heir times worrying about ailments and diseases. Since many women died during the process of childbirth, wet nurses were needed through out the society. Women with extra milk were hired to feed children, and the other wet nurses were mothers whose children died during childbirth, or as infants. Mourning was another option for Egyptian women. Those that could afford it would hire a person to grieve openly in the house while the dead were being prepared for and during the mummification process. They would stand by tombs and keep watch. At times, they would tear their clothes and redden their skins by slapping themselves while wailing and mourning. A woman with enough talent could make a career as a dancer or as a singer. Dancing was originally only a religious ritual, but it became secular. Subsequently dancing was an enjoyed and accepted part of life. Men and women could be dancers. Even at special moments, the pharaoh would take part in the enjoyment, and he would dance. Secular dancing appears on the walls of the tombs, showing that at some moment people began to hire dancers for events and festivities to provide entertainment. As a musician, a woman would work along side of men. Music had always been a proper accompaniment for religious ceremonies, but it was also a form of enjoyed entertainment. Every large household had its own musicians. The musicians played a wide array of instruments, from rudimentary flutes and harps, to reed instruments. Percussion was a large part of the ancient Egyptian music, and many played instruments like castanettes. By the middle kingdom, the lyre had been introduced, as was the lute by the new kingdom. There was no differentiation between male and female instruments, women could play and sing according to their talents. In the later Dynasties, the market for male musicians was dwindling; people mostly wanted female performers. What is so unique about the ancient Egyptians is that the f...
