a "mortuary liturgy" from the "book of the dead" with comments on the nature of...

A "Mortuary Liturgy" from the "Book of the Dead" with Comments on the Nature of the ḫ-spiritAuthor(s): Katherine EatonSource: Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, Vol. 42 (2005/2006), pp. 81-94Published by: American Research Center in EgyptStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27651800 .

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A "Mortuary Liturgy" from the Book of the Dead with Comments on the Nature of the ?/?-spirit

Katherine Eaton

The line between the "cult of the dead" and the "cult of the gods" was not always clear in ancient

Egypt. Rituals often seem to have passed back and forth between the two contexts.1^ Assmann iden tified groups of Pyramid Text utterances and Coffin Text spells that formed "Mortuary Liturgies" to be

performed in temples.2 Although one may quibble with his terminology, it is clear that certain rituals recovered primarily from tomb contexts were performed in divine temples as well as in mortuary contexts. I believe that a group of rituals from the Book of the Dead (BD) with instructions designating use on festival days (the "festival group") provides more examples of such rituals.

After defining the festival group (1), I will focus on evidence indicating that the festival rituals may sometimes have been performed in temple contexts (2). In addition, two features of the festival ritu als that might have caused some scholars to doubt their applicability to temple contexts also appear in Assmann's mortuary liturgies?namely the ?/?-spirit as beneficiary of the ritual (3) and the alterna tion of "Osirean" and "Heliopolitan" rituals (4). In conclusion (5), I suggest that the festival ritual

group was part of a temple liturgy with strong affinities with the liturgies identified by Assmann.

1. Features of the "Festival Group"

It is unusual for chapters from the BD to designate specific days on which rituals were to be

performed. During the New Kingdom only the following chapters appear with such directions?BD

130, 133, 134, 135, 136A, 141-43,3 148, and 190.4 These instructions belong to a larger group of

"preliminary and terminal comments,"5 called rubrics because they were

usually written in red ink.6

1 For example, see F. Federn, "The 'Transformations' in the Coffin Texts: A New Approach "JNES (1960), 241-47; M. Gilula,

"Hirtengeschichte 17-22 = CT VII 36m-r," GM 29 (1978), 21-22; E. Wente, "Mysticism in Pharaonic Egypt?" JNES 41 (1982), 161 79 and E. Cruz-Uribe, "Opening the Mouth as Temple Ritual," in E. Teeter and J. Larson, eds., Gold of Praise, Studies on Ancient

Egypt in Honor of Edward E Wente (Chicago, 1999), 69-73. Gee discussed the use of BD 125 to understand what was required of

priests, see J. Gee, The Requirements of Ritual Purity in Ancient Egypt. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Yale University (New Haven, CT, 1998), 51-73.

2 J. Assmann, "Egyptian Mortuary Liturgies," in S. Israelit-Groll, ed., Studies in Egyptology Presented to Miriam Lichtheim (Jeru

salem, 1990), 1-45. 3 BD 141-43 were usually a single unit in the New Kingdom, see H. Milde, The Vignettes in the Book of the Dead of Nef errenp et

(Leiden, 1991), 156. 4 BD 190 should probably be understood as a rubric. According to Allen, BD 148 and 190 are usually combined, see T. G.

Allen, BD, 213, n. 331. However, Milde suggested that BD 190 should be understood as an appendix to BD 141-42 rather than an introduction to BD 148, see H. Milde, Neferrentpet, 159.

5 Allen, BD 2.

6 The term "rubric" is generally applied to such comments whether written in red or black. I will render translations of text written in red in small capital letters, as is standard practice. On rubrics and the use of different colored ink, see M. Weber, "Rubrum," L? V, 313-14; G. Posener, "Les signes noirs dans les rubriques," fEA 35 (1949), 77-81; and G. Posener, "Sur l'em

ploi de l'encre rouge dans les manuscripts ?gyptiens,"/iL4 37 (1951), 75-80.

81



82 JARCE 42 (2005-2006)

Although rubrics often appear to be misplaced in the BD,1 the festival instructions do not generally

appear with other chapters.8 Still, these instructions were often omitted.9

BD 190 included a long list of festivals:

THIS ROLL IS TO BE USED ON THE DAY(s) OF THE NEW-CRESCENT FEAST, THE 6TH-DAY FEAST,

the w}g-?EAST, the feast of Thoth, the birth of Osiris and the feast of Sokar and ON the

NIGHT OF THE htkr-FEAST.10

Some of these festivals were also associated with other chapters in the group?New-Crescent Day11 (hrw Ibd, ibd) with BD 133 and 134; the 6th-Day Feast (hrw sisnw) with BD 134 and 136A; and Osiris'

Birthday (mswt wsir) with BD 130. In addition, BD 141-43 was often introduced by a rubric calling for

it to be celebrated on Blacked-Out Moon Day (psdntiw).12 W. Boscawen first posited the existence of a BD festival group in a study focusing on a rubric to BD

136A.13 T. G. Allen further defined the group in his study of types of rubrics, which used Chapter 148 as an example.14 The festival group chapters, or a subset thereof, appear together on BD papyri

much more often than chance would dictate;15 as well as on the interior of Tutankhamun's second

golden shrine,16 and in the tomb of Amenemhat (TT 82).17 However, Allen's observation that "hit-or

miss placings prevail" still holds.18

7 For example, Allen noted that titles often "land in the wrong spot," Allen, BD, 2. 8 BD 128, 140 and 153 designate festival days in post-New Kingdom copies, see Allen, BD, 104-5, 116-17 and 151-52. 9 In fact, certain versions of BD 130, 133, 134 and 136A not appearing with festival instructions appear to represent a sepa

rate ritual, which I call BD 130long, for more on this group, see below n. 22. 10 This is the eighteenth dynasty version of BD 190 from Ce (Dyn. 18) as translated in Allen, BD, 214. The same list occurs

with BD 148 on Ee (Dyn. 21), however the name Osiris is the only segment written in black, see Allen, BD, 140. The list also ap

pears on Ea (Dyn. 18), G. Lapp, The Papyrus of Nu. Catalogue of the Books of the Dead in the British Museum 1 (London,

1997), pi. 45; and in part on Ga (Dyn. 19-20), see H. Milde, Neferrenpet, pi. 29. However, this instruction frequently does not

appear with BD 148. For example, on Eb (Dyn. 18-19), R. Faulkner, et al., The Egyptian Book of the Dead. The Book of Going forth

by Day, being the Papyrus of Ani (San Francisco, 1994), pi. 35 [hereafter Faulkner, BD], and on Pc (Dyn. 18), Ax (Dyn. 18), Ba

(Dyn. 19), Aa (Dyn. 18), Pb (Dyn. 18-19), and Ap (Dyn. 19?), see E. Naville, TB 2 (1886, reprint 1971), 377-78. As Milde noted, this instruction in the form of BD 190 precedes BD 141-42 in at least eight cases, see H. Milde, Neferrenpet (1991), 159. I usu

ally use two letter abbreviations for the different copies of the BD that I refer to, a practice begun by Naville and followed by T. G. Allen. See Chart 1 for references.

1 ] Milde said that the title calling for BD 134 to be performed on New-Crescent Day did not appear until after the New King dom, H. Milde, Neferrenpet, 169. However, she was mistaken. The title appears in Eb, which dates to Dyn. 18-19, see

Faulkner, BD, pi. 22. 12 When the BD 190 rubric was associated with BD 141-43 it generally followed the chapter. 13 W. Boscawen, "Egyptian Eschatology?The Rubric of Chapter CXXXVIa of the Book of the Dead," Babylonian and Orien

tal Record 9 (1901), 11. 14 Allen selected BD 148 "because of the multiplicity and diversity of its rubrics," see T. G. Allen, "Types of Rubrics in the

Egyptian Book of the Dead,"/AOS 56 (1936), 147. 15 For example, Ea (Dyn. 18), BD 141-43, 148/190, 133, 136A, 134, 130, 131, see Allen, "Types of Rubrics," 154 and

G. Lapp, The Papyrus of Nu. Catalogue of the Books of the Dead in the British Museum 1 (London, 1997), 40; and Ga (Dyn. 19

20), BD 130, 141-43, 148/190, 133, 135, 136A, 134, 101, see Milde, Neferrenpet, 152-71. 16 Shrine II, interior, right BD 148, 134, 133; left, left side BD 130, see A. Piankoff, The Shrines of TutAnkhAmon. Bollingen

Series XL, Vol. 2 (New York, 1955), 103-5, 111. Although the shrine lacks rubrics, the vignette follows the description in the BD 130 barque ritual rubric, as noted in Milde, Neferrenpet, 152-54.

17 In TT 82, BD 133 and 134 are located next to each other in the burial chamber on the south wall, lower register between BD 80 and 65. In addition, the vignette to BD 148 appears with the text to BD 141-42 on the back of a niche in the same room, see M. Saleh, Das Totenbuch in den thebanischen Beamtengr?bern des Neuen Reiches. AV 46 (Mainz am Rhein, 1984), 72, 74 and 82; and A. Gardiner and N. Davies, The Tomb of Amenemhet (No. 82). Theban Tomb Series 1 (London, 1915), 102, 104 and pis. XXXVI-XXXVIII.

18 Allen, "Types of Rubrics," 154.



A "Mortuary Liturgy" from the Book of the Dead 83

Two other themes linking the festival ritual group are that the episodes were meant to benefit the

//?-spirit and were associated with Osiris-Wennefer.19 In addition, four chapters (BD 130, 133, 134

and 136A) often feature rubrics containing instructions for the placement of images into barques (hereafter referred to as the barque ritual group). These four sets of instructions are each unique and

only appear with their chapters in New Kingdom copies of the BD.20 However, as recognized by Milde, the speeches associated with BD 130, 133, 134 and 136A tend to appear in two contexts on

papyri21?the festival group and a long version of BD 130 (which I call BD 130lon?).22 The chapters

composing BD 130long seem to represent a different ritual from those in the barque ritual group, because the utterances to the four chapters appear as a

single unit; and the rubrics do not include a

barque ritual, emphasize the benefits to the ^/-spirit of the Osiris NN, rather than the M-spirit, and do not require use on festival days.23

Finally, three of these chapters (BD 130, 133, and 136A) have speeches with parallels in the section of the Coffin Texts (CT) called the Book of Two Ways.24 The relationship between BD 133 and 136A and their earlier relatives, CT 1029 and 1030 is similar since CT 1029 and 1030 begin the Book of Two Ways,25 and it is not unusual for BD 133 and 136A to start a book as well.26 However, it must be

emphasized that most festival rituals were not to be performed on the same day, do not constitute a set of step-by step instructions and thus could be placed in different orders.27

2. Evidence for the Performance of Festival Group Rituals in Temples

According to Assmann there were two main criteria for the identification of temple liturgies:

the extra-textual criterion of redaction, transmission and locational context, and the intra-textual cri

terion of composition, theme and interpersonal form, that is, the characteristic features of the genre.28

The festival group is clearly associated with temple contexts archaeologically based on the recovery of festival group texts and elaborately decorated bowls called for in rubrics associated exclusively with BD 134 from temple contexts (2.1). Instructions and commentaries appended to some copies of festival group chapters in the form of closing rubrics would be applicable to temple as well as tomb contexts (2.2). The festival ritual group also shares some of the intra-textual features of Assmann's

groups (2.3).

19 These two points will be discussed in more detail below, see Sections 3 and 2.3, respectively. 20 At least one late copy of BD 153 (R, Pers.-Ptol.) appears with instructions very similar to those generally associated with BD 130, see Allen, BD, 107 and 152.

21 Prior to the Late Period, which texts to include in what order was the choice of the individual patron or artist. For a discussion of the process, see A. Niwinski, Studies on the Illustrated Theban Funerary Papyri of the 11th and 10th Centuries B.c., OBO 86 (Freiburg/G?ttingen, 1989), 22-24.

22 BD 130lons is composed of BD 130-36A-134-130rublate, see Milde, Neferrenpet, 75. 23

Milde, Neferrenpet, 75. 24 BD 130, has sections parallel to CT 1099 and part of 1065; BD 133 has a section parallel to CT 1029; and BD 136A has a

section parallel to CT 1030, see E. Hornung, Das Totenbuch der ?gypter (Zurich, 1997), 494, 495 and 497. In addition, T. G. Allen identified segments of CT 1055, 1167, 1060, 1169, 1067 and 1176 in the speech to BD 136A, see Allen, BD 234.

25 See the reconstructions of E. Hermsen, Die zwei Wege des Jenseits: das alt?gyptische Zweiwegebuch und seine Topographie. OBO 112 (Freiburg/G?ttingen, 1991), 104-8 and L. Lesko, Book of Two Ways (Berkeley, 1972), 11-15. CT 1029 and 1030(?) also

appear together in the top register on the wall in the Tomb Chapel of nhri II, see D. Silverman, "Coffin Texts from Bersheh, Kom el Hisn and Mendes," in H. Willems, ed., The World of the Coffin Texts. Egyptologische Uitgaven 9 (Leiden, 1996), 132.

26 A. Dembska, "Papyrus Berlin P 3051 A and C," Z?S 116 (1989), 11. 27 For further discussion of this point, see Section 4. 28

J. Assmann, "Egyptian Mortuary Liturgies," 5.



84 JARCE 42 (2005-2006)

2.1. Archaeological Context

The most indisputable evidence for the use of the festival ritual texts in a temple context comes

from the Memorial Temple of Ramesses II at Medient Habu, where BD 148 was inscribed in Rooms

26 and 27. All earlier texts with provenance come from tombs.29 However, the presence of the

Osirean chapters BD 141-42 in the cenotaph of Seti I, located behind the Temple of Seti I at Abydos

might indicate that the Helipolitan rites associated with this cycle were conducted in the Seti Fs

memorial temples as well.30 Thus, although almost all copies of BD chapters belonging to the festival

ritual group either were found in tomb contexts?on papyri or inscribed on tomb walls31?or are with

out provenance, there are some notable exceptions. This ritual group was clearly associated with

royal memorial temples.

Other than the texts themselves, the only objects required in the festival rituals that do not seem to

have had more general uses were bowls (mht) to be decorated with Nubian pigment (sty) described in

rubrics to BD 134.32 The image that was to be drawn was very complicated:

dd mdw hr bik ( %( hdt m tp.ftm sw tfnwt gb nwt ws?r ht nbt-htpt ss.w m sty hr mht nt ml h

TO BE SAID OVER A FALCON33 ON WHOSE HEAD STANDS THE WHITE CROWN, Atum, Shu, Tefnut, Geb, Nut, Osiris, Isis, [Seth]34and Nephthys HAVING BEEN SKETCHED WITH NUBIAN PIGMENT ON A NEW BOWL . . ,35

Thus, we can be almost certain that bowls decorated as indicated in these rubrics were actually used

in these rituals.36

Several bowls (or fragments thereof) with images fitting the description from BD 134, have been

found by D. O'Connor in the area of the so-called "Portal Temple" of Ramesses II at Abydos (for

example, Fig. I).37 These examples were found with a large group bowls and fragments that have

been dated primarily from the time of Ramesses IV (1163-1156 b.c.e.) to the Third Intermediate

Period (1070-712 b.c.e.) based on paleography.38 A date closer to the end of this period is suggested

29 BD 134 appears in TT 82 (Dyn. 18) and TT 158 (Dyn. 20). BD 135 appears, text and vignette in TT 218b and 265 and,

vignette only, TT 1, 5, 290 and 356. All six of these tombs are in the area of Deir-el Medinah. Five date to Dynasty 19. TT 5 is

Ramesside. BD 136A appears in TT 353 (Dyn. 18). BD 148/190 appears in four Eighteenth Dynasty Theban Tombs, TT 39 (text), 71 and 82 (text and vignette); and TT 353 (vignette only) and four Ramesside tombs, TT 23 and 222 (text and vignette); and

TT 26 and 41 (vignette only), see M. Saleh, Das Totenbuch in den thebanischen Beamtengr?bern des Neuen Reiches, 72-74 and 81-83. 30 por discussion of the alternation of Osirean and Heliopolitan rites, see Section 4. 31 BD 134 appears in TT 82 (Dyn. 18) and TT 158 (Dyn. 20). BD 135 appears, text and vignette in TT 218b and 265 and,

vignette only, TT 1, 5, 290 and 356. All six of these tombs are in the area of Deir-el Medinah. Five date to Dynasty 19. TT 5 is

Ramesside. BD 136A appears in TT 353 (Dyn. 18). BD 148/190 appears in four Eighteenth Dynasty Theban Tombs, TT 39 (text), 71 and 82 (text and vignette); and TT 353 (vignette only) and four Ramesside tombs, TT 23 and 222 (text and vignette); and

TT 26 and 41 (vignette only), see M. Saleh, Das Totenbuch in den thebanischen Beamtengr?bern des Neuen Reiches, 72-74 and 81-83. 32 Decorated bowls were also called for in the rubric to BD 133, however the image to be drawn was less distinctive and

appears much less frequently among the excavated bowls. 33

~T?! "Schriftst?ck," WB 1158, 19; and "warrant, certificate, record, register," Faulkner, CD, 36. Neither Faulkner nor Allen

appear to have translated this word, R. O. Faulkner, BD (London, 1972), 123, Faulkner, BD, pi. 22; and Allen, BD, 110. 34 Seth's name is sometimes left out (as in Eb) and sometimes replaced with the name Horus, for example see Aa in E.

Naville, TB (Berlin, 1886), 346; and U. Verhoeven, Das saitische Totenbuch der Iahtesmacht P. Coin Aeg. 10207. Papyrologische Texte und Abhandlungen 41 (Bonn, 1993), vol. 1, p. 257 (German translation) and vol. 2, p. 94,* 14, 16 (hieroglyphs).

35 After Eb (Dyn. 18-19), see Faulkner, BD, pi. 22. 36 As I plan to discuss elsewhere, practitioners might interpreted these instructions in different ways. For example, the

deities listed could be drawn on a single ground line, in two registers or on a boat. 37 D. O'Connor, "Abydos: The University Museum-Yale University Expedition," Expedition 21 (Winter, 1979), 46-49 and

personal communication. 38

Scripts include painted hieroglyphs, cursive hieroglyphs, hieratic and a few fragments of demotic, D. O'Connor, personal communication.



A "Mortuary Liturgy" from the Book of the Dead

Fig. 1. Fragment of a reddish-brown bowl with images of Shu, Tefnut and Geb in a solar boat

drawn in white, as called for in the rubric to BD 134. From the "Portal Temple" of Ramesses II

at Abydos.

by the fact that the bowls are ring-based, a form that only seems to have become common in the later

part of the Third Intermediate Period.39 Three other bowls that seem to fit the description in BD 134 were found in later tombs at Saqqara (Saite Period-Ptolemaic).40

There are also examples of bowls with the requisite decoration in the collections of the British

Museum,41 and the Leiden Museum.42 The bowls in the museums do not have secure provenance,

but are believed to have come from Abydos.43 The location of the illustrations, on one side of the in

side of the bowls from the British Museum, supports the view that they come from Abydos. At

Saqqara the drawings covered more of the surface of the bowls, including the middle. It may be that

few bowls of this type survive because the ritual was supposed to be performed using a new bowl (mht

39 According to Aston, ring based bowls were "relatively rare" during Phase I (12th-10th centuries B.c.). During Phase II

(10th-8th centuries) he said that they "foreshadow the bowls of the late Third Intermediate Period and Saite Period when ring bases become common." see D. Aston, Egyptian Pottery of the Late New Kingdom and Third Intermediate Period (Twelfth-Seventh Centuries B.c.). SAGA 13 (Heidelberg, 1996), 60 and 68, respectively.

40 The tomb of Chonnehebu, see E. Bresciani, S. Pernigotti and M. Silvis, La Tomba di Ciennehebu, Capo d?lia Flotta del Re.

Tombe d'et? sai tica a Saqqara 1 (Pisa, 1977), 74-75, pi. XXVII; the tomb of Kanufer (Dyn. 26-30), see E. Drioton, "La magie dans l'Egypte des Pharaons,

" Formes et Couleurs 11 (1949), 59; and PM III, 2, 651; and possibly an object described by Maspero

as a "hypoc?phale," see G. Maspero, "Un cercueil de chien et un hypoc?phale en terre cuite," ASAE 3 (1902), 285. All three of

these bowls were cited by Ritner, see R. Ritner, The Mechanics of Ancient Egyptian Practice (Chicago, 1993), 64, no. 289. 41

My thanks to D. O'Connor, who allowed me to examine his drawings of the bowls from the British Museum. 42 For discussion of the Leiden bowls, see M. Raven, "[Review of] P. Eschweiler, Bildzauber," BiOr 53 (1996), 694 and C. Lee

mans, Aegyptische Monumenten van het Nederlandsche Museum van Oudheden te Leyden (Leiden, 1846), LII-LIII. A new publica tion of this material is forthcoming.

43 D. O'Connor, personal communication.



86 JARCE 42 (2005-2006)

mlwt or m?h),44 which may have been recycled for other uses after the ritual had been performed.

Although no bowls which could possibly date earlier than the Twentieth Dynasty have been found, the texts calling for such bowls to be used date from as early as the Eighteenth Dynasty.45

All of these images are drawn in white, a detail that might further secure the identification of these

objects with the ritual described in the rubrics to BD 134. This ritual called for the image in the bowl

to be drawn with "Nubian pigment" (sty)?a. yellow pigment that was obtained from oases.46 It seems

probable that the pigment used was originally yellow and faded to white.

. . . where white is seen on a painted artefact it should be borne in mind that it could be due to the

presence of a degradation product from another colour, for example, orpiment.47

Orpiment (AS2S3) is the yellow pigment that the Egyptians used that seems most likely to have faded

to white.48 This pigment was available from a

variety of sources:

Orpiment may have come from St John's Island in the Red Sea. Le Fur (1994) points out that

"orpiment is present in all the gold and silver ores, in copper ore from the Sinai or galena deposits from the Eastern desert."49

Thus, there is no reason to suppose that orpiment would have been particularly associated with

Nubia. However, sti might refer specifically to such pigments obtained from Nubian sources.

It is also possible that white pigment could be substituted for yellow. There are two likely motives

for the use of "Nubian pigment" (stj). The first is point of origin. Nubians were renowned in ancient

Egypt for their magical powers.50 The second is color symbolism. "The color of the sun, yellow (and thus gold) was seen as symbolic of that which was eternal and imperishable."51 Both of these consid

erations would have made the white pigment (snt) a viable alternative to "Nubian pigment." Symboli

cally white "could also be used as an alternative to yellow in some contexts."52 Both yellow "Nubian

pigment" (stj) and a white pigment (snt) came from Nubian oases.53 I hope that analysis of the draw

ings might shed further light on these practices.54

2.2. Instructions Indicating Where to Perform the Ritual

Internal evidence from the festival ritual texts is generally ambiguous regarding the ritual context.

However, two chapters provide an extensive description of the requisite ritual setting. According to

rubrics appended to BD 133, the utterance is:

44 WB II, 26-25 and Faulkner, CD,103. The term new-m?wt in Aa (Dyn. 18) and pBerlin 3051 and mi h in Ea (Dyn. 18) and

Eb (Dyn. 18-19), is sometimes omitted. 45 For example, Aa, Ax, and Ea all date to the Eighteenth Dynasty. 46 S. Aufr?re, L'univers min?ral dans la pens?e ?gyptienne, Vol. 2. Bd? 105 (Cairo, 1991), 659-70. Prior to Aufr?re's study the

color of the pigment was not generally specified, see WB III 488, 3-6; and Faulkner, CD, 253. 47 L. Green, "Colour Transformations of Ancient Egyptian Pigments," in W. Davies, ed., Colour and Painting in Ancient Egypt

(London, 2001), 47. 48 L. Green, "Colour Transformations of Ancient Egyptian Pigments," 45. 49 S. Colinart, "Analysis of Inorganic Yellow Colour in Ancient Egyptian Painting," in W. Davies, ed., Colour and Painting in

Ancient Egypt, 3. 50 Y. Koenig, "La Nubie dans les textes magiques: 'L'inqui?tante ?tranget?'," Rd? 38 (1987), 105-10. A Nubian sorcerer was

featured in one of the tales in Setne Khamwas II, see M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, Vol. 3 (Los Angeles and Berke

ley, 1980), 142-44 [hereafter AEL]. 51 R. Wilkinson, Symbol and Magic in Egyptian Art (London and New York, 1994), 108. 52 R. Wilkinson, Symbol and Magic in Egyptian Art, 116. 53 S. Aufr?re, L'univers min?ral dans la pens?e ?gyptienne, 659. 54 I am currently preparing a study of the decorative motifs and ritual uses of bowls and fragments featuring a wide array of

drawings in both white and black pigments.




dd mdw hr wU n mh 4 m ?w.firw zur wld dldh irt pt n sblw sw(b ti m hsmn m sntr

TO BE SAID OVER A BARK 4 CUBITS LONG MADE OF GREEN STONE (var. PAPYRUS STRIPS)55 AND

HAVING THE COUNCIL {OF NOMES} ON BOARD, WITH A STARRY SKY MADE AND PURIFIED (AND

CLEANSED) WITH NATRON AND INCENSE . . .56

BD 133 frequently begins a book,57 and is followed by other barque rituals calling merely for "this

barque." Thus, the rubric may be applicable to other chapters, particularly BD 134, which frequently follows BD 133.58

The reference to the starry sky might refer to temple or tomb ceilings, which were often decorated

with starry sky motifs. However, it may also refer to a tent decorated with stars, as described in

rubrics to BD 148 and 190, which frequently begin the Heliopolitan portion of the festival rituals: 59

ir.k m hnw sh n mnht wd m sblw r dr.f

YOU SHALL USE (IT) INSIDE (var. OVER)60 A TENT OF CLOTH SOWN (lit. implanted)61 WITH STARS TO ITS END.62

In some copies of the BD chapter 133 immediately follows chapter 190 and appears to be part of a

group of festival rituals that may all have been conducted in the tent described in BD 190.63 Nonethe

less, it is much more common for BD 133 to appear independently of such instructions. The only other reference to place in a rubric from this group of texts is found in BD 130, which

had to be performed in the "clean place" (wcb(t) Q)-64 This term has strong mortuary overtones,

meaning tomb or place of embalmment in some contexts, but simply offering slab in others.65 Since

offering slabs might be set up in temples, tombs or even private houses, it tells only that the ritual must be performed in a

place that was pure and cleansed. Assmann's "mortuary liturgies" were for

use in the w(b(t) as well.66 It is also interesting to note that some copies of BD 134 include a claim that

55 This word varies. Sometimes it simply reads green things (wld); sometimes malachite (inr wld), as on Eb (Dyn. 18-19), see

Faulkner, BD, pi. 22; and sometimes papyrus strips (?) (hsb n w3d), as on Ea (Dyn. 18), see G. Lapp, The Papyrus of Nu, pi. 46, BD 133, line 17.

medical term associated with broken bones, WB III, 166,7. The term was translated as "papyrus strips" by Allen, who used Ea (Dyn. 18) as his paradigm for BD 133, see Allen, BD 108.

56 This translation is based on Eb (Dyn. 18-19), see Faulkner, BD, pi. 22. This instruction appears in Ax (Dyn. 18), Ea (Dyn. 18), and Eb (Dyn. 18-19), but not Aa (Dyn. 18) or TT82.

57 A. Dembska, "Papyrus Berlin P 3051 A and C," Z?S 116 (1989), 11. 58 For example, on Ea (Dyn. 18), BD 141-43, 148/190, 133, 136A, 134, 130, 131, see Allen, "Types of Rubrics, 154 and Lapp,

The Papyrus of Nu, 40; and Ga (Dyn. 19-20), BD 130, 141-43, 148/190, 133, 135, 136A, 134, 101, see Milde, Neferrenpet, 152

71; Eb (Dyn. 18-19), where the pair BD 133 and 134 appears with the relevant rubrics between BD 15 and BD 18 without other festival rituals, see Faulkner, BD, pis. 21-23, esp. pi. 22; and pBerlin 3051 A and C, where BD 133 is the first chapter on the

document, followed by BD 136A and 134, see A. Dembska, "Papyrus Berlin P 3051 A and C," 11. 59 BD 141-43 often begins the cycle as well, however it is to be said on Blacked-Out Moon Day and is not Heliopolitan. It is

not clear whether BD 190 should be understood as a closing rubric for this ritual or an opening rubric for BD 148, a point dis cussed above, n. 4.

60 Ce (Dyn. 18), see Allen, BD 213. 61 After Allen, BD, 213. For wd, literally "implanted," see Faulkner, CD, 72 and WB I, 385-87. 62 BD 190 should be considered part of BD 148, see Allen, BD, 141 (BD 148) and 213-14, esp. n. 331 (BD 190). The instruc

tion as quoted here was taken from Ea (Dyn. 18), see Lapp, The Papyrus of Nu, pi. 45, BD 141-42 (190), line 112. 63 Milde cites Ea (Dyn. 18) as an example of this arrangement, see Milde, Neferrenpet, 169. 64 This rubric appears on Lc (Dyn. 19-20), see E. Naville, TB 2 (1886, reprint 1971), 341, 44, and Ea (Dyn. 18), which has a

more extended writing of the word, see Lapp, The Papyrus of Nu, pi. 50, BD 130, line 39. 65 WB I 284, 1-9; and Faulkner, CD 57. 66

J. Assmann, "Egyptian Mortuary Liturgies," in Lichtheim Fs. 1 (1990), 6.



88 JARCE 42 (2005-2006)

they were discovered in a palace (pr 9).67 Although this reference is mythical, it suggests that the

ancient Egyptians considered the palace an appropriate place for the storage of such texts.

In addition to direct descriptions of context, there are several rubrics describing beneficiaries who

would clearly be appropriate for temple contexts?the cosmos and deities. It is also possible that indi

viduals performed the rituals or had them performed in temple contexts for themselves or their rel

atives. These options are not mutually exclusive. In fact, the ritual may have operated

on many

symbolic levels.

The four barque rituals (BD 130, 133, 134 and 136A) were designed to benefit all of humanity by

contributing to the maintenance of the solar cycle. BD 134 sometimes mentions that the ritual is

". . . TRULY (a means of) SLAYING Re's ENEMIES."68 Slaying the enemies who would prevent Re's barque

from crossing the sky was essential to the safe passage of the sun. Furthermore, in the speeches to all

four of the rituals, Osiris NN claims to have earned his place on the solar barque by having contrib

uted to the maintenance of the solar cycle. The journey across the Akhet described in mortuary texts

was a transformative journey for the sun as well:

The Akhet is more than a zone of passage, however: it is literally the "place of becoming an akh," where the deceased's ba and the sun together are transformed into a newly effective (ih) mode of

existence.69

Thus, the barque rituals may have been used on a cosmic level to transform the sun, thereby contrib

uting to the maintenance of the solar cycle.

BD 130,70 133 and 134 sometimes have rubrics that claim that Horus performed the ritual for his

father Wennefer:

To be said [in addition to] this statement that Horus used for his Father Osiris Wennefer, alive for ever and ever . . . His soul shall stay alive forever, it shall not die again in the god's domain.71

This is what Horus used for his Father Osiris-Wennefer, alive forever. ... So his soul shall stay alive

forever, it shall not die again in the god's domain.72

Moreover, the festival group as a whole was associated with Osiris-Wennefer. BD 148 and 190 some

times include the common admonition:

Do not use for anybody except yourself?this roll of Wennefer.73

Thus, in a temple the priest could act as Horus for his father Osiris-Wennefer. In this way a personal

ritual takes on broader significance. Similarly, in Assmann's slhw the name of Osiris-Khentyimentiu was used in place of the personal

name of the deceased.

Barque rituals may also have allowed a living person to see the solar barque. In Setna I, a demotic

story (Ptolemaic period) set in the time of Ramesses II, a ritual is described by R. Ritner as "Designed for seeing the bark of Re in heaven from both the underworld and the earth . . ." and which "corre

sponds directly to the Book of the Dead spells 133-34, . . ,"74 However, there is no further evidence

67 Cg (Dyn. 21), see Allen, BD, 109-10, n. 225. A similar comment appears in a late copy of BD 130 (R, Pers.-Ptol.), see

Allen, BD, 105-7, esp. n. 219. 68 As in Ea (Dyn. 18), see Lapp, The Papyrus of Nu, pi. 49, and Allen, BD, 110. 59

J. Allen, "Reading a Pyramid," in C. Berger, et al., eds., Homages ?fean Leclant. Volume 1: ?tudes pharaoniques (Cairo, 1994), 27.

70 For BD 130 the reference appears in a late copy (R, Pers.-Ptol.), see Allen, BD, 105-7, esp. n. 219. 71 For BD 133 this variant appears in Aa (Dyn. 18, Memphis), but not Ax (Dyn. 18), Ea (Dyn. 18), or Eb (Dyn. 18-19), see

Allen, BD, 108-9, esp. n. 224. 72 This comment appears in BD 134 in Cg (Dyn. 21, Theban), see Allen, BD 109-10, esp. n. 225. 73 Based on Ce (Dyn. 18), see Allen, BD, 140. 74 R. Ritner, Mechanics, 63-64.




that barque rituals were actually used in this manner in earlier periods. Moreover, evidence that indi

viduals may have used the barque rituals during their lives does not necessarily indicate that they had

the mystical experience described in later texts. Individuals may simply have used these rites to pre

pare for a better position in the afterlife.75 Individuals might come to the temple for themselves or their relatives. It is possible that in some

cases people would get priests to perform BD 134 for them or their deceased relatives in an actual

temple. However, injunctions that the chapters were to be used "only for yourself" are very common.

DO NOT USE FOR ANYONE EXEPT THINE OWN SELF-even thy father or thy son.76

The indications of performance in temple contexts can be explained entirely by the performance for

the cosmos and deities.

2.3. Intra-Textual Features of Mortuary Liturgies

Two major intra-textual features of Assmann's mortuary liturgies are theme and person. The

themes that Assmann identified included "community with the sun god."77 The barque rituals, which

aim to get their recipient accepted onto the solar barque, clearly share that particular theme. The

major difference between the groups identified by Assmann and the group posited here is the person in which the speeches were written. In the barque ritual group the narrator speaks in the first person to an anonymous audience (Assmann's 1:0). Assmann's ritual groups are characterized by

an anony

mous narrator who addresses someone in the second person (Assmann's 0:2).78

Although, Assmann has demonstrated that the presence of speeches written in the 0:2 person indicate that a mortuary text sequence was likely to have formed a mortuary liturgy, changes in person are not uncommon in mortuary literature.79 Thus, the absence of the 0:2 person narrative structure

does not constitute proof of a group not forming a mortuary liturgy. Moreover, I think that the evi

dence outlined above should override this difference.

3. The ?/?-spirit as Beneficiary of Ritual

The primary purpose of the festival rituals was to benefit the //?-spirit of an individual. The root Ih

had many associations?with "effectiveness" in various realms, including the magical (!hw);m with the

location of the rising sun, the horizon or light-land (?ht); and with radiance (?h).81 All of these things related to the ancient Egyptian understanding of what //?-spirits were. Perhaps these associations arose because the Egyptians believed that words with similar sounds had an underlying connection, even if such connections were not immediately apparent. Whether the connections created the

names?i.e., a concept of spirits living in the horizon (connection) led to the naming of this type of

spirit as ?/?-spirit;

or the names led to the connections?i.e., the fact that there was a type of spirit

75 For discussion of the distinction between creating an ?/?-spirit and venerating an ?/?-spirit, see Section 3. 76 BD 133 and similar in BD 136, see Allen, BD, 109 and 112. 77

J. Assmann, "Egyptian Mortuary Liturgies," 14. 78

J. Assmann, "Egyptian Mortuary Liturgies," 8. 79 A point that Assmann acknowledged, see J. Assmann, "Egyptian Mortuary Liturgies," 6, n. 9. 80 I follow Ritner's understanding of th: "Expressing a notion of 'effectiveness,' th serves as an attribute in a literary synonym

for the basic term hkl. The quality of 'effectiveness' is thus seen as fundamental to magic, and the equation is often emphasized

by textual statements that spells, amulets, and rites are '?/?-effective for the one who does them.' " R. Ritner, Mechanics, 34-35. For

the view that lh is a specific type of magic, see J. Borghouts, "Magie," L? III, 1139; andj. Borghouts, "th.w (akhu) and hkl.w

(hekau). Two basic Notions of Ancient Egyptian Magic, and the Concept of the Divine Creative Word," in A. Roccati and A. Siliotti, eds., La Magia in Egitto ai tempi dei faraoni. Atti Convegno Internazionale di Studi, 29-31 ottobre 1985 (Verona, 1987), 29-46.

81 K. Jansen-Winkeln, "'Hoizont' und 'Verkl?rheit': Zur Bedeutung der Wurzel M," SAK 23 (1996), 201-15.



90 JARCE 42 (2005-2006)

called ?/? and a place called Iht led the two to be connected?is probably lost in Egyptian prehistory.

By the New Kingdom these concepts had long been inseparable. One of the most common titles in the festival ritual group is to "make perfect the ?/?-spirit" (siqr

?/?).82 Furthermore, in the ritual instructions appended to the barque ritual chapters an image of the

?/?-spirit was to be placed into a boat (wii) so that it would be able to sail in the sun barque. Finally, most of the benefits mentioned in the closing rubrics were for the ?/?-spirit. Of the twenty-five Late

Period temple rituals identified by Assmann, four have the title sihw. The word slh.w is the causative

form of the word ?/?. Therefore, slhw might be translated "that which causes ?/?-ness" or "?/?-ifiers."83

Assmann noted:

The title of these liturgies, sih.w, points rather to the cult of the dead than to the cult of the gods.84

In fact, Assmann only overcame the associations of this term by the clear references to the cult of

Osiris at Abydos in the rubrics,

. . . and correspondingly it is the god Osiris Khontamenti and not a private Osiris NN, who is

addressed throughout the texts.85

As discussed above, we have reason to believe that the festival rituals were sometimes performed for

Osiris-Wennefer rather than "a private Osiris NN."

Much confusion about the performance of the barque rituals in particular revolves around the idea

that one had to be dead before one could become an ?/?-spirit.

Although the living can be described as "effective" (??), the state of existence identified by the noun

"akh" (?A/) is one that is reached only after death.86

Most Egyptologists agree with Allen's conclusion. Based in large part on this understanding of the

?/?-spirit, Eschweiler asserted that the barque rituals were intended for people who were already dead

and therefore did not involve actual manipulations of cult objects, stating that:

Die magischen Handlungen, die diesen Zustand bewirken sollen, das Hantieren mit einer Bar

kennachbildung und einer Stellvertreter-Figur des Adressaten, k?nnen insofern durchaus als

sekund?re (postume) Initiationsrituale betrachtet werden.87

Raven pointed out that Eschweiler neglected archaeological data?i.e., the bowls indicating that the

images called for in the rubrics were actually drawn?that challenges his interpretation of the

barque rituals.88

82 s?qr, WB IV, 40, 12-41, 5, esp. "den Toten verkl?ren o.?.,"41,l; and "enrich, make perfect, make splendid," Faulkner,

CD, 213.

The title r n s?qr lh appears with BD 130 in Aa (Dyn. 18); BD 134 in Lc (Dyn. 19-20) and TT 82 BD 141-43, see E. Naville, TB 2, 338, 1; 343, 1 and 364, 4, respectively. In Ga the same title appears with BD 133 and 136A. It also seems likely that Chap ter 130 on this papyrus was the beginning of a book that bore a similar title, unfortunately the text is broken, see Milde, Nefer renpet, 152, 160, 166, pis. 28, and 31-32. The title also appears in the group BD (190)-133-36A-134-130, which Lapp identified as a thematically ordered sequence that he called "siqr-th texts," Lapp, The Papyrus of Nu, 45.

83 J. Allen, "Reading a Pyramid," 27.

84 J. Assmann, "Egyptian Mortuary Liturgies," 4.


86 J. Allen, "The Cosmology of the Pyramid Texts," in W. Simpson, ed., Religion and Philosophy in Ancient Egypt, YES 3 (New

Haven, 1989), 2. 87 P. Eschweiler, Bildzauber im alten ?gypten. Die Verwendung von Bildern und Gegenst?nden in magischen Handlungen nach den

Texten des Mittleren und Neuen Reiches, OBO 137 (Freiburg/G?ttingen, 1994), 126. 88 See M. Raven, "[Review of] P. Eschweiler, Bildzauber" BiOr 53 (1996), 694. I am reserving deeper discussion of this point

with analysis of images drawn on the bowls for a future study.




Moreover, an important point was missed. Although one might not become an //?-spirit while still

alive, few would deny that one could at least begin preparations for becoming an ?/?-spirit while still

alive. As observed by Demar?e, there was:

... a tendency to connect a righteous existence on earth with a future blessed state as an Ihllh iqr in

the Hereafter, although it would be too much to say that the last-named condition was made

dependent on the first.89

The festival rituals might have provided another way for a person to improve his chances of becom

ing an ?/?-spirit. The Iht was where one became an //?-spirit.90 "The tht is reached, probably exclu

sively, by boat."91 Therefore, the barque rituals allow one to become an //?-spirit by getting him on

board the solar boat, which can then bring him to the iht. BD 136 could have been performed by living people for their own benefit, as suggested by the

occurrence of a rubric stating:

As for one for whom this is done while he is among the living.92

None of this necessarily means that one could become an //?-spirit before death. However it raises the

possibility that we have overgeneralized in applying evidence concerning the veneration of //?-spir its,93 which only occurred after death, to the creation of //?-spirits, for which at least some prepara tion could be made during life.

The veneration of //?-spirits appears to be primarily associated with domestic and tomb contexts.94 However, there is clear archaeological evidence indicating that "effective spirits" (Z/? iqr) could be ven erated in temple contexts as well, including the Osiris temple at Abydos, the temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu, and other West Bank Theban temples.95 The very dominant role of Amun-Re, progen itor of the royal ^/-spirit, in the Theban area, where most of our well-preserved New Kingdom temples are, may explain why the role of other spiritual entities in temple ritual are less understood.96

4. The Alternation of "Osirean" and "Heliopoliatan" Rituals

It has often been asserted that mortuary texts featuring the "chthonic" deity Osiris and mortuary texts featuring the "solar" deity Re represent two regional traditions that were brought together with the unification of Egypt. Thus, attempts have been made to understand the progression of mortuary ritual by separating these two groups of rituals. However, whatever their origins, by the time of Seti I the cults of Osiris and Re were inseparable, because the two joined every night when the sun crossed the netherworld.97 In the time of Seti I, this solar vision may have been quite new?one of the earliest

89 See R. Demar?e, The lh iqr n r'-Stelae: On Ancestor Worship in Ancient Egypt, Egyptologische Uitgaven 3 (Leiden, 1983), 237. 90

J. Allen, "The Cosmology of the Pyramid Texts," 19-21. 91

J. Allen, "The Cosmology of the Pyramid Texts," 18. 92

Allen, BD, 111-12. 93 See R. Demar?e, The lh iqr n r(-Stelae, 190-95, esp. 194. 94

See, for example, M. Fitzenreiter, "Zum Ahnenkult in ?gypten," GM 143 (1994), 51-72. Domestic contexts, both private (for example, houses at Deir el Medina) and royal (for example, the palace of Merenptah in Memphis); and tomb contexts,

both elite (including cemeteries at Abydos) and royal (the Valley of the Kings), see F. Friedman, "Aspects of Domestic Life and

Religion," in L. Lesko, ed., Pharaoh's Workers: The Villagers of Deir el Medina (Ithaca and London, 1994), 112-13; and R. Demar?e, The Ih iqr n r'-Stelae, 181-84.

95 jr Friedman, "Aspects of Domestic Life and Religion," 112-13; and R. Demar?e, The lh iqr n r(-Stelae, 181-84. 96 For discussion of the royal kl, see L. Bell, "The New Kingdom 'Divine' Temple: The Example of Luxor," in B. Shafer, ed.,

Temples of Ancient Egypt (New York, 1997), 137-44; and L. Bell, "Luxor Temple and the Cult of the Royal Ka" fNES 44 (1985), 251-94.

97 For example, see J. Assmann, Solar Religion in the New Kingdom. Re, Amun and the Crisis of Polytheism (London and New York, 1995), 137.



92 JARCE 42 (2005-2006)

hymns to Osiris celebrating this union was inscribed in the Memphite tomb of Horemheb (which was

made before he became king),98 who ruled just before Seti Fs father, Ramesses I.

However, in terms of the effects of this vision on the celebration of ritual, Assmann pointed out

that the mortuary liturgies that he identified, some of which are from the PT (i.e., dating to the Old

Kingdom), included both "... 'Osirean' spells omitting Re and 'Heliopolitan' spells mentioning Re."99

He went on to conclude that the Heliopolitan rites would have been conducted during the day, and

Osirean episodes conducted during the night.100 In the BD festival group the "Osirean" chapter BD

141-42 was to be said on Blacked-Out Moon Day. On papyri it often appears before "Heliopolitan"

chapters, including BD 148/190, 133 and 134, which were to be performed on the following day, New

Crescent Day, according to rubrics commonly appended to these chapters.101 Thus, it seems likely that the festival group is another example of a mortuary liturgy which incorporated both day and

night rituals.

Several of the festivals listed were associated with the lunar cycle. The moon was associated with

the eye of Horus, which was wounded by Seth during their contest for the kingship of Egypt. Thus, the phases of the waxing moon are associated with the healing of the eye of Horus. Blacked out

Moon Day was the first day of the month, when the moon is invisible and Horus' eye was most

severely damaged. New-Crescent Day (also translated as the "Monthly Festival") is the second day of

the month, when the moon is almost invisible and thus the eye was severely damaged. This is when

the first step in healing the wounded eye, filling it,102 began.

I have filled it (the Eye of Horus) with the monthly festival.103

Horus' eye had six parts (:2pjO. Each segment represented a fraction <1?1/2; o 1/4; -1/8; l>- 1/16; ^^ 1/32 and ^) 1/64.104 One piece was collected each day.105 Although the moon was not healed until

the full moon on the 15th, all of the pieces were assembled on the sixth day of the month (note that

the fractions do not add up to one, thus the eye was never as good

as new).106 Thus, the 6th-day feast

was a turning point in the healing of the eye of Horus, and a day for celebration.

I filled the eye when it was nothing before the 6th-Day Feast had come.107

The time to fill the eye had passed and the next stage in healing could proceed. It is striking that chapters 133, 134 and 136A, which feature decidedly "Heliopolitan" rites, were

associated with days that, at first glance, seem not to have strong solar associations. However, in the

Lamentations of Isis and Nephthys the moon is said to ride in the solar barque:

98 J. van Dijk, "The Symbolism of the Memphite Djed-Pillar," OMRO 66 (1986), 7-8.

99 J. Assmann, "Egyptian Mortuary Liturgies," 7-8.


101 BD 149, 190 and 134 could be performed on other days as well, see Section 1. 102 CT 1013, see R. O. Faulkner, Ancient Egyptian Coffin Texts, Vol. 3 (Warminster, 1978), 113 [hereafter CT]. To fill the eye

was to heal it. For example, in the tale of Horus and Seth, Hathor filled Horus' injured eyes with gazelle milk in order to heal

them, see M. Lichtheim, AEL 2, 219. 103 CT 1013, see Faulkner, CT 3, 113. 104 See J. Allen, Middle Egyptian (Cambridge, 2000), 102. 105 H. Junker, "Die sechs Teile des Horusauges und der 'sechste Tag,'" Z?S 48 (1910), 101. 106 There has been some confusion surrounding this point. Barta suggested that the Sixth Day Festival was a yearly festival,

see W. Barta, "Zur Bedeutung des snwt-Festes," Z?S 95 (1969), 73-80. However, the evidence that the Sixth Day Festival was a

monthly festival is overwhelming, see E. Winter, "Nochmals zum snwt-Fest," Z?S 96 (1970), 151-52. 107

Allen, BD, 70.




Thoth is your protection he causes your soul to arise within the Day Barque in this your name of

"Moon"; I have come to see your beauty within the wd?t-eye in this your name of "Lord of the Sixth

Day"; your courtiers are beside you and will not forsake you, and you have captured heaven

through the greatness of your majesty in this your name of "Prince of the Fifteenth Day."108

These monthly festivals also had solar aspects independent of the lunar cycle. According to an

account in BD 115, the origin of the New-Crescent moon is related to an injury of the sun god, Re.

Re was speaking to (the Snake) Who Dwells in His Consuming Fire. Then his mouth was mutilated.

That is how the diminution on New-Crescent day came about.109

Thus, the crescent moon was also associated with the injured mouth of the sun god. It is possible that

the sun god's mouth, like Horus' eye, was to be healed over the course of the lunar month, although

such a tradition is not documented.110

Another utterance, from CT 47 associates the Sixth-Day Festival with the dead's ascension to the sky.

He who presides over the Sacred Booth (i.e., Anubis) cleanses you, and you ascend to the sky on

the Sixth-Day Festival.111

The purpose of BD 134 was to get the "Osiris NN" onto the solar barque, a vessel on which he could

ascend to the sky. Thus, the Sixth Day Festival might have been considered especially appropriate for

this sort of ritual.

Different, never-ending cycles?the daily solar journey, the monthly lunar cycle and so on?were

used as metaphors for each other in ritual. References to the monthly lunar cycle and the yearly inun

dation cycle were made during the Daily Ritual, which covered a single circuit of the sun.112 Similarly, here we find references to the daily solar cycle were made in monthly rituals that marked the phases of the moon.

Of course, the ritual episodes in this group, be they monthly or yearly, do not constitute a set of

step-by-step instructions, as most were to be performed on different days. As I discussed in my disser

tation and a recent ARCE lecture, I believe that most ritual cycles did not have "set" orders and that

festival ritual episodes, like the ones discussed in the present article, were frequently inserted into the

overall framework of the "toilet" and the "meal," i.e., the Daily Ritual and the Ritual of Amenophis I

(a.k.a. the Ritual of the Royal Ancestors). This interpretation of these BD rituals is further supported

by the presence of common rubrics, calling for basic offerings associated with these daily ritual cycles, for example:

BD 130 "bread (and beer) and all (other) CxOOd things"113

BD 134 "burnt incense and roast fowl."1

108 R. O. Faulkner, "The lamentations of Isis and Nephthys," in M?langes Maspero, MIFAO 66 (Cairo, 1934), 339. 109 BD 115, Allen, BD, 93. 110 This may be a reference to the story of Isis and Re in which the sun god was bitten by a snake that Isis made in order to

learn his secret name. Only Isis could save Re from the poison. This hisoriola was used as part of some cures for scorpion

stings. The most complete version of this tale appears on pTurin 1993, 5, vs. 6, 11-9, 5. 111

Faulkner, CT I (1973), 42. 112 For some discussion of the use of symbolism relating to the Eye of Hours in the Daily Ritual, see J. Griffiths, "The Horus

Seth Motif in the Daily Temple Liturgy," Aegyptus 38 (1958), 3-10. 113

Allen, BD, 107. 114

Allen, BD, 110.



94 JARCE 42 (2005-2006)

BD 136 "bread, roast meat and fowl."115

Such common offerings provided the overall framework of temple ritual.

5. Conclusion

The BD festival group appears to have been a series of ritual episodes that were performed both in

tombs for private individuals and in temples for deities. Ancestor worship was clearly an important part of ancient Egyptian religion. When a particular ancestor was found to be especially effective,

worship of him would continue long after those who knew him died.116 At some point, an illustrious

figure might become what we would call a god, i.e., he was "deified." It may even be that deification was the ultimate goal of all mortuary cult. Such was almost certainly the goal of all royal mortuary cult. Thus, mortuary rites would express the wish for deification through the use of the same rituals used for the gods. Conversely, deities were considered to have been ancestors at some

point in the

distant past.117 Thus, their temple rituals were based in part on their mortuary cult.

The question of whether a ritual was originally for the cult of the dead or the cult of the gods is often not answerable. Most rituals do not have a

single point of origin, because they evolved over

time. The cycle of exchange between temple and mortuary cult may have began in prehistory for

many rituals.

Chart 1

Symbols for Book of the Dead copies cited

Symbol Date Name From Current location

Aa

Ap

Ax

Ba

Ce

Ea

Eb

Ee

Ga

Lc

Pa

Pb

Pc

R

Dyn. 18

Dyn. 19?

Dyn. 18

Dyn. 19

Dyn. 18

Dyn. 18

Dyn.18-19

Dyn. 21

Dyn.19-20

Dyn. 19-20

Dyn. 18

Dyn.18-19

Dyn. 18

Pers.-Ptol.

nb-sny

htrwy bthsw

nht-imn

iwiw nwnw

Iny ndmt

nfr-rnpt

hr-m-lh-bit

no name

twri

tnnl

n(y)-s(w)-sw-tfnwt

Memphis

Memphis(?) Thebes

Thebes

Thebes

Thebes

Thebes

Thebes

Thebes

Thebes

BM 9900 BM 9949 Hannover, Kester

Berlin P 3002 Cairo 51189 BM 10477 BM 10470 BM 10490 Brussels E 5043

and Philadelphia,

University Mus.

E 2775, 16720-22 Leiden T 6

Paris L 3073 Paris L 3092 Paris L 3097 OIM 9787

Independent Scholar

115 Allen, BD, 111.

no por more on deification, see D. Wildung, Egyptian Saints: Deification in Pharaonic Egypt (New York, 1977); and L. Haba

chi, Features of the Deification of Ramesses II, ADAIK 5 (Gl?ckstadt, 1969). 1 i7 As indicated by the listing of deities at the beginning of king lists, see J. von Beckerath, "K?niglisten," LA III, 534-35.



a "mortuary liturgy" from the "book of the dead" with comments on the nature of...

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