The ancient Egyptians believed that death was the end of physical life in this world.   But they also believed that through death one could be renewed and live an eternal life free from the physical limitations of age or poverty, just as the god Osiris had, who was also once a mortal human.   One's renewal didn't come about in this world, though. Renewal came about in the mysterious underworld of the primeval waters, known as "Nun." The Underworld was seperate from this world.   One could not see it or get to it by normal means, though. The Underworld could be reached only through your imagination, and through your knowledge of the path of the sun.

Ba returning to the tomb.

The ancient Egyptians believed that the sun moved around the Earth.  During the day, it traveled from the eastern to the western horizon.  After setting in the west, they believed the sun descended into the Underworld and traveled under the earth until it came up again in the east.  For this reason, the Underworld is sometimes called the "West." It is down into this place under the earth, then, that the mummified dead go when they die.   The mummy's tomb was identified with this Underworld, where the mummy remained motionless while its ba traveled freely throughout the mysterious spaces seeking to unite with its ka.

Paintings on the tomb walls and on the coffin usually showed depictions of this other world. The Underworld was a strange and mysterious place. The dead, in fact, were often called "those whose place is hidden or mysterious;" as mummies,they were said to sink into this place which was endless, dark, and chaotic.   It was believed that the Underworld was seperated from the real world by a wide stream, and that a great river also flowed through it.   There was water, plants and trees in the Underworld as well, where the dead, once they achieved resurrection, would grow crops to live on.   This region of the Underworld is sometimes called the Ealu-fields.

From the tomb of Sen-Nedjem (20th Dynasty, 1186-1070 BC), a depiction of Sen-Nedjem and his wife in the fields of Iaru.

According to the book of Amduat, the Underworld was divided into twelve departments, or hours, and twelve portals that represent the twelve hours of night between the time that the sun sets in the west, and the time it comes up again in the east.   But time in the Underworld is not the same as time on Earth. Each hour in the Underworld represents an entire lifetime.

The sun god, Ra, travels in his boat on the great river, bringing order and life to each department in turn.  Along the way his boat may come across the sandbank of Apophis, a monster of chaos in the shape of a giant serpent and the enemy of Ra, who attempts to wreck Ra's boat.

Ra on his barge

O gods who are in the Underworld, who are behind the ruler of the West, who are stretched n their side, who are sleeping on their supports, raise your flesh, pull together your bones, collect your limbs, unite your flesh. May there be sweet breath to your noses. Loosing for your mummy wrappings. May your head-masks be uncovered. May there be light for your divine eyes in order that you may see the light by means of them. Stand up from your weariness.

But Ra is defended by several gods and goddesses who ride with him and do battle with Apophis. As Ra comes to the portal of each department, the gates open automatically for him.  When he enters he shines sunlight on the darkness and speaks magic words from the Book of Gates (left), and all the mummies throw off their protective wrappings and begin a new life.

The resurrected live an entire life as long as Ra remains in their department.   When Ra goes on to the next department, the mummies re-wrap themselves in their bandages and return to their tombs, darkness returns, and they begin the wait for Ra's next return.

Last updated 20 February 1997 by CHICO