(Pretty much all of the Africa lesson - as well as the chapter in the textbook - is about Egypt.)

1. Egypt:

- Heka
(which is what the Egyptians called magic) was a mystical force that created
the universe and the gods. Since this was the rationale, the Egyptians believed
that controlling the substance made them more powerful than and, by extension, able
to control the gods.

- As usual those who made up the priesthood were allowed unrestricted access to
practice their Heka. Those who were not of the priesthood, who were caught
practicing would often be beaten, jailed, fined, or even killed.

- In order to practice Heka freely one had to be "pure". It was a legal
requirement for members of the priesthood to carry around an ivory amulet to
signify their purity and ability to command the gods.

- These
amulets were what we would today consider early wands, however they were often
circular in shape, and had far less power. 

- Egyptian
priests developed a system of words that went along with rituals and which were
passed down from master to apprentice. These rituals were transcribed but often
very vague, leaving only the imagination to fill in the blanks.

- The Egyptian curse breakers are known as Maheka-Lala
and are trained for five years post Hogwarts study to prepare for this role.

- During
the International Summit of Magical
Communications (cir. 500 C.E.) there was a decision made to make the common
spell language Latin, which lead to the demise of Egyptian practices in
spellcrafting.

- The Summit lasted over fifty years because of the debate and
deliberation that went into deciding what language would be the best suited for
the international community as a whole.