The ancient
Egyptians believed that if their heart
was light from spending a lifetime doing good deed that,
after their death, they would climb in Ra's boat and travel to their afterlife. To the ancient Egyptians,
the afterlife was a real place, the land of Two Fields, a
truly splendid place! People spent a great deal of time making grave goods. Grave goods were all the things they
wanted to bring with them to the land of the Two Fields. Nearly
everybody made little statues as part of their grave goods. People in
ancient Egypt fully expected to be assigned jobs to do in their afterlife,
just as they were assigned jobs to do in their daily life. To the ancient
Egyptians, it made perfect sense to create little statues that would do
the work for them. It was believed that when the deceased was called on to
do their share of the work in the afterlife, they could send their little
workers instead. That would leave them free to sail the heavenly Nile or
visit with friends who had entered the afterlife.
The
also made toys. They made beautiful clothing. They made jewelry, and
anything else they might need in the land of the Two Fields. Once
made, their grave goods were packed carefully away in big urns. After they
died, the grave goods they had spent a lifetime preparing were buried with their mummified
body.
They
ancient Egyptians had a great deal of fun preparing for their
afterlife.
