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The Egyptian Heaven and Hell

By E. A. Wallis Budge

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The Gate Of Ab-ta The Ninth Division of the Tuat

HAVING passed through the Eighth Division of the Tuat, the boat of the sun arrives at the gateway called AAT-SHEFSHEFT, which leads to the NINTH DIVISION, or, as the opening text reads: "This great god cometh to this gate, and entereth through it, and the gods who are therein acclaim this great god." The gateway is like that through which the god passed into the previous Division, and its outwork is guarded by nine gods in the form of mummies, who are described as the PAUT, i.e., the company of the nine gods. At the entrance to the gate proper stands a bearded, mummied form, with his hands folded on his breast, called ANHEFTA, and at its exit stands a similar form called ERMEN-TA, each of these is said to extend his arms and hands to Ra. The corridor is swept by flames of fire, which proceed from the mouths of two uraei, as before. The company of the gods who guard the outwork address Ra, and say, "Come thou to us, O thou who art the head of the horizon, O thou great god who openest the secret places, open for thyself the holy pylons, and unfold for thyself the holy doors thereof." The monster serpent which stands on his tail and guards the door is called AB-TA, and the two lines of text which refer to his admission of Ra read, "He who is over this door openeth to Ra. SA saith unto AB-TA, 'Open thy gate to Ra, unfold thy portal to KHUTI, so that he may illumine the thick darkness, and may send light into the hidden abode.' This gate closeth after this god hath passed through it, and the souls who are on the other side of it wail when they hear this door closing upon them."

 

The Gate of Ab-ta.

 

In the middle of the Division we see the boat of Ra being towed on its way by four gods of the Tuat; the god is in the same form as before,

 

The Boat of Af-Ra in the Ninth Division of the Tuat.

and SA stands on the look-out, and HEKA obeys his instructions as to steering. The procession which marches in front of the boat consists of:--

1. Six bearded male figures, standing upright, who hold in their hands the ends of a rod, or rope, which is bent in the shape of a bow over their heads; these are described as "those who are over the words of magical power."

2. Four dog-headed apes, which hold a rod bent as already described; these are described as "those who work magic by means of knots for Ra."

Four women, who stand upright, and hold a bent

 

Gods, goddesses, and apes casting spells on Apep.

The spearmen.     Aai.  Shesshes and Apep.

rod, or rope, over their heads like the four apes and the six male figures; they are described as "those who work magic by means of knots for Ra."

4. Three male figures, each holding a harpoon in his right hand, and a cord in his left; they are called "spearmen." Immediately in front of these is a bearded male figure, who has been lying prostrate on his face; he has upon his head a small solar disk and a pair of ass's ears, and his name is AAI, i.e., the Ass. In his hands he grasps a rope, which passes over his head and along his back, and is held by each of the three spearmen in his left hand; from the knees upwards his body is raised in a diagonal position, and this attitude suggests that he has either raised himself by means of the rope, or has been pulled into this position by the spearmen. Facing the Ass are:--1. The monster serpent APEP, and 2. The crocodile SHESSHES, with a tail ending in the head of a serpent.

The text, which refers to the whole of this section, reads:--

"This great god is towed along by the gods of the Tuat, and those who tow Ra along say:--'The god cometh to his body, and the god is towed along to his shadow. O be thou at peace with thy body, and we will tow thee along in thy integrity into thy (literally, his) secret place. Come thou, O Ra, and be thou at peace with thy body, for thou shalt be protected by those who are over the curved ropes(?).'"

The text which refers to the six men, four apes, and four women, with nets over their heads, reads:--

"Those who are in this picture march before Ra, and they utter words of power against APEP, and [then] return to the Arit (or, Hall) of the horizon. They journey onwards with him into the height of heaven, and they come into being for him in the ATERTI (i.e., the two portions of the sky in which Ra rises and sets), and they cause him to rise in NUT. And they say their words of power which are these:--'Out upon thee, O thou Rebel Serpent! Out upon thee, thou monster that destroyest, thou Apep that sendest forth thy evil emanations (or, deeds)! Thy face shall be destroyed, O APEP. Thou shalt advance to the block of execution. The NEMU are against thee, and they shall hack thee in pieces. The AAIU are against thee, and they shall destroy thee. The ABEBUITI (i.e., the three spearmen) shall drive [their harpoons] into thee, and they shall enchant thee by means of their Hail! Thou art destroyed, dashed in pieces, and stabbed to death, O serpent SESSI.'"

"Those who are in this scene, and who have their spears, keep ward over the rope of AI, and they do not permit this Worm to approach the boat of the great god. They pass behind this god upwards. These gods who do battle on behalf of this god in heaven say":--(The speech is wanting).

 

Gods of the South raising the Standard of the South.

 

In the upper register are the following:--

1. Four gods, who in the place of heads have each a crown of the South, to which is affixed a uraeus, upon his body, and who, aided by a bearded male figure, are engaged in raising up from the ground, by means of a rope, a pole or staff, which is surmounted by a bearded

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human head wearing a crown of the South; the gods are called "gods of the South," and the bearded male figure "he who is over the front end."

2. Four gods, who in the place of heads have each a

 

Gods of the North raising the Standard of the North.

crown of the North, to which is affixed a uraeus, upon his body, and who, aided by a bearded male figure, are engaged in raising up from the ground, by means of a rope, a pole or staff, which is surmounted by a bearded human head wearing a crown of the North; the gods are called "gods of the North," and the bearded male figure is "he who is over the hind part."

3. Between the two groups described above is the hawk-headed sphinx which typifies "Horus in the Boat." Above its hindquarters spring the head and shoulders of a bearded human figure called ANA, and on the head of the hawk and that of And is a crown of the South. Standing on the back of the sphinx is the figure of HORUS-SET with characteristic heads, with his arms outstretched, and with each hand laid upon the upper part of the crowns of the South. The hawk head of this figure faces the back of the hawk head of the sphinx, and the animal's head, which is characteristic of Set, faces the back of the human head of And. It is thus quite clear that

 

Heru-am-uaa with Set-Horus on his back.

 

Horus was regarded as a form of the Sun-god of the South, and Set as a form of the Sun-god of the North.

4. The serpent SHEMTI, which has four heads and necks at each end of its body, and each head and neck are supported on a pair of legs. A male figure called APU stands and grasps the middle of the body of the serpent with both hands.

5. The serpent BATA, with a bearded head at each end of his body; each head wears a crown of the South. Above the back of this serpent is another serpent, from each end of the body of which spring the upper portions of the bodies and heads of four bearded male figures; the first figure of each group has a pair of hands and arms which are raised in adoration, and each figure of the two groups has a pair of legs, which rest on the back of the serpent BATA. A male figure called ABETH stands and grasps the middle of the body of the serpent TEPI with both hands.

6. Two male beings, swinging over their heads a net, wherewith they are going to attack the serpent, or to resist him.

 

The Shemti Serpent and his warder Apu.

 

The passage which refers to the gods of the South reads:--

"Those who are in this scene rise up for Ra, who saith unto them:--'Receive ye your heads, O ye gods, and draw tightly the front end of your rope. Hail, O ye gods, come into being! Hail, possess ye the power of light, O ye gods, and come ye into being, O ye gods. Possess ye the power of light, O ye gods, by

 

The Serpents Bata and Tepi and the warder Abeth.

my coming into being in the secret place, and by my power of light in the hidden place (Ament), in the chambers of things.'"

The passage which refers to Horus-Set reads:--

"Ra maketh to arise this god. This god with his two faces goeth in after Ra hath passed by him."

The passage which refers to the gods of the North reads:--

"Ra saith unto them:--'Let your heads be to you, O ye gods! Receive ye your crowns of the North, and pull ye tightly at the hinder end of the boat of him that cometh into being from me. Behold now Horus of the handsome Face!'"

The passage which refers to the serpent SHEMTI reads:--

"He who is in this picture strideth through the secret place, and he withdraweth to QA-TEMT, the Hall (or, Court) of Ament. Those who are in it are the heads which have been devoured, and they breathe the odour of SHEMTI, of which Apu is the warder."

The passage which refers to the serpent BATA reads:--

"He who is in this picture maketh his rising up for SAR, and he keepeth count of the souls which are doomed in the Tuat. He strideth through the secret place, and he withdraweth to TESERT-BAIU, to the Hall (or, Court) of Ament; then TEPI entereth into BATA. Those who are in it are they whose heads have been devoured. They breathe the odour of BATA, of which ABETH is the guardian."

The passage which refers to the two gods with nets reads:--

"These are the gods who make use of words of power for Horus-Ra in Ament. [They have power] over the net, and they make use of words of power on those who are in the net[s] which are in their hands."

In the lower register are:--

1. Sixteen gods, who stand at one end of the scene, and grasp a rope with both hands. The first four are bearded, man-headed beings, and are said to be "the souls of Ament," the second four are ibis-headed, and are "the followers of Thoth," the third four are hawk-headed, and are "the followers of Horus," and the last four are ram-headed, and are the followers of Ra."

 

Two gods with nets.

2. Eight bearded, man-headed beings, who stand at the other end of the scene in two groups of four, and

who are described as "Powers,"  each grasps a rope with both hands. The rope which is held by these groups of beings is attached to the legs of the enormous serpent KHEPRI. This serpent has a head at each end of its body, the foremost part of which is supported on a pair of human legs; from each end of that portion of its body which lies flat on the ground springs a uraeus. On the centre fold of the body is seated a hawk, which wears on its head the double crown, This hawk is the symbol of "Horus of the Tuat."

The text which refers to this section of the scene reads:--

 

The Souls of Ament, and the Followers of Thoth who tow Khepri.

 

 

The Followers of Horus and the Followers of Ra who tow Khepri.

 

"Those who are in this scene have the rope in their hands, and it is fastened to the leg[s] of KHEPRI, who moveth backwards to the Hall of their horizon. They draw this rope with the god into their horizon, and they tow him along in the sky (NUT). They live upon the, things of the South, and their sustenance is from the things of the North, [and they exist] on that which cometh forth from the mouth of Ra. The voice of this serpent KHEPRI goeth round about and travelleth into the secret place after Ra hath entered into the height of heaven."

The four groups, each containing four beings, "say unto Ra:--'Come, O come, after thy transformations! Come, O Ra, after thy transformations! Appear,

 

The Serpent Khepri and Horus of the Tuat.

appear, after thy transformations! Appear, O Ra, after thy transformations in heaven, in the great heaven! Hail! We decree for thee thy habitations by the excellence which is in the words of the Mighty One of Forms in the secret (or, hidden) place.'"

The passage which refers to Horus reads:--

"He who is in this scene is HERU TUATI (i.e., Horus of the Tuat). The head cometh forth from him, and the forms [in which he appeareth] from the coiled [serpent]. Ra crieth unto this god to whom the two divine URAEI unite themselves; he entereth in upon the way into KHEPRI, Who listeneth when Ra crieth to him."

The two groups, each containing four beings, "have

 

The Eight Powers who tow Khepri.

in their hands the rope which is fastened to the foot of KHEPRI, and they say to Ra:--'The ways of the hidden place are open to thee, and [the portals] which are in the earth are unfolded for thee, the SOUL which Nut loveth, and we will guide thy wings to the mountain. Hail! Enter thou into the East, and make thou thy passage from between the thighs of thy mother.'"