Fifth Division of the Tuat

THE pictures and texts of this DIVISION, or HOUR, in the BOOK OF GATES vary considerably from those in the BOOK-AM-TUAT. The god AFU-RA. appears in his Boat as before with SA and HEKAU, and four gods tow him on his way; he has passed through the Gate which is called NEBT-TCHEFAU, and its guardian serpent TCHETBI has in no way resisted his progress. The region now entered by AFU-RA has no connexion with the Land of Seker, and it appears to be a continuation of the dominions Of KHENTI-AMENTI. Immediately in front of the boat are nine sepulchres, each containing a god in mummied form; these are the "gods who are in the following of Osiris, who dwell in their caves" (vol. ii., p. 123). Next come the twelve Hour-goddesses who stand in two groups; between the groups is the monster serpent HERERET, which spawns twelve serpents to be consumed by the Twelve Hour-goddesses. As AFU-RA goes on his way he adjures the Tuat gods to take

him to the eastern part of heaven, so that he may visit the habitations of the god ARES, (or SAR), and when he has come to them, he orders the doors to open, and raises up the beings therein whose "souls are broken," and allots to them meat and drink. The Hour-goddesses are the daughters of RA, and their work is to guide their father through the night; six of them represent the first six hours of the night, and the other six the last six. These are here (vol. ii., p. 123) depicted together, whilst in the BOOK AM-TUAT each appears in the boat of AFU-RA in the Hour to which she belongs.

On the right of AFU-RA are the Twelve gods who "carry their doubles" (vol. ii., p. 131) and who live upon the offerings which are made to them and upon what is given to them by TESERT-BAIU, i.e., the place of holy souls. Their duty is to offer their kau or doubles to the god, whom they address as the "lord of years and of everlastingness which hath no diminution" (vol. ii., p. 130). Beyond these gods are two lakes, viz., the LAKE OF LIFE, and the LAKE OF THE LIVING URAEI. Round the LAKE OF LIFE stand twelve jackal-headed gods who invite AFU-RA to bathe in it, even as the "lord of the gods" did, and who state that the souls of the dead do not come near it because it is holy. When he passes out of this DIVISION they lift up their voices in lamentation (vol. ii., p. 132). The LIVING URAEI turn back the souls from their Lake, and the mere sound of

the words which they utter destroys the shadows of the dead who have succeeded in coming near it. They preserve with great care the flames and fire which are in them, so that they may hurl them at the enemies of AFU-RA.

In the course of his journey through this HOUR AFU-RA passes the shrine of KHENTI-AMENTI, the ancient god of Abydos, which is seen on the left (vol. ii., p. 137); he is in mummied form, wears the white crown, as befits a god of the South, and stands on a serpent. Immediately before the shrine is the Flame-goddess NESERT. Before and behind the shrine are twelve gods, at the head of the first company being HERU-UR, or "Horus the Aged." HERU-UR addresses the god in the shrine by the names "Osiris" and "Khenti-Amenti," and declares that he has performed the magical ceremonies which have made KHENTI-AMENTI to be the "Governor of the Tuat," to such purpose that the spirits of the blessed (khu) look upon him with awe, and the dead, i.e., the damned, (mit) are in terror of him. Here we have the proof of the existence of the belief that Osiris was enabled to travel safely through the Tuat by means of the spells, and incantations, and magical formulae, and words of power which were uttered by HERU-UR. The Twelve gods who are in front of the shrine ascribe praise and dominion to KHENTI-AMENTI, and declare that his son Horus has restored to him his crown, and crushed his

enemies, and made strong OSIRIS-KHENTI-AMENTI. To these AFU-RA makes no answer, but he calls upon Horns to avenge him on those who work against him, and to cast them to the Master of the lords of the pits, so that they may be destroyed. Now the pits here referred to are four in number (vol. ii., p. 137), and they are filled with fire; into these the enemies of the god are cast, and the keepers of them are adjured by Horus to watch and tend the fires. Who the plotters against the god may be it is impossible to say, but it is quite clear that one portion of the FOURTH DIVISION OF THE TUAT was a fiery hell wherein all the wicked were consumed. It is interesting to note that of the beings who are to the left of the Boat of AFU-RA Horus is the only one whom the god addresses.

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FIFTH DIVISION OF THE TUAT.

II. THE KINGDOM OF KHENTI-AMENTI-OSIRIS ACCORDING TO THE BOOK OF GATES.

The FIFTH, like the FOURTH DIVISION of the BOOK OF GATES, in no way resembles that in the BOOK AM-TUAT, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with the kingdom of SEKER. The god AFU-RA, having passed through the Gate of the DIVISION or HOUR, which is called ARIT, and which has been opened by the monster serpent TEKA-HRA that guarded it, is towed along by four of the gods of this section of the

[paragraph continues] Tuat. The ministers of the god consist of nine gods whose hands and arms are covered, and twelve gods who are under the direction of HERI-QENBET-F; the nine gods are called KHERU-ENNUTCHI, i.e., "those who hold the serpent ENNUTCHI," and the twelve gods BAIU RETH AMMIU TUAT, i.e., the "souls of men who dwell in the Tuat" (vol. ii., pp. 144, 145). The exact functions of Ennutchi are not known, but his presence is baleful, and AFU-RA straightway calls upon the group of gods to destroy him; the god would press on to the next Gate, NEBT-AHAU, but ENNUTCHI can travel to that point, and he must therefore be removed.

The next group of gods is of peculiar interest, for they represent the souls of those who have spoken "what is right and true upon earth, and who have magnified the forms of the god RA." In return for such moral rectitude and piety, AFU-RA orders HERI-QENBET-F to invite them to "sit at peace in their habitations in the corner of those who are with myself," where praises shall be sung to their souls, and where they shall have air in abundance to breathe; they shall, moreover, have joints of meat to eat in SEKHET-AARU. Besides this, offerings shall be made to them upon earth, even as they are to the god HETEPI, the lord of SEKHET-HETEPET (vol. ii., pp. 145, 146). Now from these statements some very interesting deductions may be made. In the first place, it is now certain that there was a place specially set apart for the souls of men in the Tuat, and that those who were allowed to enter it

had lived a life of moral rectitude, and had followed after righteousness and integrity when they were upon earth. Secondly, they were allowed to live in the corner of the SEKHET-HETEPET with the great god himself, in the place where, as we know from the Papyrus of Ani (see above, p. 44), most wonderful grain grew. Thirdly, an everlasting supply of offerings made upon earth was assured them, and in this respect they were coequal with HETEPI, the chief god of the Field of Peace (or, Field of Offerings). Thus the religion of Osiris undoubtedly taught that those who were good on this earth were rewarded in the next world.

On the right of AFU-RA are the twelve gods called HENIU-AMMIU-TUAT, i.e., "those who sing praises in the Tuat," and the twelve gods called KHERU-ENNUHU-EM-UAT, i.e., "those who hold the cord in the Tuat," and the four HENBIU gods (vol. ii., pp. 148-150). The first company of gods are, as we learn from the text, engaged in praising AFU-RA, and they have been rewarded with the exalted office which they hold in Ament because they praised RA at sunrise and sunset when they lived upon earth, and because Ra was "satisfied" with what they did for him. They enjoy, moreover, a share of the offerings which are made to the god. A little beyond the HENIU are the "gods who hold the measuring cord," and by the orders of the great god they go over the fields of Amentet, and measure and mark out the plots of ground which are to be allotted to the KHU, or

spirits of the righteous. Every spirit is judged by the god of law and righteousness, and only after a strict examination is he allowed to take possession of his allotment. As there seems to have been only one standard of moral and religious excellence all the allotments were probably of the same size. The food of the spirits who live in the homesteads which have been thus measured in SEKHET-AARU comes from the crops which grow in that region, and the four HENBIU gods, who superintended the, measuring of the fields, are ordered to provide sand, that is to say soil, for the replenishing of the ground.

The beings who are on the left of AFU-RA, in this Division are not less interesting than those on the right. Among these are four representatives of the four great classes into which the Egyptians divided mankind, namely, the RETH (for REMTH), the NEHESU, the THEMEHU, and the AAMU (vol. ii., p. 153). Of these the RETH, i.e., the "men" par excellence, were Egyptians, who came into being from the tears which fell from the Eye of RA. The THEMEHU, or Libyans, were also descended from the Eye of RA. The AAMU were the people of the deserts to the north and east of Egypt, Sinai, etc., and the NEHESU were the black tribes of Nubia and the Sudan. It is noteworthy that the members of each nation or people keep together. The representatives of the Four Nations are followed by twelve gods who are called KHERU-AHAU-AMENT, i.e., "The Holders of the Time of Life in Ament," and who

hold the serpent METERUI. These remarkable beings have in their hands the power to determine the length of life which is to be meted out to the souls who have been doomed to destruction in Amenti, that is to say, they were able to defer the doom which had been decreed for souls, though in the end they were compelled to carry out the edict of destruction. In close connexion with these gods are the TCHATCHAU, or "Great Chiefs," who were believed to write the edicts of destruction against the damned (vol. ii., p. 156), and to record the duration of the lives of those who were in Amentet; in fact, they appear to have kept the registers of Osiris, and to have served in some respects as recording angels. From what has been said above it will be clear that all the scenes and texts which illustrate and describe the Kingdom of Seker have been omitted from the BOOK OF GATES, and that the first five sections of this work describe--1. The Antechamber of the Tuat. 2. The Divisions of the Kingdom of KHENTI-AMENTI, which extended from Abydos to a region a little to the north of Memphis. We may now proceed to consider the Kingdom of Osiris, the lord of Mendes and Busiris.

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