Underworld

The underworld was known as Tuat or Duat in ancient Africa. It was the residence of the spirits and the abode of souls belonging to the deceased. Africans regarded the Tuat as the place that Ra passed through after he, in the form of the sun, set in the evening sky. The Tuat in the 18th dynasty was personified as Ausar. It was one part of the tripartite division of the cosmos by Africans: Pet (Heaven), Ta (land), and Tuat (Underworld). It was also a place where the unrighteous, those whose souls were heavier than the feather of Maat, could be banished to a terrible fate. However, the Tuat was principally the place where the ancestors enjoyed immortality.

A 19th-dynasty Kemetic text situates the location of Tuat as beyond Earth and Heaven, separated by a range of mountains, which provided an opening for both the sun (Ra) and spirits. Every day Ra would enter the underworld and reenter the world passing through the mountains going and coming. As Ra passed through on his way to the region of sunrise, his light refreshed the strength of souls, making their journeys enjoyable as they secured a place on a divine boat, and when he went into the night, he also brought blessings with him. The underworld is bounded by Manu, the mountain of Sunset, and Bakhau, the mountain of Sunrise. Like Kernet, the Tuat had a celestial river that ran through it. Two main texts describe the journey of souls through the underworld. The book of Ami Tuat, which was favored by the nobles, and the Book of Gates, favored by the common masses of people, were the two main works on the Underworld.

The book of Ami Tuat is divided into sections called hours. The oldest copies are found in the tombs of Amenhotep, Thutmoses III, and Amenhotep III of Thebes. The deceased sailed in a boat from the mountains of Western Waset until they reached the swamps in the Northeast Delta. In the Book of Gates, the Tuat is divided into 12 parts, beginning with the chamber of night and the ending with the antechamber of day. A serpent stands guard at each gate. It was a challenging place full of perils and obstacles for all spirits that entered. It had no illumination save for the many strange creatures that inhabited it. The Tuat contained several sections, each with unique challenges and creatures obstructing the path the souls traveled. African priests at funerals would cast spells and incantations and offer prayers to arm and assist the souls on their journey through the Tuat. According to the Book of the Coming Forth by Day, there was a special domain of Ausar that contained seven halls, each guarded by three gods: the first was the doorkeeper, the second a lookout, and the third an announcer of visitors. Each god carried a knife. Ausar rewarded his true and loyal followers with estate farms or homesteads in his underworld kingdom; moreover, they received everlasting happiness upon Earth and were rewarded with a seat in his Boat of Millions, sailing the heavens for eternity.

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