The event of birth in the ancient Egypt
The period of pregnancy, then as today, was managed by the woman with gentleness and responsibility: she prepared herself for the happy and expected event nourishing herself in a healthy way, anointing her belly with oil to keep the skin soft and supple and only at the time of labor did he brought into a building, called in Coptic "Mammisi", that is "Place of birth", annexed to the temple, where the birth ritual was performed, accompanied by expert women of the family, and by an obstetrician.
In hieroglyphics the verb "to give birth" is called "months" and the ideogram is represented by a woman squatting with a child who is born. The Egyptian woman gave birth in fact squatting with her feet resting on bricks or sitting on perforated chairs, positions that proved to be of great help for the birth of the child, while the obstetrician, kneeling, was ready to take the newborn. There were no doctors present because the birth was considered a natural and private fact, nor were surgical instruments used except for an obsidian knife to cut the umbilical cord.
The birth, often feared for the high risk of mortality of both the mother and the unborn child, was accompanied by rites, magic formulas and invocations to the gods to ensure that they alleviated the pains of labor, and by conjurations to ward off any complications. In the New Kingdom these spells were written on papyrus and placed in a small box that tied to the neck of the unborn child to protect it, as if it were an amulet.
The goddess Tueret, depicted with the body of a hippopotamus, the lion's paws, the crocodile tail, the human arms and chest and the head of a woman or hippopotamus, was the one who protected the woman during her pregnancy, together with the god Bes, a grotesque-looking dwarf, often represented with a crown of feathers, a lion's mane and armed with a knife in the act of keeping away evil spirits and protecting women in labor, while the goddess Heqet was the divine midwife of Ancient Egypt, the protector of new life, she who was thought to give the child the form during gestation and was represented as a frog, or a woman with a frog's head. This is because the frogs existed from the beginning of civilization, procreating to thousands in the waters of the Nile and for the Egyptians life was born from the primordial waters. For similitude the child, being born from the broken waters in the maternal womb, was associated to the frogs that emerge from the water. Even women during pregnancy carried amulets and scarabs with engraved depictions of frogs: a way of securing sacred protection by placing them under the tutelage of the goddess Heqet. All midwives were so called "servants of Heqet" in honor of their duty to dispense life.
As soon as the birth occurred, he was anxiously expecting the first cry: if he had a sound similar to the word "no" it was an omen of death, but if he remembered the sound "yes" meant that the newborn would live. And after giving birth, the woman performed a purification ritual for about 14 days before resuming life in the community.
There are sources that document the rites on the occasion of the birth of a child: for example in the Westcar Papyrus written in the Middle Kingdom, the story "Cheops and the magicians" speaks of the birth of the queen Redgedet who gave birth to three kings of the fifth dynasty, future dethroners of the family of Cheops. It is narrated that assisted in the birth by the goddesses Nefti, Iside and Heqet, Queen Redgedet wore clothes in reverse as an allusion to the cycle of birth, death and rebirth and when the child was born the gods said: "here is the king who will exercise sovereignty over this whole country ". In addition, there were seven divinities who, with the appearance of girls, predicted his future to the unborn child.
We also know that in Ancient Egypt sterility was experienced as a great misfortune, a divine punishment almost to be exorcised through magic, as opposed to procreation which was a divine gift. And when women could not have children, the husband could divorce or take a second wife.
So the event of birth was considered, then as today, a unique experience, the greatest and indispensable joy. Word of mom!
