Of Transformation Into A Hawk

Of Transformation Into A Hawk


[From the Papyrus of Nu (British Museum No. 10,477, sheets 13 and 14).]

THE CHAPTER OF MAKING THE TRANSFORMATION INTO A DIVINE HAWK. The
chancellor-in-chief, Nu, triumphant, saith:

“Hail, Great God, come now to Tattu! Make thou smooth for me the ways and
let me go round about [to visit] my thrones; I have renewed(?) myself, and
I have raised myself up. O grant thou that I may be feared, and make thou
me to be a terror. Let the gods of the underworld be afraid of me, and may
they fight for me in their habitations which are therein. Let not him that
would do me harm draw nigh unto me, or injure(?) me, in the House of
Darkness, that is, he that clotheth and covereth the feeble one, and whose
[name] is hidden; and let not the gods act likewise toward me. [Hail], ye
gods, who hearken unto [my] speech! Hail, ye rulers, who are among the
followers of Osiris! Be ye therefore silent, O ye gods, when one god
speaketh unto another, for he hearkeneth unto right and truth; and what I
speak unto [him] do thou also speak for me then, O Osiris. Grant thou that
I may journey round about [according to] that which cometh forth from thy
mouth concerning me, and grant that I may see thine own Form (or forms),
and the dispositions of thy Souls. Grant thou that I may come forth, and
that I may have power over my legs, and that I may have my existence there
like unto that of Neb-er-tcher who is over [all]. May the gods of the
underworld fear me, and may they fight for me in their habitations. Grant
thou that I may move along therein together with the divine beings who
journey onward, and may I be stablished upon my resting-place like the
Lord of Life. May I be joined unto Isis the divine lady, and may she
protect me from him that would do an injury unto me; and let not anyone
come to see the divine one naked and helpless. May I journey on, may I
come into the uttermost parts of heaven. I exchange speech with the god
Seb, I make supplication for divine food from Neb-er-tcher; the gods of
the underworld have fear of me, and they fight for me in their habitations
when they see that thou hast provided me with food, both of the fowl of
the air and of the fish of the sea. I am one of those _Khu_s who dwell
with the divine _Khu_, and I have made my form like unto his divine Form,
when he cometh forth and maketh himself manifest in Tattu. [I am] a
spiritual body (_sāh_) and possess my soul, and will speak unto thee the
things which concern me. O grant thou that I may be feared, and make thou
me to be a terror; let the gods of the underworld be afraid of me, and may
they fight for me in their habitations. I, even I, am the _Khu_ who
dwelleth with the divine _Khu_, whom the god Tem himself hath created, and
who hath come into being from the blossom (_i.e._, the eyelashes) of his
eye; he hath made to have existence, and he hath made to be glorious
(_i.e._, to be _Khu_s), and he hath made mighty thereby those who have
their existence along with him. Behold, he is the only One in Nu, and they
sing praises (or do homage) unto him [when] he cometh forth from the
horizon, and the gods and the _Khu_s who have come into being along with
him ascribe [the lordship of] terror unto him.”

“I am one of those worms(?) which the eye of the Lord, the only One, hath
created. And behold, when as yet Isis had not given birth to Horus, I had
germinated, and had flourished, and I had become aged, and I had become
greater than those who dwelt with the divine _Khu_, and who had come into
being along with him. And I had risen up like the divine hawk, and Horus
made for me a spiritual body containing his own soul, so that I might take
possession of all that belonged unto Osiris in the underworld. The double
Lion-god, the governor of the things which belong to the Temple of the
_nemmes_ crown, who dwelleth in his secret abode, saith [unto me]: ‘Get
thee back to the uttermost parts of heaven, for behold, inasmuch as
through thy form of Horus thou hast become a spiritual body, (_sāh_) the
_nemmes_ crown is not for thee; but behold, thou hast the power of speech
even to the uttermost parts of heaven.’ And I, the guardian, took
possession of the things of Horus [which belonged] unto Osiris in the
underworld, and Horus told aloud unto me the things which his divine
father Osiris spake unto him in years [gone by] on the day of his own
burial. I have given unto thee(50) the _nemmes_ crown through the double
Lion-god that thou mayest pass onward and mayest come to the heavenly
path, and that those who dwell in the uttermost parts of the horizon may
see thee, and that the gods of the underworld may see thee and may fight
for thee in their habitations. And of them is the Auhet.(51) The gods,
each and all of them, who are the warders of the shrine of the Lord, the
only One, have fallen before my words. Hail! He that is exalted upon his
tomb is on my side, and he hath bound [upon my head] the _nemmes_ crown,
by the decree of the double Lion-god on my behalf, and the god Auhet hath
prepared a way for me. I, even I, am exalted in my tomb, and the double
Lion-god hath bound the _nemmes_ crown upon my [head], and he hath also
given unto me the double hairy covering of my head. He hath stablished my
heart through his own backbone, he hath stablished my heart through his
own great and exceeding strength, and I shall not fall through Shu. I make
my peace with the beautiful divine Brother, the lord of the two uræi,
adored be he! I, even I, am he who knoweth the roads through the sky, and
the wind thereof is in my body. The bull which striketh terror [into men]
shall not drive me back, and I shall pass on to the place where lieth the
shipwrecked mariner on the border of the Sekhet-neheh (_i.e._, Field of
illimitable time), and I shall journey on to the night and sorrow of the
regions of Amenti. O Osiris, I shall come each day into the House of the
double Lion-god, and I shall come forth therefrom into the House of Isis,
the divine lady. I shall behold sacred things which are hidden, and I
shall be led on to the secret and holy things, even as they have granted
unto me to see the birth of the Great God. Horus hath made me to be a
spiritual body through his soul, [and I see what is therein. If I speak
near the mighty ones of Shu they repulse my opportunity. I am the guardian
and I] take possession of the things which Horus had from Osiris in the
underworld. I, even I, am Horus who dwelleth in the divine _Khu_. [I] have
gained power over his crown, I have gained power over his radiance, and I
have travelled over the remote, illimitable parts of heaven. Horus is upon
his throne, Horus is upon his royal seat. My face is like unto that of the
divine hawk, my strength is like unto that of the divine hawk, and I am
one who hath been fully equipped by his divine Lord. I shall come forth to
Tattu, I shall see Osiris, I shall pay homage to him on the right hand and
on the left, I shall pay homage unto Nut, and she shall look upon me, and
the gods shall look upon me, together with the Eye of Horus who is without
sight(?). They (_i.e._, the gods) shall make their arms to come forth unto
me. I rise up [as] a divine Power, and [I] repulse him that would subject
me to restraint. They open unto me the holy paths, they see my form, and
they hear that which I speak. [Down] upon your faces, ye gods of the Tuat
(underworld), who would resist me with your faces and oppose me with your
powers, who lead along the stars which never rest, and who make the holy
paths unto the Hemati abode [where is] the Lord of the exceedingly mighty
and terrible Soul. Horus hath commanded that ye lift up your faces so that
I may look upon you. I have risen up like the divine hawk, and Horus hath
made for me a spiritual body, through his own soul, to take possession of
that which belongeth to Osiris in the Tuat (underworld). I have bound up
the gods with divine tresses, and I have travelled on to those who ward
their Chambers, and who were on both sides of me. I have made my roads and
I have journeyed on and have reached those divine beings who inhabit their
secret dwellings, and who are warders of the Temple of Osiris. I have
spoken unto them with strength, and have made them to know the most mighty
power of him that is provided with two horns [to fight] against Suti; and
I make them to know concerning him that hath taken possession of the
divine food, and who is provided with the Might of Tem. May the gods of
the underworld [order] a prosperous journey for me! O ye gods who inhabit
your secret dwellings, and who are warders of the Temple of Osiris, and
whose numbers are great and multitudinous, grant ye that I may come unto
you. I have bound up and I have gathered together the powers of
Kesemu-enenet,” or (as others say), “Kesemiu-enenet; and I have made holy
the Powers of the paths of those who watch and ward the roads of the
horizon, and who are the guardians of the horizon of Hemati which is in
heaven. I have stablished habitations for Osiris, I have made the ways
holy for him, I have done that which hath been commanded, I have come
forth to Tattu, I have seen Osiris, I have spoken unto him concerning the
matters of his first-born son whom he loveth and concerning the wounding
of the heart of Suti, and I have seen the divine one who is without life.
Yea, I have made them to know concerning the counsels of the gods which
Horus carried out while his father Osiris was not [with him]. Hail, Lord,
thou most mighty and terrible Soul! Verily, I, even I, have come, look
thou upon me, and do thou make me to be exalted. I have made my way
through the Tuat (underworld), and I have opened up the paths which belong
to heaven and also those which belong to earth, and I have suffered no
opposition therein. Exalted [be thou] upon thy throne, O Osiris! Thou hast
heard fair things, O Osiris! Thy strength is vigorous, O Osiris. Thy head
is fastened unto thee, O Osiris. Thy brow is stablished, O Osiris. Thy
heart is glad, [O Osiris]. Thy speech(?) is stablished, [O Osiris], and
thy princes rejoice. Thou art stablished like the Bull of Amentet. Thy son
Horus hath risen like the sun upon thy throne, and all life is with him.
Millions of years minister unto him, and millions of years hold him in
fear; the company of the gods are his servants, and the company of the
gods hold him in fear. The god Tem, the Governor and only One of the gods,
hath spoken [these things], and his word passeth not away. Horus is both
the divine food and the sacrifice. [He] hath passed on(?) to gather
together [the members of] his divine father; Horus is [his] deliverer,
Horus is [his] deliverer. Horus hath sprung from the water of his divine
father and [from his] decay. He hath become the Governor of Egypt. The
gods labor for him, and they toil for him for millions of years; and he
hath made to live millions of years through his Eye, the only One of its
Lord (or Neb-s), Nebt-er-tcher.”