Clothing Rituals
This type of ritual was performed daily, monthly, for special occasions, or it was done annually for the New Year in Ancient Egypt- this largely depended on the temple and the time period. They have been attested dating back to the Old Kingdom and lasted until Ptolemaic times. From the Abusir papyrus that was found in royal funerary temples- specifically from pharaohs Neferirkare and Raneferef, we can see that these rituals were done monthly; however, the deity of the temple was the deceased king. In later times, this ritual was performed daily for the main gods in the temple. What we do know from this type of ritual is best explained in pBerlin 3014, pBerlin 3053 and pBerlin 3055 (which is dated to the 22nd dynasty), along with the temple of Seti I in Abydos and Ptolemaic temples.
In the morning, the ba was reawoken for the god by unveiling them from the night before. You would say your admiration of the god with a prayer or hymn before washing off the mD.t unguent and undressing it from the mnH.t cloth. The mD.t unguent and the mnH.t cloth is speculated to help with regeneration and renewal. The mnH.t cloth was commonly “depicted as one or two stripes of cloth folded in half and often referred to as four-coloured cloths- white, green, red and blue (or dark-red). Each of these colours had its own symbolic meaning connected with protection, health, fertility, regeneration and renewal” (The Clothing Rite, 66). Next, the statue was then purified with natron and incense (perhaps myrrh, frankincense, or palmonia resin) before it was redressed in clean mnH.t cloth. The mD.t unguent was reapplied to the statue, along with green and black paints. Next, formal clothing was adorned to the statue, along with jewelry and pectorals before, lastly, the final purification and fumigation took place.
How can you implement this into your practice?
Based off of the steps known from ancient practices in temples of Egypt, it is possible to do a daily rite with this, if you choose, or on days when you want to go to your own shrine.
First, find a place for your statues so they won’t get damaged. Find a good piece of cloth, preferably linen to conceal the statues when they’re not at the forefront of your practice. When they’re not in the forefront of your practice veil the statue.
Unveil the deity’s statue.
Next, invoke the deity along with saying or singing a prayer/hymn.
Third, use natron to help purify and light some incense. You could use something universal like myrrh and frankincense or your could use UPG and choose the one you think they would like best.
Fourth, dress the deity in some new cloth and annoint the statue. I cannot find anything about mD.t ungunet at this time but you could use something that you’ve dedicated to just them- whether you make your own oil or purchase it.
Fifth, add on the regelia and jewelry. While this step isn’t always possible for everybody, I will add it. You could get Barbie jewelry to add or you could make your own to size. You could repaint on the makeup if you choose, as well.
Lastly, the final purification and fumigation. Relight your incense. This one should be more specific to cleansing.
Sources:
Coppens, Filip. Vymazalová, Hana. “Linen for the God: The Interpretation of Old Kingdom Clothing Rites in the Light of First Millennium BC Rituals (and vice versa).” 2016. https://academia.edu/resource/work/37212908
Coppens, Filip. Vymazalová, Hana. “The Clothing Rite in the Royal Temples of Abusir.” 2009. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/291332482_The_clothing_rite_in_the_temples_of_Abusir
Sharpe, Samual. “The Rosetta Stone in Hieroglyphics and Greek Translations. 1807. https://www.ganino.com/anteanus/scripturam_aegyptium_rosetta_stone
