The Story Of Tetisheri
(As written by Tetisheri and later after the finding of the Roseta Stone to French, much later to English)

Chapter 4
The death of her aunt, the preparing and ceremony of burial and the stalking of Prince Khaemweset.

When last I wrote, I was troubled with the attention that Prince Amonhirwonmet was paying to Father Pharaoh for union with me. I find him ugly in spirit, and so to me his body follows suit. Others see him as rugged, and with the good looks of a Prince and very well educated. It is a shame that they don't see him as I do, mean, spiteful and a toady. He does everything to curry favor with Father Pharaoh. I think that Father Pharaoh sees through his deceit, but then one can never tell with men. I am lucky to have an older half brother by Queen Istnofret, that is wiser and will help me in my hour of need. He is the fourteenth son of Father Ramesses and is destined to be a great leader of the military might of Father Pharaoh. The people of Libya have been at our borders more than once, because of the plight that the people in their own country labor under. Famine has been rampant for years due to disease of the plants and drought. The sea people raid all of our ports and there is unrest. If it weren't for Prince Merneptah, they both would join together and try to overrun us. He is both wise and strong, like Prince Khaemweset, and will know how to help me in all areas of my life. He watches over me as if I were his own child and not just his half sister. It is his brother that I love from the first seeing of his continence.

Today I am so concerned with my life. Aker is my constant companion now and I love him dearly, even though he is still just a cub, he seems to relate to my spirit. I have an empathy with him. He has no parents, and mine are so busy with life, building, and war. It seems that because I am solitary that I have no one to understand how I really feel. Mother Merytamon is so busy with helping the other wives and children, and sometimes I feel all alone. I wish that Aker could talk to me and advise me how to act about Prince Khaemweset, and how to make everyone see Prince Amonhirwonmet for what he really is. I wish that I could be a child once again and have no responsibilities or duties to do. Iputi tells me to run away. And where would I run to? There is no place for me to go and since I can't go back, I have no choice but to go forward. There is an intrinsic evil in Prince Amonhirwonmet, he smiles with his lips, but not with his eyes. He is always weighing things like the weigher of the ka in the book of the Dead. How do I get them to see how evil he is, when all that they see is the beauty of his continence, when I see him as ugly because he is so evil.

Today is a sad day for all of us, the sister of my mother Princess Mertatum has died and no one seems to know why. Now they will begin the preparations for the embalming of her body and her trip to the afterlife. Hopefully she will go to the Lake of Flowers which is one of the paradises that is eternal and awaits us when we die. Her tomb will become a place of transfiguration. Her Akh, is the transfiguration of her human spirit into the spiritual being, it will emerge from the corpse during the religious ceremony. As Akhu she will soar into the heavens as a circumpolar star along with the goddess Nut. It is the practice that all of the dead are incorporated into the realms of the cosmic. In the first of the dynasties of our nation is was to speak of death as the going to one's ka, and in doing so were changed from weak mortals into everlasting spiritual beings, changing forever their life on earth for the perfect one of the eternal being.

At one time Teshi says that the bodies of the dead were placed in the drying sands, but still it was only an artificial grave site and they were exposed to the processes of death and decayed. It was the custom that neither the ka or ba could be separated and could not be deprived of their mortal remains, which it was believed would cause them to wander at times. For this they placed outside of the mortuary house a likeness of the dead one, so that they could once again find the place where they were to reside for all time. Later the bodies were wrapped in very tightly resin soaked linen strips, but that only hardened the outside shell and the corpses would still decay and again be separated from their body, this was not exceptable and so finally it was decided to put them into aromatic resins, called ut . They were filled with molten resin and dipped in bituman. But first the priests would put the body of the deceased in Met-Jeryt or Natron, from the Natron Valley, this would absorb all of the moisture and also cleans the body from all that could pollute the spirit or body with disease. Then the priests would washed and cause to purify the body and begin to prepare the head. Rarely the brain was left in the skull, but that did not happen often and most of the time the priests would insert the hooks of their trade into the nose of the body and move them in such a pattern until they could break the bones of the nose and allow entrance into the cavity and the narrow rod which had a spoon attached would scoop up the brains and then through them away. The skull was packed with expensive linens, spices and mud from Mother Nile. Teshi said that he had not only read of all of this down through the ages, but had seen it as a favor to him by one of the priest, that was a relative of his. It almost makes me sick to think of this happening to the sister of my mother Mertatum, but I know she goes to a better place.. The spells and rituals Teshi says are beyond number, meaning by him many and that all of the internal parts of her body were place in different Canopic Jars, each protected by a different deity, the lungs were by Hapi, the stomach by Duamutef, the intestines cared for by Qebhenmut and lastly the liver by Imsety. During the reign of my Grandfather the genitals were surgically removed and placed in a special casket in the shape of the great god Osiris. All of the jars were protected by Mesu heru or the four or Horus' sons'. I am so glad that I am not a boy and a priest, I don't believe that I could do this with out being of dreary continence. The final step after having closed, and wrapped all things was to apply goldleaf and paint the face and the features. It could take anywhere from seventy to ninety days to complete this procedure, before the burial ceremony would then take place.

After all of the preparations the funeral processions for Mertatum takes place, it will occur early in the morning with the kites who are hired to weep and wail to show their sorrow with their faces daubed with dust and mud as signs of their mourning. They will pull their hair so that everyone knows how tragic the loss will be, they will carry flowers, trays of offerings, oils and foods so that the deceased will not be without in the realm of eternity. The Shabtis or small statues are carried in the rear and are to be placed in the tomb for the commands of the gods, for various work details or services, so that the body could then rest in peace. Boxes of clothes and linens of Mertatum along with Tekenu (a bundle that looked like a human form and was covered by skins of animals and then dragged to the place of sacrifice were they were ritually slain. These are the symbols of the courtiers and servants to be of service and company to Mertaum in the life she will be going to. I feel that Akenaton may have had the right idea in only believing in Amon-Ra as there are so many priests associated with the various gods and goddesses that only a rich body could pay to have all that is necessary to be done without being in debt for the rest of their own lives.

Now it is time for the mortuary boat to sail across the Nile to the necropolis sites which are on the western shores, there will be two women who will mounted on each side, the family and friends will follow on the land or in barges that are separate across the river to the necropolis. The Mortuary boat is used in the crossing and has a shrine adorned with lowers and palms which are the symbols of resurrection. The Sem priest incenses Mertatum and directs the removal of the coffin and sees to it that it is placed in the tomb for the rituals. I could scream at the noise that the kites are making. I am sad and Mother Merytamon has told me I should not be, as her sister will be in a paradise that is much happier than she is here with no problems and able to watch over us and help us, and so there is no reason for tears. But this does not help me much as she was a companion to me and I will miss her, and right now all I care about is that she will be gone from me and at a time that I can use all of the help that I can have. Mother Merytamon, tells me I am a selfish child, selfish, willful, wanting my own way, is there anything that they think that I do right. All I ever seem to hear is what is wrong with me, not that I am bright, well educated, able to write, read, make my own inks and cosmetics, have a lion cub as a pet, is there anything that I do right enough for my parents to say that I have succeeded in making them proud of me. Father Pharaoh has been so busy with the building and wars, I see him less and less and I seem to be getting nowhere in discouraging Prince Amonhirwonmet and encouraging Prince Khaemweset. My life seems beset with nothing but problems at the moment. To make matters worse Aker has just clawed the drapes of my bed again and I am afraid that Father Pharaoh will put Aker in the Royal enclosure of animals and I want him with me, he is all that is mine alone.

Right now there is nothing that seems to make me happy, even the flooding of the Nile is late and normally that would please me because there will be no decision about my union as of yet because of that, but nothing cheers me up. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day. There is to be a party for Prince Khaemweset and I have made up my mind to have him notice me. I will wear my most revealing and beautiful dress, the chest cover of fine tine roses strung on gold wire and the new beaded wig that Mother Merytamon has given me. It is in the style of several of the ladies and is heavily beaded. I will mix special colors of cosmetics and perfumes, which he will remember as just belonging to me. I will tell no one not even Iputi what all is in it. I will have here go to the market and purchase the ingredients, but I will add more that I have secreted away and then I will spring my trap on him. He will not stand a chance this time. I will be as devise as the other women this time, only more so. Now I am beginning to get happy, for after all of this sadness, I have a purpose and this time it is for me and I will not try to please Father or Mother this time, this is going to be my time and I will succeed. I could almost feel sorry for Prince Khaemweset, for he thinks that he is doing the pursuing, but this time he is wrong, I will pursue him until I decide that it is time for him to catch me. He has no idea what a good wife I will be. I will provide him with many sons as well as daughters, and will love him all the years of his life. He will learn to know how lucky he is. But now I must prepare more than I every have before and do it better than I ever have before. This next week will be the turning point of my life. I must admit Aker, I hope that I don't want him just because he is difficult to get and I have never been denied anything as of yet in my life. No, that cannot be the cause, he is a warrior, fair of face and spirit and without a doubt the embodiment of a man on this earth. So forward I will go with great purpose.

© camille nelson. All rights reserved.

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