Cat Mummies!

Here are some cat 𓅓𓇋𓅱𓃠 and animal mummies at the MET! Also on an unrelated note if you look to the far left, you can see the back of an Imhotep 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪 statue! 

The ancient Egyptians 𓆎𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏪 made a lot of animal mummies – over four million ibis 𓉔𓃀𓅤 mummies and seven million dog 𓃛𓅱𓃛𓅱𓃥 mummies have been found in Saqqara alone! The ancient Egyptians 𓆎𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏪 actually never wrote down (at least in what archaeologists have found) the role that animal mummies played in religion or society. This leaves a lot of room for inferences! Although animal mummies are the most common form of Egyptian artifact, they are among the least understood of all objects. Maybe at some point an explanation will be found!

One of the possible explanations of the significance of animal mummies can be tied to the Egyptian cultural aspect surrounding animals. Believe it or not, there is no Middle Egyptian word for “animal” – there was the word 𓌚𓅓𓄛 but it translates more accurately to “beast” then all animals in general. Animals were usually referred to by their name 𓂋𓈖 instead of as a singular category. Their name 𓂋𓈖 was usually very similar to the sound the animal made! For example, the Middle Egyptian word for cat is 𓅓𓇋𓅱𓃠 (miu) which can be pronounced like “meow.” The word for dog is 𓃛𓅱𓃛𓅱𓃥 (iwiw) which can almost sound like “woof woof.”

Why is this significant? It shows that the Egyptians 𓆎𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏪 didn’t regard animals as different from humans or less than humans (unlike the Greeks and Romans, and eventually Western cultures). Animals were living things that contained a ba 𓅡𓏺 (part of the soul 𓂓 that is active in this world and the spiritual world). They could become gods through death and mummification just like humans.