Second Division of the Tuat

THE god AFU-Ra now enters the region URNES which derives its name from that of the river flowing through it; it is 309, or 480 atru or leagues in length, and 120 wide. URNES is a portion of the dominions of OSIRIS-KHENTI-AMENTI, the great god of Abydos, and it, no doubt, formed a section of the SEKHET-HETEPET according to the old theology of Egypt. The Boat Of AFU-Ra is now under the direction of the goddess of the second hour of the night, SHESAT-MAKET-NEB-S, and the uraei of Isis and Nephthys have been added to its crew. Immediately in front of it are four boats, which move by themselves; the first contains the full moon, of which Osiris was a form, the second the emblem of a deity of harvest, the third the symbols of another agricultural deity, and the fourth the Grain-god personified. All four boats contain either forms or symbols of Osiris, in his different aspects, as the god of ploughing, sowing, and reaping, and of the

grain from the time when it germinates to the season of harvest.

When AFU-RA has come into URNES, he addresses the gods of the region, who are called "BAIU-TUATIU," and tells them to open their doors so that they may receive air, and fresh food, and fresh water, in return for the deeds of valour which they have done on behalf of AFU-RA. It seems that at one portion of this Division the followers of Osiris and RA had to do battle against Apep and his friends, and that in return for their services the god gave them places here in which to dwell, with an abundance of wheat and barley, etc. The gods in reply welcome AFU-RA, and beg him to dissipate the darkness in Amenti, and to slay the serpents HAU and NEHA-HRA (vol. i., p. 40); they promise that those who guide his boat shall destroy APEP, that Osiris shall come to meet him and shall avenge him, and that he shall rest in Ament, and shall appear in the East the following morning under the form of KHEPERA. After this speech they lead AFU-RA into a state of peace in SEKHET-EN-PERTIU, the "Field of the Gods of grain," wherein are the boats of the Grain-gods already described. In this fair haven AM-RA rests, and every follower of Osiris hoped to follow his example.

If we consider for a moment the group of divine beings which stands on each bank of the river URNES it becomes evident that each god or goddess belongs to

the company of Osiris. To the right of the boat stand six gods, who either hold or wear an ear of corn and are connected with the growth of the grain (vol. i., p. 31), gods armed with knives, and connected with the harvest, gods of the seasons, each holding a notched palm-stick, the god of the year, the gods of SOTHIS and ORION (vol. i., p. 32) Osiris-Unnefer, Akhabit, Anubis, the "Eater of the Ass," 1 etc. To the left of the Boat are six deities, each with a phallus in the form of a knife, the double god HORUS-SET (Vol. i., p. 29), various animal- and bird-headed gods, goddesses both with and without uraei on their heads, the "Crook" (mest) of Osiris, the serpent-protector of Osiris, and so on. The gods on the right of AFU-RA are they who give him "the seasons, and the years which are in their hands," and so soon as he speaks to them "they have life through his voice"; he, moreover, tells them what to do, and he orders that the herbs of the field of URNES shall be given to them in abundance.

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Nekht spearing the Eater of the Ass.

The duties of these gods are simple: they supply

the followers of AFU-RA, i.e., those spirits who have succeeded in entering his boat, with green herbs, they give them water, and they light the fires which are to destroy the enemies of Ra. It is not, however, easy to understand their position. All these gods are under the rule of AM-NEBAUI, who is "the lord of this Field," but it seems that they remain in a state of inertness until AFU-RA enters and shines upon them; and although they have their duties and know how to perform them, it is suggested by the texts that they perform nothing until he speaks to them. In other words, they are merely dead gods, until the word of power spoken by AFU-RA makes them produce grain on which to feed themselves and the followers of Ra." In this way is the power of Amen-Ra shown: his dead body, i.e., the night sun, is able to re-vivify all the gods of the kingdom of Osiris, and to make them work. The gods on the left have, first of all, to praise AFU-RA after he has entered URNES; they next "guard the day, and bring on the night until the great god cometh out into the East of the sky." Besides this their duty is to bring to the god's notice the words of those who are upon earth, and they make souls to come to their forms (vol. i., p. 34); they are also concerned with the "offerings of the night," and effect the overthrow of enemies.

From this passage it is clear that the Egyptians believed that words uttered on earth were taken to AFU-RA by his ministers, and it is difficult not to think

that such words must have been in the form of petitions, or prayers, if only for sepulchral offerings. So soon as AFU-RA has passed through the Division, and his light has begun to leave them, all the gods of URNES "cry out in lamentation, and utter wailings because he has left them." From the SUMMARY of the BOOK AM-TUAT we gather that the pictures and texts referring to this Division of the Tuat, or Hour of the night, were believed to possess special efficacy, and the faithful thought that if a man knew the names of its gods he would receive a place of abode in URNES, and would travel about with the god, would have the power of entering the earth and the Tuat and of going so far as the pillars which supported the heavens, would travel over the serpent AMU-AA (i.e., the Eater of the Ass), would eat the bread intended for the Boat of the Earth, 1 and would partake of the perfumed unguent of the god TATUBA. Moreover, it is stated that the man who makes offerings to the BAIU-TUATIU (i.e., the divine souls of the Tuat), mentioning them by their names, shall in very truth receive innumerable benefits upon earth. The texts giving these facts are most important, for they prove that in early times the abode of the blessed was believed to be in URNES, and that the making of offerings to the dead was inculcated as a meritorious act, and that it was believed to bring blessings upon him that made the offering even whilst he was upon earth. It may also be noted in passing

that the heaven URNES was somewhat exclusive, for only the followers of Osiris and RA were admitted.

Footnotes

113:1 This is a name given to the serpent which is seen attacking an ass in the XIth Chapter of the Book of the Dead, and which is a form of the god Set; the Ass is probably a form of the sun-god RA. THE EATER OF THE GREAT PHALLUS, i.e., the Ass, was also a power of evil, yet here he is found seated among beneficent gods.

115:1 See within, page 126.

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SECOND DIVISION OF THE TUAT.

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

To advance into this Division the Boat of AFU-RA must first pass through the Gate which is guarded by the huge serpent SAA-SET, and this done the god now takes upon himself the form in which he appears in the BOOK AM-TUAT, i.e., that of a ram-headed man. The snake-goddess MEHEN, which surrounded the disk enclosing a beetle, now envelops the shrine in which he stands; it must be noted that SA and HEKAU stand, as before, in the Boat, which is now towed along by four gods of the Tuat, who represent the four quarters of the earth and the four cardinal points. The Boat is received by a company of thirteen gods, who are apparently under the rule of a god who holds a staff. The object of the visit of AFU-RA is to "weigh words and deeds in Ament, to make a distinction between the great and little gods, to assign thrones to the Spirits [who are pure], to dismiss the damned to the place set apart for them, and to destroy their bodies." (vol. ii., p. 91). Now this is an important statement, for it distinctly implies that a judgment of the dead takes place in the Second Division, or Hour, of the Tuat,

which is here called AMENT, that the positions of the dead are graded, and that reward and punishment are meted out to the dead, according to their deserts. It is said by AFU-RA to the dwellers in AMENT, "the dead (mitu) shall not enter in after you"; which proves that, wherever the place of punishment was, it was not in the SECOND Division of the Tuat. The gods who assist AFU-RA in his work of judgment are said to live upon the offerings made to them upon earth; here was a direct inducement to the faithful to make offerings regularly to the gods of the Tuat, and it was understood that such acts of piety would tell on their behalf when their words and deeds came to be weighed in Ament. The reader will note that it is AFU-RA who is the judge here, and not Osiris.

Examining now the beings who are on both banks of the river we see that they fall naturally into two classes, viz., the good and the bad; the former are on the right hand of the god, and the latter on his left, just as saints and sinners are arraigned before God's throne in mediaeval pictures of the Judgment. The good are divided into two classes, "the HETEPTIU who praise RA," and the "MAATIU who dwell in the Tuat" (vol. ii., p. 93). The HETEPTIU are thus called because they made "offerings" (hetepet) to Ra upon earth, and burned incense to him; they also sang praises to RA and worshipped him upon earth, and uttered hekau, or words of power, against APEP, the

arch-foe of Ra (vol. ii., p. 94). From this text we see that it was not enough for the followers of Ra to praise him and give him gifts, but that they must also use magical words and formulae in order that Ra's foe may be destroyed; and, because when they were upon earth they made offerings to the Tuat-gods, now that they are themselves in the Tuat and have need of food, Ra declares that offerings made to them shall never fail, and their souls shall never be destroyed. The MAATIU beings have this name given to them because, as the text says, "they spoke Maat," i.e., what is true, "upon earth"; moreover, "they did not approach the neterit." Now the word neterit usually means "goddesses," but here it has an unusual determinative, which, however, suggests that it is used to express some idea of "evil" in connexion with the gods or goddesses, such as blasphemy, or contempt, or apostacy. On the whole it seems most likely that neterit means "false gods," that is to say, gods whom Ra would not recognize as such, and that the feminine form of the word, with the unusual determinative, indicates they were weak and miserable beings. As a reward for their veracity and orthodoxy (?) upon earth, the food on which they live is Maat, i.e., truth, and they themselves become Maat, or TRUTH itself, and they are permitted to invoke the god in the Gate. Ra, moreover, gives them the mastery over the waters of the region, which, though cool and refreshing to the MAATIU beings

themselves, become "waters of fire" (vol. ii., p. 95) to those who are sinners and are involved in wickedness. We have already seen that the wicked were not allowed to enter this Division, therefore it appears that it was held to be possible for the dead round about it to attempt to drink of the cool waters, which straightway turned into fire and consumed them.

Turning now to those beings who stand to the left of the Boat (vol. ii., pp. 96-99), we see that they are twenty-four in number; of these four lie dead, or helpless, and are called ENENIU, i.e., the "Inert," and twenty stand with their backs bowed, and their arms tied at their elbows behind them, in an agonizing position. Here, it is clear, are beings who are fettered and stand awaiting their doom. The charges made against them are to the effect that: 1. They blasphemed Ra upon earth. 2. They invoked evil upon him that was in the Egg. 3. They thrust aside the right. 4. They spoke against KHUTI. The god referred to as being "in the Egg" is, of course, a form of the Sun-god, and we know from the LIVth Chapter of the Book of the Dead, that the EGG was laid by KENKENUR, or the "Great Cackler." The good KHUTI is the form of the Sun-god at sunrise and sunset, and thus we see that all the sins which were committed by the ENENIU and their fettered companions were against Ra, and against forms of him. The name given to these is "STAU," i.e., "Apostates of the Hall of Ra," and sentence of doom is passed upon them by TEMU on behalf of Ra; it is

decreed that their arms shall never be untied again, that their bodies shall be cut to pieces, and that their souls shall cease to exist (vol. ii., p. 97). Such are the things which take place in the Second Division of the Tuat according to the BOOK OF GATES, and, view them in whatever way we may, it is impossible not to conclude that the Egyptians thought that those who praised and worshipped Ra upon earth were rewarded with good things, whilst those who treated him lightly were punished. It is evident also that the offering up of propitiatory sacrifices and making of peace offerings were encouraged by the religion of Osiris, as being good both for gods and men.

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