Why did people start eating mummies that were mummified in Egypt?

 
Why did ancient people believe that eating their kind was beneficial to their health? The response provides a look into some of the most bizarre corners of European history, which occurred when Europeans had an unhealthy preoccupation with Egyptian mummies.
 
The bandaged corpses of ancient Egyptians were the subject of fascination from the Middle Ages up until the 19th century. This fascination was initially driven by the belief that human remains that had been ground up and tinctured could cure anything from bubonic plague to a headache. Later on, this fascination was driven by the macabre ideas Victorian people had about after-dinner entertainment.
 
Mummy mania
 
For ages, people's belief that mummies might treat illness led them to consume substances repulsive to the palate.
 
Mumia was a medicinal substance used for centuries by the wealthy and poor alike. It was sold in apothecaries' shops (opens in new tab) and was manufactured from the remains of mummies that were brought from Egyptian tombs back to Europe. Rich and poor alike, they ingested Mumia.
 
Apothecaries started employing powdered mummies in the 12th century because of the mysterious therapeutic qualities of mummified remains. For the subsequent 500 years, mummies were used as a recommended form of medical treatment.
 
In a time before the discovery of antibiotics, medical professionals relied on the use of powdered skulls, bones, and flesh to cure a wide variety of conditions, ranging from relieving headaches (opens in new tab) to alleviating swelling (opens in new tab) to curing the plague (opens in new tab). It opens in a new tab).
 
Some did not believe it. A royal doctor named Guy de la Fontaine, who visited Alexandria in 1564, expressed his skepticism regarding the efficacy of Mumia as a treatment after seeing the creation of fake mummies fashioned from the bodies of deceased peasants. He concluded that people might be duped. They did not always feast on actual mummified remains from the ancient world.
 
However, the fakes serve to show a crucial point: there was a constant need for dead flesh to be utilized in medicine. Still, the supply of genuine Egyptian mummies could not match this demand.
 
Even into the 18th century, apothecaries and herbalists were still selling medications made from mummies (opens in new tab).
 
The panacea of the Mummy
 
Not all physicians thought the best medication came from dried, ancient mummies. Some medical professionals believed that freshly prepared meat and blood retained a vitality that was absent in long-dead bodies.
 
The argument persuaded even the most aristocratic of lords that fresh was superior. After experiencing a seizure, King Charles II of England (opens in new tab) took medication produced from human skulls. Up to the year 1909, it was standard practice for medical professionals to use human skulls to treat neurological problems.
 
As the doctors of the time said that the pharaohs manufactured Mumia, the royal and social elite of Egypt thought that eating mummies were a royally proper form of medicine (opens in new tab). The royalty consumed only royalties.
 
A show, some cocktails, and dinner
 
By the 19th century, people were no longer eating mummies to treat illness; however, Victorians organized "unwrapping parties" where Egyptian corpses would be unwrapped for amusement at private parties. This practice continued well into the 20th century.
Napoleon's first expedition into Egypt, which took place in 1798 (opens in new tab), piqued European curiosity, which in turn made it possible for travelers to Egypt in the 19th century to bring whole mummies back to Europe (opens in new tab) after purchasing them on the street in Egypt (opens in new tab).
 
Unwrapping the bodies of ancient Egyptians preserved in mummies was a popular activity in Victorian times, and special parties were hosted for the purpose.
 
At least the appearance of medical respectability was maintained during the early unwrapping episodes. At the Royal College of Surgeons in 1834, a surgeon named Thomas Pettigrew (link opens in a new tab) was responsible for unwrapping a mummy. During his period, autopsies and procedures were performed in public, and this unwrapping was just another public medical event that took place during that period.
 
Very quickly, even the semblance of conducting medical research was no longer possible. At this point, mummies were no longer therapeutic but fascinating instead. A dinner host who could amuse guests while unwrapping was wealthy enough to have their mommy.
 
The excitement of seeing dry flesh and bones appear as bandages were removed caused people to flock to these unwrappings, regardless of whether they were taking place in a private house or the theater of a learned society. Drinking alcoholic beverages resulted in enthusiastic and boisterous crowds (opens a new tab).
 
The evil eye of the Mummy
 
During the early 1920s, English Egyptologist Howard Carter (1873–1939) and a colleague are seen in this shot that has been colorized looking at the golden casket that belonged to Tutankhamen in Egypt.
 
At the turn of the 20th century, mummy unwrapping parties went out of style. The macabre thrills seemed out of place, and ancient artifacts' destruction (opens in new tab) seemed an unfortunate and unavoidable result.
 
Then, the discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb fueled a craze (opens in new tab) that shaped art-deco (opens in new tab) design in everything from the motifs of doors in the Chrysler Building to the shapes of clocks designed by Cartier. This shaped art deco design in everything from the entries in the Chrysler Building to the conditions of watches designed by Cartier (opens in a new tab). The sudden death of Lord Carnarvon in 1923, the patron of the Tutankhamen expedition, was due to natural causes; yet, it was quickly linked to a new superstition known as "the mummy's curse."
 
Modern mummies
 
In 2016, Egyptologist John J. Johnston conducted what is believed to be the first public unwrapping of a mummy since 1908 (opens in new tab). Johnston has constructed a reconstruction that is half art, part science, and part show of what it was like to be present at an unwrapping in Victorian times. This reproduction is an immersive experience.
 
It was as distasteful as imaginable, with everything from the Bangles' song "Walk Like an Egyptian" being played over the loudspeaker to the participants being plied with plain gin.
 
Even though the "mummy" was just an actor dressed in bandages, the event was a whirlwind of different sensory experiences. The fact that it took place at St. Bart's Hospital in London served as a timely reminder that mummies can be found in various contexts, from the medical to the macabre.
 
The illicit trade in antiquities, such as mummies, is estimated to be worth approximately three billion dollars in the United States today (opens in a new tab).
 
No self-respecting archaeologist or medical professional would ever open a mummy's wrappings or recommend eating one. However, the allure of the mummies is still quite strong. They are still a commodity, continue to be exploited, and can be bought and sold.

 

 

 

 Article source : https://www.livescience.com/eating-egyptian-mummies

Image source :  https://pixabay.com/id/illustrations/pria-mati-kematian-kengerian-2480068/

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