Head protected its wearer when alive against snake bite, and when dead against the attacks of worms and serpents in the tomb. The Menȧt represented nutrition, and the union of the male and female powers of nature, generation, etc. The Sma symbolized animal pleasure. The Shen Q was the emblem of the orbit of the sun in heaven. King Besh, of the IInd dynasty, wrote his name within this circle, which in an elongated form became the cartouche of the later kings. The shen was the symbol of the eternal pro

tection of the name by Rā.

The Steps symbolized the throne of Osiris, and procured for the wearer "exaltation" to and in heaven. The Plumessymbolized Isis and Nephthys, who had their seat on the forehead of Ra, and the Maāti goddesses, or goddesses of Right and Truth. The Frog was typical of teeming life and the resurrection. It was the symbol of the goddess Heqt, the wife of Khnemu, who made the first man on a potter's wheel, and when laid on a dead person transferred to him the new life which was in the body of the goddess. The Pesesh-Kef Y suggests the

idea of second birth in connexion with the ceremonies of

66

Opening the Mouth. The mouth of the mummy, or of a statue, was touched with this amulet, or instrument, whilst the priest recited words of power; as a result of that the mouth was opened,” i.e., the deceased could henceforth talk, think, walk, eat, drink, etc., in the Other World. A fine example of this amulet in flint (Table-case M, Third Egyptian Room) of the Neolithic Period proves that the idea of "opening the mouth" is older than the dynasties of Egypt. The Solar Disk on the horizon symbolizes life which renews itself, resurrec

tion, virility, strength, etc. The Neterui 17, or 99,

represent the two iron instruments used in the ceremony of "opening the mouth"; their presence among the swathings of the mummy, or in the tomb, secured for the deceased the protection of the gods of the South and the North.

On rare occasions all the amulets mentioned above have been found in one tomb, or on a single body. A good example of a collection of amulets found on a single body is No. 4 (Table-case K, Fourth Egyptian Room). Here will

be seen uraei, the menat, the utchat, the scarab, the shen, the triad of Isis, Nephthys, and Harpokrates; the papyrus sceptre, the heart, the plumes, the two fingers, tets, etc.; the places on the body on which they were found are indicated by the labels. Another class of amulets is represented by the figures of gods, goddesses, and sacred animals, which were either worn as pendants to necklaces, etc., during life, or placed among the swathings of the mummified body. Of these the British Museum possesses very large collections, and the finest examples of them will be found in Wall-cases Nos. 119-132, in the Third Egyptian Room. A very remarkable group of amulets or objects, which were intended to give protection to the tomb of the priestess for whom they were made, is exhibited in the Second Egyptian Room (Wall

case No. 73). It consists of a Tet, a human figure }, a

jackal, and a reed, and each object stands on a small inscribed brick of Nile mud. The ceremony in which these were used is described in the Book of the Dead (Chapter CXXXVII). The text is only found in the Papyrus of Nu (No. 10,477), and the group of objects which illustrates it appears to be unique.

In connexion with the numerous ceremonies which found a prominent place in the cult of Osiris must be mentioned two classes of magical figures. It has already been said that the righteous who lived in the kingdom of Osiris were employed in the cultivation of the Maat wheat, on which both they and Osiris lived. Now, before this wheat could be grown, it was assumed that the land of the celestial fields had to be prepared and watered, and renewed with top-dressing, just like the fields on earth. These laborious agricultural works were performed by a celestial corvée, which was under the general control of the "Henbiu," or gods of the Celestial Domain Lands. These gods provided estates for the blessed, and carefully watched the land measurers to see that they carried out their orders. They also provided gangs of beings to work these fields, and set taskmasters (Tchatchaiu) and time-keepers (Kheru āḥāu) over them, so that they might make them toil their appointed time. Why these beings were condemned to forced labour cannot be explained, for not a word is said which would suggest that they were sinners, and that their work was a punishment. The Egyptian theologians appear to have been incapable of conceiving a heaven in which there was no corvée to perform menial tasks, and equally

incapable of imagining the existence of a corvée which did not need the constant supervision of time-keepers and gangers.

Be this as it may, the Egyptians, as a people, hated forced labour, and the priests found a way for them to escape from it. The means chosen was the Shabti, or Ushabti figure. The meaning of the word Ushabti is unknown. Some associate the name with that of the persea tree (shab, or shabt), but others connect it with the word ushab, "to answer," and think the figure was called Ushabti, because in the text cut upon it the figure "answers" and says: "Verily I am there," etc. The Ushabti figure was a figure made of wood, stone, porcelain, metal, etc., which was intended to represent the person on whose behalf it was fashioned, and it was supposed to carry a digging tool and a basket in which to remove earth or sand from one place to another. In short, the Ushabti figure is a model of a farm labourer or fallâḥ. On the figure it was customary to cut a formula which was supposed to be said by the deceased in the Other World, to this effect: "In the event of my being condemned to spread "dust (ie., sebakh or top-dressing) on the fields in the Tuat, or to fill the water-courses with water from the river, or to reap the harvest, such work shall be performed for me by "thee, and no obstacle shall be put in thy way." Below this formula were cut the words with which the figure was supposed to answer: "Verily I am there, wheresoever thou mayest "speak" (or call me). When the deceased found himself in the Other World, and condemned to work in the celestial corvée, he was supposed to utter the words rendered above, and if they had been spoken in a correct tone of voice, the figure would change into a full-grown man, who was provided with a digging tool and basket, and who was capable of performing field labours.

The dread of forced labour in the minds of the Egyptians resulted in the production of the immense numbers of Ushabti figures which are seen in all great museums. The number found in some tombs is very large; thus, Seti I caused 700 to be buried with him, and, at the present time, there are 149 figures in the Ushabtibox of Ankh-f-en-Khensu in Wall-case 116, in the Third Egyptian Room. The collection of Ushabti figures in the

1 In Egyptian, Shabti, or Ushebti, or Shauabti k}, mak}; in the plural, Shabtiu,

or Ushabtiu.

British Museum (Second Egyptian Room) is unrivalled, and contains fine specimens of every period from about B.C. 2600 to B.C. 600. Worthy of note are the limestone figure of Åāḥmes I, the fine diorite figure of king Amen-hetep II, the granite figure of Amen-hetep III, the porcelain and wooden figures of Seti I, and the figures of Rameses III, Rameses V, Psammetichus I, and Uaḥ-ab-Rā (Pharaoh Hophra).

Other figures which were highly esteemed as possessing magical powers were those to which the name of Ptah-SekerAsår, or Ptaḥ-Socharis-Osiris, has been given (see Second Egyptian Room, Wall-cases 89-92). Ptah was the creator of the world, according to the doctrine of Memphis; Seker was the god of the Other World of Memphis; and Åsår, or Osiris, has already been discussed; these three gods were united in the later theology, and the resultant god was regarded as the lord of Heaven, Earth, and the Other World. Figures of this triune god were made of wood, painted or gilded, and fixed on a rectangular stand, in which two cavities were usually hollowed out, one in front of the figure and one at one side. In the cavity in front a little piece of the body of the deceased was placed, and a cover was fitted over it, with a figure of the hawk of Seker upon it; in the cavity in the side of the pedestal a small roll of papyrus inscribed with prayers was inserted. The figure and pedestal were often inscribed with formulas in which the triune god Ptah-SekerÁsȧr was invoked, and it was believed that so long as the portion of the dead body that was in the pedestal of the figure was preserved, the body in the tomb would be kept in its integrity and everlasting life would be assured for the soul. Typical examples of these figures are Nos. 9870 and 9736 (Wall-cases 90 and 91, Second Egyptian Room). Originally the figure on the pedestal was that of Osiris himself, standing upon the symbol of Maat, or Truth; a good example is No. 20,868, which is hollow; it contained the fine copy of the Book of the Dead of the priestess Ànhai, which is in the British Museum (No. 10,472, Wall-case 90, Second Egyptian Room).

We have already seen that, after the murder and mutilation. of the body of Osiris, the Man-god of the primitive Egyptians, by Set, the god of evil, Horus the son of Osiris, assisted by a number of beings who are called the Followers of Horus, performed a number of magical ceremonies, whereby the rejoining of the limbs of the god was effected, and the preservation of his body was secured for ever. The Egyptians

argued Certain ceremonies were performed by Horus on the dead body of Osiris, and he was mummified, and as a result he rose from the dead; we therefore will have the ceremonies which were performed over Osiris performed over our dead bodies, which shall be mummified, as was the body of Osiris, and we also shall rise from the dead. Every Egyptian from the time of the IVth dynasty, about B.C. 3600, believed that his existence in the Other World depended upon the mummification of his body in this world, and during his lifetime he made provision for his embalmment, and, when his means permitted, prepared a tomb in which his mummified body should be placed. Now the Egyptian had several reasons for mummifying the dead: 1. He wished the souls of the dead to enjoy everlasting life. 2. He wished to maintain dwelling places for the Kau or "doubles" of the dead, so that they might not be obliged to wander about in the deserts in search of food. 3. He wished the dead to form a bond of union between the gods and himself. 4. He believed that the soul came back to the body from time to time. 5. He believed in the resurrection of the material body itself, and that at some future time it would be united to its soul for all eternity. This last was the chief reason why he preserved the body with spices, unguents, bitumen, etc., and, in spite of the very high state of civilization to which the Egyptians attained, the belief in the supreme importance of mummification was never wholly eradicated from the minds of ordinary folk, even after they had embraced Christianity.

In the most primitive times the dead were mutilated to prevent their returning to their native places to live upon the food needed for the living, but in the Dynastic Period the utmost care was taken to prevent the mutilation of the body, and to preserve it from destruction caused by damp, dry rot, or worms. The texts state plainly that after the resurrection the body was to live upon earth, whilst the soul dwelt in heaven. In the Vth dynasty it was written : "The soul belongeth to heaven, and the body to earth," and in the VIth dynasty it is said to king Pepi: "Thy essence "belongeth to heaven, and thy body belongeth to earth." The same idea occurs in all dynasties down to the Ptolemaic Period, when we find in the "Lamentations of Isis" the words addressed to the deceased, who is identified with Osiris "Heaven hath thy soul, and earth hath thy body." Before an account of the process of mummification is given, it will be well to note briefly the views