Egyptian Mummification

Embalming the body

One of the embalmer's men makes a cut in the left side of the body and removes many of the internal organs

After forty days the body is washed again with water from the Nile. Then it is covered with oils to help the skin stay elastic.

Canopic Jar

The body is stuffed with dry materials such as sawdust, leaves and linen so that it looks lifelike.

The dehydrated internal organs are wrapped in linen and returned to the body.

Wrapping the mummy

'Isis knot' amulet -protect the body

'Plummet' amulet - keep the person balanced in the next life

More linen strips are wrapped around the body. At every layer, the bandages are painted with liquid resin that helps to glue the bandages together. A cloth is wrapped around the body and a picture of the god Osiris is painted on its surface.

Finally, a large cloth is wrapped around the entire mummy. It is attached with strips of linen that run from the top to the bottom of the mummy, and around its middle.

A board of painted wood is placed on top of the mummy before the mummy is lowered into its coffin. The first coffin is then put inside a second coffin.

A ritual called the 'Opening of the Mouth' is performed, allowing the deceased to eat and drink again.

Finally, the body and its coffins are placed inside a large stone sarcophagus in the tomb. Furniture, clothing, valuable objects, food and drink are arranged in the tomb for the deceased. Now his body is ready for its journey through the underworld. There his heart will be judged by his good deeds on earth. If his heart is found to be pure he will be sent to live for all eternity in the beautiful 'Field of Reeds'.

Ibaloi of the Cordillera

Mummification

Kabayan Mummies
Ibaloi mummies Benguet mummies

Where were they found?



The Kabayan mummies are found inside the man-made burial in Timbak cave, Bangao cave, Tinongchol cave, Naapay cave and Opdas cave under the municipality of Benguet Province in the Cordillera Mountain Ranges of northern Luzon.

There are also cases of mummies in the province of Ifugao, also in the Cordilleras, but this is probably due to population movements from the province of Benguet to the province of Ifugao.

When were they made?



Mummies were created by the Ibaloi between 1200 and 1500 A.D. in five towns in the Benguet province of the Philippines and buried in caves. prior to the Spanish colonization. (1500)

How were they made?



1.

2.

The mummification was begun, if possible, shortly before a person died. The person swallowed a very salty drink to start the process. Then, after death, the body was washed and seated in a chair that was set over a glowing fire. The purpose was not to burn the body but to dry the fluids by exposing it to external heat.

3. 4.

5.

Tobacco smoke was then blown into the person's mouth to dry the inside of the body and internal organs. Herbs were rubbed on the body. The drying/smoking process would have lasted many weeks and perhaps a number of months before the mummy was finished. Then it was taken to a cave for burial.

Where to see them?

 

(50-80) Display in their natural caves. A small museum in Kabayan may also display a few mummies

Apo Annu


tribal leader in the Benguet province (140 miles north of Manila) who died 500 years ago. "heavily tattooed--the mark of hunters and warriors...[and is covered with] dried flesh, brownish in color. local government has built a fence around his resting place in the cave and has offered to pay for other security measures.

The Kabayan mummy burial caves are official proclaimed Philippine National Cultural Treasures pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 374 which has to be preserved protect and maintain for future generation as a manifestation of the skills and ingenuity associated with religious belief of the Ibaloi culture and tradition.

The End