sem

An appointee of the Pharaoh himself, the role of the sem priest carried immense political and religious weightage. In many ways, this class of priest served as the bridge between the ruler and the ruled. Over and above, funerals in ancient Egypt were officiated by the sem priest who recited spells from the Book of the Dead during the all-important Opening of the Mouth ritual to ensure the safe passage of the newly deceased persons in their journey into the other realm. These incantations also granted the soul (or akh) the ability to make use of the five senses as it had done here on earth. Read Part 1 [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"48412","attributes":{"alt":"This scene on the north wall in KV62 shows King Aye