Egyptian Concepts on the Orientation of the Human Body

Abstract

Many rituals in ancient Egypt manifest a preoccupation with the orientation of the body. The dead were often buried with the head towards the north. The decoration of coffins and canopic chests also shows an underlying system of cosmic notions. Various other rituals demonstrate a strong predilection for facing south, an orientation which is also apparent from the designations for east and west in the Egyptian language. Apparently there was a firm belief in the need to conform to the four directions of the sky during rites de passage such as birth, mummification, and burial.

Words Referring to Swallowing in Ancient Egyptian Religious Texts

“…Articles that deal with body parts in detail and their names, especially the mouth [18][19][20][21][22][23][24] and the throat (d) [25]. However, the ancient Egyptian religious texts neglected vital operations, such as swallowing and digestion.…”

“…The ways of writing the verb "am" to swallow/devour, the causative verb "sam" and the adjective "sam" and "am" in the different sources are mentioned in tab. (1).…”

“…In addition, verbs referred to swallowing, such as "am" to swallowing the joy of trees, beer and white wheat. The mouth was one of the most important members of the human body as one of the seven openings of the head (a) [1]. Its functions are receiving food, speech, expression, and sense [2].…”

Towards Sunrise: Innovations in the Representations of the Swallow in the Funerary Papyri of the Twenty-First Dynasty

“…Thus, the swallow location on the reed mat of the prow of the solar boat reflects its connection to the sun god and to the north, a cardinal point that has been linked to the solar ascent. 136 The New Kingdom representations of the swallow on the prow of the solar boat would continue to be represented in the papyri of the Twenty-First Dynasty, but, like other depictions, would follow new approaches. As discussed above, the funerary representations of this period did not strictly follow the earlier funerary themes of each papyrus, an innovation that led to the designation of the papyri as 'Mythological Papyri'.…”

Personal Religious Practice: House Altars at Deir El-Medina*

“…The random orientation of the mudbrick structures also seems to contradict the altar hypothesis. The orientation of the performer of an Egyptian ritual, 'whether private believer, priest or magician', 96 is believed to have been crucial for the effectiveness of the ritual. Therefore it appears to be implausible that the direction of prayers or other religious activities would be left to chance.…”