Anubis Speaks!: A Guide to the Afterlife by the Egyptian God of the Dead by Vicky Alvear Shecter Page A
Authors: Vicky Alvear Shecter
Tags: History, Spirituality
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pharaoh, but I’m allowing you to come along anyway. You may thank me later, preferably in buckets of blood. Meanwhile, take heed; if you scare easily, I suggest you close this book right now and go back to coloring rainbows and unicorns.
Seriously.
There will be blood. And snakes. And
decapitations. And monsters who like to gobble up hearts and squeeze heads until they pop.
Still with us?
Good. Then, please, step into my lair. . . .
9
The Dark Lands
Welcome to Duat, the Egyptian afterworld. It’s a little dark, yes, but what did you expect? This world only comes alive after the sun sets . . . and after you die, of course (not like I’m looking forward to that or anything).
The Egyptian Land of the Dead was sometimes
called the “Twelve Hours of Darkness” for the long hours of the night. You see, my people believed that the sun was born every morning in the east at sunrise . When it disappeared in the west at sunset, they worried that evil in the dark lands would keep the sun from rising again. Without the sun, everyone and everything would die! So it became really, really 11
important to make sure that the sun survived.
The sun’s survival and rebirth also became a powerful metaphor for the individual’s rebirth in the afterworld.
Lots of gods and monsters played a role in this battle between light and dark, death and eternal life.
You will meet some of them on this journey. Keep in mind, there are thousands of us gods. Not only that, but the same god could appear in many different forms! So you won’t get to know all of us, which is fine because really, I’m the only one that matters.
The People Who
Worshipped Us
The ancient Egyptians first settled near the fertile banks of the Nile River around five thousand years ago. Over time they banded together to form one kingdom under the rule of pharaohs that lasted for thousands of years. (Yeah, and how long has your nation been around? Mortal, please . It doesn’t even come close to matching our longevity!)
My people invented a type of writing called
hieroglyphics. They created the first paper from papyrus. They established a calendar that became the basis for the Western calendar. And they built great pyramids, statues, and temples that continue to awe humans around the world today. In other words, 12
while you folks in the West were just learning to walk without dragging your knuckles on the ground, my people created one of the richest and most advanced cultures of the ancient world.
You’re welcome.
Magic and Mayhem
For the Egyptians, the world was a magical place where destruction and chaos could only be
managed or avoided by a strict adherence to ritual, order, and worship. Praying to and honoring the gods were the glue that held Egyptian culture together.
And it worked, too.
I should know.
But while we gods were the spiritual heart of the kingdom, the Nile River was its main artery.
The Gift of the Nile
The Greek writer Herodotus called Egypt “The Gift of the Nile.” He was right. The Nile is like a thin thread of life in a wasteland of desert. The deserts on either side of the Nile, which Egyptians called the “red lands,” provided a natural barrier from attack by invaders. The “black lands” of the Nile referred to the rich soil left on the banks after its annual flooding or inundation. Thanks to the fertility of the black lands, Egypt became known as 13
the breadbasket of the ancient world. The Nile was also the primary means of transportation, trade, and travel.
The great river was an important symbol of my people’s religion, too. It separated east from west—
east, where the sun was born, and west, where it set into the dark lands. Most mummies were buried on the west side of the Nile—in the red lands—in honor of this division. Most dead pharaohs took a symbolic journey on the Nile. Their bodies were carried on a funeral barge as they traveled to their eternal tombs.
With as much as my people owed the
Seriously.
There will be blood. And snakes. And
decapitations. And monsters who like to gobble up hearts and squeeze heads until they pop.
Still with us?
Good. Then, please, step into my lair. . . .
9
The Dark Lands
Welcome to Duat, the Egyptian afterworld. It’s a little dark, yes, but what did you expect? This world only comes alive after the sun sets . . . and after you die, of course (not like I’m looking forward to that or anything).
The Egyptian Land of the Dead was sometimes
called the “Twelve Hours of Darkness” for the long hours of the night. You see, my people believed that the sun was born every morning in the east at sunrise . When it disappeared in the west at sunset, they worried that evil in the dark lands would keep the sun from rising again. Without the sun, everyone and everything would die! So it became really, really 11
important to make sure that the sun survived.
The sun’s survival and rebirth also became a powerful metaphor for the individual’s rebirth in the afterworld.
Lots of gods and monsters played a role in this battle between light and dark, death and eternal life.
You will meet some of them on this journey. Keep in mind, there are thousands of us gods. Not only that, but the same god could appear in many different forms! So you won’t get to know all of us, which is fine because really, I’m the only one that matters.
The People Who
Worshipped Us
The ancient Egyptians first settled near the fertile banks of the Nile River around five thousand years ago. Over time they banded together to form one kingdom under the rule of pharaohs that lasted for thousands of years. (Yeah, and how long has your nation been around? Mortal, please . It doesn’t even come close to matching our longevity!)
My people invented a type of writing called
hieroglyphics. They created the first paper from papyrus. They established a calendar that became the basis for the Western calendar. And they built great pyramids, statues, and temples that continue to awe humans around the world today. In other words, 12
while you folks in the West were just learning to walk without dragging your knuckles on the ground, my people created one of the richest and most advanced cultures of the ancient world.
You’re welcome.
Magic and Mayhem
For the Egyptians, the world was a magical place where destruction and chaos could only be
managed or avoided by a strict adherence to ritual, order, and worship. Praying to and honoring the gods were the glue that held Egyptian culture together.
And it worked, too.
I should know.
But while we gods were the spiritual heart of the kingdom, the Nile River was its main artery.
The Gift of the Nile
The Greek writer Herodotus called Egypt “The Gift of the Nile.” He was right. The Nile is like a thin thread of life in a wasteland of desert. The deserts on either side of the Nile, which Egyptians called the “red lands,” provided a natural barrier from attack by invaders. The “black lands” of the Nile referred to the rich soil left on the banks after its annual flooding or inundation. Thanks to the fertility of the black lands, Egypt became known as 13
the breadbasket of the ancient world. The Nile was also the primary means of transportation, trade, and travel.
The great river was an important symbol of my people’s religion, too. It separated east from west—
east, where the sun was born, and west, where it set into the dark lands. Most mummies were buried on the west side of the Nile—in the red lands—in honor of this division. Most dead pharaohs took a symbolic journey on the Nile. Their bodies were carried on a funeral barge as they traveled to their eternal tombs.
With as much as my people owed the
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