A man harvesting grain and Barley (Inside a tomb in Deir el Medina) |
As a symbol of transmutation and undying life, grain itself was considered to have magical belongings. One of the steps of mummification involved rubbing the body with barley and wheat so that the deceased could live once again. A Middle Kingdom royal ritual equates the god Osiris with barley and Set with the donkeys who cream the grain by trample on it. Images on temple walls show grain rising out of the body of the dead Osiris while his soul hovers above the stalks.
The ancient Egyptians were said to shed weeping at the first cutting of the cereal, and workers would chant a dirge, accompanied by a flute. The last sheaf to be track was a moment of festivity. Osiris Beds, mummies of dirt seedy with barley and formed in the shape of Osiris, were come out in tombs to develop in the darkness. An entire barley corn plant was left in the sarcophagus of Amenophis I. A necklace of bourgeoned barley corn was got on the mummy of Kent.