The Book of the Dead (known to
the ancient Egyptians as prt m hrw 'Coming Forth by Day') One of the best preserved copies of The Book of the Dead comes from
'The Papyrus of Ani', written in 1240 BC. This version of the book is
filled with beautiful pictures of Ani and his wife as they travel
through the land of the dead, and to the Halls of Ma'ati and beyond.
The papyrus goes through many of the spells used to be able to
survive the afterlife, as well as hymns of praise various gods. This
collection has come to be known as The Book of the Dead, though it is
not a book, per se. The spells were written both on papyrus and on the
walls of tombs. Ani's papyrus is full of hymns and praises to the deities (Osiris, Ra and Hathor)
and various speeches and spells to get him past the tests and
judgements of the underworld.
The texts relating to the weighing of the
heart in the Halls of Ma'ati where Ani's heart is proven to be the same weight as the feather. Thoth, the judge of right and truth of
the Great Company of the Gods who are in the presence of Osiris, saith:
Hear ye this judgment. The heart of Osiris hath in very truth been
weighed, and his Heart-soul hath borne testimony on his behalf; his
heart hath been found right by the trial in the Great Balance.
There
hath not been found any wickedness in him; he hath not wasted the
offerings which have been made in the temples; he hath not committed any
evil act; and he hath not set his mouth in motion with words of evil
whilst he was upon earth. The gods laud Ani, saying that he speaks the truth, and that he shall escapes the jaws of Ammut.
The Great Company of the Gods say to
Thoth who dwelleth in Khemenu: That which cometh forth from thy mouth
shall be declared true. The Osiris the scribe Ani, whose word is true,
is holy and righteous. He hath not committed any sin, and he hath done
no evil against us. The devourer Ammut shall not be permitted to prevail
over him. Meat offerings and admittance into the presence of the god
Osiris shall be granted unto him, together with an abiding habitation in
the Field of Offerings (Sekhet-hetepet), as unto the Followers of
Horus.
The gods welcome Ani, where Horus ushers him into the presence of Osiris. Horus, the son of Isis,
saith: I have come to thee, O Un-Nefer, and I have brought unto thee
the Osiris Ani. His heart is righteous, and it hath come forth from the
Balance; it hath not sinned against any god or any goddess. Thoth hath
weighed it according to the decree pronounced unto him by the Company of
the Gods, and it is most true and righteous. Grant thou that cakes and
ale may be given unto him, and let him appear in the presence of the god
Osiris, and let him be like into the Followers of Horus for ever and
ever.
Afterwards, Ani has spells to recite to allow him past the seven
'Arit', so he can be transported to live among the blessed spirits in
the domain of Osiris. The Arit are guarded by a doorkeeper, a watcher
and a herald. Knowing the name of these guardians, and knowing the spell
would allow one to pass through. If [these] words be recited by the spirit
when he shall come to the Seven Arits, and as he entereth the doors, he
shall neither be turned back nor repulsed before Osiris, and he shall
be made to have his being among the blessed spirits, and to have
dominion among the ancestral followers of Osiris.
If these things be
done for any spirit he shall have his being in that place like a lord of
eternity in one body with Osiris, and at no place shall any being
contend against him. The next ordeal was to pass the 'Pylons of the House of Osiris', and
here, too, knowing the name and the spell would allow Ani to pass
through. At each of the twenty one Pylons, Ani had to recite the correct
spell before continuing on to Osiris. [And the god Osiris saith:] "Thou hast
come, thou shalt be a favoured one in Tetu, O Osiris Auf-ankh, whose
word is truth, the son of the lady Shert-en-Menu, whose word is truth."
Following these trials are a number of spells to be said for the
deceased at his funeral, complete with instructions to the priests who
would read the papyrus over the body. Here, for instance, is 'The
Chapter of Not Letting the Heart of the Osiris, The Assessor of the
Divine Offerings of all the Gods, Ani, Whose Word is Truth Before
Osiris, Be Driven Back from Him in Khert-Neter':
He saith:- My heart of my mother. My
heart of my mother. My heart-case of my transformations. Let not any one
stand up to bear testimony against me. Let no one drive me away from
the Tchatcha Chiefs. Let no one make thee to fall away from me in the
presence of the Keeper of the Balance. Thou art my ka
the dweller in my body, the god Khnemu who makest sound my members.
Mayest thou appear in the place of happiness whither we go. Let not make
my name to stink Shenit Chiefs, who make men to be stable. [Let it be
satisfactory unto us, and let the listening be satisfactory unto us, and
let there be joy of heart to us at the weighing of words. Let not lies
be told against me before the Great God, the Lord of Amentet. Verily,
how great shalt thou be when thou risest up in triumph!]
These words are to be said over a scarab
of green stone encircled with a band of refined copper, and [having] a
ring of silver; which shall be placed on the neck of the Khu (the deceased), etc. These spells were recited to allow the deceased to speak, to have magical powers, to not allow the ab
to be left behind, to have protection against fire and dominion over
water, to be able to breath the divine air, to not let others speak evil
against the deceased, to become one with the imperishable stars, to not
allow the Khat to decay and rot away.
There are many more spells that were to keep physical parts of the deceased in good condition, and to give the metaphysical parts magical powers and the ability to live on with the gods in the afterlife. For instance, there is a chapter on making the sahu enter the Duat on the day of the funeral! There was even a spell to allow the ba and the khaibi to move freely:
The Osiris the scribe Ani, whose word is
truth, saith:- The place which is closed is opened, the place which is
shut (or sealed) is sealed. That which lieth down in the closed place is
opened by the Ba-soul which is in it. By the Eye of Horus I am
delivered. Ornaments are stablished on the brow of Ra. My stride is made
long. I lift up my two thighs [in walking]. I have journeyed over a
long road. My limbs are in a flourishing condition.
I am Horus, the
Avenger of his Father, and I bring the Urrt Crown [and set it on] its
standard. The road of souls is opened. My twin soul seeth the Great God
in the Boat of Ra, on the day of souls. My soul is in the front thereof
with the counter of the years. Come, the Eye of Horus hath delivered for
me my soul, my ornaments are stablished on the brow of Ra. Light is on
the faces of those who are in the members of Osiris. Ye shall not hold
captive my soul. Ye shall not keep in durance my shadow. The way is open
to my soul and to my shadow.
It seeth the Great God in the shrine on
the day of counting souls. It repeateth the words of Osiris. Those whose
seats are invisible, who fetter the members of Osiris, who fetter
Heart-souls and Spirit-souls, who set a seal upon the dead, and who
would do evil to me, shall do no evil to me. Haste on the way to me. Thy
heart is with thee. My Heart-soul and my Spirit-soul are equipped; they
guide thee. I sit down at the head of the great ones who are chiefs of
their abodes.
The wardens of the members of Osiris shall not hold thee
captive, though they keep ward over souls, and set a seal on the shadow
which is dead. Heaven shall not shut thee in. These spells even talk about giving Ani the ability to return to look on his earthly house and to come back against his enemies. Sets of transformation spells written to allow the deceased to turn
into a wide variety of animals - swallows, hawks, serpents, crocodiles,
herons and even a phoenix. Other transformations included the ability to
turn into a holy lotus, or even into different gods.
A chapter of 'Negative Confessions' has Ani speaking to each god who
sits in judgement, saying that he has not committed a number of sins -
violence, theft, murder, lies, adultery and arrogance to name a few. Finally, in the Duat, Ani was able to give homage to the gods in the Halls of Ma'ati
They say unto me,
"Who art thou?"
And they say unto me,
"What is thy name?"
[And I reply],
"Sept-kheri-nehait-ammi-beq-f" is my name.
Then they say unto me,
"Advance straightway on the city which is to the North of the Olive Tree. What dost thou see there?"
The doors attempt to block Ani's path through, but the deceased must
name each part of the door before it would allow him to pass to stand
before Thoth.
[Thoth saith]:
"Advance now, [thy name] shall be
announced to him. Thy cakes shall come from the Utchat (Eye of Horus or
Ra), thy ale shall come from the Utchat, and the offerings which shall
appear to thee at the word upon earth [shall proceed] from the Utchat."
This is what Osiris hath decreed for the steward of the overseer of the
seal, Nu, whose word is truth."
Finally Ani is allowed to become like a god. Each part of his body becomes like that of a deity - his eyes like the eyes of Hathor, his face like the face of Ra, the cheeks of Isis,
the backbone of Set, the belly of Sekhmet, buttocks of the Eye of
Horus, the phallus of Osiris, the thighs of Nut and the feet of Ptah.
Each part changes until Ani is as a god.
Isis and Nephthys
become his protectors, as they protected Osiris. The four Sons of Horus
come to act as his guardians, to smite his enemies. Ani says to his new
protectors:
I am a perfect soul dwelling in the divine egg of the Abtu Fish. I am
the Great Cat which dwelleth in the Seat of Truth, wherein the god Shu
riseth.
Ushabti figures come to life and offer to do any work for Ani, to
plough the fields and irrigate the land in the Land of the West,
whenever he calls. Another spell provides Ani with meat and milk from
the Seven Cows and their Bull, giving him their names, and power over
them.
Through the spells in The Book of the Dead, the scribe Ani is able to
overcome any obstacle in his path, and to provide himself with food and
drink and everything he needs to dwell happily in the Land of the West
for eternity. He has gained such power and such magic that he is,
himself, like a deity and can live among the gods.
Ani's papyrus was the best preserved with its beautiful images mostly
intact, but there were many version of The Book of the Dead. The
earliest were in the pyramids - known as the Pyramid Texts - such as
those for Unas, Teta and Pepi I. Later on, there were versions written
on papyrus and left in the tomb of the deceased. There were huge changes
made over time, with only select spells being used or, later in
Egyptian history, the more ritual parts of the text disappearing
completely. There were also changes made that were influenced by
whichever god had the most powerful priests at the time. Eventually
manuscripts of these spells were pre-written and sold with spaces left
for a name!
The title 'Coming Forth by Day' refers to the belief that the
deceased took a whole night (as did Ra with his solar barque) to travel
through the realms of the dead. The said spirit would then emerge with
the sun, triumphant.
A full version of the Papyrus of Ani has been translated as The Egyptian Book of the Dead by E.A. Wallis Budge. A beautiful set of photographs of the papyrus has been reproduced online by Nox Templi.
The Book of the Dead, the ceremonies, rituals and magic were all done
in the hopes that one could reach the Land of the West and a happy
afterlife, filled with good things. To live forever with the gods. To,
once more, come forth by day as a living man would awaken with the sun.
Maat symbol of justice