Ancient Egyptian priests believed a dead person still needed to eat, drink, see and hear. Tools for the opening of the mouth ceremony survive from at least around 2500 BC, and the Metropolitan Museum holds one inscribed so the statue could act as the dwelling place of the spirit. An offering table from Lisht (c. 1900 BC) used simpler images of food and drink, activated when water poured through a channel at the top made them appear in the afterlife 🫗
Egyptian opening of the mouth and offering tables feed the dead
Site mentioned
📍 Lisht🌍 Show on the globe
Key facts
- Old Kingdom equipment for the opening of the mouth ceremony survives from at least around 2500 BC
- The ritual implement touched to the mouth of a mummy or statue restored the deceased's ability to receive food and drink and use normal senses
- The Metropolitan Museum holds an example bearing the text that the deceased could eat, breathe, see and hear, and the statue could serve as the dwelling place and home of the dead person's spirit
- An offering table from Lisht dated to around 1900 BC used simplified food and drink images; water poured over it through a channel at the top activated the images so they appeared in the realm of the dead
- Model figures showing grain storage, cattle tending and slaughter, and bread and beer production were meant to send their forms into the afterlife
- Statues, idols, temples and the Ark of the Covenant are described as acting as material bodies for immaterial spirits
Sources
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