Egyptians believed that a person was made up of the physical body, as well as the ren (the name), shuyet (the shadow), ka (the life-force), ba (the personality), and akh (the spirit). Mummification rituals were meant to preserve not only the body, but all components that make up an individual for eternity

Priests, sometimes dressed as Anubis, the god of mummification, would embalm the body and prepare it for burial. The type and quality of mummification depended on one’s economic class. The body was treated with natron and oils, which dessicated and preserved the body.

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Specific mummification practices, such as the treatment of internal organs, varied through time and according to the social class of the deceased. The mummy wrappings (linen) were infused with a special religious meaning. As the priests wrapped the mummy, they would read spells and place amulets on the body to protect it in the afterlife.

Sources:

Source: Ikram, Salima. Death and Burial in Ancient Egypt. Great Britain: Longman, 2003.

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