex and time-consuming. First, long bronze hook or rod pushed into the nose, breaking through the ethmoid bone and into the cranial cavity. The brain stirred the hook, and hooked end, the brain removed through the nostrils piece time the brain believed an individual thought his heart and not his brain). Next, an obsidian blade, an incision was made in the lower abdomen usually the left flank through which the liver, the intestines, the lungs, and stomach were removed. These were the parts of the body decayed the quickest person’s death their removal imperative. The slitter the embalmer made the incision ran away quickly the while being pelted stones and by the embalmers. viewed this sacrilegious the body the vital organs were removed the heart untouched.The vital organs were embalmed and placed in four sacred canopic jars. The incision was then thoroughly cleaned and washed out, first with palm wine and then a mixture of ground spices. The incision was then filled with myrrh, cinnamon, cassia, and all other manner of aromatic substances (with the exception of frankincense), and small linen bags filled with natron were inserted into the body. Then the body was placed on a slanted embalming table, covered in natron with a channel carved into the bottom of the table (through which bodily fluids would drain into a ceramic jar). Afterwards, the entire body was covered in a thick layer of dry natron, from head to toe. Other than regularly replacing the natron (which lost its desiccating properties until dry), the corpse was left alone for forty days to allow the body to become completely dehydrated.After this period, the desiccated corpse was removed from the natron, and the body was then washed in spiced palm wine, while various oils were rubbed into the dried skin of the corpse to restore some degree of flexibility to the limbs and to deodorize the body as well (resin was also used for this purpose). The cranial cavity was then filled with melted resin. The stuffing was removed from the flank incision and was replaced with bundles of linen and resin to give a more lifelike appearance (this was also done to the face). The abdominal incision was then stitched up, thus completing the basic process of mummification.Next, the corpse had to be wrapped. First, it was placed inside a linen shroud. Then, hundreds of yards of linen bandages were used for one Mummy. The embalmers painted warm resin onto the bandages to help them stick to the desiccated skin of the Mummy. First, the arms and fingers were carefully wrapped. Then they wrapped the legs and the toes. Then, they wrapped the rest of the body. Every layer, the Mummy would be painted from head to toe in warm resin, and then wrapping would start again. As many as twenty layers of linen bandages could be used on one Mummy. Protective amulets (many made of precious metals and semi-precious stones) were slipped in between the wrappings to protect the body from any mishaps. The Mummy was then adorned with some of its favorite jewelry from life. After the body was bandaged, it was placed inside its coffin, and molten resin was poured over the body. The Mummy, at last, was completed.As part of the accompanying funeral, the priests performed several mystic rituals, but the most important of these rituals was the Opening of the Mouth ritual. This ritual was meant to reopen the mummy’s eyes, mouth, and ears so that the Mummy would be able to eat, drink, speak, and enjoy its afterlife. With an adze, the priest touched the mouth, hands, and feet of the Mummy, as well as those of the tomb’s statues, wall paintings, and models. This was done so that the Mummy’s spirit could enter and restore life to the deceased individual, and so that the aforementioned inanimate objects could be animated and act on the Mummy’s behalf. After much grieving and lengthy ceremony, the Mummy was then buried. All in all, the entire mummification process took seventy days. The first forty were used to mummify the corpse, and religious rituals occupied the last thirty days. The Concept of Reanimation Typically, mummies do not reanimate. However, there are exceptions. The Egyptians believed that a man (or woman) was composed of several different types of souls. Respectively, there were at least nine different aspects of the soul, but only a few have been identified. These aspects of the soul were known as the ba (the personality), the ka (lifeforce), and both were known collectively as the akh. Other aspects included the shuyet (shadow) and the ren (name). An attempt shall be made for an explanation.The ba is but one part of the soul, the aspect of an individual that made that person unique, a personality of sorts. It is the part of the soul that is able to detach itself from the body and roam independently by means of astral travel. It was primarily released after death, but it could also be released under circumstances while the individual was sleeping (which was seen by the Egyptians as a state akin to death). Although this aspect was supposedly incorporeal, it was apparently able to eat, drink, and speak, as well as move. Despite this, the ba had to return the body every night, or otherwise the Mummy would be unable to survive into the afterlife.The ka is the lifeforce, a sort of spiritual double or doppelganger. It gives each individual their nature, temperament, and character. The ka is created at birth, living through the individual’s life and beyond their death. It is the energy that animates a living person, and perhaps it is also the force that is capable of reanimating the desiccated flesh of the Mummy as well. It continued to exist only as long as it was provided with the necessary care and sustenance. The ka was given daily offerings, and it was the one which partakes of the food and drink offerings buried with the Mummy.However, there was the belief that the ka was able to leave the body and wander about, especially if it was not sufficiently provided for. The ancient Egyptians feared that the ka would rise from the grave in a corporeal form as one of the Undead (known to the Egyptians as the kamarupa), clad in its burial clothes, and wander about at night in search of its own food, in the form of human blood, decaying animal flesh, brackish water, or even faeces. Nobody was safe from this walking corpse.In order for the dead to achieve true immortality, the ka and the ba had to be reunited in the afterlife. Collectively, these two aspects were known as the akh. This was the eternally unchanging and enduring spirit of the deceased, dwelling in the Underworld for eternity. It was seen as an eternal, living being of light, closely associated with both the stars and the gods (with whom it shared some characteristics, but was not truly divine itself). However, not everyone could become an akh. Those that had not lived their lives according to maat (the concept of cosmic order, truth, and justice, personified as a goddess, and the principle at the very heart of ancient Egyptian religion and morality) would either be annihilated or would not pass into the afterlife. These individuals were especially at risk of joining the ranks of the undead.To become an akh, one had to die first, and completing the process symbolized a successful resurrection and rebirth, transforming from a mortal into an immortal. The akh of the pharaohs (considered to be living gods in their own right) shared the divine power of the gods, and were therefore more divine than their subjects, and thus were far less likely to rise from the grave (although it could still happen).The ren, or name, of an individual was extremely important, in both this life and the next. A name provided an individual with an identity, and without a name, the individual would utterly cease to exist. To the Egyptians, this was the worst possible fate that they could imagine, and therefore went to extremes to safeguard their names. If one’s name were erased on purpose, the family of the deceased feared for their eternal existence. It was considered to be an effective means of ridding oneself of society’s undesirables forever. In Egyptian magic, knowing an individual’s true name gave one power over that individual. This obsession was common all over the world, and it is still a concern in some cultures today.The shuyet, or shadow, was said to be a powerful and quick entity in ancient funerary texts, and is due the protection that it deserves. Shadows were thought to be an extension of the soul, and were also associated with the sun. The shadow’s solar associations were linked to the rebirth of an individual: the sun produced a shadow, an image of that person’s soul. When the sun set, the shadow disappeared. The shadow was then resurrected at dawn the next day, and therefore the sun helped the Egyptians to prepare for eternity in the afterlife, no matter what form the individual took for actual reanimation, it is possible. The Egyptians actually expected the Mummy to reanimate and kill intruders. However, reanimation only occurs under certain circumstances, and requires a great deal of supernatural power. A curse, if potent enough, might have such power. To protect the tomb’s occupant (usually a pharaoh or a high priest), priests would inscribe protective spells or curses into the walls, possessions, and the sarcophagus to protect the Mummy from thieves and intruders, with dire consequences for those who dared to ignore them. A curse with sufficient power may force the Mummy’s ka back into the body, causing the desiccated corpse to reanimate. The Mummy is imbued with enough intelligence to know its purpose: drive away or kill all who dared to disturb the Mummy’s tomb. Only the ka was needed for other aspects would cause the Mummy to become self-aware and prevent it from achieving its purpose. Thus, the other aspects weren’t necessary. The end result was shambling corpse of supernatural strength and completely relentless in its ordained task. References  Brier, Bob. Ancient Egyptian Magic. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc. Copyright ©1980 by Bob Brier.Brier, Bob. Egyptian Mummies: Unraveling the Secrets of an Ancient Art. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc. Copyright ©1994 by Bob Brier.Ikram, Salima. Death and Burial in Ancient Egypt. Great Britain: Pearson Education Limited. Copyright ©2003 by Pearson Education Limited and Salima Ikram.Redford, Donald B. The Ancient Gods Speak: A Guide to Egyptian Religion. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. Copyright ©2002 by Oxford University Press, Inc.

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