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Duat

Duat, sometimes transliterated Tuat, is the ancient Egyptian realm of the dead and the nocturnal domain through which the sun god Ra traveled each night. In broader terms, it is the underworld where the deceased hoped to reach the afterlife, a setting for rites of judgment and rebirth. Egyptian cosmology depicts the Duat as a landscape of lakes, caverns, mountains, and gates, inhabited by deities and various beings. The sun god Ra’s nightly voyage through the Duat was believed to illuminate the path and protect those who guided him, including the king and the deceased.

Mortals entering the Duat faced tests and dangers, including the judgment of the heart before Osiris, with

The Duat thus forms a central component of ancient Egyptian religion and funerary practice, reflecting beliefs

Anubis
and
Thoth
present.
The
heart
was
weighed
against
the
feather
of
Ma'at,
the
goddess
of
truth
and
cosmic
order.
A
heart
found
light
allowed
passage
to
the
Field
of
Reeds,
the
ideal
afterlife;
a
heavy
heart
could
lead
to
annihilation
or
to
being
devoured
by
the
demon
Ammit.
The
journey
through
the
Duat
is
described
in
several
funerary
texts,
notably
the
Amduat,
the
Book
of
Gates,
and
the
Book
of
the
Dead,
which
provide
spells
and
guidance
for
navigating
its
gates,
trials,
and
waterways.
about
mortality,
divine
judgment,
and
the
possibility
of
rebirth.