Difference between revisions of "Egyptian Book of the Dead" - New World Encyclopedia

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[[Image:Papyrus of Ani Weighing of the Heart.jpg|thumb|right|350px|This scene, from the [[Papyrus of Ani]], shows Ani's heart being weighed against the feather of truth. If Ani's heart is lighter than the feather, he is allowed to pass into the afterlife. Vignettes such as these were a common illustration in Egyptian books of the dead.]]
 
[[Image:Papyrus of Ani Weighing of the Heart.jpg|thumb|right|350px|This scene, from the [[Papyrus of Ani]], shows Ani's heart being weighed against the feather of truth. If Ani's heart is lighter than the feather, he is allowed to pass into the afterlife. Vignettes such as these were a common illustration in Egyptian books of the dead.]]

Revision as of 16:35, 19 October 2007


See also: Tibetan Book of the Dead

File:Papyrus of Ani Weighing of the Heart.jpg
This scene, from the Papyrus of Ani, shows Ani's heart being weighed against the feather of truth. If Ani's heart is lighter than the feather, he is allowed to pass into the afterlife. Vignettes such as these were a common illustration in Egyptian books of the dead.

The Book of the Dead is the common name for the ancient Egyptian funerary text known as The Book of Coming [or Going] Forth By Day. The book of the dead was a description of the ancient Egyptian conception of the afterlife and a collection of hymns, spells, and instructions to allow the deceased to pass through obstacles in the afterlife. The book of the dead was most commonly written on a papyrus scroll and placed in the coffin or burial chamber of the deceased.[1]

The name "Book of the Dead" was the invention of the German Egyptologist Karl Richard Lepsius, who published a selection of the texts in 1842. When it was first discovered, the book of the dead was thought to be an ancient Egyptian bible. But unlike the bible, the book of the dead does not set forth religious tenets and was not considered by the ancient Egyptians to be the product of divine revelation, which allowed the content of the book of the dead to change over time. The book of the dead was thus the product of a long process of evolution from the Pyramid texts of the Old Kingdom to the Coffin Texts of the Middle Kingdom. About one-third of the chapters in the book of the dead are derived from the Coffin Texts.[2] The book of the dead itself was adapted to the Book of Breathings in the late period, but remained popular in its own right until the Roman period.

Content

Weighing of the heart

The first part of the book of the dead is typically a pair of hymns to Ra and Osiris. This is followed by the most critical moment in the book, the "weighing of the heart," in which the heart of the deceased was weighed against the feather of truth as a symbolic judgment of the person's character. If the deceased's heart is lighter than the feather, he is judged worthy and may proceed into the company of the gods. If the deceased is found unworthy, he is devoured by the monster Ammit, and goes out of existence. At this moment, the deceased could utter a spell to prevent their hearts from speaking out against them:[2]

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!

If the deceased is judged worthy, the great Ennead will say:[2]

This utterance of yours is true. The vindicated Osiris-[name] is straightforward, he has no sin, there is no accusation against him before us, Ammit shall not be permitted to have power over him. Let there be given to him the offerings which are issued in the presence of Osiris, and may a grant of land be established in the Field of Offerings as for the followers of Horus.

Continuing the journey

The rest of the text describes the mythic origin of the gods and places, spells for protection of the deceased and his journey through the underworld to join the company of the gods. On the way, the deceased must address the various gaurdians with a secret name and supply cryptic passwords to enter, for example:[2]

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.'

The sometimes cryptic material in the book of the dead was used to enhance the mystery and secrecy of the afterlife, into which the deceased hoped to be admitted.

The negative confessions

File:Papyrus of Ani, negative confessions part 1.jpg
First half of the negative confessions from the papyrus of Ani. Each column corresponds to one declaration, reading from top to bottom and left to right.

Although the deceased has been vindicated, he must now assert his innocence in two series of 42 statements known as the negative confessions. In the second series, the deceased addresses each of 42 cryptically named gods, in turn, declaring his innocence:[3]

O Wide-of-stride who comes from On: I have not done evil.
O Flame-grasper who comes from Kheraha: I have not robbed.
O Long-nosed who comes from Khmun: I have not coveted.
O Shadow-eater who comes from the cave: I have not stolen.
O Savage-faced who comes from Rosetjau: I have not killed people...

The content of some of the statements of denial or the 'negative confession' has led some scholars to hypothesize that they may be the basis for the Biblical Ten Commandments.[4]

Versions

Although during the New Kingdom the book of the dead was not organized or standardized in any meaningful way, versions dating to this period are known as the 'Theban Recension'. In the Third Intermediate Period leading up to the Saite period, the book of the dead became increasingly standardized and organized, and books of this period are known as the 'Saite Recension'.

Saite recension

Early versions of the book of the dead were not standardized and were not organized by thematic content; however, this changed by the Saite period :

  • Chapters 1-16 The deceased enters the tomb, descends to the underworld, and the body regains its powers of movement and speech.
  • Chapters 17-63 Explanation of the mythic origin of the gods and places, the deceased are made to live again so that they may arise, reborn, with the morning sun.
  • Chapters 64-129 The deceased travels across the sky in the sun bark as one of the blessed dead. In the evening, the deceased travels to the underworld to appear before Osiris.
  • Chapters 130-189 Having been vindicated, the deceased assumes power in the universe as one of the gods. This section also includes assorted chapters on protective amulets, provision of food, and important places.[2] There are 192 unique chapters known, and no single papyrus contains all known chapters.

Production

Books were often prefabricated in funerary workshops, with spaces being left for the name of the deceased to be written in later. They are often the work of several different scribes and artists whose work was literally pasted together. The cost of a typical book might be equivalent to half a year's salary of a laborer, so the purchase would be planned well in advance of the person's death. The blank papyrus used for the scroll often constituted the major cost of the work, so papyrus was often reused.[2]

Images, or vignettes to illustrate the text, were considered mandatory. The images were so important that often the text is truncated to fit the space available under the image. Whereas the quality of the miniatures is usually done at a high level, the quality of the text is often very bad. Scribes often misspelled or omitted words and inserted the wrong text under the images.


OLD VERSION

A Section of Plate 3 from the Papyrus of Ani. Plate 3 contains half of the first (and longer) instance of chapter 30B in Ani's Book of the Dead, which is titled: Chapter for not letting Ani's heart create opposition against him in the God's Domain. This vignette shows Ani's heart being weighed against a feather of Maat (Truth, Rightful Order). Thoth (baboon) is overseeing, and Anubis (Jackal headed god) is the "Guardian of the Scales." The three standing figures to the left are the three aspects of fate. The rectangular stone with a woman's head is one of the three aspects of fate. Ani's Ba (the human headed bird and one aspect of the soul) is perched on a shrine and is looking over the event which will determine his fate. This vignette is similar to vignettes that would be found associated with chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead, and an abbreviated version is, in fact, found in chapter 125 of the Papyrus of Ani.

The Book of the Dead is the common name for ancient Egyptian funerary texts known as The Book of Coming [or Going] Forth By Day. The name "Book of the Dead" was the invention of the German Egyptologist Karl Richard Lepsius, who published a selection of the texts in 1842.

Background

According to R.O. Faulkner, The Book of the Dead was used by the ancient Egyptians as a set of instructions for the afterlife. Not all the spells were used for every burial, but a selection depending on wealth and status. Some spells were gifts to the gods, while other were used so the person could walk, a spell for not dying again in the afterlife, and even a spell 'For preventing a man from going upside down and from eating feces' (chapter 189)

The text can also be seen as initiation literature into the mystery of the afterlife. The afterlife is mostly a mystery to the average Egyptian, but by obtaining a Book of the Dead, he would be able to read it and would be part of the elite group which knew what the afterlife contained.

Versions

The earliest known versions date from the 16th century B.C.E. during the New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty (ca. 1550-1292 B.C.E.). It partly incorporated two previous collections of Egyptian religious literature, known as the Coffin Texts (ca. 2000 B.C.E.) and the Pyramid Texts (ca. 2600 B.C.E.-2300 B.C.E.), both of which were eventually superseded by the Book of the Dead. The Book of the Dead for Scribe Ani, the Papyrus of Ani, was originally 78 ft (28 m), and was separated into thirty seven sheets at appropriate chapter and topical divisions.

The text was often individualized for the deceased person, so no two copies contain the same text. However, "book" versions containing similar features are generally categorized into four main divisions – the Heliopolitan version, which was edited by the priests of the college of Annu (used from the 5th to the 11th dynasty and on walls of tombs until about 200); the Theban version, which contained hieroglyphics only (20th to the 28th dynasty); a hieroglyphic and hieratic character version, closely related to the Theban version, which had no fixed order of chapters (used mainly in the 20th dynasty); and the Saite version which has strict order (used after the 26th dynasty).

Spell 125

Sample of a Book of the Dead of the scribe Nebqed, around 1300 B.C.E.

Spell 125 is probably the best-known segment of the Book of the Dead. It deals with the dead soul's judgment by Osiris and his 42 judge deities.

The deceased soul must recite the "declaration of innocence" which is addressed to Osiris and consists of the denial of a series of wrong-doings in order to assure Osiris that he has lived a decent life. The deceased must then address the 42 judges by name and deny a further 42 transgressions (one per judge). If the deceased is subsequently found worthy he will be taken before Osiris who will lead him to the realm of the blessed.

The content of some of the statements of denial or the 'negative confession' (I have done no falsehood, I have not robbed, I have not killed men) has led some scholars to hypothesize that Spell 125 may be the basis for the Biblical Ten Commandments[1].

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Thomas George Allen, The Egyptian Book of the Dead: Documents in the Oriental Institute Museum at the University of Chicago, Thomas George Allen, (University of Chicago Press, Chicago), c 1960.
  • Thomas George Allen, The Book of the Dead or Going Forth by Day. Ideas of the Ancient Egyptians Concerning the Hereafter as Expressed in Their Own Terms, Thomas George Allen, (SAOC vol. 37; Small TextUniversity of Chicago Press, Chicago), c 1974.
  • E. A. Wallis Budge, The Egyptian Book of the Dead,(The Papyrus of Ani), Egyptian Text, Transliteration, and Translation, E.A.Wallis Budge, (Dover (Note: 240 pages of running hieroglyphic text. NB: Budge's translations and transliterations are extremely outdated and are not generally cited by modern Egyptologists)
  • Raymond O. Faulkner, The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, translated by Raymond Faulkner, edited by Carol Andrews (University of Texas Press, Austin), c 1972.
  • Raymond O. Faulkner, The Egyptian Book of the Dead, The Book of Going forth by Day. The First Authentic Presentation of the Complete Papyrus of Ani translated by Raymond Faulkner, edited by Eva von Dassow, with contributions by Carol Andrews and Ogden Goelet (Chronicle Books, San Francisco), c 1994.
  • Gunther Lapp, The Papyrus of Nu (Catalogue of Books of the Dead in the British Museum), by Gunther Lapp, (British Museum Press, London), c 1997.
  • Andrzej Niwinski, Studies on the Illustrated Theban Funerary Papyri of the 11th and 10th Centuries B.C.E., by Andrzej Niwinski, (OBO vol. 86; Universitätsverlag, Freiburg), c 1989.

External links

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Ankh Topics about Ancient Egypt edit Ankh
Places: Nile river | Niwt/Waset/Thebes | Alexandria | Annu/Iunu/Heliopolis | Luxor | Abdju/Abydos | Giza | Ineb Hedj/Memphis | Djanet/Tanis | Rosetta | Akhetaten/Amarna | Atef-Pehu/Fayyum | Abu/Yebu/Elephantine | Saqqara | Dahshur
Gods associated with the Ogdoad: Amun | Amunet | Huh/Hauhet | Kuk/Kauket | Nu/Naunet | Ra | Hor/Horus | Hathor | Anupu/Anubis | Mut
Gods of the Ennead: Atum | Shu | Tefnut | Geb | Nuit | Ausare/Osiris | Aset/Isis | Set | Nebet Het/Nephthys
War gods: Bast | Anhur | Maahes | Sekhmet | Pakhet
Deified concepts: Chons | Maàt | Hu | Saa | Shai | Renenutet| Min | Hapy
Other gods: Djehuty/Thoth | Ptah | Sobek | Chnum | Taweret | Bes | Seker
Death: Mummy | Four sons of Horus | Canopic jars | Ankh | Book of the Dead | KV | Mortuary temple | Ushabti
Buildings: Pyramids | Karnak Temple | Sphinx | Great Lighthouse | Great Library | Deir el-Bahri | Colossi of Memnon | Ramesseum | Abu Simbel
Writing: Egyptian hieroglyphs | Egyptian numerals | Transliteration of ancient Egyptian | Demotic | Hieratic
Chronology: Ancient Egypt | Greek and Roman Egypt | Early Arab Egypt | Ottoman Egypt | Muhammad Ali and his successors | Modern Egypt

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  1. "Feature story: The Book of the Dead" by Caroline Seawright
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Goelet, Ogden (1998). A Commentary on the Corpus of Literature and Tradition which constitutes the Book of Going Forth By Day. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 139-170. 
  3. Lichtheim, Miriam (1976). Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol 2. London, England: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-02965-8. 
  4. Robinson, B.A.. The Ten Commandments (a.k.a. The Decalogue): The possible origin of the Ten Commandments. www.religioustolerance.org. Retrieved 2007-08-30.