Posted on Tuesday, April 13, 2010
As an Egyptian mummy I appear to be in the midst of some very invigorating experiences. Last December, S.J. Wolfe published her well-researched book, Mummies in Nineteenth Century America. My journey to America is noted and two photographs of me are shown. I must say, I look pretty good for a 2,300-year-old woman.
But the best is yet to come. Many American organizations/institutions hold periodic reunions at various locales. This is an interesting custom. I am about to embark on a journey that will enable me to participate in such an activity at the Berkshire Museum (Pittsfield, Mass). It will be a reunion with two other Egyptian mummies from my hometown of Akhmim. We were all led through the House of Death and thence into the afterlife by the jackal-headed god Anubus. The three of us will be part of an exhibit entitled "Wrapped! The Search for the Essential Mummy." And would you believe it, the other two are father and son!
It will be nice to exchange thoughts with them about life back home in Akhmim and our afterlife in the Fields of Yalu (somewhat equivalent to the Native American's "Happy Hunting Grounds") along the celestial Nile. Of course this will be done by mental telepathy. I wonder if the older man is handsome. Perhaps he would be interested in the ancient Egyptian custom of "breaking a jar." This activity seals a marriage. Far from being the horrifying mummies seen in the movies, I am quite comely. The other mummies are from Vassar College and the Berkshire Museum.
The exhibit also includes about 100 high quality Westminster artifacts such as animal mummies and funerary items such as scarabs, necklaces, amulets, vessels, figurines and headdresses, as well as historical documents related to the trade and study of Egyptian mummies and artifacts. The exhibit is scheduled to open June 19 and runs until Halloween. Visit www.berkshiremuseum.org/exhibition/nile.html for more information.
Visit www.westminster.edu/mummy to learn more about Pesed and other Westminster antiquities. Contact Dr. Sam Farmerie, curator and professor of education emeritus, at farmersa@westminster.edu or (724) 946-7053 for more information. (Written by Pesed, translated by Dr. Sam Farmerie)
