Description:

240 BC

THE PAPYRUS OF ANI

THE EGYPTIAN BOOK OF THE DEAD

Translated by E.A. Wallis Budge

 

Part 4

  (From the Papyrus of Nekhtu-Amen, ed. Naville, I, 5)

THE CHAPTER OF MAKING THE SAHU TO ENTER THE TUAT ON THE DAY OF THE

FUNERAL, WHEN THE FOLLOWING WORDS ARE TO BE SAID: Homage to thee, O

thou who dwellest in the Holy Hill (Set-Tchesert) of Amentet! the

Osiris, the royal scribe, Nekhtu-Amen, whose word is true, knoweth

thee, he knoweth thy name. Deliver thou him from the worms which are

in Ra-stau, which live upon the bodies of men and women, and feed upon

their blood, for Osiris, the favoured servant of the god of his

city, the royal scribe Nekhtu-Amen, knoweth you, and he knoweth your

names. Let the order for his protection be the first command of

Osiris, the Lord to the Uttermost Limit, who keepeth his body

hidden. May he give him release from the Terrible One who dwelleth

at the bend of the River of Amentet, and may he decree the acts that

will make him to rise up. Let him pass on to him whose throne is

placed within the darkness, who giveth light in Ra-stau. O thou Lord

of Light, come thou and swallow up the worms which are in Amentet. Let

the Great God who dwelleth in Tetu, and who is himself unseen, hear

his prayers, and let those who cause afflictions hold him in fear as

he cometh forth with the sentence of their doom to the Divine Block. I

the Osiris, the royal scribe, Nekhtu-Amen, come, bearing the decree of

Neb-er-tcher, and I am the Horus who taketh possession of his throne

for him. His father, the lord of all those who are in the Boat of

his Father Horus, hath ascribed praise unto him. He cometh bearing

tidings....... let him see the town of Anu. Their chief shall stand on

the earth before him, the scribes shall magnify him at the doors of

their assemblies, and thy shall swathe im with swathings in Anu. He

hath led heaven captive, and he hath seized the earth in his grasp.

Neither the heavens nor the earth can be taken away from him, for,

behold, he is Ra, the firstborn of the gods. His mother shall nurse

him, and shall give him her breast on the horizon.

  RUBRIC: The words of this Chapter shall be said after [the deceased]

is laid to rest in Amentet; by means of them the region Tenn-t shall

be contented with her lord. And the Osiris, the royal scribe,

Nekhtu-Amen, whose word is truth, shall come forth, and he shall

embark in the Boat of Ra, and [his] body upon its bier shall be

counted up, and he shall be established in the Tuat.

THE CHAPTER OF GIVING A MOUTH TO THE OSIRIS ANI, THE SCRIBE, AND

TELLER OF THE OFFERINGS WHICH ARE MADE TO ALL THE GODS, WHOSE WORD

IS TRUE, WHO SAITH:- I rise up out of the Egg in the Hidden Land.

May my mouth be given unto me that I may speak therewith in the

presence of the Great God, the Lord of the Tuat. Let not my hand and

my arm be repulsed in the presence of the Chiefs (Tchatchau) of any

god. I am Osiris, the Lord of Ra-stau. May I, the Osiris, the scribe

Ani, whose word is true, have my portion with him who is on the top of

the Steps (Osiris). According to the desire of my heart I have come

forth from the Island of Nesersert, and I have extinguished the fire.

  [The following passage is taken from the Saite Recension]

  [THE CHAPTER OF GIVING A MOUTH TO THE OSIRIS, THE SCRIBE ANI, WHO

SAITH]:- Homage to thee, O thou lord of brightness, Governor of the

Temple, Prince of the night and of the thick darkness. I have come

unto thee. I am shining, I am pure. My hands are about thee, thou hast

thy lot with thy ancestors. Give thou unto me my mouth that I may

speak with it. I guide my heart at its season of flame and of night.

  RUBRIC: If this Chapter be known by the Osiris the scribe Ani,

upon earth, [or if it be done] in writing upon [his] coffin, he

shall come forth by day in every form which he pleaseth, and he

shall enter into [his] abode, and shall not be repulsed. And cakes,

and ale, and joints of meat [from those which are on] the altar of

Osiris shall be given unto him; and he shall enter in peace into

Sekhet-Aaru, conformably to the decree of the Dweller in Busiris.

Wheat and barley (dhura) shall be given unto him therein, and he shall

flourish there just as he did upon earth; and he shall do whatsoever

it pleaseth him to do, even as do the Company of the Gods who are in

the Tuat, regularly and continually, for millions of times.