The legend of curses in Egypt
 

BY MIHINDUKULASURIYA Susantha Fernando

ANCIENT Sri Lanka, like the land of the pharaohs, had her kings and their subjects accustomed to believe in a wide variety of curses and spells. For instance, our ancient kings had their royal treasures buried in secret locations, before they went to wage war.

Before burying their treasures, kings got powerful Kattadiyas to kill a kulundul child (first born to parents who themselves were first born in their respective families) as a billa or human sacrifice, and thereafter bury the fresh corpse along with the treasure and a written curse or spell to be effective upon anyone who would attempt one day to recover the buried treasures.

It was believed that the spirit of the dead person would be reborn in the form of the dreadful demon Bahirawa and thereby impose the curse effectively.

Were the ancient kings of Sri Lanka influenced by the esoteric Egyptian practice of curses and spells? I discovered 36 mysterious parallels between ancient Sri Lanka and Egypt, and explained them in my book, "Alien Mysteries in Sri Lanka and Egypt, the New Version".

They say magic originated in Egypt. Religion, medicine, technology, and what we would call magic coexisted in the Land of the Nile, without apparent conflict.

Everyone resorted to magic, from the pharaoh guarding his country with elaborate magical rituals to the expectant mother wearing amulets to safeguard her unborn child.

Egyptian magical thinking had an all-pervasive influence over all monotheistic religions of the world. It also continued to influence the ancient cultures of the world, such as Europe, Mexico, India and Sri Lanka.

The dead, their resting places and whatever valuables buried with them in ancient Egypt needed protection and, as history has proven, ancient curses turned out to be most effective. Amulets were worn by the living and given to the dead to empower and ward off evil. Some mummies had dozens of scarabs packed into their bandages.

The word, spoken or, perhaps even more potent, written, was the means to influence other beings and bend them to your will.

Many spells required the use of special foodstuffs, magical implements, figurines, talismans and the like. Animal figurines were among the equipment of tombs. Very popular were hippo talismans.

Vessels, lamps, knives and other utensils were used. Blood (of smun-geese, hoopoes, nightjars, worms, puppies, humans etc), semen, oil and water were mixed with other animal or plant matter.

Another form of protection in Ancient Egypt was the use of magic and spells. Egyptians had many uses for magic and spells. They used spells to protect their tombs. Everyone in Egypt used magic. Pharaohs used magic to protect their families. Magic was also used to ward off injuries.

Egyptian curses have been popular in movies. In such movies, usually an Egyptian mummy would come to life. The first movie about Egyptian curses was The Mummy, made in 1932. There have also been horror films about Egyptian curses.

In ancient Egypt it was believed that magical knowledge and power emanated from the gods and was bestowed upon their servants. When dealing with their gods in burial rites, the Egyptians used great care. Their gods were powerful and highly respected.

Both the living and the dead went to great lengths to receive the blessing of the gods. Hymns of praise were composed and recited, written down on papyrus and put in the tombs. Offerings of food, real or carved on walls, were supposed to satiate the god's hunger and thirst.

Lesser magical powers like demons, spirits or the deceased did not quite warrant the same amount of respect. They were the main agents of magic and were invoked by simple means.

There are many theories about Egyptian curses. It was rumored that carved in the en-trance of King Tutankhamun's tomb were these words: Death shall come on swift wings to him who disturbs the peace of the king. In fact, those words were never found there.

Egyptians never put curses on their tombs. Although Egyptians never used curses, there is a scientific theory that could explain the many deaths of those who entered Tutankhamun's tomb.

Mold spores grow on mummies over time. Most spores are harmless, but some can be deadly and toxic. Toxic spores on the king's mummy could have blown into the people inside the tomb, which could have led to their deaths.

Tutankhamun, the boy king, died in his late teens and remained at rest in Egypt's Valley of the Kings for over 3,300 years.

All that changed in November 1922, when the British Egyptologist Howard Carter discovered Tutankhamun's tomb, while he was excavating on behalf of his patron Lord Carnarvon.

More than the priceless treasures discovered in the tomb of Tutankhamun by Howard Carter and his team, what sent the world's media into a frenzy was the bizarre pharaonic curse that supposedly came down upon all those involved in the historic discovery, after the final wall of the sealed burial chamber of the boy pharaoh was breached for the first time in 3,000 years on 17 February, 1923.

When Lord Carnarvon, aged 57, died on 5 April 1923, seven weeks after the official opening of pharaoh Tutankhamun's burial chamber, rumours were rife about a curse.

The death of Lord Carnarvon, caused by pneumonia resulting from infection after a mosquito bite, added another twist for eager journalists. All sorts of links were found.

The lights of Cairo were said to have gone out at the moment of his death (not an uncommon occurrence back then), while at Lord Carnarvon's country house in England, his dog, Susie, began baying and howling - a bloodcurdling, unnatural lament which shocked the domestic staff deep in the middle of the night. It continued until one last whine, when the tormented creature turned over and died.

A cobra mysteriously killed the pet canary of the tomb's discoverer, Howard Carter, on the day the tomb was opened. This was interpreted as retribution for violation of the tomb, particularly as a cobra was depicted on the brow of the pharaoh from where it would spit fire at the king's enemies.

According to one list, of the 26 individuals present at the official opening of the tomb, only one lived to a ripe old age. Was this a bizarre coincidence? Or was it the manifestation of a curse that had passed down through the centuries?

It was rumoured that the final blow of the excavators' pick had set free the Curse of the Pharaoh. Lord Carnarvon had never taken lightly the threats of ancient Egypt's high priests.

In England before his expedition had set out, mediums whom he consulted in England had prophesied his impending doom.

But for Carter and Lord Carnarvon, who had financed the dig culminating in history's greatest archaeological find, all thoughts of curses and hocus-pocus were forgotten as they reveled in the joy of the victorious end to the dig.

The site of Luxury had escaped the attention of grave robbers down through the centuries, and the treasure-packed tomb was a find beyond compare.

The newspapers of the day were quick to speculate that such eerie happenings were caused by the curse, an untapped source of evil which Carnarvon and Carter had unleashed.

Their sensational conclusion was reinforced when, two days after Carnarvon's death, the mummified body of the pharaoh was examined and a blemish was found on his left cheek exactly in the position of the mosquito bite on Carnarvon's face.

Perhaps this could have been passed off as coincidence had it not been for the bizarre chain of deaths that were to follow.

Shortly after Carnarvon's demise, another archaeologist, Arthur Mace, a leading member of the expedition, went into a coma at the Hotel Continental after complaining of tiredness. He died soon afterwards, leaving the expedition medic and local doctors baffled.

The deaths continued. A close friend of Carnarvon, George Gould, made the voyage to Egypt when he learned of his fate. Before leaving the port to travel to Cairo he looked in at the tomb.

The following day he collapsed with a high fever; twelve hours later he was dead. Radiologist Archibald Reid, a man who used the latest X-ray techniques to determine the age and possible cause of death of Tutankhamun, was sent back to England after complaining of exhaustion.

He died soon after landing. Carnarvon's personal secretary, Richard Bethel, was found dead in bed from heart failure four months after the discovery of the tomb. The casualties continued to mount.

Six years after the discovery, 12 of those present when the tomb was opened were reported to have died mysteriously. Within a further seven years only two of the original team of excavators and a further 21 people connected in some way with the dig, were also reported to have died mysteriously.

Of the original pioneers of the excavation, only Howard Carter lived to a ripe old age, dying in 1939 from natural causes. Was the legend of Tutuankhamun's curse a pure myth?

A recent study of journals and death records indicates no statistical difference between the age of death of those who entered the tomb and those on the expedition who did not. Indeed, most were found to have lived past 70.

(The above article is written by the author of two new books launched recently. They are: "Rituals, Folk Beliefs and Magical Arts of Sri Lanka, the New Version" and "Alien Mysteries in Sri Lanka and Egypt, the New Version". They are available at leading bookshops)