In connexion with the numerous ceremonies which found a prominent place in the cult of Osiris must be mentioned two classes of =magical figures=. It has already been said that the righteous who lived in the kingdom of Osiris were employed in the cultivation of the _Maāt_ wheat, on which both they and Osiris lived. Now, before this wheat could be grown, it was assumed that the land of the celestial fields had to be prepared and watered, and renewed with top-dressing, just like the fields on earth. These laborious agricultural works were performed by a celestial _corvée_, which was under the general control of the “Ḥenbiu,” or gods of the Celestial Domain Lands. These gods provided estates for the blessed, and carefully watched the land measurers to see that they carried out their orders. They also provided gangs of beings to work these fields, and set taskmasters (Tchatchaiu) and time-keepers (Kheru āḥāu) over them, so that they might make them toil their appointed time. Why these beings were condemned to forced labour cannot be explained, for not a word is said which would suggest that they were sinners, and that their work was a punishment. The Egyptian theologians appear to have been incapable of conceiving a heaven in which there was no _corvée_ to perform menial tasks, and equally incapable of imagining the existence of a _corvée_ which did not need the constant supervision of time-keepers and gangers. Be this as it may, the Egyptians, as a people, hated forced labour, and the priests found a way for them to escape from it. The means chosen was the =Shabti=, or =Ushabti figure=.[23] The meaning of the word Ushabti is unknown. Some associate the name with that of the persea tree (=shab=, or =shabt=), but others connect it with the word =ushab=, “to answer,” and think the figure was called =Ushabti=, because in the text cut upon it the figure “answers” and says: “Verily I am there,” etc. The Ushabti figure was a figure made of wood, stone, porcelain, metal, etc., which was intended to represent the person on whose behalf it was fashioned, and it was supposed to carry a digging tool and a basket in which to remove earth or sand from one place to another. In short, the Ushabti figure is a model of a farm labourer or _fallâḥ_. On the figure it was customary to cut a formula which was supposed to be said by the deceased in the Other World, to this effect: “In the event of my being condemned to spread dust (_i.e._, _sebakh_ or top-dressing) on the fields in the Ṭuat, or to fill the water-courses with water from the river, or to reap the harvest, such work shall be performed for me by thee, and no obstacle shall be put in thy way.” Below this formula were cut the words with which the figure was supposed to answer: “Verily I am there, wheresoever thou mayest speak” (or call me). When the deceased found himself in the Other World, and condemned to work in the celestial _corvée_, he was