The Papyrus of Ani — Ler em português

Os títulos das histórias ainda aparecem em inglês; o texto de cada história está em português.

{ "translation": "Diante de você, no ambiente silencioso da Sala Sessenta e Dois, o Papiro de Ani se estende por uma vasta vitrine com controle climático. Este pergaminho monumental, criado há cerca de três mil duzentos e setenta anos, não está inteiro como era antes. Em vez disso, trinta e sete folhas individuais de papiro, montadas em um suporte de linho, se estendem por quase vinte e quatro metros. Elas retratam a jornada de Ani, um escriba real, através do submundo, guiado por intrincados hieróglifos e ilustrações vibrantes. O papiro, um profundo testemunho das antigas crenças egípcias sobre a vida após a morte, revela um registro pessoal, único em seus detalhes e qualidade artística. No entanto, seu estado fragmentado atual, cortado para facilitar a exibição no final do século dezenove, levanta uma questão silenciosa sobre o custo da preservação e apresentação. Este tour também examinará o escaravelho do coração de Ani e suas figuras shabti, peças integrantes de sua pretendida vida eterna." }

The year is 1888. On the sun-baked banks of the Nile, near the village of Luxor, a lone European man, E. A. Wallis Budge, converses with a local dealer. Dust swirls around them, kicked up by unseen footsteps. Budge, keen-eyed and determined, weighs the price against the unparalleled beauty of the papyrus scroll, recently unearthed. Its vibrant colours and crisp hieroglyphs promise a prize beyond measure for the British Museum. He had navigated treacherous pathways and hushed negotiations for months, driven by the urgency to secure such treasures before they were lost or irrevocably damaged. The heavy canvas roll, carefully wrapped, represents not merely an artifact, but a window into a civilization three millennia distant. “The price you ask is steep, yet the scroll is… magnificent. We shall see it safely to London.”

{ "translation": "Nas profundezas da necrópole de Tebas, o ar fresco encontrou o calor do deserto quando E. A. Wallis Budge entrou na tumba de Ani, recentemente aberta. O ar, denso com o cheiro de poeira antiga e terra seca, não se movia há milênios. Diante dele, aninhado entre os bens funerários e as oferendas, jazia o papiro, cuidadosamente colocado ao lado da múmia enfaixada de Ani e sua esposa, Tutu. A câmara funerária, esculpida em rocha sólida e fracamente iluminada por uma lamparina bruxuleante, parecia sagrada, um portal direto para um passado distante. Budge desenrolou cuidadosamente uma seção do pergaminho, as cores ainda vibrantes, a tinta clara apesar da vasta passagem do tempo. Ele compreendeu o imenso significado deste completo e pessoal 'Livro da Saída para a Luz do Dia'." }

Four millennia before Budge's discovery, in the reign of Ramesses II, the tomb of Ani was sealed. In the cool, quiet chamber, a solemn procession had laid the scribe Ani to rest, his body meticulously prepared and enshrouded. Beside him, his wife Tutu stood, her grief a heavy cloak, as priests chanted the final rites. The papyrus, rolled tightly and carefully bound, was placed within a specially prepared wooden casket, intended to be his guide and protection through the perils of the Duat. The chamber, carved and painted with protective deities, would now house him for eternity. This 'Book of Coming Forth by Day' was his final and most vital possession, ensuring his passage through judgment and into the blessed fields of Aaru. “May the Great Scribe, Ani, be granted passage through the Hall of Two Truths, and may his heart speak no falsehoods.”

Weeks before his final journey, the royal scribe Ani, a man of substantial years and position, sat in his private study in Thebes. He held the completed papyrus roll, its vivid illustrations gleaming under the light of an oil lamp. His wife, Tutu, a woman in her prime, stood attentively nearby, her hand resting gently on his shoulder. Ani traced the hieroglyphs of Spell 30B, the 'Heart Scarab Spell', with a slender finger, envisioning the moment his heart would be weighed against the feather of Ma'at. This was his legacy, his assurance, purchased at significant cost and crafted with meticulous care by the scribes of the funerary workshop. The weight of his future, eternal life, lay within the intricate lines and colours before him. “This ensures our passage, Tutu. Every word, every image, a shield against the devourer.”

Within the bustling funerary workshop in Thebes, the air was thick with the scent of ink and fresh papyrus. The Master of the Workshop, a stern-faced man of perhaps fifty years, with a short, neat beard, oversaw the production of 'Books of Coming Forth by Day'. Rows of copyists, their fingers stained with pigments, hunched over long papyrus sheets laid out on tables. One young copyist, his brow furrowed in concentration, painstakingly filled in the name 'Ani' into a blank space left within a pre-drawn vignette. These scrolls were prepared in advance, their illustrations already complete, awaiting only the name of the purchaser to personalize their journey to the afterlife. The workshop was a factory of salvation, selling hopes for immortality. “Hold your hand steady, boy. Ani deserves the finest work, as does every soul who seeks the fields of Aaru.”

At a stone carver's modest workshop, not far from the River Nile, an artisan meticulously shaped a piece of dark green steatite. His hands, calloused and strong, moved with practiced precision as he carved the intricate details of a scarab beetle. Ani had commissioned this particular heart scarab, intended to be placed over his heart during mummification. On its smooth underside, the carver carefully inscribed the hieroglyphs of Spell 30B, a powerful incantation designed to prevent the deceased's heart from testifying against him during the weighing of the heart. The small, potent amulet held immense spiritual significance, a silent promise of eternal advocacy in the divine judgment hall.

Across town, in another specialized workshop, dozens of small wooden figures lay arranged on long tables, awaiting their final details. These were the shabti figures, created in the thousands for the wealthy deceased. A young painter, his hands quick and steady, dabbed blue and yellow pigment onto the miniature farming tools clutched by the tiny figures. Each shabti was a silent servant, magically imbued to perform manual labor on behalf of Ani in the afterlife, should the gods demand it. Ani, as a man of high standing, would require a legion of these workers, one for each day of the year, ensuring his eternal rest remained undisturbed by physical toil. The workshop hummed with quiet industry, preparing for countless afterlives.

Within the deepest chamber of Ani's tomb, as the final spells of the 'Book of Coming Forth by Day' were recited, Ani's spirit embarked on its conceptual journey. He stood, as depicted in his papyrus, within the majestic Hall of Two Truths. Before him, the great balance scale awaited, overseen by the jackal-headed god Anubis. Ani's heart, his conscience and intellect, was placed upon one pan, balanced against the feather of Ma'at, the embodiment of truth and cosmic order, on the other. Thoth, the ibis-headed scribe of the gods, stood ready to record the verdict. His wife, Tutu, his eternal companion, stood by his side, unwavering. This was the pivotal moment: a righteous life promised eternal bliss, a corrupt heart meant annihilation.

Return now to Room 62, before the Papyrus of Ani. You have traced its path from the meticulous workshop of Thebes, through the quiet rituals of burial, to its re-emergence into the modern world by E. A. Wallis Budge. You have seen how a scribe, Ani, and his wife, Tutu, prepared for eternity, their hopes and fears etched into every hieroglyph. The scroll, once whole, now divided into thirty-seven framed sections, still conveys its majestic purpose. The journey of this artifact, from a personal guide for one man's soul to a globally recognized treasure, speaks to the enduring human quest for meaning beyond life. Its silent presence here connects us across millennia, a whispered testament to faith and artistry.