Encylopedia of Body Adornment.pdf - Print My Tattoo

EGYPT
The ancient Egyptians, and especially the elites, devoted a great deal of time and
energy to the adornment and modification of the body. The types of adornments
and modifications worn by an individual represented a great deal about their status,
wealth, and social or political roles. Because the Egyptians left such a wealth
of artwork, statuary, funerary materials, and mummies, we know a tremendous
amount of how they treated their bodies and what the standards of beauty were.
Ancient Egyptian mummies, artwork, and artifacts provide information on
many of their practices, which range from the decorative—makeup, henna, wigs
and hairstyles, jewelry, scarification, and tattooing—to the punitive (branding)
and encompass as well circumcision, which marks social status for boys.
Branding humans is a tradition that goes back to at least ancient Egypt and
Rome when wealthy elites branded both livestock and slaves with a hot iron. As
one of the earliest state-level societies, it is not surprising that the Egyptians would
have used branding for both purposes.
Circumcision, too, was found in Egypt, and may have spread from Africa. Egyptian
circumcision practices may have then spread to other nearby lands, eventually
leading to the biblical commandment to circumcise.
Egyptian boys were generally circumcised with sharpened copper blades between
the ages of 6 and 12, although evidence from mummies indicates that not
all boys were circumcised. In fact, some feel that only priests were circumcised,
and that prepubescent, virginal boys were selected to be priests, and were at that
time circumcised at Thebes in order to serve the gods. Circumcised penises were
signs of fertility; one myth has God circumcising himself and his blood created
the universe. Others, however, feel that circumcision was almost universally practiced
among Egyptians; artwork shows regular men who were clearly circumcised.
In any case, circumcision for priests was certainly mandatory, and was combined
with a number of other proscriptions for priests that were enacted to maintain
their purity, such as mandated head shaving (indeed, priests shaved their entire
bodies), regular ritual washing, and the wearing of only linen clothing.
In terms of adornment, Egyptians spent a great deal of time, energy, and money
on hair. Egyptian hairstyles varied with age, gender, and social status, with elites
being able to hire professional hairdressers, afford the most expensive wigs, and
use the richest oils, dyes, and scents for their hair.
Boys and girls until puberty wore their hair shaved except for a side lock left
on the side of their head. Many adults—both men and women—also shaved their
hair as a way of coping with the heat and lice. However, adults did not go about
bald, and instead wore wigs in public and in private. Slaves and servants wore
their hair simply, often tied back from the head.
Men who did wear their own hair generally wore it short, with the ears exposed.
Women, on the other hand, wore a variety of hairstyles (and wig styles) from long
to short, but generally favored waves or curls. Many women used henna to dye
their hair or cover their gray hair. Women also decorated their hair and wigs with
flowers, ribbons, and jewels, with wealthier women being able to afford more
elaborate decorations.
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