Mummies and all manners of the dead have managed to capture the attention of cultures around the world. There has been a great deal of scholarly work committed to the study of mummies, and the breadth of research expands both temporal and geographical boundaries. This body of work has increased our knowledge about how, why, where, and when deceased individuals were mummified, but despite this comprehensive and exhaustive review of the topic, there remains very little attention on the individuals tasked with producing the mummified remains. Today's blog post is meant to remedy this deficiency by beginning an exploration into this very complex and limited topic of research. This post is by no means a comprehensive review of this topic (on mummy practitioners, those responsible for mummifying the dead), in part due to the scarcity of scholarly research available and at my current disposal, but it is simply meant to provide some information for the curious readers of this blog, in particular the individual who inspired this post, as well as hopefully garner interest among the scholarly community to further investigate this topic.
As already mentioned, there remains very little information concerning whom mummified the dead for a variety of reasons. In some cases, it is unclear who mummified the dead due to a scarcity of written records available to scholars to reference. In other cases, individuals who witnessed the mummification practices did not record who was chosen to mummify the dead. Because of this scarcity of resources and availability of information from both the literature and scholars currently working in the field (myself included), I will focus this post on three cultures that both practiced mummification and have some information available in regards to potential or known mummy practitioners: the Egyptians, the Chinchorro, and the Ibaloi.
The Sacred & Elite Priesthood: Egyptian Mummy Practitioners
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| Artistic rendition of ancient Egyptian mummification ritual. Artistic credit: Licarto (licarto.deviantart.com/) |
The most comprehensive information concerning mummy practitioners comes from ancient Egyptian cultures as these people not only kept prolific records, but there unique cultural practices were also observed and recorded by outsiders. It is the work of Greek scholar Herodotus that has been an invaluable source for Egyptian mummy scholars concerned with the particularities of mummification practices, but he also provides scholars with specific information concerning the mummy practitioners themselves.
Egyptian mummification was an integral part of Egyptian mortuary traditions as it was believed that the destruction of the body of the deceased led to the ultimate destruction of the soul, and therefore great care of the deceased's body was undertaken in order to allow the deceased to survive and flourish in the afterlife. According to Herodotus, a group of sacred and elite priests were responsible for mummifying the dead in part because of the sacred nature of releasing the soul from the body so that it could continue "living" into the afterlife. Early anthropogenic (intentional) mummification practices (circa 2600 B.C.) were reportedly crude, but mummification procedures evolved as time went on before ultimately ending in approximately A.D. 364. These practices were refined over generations as priests passed on their knowledge to subsequent generations of priests, which according to interpretations of Herodotus's work states that this occupation was passed through family lineages, specifically among fathers to their sons or close male relatives. Each priest had a specific role that he served in the mummification ritual, be it reading the sacred rites that released the soul to preserving the corpse through anthropogenic mummification. In this way, the mystique and importance of the priests remained high and they were able to command respect and power within society while keeping their skills a secret. This was until mummification procedures and significance waned within Egyptian societies, in which case mummification practitioners were less priestly and more individuals who provided a service for a specific price.
Specialized Morticians?: Chinchorro Mummy Practitioners
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| Statuette Mummies (Photo Credit: Christine Elisabeth Boston) |
The Chinchorro people produced what is known as the world's oldest and possibly most unique anthropogenic mummies, in part because the political & economic structure of this culture (potentially egalitarian, semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers) that is not diagnostic of such complex mortuary traditions. Decades of study on the Chinchorro mummies have yielded information concerning how the mummies were created, but the reasons for mummifying the deceased and practitioners who completed the mummification processes are unknown. The Chinchorro culture was one devoid of a written language, meaning no written records are available for consultation among modern scholars, but this has not stopped scholars from hypothesizing about who mummification practitioners were and how the practice was taught to future generations of practitioners.
Unfortunately, scholars have no narrowed down the who, but they do have some ideas about the how. A comprehensive study of Chinchorro mummies conducted by Dr. Bernardo Arriaza identified several types of mummies, including one anomalous type known as statuette mummies. These mummies are small figurines molded out of clay with individual face masks. They are atypical of remaining Chinchorro mummies since they are not full figured human or completely humanoid mummies as many of these mummies lack basic anatomical features, such as arms or legs. A variety of studies have been conducted on these mummies in order to determine the exact purpose they served in Chinchorro society, and several hypotheses have developed as a result. One study involved x-raying the statuette mummies and demonstrated that some mummies contained either human fetal or animal bones, while others contained no bones whatsoever. This led the scholars to conclude that these mummies were either representations of still born fetuses who were mummified in order to relieve the grief of the families or these mummies were used as tools to teach mummy practitioners the specific techniques associated with mummifying the dead. Without more specific evidence (written or oral) an absolute explanation may never be reached, but this latter hypothesis does establish an identification of potential mummy practitioners or at least their training.
A Collective Effort by the Living and the Dead: Ibaloi Mummy Practitioners
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| Ibaloi Mummies |
Based on the information that I was able to collect, it appears that mummification practices were shared by both the living and the deceased. Mummification began when someone recognized that their death was close, and they willingly consumed a brine (salty) beverage that is believed to have begun the drying process of the body and informed close members of their preferences for burial and mummification. In the event that the person passed away prior to drinking this beverage in life, the deceased was made to drink the beverage after death. After the death of the individual, reports claim that tribal members, in particular elders of the community, began the mummification processes of smoking the body with tobacco and other resources. Some scholars report that the process lasted up to two years, and there is evidence of continued care of the mummies years after the mummification process was completed. It is unclear how the mummification processes were passed on through generations, but based on the evidence that the mummies were cared for for many years after their death it is my assumption that this was a community effort with all members of the society working toward the preservation of the deceased. It is also very interesting that the living, prior to their own death, involved themselves in the mummification process by electing to drink the brine beverage in order to start the mummification process, which is a unique aspect of this process that is unknown in other societies and cultures that also practiced anthropogenic mummification.
In conclusion, the current understanding of mummification around the world is comprehensive but incomplete. Information concerning the mummy practitioners, those who mummified the dead, is unknown or vaguely described. It is unclear as to why this information is not readily available in many cases, particularly when written or observed accounts are present, but perhaps this lack of information demonstrates our modern society's fascination with death but taboo against those who are involved in the process. It is an interesting paradox that provides insights not only on the ancient dead but the modern living.
Egyptian Mummification Sources
http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI/nmnh/mummies.htm
http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/funerary_practices/embalmers.htm
Chinchorro Mummification Sources
Arriaza BT. 1995. Beyond Death: The Chinchorro Mummies of Ancient Chile. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Arriaza BT, Standen V, Madden G, Beckett R, Conlogue G, Inzulza A. 2001. Radiological Studies of Six Chinchorro Statuette Mummies. Mummies in a New Millennium: Proceedings of the 4th World Congress on Mummy Studies. Lynnerup N, Andreasen C, Berglund J, eds. Greenland National Museum and Archives and Danish Polar Center.
Ibaloi Mummification Sources
http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Kabayan_Mummy_Burial_Caves
http://ofwlayf.com/kabayan-mummies-in-benguet-philippines/
Aufderheide AC. 2003. The Scientific Study of Mummies. Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press.
Picpican I. 2003. The Igorot Mummies: A Socio-cultural and Historical Treatise. Quezon City: Rex Bookstore, Inc.
20 comments:
I know that this blog speaks a bit as to how some individuals of the Ibaloi were mummified, but is it known what ingredients or tools were used by the Egyptians to mummify their dead?
-Cristian Rios
We do actually know what the Egyptians used to mummify their dead, although it appears to have changed throughout the history of Egyptian mummification practices. My friend, Dr. Andrew Wade, writes a blog that is exclusively dedicated to mummies and mummy studies, so if you'd like to learn more about the topic, I direct you to his blog (http://areyoumymummy.com/).
Mummification, what a great topic. Awesome blog.
-Cajen
It is interesting to me how Egyptian mummification was very spiritual and it was a privilege to perform the processes. I find it interesting because today only certain religions retain a similar spiritual essence with burial rituals, but often it is less of an important ritual and more of a required process.
And WOW! The Ibaloi beginning the mummification process in one's lifetime is incredibly interesting! I have never heard of a group doing that, and I am intrigued. I would love to read more information on their culture.
My friend is a young mortician and she has a very unique outlook on life and mortality, for an American woman. I am always impressed by her ability to handle such grave responsibility. I have learned from her that the process today of burial and funeral preparation is very scientific. My friend is the first of her family to enter this field, which I also find interesting after learning about mummification jobs often being passed through generations.
Thank you for the interesting read!
-Teisha
Teisha, you touched upon something I hadn't previously recognized but have always "known": that mortuary preferences have changed throughout history and our outlooks on the deceased have also changed. As you mentioned, Egyptians saw it as a privilege to mummify the dead. We see such professions today as undesirable even though it is absolutely necessary. Pur disconnect with death is due to multiple factors, including the recognition of death, deceased individuals, and disease as well as a preference in our culture toward youth vs age. You're making parts of my brain think again in ways they hadn't in a while. Thank you.
Also for more info on Ibaloi mummies visit my friend Drew's blog: are you my mummy.com.
I do not understand some parts of mummification, the reasons why they do certain things. Like the scrambling of ones brains and pulling them out through the nose before mummification baffles me. I wrote on another post about mummies, I find it interesting the kinds of embelishment are put onto or into a mummy. Gold, jewels, markings, and paintings. They can be so beautiful. It is no wonder people robbed the graves of the kings of Egypt.
The brains were scrambled so to speak in order to facilitate easier means of getting them out, particularly if the embalmers did not want to damage the integrity of the skull. Mummification works best in many situations when all squishy, wet, internal organs are removed as it dries out the body faster, hastening preservation. Those organs, otherwise, hinder preservation and cause the body to decompose. Pulling the brain matter out through the nose enabled the embalmers to be minimally invasive when removing the brain from the skull.
When they elected to drink the brine drink before they died did that make them die quicker? Could it be like assisted suicide?
Brine is a salt mixture. I have not heard of any sort of acute brine consumption leading to death, nor have I heard or read of an assisted suicide link in this culture. So simply, no.
This post is very interesting in that it is a discussion of intentional mummification practices. I am also curious about mummification processes that happen unintentionally. I remember reading in a National Geographic magazine when I was younger about the mummies of young girls found in the Andes. I was under the impression that the mummification occurred due to environmental factors. I also have heard of mummies that were found outside of Elko. They were those of a couple of Chinese railroad workers who somehow had become mummified by the extremely dry Nevada climate. I understand that their queues, the long braid traditionally worn, were still partially intact. They were not intentionally mummified, but because of certain environmental factors, the process occurred.
Courteney Hedicke, Anth 101
Unintentional mummification is just that: unintended. There is not much to say on it really as it can and does occur anywhere where the environmental circumstances are just right and cause such phenomenon to occur. I believe there may be another blog post that delves more specifically into the topic of mummies. You may wish to read it for more info.
I found the article very interesting. A thousand years from now there won't be any wonders to find as cremation going to be the norm and land is too valuable to waste on the dead.
I've always been interested in the dead since I first learned about Egyptian mummies in elementary school. Learning about the technique was fascinating. The older I got, the more research I did on the subject, and the Fire mummies have always been the most intriguing to me. I was unaware that these practices still take place. That is something I would love to see.
Reading this blog makes me believe that there are more cultures out there that still practice mummification today. Just as we bury or burn our dead, this could be seen as just the same act as what they are doing to conserve their dead ancestors. Many people are afraid of dead, but it is quite sensational when cultures are openly inviting to death, as they believe that their souls will go to live on forever, instead of other cultures that are continuously threatened with horrible aftermath after death if they sin.
Jovie Black
Mummification?
You know in a regular burial, they remove organs all that good stuff. When your mummified do you keep all that inside you? If they remove it, what do they do with it?
I'm amazed! You never actually hear about any other type but the Egyptian mummies. I am incredibly fascinated at the thought of cultures who communally take care of their deceased. I think you're very right that there is a need to investigate those who performed the task. It's very frustrating to imagine that whole societies came and went without any kind of written messages though I understand that every culture is different. Here's my question; other than cave art and written documentation, what are some other ways that human populations have recorded information in the past? What might have been the communication style to transmit information to many others? I can't help but think there may be methods that I wouldn't normally think of, however they just may not have stood the test of time in any appreciable way. -Tori Spencer
Great questions, Tori. Oral traditions actually hold quite a bit of important information, although many disregard it because it bexombe the classic "telephone game" where people lose information or add information that may not be completely true. Otherwise, we can gain information from other "written" forms, such as "dragon bones". These were bones that had information inscribed on them and used in rituals. As for medium of communication, written or oral, such as myth, song, and storytelling. :)
I have always been interesting in mummyfying and still have no clue why. but i have always wondered do they let the mummies in all the cultures that does it keep their organs?
- Lavonza Marshall
This article is really good because I didn't even know that it was different types of mummies. The Chicharro Mummy Practitioners is my favorite because they were the world's oldest and possibly most unique mummies.
-Jaden Clark
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