Shabti dolls from Ancient Egypt were funerary figures that accompanied the deceased into the afterlife and were basically your personal helper in the afterlife. A shabti formula (which was a spell) was inscribed on each shabti doll, which specified the function of the doll in the afterlife. The function of the shabti dolls was made clear in the Egyptian Book of the Dead, and there is a spell, specifically for the shabti dolls which is known as the “Spell for causing a shabti to do work for a man in the realm of the dead.”
The ancient Egyptians believed that after you died, your soul went to the duat or underworld, and if it made it through and passed the weighing of the heart against the white feather of Ma’at in the Hall of Truth and the judgement before Osiris and the Forty Two judges, the soul passed on to paradise known as The Field of Reeds. The soul would be rowed by a boatman across Lily Lake, also known as The Lake of Flowers, and start their afterlife. The Field of Reeds was believed to be a mirror image of life on earth where you would find your home, departed loved ones and pets, and there would be food, beer, merriment and all the joys one had in life. The ancient Egyptians valued community, so even in paradise, you would work. On earth, if you couldn’t fulfil an obligation to your community because of sickness or personal obligations, you could send someone in your place, in the afterlife though, your place could be taken by a shabti doll.
Did you know the Egyptians had dolls to work for them in the afterlife?
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down below. The ancient Egyptians believed that after you died your soul went to the duat or
underworld and if it made it through and passed the weighing of the heart against the white feather
of mart in the hall of truth and the judgment before Osiris and the 42 judges the soul passed
onto paradise known as the field of reeds. The soul would be rowed by a boatman across lily lake
also known as the lake of flowers and start their afterlife. The field of reeds was believed to be
a mirror image of life on earth where you would find your home, departed loved ones and pets
and there would be food, beer, merriment and all the joys one had in life. The ancient Egyptians
valued community so even in paradise you would work. On earth if you couldn't fulfill an obligation
to your community because of sickness or personal obligations you could send someone in your place.
In the afterlife though your place could be taken by a shabti doll. Shabti dolls were funerary figures
that accompanied the deceased into the afterlife. The shabtis were known as the answerers since
their name derives from the Egyptian word for stick and corresponds to the word for answer.
Early in ancient Egyptian history these male or female figurines appeared in tombs and represented
the deceased but by the new kingdom between 1570 and 1069 BCE they represented a worker.
A shabti formula which was a spell was inscribed on each shabti doll which specified the function
of the doll in the afterlife. Since the afterlife was thought to be a continuation of life on earth
without sickness or death of course it seemed logical that Osiris the god of the dead would
have building projects and public works in the underworld so the purpose of the shabti was to
answer for the deceased when they were called upon to work since when they were alive each citizen
had to devote some of their time each year to labor for the state on any public works the pharaoh
had decreed. The function of the shabti dolls was made clear in the Egyptian book of the dead
which was a guide or manual for a soul to successfully traverse the realm of the afterlife
and reach the field of reeds. There is a spell specifically for the shabti dolls which is known
as the spell for causing a shabti to do work for a man in the realm of the dead which is also found
reworded in the earlier coffin texts. This spell basically ensured that when the soul was called
upon by Osiris to help out with labor in the underworld the deceased could recite this spell
and the shabti would come to life and perform the duties instead. Pretty handy. This is what the
spell says. O shabti allotted to me if i be summoned of if i be detailed to do any work
which has to be done in the realm of the dead if indeed obstacles are implanted for you therewith
as a man at his duties you shall detail yourself for me on every occasion of making arable the
fields of flooding the banks or of conveying sand from east to west here am i you shall say
each shabti was hand carved and were created for a specific job for example the spell above was for
making arable the fields so the shabti would be crafted with a farming tool each shabti would
in the afterlife shabti dolls have been found holding baskets hoes and even chisels the status
and personal wealth of a tomb's owner has been determined in modern times depending on how many
shabti dolls they were buried with with the poorest tombs not containing any and even some
modest tombs only having one or two these dolls developed through egypt's history and by the
intermediate period between circa 1069 and 747 bce there's been found a special shabti doll which
holds a whip in one hand known as the overseer doll it seems that in this period shabti dolls
changed from workers and servants for the deceased to slaves and the overseer shabti could be in
charge of up to 10 shabti worker dolls in the late period though following the third intermediate
period between circa 737 to 332 bce the overseer stopped appearing in tombs and the shabtis returned
back to their earlier status as workers for the deceased once again with specific tools and jobs
to perform apart from scarabs shabti dolls are the most commonly found artifact to survive from
ancient egypt and appear in tombs of all types of people no matter their status everyone was equal
in death regardless of your status in life and each person was equally answerable to osiris in
the afterlife but the number of shabtis you were buried with decided how much of your time and
effort you actually had to spend doing that work so basically the more shabtis you were buried with
the more rest and relaxation you would get to enjoy in the field of reeds and your status on
earth was reflected in the eternal order of the afterlife in keeping with the egyptian belief of
the afterlife being a mirror image of your life on earth if you could be buried with only one shabti
doll what job would you want it to do in your place if you enjoyed this video make sure to give
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