XI
THE REGIONS OF NIGHT AND THICK DARKNESS
When the world came into being, there were two rivers, the river of Egypt and the river of the sky. Great is the Nile, the river of Egypt, rising in his two caverns in the South beyond the cataract, flooding the land of Egypt and bringing joy and good harvests to Ta-mery. Great and mighty is the river of the sky, flowing across the heavens and through the Duat, the world of night and of thick darkness, and on that river floats the Boat of Ra. Boat of Millions of Years is its name, but men call it the Manzet Boat in the dawn, when Ra rises in splendour on the eastern horizon of heaven; the Mesektet Boat is it called in the evening, when Ra enters in glory within the portals of the Duat, where the mountain of Manu lifts its peaks to the western sky. On the western horizon is the mountain of Manu. and on the eastern horizon the mountain of Bakhu; vast and huge are they, raising their crests above the earth, and the sky rests upon their summits. And on the topmost peak of the mountain of Bakhu dwells a serpent; thirty cubits in length is he, and his scales are of flint and of glittering metal. He guards the mountain and the Great Green Waters, and none can pass by him save Ra in his Boat.
In the evening Ra descends in majesty to the Western horizon of heaven, to the portals of the Duat at the Gap of Abydos. Splendid is the Mesektet Boat, glorious its trappings, and its colours are of amethyst and emerald, jasper and turquoise, lazuli and the lustre of gold. At the Gap of Abydos waits a company of gods to prepare the Boat for the journey through the Duat, the land of night and of thick darkness. Stripped is the Boat of its splendour, bare and without glory is it when it passes through the portals of the Duat, and in it is the body of Ra, lifeless and dead.
Then the gods take the great towing-ropes: slowly the Boat moves along the river. The portals of the Duat are flung wide, and the twelve goddesses of the night take their place upon the Boat to guide it through the gloom and perils of the Duat; pilots of the river are they, and without them not Ra himself could pass through unscathed.
"Watercourse of Ra," is the name of the first country of the Duat. Sombre is this land, yet not wholly dark; for on either side the river are six serpents, coiled and with heads erect, and the breath of their mouths is a flame of fire. In the cabin of the Boat is Ra, dead and lifeless; in the prow are Up-uaut, the Opener of the Ways, and Sa, and the goddess of the hour. Round about the cabin are a company of gods; these are they who guard Ra from all perils and dangers, and from the attack of the abominable Apep.
Slowly goes the Boat of Ra, passing through the Duat, to regions of thick darkness, of horror and dismay, where the dead have their habitations, and Apep lies in wait for the coming of Ra. Thus passes the first hour of the night, and the second hour is at hand.
At the entrance of every country of the Duat is a gate; tall are the walls, and narrow is the passage; upon the walls are spearheads, sharp and pointed, that no man may climb over. The door of the gate is of wood, turning on a pivot, and a monstrous snake guards the door. None may pass by him save those only to whom his name is known. At the turn of the passage are two great hooded snakes, the one above, the other below. The breath of their mouths is fire and poison mingled; through the narrow portal on every side they send forth streams of flame and venom. At either end of the passage stands a warder, keeping watch.
Then the goddess of the first hour makes way for the goddess of the second hour, and she calls aloud the name of the Guardian of the gate. Flung wide are the portals, the fire and poison cease, and the Boat of Ra passes through.
"Ur-nes" do we name this second country of the Duat, but the Hanebu and those who inhabit the isles of the Great Green Waters call it Ouranos. The river is wide and bears on its dark waters four shallops; no oars have they, neither masts nor rudders, but float upon the stream and are carried by the current. Mysterious and strange are they, and the shadowy shapes which fill them have forms like the forms of men. In this country Ra is Lord and King, and those who live here are in peace, for none can pass the great hooded snakes who guard the gates, whose breath is mingled flame and venom. Happy are those who inhabit this land, for here dwell the spirits of the corn, Besa and Nepra and Tepu-yn. These are they who make the wheat and barley to flourish and cause the fruits of the earth to increase.