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Ancient times come to life 02-24-2005
The Register on Townonline.com
By Nicole Muller
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Schwabtis and lotus blossoms may well be the top two items on Mattacheese Middle School students' Christmas lists this year.
Molded from mud, schwabtis are small replicas of a mummified person that come to life as the person's servants in the afterlife. Lotus blossoms, composed of pure serotonin, a hormone secreted by the brain, provided ancient Egyptians with an intense boost of happiness and well-being.
Egyptologist Paulette Morin fascinated sixth graders last Friday as she supplemented their year-long social studies unit on ancient lands and cultures, including Egypt, with a program on the practices and beliefs of the ancient people with a special focus on jewelry, clothing, customs, mummies and tombs.
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In a dimly lit auditorium, Morin drew her audience back in time. As students listened to tales of life along the Nile River from more than 5,000 years ago, they learned about the lives of wealthy ancient Egyptians through stories embellished by Morin's collection of artifacts.
"As you try on this [replica] jewelry, imagine that it is solid gold, because theirs was. Their clothes were lightweight, cool linen woven from flax, but their jewelry was heavy, a sign of wealth and power," Morin said.
Students giggled when they learned that both men and women wore elaborate, braided wigs, despite the scorching heat of the desert sun. "The ancient Egyptians kept their heads very clean, but when they went outdoors, they wore wigs to protect their hair from bugs," Morin said. "There were so many bugs along the Nile, their hair would be infested with lice and nits, and people would have died from the diseases these vermin carry."
Perhaps even more surprising to students was that both men and women wore heavy makeup on their lips, cheeks and the palms of their hands and feet to protect these sensitive areas from sunburn. "Thick black eyeliner protected their eyes from the brilliant glare of the sun," Morin told students. "That was the earliest form of sunglasses."
Ancient Egyptian men and women also wore lots of jewelry, including elaborate collar necklaces and multiple bracelets and rings on arms, hands, legs and feet. Both ears were pierced with holes the size of a pinky finger to accommodate thick, dangling, gold and gemstone earrings.
Morin gathered volunteers from the audience to model her replicas of ancient Egyptian jewelry. "People wanted to look beautiful, and they used makeup, wigs and jewelry for that purpose. But even more important were the magical signs and symbols in their jewelry that their religion taught would bring them power and protection," she said.
Students listened intently to the story behind the Eye of Horace amulet, which the Egyptians believed protected its wearer from spiritual and bodily harm.
Invited to dinner with his wife, Isis, at his jealous brother Seth's home, Osiris was tricked into lying down in a box. Seth slammed the lid and chopped Osiris into 16 pieces, which he scattered into the Nile.
After gathering all her husband's body parts, Isis took them to Anubis, who reassembled them and wrapped them into a mummy. Following Anubis' chants and incantations, Osiris was believed to have been reincarnated in the netherworld. When Osiris' son Horace grew up, he challenged Seth to a duel to avenge his father. During the duel, Seth gouged out Horace's eye, which was later healed by Anubis.
The ancient Egyptians engraved the Eye of Horace on thin pieces of solid gold and placed these "band aids" over the incision made in dead bodies to remove organs before they were mummified, believing this would heal the incision without leaving a scar. Morin said experts consider them the first form of cosmetic surgery.
Morin engaged her rapt audience with explanations of the preservative powers of mummification and tales of the schwabti. "Wealthy Egyptians believed when they died, they could bring everything with them into the next world, so their possessions were placed with them in their tombs. But who's going to cook their food and tend their fields?" Morin asked. "They brought their servants in the form of schwabtis, and when they returned to life, their schwabtis did, too, immediately asking, 'How may I serve you?'"
Schwabtis were made in the image of the mummified person to identify their master. Morin said one Egyptian tomb opened by modern archaeologists contained 1,400 schwabtis "Couldn't we all use a few schwabtis at home?" she asked. "Schwabtis do not eat, sleep or collect a salary. They do chores 24-7!"
Following a detailed description of the mummification process, Morin concluded her presentation with the famous, mystifying story of 1923 opening of King Tut's tomb.
The mummified King Tut sits inside a nest of coffins that was placed inside a large box, or sarcophagus. "Anubis, in the shape of a large dog, sits atop the sarcophagus as Tut's protector, cursing any would-be grave robbers with a quick and violent death," Morin explained. "Throughout the one year following the opening of King Tut's tomb by Lord Carnavon, 30 people who were involved in the excavation died bizarre deaths."
After describing each death in dramatic detail, Morin asked students, "Curse or coincidence?" garnering varied responses based on the level students' belief in the power of images and amulets.
"That really blew my mind. It was awesome," said Jarred Braginton-Smith, following the program. Zach Lima, adorned with the royal cobra crown and necklace he had agreed to model, silently smiled, still digesting the amazing cultural journey he had just enjoyed.
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