Duat

1
Duat
This article is about the Egyptian underworld. For the evergreen tree, see Jambul. For the aviation weather service,
see DUATS.
A section of the Egyptian Book of the Dead
written on papyrus showing the Weighing of the
Heart in Duat where Anubis can be seen on the
far right, the scales are shown with the feather
balance, and Ammit awaits hearts that she must
devour the presence of Osiris at the gateway to
the paradise of Aaru dates the papyrus to a late
tradition of the myth.
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[1]
In Egyptian mythology, Duat (pronounced "do-aht") (also Tuat and Tuaut or Akert, Amenthes, Amenti, or
Neter-khertet) is the realm of the dead. The Duat is the realm of the god Osiris and the residence of other gods and
supernatural beings. It is the region through which the sun god Ra travels from west to east during the night, and
where he battled Apep. It also was the place where people's souls went after death for judgement, though that was
not the full extent of the afterlife.
[2]
Burial chambers formed touching-points between the mundane world and the
Duat, and spirits could use tombs to travel back and forth from the Duat.
[3]
What we know of the Duat principally derives from funerary texts such as Book of Gates, Book of Caverns, Coffin
Texts, Amduat and the Book of the Dead. Each of these documents fulfills a different purpose and gives a different
perspective on the Duat, and different texts can be inconsistent with one another. The texts which survive differ in
age and origin, and it is likely that there was never a single uniform interpretation of the Duat.
[4]
Duat
2
The geography of Duat is similar in outline to the world the Egyptians knew. There are realistic features like rivers,
islands, fields, lakes, mounds and caverns, along with fantastic lakes of fire, walls of iron and trees of turquoise. In
the Book of Two Ways, one of the Coffin Texts, there is even a map-like image of the Duat.
[5]
The Book of the Dead and Coffin Texts were intended to guide people who had recently died through the Duat's
dangerous landscape and to a life as an akh or blessed spirit amongst the gods. The dead person must pass a series of
gates guarded by dangerous spirits, depicted as human bodies with grotesque heads of animals, insects, torches or
knives.
[6]
These beings have equally grotesque names, for instance "Blood-drinker who comes from the
Slaughterhouse" or "One who eats the excrement of his hindquarters".
[7]
Other features emphasised in these texts are
mounds and caverns, inhabited by gods or supernatural animals, which threatened the spirits of the dead. The
purpose of the books is not to lay out a geography, but to describe a succession of rites of passage which the dead
would have to pass to reach the afterlife.
[8]
If the deceased successfully passed these unpleasant demons, he or she would reach the Weighing of the Heart. In
this ritual, the heart of the deceased was weighed by Anubis, using a feather, representing Ma'at, the goddess of truth
and justice. The heart would become out of balance because of failure to follow Ma'at and any hearts heavier or
lighter than her feather were rejected and eaten by the Ammit, the Devourer of Souls. Those souls that passed the test
would be allowed to travel toward the paradise of Aaru.
In spite of the unpleasant inhabitants of the Duat, this was no Hell to which souls were condemned; the nature of
Duat is more complex than that. The grotesque spirits of the underworld were not evil, but under the control of the
Gods.
[9]
The Duat was also a residence of gods themselves; as well as Osiris, Anubis, Thoth, Horus, Hathor and
Ma'at all appear as a dead soul makes its way toward judgement. It was also in the underworld that the sun, Ra,
travelled under the Earth from west to east and was transformed from its aged Atum form into Khepri, the new
dawning Sun. Just as a dead person faced many challenges in the Duat, Ra faced attack in the underworld from the
evil serpent Apep.
[10]
References
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ w/ index. php?title=Template:Ancient_Egyptian_religion& action=edit
[2] [2] Faulkner, p. 143
[3] Pinch, pp. 335
[4] [4] Taylor, p. 134
[5] [5] Taylor, p. 133
[6] Taylor, pp. 137
[7] [7] Pinch, p. 34
[8] Taylor, pp. 138140
[9] [9] Pinch, p. 34
[10] [10] Faulkner, p. 150
Bibliography
Faulkner, R. (translator): "The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Book of Going Forth by Day". Chronicle Books,
2000
Pinch, G.: "Magic in Ancient Egypt". British Museum Press, 1994
Taylor, John (editor): "Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead". British Museum Press, 2010.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Duat.
Egypt Legends Apophis in the Duat (http:/ / www. legends. egyptholiday. com/ apophis_duat. htm)
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