What is a Shabty?

The ushabti (also called shabti or shawabti, with a number of variant spellings) is an ancient Egyptian funerary figurine placed in tombs among the grave goods. Ushabtis (ushabtiu in ancient Egyptian) were intended to act as substitutes for the deceased, should he/she be called upon to do manual labor in the afterlife. They were used from the Middle Kingdom (around 1900 BC) until the end of the Ptolemaic Period nearly 2000 years later.

The term shabti applies to these figures prior to the Twenty-first dynasty of Egypt but after the end of the First Intermediate Period, and really only to figurines inscribed with Chapter Six of the Book of the Dead:

“Illumine the Osiris (name of the deceased), whose word is truth. Hail, Shabti Figure! If the Osiris (name of the deceased) be decreed to do any of the work which is to be done in Khert-Neter, let everything which stands in the way be removed from him – whether it be to plough the fields, or to fill the channels with water, or to carry sand from the East to the West. The Shabti Figure replies: “I will do it, truly I am here when you call”.

Source: Wikipedia

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