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funerary rites in ancient Egypt
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The "Book of the Dead" refers to the funerary texts which the Ancient Egyptians called "the spell for coming forth by day". It was introduced at the end of the Second Intermediate Period, and consisted of about two hundred spells or chapters, usually inscribed on papyrus and sometimes on amulets, linen or vellum. Illustrated with small drawings known as vignettes, these accompany most of the chapters or spells, and serve to illustrate their contents.
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Originally vignettes were used only in certain cases or for special emphasis, where it was considered necessary to have a symbolic representation in a pictorial form of the content or intent of a spell. However by the late New Kingdom, a majority of the spells are actually illustrated, on some occasions just the vignettes themselves are used for the spells without any text. In many manuscripts, the vignettes are in rows with text placed beneath them.
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The influence of the Pyramid Texts and the Coffin Texts
The spells from the Book of the Dead were influenced by the Pyramid Texts and the Coffin Texts. The walls of the burial chamber and the ante chamber of the pyramid would be inscribed with vertical columns of text of individual sayings and spells. The texts appear to vary from one pyramid to another, the oldest edition, that in the Pyramid of Unas, contains only 283 of the known texts, and includes ones not found in later editions.
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| During the First Intermediate Period and the Middle Kingdom, pyramid texts began to be inscribed in the tombs of high officials. Often the spells would be ornately carved inside the coffins of important people. These texts became known as the Coffin Texts. |
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During the Middle Kingdom funerary practices were made available to everyone. Previously, the right to be embalmed and the prospect of a guaranteed afterlife were restricted to royalty and nobility. Now the opportunity became available to anyone, providing they could afford it! |
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Matters of the heart
To the Ancient Egyptians, the heart was of the utmost importance, considered to be the seat of intelligence and emotion, and so consequently no less than four spells in the Book of the Dead were concerned with preventing the unauthorised removal of this organ, or ensuring its quick return. To find out whether the deceased was worthy to enter the Field of Reeds, the heart would have to be weighed on a balance. If the heart balanced on the scale, then the lucky owner could expect to enjoy the afterlife. Chapter 125 shows one of the best known vignettes in the Book of the Dead:
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| The deceased stands at the side, often accompanied by their ba and various forms of fate and destiny. Anubis checks the balance, and Thoth, the ibis headed god of scribes stands ready to write down the result of the weighing. Twelve great gods, seated across the top of the scene, act as witnesses to ensure a fair trail. A strange creature, part crocodile, part hippopotamus, part lion or panther lurks nearby, she is called Ammit, meaning "she who gobbles down", the eater of anyone unworthy to enter the Field of Reeds. |
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The heart of the deceased sits in one of the trays on the balance scales. The heart is weighed against either Ma'at, the goddesses of truth, cosmic order, wisdom, and righteousness, or more usually just her symbol, the ostrich feather. Should the deceased be unfortunate enough to have a heart that was considered to be "heavy with sin" and unable to balance against Ma'at's feather, then Ammit would be able to gobble it down. Deprived of their heart, the deceased would then be denied an afterlife. |
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The Opening of the Mouth - spell number 23
The most important ritual performed for the deceased just before burial was the Opening of the Mouth ceremony. This would restore all the faculties and body functions to the mummy so that the afterlife could be enjoyed to the full. Sometimes the ceremony was performed on the mummy, and often it is shown being performed on the funerary statues. Afterwards, the mummy and the statues were effectively transformed and ready for use by the "ka" of the deceased.
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 The mummy is usually shown propped up before the tomb chapel. The "sem" priest, distinguished by the wearing of a panther or leopard skin, prepares to use the ritual implements set out nearby. Here the "sem" priest takes on the role of the deceased's son, although often the ceremony was performed by the deceased's son and heir as a final act of piety. The "hery heb" (lector priest) reads out the appropriate instructions from a papyrus. The mummy would be touched with various ritual implements, the most important being the "pesesh kaf", so that the senses were restored, not only to the mouth, but also the eyes, ears, nose and other parts of the body. Elaborate rituals involving purification, censing, anointing and incantations would be performed and offerings (including a foreleg and a bull's heart) made. |
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Afterwards, the mummy could be placed in its nest of coffins, the canopic chest set in its niche and the grave goods and shabti figures stacked around the tomb. From the early New Kingdom, shabti figures were inscribed with the "Shabti formula of Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead": "O shabti, if the deceased is called upon to do any of the work required there in the necropolis at any time ... you shall say "Here I am, I will do it."
Just before the burial chamber was sealed, final magical and protective aids were put into position. From the 18th Dynasty, a rolled up papyrus of the Book of the Dead would be placed in the coffin.
The focus of any tomb, royal or otherwise, was an offering place and a false door, which acted as the entrance to the Netherworld. In large tombs and pyramid complexes, wall scenes included hunting, fishing and the delivery of offerings for the deceased.
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