Tenth Division of the Tuat

THE TENTH and ELEVENTH DIVISIONS, or HOURS, are intended to illustrate the passage of AFU-RA through the region of AKERT, Or AUKERT, that is to say, the Kingdom of the Sun-god of ANNU, or Heliopolis. The name of the TENTH DIVISION is METCHET-QAT-UTCHEBU, its gate is called AA-KHERPU-MES-ARU, and the Hour-goddess is TENTENIT-UHESET-KHAK-AB. The pictures and texts which illustrate and describe this region are of peculiar interest, for they refer to the union of KHEPERA with RA, i.e., the introduction of the germ of new life into the body of the dead Sun-god, whereby AFU-RA. regains his powers as a living god, and becomes ready to emerge into the light of a new day with glory and splendour. It must be understood that the constitution of this DIVISION is quite different from that of any which we have seen hitherto, and that the gods who are in it are peculiar to the region of Akert. It is impossible to say where Akert

began or ended, but as the Tuat of the inhabitants of Heliopolis was represented by it, it follows, perhaps, that it was believed to be situated quite near that city. It is pretty certain that it comprised a part of the Eastern Delta, and that it extended along the eastern bank of the Nile some considerable distance to the south of Memphis, in fact, so far as BAKHAU, the Mountain of Sunrise; if this be so, it follows that when the Boat of AFU-RA entered this DIVISION the god would have to alter his course from east to south. As the Kingdom of Osiris marked the limit of his journey northwards, and the Boat then turned eastwards, so the northern end of AKERT marked the limit of his journey eastwards, and the Boat then turned southwards.

A glance at the Boat of AFU-RA as it enters this DIVISION shows us that it is neither being towed nor rowed along. Immediately in front of it (vol. i., p. 209) is the serpent THES-HRAU, with HERU-KHENTI, in the form of a black hawk, sitting on its back; on one side is a goddess of the North, and on the other a goddess of the South. Next we have the serpent ANKH-TA, (vol. i., p. 210), and then a group of twelve gods, four having disks for heads, and carrying arrows, four carrying javelins, and four carrying bows (vol. i., p. 210, 211). The serpent is the "watcher of the Tuat in the holy place of Khenti-Amenti," and the weapons carried by the twelve gods are to enable them to protect AFU-RA against his enemies in this region. To

the right of the path of AFU-RA are twelve lakes of water, which are intended to represent the celestial watery abyss of Nu, from which the Nile on earth was supposed to obtain its supply. At, one end of the scene is Horus, who leans on a staff, and addresses the beings who are seen plunging, and swimming, and floating in the various lakes (vol. i., pp. 226, 227), and bids them to come to HAP-UR, and promises them that their members shall not perish, nor their flesh decay. Who the beings in the water are it is impossible exactly to say, but it is clear that they were supposed to have the power to hinder the progress of the Boat of AFU-RA, for Horus propitiates them with promises of health and strength, as we have seen above. A little beyond the lakes are four goddesses who "shed light upon the road of RA in the thick darkness," and in front of them, is the mystic sceptre which represents "SET the Watcher," who "waketh up and travelleth with the god."

To the left of the path of AFU-RA we see first the god P-ANKHI, i.e., "he who is endowed with the property of life," and KHEPER-ANKH, in the form of a beetle, who is pushing before him an oval of sand, which either contains his germ, or is intended to represent the ball of eggs which the Scarabaeus sacer rolls before him, and which he wishes to take through the DIVISION into the Eastern Horizon of the sky (vol. i., p. 216). Then we have the two serpents Menenui supporting a disk, and goddesses of the North and South

[paragraph continues] (vol. i., p. 217). To the right of these are the goddesses NETHETH and KENAT, who spring from the axe SETFIT, which supports a disk. These four goddesses gather together souls on earth, and they purify the mighty spirits in the Tuat; they only become visible when AFU-RA appears, and so soon as he has passed them by they vanish. Beyond these is a long procession of deities who assist AFU-RA in his journey. The first eight, who are goddesses, stand before the Ape-god called AF-ERMEN-MAAT-F, who holds the Eye of Horus, and it is their duty to recite the words of power which shall cause splendour to issue from the Eye of Horus each day, and to sing praises to it (vol. i., pp. 219-221). The other deities only come into being when AFU-RA utters their names; they live in the shades which are in the mouth of the great god, and then their souls travel with him. Their work is to strip the dead of their swathings, and to break in pieces the enemies of Ra, and to order their destruction.

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ELEVENTH DIVISION OF THE TUAT.

I. KINGDOM OF TEMU-KHEPERA-RA ACCORDING TO THE BOOK AM-TUAT.

The name of this DIVISION, or HOUR, Or CITY, is RE-EN-QERERT-APT-KHATU, i.e., "Mouth of the Circle which judgeth bodies," the name of its Gate is SEKHEN-TUATIU, i.e., "Embracer of the gods of the Tuat," and

the Hour-goddess is SEBIT-NEBT-UAA-KHESEFET-SEB-EM-PERT-F, i.e., "Star, lady of the Boat which repulseth Seba at his appearance." This DIVISION of the TUAT was very near the Mountain of the Sunrise, from which the newly-born Sun-god would appear soon after day-break, and the knowledge of the gods in it, and of their forms and names, was believed to ensure to its possessor the power to emerge from the Tuat as a spirit equipped for travelling with the Sun-god over the sky. The Boat of AFU-RA makes its way through this region, and on looking at it (vol. i., p. 233) we see on its prow a disk of light encircled by a serpent; the disk is that of the Star PESTU, and it "guideth this great god into the ways of the darkness which gradually lighteneth, and illumineth those who are on the earth." The Boat is now towed by twelve gods, who employ as a rope the immensely long serpent MEHEN, the tail of which is supposed to be fastened to the front of the Boat (vol. i., p. 235); so soon as they have towed the god to the end of this DIVISION, and he has set himself in the horizon, they return to their own places. Immediately in front of these gods are two Crowns, the White and the Red (vol. i., p. 237), which rest each on the back of a uraeus; so soon as AFU-RA comes three human heads look forth, one from each side of the White Crown, and one from the Red Crown, and they disappear when he has passed by. The leaders of this remarkable procession are four forms of the goddess NEITH Of Saïs, who spring into life so soon as

the sound of the voice of AFU-RA is heard; these are Neith the Child, Neith of the White Crown, Neith of the Red Crown, and Neith of the phallus. These goddesses "guard the holy gate of the city of Saïs, which is unknown, and can neither be seen nor looked at."

On the right of the path of AFU-RA we see the two-headed god APER-HRA-NEB-TCHETTA, with the Crown of the South on one head, and the Crown of the North on the other. Next come the god TEMU, his body, and his soul, the former in the shape of a serpent with two pairs of human legs and a pair of wings, and the latter in that of a man, with a disk on his head, and his hands stretched out to the wings (vol. i., p. 242). In front of these are the body and soul of the Star-god SHETU, who follows AFU-RA and casts the living ones to him every day. All the other deities here represented assist the god in his passage, and help him to arrive on the Horizon of the East.

The region to the left of the Boat is one of fire, and representations of it which we have in the BOOK AM-TUAT and the BOOK OF GATES may well have suggested the beliefs in a fiery hell that have come down through the centuries to our own time. Quite near the Boat stands Horus, holding in the left hand the snake-headed boomerang, with which he performs deeds of magic; in front of him is the serpent SET-HEH, i.e., the Everlasting Set, his familiar and messenger (vol. i., p. 249). Horus is watching and directing

the destruction of the bodies, souls, shadows, and heads of the enemies of RA, and of the damned who are in this DIVISION, which is taking place in five pits of fire. A lioness-headed goddess stands by the side of the first pit which contains the enemies of RA; the fire with which they are consumed is supplied by the goddess, who vomits it into one corner of the pit.

The next four pits contain the bodies, souls, shades, and heads respectively, of the damned, the fire being supplied by the goddesses in charge. In the pit following are four beings who are immersed, head downwards, in the depths of its fires (vol. i., pp. 249-253). The texts which refer to the pits of fire show that the beings who were unfortunate enough to be cast into them were hacked in pieces by the goddesses who were over them, and then burned in the fierce fire provided by SET-HEH and the goddesses until they were consumed. The pits of fire were, of course, suggested by the red, fiery clouds which, with lurid splendour, often herald the sunrise in Egypt. As the sun rose, dispersing as he did so the darkness of night, and the mist and haze which appeared to cling to him, it was natural f or the primitive peoples of Egypt to declare that his foes were being burned in his pits or lakes of fire. The redder and brighter the fiery glare, the more effective would the burning up of the foes be thought to be, and it is not difficult to conceive the horror which would rise in the minds of superstitious folk when they

saw the day open with a dull or cloudy sky, with no evidence in it that the Sun had defeated the powers of darkness, and had suffered no injury during the night.

The presence of the pits of fire in this DIVISION suggests that we have now practically arrived at the end of the Tuat, and, according to the views of those who compiled the original description of AKERT, this is indeed the case. We have, in the Boat of AFU-RA, now passed through the Tuat of Khenti-Amenti, the Tuat of Seker, the Tuat of Osiris, lord of Mendes and Busiris, and the Tuat of TEMU-KHEPERA-RA, lord of ANNU, i.e., the four great Tuats which comprised all the great abodes of the dead of all Egypt. Now to enter this group of Tuats it was necessary to pass through a forecourt or antechamber, which for purposes of convenience has been called a DIVISION of the Tuat, and before AFU-RA can emerge from the last of the group of Tuats into the light of a new day, he must pass through a region which corresponds to the forecourt of the Tuats, and serves actually as a forecourt of the world of light. In the forecourt of the Tuats the darkness became deeper and deeper the further it was penetrated, but in the forecourt of the world of light the darkness becomes less and less dense as the day is approached. Considered from this point of view, the Four Tuats only contain Ten Divisions, or Hours, which corresponded roughly with the Ten GATES of the Kingdom of Osiris, as set forth in many copies of the

[paragraph continues] Theban Recension of the Book of the Dead. Strictly speaking, the addition of a forecourt to the world of light was unnecessary, but as the Theban priests had added one at the beginning of the Four Tuats, symmetry demanded that there should be another supplementary region at their end.

If now we treat the Ten Divisions of the Four Tuats as Hours, and assume that the Book of AFU-RA began its journey through them on an average between six and seven o'clock in the evening, it follows that the god reached the abode of Osiris about midnight, together with those souls who travelled with him. The souls who chose to be judged by Osiris, preferring a heaven full of material delights to spiritual happiness, disembarked, and passed into the Judgment Hall, where they received their sentence, and were made joyful or miserable. For the blessed homesteads were provided, and for the wicked slicings and gashings with knives, and pits of fire, wherein their bodies and souls and shadows were destroyed for ever. The evidence indicates that Osiris passed judgment on souls each day at midnight, and that the righteous were rewarded with good things shortly afterwards; the wicked also were punished with tortures and burnings, probably soon afterwards, or at all events before the Sun rose on the following day. Thus Osiris in the Tuat, and Ra in the world of light, would rejoice in freedom from foes until the time arrived for a new "weighing of words" to take place, and, according to one view, the enemies of Osiris, and

the foes of Ra, were consumed in fire together, and it was the smoke and fire of their burning which were seen in the heavens at sunrise. We may now consider the vestibule at the end of the Four Tuats, and describe the beings who were in it.

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