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The royal scribe Ani would need to overcome a multitude of obstacles and tests to navigate successfully through the Duat or Underworld, to gain a place as a blessed spirit (akh) in the Field of Reeds and to ride with the sun god. To succeed, he would have to invoke a range of magic spells. In a number of chapters in his Book of the Dead, Ani asks to be transformed into various creatures, such as a snake, a crocodile, a benu-bird, a swallow, a golden falcon, and a divine falcon (all shown in beautiful detail in Plates 25 to 28). Most of these have some identification with creation on the primordial mound: for instance, the benu-bird is associated with Atum, the creator god.
He must also be able to pass through various gates or portals, and he can do this just by naming the deity or deities standing in his way. Plate 11 shows Ani and Tutu before a range of guardians or gatekeepers, using words which enable him to pass through and join Osiris in the Field of Reeds. The deities in the upper register of this plate are depicted in groups of three, all holding the feather of divinity. The first is called ‘The Gatekeeper’; the second, ‘The Watcher’; and the third, ‘The Herald’ or ‘Announcer’. Their names and associated epithets seem particularly difficult to understand: examples include ‘Upside-down Face’ and ‘He who Lives in Worms’.
Ani is able to arrive at the various gates declaring that he has special powers or knowledge. Sometimes he says he is carrying a particular body part, such as jaws or a backbone, and that he has collected the limbs of Osiris and put them together.
Declarations of innocence
In addition, it is necessary for Ani to make declarations of innocence (Plate 31, Chapter 125) concerning his moral life on earth, before a tribunal of 42 gods, addressing each god in turn. This is what we now call the ‘negative confession’, since Ani is denying having committed any sort of wrong-doings. Some of these are criminal in nature, such as murder, violence, and stealing, while others are of a more moral nature, such as making someone weep, discussing secrets, or adultery.
Weighing the heart
We come now to what is probably the most famous of the plates: Number 3 (Chapter 30B), where Ani’s heart is weighed against maat or truth. It is not clear why this plate stands so near the front of the papyrus, as it relates to the final judgement scene. It should really follow the negative confession scene, where a miniature version of the weighing of the heart is indeed given. Nevertheless, this scene is probably the key element for Ani’s progress. It is a scene which is also well known from the scarab amulets placed near the heart of the deceased.
The chapter is headed on the right and above the scales (using the words ‘spoken by’ in red) with Ani asking his heart not to stand in judgement of him or be hostile to him in front of the tribunal of gods (shown in the top register), nor oppose him in the presence of the scales. He asks the heart, as well, to speak no lies against him in the presence of the god.
The gods are named from right to left as: Ra-in-his-Barque; Atum; Shu; Tefnut; Geb; Nut; Nephthys and Isis (standing together); Horus; Hathor; and Sia and Hu (standing together). All these gods are those of the Heliopolitan Ennead, without Set, and without Osiris, who appears in the next plate as Lord of Eternity and ruler of the Underworld.
In the scene itself, Ani and Tutu stand in prayer before the scales. Immediately in front of Ani stand two other mysterious figures close together: Meskhenet, goddess of protection in childbirth; and Renenutet, a harvest goddess. It is unclear why they are here, but perhaps they ensure protection for Ani in the afterlife, and his success in the Field of Reeds. Above them both, and next to the scales, Ani’s ba stands on a plinth or shrine, no doubt awaiting Ani’s fate. The ba was another version of what we might call a ‘soul’, and appeared only after death. It is depicted as a bird with a human head, and so was able to fly back to earth to receive offerings, rejoining the mummy at night. Inside the scales stands the god Shai, the god of fate or destiny. Above him is depicted a strange object: a shrine with a woman’s head on top of a black box. This is also Meskhenet, personifying a birth brick, again of unclear purpose (possibly the fathering of children in the afterlife?).
Anubis, god of mummification and embalming, stands on the other side of the scales, steadying them with one hand and holding the plumb bob with the other. A baboon squats at the top of the scales, representing Thoth, who is also seen standing in ibis form at the right of the scales, recording the outcome of Ani’s judgement. He holds a scribal palette and a reed brush, tools of both his trade and that of Ani. The scales hold Ani’s heart on one side and the feather of maat on the other – and appear to balance!
Behind Thoth stands Ammit, whose name means ‘she who swallows the dead’, which is indeed her intention if Ani is found to have sinned. Ammit is a composite creature with the head of a crocodile, the body of a lion, and the hindquarters of a hippo.
Thoth makes a declaration to the Great Ennead, saying:
The heart of Osiris has been weighed, and his soul stands in witness for him. He has been found true on the great balance. No evil has been found within him; he has not stolen the offerings of the temple; he has not sinned in his actions; he has not sent his mouth to speak evil while he was on earth.
In the small text by his head, Anubis asks for attention to be given (by the Ennead) to the decision of the scales and the plumb line. The Great Ennead responds to Thoth, declaring:
Ani has indeed not sinned or done evil against the Ennead. He will not be overpowered by Ammit but will be granted offerings issued in the presence of Osiris and given land in the Field of Offerings like the Followers of Horus.
It is now clear that Ani has passed this test and his heart has been found to be true.
Andrew Fulton studied Theology at the University of Cambridge and holds the University of Manchester’s Certificate in Egyptology. He is a regular contributor to AE magazine.
All images: Robert B Partridge (RBP), unless otherwise stated
