Vignettes Spell 124
Going down to the Tribunal of Osiris
This spell allows the deceased to go down to the divine tribunal DADA.t of Osiris. The aim is not the verdict itself, since Spells 125 and 126 govern the declaration of innocence and the judgement itself. Rather, it establishes the terms on which the deceased arrives: endowed with an estate in the beyond, nourished on pure food, and fit to take his place among the great gods
In this state the deceased declares filth an abomination and eats bread of white emmer and drinks beer of red emmer. His ba has built an enclosure in Djedu, his loaves are stored in Dep, and he ploughs his own fields in the Field of Reeds. By setting his mat beside that of Osiris he takes up an office of mediation, relaying to the god the words of men and to men the words of the gods
The spell therefore presents admission not as the plea of a petitioner awaiting a verdict, but as the arrival of an equipped spirit whose provisioning, purity and usefulness are already established. It secures the standing of the deceased as mAa-xrw (vindicated) and helps ensure that he is received into the council of Osiris rather than turned away at its threshold
See for analyses and academic information Totenbuch Spruch 124
Faulkner: “Spell for going down to the Tribunal of Osiris”, pg. 114ff
Spell 124 – r n Hwy r DADA.t Wsir – Spell for descending to the Tribunal of Osiris
Papyrus Ani c. 1250 BC, 19th Dyn.
© The Trustees of the British Museum
