Egyptian Ideas of the Future Life by E. A. Wallis Budge

E >> E. A. Wallis Budge >> Egyptian Ideas of the Future Life

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11

"The soul to heaven, the body to earth;" [Footnote: _Recueil de
Travaux_, tom. iv. p. 71 (l. 582).] and three thousand years later the
Egyptian writer declared the same thing, but in different words, when
he wrote:--[Footnote: Horrack, _Lamentations d' Isis_, Paris, 1866,
p. 6.] "Heaven hath thy soul, and earth thy body."

The Egyptian hoped, among other things, that he would sail over the sky
in the boat of R[=a], but he knew well that he could not do this in his
mortal body; he believed firmly that he would live for millions of
years, but with the experience of the human race before him he knew that
this also was impossible if the body in which he was to live was that in
which he had lived upon earth. At first he thought that his physical
body might, after the manner of the sun, be "renewed daily," and that
his new life would resemble that of that emblem of the Sun-god R[=a]
with which he sought to identify himself. Later, however, his experience
taught him that the best mummified body was sometimes destroyed, either
by damp, or dry rot, or decay in one form or another, and that
mummification alone was not sufficient to ensure resurrection or the
attainment of the future life; and, in brief, he discovered that by no
human means could that which is corruptible by nature be made to become
incorruptible, for the very animals in which the gods themselves were
incarnate became sick and died in their appointed season. It is hard to
say why the Egyptians continued to mummify the dead since there is good
reason for knowing that they did not expect the physical body to rise
again. It may be that they thought its preservation necessary for the
welfare of the KA, or "double," and for the development of a new body
from it; also the continued custom may have been the result of intense
conservatism. But whatever the reason, the Egyptian never ceased to take
every possible precaution to preserve the dead body intact, had he
sought for help in his trouble from another source.

It will be remembered that when Isis found the dead body of her husband
Osiris, she at once set to work to protect it. She drove away the foes,
and made the ill-luck which had come upon it to be of no effect. In
order to bring about this result "she made strong her speech with all
the strength of her mouth, she was perfect of tongue, and she halted not
in her speech," and she pronounced a series of words or formulae with
which Thoth had provided her; thus she succeeded in "stirring up the
inactivity of the Still-heart" and in accomplishing her desire in
respect of him. Her cries, prompted by love and grief, would have had no
effect on the dead body unless they had been accompanied by the words of
Thoth, which she uttered with boldness (_Ichu_), and understanding
(_ager_), and without fault in pronunciation (_an-uh_). The Egyptian of
old kept this fact in his mind, and determined to procure the
resurrection of his friends and relatives by the same means as Isis
employed, _i.e._, the formulae of Thoth; with this object in view each
dead person, was provided with a series of texts, either written upon
his coffin, or upon papyri and amulets, which would have the same effect
as the words of Thoth which were spoken by Isis. But the relatives of
the deceased had also a duty to perform in this matter, and that was to
provide for the recital of certain prayers, and for the performance of a
number of symbolical ceremonies over the dead body before It was laid to
rest finally in the tomb. A sacrifice had to be offered up, and the
deceased and his friends and relatives assisted at it, and each ceremony
was accompanied by its proper prayers; when all had been done and said
according to the ordinances of the priests, the body was taken, to its
place in the mummy chamber. But the words of Thoth and the prayers of
the priests caused the body to become changed into a "S[=A]HU," or
incorruptible, spiritual body, which passed straightway out of the tomb
and made its way to heaven where it dwelt with the gods. When, in the
Book of the Dead the deceased says, "I exist, I exist; I live, I live; I
germinate, I germinate," [Footnote: See Chap. cliv.] and again, "I
germinate like the plants," [Footnote: See Chap. lxxxviii. 3.] the
deceased does not mean that his physical body is putting forth the
beginnings of another body like the old one, but a spiritual body which
"hath neither defect nor, like R[=a], shall suffer diminution for ever."
Into the S[=A]HU passed the soul which had lived in the body of a man
upon earth, and it seems as if the new, incorruptible body formed the
dwelling-place of the soul in heaven just as the physical body had been
its earthly abode. The reasons why the Egyptians continued to mummify
their dead is thus apparent; they did not do so believing that their
physical bodies would rise again, but because they wished the spiritual
body to "sprout" or "germinate" from them, and if possible--at least it
seems so--to be in the form of the physical body. In this way did the
dead rise according to the Egyptians, and in this body did they come.

From what has been said above, it will be seen that there is no reason
for doubting the antiquity of the Egyptian belief in the resurrection of
the dead and in immortality, and the general evidence derived both from
archaeological and religious considerations supports this view. As old,
however, as this belief in general is the specific belief in a spiritual
body (S[=A]H or S[=A]HU); for we find it in texts of the Vth dynasty
incorporated with ideas which belong to the prehistoric Egyptian in his
savage or semi-savage state. One remarkable extract will prove this
point. In the funeral chapters which are inscribed on the walls of the
chambers and passages inside the pyramid of King Unas, who flourished at
the end of the Vth dynasty, about B.C. 3300, is a passage in which the
deceased king terrifies all the powers of heaven and earth because he
"riseth as a soul (BA) in the form of the god who liveth upon his
fathers and who maketh food of his mothers. Unas is the lord of wisdom
and his mother knoweth not his name. He hath become mighty like unto the
god Temu, the father who gave him birth, and after Temu gave him birth
he became stronger than his father." The king is likened unto a Bull,
and he feedeth upon every god, whatever may be the form in which he
appeareth; "he hath weighed words with the god whose name is hidden,"
and he devoureth men and liveth upon gods. The dead king is then said to
set out to limit the gods in their meadows, and when he has caught them
with nooses, he causes them to be slain. They are next cooked in blazing
cauldrons, the greatest for his morning meal, the lesser for his evening
meal, and the least for his midnight meal; the old gods and goddesses
serve as fuel for his cooking pots. In this way, having swallowed the
magical powers and spirits of the gods, he becomes the Great Power of
Powers among the gods, and the greatest of the gods who appear in
visible forms. "Whatever he hath found upon his path he hath consumed,
and his strength is greater than that of any spiritual body (S[=A]HU) in
the horizon; he is the firstborn of all the firstborn, and ... he hath
carried off the hearts of the gods.... He hath eaten the wisdom of every
god, and his period of existence is everlasting, and his life shall be
unto all eternity, ... for the souls and the spirits of the gods are in
him."

We have, it is clear, in this passage an allusion to the custom of
savages of all nations and periods, of eating portions of the bodies of
valiant foes whom they have vanquished in war in order to absorb their
virtues and strength; the same habit has also obtained in some places in
respect of animals. In the case of the gods the deceased is made to
covet their one peculiar attribute, that is to say, everlasting life;
and when he has absorbed their souls and spirits he is declared to have
obtained all that makes him superior to every other spiritual body in
strength and in length of life. The "magical powers" (_heka_) which the
king is also said to have "eaten," are the words and formulae, the
utterance of which by him, in whatever circumstances he may be placed,
will cause every being, friendly or unfriendly, to do his will. But
apart from any question of the slaughter of the gods the Egyptians
declared of this same king, "Behold, thou hast not gone as one dead, but
as one living, to sit upon the throne of Osiris." [Footnote: _Recuell de
Travaux_, tom. v. p. 167 (l. 65).] and in a papyrus written nearly two
thousand years later the deceased himself says, "My soul is God, my soul
is eternity," [Footnote: Papyrus of Ani, Plate 28, l. 15 (Chapter
lxxxiv.).] a clear proof that the ideas of the existence of God and of
eternity were identical. Yet one other example is worth quoting, if only
to show the care that the writers of religious texts took to impress the
immortality of the soul upon their readers. According to Chapter CLXXV.
of the Book of the Dead the deceased finds himself in a place where
there is neither water nor air, and where "it is depth unfathomable, it
is black as the blackest night, and men wander helplessly therein. In it
a man may not live in quietness of heart, nor may the longings of love
be satisfied therein. But," says the deceased to the god Thoth, "let the
state of the spirits be given unto me instead of water, and air, and the
satisfying of the longings of love, and let quietness of heart be given
unto me instead of cakes and ale. The god Temu hath decreed that I shall
see thy face, and that I shall not suffer from the things which pained
thee; may every god transmit unto thee [O Osiris] his throne for
millions of years! Thy throne hath descended unto thy son Horus, and the
god Temu hath decreed that his course shall be among the holy princes.
Verily he shall rule over thy throne, and he shall be heir of the throne
of the Dweller in the Lake of the Two Fires. Verily it hath been decreed
that in me he shall see his likeness, [Footnote: _i.e._, I shall be like
Horus, the son of Osiris.] and that my face shall look upon the face of
the lord Tem." After reciting these words, the deceased asks Thoth, "How
long have I to live?" and the god replies, "It is decreed that thou
shalt live for millions of millions of years, a life of millions of
years." To give emphasis and additional effect to his words the god is
made to speak tautologically so that the most unlettered man may not
miss their meaning. A little later in the Chapter the deceased says, "O
my father Osiris, thou hast done for me that which thy father R[=a] did
for thee. So shall I abide on the earth lastingly, I shall keep
possession of my seat; my heir shall be strong; my tomb and my friends
who are upon earth shall flourish; my enemies shall be given over to
destruction and to the shackles of the goddess Serq. I am thy son, and
R[=a] is my father; for me likewise thou shalt make life, and strength,
and health!" It is interesting to note that the deceased first
identifies Osiris with R[=a], and then he identifies himself with
Osiris; thus he identifies himself with R[=a].

With the subjects of resurrection and immortality must be mentioned the
frequent references in the religious texts of all periods to the meat
and drink on which lived the beings who were believed to exist in the
world beyond the grave. In prehistoric days if was natural enough for
the dead man's friends to place food in his grave, because they thought
that he would require it on his journey to the next world; this custom
also presupposed that the deceased would have a body like unto that
which he had left behind him in this world, and that it would need food
and drink. In the Vth dynasty the Egyptians believed that the blessed
dead lived upon celestial food, and that they suffered neither hunger
nor thirst; they ate what the gods ate, they drank what they drank, they
were what they were, and became in such matters as these the
counterparts of the gods. In another passage we read that they are
apparelled in white linen, that they wear white sandals, and that they
go to the great lake which is in the midst of the Field of Peace whereon
the great gods sit, and that the gods give them to eat of the food (_or_
tree) of life of which they themselves eat that they also may live. It
is certain, however, that other views than these were held concerning
the food of the dead, for already in the Vth dynasty the existence of a
region called Sekhet-Aaru, or Sekhet-Aanru had been formulated, and to
this place the soul, or at least some part, of the pious Egyptian hoped
to make its way. Where Sekhet-Aaru was situated we have no means of
saying, and the texts afford us no clue as to its whereabouts; some
scholars think that it lay away to the east of Egypt, but it is far more
likely to represent some district of the Delta either in its northern or
north-eastern portion. Fortunately we have a picture of it in the
Papyrus of Nebseni, [Footnote: Brit. Mus., No. 9900; this document
belongs to the XVIIIth dynasty.] the oldest probably on papyrus, and
from this we may see that Sekhet-Aaru, _i.e._, the "Field of Reeds,"
typified some very fertile region where farming operations could be
carried on with ease and success. Canals and watercourses abound, and in
one section, we are told, the spirits of the blessed dwelt; the picture
probably represents a traditional "Paradise" or "Elysian Fields," and
the general characteristics of this happy land are those of a large,
well-kept, and well-stocked homestead, situated at no great distance
from the Nile or one of its main branches. In the Papyrus of Nebseni the
divisions of the Sekhet-Auru contain the following:--

[Illustration: The Elysian Fields of the Egyptians according to the
Papyrus of Nebseni (XVIIIth dynasty).]

1. Nebseni, the scribe and artist of the Temple of Ptah, with his arms
hanging by his sides, entering the Elysian Fields.

2. Nebseni making an offering of incense to the "great company of the
gods."

3. Nebseni seated in a boat paddling; above the boat are three symbols
for "city."

4. Nebseni addressing a bearded mummied figure.

5. Three Pools or Lakes called Urti, Hetep, and Qetqet.

6. Nebseni reaping in Sekhet-hetepet.

7. Nebseni grasping the Bennu bird, which is perched upon a stand; in
front are three KAU and three KHU.

8. Nebseni seated and smelling a flower; the text reads: "Thousands of
all good and pure things to the KA of Nebseni."

9. A table of offerings.

10. Four Pools or Lakes called Nebt-tani, Uakha, Kha(?), and Hetep.

11. Nebseni ploughing with oxen by the side of a stream which is one
thousand [measures] in length, and the width of which cannot be said;
in it there are neither fish nor worms.

12. Nebseni ploughing with oxen on an island "the length of which is
the length of heaven."

13. A division shaped like a bowl, in which is inscribed: "The
birthplace(?) of the god of the city Qenqentet Nebt."

14. An island whereon are four gods and a flight of steps; the legend
reads: "The great company of the gods who are in Sekhet-hetep."

15. The boat Tchetetfet, with eight oars, four at the bows, and four
at the stern, floating at the end of a canal; in it is a flight of
steps. The place where it lies is called the "Domain of Neth."

16. Two Pools, the names of which are illegible. The scene as given in
the Papyrus of Ani [Footnote: Brit. Mus., No. 10,470, Plate 35] gives
some interesting variants and may be described thus:--

1. Ani making an offering before a hare-headed god, a snake-headed
god, and a bull-headed god; behind him stand his wife Thuthu and
Thoth holding his reed and palette. Ani paddling a boat. Ani
addressing a hawk, before which are a table of offerings, a statue,
three ovals, and the legend, "Being at peace in the Field, and
having air for the nostrils."

2. Ani reaping corn, Ani driving the oxen which tread out the corn;
Ani addressing (_or_ adoring) a Bennu bird perched on a stand; Ani
seated holding the _kherp_ sceptre; a heap of red and a heap of
white corn; three KAU and three KHU, which are perhaps to be read,
"the food of the spirits;" and three Pools.

3. Ani ploughing a field near a stream which contains [Illustration:
The Elysian Fields of the Egyptians according to the Papyrus of Ani
(XVIIIth dynasty).] neither fish, nor serpents, nor worms of any
kind whatsoever.

4. The birthplace of the "god of the city;" an island on which is a
flight of steps; a region called the "place of the spirits" who are
seven cubits high, where the wheat is three cubits high, and where
the S[=A]HU, or spiritual bodies, reap it; the region Ashet, the god
who dwelleth therein being Un-nefer (_i.e._, a form of Osiris); a
boat with eight oars lying at the end of a canal; and a boat
floating on a canal. The name of the first boat is Behutu-tcheser,
and that of the second Tohefau.

So far we have seen that in heaven and in the world beyond the grave the
deceased has found only divine beings, and the doubles, and the souls,
and the spirits, and the spiritual bodies of the blessed; but no
reference has been made to the possibility of the dead recognizing each
other, or being able to continue the friendships or relationships which
they had when upon earth. In the Sekhet-Aaru the case is, however,
different, for there we have reason to believe relationships were
recognized and rejoiced in. Thus in Chapter LII. of the Book of the
Dead, which was composed with the idea of the deceased, from lack of
proper food in the underworld, being obliged to eat filth, [Footnote:
This idea is a survival of prehistoric times, when it was thought that
if the proper sepulchral meals were not deposited at regular intervals
where the KA, or "double," of the deceased could get at them it would be
obliged to wander about and pick up whatever it might find to eat upon
its road.] and with the object of preventing such an awful thing, the
deceased says: "That which is an abomination unto me, that which is an
abomination unto me, let me not eat. That which is an abomination unto
me, that which is an abomination unto me, is filth; let me not be
obliged to eat thereof in the place of the sepulchral cakes which are
offered unto the KAU (_i.e._, "doubles"). Let it not touch my body, let
me not be obliged to hold it in my hands; and let me not be compelled to
tread thereon in my sandals."

Some being or beings, probably the gods, then ask him, "What, now, wilt
thou live upon in the presence of the gods?" And he replies, "Let food
come to me from the place of food, and let me live upon the seven loaves
of bread which shall be brought as food before Horus, and upon the bread
which is brought before Thoth. And when the gods shall say unto me,
'What manner of food wouldst thou have given unto thee?' I will reply,
'Let me eat my food under the sycamore tree of my lady, the goddess
Hathor, and let my times be among the divine beings who have alighted
thereon. Let me have the power to order my own fields in Tattu
(Busiris), and my own growing crops in Annu. Let me live upon bread made
of white grain, and let my beer be made from red grain, and may the
persons of my father and mother be given unto me as guardians of my
door, and for the ordering of my homestead. Let me be sound and strong,
and let me have much room wherein to move, and let me be able to sit
wheresoever I please."

This Chapter is most important as showing that the deceased wished to
have his homestead and its fields situated in Tattu, that is to say,
near the capital of the Busirite or IXth nome of Lower Egypt, a district
not far from the city of Semennud (_i.e._, Sebennytus) and lying a
little to the south of the thirty-first parallel of latitude. It was
here that the reconstitution of the dismembered body of Osiris took
place, and it was here that the solemn ceremony of setting up the
backbone of Osiris was performed each year. The original Sekhet-Aaru was
evidently placed here, and we are therefore right in assuming that the
fertile fields of this part of the Delta formed the prototype of the
Elysian Fields of the Egyptian. At the same time he also wished to reap
crops on the fields round about Heliopolis, the seat of the greatest and
most ancient shrine of the Sun-god. The white grain of which he would
have his bread made is the ordinary _dhura_, and the red grain is the
red species of the same plant, which is not so common as the white. As
keepers of the door of his estate the deceased asks for the "forms (_or_
persons) of his father and his mother," and thus we see a desire on the
part of the Egyptian to continue the family life which he began upon
earth; it goes almost without saying that he would not ask this thing if
he thought there would be no prospect of knowing his parents in the next
world. An interesting proof of this is afforded by the picture of the
Sekhet-Aaru, or Elysian Fields, which is given in the Papyrus of Anhai,
[Footnote: Brit. Mus., No. 10,472.] [Illustration: Anhai bowing before
her father and mother. The Elysian Fields. From the Papyrus of Anhai
(XXIInd dynasty).] a priestess of Amen who lived probably about B.C.
1000. Here we see the deceased entering into the topmost section of the
district and addressing two divine persons; above one of these are
written the words "her mother," followed by the name Neferitu. The form
which comes next is probably that of her father, and thus we are sure
that the Egyptians believed they would meet their relatives in the next
world and know and be known by them.

Accompanying the picture of the Elysian Fields is a long text which
forms Chapter CX. of the Book of the Dead. As it supplies a great deal
of information concerning the views held in early times about that
region, and throws so much light upon the semi-material life which the
pious Egyptians, at one period of their history, hoped to lead, a
rendering of it is here given. It is entitled, "The Chapters of
Sekhet-Hetepet, and the Chapters of Coming Forth by Day; of going into
and of coming forth from the underworld; of coming to Sekhet-Aaru; of
being in Sekhet-Hetepet, the mighty land, the lady of winds; of having
power there; of becoming a spirit (KHU) there; of reaping there; of
eating there; of drinking there; of making love there; and of doing
everything even as a man doeth upon the earth." The deceased says:--

"Set hath seized Horus, who looked with the two eyes [Footnote:
_i.e._, the Eye of R[=a] and the Eye of Horus.] upon the building (?)
round Sekhet-hetep, but I have released Horus [and taken him from]
Set, and Set hath opened the path of the two eyes [which are] in
heaven. Set hath cast (?) his moisture to the winds upon the soul that
hath his day, and that dwelleth in the city of Mert, and he hath
delivered the interior of the body of Horus from the gods of Akert.

"Behold me now, for I make this mighty boat to travel over the Lake of
Hetep, and I brought it away with might from the palace of Shu; the
domain of his stars groweth young and reneweth the strength which it
had of old. I have brought the boat into the lakes thereof, so that I
may come forth into the cities thereof, and I have sailed into their
divine city Hetep. And behold, it is because I, even I, am at peace
with his seasons, and with his direction, and with his territory, and
with the company of the gods who are his firstborn. He maketh Horus
and Set to be at peace with those who watch over the living ones whom
he hath created in fair form, and he bringeth peace; he maketh Horus
and Set to be at peace with those who watch over them. He cutteth off
the hair from Horus and Set, he driveth away storm from the helpless,
and he keepeth away harm from the spirits (KHU). Let me have dominion
within that field, for I know it, and I have sailed among its lakes so
that I might come into its cities. My mouth is firm, [Footnote:
_i.e._, I know how to utter the words of power which I possess with
vigour.] and I am equipped to resist the spirits (KHU), therefore they
shall not have dominion over me. Let me be rewarded with thy fields, O
thou god Hetep; but that which is thy wish do, O thou lord of the
winds. May I become a spirit therein, may I eat therein, may I drink
therein, may I plough therein, may I reap therein, may I fight
therein, may I make love therein, may my words be mighty therein; may
I never be in a state of servitude therein; but may I be in authority
therein. Thou hast made strong the mouth (_or_ door) and the throat
(_?_) of Hetep; Qetet-bu is his name. He is stablished upon the
pillars [Footnote: _i.e._, the four pillars, one placed at each
cardinal point, which support the sky.] of Shu, and is linked unto the
pleasant things of R[=a]. He is the divider of years, he is hidden of
mouth, his mouth is silent, that which he uttereth is secret, he
fulfilleth eternity and hath possession of everlasting existence as
Hetep, the lord Hetep.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11