Can you give me a brief history of why animals are mummified?
The exhibition covers the main reason for the vast quantities of animal mummies known to archaeologists today: They were thought to carry messages to the gods. There was an industry in the temples of Late and Ptolemaic period Egypt that kept herds of animals to be used for votive mummy purposes.
Were animals mummified alive?
I think you'll be relieved to hear that animals were not mummified alive! Some were indeed killed specifically to be made into mummies, but I don't think it's really possible to mummify a creature alive.
I am seeing reference to items found in animal cemeteries, or species-specific cemeteries, like dog or cat cemetery, others found in human cemeteries. Is there anything that explains why a dead animal would be buried in one type cemetery rather than another?
Yes, the votive animal mummies were typically organized in species-specific cemeteries that were associated with temple complexes and/or larger cemeteries. This was chiefly because the different animals were associated with different deities. If you wanted to send a message to Thoth, for example, you would donate an ibis or a baboon; to Bastet, a cat, et cetera.
An animal being buried in a human cemetery would suggest that the animal was a beloved pet rather than a votive offering.
Did the ancient Egyptians recognize animals as having souls?
The ancient Egyptians did recognize animals as having souls much like their beliefs about humans. They also believed that preservation of the body was essential to a successful journey to the afterlife to join the gods. This explains why it was primarily these votive animals that were mummified; it was to ensure that the animal's soul would make it to the afterlife and bring with them the prayers of the donor.
Did all god’s have corresponding votive animals?
In theory, I think, yes, but there are not votive animal cemeteries devoted to each Egyptian god.
In reality, the ancient Egyptian pantheon included hundreds of major and minor deities. Their "official" religion was built of many even more ancient religions. Large scale animal cemeteries are generally dedicated to major, nationally recognized deities.
Why did some animal shaped coffins have different animals inside?
There could be a couple reasons. Falcon-shaped coffins could have a shrew inside as an offering of food to a falcon-god like Horus. Separately a shrew could be a stand in for a mongoose or ichneumon, like a cat can stand for a lion.
Thanks!
My friend wants to know why they mummified in the first place? What purpose does it serve?
Preservation of the body was important in particular because your soul needed a place to come back and rest. A mummified body would serve that function. The first mummification, according to the religion, was that of the god Osiris, who generally appears in clothes and poses that are described as "mummiform," meaning he looks like a mummy.
Come back to this world or the world of the afterlife?
It's not that they believed the body would re-animate, but that the body served as a place for the soul to take a nap. The ancient Egyptians believed that the kingdom of afterlife existed far to the west.
Sorry, what does votive mean?
Votive is like a donation especially in a ritual context. A votive can also be a stand-in for a worshipper.
Would Egyptians kill animals when the needed to send messages to the gods?
It depends on the animal, but yes. Priests raised large groups of animals at temples specifically for the animal mummy industry. That said, this only worked for animals that could be easily bred in captivity, like a rodent or an ibis.
Falcons, associated with the falcon headed god of kingship Horus, are solitary, and so were trickier to find. Some of them may have been killed, but others very likely died of natural causes and were found and made into mummies.
I love this as the first piece in the exhibition.
This sculpture of Anubis in the form of a jackal guards the entrance to Soulful Creatures the way that he might guard the entrance to a tomb.
Anubis was the patron deity of embalmers and mummification. He was also considered a protector of the dead. His jackal or dog form stems from real dogs that roam the desert edge where the Egyptians buried their dead.
The exhibit implies that the Egyptians valued animals more than in Judeo Christian philosophy. Can you tell me a little bit about how that manifested in everyday life?
Animals were often associated with specific deities. For instance, ibises were associated with the god Thoth, who often appeared as an Ibis headed man, falcolns with the falcon-headed god Horus, and so on. Because gods often took on animal forms, the animals were seen as capable of carrying prayers to these gods, and seen as creatures with their own souls. That said, Egyptians still had pets and killed animals for food and to donate to the gods.
The main distinction was in that Judeo-Christian belief animals are not generally viewed as having souls, whereas animals were viewed as having souls in ancient Egypt. A good example would be the Apis bull, a manifestation of Ptah, a creator god associated with the city of Memphis. When the Apis Bull died, he was given a burial like that of a human king.
Fascinating, thank you
Most adorable god ever!!!
Agreed! He would have been placed on top of a coffin, to help watch over the soul of the dead. I love how his posture is very alert!
Are the animals only mummified after natural death or were they any of them sacrificed?
Some animals were mummified after dying of natural causes, but many were indeed "dispatched." The demand for animal mummies were quite high.
Animals were kept at temple precincts in large numbers in order to ultimately be mummified. At some temples though, instead of keeping a flock of ibises, they would operate a feeding ground for wild ibises to come by. This is where you would get more of the "partial" mummies that just contain feathers that had been collected, for example.
Why is his tail not straight?
That's a great question. This sculpture was designed to sit on top of coffin, to "guard" the body of the dead.
The tail faces downward to "hug" the coffin protectively.
Is the hinge at the base of the tail utilitarian?
I believe that is a joint where the tail is attached to the body, as they were made separately.
Wood was very rare and expensive in Egypt (most was imported) so large sculptures such as this had to be made in multiple pieces.
Ah cool.
Why is Anubis’s tail so long? It looks like a cat’s tail!
That's true it is long! It was likely stylistic. This kind of sculpture would have been placed on persons sarcophagus much like this platform, watching over the deceased and protecting their spirit.
Interesting! Thanks
How do you know which animal to mummify for a god?
Each animal was associated with a specific god. For example, the funerary god, Anubis, was associated with jackals that roamed the cemeteries; the wisdom god, Thoth, was associated with ibises who appear very discerning in their hunting practices.
Why did they leave the animals' bodies in salt before wrapping them?
That was a way of dehydrating the body and preserving it so that the organic matter would not rot and decay.
It is not unlike the way that some foods are preserved in salt.
Why did the ancient Egyptians mummify cats and dogs the most?
Actually, the most popular animal for mummification appears to be the ibis! Although there are millions of dog mummies as well.
Why is the ibis the most mummified animal?
The practice of mummifying animals really became popular later in Egyptian history when Egypt was in constant flux. Foreign rulers, such as the Persians and then the greeks, brought about a great degree of cultural change which left ancient Egyptian feeling uncertain about their future.
The ibis was associated with the god of wisdom and knowledge, Thoth, the god most people turned to in times uncertainty because he was also said to known the future. When one purchased and buried a mummy at a temple they could include a message. The soul of the ibis was thought to carry that message or plea to Thoth!
Are the animal mummies in your permanent collection?
Everything you see in Soulful Creature is part of our permanent collection. This special exhibition is actually closing soon, but you will be able to see some of these objects in our Egyptian galleries on the 3rd floor down the road.
What is the source for the affirmation that Egyptians considered that animals have souls?
The souls of animals are referred in ancient Egyptian literature. The practice of mummifying animals in itself is an indication of this belief in the animal soul, as the purpose of doing this was to preserve the body so the soul could return to it to rest in the afterlife.
Although they are not exhibited here, there are a few extant examples of the messages that the ancient Egyptians would ask the animal souls to carry to the gods.
Thanks
Tell me more.
This wooden statue of a dog symbolizes Anubis, the god of mummification and who assisted the deceased on their journey to the afterlife.
A statue like this, with its articulated tail (laid down behind it in this case) would have sat on top of a coffin as a protective object.
Jackals or desert dogs were considered guardians on the cemeteries because they lived at the edge of the desert where the Egyptians buried their dead.
He's wonderful! Thanks for the info!
Did red, like on this dog's collar, have symbolic meaning for ancient Egyptians?
It did have some meanings. Red skin was associated with men and red was also associated with the rising sun.
In terms of the collar, it is a common feature of depictions of Anubis in the later periods of ancient Egypt, but the reason for the color choice is not clear.
