Journal Article

Terms of Removal in Ancient Egyptian Religious Texts

Mahmoud, Rania Abdel Aziz

2023

Overview

Cleansing is considered one of the religious rites that dis-tinguished the Ancient Egyptian civilization and the specializa-tion is the removal of sensual and moral foul. Cleansing was made with water and natron salt to remove fouls from the body and there was another kind of Removal which removing or eras-ing the name which meant the distortion of the ancient Egyptian of the names of the enemies which is a kind of revenge. In the Pyramid Texts Removal had great symbolism as spitting caused removing wounds for gods. Also, Removal was a symbol of per-ishability, as the king sometimes perished/ became extinct when he did not enter into the god ''Geb''. Threatening by removing the \"Ka\" flesh of the deceased king was also considered a threat with a great effect, meaning complete extinction/ perishability. Thus, the deceased used to pray that it would not be removed from ''Re's'' protection. The keywords in the Coffin Texts signified various mean-ings and symbols where the god ''Npr'' removes the deceased away from the gate and some gods were completely removed, such as the god ''Shu''. The term \"Removal\" and its expressions also mean the extinction of body members, such as removing the face and shoulders. In the Book of the Dead, the keywords refer-ring to Removal appeared with a new meaning which is remov-ing negative appearances such as evil, war and wailing.

• Publisher: جامعة أسيوط - كلية الآداب
• Subject: الحضارة المصرية القديمة / الشعائر الدينية / مصطلحات الإزالة