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Today : Understanding the Purpose and Content of the Egyptian Book of the Dead

10/29/10 BR- Where did the limestone blocks used to build the great pyramids (Khufu, Kephren , Menkaure ) come from?. Today : Understanding the Purpose and Content of the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Late Work Is Due Monday, November 8. The Egyptian Book of the Dead.

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Today : Understanding the Purpose and Content of the Egyptian Book of the Dead

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  1. 10/29/10BR- Where did the limestone blocks used to build the great pyramids (Khufu, Kephren, Menkaure) come from? Today: Understanding the Purpose and Content of the Egyptian Book of the Dead • Late Work Is Due Monday, November 8

  2. The Egyptian Book of the Dead What we call the Egyptian Book of the Dead was known to the Egyptians as Reu nu pert em hru translated that means “The Chapters of coming forth by day.” It is a collection of chapters made up of magic spells and formulas. It was illustrated and written on papyrus. These papyri were commissioned by the deceased before their death. Like most products these text came in different qualities. You could commission the finest quality papyrus money could buy or you could purchase one "off the rack" and have a scribe fill in the blanks with your name.

  3. This collection of funerary chapters began to appear in Egyptian tombs around 1600 BC. It can be thought of as the deceased's guidebook to a happy afterlife. The text was intended to be read by the deceased during their journey into the Underworld. It enabled the deceased to overcome obstacles and not lose their way. It did this by teaching passwords, giving clues, and revealing routes that would allow the deceased to answer questions and navigate around hazards. It would grant the help and protection of the gods while proclaiming the deceased's identity with the gods. The Papyrus of Ani is one of the finest and most complete examples of this type of Egyptian funerary text to survive. The Papyrus of Ani now resides in The British Museum, London.

  4. The Funeral Procession of the Royal Scribe Ani.From the Papyrus of Ani. (c. 1400 B.C.)The British Museum, London • The Egyptians believed that the human soul used the first night after death to travel into the afterlife. However, the body, which the Egyptians believed was an essential element to the afterlife had to be mummified to preserve it for eternity. The mummification process took 72 days to perform properly. This was the time to put finishing touches on the tomb and to pack all the deceased's worldly possessions, which surely would be needed in the afterlife.

  5. The Funeral Procession of the Royal Scribe Ani.

  6. There are men carrying more of Ani's belongings. The group of women in clothed in blue are a party of paid, professional mourners who wail and pat dirt on their heads. This was an Egyptian show of mourning. The cow and calf are food offerings that will be used for the funeral feast. • Ani's mummy stands before the entrance of his tomb, in the protective embrace of Anubis. His wife mourns at his feet. Behind her are offerings and three priests. One reads from a papyrus, while the other two are about to perform an important ceremony called the "opening of the mouth and eyes." This ceremony was thought to restore the mummy's ability to see, breathe, eat and drink

  7. The Entrance to the Tomb

  8. The Hall of Maat • The Hall of Maat is where the judgment of the dead was performed. This was done by weighing one's heart (conscience) against the feather of Maat (truth and justice). Here we see Anubis leading Ani to the scales of Maat. Anubis weights Ani’s heart against the feather to see if he is worthy of joining the gods in the Fields of Peace. Ammut is also present, as a demon waiting to devour Hunefer's heart should he prove unworthy. Thoth stands to the right of the scales recording the results. Having passed this test Ani is now lead by Horus to meet the King of the dead, Osiris. The throne of Osiris rests on a pool of water from which a lotus flower is growing, upon the lotus stand the four sons of Horus. Behind the throne of Osiris stands Isis and her sister Nephthys.

  9. Sekhet-Hetepet - The Fields of Peace. • Ani pays his respects to the gods who dwell in Sekhet-Hetepet (Fields of Peace) and asks the gods to help him to enter into Sekhet-Hetepet so that he may "become a khu, drink, plow, reap, fight, make love, never be in a state of servitude and always be in a position of authority therein".

  10. Stage 1 - Weighing of the heart Like you saw above this is where the heart was “weighed” but, the book could offer spells to help balance the equation. O my heart which I had from my mother! O my heart of different ages! Do not stand up as a witness against me, do not be opposed to me in the tribunal, do not be hostile to me in the presence of the keeper of the balance, for you are my ka which was in my body, the protector who made my members hale. Go forth to the happy place whereto we speed, do not tell lies about me in the presence of the god; it is indeed well that you should hear!

  11. Other Stages - Guardians On the journey to the fields of peace, the person’s soul would have to pass by several guardians or gatekeepers using secret words. The third gate: the name of its gatekeeper is 'One who eats the Putrefaction of his Posterior'; the name of its guardian is 'Alert of Face'; the name of the announcer in it is 'Gateway'.Words spoken by the Osiris-[name], the justified, when arriving at the gate: 'I am the secret one of the cloudburst, the one who separated the Two Companions. It is in order that I might drive away evil from Osiris that I have come. I am the one who clothed his own standard, who emerges in the Wereret-Crown. I have established offerings in Abydos. Open the way for me in Rosetjau because I have relieved the sickness in Osiris. I have painted his perch. Make way for me so that he might shine in Rosetjau.

  12. Last stage - 42 Confessions In the final stage the person had to make 42 “negative confessions.” The book would help them make these confessions. Wide-of-stride who comes from On: I have not done evil. Flame-grasper who comes from Kheraha: I have not robbed. Long-nosed who comes from Khmun: I have not coveted. Shadow-eater who comes from the cave: I have not stolen. Savage-faced who comes from Rosetjau: I have not killed people...

  13. Links.. • http://web.ukonline.co.uk/gavin.egypt/papyrus.htm • http://www.egyptartsite.com/ani.html

  14. Homework- 30 PointsExplain each of the chapters of the Egyptian Book of the Dead • Introduction and overall purpose • What it was made of and how you got them • Funeral Procession • Entrance to the Tomb • Hall of Ma’at • Weighing of the Heart • Guardians • 42 Confessions • SekhetHetepet

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