A Brief Journey into the Fields of Aaru A few weeks ago, my old Belgian friend Christian Chelman1 requested my help for identifying an Egyptian shabti. As I think it could be of interest for a few of my facebook friends, I decided to relate that small experience here. A shabti is a funerary figurine which Ancient Egyptians placed in their tombs. Their purpose was very particular since they were supposed to act as servants during the deceased’s afterlife. As it may sound slightly intriguing for non‐specialists, allow me to clarify briefly2. For ancient Egyptians, life didn’t stop right after one’s death. As a matter of strict fact, a quite straightforward series of events took place. Basically, you were not automatically granted an access to Osiris’ (the god of afterlife) kingdom. In order to enter that underworld, your “soul” had to be evaluated. Better not having lived not following the rules and precepts of Maat (goddess of truth, order and right living)! In such a case, the sentence was definitive; you would have faced what Egyptians called the “second death”. Long story made short, your soul would have been thrown to Ammit (nicknamed “the devourer”, or the “soul‐eater”) and you could kiss the idea of an eternal life bye‐bye! Ammit3 The process was rather simple; You stood in front of 42(!) judges and you had to convince them that your behavior during your lifetime was absolutely free of any kind of wrongdoing4. Then, 1
In case you don’t know his Surnateum, www.surnateum.com, you can unfriend me right now. Please, bear in mind that this text is targeting profanes in Egyptology, thus I’ll keep things simplified. 3
All the fantastic pictures are from Jeff Dahl/Wikipedia. Other illustrations come from Wikipedia as well. 2
Anubis (god originally protector of graves, patron of embalmers, nicknamed the “Guardian of the Scales”) would have weighed your heart against a feather5! This mere admission test is what, nowadays, we call psychostasia6. Had your heart been lighter than the feather, you would have been welcomed in the Duat (the name of Osiris’ kingdom). Anubis Maat Osiris But eternal life has sometimes some contingencies and there was no exception with Ancient Egyptians religious concepts. Technically, you were granted a plot of land in the Duat, or, more precisely in an area called the “fields of Aaru” (reeds) and Osiris expected you to maintain it. That’s where the shabti enters the scene… as it could do the job for you!7 Essentially, the figurine came to life and would do the hard work allowing you to focus on afterlife leisure. 4
I’m sure you won’t be surprised to learn that it was possible to counterfeit that step…! Departed had what is called a “book of the dead” with them. Briefly, a collection of prayers and right words to say to each of the 42 judges, in order to pass the judgment successfully… 5
In fact, the soul is weighed against Maat herself; the feather is simply a representation for this goddess. You can see it depicted over her head in the illustration above. 6
Greek term for “weighing of souls”. 7
In some tombs, archeologists have found up to four hundreds shabtis… A real army of servants, with farmers, plowmen, overseers, etc. Sometimes, the tools were also provided, like hoes, plows or baskets. 2 Christian’s shabti is 12.5 cm height and I must say its appearance is not very common. But what really matters here, is to identify what has been written on it. We’ll leave the “appearance problem” for another rainy day. Here’s the item: Unfortunately, the writing system used is hieratic, one of the several cursive Ancient Egypt writing systems, which can be difficult to read (to say the very least). But what life would be, without a tiny pinch of excitement for our brain cells? The hieroglyphic version is on the next page and Egyptologists would transliterate8 it that way: wsir iT nTr n imn pdi xnsw mAa xrw
In case you are interested in vocalizing it, it sounds: Oosir itch netcher en Amoon pedi khonsoo maa kheroo 8
The process of converting a text from one script to another. The characters i, T, x, A or a represent Egyptian sounds which don’t belong to our western languages. 3 ir ws iT (det.) nTr n m n i p di x n sw mA a xrw It “simply” means: “The Osiris, God's father of Amun, Padikhonsu, true of voice (justified)” Padikhonsu (or Pedikhonsu9) is the name of the shabti’s owner. In order to be effective, the name of the deceased had to be inscribed on the figurine, because the inscription was the real power of the shabti. For Ancient Egyptians, what was written was considered as the truth. 9
As Ancient Egyptians didn’t write vowels, we usually use “a” or “e” in between consonants. 4 The expression “justified” or “true of voice” is directly connected with the weighting of the heart trial I described above. When you successfully passed the test, it also meant that what you said before the 42 judges was right; your “voice” was true. “God’s father of Amun” is a title, bore by Padikhonsu. It’s typical of the Theban priesthood period, which took place during the New Kingdom10 era. Amun is a very important Egyptian deity, originally patron of the city of Thebes. He became a national god right after Thebans expelled the Hyksos people from their country at the end of the XVIIth dynasty. The epithet “The Osiris” was often given to deceased non‐royal officials. It was a way to identify the departed with the almighty god. This practice was first found in the “pyramid texts” and was referring exclusively to kings11. So, here we are, this shabti identifies Padikhonsu, God’s father of Amun, who lived according Maat precepts and to whom eternal life in the fields of Aaru should be granted… Anubis, weighing a heart with Ammit awaiting… 10
Roughly, between 1570 and 1070 BC. Or, in terms of Egyptian history vernacular vocabulary, under the XVIIIth, XIXth and XXth dynasties. 11
From “Egyptian Non‐Royal Epithets in the Middle Kingdom” by Denise Doxey (1998). 5 As for dating the shabti, we just can go with a rough estimation, mainly because I’m not an expert of those yet tantalizing figurines. Because the reference to the god Amun, we can’t go below the XVIIIth dynasty. The bend head, the crossed arms, the wig shape and any other tiny detail would help a professional to provide a more accurate range. Comparing with the general appearance of many shabtis from that period, I’d say XXth dynasty. There are many Padikhonsu references all over the Internet. There is a “book of the Dead of Padikhonsu”, which exact date is unknown, but possibly from 1100‐950 BC (XXth or XXIst dynasty). We also have a “coffin of Padikhonsu”, estimated from XXIInd‐XXIVth. Another one, “pure priest, lector priest and embalmer”, is supposed from the XXIst dynasty. Not to mention dozens of shabtis, ranging from XXth to XXVth. The key point is that Thebes is almost always the estimated probable origin. Last, it worth mentioning that Khonsu was the ancient god of the moon, and his name meant “the traveler”. Khonsu Padikhonsu could be translated in something like “He who was given by Khonsu” or more mundanely, “the gift of Khonsu”. I hope you enjoyed this short introduction to the Ancient Egyptian afterlife concept and don’t hesitate to contact me for additional references. Arnold McDonald 6