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composed with the view of asserting the absolute supremacy of Amen-Ra in the Other World, so the
BOOK OF GATES was compiled to prove that, in spite of the pretensions of the priests of Amen-RA,
Osiris, the ancient god of the dead, was still the over-lord of the Underworld, and that his kingdom was
everlasting. The BOOK AM-TUAT practically ignores Osiris, and is silent even concerning the doctrines
of the Judgment and Sekhet-Hetepet, and in fact about all the fundamental principles of the religion of
Osiris as regards the dead, which had been universally believed throughout Egypt for thousands of years.
The most complete copy of the BOOK OF GATES known to us is found inscribed on the alabaster
1
sarcophagus of Seti I, king of Egypt about B.C. 1375,
p. 86
and it consists of two parts:--1. A series of texts and pictures which describe the progress of the Boat of
the Sun-god to the kingdom of Osiris, the Judgment of the Dead, the life of the beatified in
Sekhet-Hetepet, the punishment of the wicked, and the foes of the Sun-god. 2. A series of texts and
pictures which represent the magical ceremonies that were performed in very ancient times with the view
of reconstructing the body of the Sun, and of making him rise each day. That the BOOK OF GATES
embodied many of the most. ancient Egyptian religious beliefs and traditions is evident, but it is. quite
certain that it never became as popular as the BOOK AM-TUAT; it must always be a matter for wonder
that Seti I., having covered several walls in his tomb with the texts of this Book, should fill several more
with sections of the BOOK OF GATES, and then have a complete copy of it cut and inlaid on the sides
of his alabaster sarcophagus and its cover!
We may now consider the region through which the Sun-god passed during the hours of the night, and
the descriptions of its divisions and their inhabitants which are furnished by the BOOK AM-TUAT
p. 87
and the BOOK OF GATES. This region was called by the Egyptians "Tat," or "Tuat," or "Tuaut"; the
oldest form of the name, and that which is met with in the earliest of the Pyramid Texts is "Tat;" the chief
god of the Tuat was called "Tuat," or "Tuaut," and the beings who lived therein were called "Tuatiu." The
meaning of the name Tat, or Tuat, is unknown, and it is useless to speculate upon it or to invent
etymologies for it; it was applied to the home of the beatified spirits and the damned, no doubt in
predynastic times, and the exact meaning which it conveyed to the minds of those who first used it has
been lost. To describe its general situation is less difficult, but not many details as to its exact extent are
forthcoming.
To find a word which shall at once describe the situation and character of the Tuat is impossible, for the
reason that the Egyptian conception of the place of departed spirits is unique. The Tuat is not the "Lower
Hemisphere," because it is not under the ground, and though for want of a better word I have frequently
used "Underworld," when speaking of
p. 88
the Tuat, it is unsatisfactory, for unless it is specially defined to mean the place of departed spirits in
general, it produces a wrong impression in the mind. Again, the word Tuat must not be rendered by
"Hades," or "Hell," or "Sheol," or "Jehannum," for each of these words has a limited and special
meaning. On the other hand, the Tuat possessed the characteristics of all these names, for it was an
"unseen" place, and it contained abysmal depths of darkness, and there were pits of fire in it wherein the
damned, i.e., the enemies of Osiris and Ra, were consumed, and certain parts of it were the homes of
monsters in various shapes and forms which lived upon the unfortunate creatures whom they were able
1
to destroy. On the whole, the word Tuat may be best rendered by "The Other World," or "Underworld,"
always provided that it be clearly understood that the Egyptians never believed it to be under the earth.
In inventing a situation for the Tuat the Egyptians appear to have believed that the whole of the habitable
world, that is to say, Egypt, was surrounded by a chain of mountains lofty and impassable, just like the
2
Jebel Kaf of Muhammadan writers; from one hole in this mountain the sun rose, and in another he set.
Outside this chain of mountains, but presumably quite close to them, was the region of the Tuat; it ran
parallel with
p. 89
the mountains, and was on the plane either of the land of Egypt or of the sky above it. On the outside of
the Tuat was a chain of mountains also, similar to that which encompassed the earth, and so we may say
that the Tuat had the shape of a valley; and from the fact that it began near the place where the sun set,
and ended near the place where he rose, it is permissible to say that the Tuat was nearly circular in form.
That this is the view taken by the Egyptians themselves is proved by the scene which is reproduced in the
BOOK OF GATES (page 303). Here we have the body of Osiris bent round in a circle, and the
hieroglyphics enclosed within it declare that it is the Tuat. With the identification of Osiris with the Tuat
we need not deal here, but it is important for our purpose to note that in the time of Seti I. the Egyptians
assigned a circular form to the Tuat. The view put forward by Signor Lanzone to the effect that the Tuat
was the place comprised between the arms of the god Shu and the body of the sky-goddess Nut, whom,
according to the old legend, he raised up from the embrace of her husband the Earth-god Seb, so forming
1
the earth and the sky, thus appears to be untenable.
Now as the Tuat was situated on the other side of the mountains which separated it from Egypt, and from
the sun, moon, and stars which lighted the skies of that country, it follows that it must have been a region
which was shrouded in the gloom and darkness of night,
p. 90
and a place of fear and horror. At each end of the Tuat was a space which was neither wholly darkness
nor wholly light, the western end being partially lighted by the setting sun, and the eastern end by the
rising sun. From the pictures in the BOOK AM-TUAT and the BOOK OF GATES we learn that a river
flowed through the Tuat, much as the Nile flowed through Egypt, and we see that there were inhabitants
on each of its banks, just as there were human beings on each side of the Nile. At one place the river of
the Tuat joined the great celestial waters which were supposed to form the source of the earthly Nile.
How, or when, or where the belief arose it is impossible to say, but it seems that at a very early period the
inhabitants of Egypt thought that the souls of the dead when they departed from this world made their [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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