The Mummification of Barbie

We have really enjoyed learning about Egypt. It has been not only educational but fun living in Egypt and experiencing the culture first hand. A while back I wrote about our experience seeing real mummies at the famed Museum of Antiquities. As I am homeschooling my daughters, I wanted to teach them more about the mummification process and I knew that I needed a hands-on lesson. After coming across this blog on Pinterest, I knew that my kindergarteners and preschooler would enjoy "mummifying" their Barbie doll. We followed along with the help of this website as we embalmed and wrapped Barbie.   

First, we washed and rinsed Barbie with "water from the Nile." We live only about a block away from the Nile and can actually see it from some windows in our apartment. But since the water in the Nile isn't that clean - especially as it passes through downtown Cairo - we just pretended. The next step is removing the internal organs from the body. C used a toothpick to "smash the brain and pull it through the nose."

Then, we pretended to stuff the body with natron to dry it out. After 40 days the body is washed again from the Nile. Of course we weren't going to wait that long to finish this little project, so my girls jumped 40 times to represent 40 days.

Depending on the type of mummification (processes changed over time), vital organs (stomach, intestines, lungs, liver) were either removed and stored in canopic jars or they were dehydrated, wrapped in linen and put back in the body. The canopic jars were entombed with the mummy. We cut out and colored our jars and drew pictures of the wrapped organs that belong in each one.

Next was the wrapping of Barbie. Ancient Egyptians would use fine linen. We used strips of old cotton clothing. The head and neck were wrapped first, followed by the fingers and toes, each one wrapped by itself. Arms and legs were wrapped separately after that. Based on our studies of the ceremonial process, one of my daughters pretended to be a priest(ess) and read out spells that would keep evil spirits away in the afterlife.

If this were a real mummy, the arms and legs would be tied together. Royal mummies' arms were usually crossed across their chests. Scarab (beetle) amulets became very popular and were often placed over the heart of the mummy. Of course we had some papyrus lying around our home (no, really; we did), so we were able to write some spells from the Book of the Dead on to little pieces and then we placed them in the hands of the mummy.

Many ancient Egyptians were buried with their beloved pets. So we mummified Barbie's cat, too. Notice that C is wearing some of the white clothing that we were using to cut into strips for Barbie's mummy wraps.

During the real mummification process, even more linen strips would be wrapped around and glued together. Then a large cloth would be placed on top of the mummy. We didn't have pure gold from which to make a real death mask, so one of my daughters drew a death mask for Barbie.

After the mummy was fully wrapped, it would then be placed in 2 coffins - one inside the other - and a funeral would be held. From there, the mummy and coffins were placed in a large box (or series of boxes) called a sarcophagus - often carved out of massive stone. Some mummies were placed inside pyramids, but many more were hidden away in massive, elaborate, ornate, man-made tombs. The most famous complex would be the Valley of the Kings near modern day Luxor (read about our family's trip here). Everything the mummy would want in the afterlife was placed in the tomb: jewelry, food, drink, furniture, clothing, art, etc. We placed things that Barbie would need in the next life in her tomb.

In all, the entire mummification process typically lasted approximately 70 days. By the time we were done with our little exercise, Barbie was ready for her journey through the "underworld." If her deeds were good on earth, then she will live for all eternity in the beautiful "Field of the Reeds."

This was a fun lesson and my girls enjoyed participating in the mummification process. We also talked about ancient Egyptian beliefs regarding life & death and compared them to our own beliefs. We know that we will not be bringing tangible, physical things with us into the next life, but we do believe in life after death. We take great comfort in knowing that the relationships we enjoy in this life will carry on in the next, and we're especially grateful that our Heavenly Father's plan includes the blessing of families being sealed together throughout eternity. In some ways similar to Ancient Egyptians, we have temples today to help make this powerful blessing possible. I am so grateful to be sealed to my family forever.