Plummet is a kind of amulet

/in /by

Plummet is a kind of amulet

Abstract:

I have already said that many of the Indus symbols resemble Egyptian hieroglyphs, and there is a close connection between these two writing systems. It is likely, the Egyptian priests and scribes arrived first in Indus valley followed by Sumerian priests and Vedic priests. The Indus symbols show a composite culture of all these three great civilizations, and the Indus civilization was an amalgamated culture 3500 years back itself. The above-given plummet symbol is another example of Egyptian influence. This kind of plummet amulet was inserted in mummy wrappings. Egyptians believed that such plummet amulet will bring in ‘balance’ in their next life.

Variants of Plummet symbol

The above-given picture shows variants of Plummet symbol as per Mahadevan. (1)

The above-given picture shows variants of plummet symbol. These logos are taken from the book of Asko Parpola. (1)

The above-given Indus seal inscription shows the plummet symbol. The inscription read as ‘ Plummet Kavu’, that is a sacrifice on the occasion of insertion of plummet amulet in the body linen wrappings of a mummy.

Isabel Stunkel of the metropolitan museum, New York says an amulet is an object believed to have specific favourable properties that, as the amulet’s primary function, can magically be bestowed upon its owner. This magical power was obtained by a combination of several aspects, such as the amulet’s shape, decoration, inscription, colour, material, and words spoken over the piece or acts performed with it. Amulets were usually worn or placed on the body to transfer their powers directly to the owner. Often amulets were pierced or featured a loop, which allowed their use as pendants on a necklace, for example. (3)

When used for the dead, they were placed on the mummy or in between the mummy’s bandages. While amulets are often small, on average ranging from two to six centimetres (about 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches). (3)Ancient Egyptians manufactured amulets in the shape of a plumb bob or plummet. They included these plummet amulet in the mummification process because they believed it would bring balance to their next life. (4) (5)

Statistical analysis

s.no

symbol

Frequency of occurrence

1

35

2

20

3

15

4

14

The above-given table shows the frequency of occurrence of plummet symbol as per data available from the research papers of Mahadevan and Sundar. (1) (6) The frequency occurrence of these symbols are quite high; hence it can be assumed that it was one of the vital rituals during the mummification process. It might have indicated some god. But in Egyptologist have not yet identified any specific god for this symbol so far.

23

17

This symbol pair ‘ Plummet Kavu’ occurs 40 times. This frequency is quite high. The meaning of this symbol pair is that animal sacrifice was carried out at the time of inserting the plummets in the linen bandages of the mummy. Mummification was quite a long process, and it will take 40 days for the mummy to dry up after that the wrapping of mummies with cotton bandages will take places. It is logical to sacrifice a bull in such situation because everybody needs some sustenance and nourishment during this mourning period. The sacrifice of a bull could have sustained both mourners and the priests.

Acknowledgements

The seal picture is taken from the book of Sue Sullivan. (7)

The logos are made from the book of Asko Parpola and Iravatham Mahadevan. (2) (1)

The frequency data is extracted from the research paper of Mahadevan and Sundar. (6)

Bibliography

1. Mahadevan.I. The Indus script -Text, Concordance and Tables. http://www.rmrl.in. [Online] http://www.rmrl.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/papers/5a.pdf.

2. Parpola, Asko. Deciphering the Indus Script. New Delhi: Cambridge University Press, 2000.

3. Skunkel, Isabel. Ancient Egyptian amulets. www.metmuseum.org. [Online] https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/egam/hd_egam.htm.

4. Wikipedia(Plummet). Plummet_amulet. Wikipedia.org. [Online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plummet_amulet.

5. Nefer, Djed. Ancient Egyptian Religion~~Egyptology Page: Book of Thoth.

6. Sundar, G, et al. -The-Indus-Script-Text-and-Context-A Statistical-Positional-positional Analysis of significant Text segments. http://45.113.136.87/wp-content/uploads/. [Online] http://45.113.136.87/wp-content/uploads/43-The-Indus-Script-Text-and-Context.pdf.

7. Sullivan, Sue,. Indus script dictionary. 2011.