Coffin Texts
The Coffin Texts emerged around 2100 BCE during the First Intermediate Period. This era marked a shift from exclusive royal access to afterlife spells for ordinary Egyptians. Earlier Pyramid Texts remained reserved solely for pharaohs. New material in these texts addressed everyday desires of common people. A Middle Kingdom coffin with painted panels illustrates this transition. These spells were inscribed on coffins, tomb walls, and stelae. They also appeared on canopic chests and mummy masks. Limited writing surfaces often required abbreviating the spells. This created both long and short versions of the same texts.
Coffin text 1130 features a speech by the sun god Ra. He declares that he made the four winds so every man might breathe. Ra states he created gods from his sweat and people from tears of his eye. Unlike celestial focus of Pyramid Texts, these emphasize subterranean elements ruled by Osiris. The deceased enters a place called the Duat filled with threatening beings and traps. Spells allow protection against dangers and prevent dying a second death. An Osirian afterlife is offered to everyone regardless of status. The deceased is referred to as the Osiris-[name]. Common fears include having to perform manual labor in the afterlife. Spells exist to help avoid such unpleasant tasks.
Ordinary Egyptians who could afford a coffin gained access to these funerary spells. The pharaoh no longer held exclusive rights to an afterlife. Some 1,185 spells comprise this collection written on Middle Kingdom coffins. A dismantled coffin of Khety dates between 1919 and 1800 BCE. It displays Coffin Text spells painted on its inside panels. This democratization shifted authority from rulers to commoners. People could now purchase access to protective magic previously reserved for kings. The texts address moral evaluation through judgment by Osiris and his council. All people would be judged according to their deeds in life. A balance scale became pivotal for this later judgment process.
A few coffins from the Middle Egyptian necropolis of el-Bersheh contain unique graphical representations. These depict the realm of the afterlife along with journey spells. This collection called the Book of Two Ways was the first Ancient Egyptian map of the underworld. The oldest known copy belonged to a woman named Ankh. She lived during the reign of nomarch Ahanakht I. The two ways depicted are land and water routes separated by a lake of fire. Both paths lead to Rostau and the abode of Osiris. Descriptions of these routes persist as themes in later books like the Book of the Dead. The Book of Two Ways serves as a precursor to New Kingdom underworld books.
Abbreviated versions of spells gave rise to long and short forms. Some were later copied directly into the Book of the Dead. Coffin text 1031 is spoken by the deceased who declares sailing rightly in a bark. He states he is lord of eternity crossing the sky. The spell promises that anyone knowing it will be like Re in the eastern sky. They will go down to the circle of fire without flame touching them ever. These texts combine ritual actions for protection with expressions of aspiration. They describe transformations and transmigrations of the ba and akh spirits. Raymond O. Faulkner published three volumes covering spells 1 through 75 between 1972 and 1978. Erik Hornung also documented Ancient Egyptian Books of the Afterlife.
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Common questions
When did the Coffin Texts emerge during ancient Egyptian history?
The Coffin Texts emerged around 2100 BCE during the First Intermediate Period. This era marked a shift from exclusive royal access to afterlife spells for ordinary Egyptians.
Who gained access to the Coffin Texts instead of only pharaohs?
Ordinary Egyptians who could afford a coffin gained access to these funerary spells. The pharaoh no longer held exclusive rights to an afterlife and people could now purchase access to protective magic previously reserved for kings.
What is the content of Coffin text 1130 regarding the sun god Ra?
Coffin text 1130 features a speech by the sun god Ra declaring that he made the four winds so every man might breathe. He states he created gods from his sweat and people from tears of his eye.
Which woman owned the oldest known copy of the Book of Two Ways?
The oldest known copy belonged to a woman named Ankh who lived during the reign of nomarch Ahanakht I. She possessed a dismantled coffin with painted panels displaying journey spells between 1919 and 1800 BCE.
How many spells comprise the collection written on Middle Kingdom coffins?
Some 1,185 spells comprise this collection written on Middle Kingdom coffins. These texts were inscribed on coffins, tomb walls, stelae, canopic chests, and mummy masks.