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Prompt:  The Ritual of the Opening of the Mouth
Rating: Everyone
Note:  A situation from my unpublished Egyptian legacy.  I know this is very short, but I realized the more I wrote the more I was giving plot away!  SO, have a slightly less spoiler'y snippet of what is to come.  (Though anyone who knows even a little bit about ancient Egyptian history will recognize the character right away.)
Word Count:
200
My Card

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Hatshepsut stood on the side of the causeway with the other women from the royal harem.  Her mother was clinging to her left arm and weeping openly, wiping away real tears.  All the women wept, though some shed actual tears most of them simply affected respectful wailing for the dead king.  Hatshepsut did not lament.  She spilled not one tear.  She simply stood like a temple statue devoid of all emotion, and watched as the young boy Thutmose approached her father’s mummy.

Thutmose was dressed as a Sem Priest and carried the ritual adze that would open her father’s mouth to allow life to flow back into his body once he reached the afterlife.  The vizier even had to place a stool on the ground so Thutmose could reach the mummy’s mouth.  The boy was named heir, so it was his duty to perform this ritual.  This was a fact that boiled Hatshepsut’s stomach bile.  Had she been born a male, it would be herself assisting her father’s passage into the afterlife.  She was the eldest, after all.  She was the one with the knowledge to run a kingdom.  Unlike this child who was barely off his wet nurse’s teat.


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Prompt given by [info]dicreasy

on 2011-10-27 12:21 am (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] olivethegreat.livejournal.com
I never knew there was such a ritual in Egypt. I am excited to read your new legacy when you get to working on it. I am going to love all of the new things I am going to get to learn. :)

on 2011-10-27 02:56 am (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] fuzzy-spork.livejournal.com
Oh gosh, they had rituals for everything! A version of the opening of the mouth ritual was also performed on statues of deities to imbue them with the "life" of the particular god. It's really a fascinating culture!

Thanks Liv! :) I'm anxious to get started on the legacy! I was planning to have at least the prologue up by Christmas, which still might happen.

on 2011-10-27 12:22 am (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] penguingirl03.livejournal.com
Very cool Fuzzy! Looking forward to actually seeing this!

on 2011-10-27 02:57 am (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] fuzzy-spork.livejournal.com
Thanks Pen! :)

on 2011-10-27 01:28 am (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] joandsarah.livejournal.com
Can't wait to see your Egyptian legacy. Women certainly had no rights back then.

on 2011-10-27 03:06 am (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] fuzzy-spork.livejournal.com
Actually women had it pretty well in ancient Egypt, since they could own property, manage businesses, and for the most part they enjoyed the same legal rights as men of the time. It's just in the case of the pharaoh - it was a patriarchy. The king had to be male since he was considered the living manifestation of the god Horus. Who was the son of Osiris and Isis... but you'll find all that out when I actually manage to get this whole legacy started and posted! lol

Anyway, thanks Jo! ;D

on 2011-10-27 04:25 am (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] joandsarah.livejournal.com
I think we need to study Egypt then. ;)

on 2011-10-27 04:34 am (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] fuzzy-spork.livejournal.com
lol Don't worry, there won't be a test at the end. OR... that would diabolically just like me, huh? ;D

on 2011-10-27 10:57 am (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] joandsarah.livejournal.com
Oh no! *Bites nails* ...So if we win do we get an all expenses paid trip to Egypt? :D

I could totally put that down as an ‘educational elective’ on my next attendance form. ^_^ Which reminds me it's due and I don't know where it is-urk.

on 2011-10-27 12:17 pm (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] dicreasy.livejournal.com
Oh my, this is perfect. One of the most fascinating rituals of the Ancient Egyptians, and it involves my absolute favourite Pharaoh, Hatshepsut. Her rise to power, and how she kept hold of it, fascinates me, as well as inspires me. I hope we get to see more of her in your legacy.

Brilliant Fuzzy. :D

on 2011-10-27 02:46 pm (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] fuzzy-spork.livejournal.com
This was probably a huge spoiler because Hatshepsut is my favorite pharaohs and I couldn't leave her out of the story! :D She WILL be an heir (despite this being a patriarchy... but she managed to get around that didn't she? lol), so there will be an entire generation based on her story. I'm going to have to change things up a little where actual facts are concerned (mostly concerning who her father was, her lover *shifty* and her offspring), but I've got to condense 3000 years and 31 dynasties into just 10 generations. D: So I've picked a few (okay, 10) of the pharaohs who I felt had an interesting story to tell, and have meshed them into one unbroken family line. :)

Anyway! I'm excited about it (hence the rambling) so I can't wait to show it to the world. Thanks Di! *HUG*

on 2011-10-27 05:57 pm (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] mysterymusic7.livejournal.com
Great prompt. I can't wait for this legacy Fuzzy! I've always found ancient cultures so interesting! *cough* Loves reading National Geographic articles and watching TV specials on ancient cultures *cough*

I mean I really can't wait for you to share this with all of us. *bounces up and down*

on 2011-10-27 06:20 pm (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] fuzzy-spork.livejournal.com
Aw! :D Your enthusiasm is giving me all kinds of motivation! I can't wait to get the first chapter posted. By Christmas is my goal. We'll see if I can manage that! D:

Thanks so much, Mystery!

on 2011-10-27 10:51 pm (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] rosefyre.livejournal.com
Oooh, yay! Can't wait to see all this, Fuzzy!

on 2011-10-28 08:54 pm (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] fuzzy-spork.livejournal.com
Thanks Rose! :)

on 2011-10-28 03:40 am (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] katmiesterk8.livejournal.com
Ooh, I love reading things about ancient Egypt! Well, any ancient culture really. I'm really looking forward to what you write for this legacy. :)

on 2011-10-28 08:55 pm (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] fuzzy-spork.livejournal.com
I love ancient cultures too! Egypt being top of the heap, though. ;D Thanks!
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