Tag: artifact

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.

While this may look like a statue 𓄚𓈖𓏏𓏭𓀾 of Bastet 𓎯𓏏𓏏𓁐, it’s actually a cat 𓅓𓇋𓅱𓃠 mummy!

There are many different ways that animal mummies have been found. Some are wrapped in linen 𓍱 while others are found in these elaborate statue-like coffins 𓋴𓅱𓎛𓏏𓆱. These types of mummy-wrappings were popular during the Late and Ptolemaic Periods.

Cats 𓅓𓇋𓅱𓃠𓏪 were sacred animals in Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 because they were thought to represent the soul 𓂓 of Bastet 𓎯𓏏𓏏𓁐 or Sekhmet 𓌂𓐍𓅓𓏏𓁐. Much like today, cats 𓅓𓇋𓅱𓃠𓏪 were also pets in Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 and cat 𓅓𓇋𓅱𓃠 mummies have been found in human tombs 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐𓏦 as well. The thought is that the cat 𓅓𓇋𓅱𓃠 and the owner would be able to stay together 𓈖𓊗 in the afterlife 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐 if they were buried together 𓈖𓊗.