The Egyptians were very concerned that they might be called on to do physical work in the afterlife for Osiris. In order to avoid this, they turned to magical means which had been tested for generations and which had proven to be effective 'a million times'. The relevant texts have been found in the Middle Kingdom Coffin Texts and in the New Kingdom Book of the Dead. The most potent help was apparently to be had from shabtis. These are figures inscribed with the name of the deceased which became active whenever their owner was called out by name to work. They answered instead of the deceased (shabti means 'answerer') and carried out the required work in place of the deceased. Most shabtis are shaped like mummies. They carry hoes on their shoulders and sacks on their backs for the work they will be doing in the fields. The ideal would be for the deceased to have three hundred and sixty of these figures, one for each day of the year, allowing for five work-free days. These figures arc supervised by thirty-six overseers, working on the basis of ten day weeks. The overseers are generally without tools.
Shabtis are often inscribed with a text that is found in full in Chapter 6 of The Book of the Dead: ‘Hail shabti figure! If it be decreed that Osiris shall do any of the work which is to be done in the underworld, let all that standeth in the way be removed from before 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; verily I am here when thou callest.'
