Myth and Ritual in the Burial Chamber of the Shaft Tomb of Iufaa at Abusir: Snakes and Snake-like Beings
Abstract
The shaft tomb of Iufaa at Abusir dates to the turn of the 26th and 27th dynasties and the extent of its interior decoration is unique among Late Period tombs. Only the Theban tomb of Padiamenipe (TT33) contains a similar range and extent of texts and representations.
The unfinished western wall of Iufaa's burial chamber, as well as the upper part of the northern wall, contain a number of representations of snakes and snake-like creatures alongside their accompanying texts. Snakes similar to some of these creatures can be found in the 6th hour of the Amduat, that is, the deepest regions of the Underworld, whereas others have been indentified on the astronomical ceiling at Esna, as well as in Papyrus Jumilhac.
The northern wall of the burial chamber, which is the focus of the present paper, is almost entirely taken up by the text of the ritual of the purification of the Egyptian king, adapted for Iufaa. A comparison of the motifs in the text of the ritual indicated that the mythological texts that accompany the snake-like beings hold, in fact, the myths that explain and underlie the various actions of the purification ritual.