place of honor among burial items, its primary
function was the preservation and protection of
the body from either physical or spiritual deterio-
ration or mutilation. The master artisans who
crafted the neb ankh used a variety of materials
ranging from wood to precious stones and metals
like gold. In the early to middle dynasty of Kemet,
the predominant material used for the neb ankh
was wood (sycamore or Lebanese cedar), stone
(white lime, red granite, deep onyx, or black
basalt), or metal (gold, silver, or electrum). Once
Africans had created the form, they illuminated
the interior with colored pigment, protective
spells, and excerpts from religious literature and
the exterior with light portrait carvings of the
head of the deceased and faïence-encrusted scenes.
Sometimes they added false doors and windows in
the form ofudjat(eyes) through which the soul or
spirit of the deceased passed. Next, the spirit of
the deceased would be shown partaking of various
pleasures, followed by the offering scene or other
vividly painted scenes and excerpts of text and
scenes from the Book of Gatesor Book of the
Coming Forth by Day.
The first evidence of the neb ankh has been
dated to the early kingdom around the 3rd cen-
tury BC. The earliest forms were simple wood rec-
tangular boxes, which sometimes had vaulted lids
and crosspieces. After a while Africans created
neb ankhs to resemble palaces, with false doors
and façade designs. By at least the 6th century BC,
artisans had begun to embellish the interior of the
neb ankh with calligraphically written excerpts
from theBook of the Coming Forth by Day. On
the exterior, artisans sometimes painted white
crisscrossed bands that imitated mummy wrap-
pings. The sides were decorated with gold leaf
replica of vulture wings and various colorful
scenes and passages from theBook of the Coming
Forth by Day. Then they interspersed these scenes
with the sons of Heru as well as images of Asar
and Anpu. During this early dynasty, most neb
ankhs were homogeneous, but by the Middle
Kingdom, different provinces began to establish
local styles. They perfected the craft of cutting and
designing neb ankhs by the 12th dynasty.
In the New Kingdom, Africans continued to
make neb ankhs with a variety of new materials,
but regional and class differences emerged in the
quality of the work. Depending on class or status,
Africans would produce styles ranging from a neb
ankh made of a single piece of wood, covered
with strips of linen and gesso (a white plasterlike
paint) and then brightly painted, to a neb ankh
finished in gold, silver, or faïence. Africans often
reserved the court style, an elaborate style, for
royal families. They were usually embellished in
gold leaf or made of silver. During the New
Kingdom (18th to 20th dynasty), Africans devel-
oped a neb ankh that took on an anthropoid
form, and actually in the 18th dynasty, Africans
created the neb ankh as the outmost container
with several layers of containers for the body of
the deceased inside. These increasingly elaborate
neb ankhs became more distinguishable for their
anthropoid style in the late dynasties of ancient
Egypt.Khonsura A. WilsonSeealsoBurial of the DeadFurther Readings
Reeves, C. N., & Wilkinson, R. H. (1996).The
Complete Valley of the Kings:Tombs and Treasures
of Egypt’s Greatest Pharaohs. New York: Thames &
Hudson.
Weeks, K. R., & De Luca, A. (2001).Valley of the
Kings. New York: Friedman/Fairfax.NEHANDA
Nehanda Chargwe Nyakasikana was one of the
major spiritual leaders of African resistance to
white rule in Zimbabwe. She was born among
the Shona people, one of Zimbabwe’s major ethnic
groups, in or about 1863. She passed away in- She was considered to be a medium of the
female spirit Mbuya Nehanda.
Mbuya NehandaThe Shona people believe in one Supreme Being,
Mwari, who presides over the world, although
distant from daily human affairs. Under Mwari,
and above the living, one finds numerous spiritsNehanda 445