The Culture of the Masks Used in Egypt
Mystery has always surrounded the Egyptian culture and therefore has captivated people all over the world. Egyptians have left behind many wonders and clues that allow us to venture into their customs, including their eccentric gold masks. Over the centuries historians have slowly uncovered the secrecy surrounding the ornate headdresses and this is what they revealed.
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Beliefs
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Egyptians believed that preserving the body in death was imperative to keep the soul of the deceased alive; without a body the soul had no place to inhabit.
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Types
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Death masks were the most often used and were made to cover the face of the deceased or to decorate the heads of the priest performing the funeral ceremony. Other masks were used for sacred ceremonies and rituals involving magic, spells and incantations.
Features
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Most masks were made of linen or papyrus and painted to look like gold. Royal death masks were made of actual gold and believed to have magical potency because of its likeness to the sun. Gold was accredited with the same powers as their sun god, Anubis.
Function
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Ceremonial masks often took the shape of their gods which animals represented. For example: a Jackal represented the sun god and a Falcon portrayed the sky god. These gods were important during sacred ceremonies.
Death masks were molds of the departed's face; this was to ensure that the soul would always recognize the body. The most widely known and documented death mask is King Tut.
Misconceptions
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Gods were not the only higher powers that were honored--goddesses played an equal part. Most goddesses took the shape of felines, a lioness, cheetah, lynx or leopard. The most revered was the goddess Bast, the protector of cats, children, women, love, fertility, birth, music and dance.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit "egypt - pharaoh bust" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: rosemanios (Shaun Che) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
