The Liturgy of Funeral Offerings: Purification Ceremonies: The Second Ceremony

The ceremony of the sprinkling of water having been completed, the second ceremony begins. The SEM priest, or one of his assistants, took in his hand a censer in which incense has been placed, and having set fire in it, and made the incense to burn, he walked with it four times round the statue or mummy, and censed it, whilst the Kher heb recited the following four times:--

"Let him that advanceth advance with his KA.

"Horus advanceth with his KA.

"Set advanceth with his KA.

"Thoth advanceth with his KA.

"Sep advanceth with his KA.

"Osiris advanceth with his KA.

"Khenti-maati 1 advanceth with his KA.

"Hail, Unas! The arm of thy KA is before thee.

of Horus, and thy face is filled therewith, and the perfume of the Eye of Horus is to thee."

This formula begins with an address to the statue, or mummy, which is bidden to advance, just as do Horus, Set, Thoth, Sep, Osiris, and Khenti-maati, i.e., the dweller without eyes (the Horus of the dark night when neither sun nor moon is visible), These gods are

, or , i.e., his backbone, or pillar which supports the backbone. The , as Prof. Maspero has shown, represents the tree-trunk which was worshipped at Mendes in connection with Osiris; it was animated by Osiris, and was all-powerful in supporting the dead because of the presence of the god in it. Under the Middle and New Empires the is often seen painted on the bottoms of the insides of coffins, and when coffins were intended to stand on their feet, the was generally painted on the back outside. Thus when lying down the mummy rested on his and when standing up was supported by it. The KA of the deceased comes with him because it is supported by Osiris, and it comes with one leg and one arm before him, and one leg and one arm behind him. The exact signification of these expressions is unknown, but about the translation of the words there is no doubt.

We next see that the incense with which the mummy is censed represents the Eye of Horus, or the Sun, and the use of the expression dates from the time when Horus was the greatest of the gods of heaven, and the sun was regarded as his eye. The sun was, of course, the source of heat and light, and therefore of all

47:1 Dümichen, "the dweller in the town of Sekhem (Letopolis)."