Tag Archives: lock of hair

Hair and Death in Ancient Egypt. First Summary.

Posted on August 15, 2013 | Leave a comment

Hair and mourning women. Summary

According to what we have seen in the category « Hair and Mourning Women » we can mention some main ideas:

Mourners in Ancient Egypt made two gestures: Nwn: to cover their faces with their hair sm3 (in some cases is Snw) and nwn m: to pull their front lock of hair swt. Both are a way of showing despair and sadness.
Mourning woman of Minnakht’s tomb. http://www.1st-art-gallery.com
The hair over the face symbolized the darkness of the death into which the dead is sunk; it remembered the chaos in the primeval state of creation, so the Nwn gesture symbolized the Nun, the primeval waters.
Egyptians assimilated the hair sm3 to vital elements as breath, vegetation and water. So, to give the hair sm3 with the nwn gesture was a propitiatory practice, the hair became an instrument for sending vital energy to the deceased.
The heir was an important figure for the deceased’s resurrection in Ancient Egypt belief. As in the Osirian myth, Horus was the avenger who restored the cosmic order. For that reason the dead had to get again his virility. The nwn gesture in funerals could be a way of symbolizing the mythical copulation through which Osiris recovered his virility and Isis could conceive Horus.
Funerary stele of Lady Taperet with an image of Nut in nwn gesture. XXII Dynasty. Musée du Louvre. Photo: http://www.nybooks.com
The deceased, as Osiris and as a reborn, became Nut’s son. This goddess also made in the mythic sphere the nwn gesture. In funerary ceremony, the nwn gesture that the mourners made with the hair would remember the posture of Nut, as sky goddess, when bearing Osiris.

Locks, Plaits and Ringlets. Summary

The main ideas of the second category are:

The goddess Hathor with lateral ringlets. Column from the temple of Khnum in Elephantine Island. Photo: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín.

The deceased was welcome to the Hereafter by Hathor, lunar goddess whose face is flanked by the two ringlets wprty. When she received the dead one these two ringlets opened and let see her face; that symbolized to see the light of the full moon in the night sky and it was the culmination of the lunar resurrection for the deceased, in the same way the full moon in the Osiris myth meant the resurrection of the god.
Egyptians identified the plaits Hnskt with lunar elements as horns (an image of the crescent) and snakes (which regenerates regularly), and also helped in that lunar resurrection.
The god Khonsu with side lock. Relief from the funerary temple of Seti I in Dra Abu el-Naga. Photo: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín.
The lock of hair s3mt seems to be also identified with the first moments of life and the childhood of the moon (it would be the side lock of children), so it was as well an element for contributing to the lunar resurrection of the dead. It also seems to have a negative aspect, since it was maybe identified with the evil which threats the dead one and which suffers an ablation for allowing the deceased to get back to life.

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Posted in 06. SUMMARIES

Tagged ancient egypt, dead, death, deceased, funeral, funerary, hair, Hathor, hnskt, Horus, Isis, lock of hair, moon, mourner, Nun, Nut, nwn, nwn m, Osiris, plait, resurrection, ringlet, s3mt, samt, wprty

Hair, Enemy and Sacrifice in Ancient Egypt. Part II: Tekenu and Magical Heads.

Posted on August 12, 2013 | Leave a comment

The gesture made by the enemy is the same as the one made by mourners when they hold the front lock of hair swt. The relationship between enemy and hair is not exclusive of Sed Festival. Egyptian iconography always shows how the Pharaoh grabbed the hair of the enemies of Egypt. They were the personification of the evil and the king had to eliminate them for protecting the country from that danger. Was to kill them also to cut their locks of hair? In those scenes we can see the Pharaoh holding the mace but also sometimes a cutting weapon, the sickle. He could with it to cut the enemy’s head or as well his lock of hair.

Ramses III holding the enemies. Relief from his funerary temple of Medinet Habu. XIX Dynasty. Photo: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín.

If cutting the enemy’s hair symbolizes to eliminate the danger, then the lock of hair swt symbolizes the enemy, the evil. We would be again in a case of metonymy with lock of hair swt. As we saw formerly the lock of hair swt identified the two mourners. Once again the whole (the enemy) is identified with a very significant part (lock of hair). In the renovation/resurrection sphere of ancient Egypt the tekenu, whose image appears in Sed festivals and funerals, would be that malignant being that must be destroyed; to cut and get his lock of hair could symbolize his murder, so the end of the danger, the pass from darkness to light, from death to new life.

Obviously this is just a hypothesis, since the rite of tekenu is still much unknown. Anyway, there are some documents that allow us to approach. The tomb of Montuherkhepeshef in Thebes[1] dates from XVIII Dynasty and has a very valuable scene related to the tekenu.

Funerary scene of the tomb of Montuherkhepeshef in Dra Abu el-Naga. XVIII Dynasty.

Among the many funerary scenes, there is one showing a hole containing the word tknw; four elements share the place: the skin meska (apparently where the tekenu was wrapped), the heart, a bull leg and a lock of hair. It seems that they are parts of the tekenu[2]. Could we think that the human victim in some moment of the Egyptian history was replaced by an animal victim? All those parts of the victim seem to be very important in the funerary ceremony, at least in Montuherkhepeshef’s burial. Concretely, the lock of hair had to be in the same level of importance as the skin, the heart and the leg and maybe with a very similar function.

If the lock of hair swt in the Egyptian Sed Festival could be a symbol of the evil, and its destruction a symbol of the victory over the meanness, we could also think something similar in the funerary context. To eliminate the lock of hair swt would mean the victory of the good over the evil that the deceased needs for coming back to life. The document has not an easy explanation, but at least we can see how important could be the lock of hair in the mortuary ritual of tekenu; we could consider it as something for providing vital energy to the dead and as a grant of the end of the chaos and the danger; so the beginning of a new life for the deceased.

In this line we consider appropriate to mention the research made by R. Tefnin about the called “magical heads”[3] found in Giza[4]. They are sculptures of heads made in limestone and discovered in non royal tombs from IV Dynasty. The individual features makes think of portraits, but their purpose is not clear.

Magical heads from Giza. IV Dynasty. Cairo Museum. Photo: www.wikipedia.org

Magical heads from Giza. IV Dynasty. Cairo Museum. Photo: http://www.wikipedia.org

R. Tefnin noticed that, although their individuality, they shared many characteristics; actually it seems that a kind a damage was made in those heads before the burial; these damages were deep incisions in neck, top of the head, ears and in the frontal line of the hair. According to R. Tefnin these marks would respond to a ritual made in some moment of the funerary ceremony. We have already said that in Egyptian though the head was the centre of the life, the head has vital faculties as breathing, seeing, hearing, tasting. Not to have head meant the incapacity of making breathing and perceiving, and that was a synonym of death. Funerary texts show Osiris as a death being who needs to recover vital faculties for finishing his resurrection. In that point R. Tefnin refers to “the ambiguous attitude of Egyptians towards their deceased ones” [5].

Magical head of Nofer from his tomb in Giza (G2110A). IV Dynasty. Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Photo: www.mfa.org

Magical head of Nofer from his tomb in Giza (G2110A). IV Dynasty. Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Photo: http://www.mfa.org

On one hand the deceased needs the help of the living ones, but he can also be a danger; the dead ones belong to an unknown dimension, which the living ones cannot control, so the deceased can become a spirit coming back from the beyond to the earth with bad intentions[6]. If the dead could be an adversary, he had to be treated as an enemy. For R. Tefnin this point of view would explain those ritual mutilations made on the “Magical heads”.

The head, as image of the deceased as an enemy, suffers in some moment of the funerals, some ritual damages, which refer to punishments inflicted to adversaries: the incision in the neck would symbolize the beheading, the mark on the skull would be the hit with the mace, the cut of the ears was also a documented war practice, to cut the hair over the front should then also be a punishment made to the enemies.

Again we meet a relationship between cutting the hair and eliminating the danger. It is the same principle of the tekenu; the idea of an expiatory sacrifice materialized in renovating rites through the ablation of a lock of hair.

[1] TT 20.

[2] Spanish mission in the tomb of Dyehuty has discovered a very interesting scene related to the tekenu.

[3] Also known as “reserve heads” or “replacement heads”.

[4] R. Tefnin, 1991.

[5] R. Tefnin, 1991, p. 86.

[6] In fact we there were conjurations and incantations for avoiding the ghosts to annoy the living ones.

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Posted in 03. LOCKS, PLAITS AND RINGLETS

Tagged ancient egypt, dead, death, enemy, funeral, Giza, hair, lock of hair, magical head, Montuherkhepeshef, replacement head, reserve head, sacrifice, tekenu, tknw

Hair, Enemy and Sacrifice in Ancient Egypt. Part I: The Tekenu.

Posted on August 8, 2013 | 6 comments

Related to the lock of hair s3mt we have seen two important points:

To keep the lock of hair s3mt intact is a hope of new life for the deceased.
The lock of hair s3mt seems to be victim of ablation, just in the moment when the dead gets his head back again (see chapter 532 of Coffin Texts).

It is interesting to notice that the Egyptian verb utilised for “cut” the s3mt is Hsq, which also means “decapitate”[1] ; so the whole sentence could also be translated as « behead the lock of hair s3mt ». The act of beheading is very close to sacrifice. The idea of sacrifice is very common in Ancient Egyptian religion, mainly the sacrifice for avoiding dangers or the slaughter as revenge. But our area is funerals, dead, and renovation, resurrection, regeneration. Could we think of a symbolic sacrifice made in funerals for benefitting the deceased? Or do we know sacrifices made in Ancient Egypt with renovation finality? Yes, we do and we know a victim’s name: tekenu. This enigmatic figure appears in Sed Festival rites and also in funerary ceremony[2]. In both cases he is a man wrapped in a kind of shroud sit or in foetal position and his role is still too unknown.

Tekenu wrapped in a shroud and in foetal position over a sledge. Painting from the tomb of Ramose in Gourna.XVIII Dynasty. Photo: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín.

According to some scholars there was in ancient Egypt a prehistoric rite where a royal adolescent was sacrificed[3] and wrapped into an animal skin[4]. After the young’s death, the king would cover himself with that animal skin obtaining so the vitality the teenager had impregnated[5]. This gesture would symbolize the king’s return to his mother womb and the following rebirth; granting this way the renovation of the sovereign. The human sacrifice of Sed Festival, real or symbolic, is proven from the scenes of some slabs dating from the early I Dynasty. Maybe this practice of murdering was abandoned during that same I Dynasty and had just a symbolic dimension. After a previous symbolic sacrifice (human or animal)[6] the Pharaoh would be wrapped in a skin/shroud for getting the vitality needed.

It seems that in the heb Sed, the sacrifice had two values, one Osiriac and propitiatory and another ones Sethiac and expiatory. Both, although apparently opposed are complementary, since the death of Osiris requires next Seth’s. On one hand Osiris’ death reflects vileness and on the other hand Seth’s death means the victory of the good over the evil. Two faces of the same coin, where the king dies and comes back to life as Osiris did, while the meanness is destroyed as was Seth in the myth[7]. The tknw of some images of New Kingdom as a huddled person on a sledge could be in origin that human victim of archaic times sacrificed for the benefit of the sovereign, replaced in funerals for the benefit of the dead.

One of the first documents of Sed Festival is the tablet of king Djer found in Abydos by Petrie. The entire scene is disposed in there registers and in the first row is one of the little documents in iconography of a human sacrifice in Ancient Egypt.

Tablet of king Djer. Photo: www.ancient-egypt.org

Tablet of king Djer. Photo: http://www.ancient-egypt.org

The second register shows two possible victims represented in a conventional way, the surprising thing is that both have a frontal trace. What did the sculptor want to represent? The answer is not so easy. A priori it could remember the image of the so common Egyptian image of the enemy, usually interpreted as gripping his own stream of blood flowing from his front. But, makes it sense to hold a liquid element with both hands? Would not be more logical to think of a more solid element to catch with both hands?

[1] Wb III, 168, 16.

[2] Designation tknw for the victim in funerals appears in New Kingdom.

[3] A king’s son, that is a prince (msw nsw).

[4] The use of animal skins is common in initiation ceremonies (J.L. Le Quellec, 1993, p. 335)

[5] Enel, 1985, p. 204.

[6] J. Cervelló Autuori, 1996, p. 211.

[7] J. Cervelló Autuori, 1996, p. 209.

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Posted in 03. LOCKS, PLAITS AND RINGLETS

Tagged ancient egypt, dead, death, egypt, enemy, evil, funeral, funerary, hair, human sacrifice, lock of hair, meanness, murder, resurrection, sacrifice, tekenu, tknw, victim

Cutting the Lock of Hair s3mt in Ancient Egypt.

Posted on August 5, 2013 | Leave a comment

The Coffin Texts show us how the lock of hair s3mt was not just a symbolic element which had a very important place in the funerary imagery. Apparently it could also have been a physical thing which was manipulated and cut during the ceremony.

Chapter 532 is about to restore many parts of the corpse. To place the deceased’s head in his neck is the main gesture for reaching the new life:

“Formula for placing the head…Mi head is placed. My neck is put by Tefnut. This is the day of putting their heads to the gods. My two eyes are given to me, I see with them. I have received my dorsal spine from Ptah-Sokaris. Is tied to me a lock of hair in Heliopolis, the day of cutting the lock s3mt[1]”

In this chapter the deceased gets his eyes, his neck, his spine and the lock of hair syt, which we have already identified as the frontal lock of hair in mourners. According to the text it is a Helipolitan practice for restoring the corpse, which also includes the cutting of the lock of hair s3mt.

The Osirian ritual of Ancient Egypt represented the life, death and resurrection of that god. During the Stundenwachen-liturgy, where the two representative mourners of Isis and Nephtys had an important role, there was a practice of tying up the lock of hair. According to the inscription[2], in the second hour of the night one of the mourners, called “small Dyerit”, says:

“Join the head for you, put the plaits of hair Hnskwt” [3].

Sr can be translated as “hair of woman” or “hair of animal”[4] and srt means “bull’s hair”[5]. The action takes place in a resurrection rite where the mourner is giving a hair element. Could we think of a relationship between this passage of the Stundenwachen and the chapter 532 of the Coffin Texts? The imbalance here is that the document of the Middle Kingdom mentions the lock of hair syt, while the document from a later period mentions the plait of hair Hnskwt. Maybe we should think of a variation due to the passing of time.

Chapter 640 of the Coffin Texts mentions also the same practice, although in a more confusing context:

“A knot is tied for me around me in the sky connected with the earth by Re each day. He puts a knot on the inert over his two thighs on that day of cutting the lock of hair s3mt.

Seth ties a knot around me when the ennead is in its first power, with no turmoil.

You protect me against those who slew the father. Nut ties a knot around me, at the sight of the first time before I had seen Maat, before the gods were created[6]. I am Penty[7]; I am the heir of the gods”[8].

We find again the expression to cut the s3mt in a context of Heliopolitan divinities.

Would the action of cutting the lock of hair in Ancient Egyptian funerals come from prehistoric times? Cutting rituals (depilation, cutting hair, dental mutilations…) are usually in all cultures one of the first techniques of purification; by means of that men apart themselves from animality[9]. The fact of cutting is something fundamental in initiation ceremonies, as it is for instance circumcision. We know that in Ancient Egypt the cut of the side lock in children was made when they were already adults[10] (nowadays some African peoples still do the same), so in the pass from childhood to a new state of existence.

Nudity and lock of hair were features of childhood. Relief from the mastaba of Ptahhotep in Saqqara. VI Dynasty. Photo: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín.

We know that death for the Egyptians was just a change of condition and funerary ritual was not just a burial ceremony, but a rite of passage. The dead changed his condition; he passed from dead to reborn, from child to adult, from crescent to full moon. And in some moment of that process happened to cut the s3mt. The fact that this Egyptian word could also be translated as “mourning” or “sadness” refers us again to the mourning women; were there a connection between these women and the cut of the lock of hair s3mt?

P. Barguet considered cutting the s3mt as a Helipolitan ritual[11]. The side lock of Egyptian children was cut when they became adults. In Roman times athletes and youth initiated in Isis cult were distinguished because first ones had a side lock on the top of the head, while second ones had it over the right ear; this lock of hair was cut with the puberty at the same time of circumcision[12]. In religious sphere, Khonsu, the lunar god, was represented with his side lock and his lunar head-dress.

Could we think of cutting the s3mt of chapters 532 and 640 as a lunar rite? In a symbolic context, maybe to cut the s3mt was made when the moon was not a crescent anymore, but a full moon, that is, when the moon stopped being a child and became an adult. In the funerary ceremony, this cut of hair was maybe made as a symbol of the lunar rebirth of the deceased; it could reflect the end of the chaos and darkness which dominated the universe before the creation. Cutting the s3mt would mean full moon, light, order and new life.

[1] CT VI, 532

[2] H. Junker studied the inscription from Dendera, Edfu and Philae.

[3] H. Junker, 1910; E XIV, 95.

[4] Wb IV, 191, 3 y 4.

[5] Wb IV, 191, 5.

[6] The primeval moment.

[7] Pnt is an Egyptian verb related to the making of bread (to knead) and beer (press) (Wb I, 511, 3). Desinence –y converts it in a prospective passive participle, which indicates a future fact, so, Pnty would mean “The one who will be produced”; that would refer to the deceased as a new creation.

[8] CT VI, 640

[9] G. Durand, 1979, p.160.

[10] Scholars consider that circumcision in Ancient Egypt was made between six and fourteen years old.

[11] P. Barguet, 1986, p. 52, n. 5

[12] V. von Gonzenbach, 1957 (summary in AEB, nº 57214, pp. 61-62).

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Posted in 03. LOCKS, PLAITS AND RINGLETS

Tagged ancient egypt, childhood, coffin texts, cut, dead, death, deceased, hair, Isis, lock, lock of hair, moon, mourner, Nephtys, resurrection, rite of passage, Stundenwachen

Hair and Snake as Symbols of Rebirth in Ancient Egypt.

Posted on July 29, 2013 | Leave a comment

The connection between the hnskt plait and the snake shows again a relationship of two vital elements. All during this work we have seen how the hair was considered in ancient Egyptian as a generating life element. Egyptians also attributed vital energy to snakes, since in mythology this animal was one of the first manifestations of live. On the other hand it is interesting to notice that this is a lunar animal par excellence[1].

According to R. Briffault, “the snake and the moon are interchangeable” in many cultures because both are immortal; they are in constant renovation and that is why the snake is considered a representation of the moon[2]. The serpent shed its skin periodically, it transforms, but it does not perish, it renews itself as the moon does. But also snakes appear and disappear easily; they hide under the ground, the “underworld”, where shed the skin and regenerate themselves. In Book of the Amduat, the snake is one of the symbols of death and rebirth[3] and Re, in the twelfth hour, rejuvenates in a snake’s belly[4].

Twelfth Hour of Amduat, where Re goes out as Khepri from the snake . Painting from the tomb of Amenhotep II in the Valley of the Kings. XVIII Dynasty. Photo: www.cefb.it

Twelfth Hour of Amduat, when Re goes out as Khepri from the snake . Painting from the tomb of Amenhotep II in the Valley of the Kings. XVIII Dynasty. Photo: http://www.cefb.it

What about women? They are also “closely associated with the snake, in the same way they are related to the moon”[5]. Serpents have as well a deep fecundity symbolism. Some scholars think that the snake has at the same time a feminine side (lunar) and a masculine one, since its shape and its movements suggest the virility of the penis[6]. So, snakes combine the two principles masculine and feminine needed for the creation. Anyway, in Ancient Egypt the phallic condition of the snake does not seem to be too emphasized[7].

Lastly, the snake is a death’s keeper and, according to Egyptian religious texts, it protects the dead[8]; since it lives in the underworld, it dwells close to the deceased’s spirits and knows the secret of the death. Serpent has a very positive role in the myth of the hero who defeats the death[9]. In fact, according to M. Eliade, « Great goddesses have usually a snake as attribute, they maintain this way their lunar nature, and these goddesses are at the same time funerary divinities. The snake is so, a funerary animal and a symbol of regeneration » [10]. For that reason, we can find in some versions of the Egyptian myth that in the creation of the world, the primitive god is in the Nun as a serpent, where he comes back again also in shape of snake[11].

We can see clearly in chapter 219 of the Coffin Texts the connection between the snake and the resurrection, since to go out from the egg with the plaits hnkswt and the snakes is a synonym of rebirth. The dead one is reborn from the place where the life germinates and goes out from it with its vital power (snakes and/or plaits of hair hnkswt), a very similar image we can have in mind just thinking of Osiris going out from the womb of his mother Nut with the uraeus [12]. If hnkst is a parallel of hnskt and this one is the lock of plaits falling at the back of mourners, again we find these women and their hair in a resurrection act.

[1] All animals that appear and disappear in a cyclic way (snails, reptiles, bears…) are considered as lunar creatures (J.E. Cirlot, 1991, p. 285).

[2] R. Briffault, 1974, p. 314.

[3] W.B. Kristensen, 1992, p. 21.

[4] LÄ V, 648.

[5] R. Briffault, 1974, p. 316.

[6] G. Durand, 1979, p.303.

[7] LÄ V, 650.

[8] Pyr. 226-224, 276-299, 375-401, 727-733; CT 160, 369, 372, 375, 378, 381, 423, 434-436, 586, 686, 717, 885; LdM, 33-35, 37, 39.

[9] G. Durand, 1979, p.305.

[10] M. Eliade, 1970, p.150.

[11] LdM, 175.

[12] A. Mariette, 1875, II, 152-153, 3; Ph. Derchain, 1963, p. 22.

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Posted in 03. LOCKS, PLAITS AND RINGLETS

Tagged ancient egypt, belly, dead, deceased, funeral, funerary, hair, lock of hair, moon, mourner, Nun, Nut, Osiris, plait, rebirth, resurrection, serpent, snake

Hathor and Baldness in Ancient Egypt Symbolism.

Posted on July 17, 2013 | 1 comment

We have already seen the importance of Hathor and her two ringlets in the Ancient Egypt funerary imagery and symbolism. This goddess has many epithets which link her directly with the hair element; she is the “Lady of the plait” (Hnskt) or « the One of plait » (Hnsktt, Hnkstt)[1]. Also the priestesses who took part in the Hathor mysteries were called « the ones with plaits » (Hnskywt) or « the ones with ringlets » (wprtywt)[2].

There is a fragment of the Ramesseum Papyrus XI, where we read: “Mi heart is for you, my heart is for you as the heart of Horus is for his eye, the one of Set for his testicles, the one of Hathor for her plait, the one of Thoth for his shoulder[3]”. The text is mentioning mutilations suffered by these gods, so maybe were there an Egyptian myth where Hathor could lose a plait of hair? If so, we could then understand why in some magical practises dedicated to Hathor there had to use a plait of hair[4].

We must also take into consideration that in the Egyptian religion Hathor and Isis were associated. Plutarco assured that Isis pulled herself a lock of hair out when she knew about Osiris’ death[5]; this assertion makes us think of the image of mourners pulling their hair in funerals. We could link that with the damages mentioned above suffered by those gods in some parts of their bodies found in the text of Ramesseum Papyrus; however we have also to consider:

1) The iconography just shows us the gesture of pulling the lock of hair, but not the mutilation Plutarco mentions.

2) Ramesseum Papyrus mentions mutilations caused by another one to the god. In the case of Isis we would not be facing an attack to the goddess, but a self lesion.

Hathor and the loss of hair derives us to some statues dating from New Kingdom representing men sit in front of an Hathor’s symbol and which were studied by J.J. Clère[6]. Those men either they are bald, or they were supposed to be bald[7], because the inscription in all of them describe them as « the bald of Hathor ».

The Egyptian word for « bald » is is o ias , which defines the natural baldness, that is, the alopecia[8]. J.J. Clère considers that the term ias would have two senses: on one hand it would be « bald » in the most generic meaning, and on the other hand it would allude to the “sincipital baldness”[9]. That is, the alopecia in the upper half of the cranium, so the baldness in the wpt, as in the statues of the ias priests of Hathor[10], who had to be bald.

Head fragment from a statue of a "Bald of Hathor". New Kingdom. Metropolitan Museum of New York. Photo: www.metmuseum.org

Head fragment from a statue of a “Bald of Hathor”. New Kingdom. Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York. Photo: http://www.metmuseum.org

Around this matter it is interesting to have a look on a sentence in the Songs of Isis and Nephtys, which although very incomplete, could gain sense with all we have seen until now:

“…the baldness on the top of the head…” [11].

J.J. Clère did not see the relationship between this partial sentence and the context it is written[12], but in fact it has, because that text is mentioning the damage that Seth has caused: « Seth is in every bad thing he has done » [13], «he has messed up the sky administration» [14], «and he has sent to us bad intentions» [15]. Could we think about a version of the Myth of Osiris, where Seth amputated the hnskt of Hathor? That would explain the comparison with the eye of Horus and the testicle of Re.

That being the case, the term is/ias would describe a sincipital baldness, however not a natural alopecia, but one caused by mutilation; ias would refer to an involuntary loss of the hair, while the term f3k would refer to the voluntary shave.

Equally we could think that Hnskt would be not just a lock of hair falling on the back, but also the hair in the top of the head (wpt). The priesthood of Hathor in the statuary lacks the hair on the wpt; the top of the head; where Hathor, as the cow goddess, has her horns. Could we then think of assimilation between the hair and the horns? If so, then we should also think about a possible version of the Myth of Osiris where Seth damaged Hathor’s horns. Maybe it would be more reasonable to consider that the Hathor in the Ramesseum Papyrus was in fact Isis, the mourning wife pulling her lock of hair as a despair gesture when she knew about the death of Osiris at the hands of Seth. In addition, the title of those ias priests in some statues refers to Isis: “I am the bald of Isis, the Big One” [16] ; « I am a bald one, excellent, favourite of Isis » [17].

Maybe for being assimilated to Isis, Hathor was a divinity very closed to Osiris in the Egyptian religion and it was very common to find her in images accompanying Osiris[18]. But her presence was not just in iconography; in celebrations in honour to Osiris during the month of Khoiak Hathor had also an important role. For instance, in the Middle Kingdom there was at the beginning of the month a sailing of Hathor. This goddess also appears six times accompanying Isis in the Festival of Sokaris (god assimilated to Osiris); her boat guides the other ones and the rest of goddesses are considered as different forms of Hathor[19].

Anyway, statues of ias priest show them always with an hathoric symbol; those men belonged to an Hathor’s clergy, who had to lack hair in the top of the head, apparently not voluntary; maybe in honour to the goddess, who suffered a mutilation with a similar result in her body.

"Bald of Hathor" Ameneminet. XIX Dynasty. Luxor Museum. Photo: www.eternalegypt.org

“Bald of Hathor” Ameneminet. XIX Dynasty. Luxor Museum. Photo: http://www.eternalegypt.org

Summing up, we have three main points related to Hathor and the hair:

Hathor related to the two ringlets wprty. These two lateral ringlets are like the two sky doors, which open and allow the deceased to go up to the celestial sphere and see the face of the lunar goddess, that is the moon, so the light in the darkness. The wprty are a grant of resurrection.
Hathor or Isis had a possible loss of hair (hnskt), as it was a mutilation, similar to that one suffered by Horus with his eye or Seth with his testicle.
Existence of a clergy of Hathor, whose requirement was the lack of hair on the top of the head (wpt), showing this way a relationship between Hathor and the lack or loss of hair.

[1] G. Posener, 1986, p. 113.

[2]S.A. Naguib, 1990, p. 13.

[3] According to some versions Seth attacked Thoth and cut off his arm. G. Posener, 1986, p. 111.

[4] Pap. Berlin 3027 9, 3-7; A. Ermann, 1901, p. 34. Although here the Egyptian word for plait is not Hnskt, but dbnt. Some scholars assure that there are representations of locks of hair with hathoric symbols of regeneration. E. Staehelin, 1978, p. 83.

[5] Plutarco, De Iside et Osiride, 14.

[6] J-J. Clère, 1995.

[7] J-J. Clère, 1995, p. 14.

[8] There is another Egyptian term for “bald”: f3k, used for the priesthood of Heliopolis. Actually it refers to the “shave”, not to the natural baldness. We have already written about the baldness and the lack of vegetation.

[9] J-J. Clère, 1995, p. 28.

[10] We read in the chapter 588 of the Coffin Texts and chapter 103 of the Book of Dead: “Speech for being at both sides of Hathor. I am one who has passed pure, a iAs priest. I will be Ihy in the Hathor’s entourage”.

[11] Pap. Bremner-Rhind, 2, 23.

[12] J-J. Clère, 1995, p. 30.

[13] Songs…, 2, 19.

[14] Songs…, 2, 20.

[15] Songs…, 2, 21.

[16] J-J. Clère, 1995, p. 76.

[17] J-J. Clère, 1995, p. 160.

[18] This assimilation comes from the Old Kingdom. Also in some cases Isis can appear as Re’s wife.

[19] Papyrus Bremner-Rhind ,19, 13 ff.

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Tagged ancient egypt, crown, dead, death, deceased, egypt, funeral, funerary, hair, Hathor, hnskt, horn, Isis, khoiak, lock of hair, moon, mourner, mourning, Osiris, resurrection, ringlet, wprt, wpt

The two Ringlets wprty give Access to the Realm of the Dead.

Posted on July 10, 2013 | Leave a comment

The presence of hair in Ancient Egypt funerary belief is more than just the mane or the lock of hair. There are mentions in three chapters of the Coffin Texts to another shape of hair: the ringlets.
1) In chapter 107 of the Coffin Texts the deceased goes out to the day, that is, he comes back to light and to life; in that process we read:

“…praises are given; the double ringlet starts the jubilee

While the Duat gets open for me…”

There is undoubtedly a word game with wpw (open) and wprty; since wpt can be also the crown as the origin of the hair[1], the upper part of the head (and also the zenith of the sky). On the other hand, the Egyptian word wprty describes the lateral plait or ringlet that can be seen in children as a sign of youth[2]; it is also the side lock of the god Khonsu[3], the god of moon.

The god Khonsu with side lock. Relief from the funerary temple of Seti I in Dra Abu el-Naga. Photo: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín.

D. Meeks translates it with a wider meaning as « lock of hair in the temple » [4]. Taking into account that the chapter relates how the deceased gets into the Duat, it makes sense to think about the two lateral ringlets of Hathor, the Egyptian goddess who receives the dead ones in the flank of the West Mountain, when they get into the realm of the dead, and she guides them in the night sky.

One of Hathor’s symbols of identity is her two big lateral ringlets framing her face[5]. Apparently this image of the goddess derives from a version of the myth of the “Eye of Re”.

The goddess Hathor with lateral ringlets. Column from the temple of Khnum in Elephantine Island. Photo: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín.

It relates how Hathor (also Tefnut) lived in the Nubian desert as a wild lioness, while her father Re ruled alone the mankind. This one commanded Shu and Thot the mission of looking for Hathor and bring her back to Egypt. When they were in Philae, Hathor immersed in the holy water of the first cataract and she became a very pretty woman “goddess of love, with pretty face and the hair on two big ringlets, bright eyes and firm breast”[6]. The legend of the Eye is the legend of the return: the return of the goddess from the desert, the flood after the winter, it is also the cyclic return of the agricultural prosperity[7].

2) In chapter 109 of the Coffin Texts we read:

“Open the Occident. Praises are given. The jubilee starts when Hathor gives the double ringlet”[8]

This chapter confirms the previous exposure, since the wprty are the two ringlets of Hathor. It is about the funerary goddess, the one who takes the deceased in the necropolis; she is “Hathor, the Mistress of the Occident, who rules the frontier of the desert”; she presents the two ringlets, Hathor, the lunar goddess which guides the dead in the darkness of the death.

Could we think that this passage is referring to a rite? Would it be ridiculous to think of a kind of priestess or representative of Hathor in the necropolis presenting two ringlets to the mummy? If so, and taking into consideration the assimilation of Hathor with Isis in Egyptian religion, could be that woman the mourner in the role of Isis? [9]. Thinking so, we would keep in the same line and with the mourners as the main persons of our research; we would not need to resort to a third woman, which, on the other hand, does not appear in any funerary scene.

3) In chapter 533 the dead becomes a scribe of Hathor; the text is long but just in a few sentences we find something very interesting for our subject:

“Become scribe of Hathor. I am the one who is glad before her horns, being arms united, the lector priest, scribe of god words…in the secret palace…

…my two ringlets get open

and the face of Hathor makes lighter to me. Hathor holds her arms out”

Once again we are facing Hathor as the goddess who takes the dead in, holding her arms out. When the two ringlets separate, as if they were curtains, the deceased discover her face, as if it was a window that lets the light come in; Hathor’s face gets lighter, like the moon in the dark sky.

For the expression “make lighter”, the scribe used the Egyptian word , which it is also used for terms related to « clear », « silver » or « moon » [10]. Separate the wprty ringlets means to see the moon; it is the access to the light after the darkness of the death. Hathor/moon allows the vision during the night; she illuminates, guides and takes the deceased in.

It is also interesting to notice how in chapter 44 of the Coffin Texts we can read: “Heaven’s doors open with your beauty, you go out and you see Hathor” [11]. To get into the heaven and see the goddess, either the doors get open, or the wprty ringlets get separated. It seems both elements doors and ringlets could be assimilated and interchangeable. To separate the wprty as if they were curtains allows seeing the light (Hathor’s face / moon) in the middle of the night sky.

[1] Wb I, 297, 13. It is also the part of the head new born “opens” the mother for coming to life, so it is a part related to the rebirth.

[2] Wb I, 305, 6.

[3] We can read it in the propylon of the temple of Khonsu in Karnak. K. Sethe und O. Firchow, 1957, 67 78, 81.

[4] D. Meeks, 1977-79, II, p.94, 78.0951.

[5] According to S. Aufrère “Hathor dissimulait sa face ronde et plate d’Asiatique dans une épaisse coiffure de bédouine, aux inmenses volutes, formant la nuit de lapis-lazuli” (S. Aufrére, 1993, p. 17).

[6] H. Junker, 1911.

[7] E. Bresciani, 1993, p. 47.

[8] In some coffins the writing is reduced to.

[9] In the scene of resurrection in the tomb of Petosiris Isis on the left with the side lock is the “Lady of Rekhyt”, an epithet of Hathor (F. Daumas, 1960, pl. I).

[10] Wb III, 206-208

[11]CT I, 44.

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Posted in 03. LOCKS, PLAITS AND RINGLETS

Tagged ancient egypt, dead, death, deceased, egypt, funeral, funerary, hair, Hathor, Isis, Khonsu, lock of hair, mane, moon, mourner, mummy, ringlet, youth

Hair, Hathor and Moon.

Posted on July 8, 2013 | Leave a comment

Joint with the hair, we have seen now two new important elements which we cannot ignore: Hathor and light. Hathor is mentioned as the « guide of the boat, who keeps ropes kasu in front of the rudder in the West ways… », she is « the lady of the light, who guides the Big One who is tired ». Hathor and light means that the text is referring to the lunar Hathor, the guide during the night.

According to an Egyptian tradition, Hathor was patroness of deceased[1]; she was a goddess that very soon became the goddess of The West and the imagery put her on the flank of the mountain, the place of the sunset and where the dead ones got into the Underworld[2].

The goddess Hathor in the flank of the west mountain ready for receiving the dead. Painting from the tomb of Shuroy in Dra Abu el-Naga. XIX Dynasty. Phot: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín.

Religious texts show that from very soon Hathor was a goddess who received the dead[3], who sheltered him[4], who helped him in reaching the eternity[5]; in the Afterlife the dead was in the entourage of Hathor[6] and she was the main one in the necropolis, that is why one of her epithets was “Hathor at the head of the Necropolis”[7]. Hathor helped the dead to go up to the sky, the same sky where she is guardian and that is his own body as celestial cow. In fact, the Egyptian name Hathor means « The house of Horus » [8].

Hathor grants the dead be sitting in the sky, that according to E. Drioton would be a lunar paradise[9], so a night sky. Not only Hathor has a relationship with the moon, with the night sky and with Horus[10], she also is connected somehow with the Udyat eye[11]. There are several examples of Hathor with a lunar character, so she is the “left eye of Re” [12], the “eye of Re in the sky during the day and the eye of Horus which makes the darkness bright” [13].

It is well-know the relationship between cattle and the moon, because the horns are assimilated to the crescent quarter. This aspect contributes to that image of Hathor as a sky goddess, which exist in Ancient Egypt from the Predynastic period.

Cow-head palette from Gerzeh. Predynastic period. Photo: www.touregypt.net

Cow-head palette from Gerzeh. Predynastic period. Photo: http://www.touregypt.net

We see it clearly in the cow-head palette from Gerzeh in Cairo Museum with the image of a cow rounded with stars making a very ancient image of a celestial cow[14].

But Hathor, is mainly a mother goddess, a celestial cow whose main role is feed people and gods and, so that, has the faculty of giving the life[15]. Maybe that is the reason why, as a mortuary divinity, Hathor also took part in the deceased’s resurrection and was assimilated with Isis[16].

The maternal nature of the cow makes that animal a symbol of rebirth. In this sense Hathor should be consider as a manifestation of the primeval mother[17]. Because “horns of cattle, that characterize great fecundity gods, are the emblem of the divine “Magna Mater”[18] and because moon and fertility go together.

Hathor, as lunar deity, is also guide of the boat and she maintains the ropes. In this regard we consider interesting to refer to chapters 404 and 405 in the Coffin Texts, where the bow rope is assimilated to the braid of Isis. It is the night boat, which carries the deceased when he revives during the night, so it is the moon. The shape of the boat could remember the quarter of the moon, so the boat crescent-shape will be one of the first means of transport[19] in Egyptian culture, as it will be for the dead once he will be in the Afterlife.

In fact, the usual head-dress for lunar deities is a full moon over a crescent, in the same way the deceased reborn as a full moon will travel in the Hereafter in the lunar boat, identified with the crescent.

Head-dress of Khonsu with full moon over the crescent. Relief from the temple of Khonsu in Karnak. XIX Dynasty. Photo: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín.

So, what we are facing is a lunar rebirth. In that rebirth we have seen the important role of the hair element. The feminine hair appears related to water, maternity, sexuality…and also now to the moon. If hair is related to water and moon, the lock of hair swt in mourning should also have a connection with the lunar resurrection of the dead, with the goddess Hathor in her lunar nature, as guide of the boat (crescent of the moon) in the dark of the night sky.

Hathor capital. Bahr el-Yussef museum. Photo: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín.

So, we have the mourners and /or the locks of hair swt in the moan, that is, mourning on earth during the funerals while the goddess Hathor in her lunar nature is in the night sky with her both ringlets on each side of her frontal face; Hathor is a grant of the deceased’s resurrection and she guides the boat, which bow rope is the braid of Isis. In the funerary ceremony the two locks of hair of the mourners could be the announcement of the lunar resurrection.

[1] E. Drioton, 1985, p. 188.

[2] A. Erman, 1952, p. 50.

[3] Pyr. 1026.

[4] CT VI, 769.

[5]CT V, 398.

[6] LdM, 144.

[7] S. Allam , 1963, p. 67

[8] S. Allam, 1963, p. 99

[9] E. Drioton, BiOr 15, p. 189.

[10] A. Mariette, 1875, IV, 77 a; en Ph. Derchain, 1962, p. 46.

[11] CT VI, 670.

[12] A. Mariette, 1875, I, 112, 7(A).

[13] A. Mariette, 1875, VI, 144, 2-3(J).

[14] According to F. A. Hassan it could represent Orion (F. A. Hassan, 1992, p. 314).

[15] One epithet for Hathor is “Mistress of Life” (A. Mariette, 1875, I, 26 f.).

[16] According to a version of the Osiris legend, Isis lost her head and Thoth replaced it with a cow’s head (Pap. Sallier IV). In addition, sometimes Hathor is called with the epithet of “Beautiful One of Osiris” (A. Mariette, 1875, VI, 3, 3).

[17] F. A. Hassan, 1992, p. 315.

[18] M. M. Eliade, 1970, p. 146.

[19] G. Durand, 1979, p. 238.

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Tagged afterlife, ancient egypt, boat, cow, cow-head, crescent, dead, death, deceased, egypt, funeral, funerary, hair, Hathor, Hereafter, Horus, Isis, Khonsu, lock of hair, moon, mountain, mourner, necropolis, Neftis, night boat, night sky, Osiris, resurrection, tomb, west

The meaning of the word swt

Posted on July 3, 2013 | Leave a comment

There is another chapter referring to swt; although it is a confusing text, we can make some deductions examining consciously the words. In the chapter 332 of the Coffin Texts the dead is being guided by a powerful goddess who is

“…the lady of the power, who guides to those ones in the caverns. I am Hathor, Lady of the northern sky, who maintains the ropes kAsw of those awaken…the earth trembles because of the jubilation, while the locks of hair are in the mourning…”

Sw is a verb, whose meaning is “to be something harmful for someone”[1], maybe it could be translated as “hurt “or “wound”. The substantive would then be swt (“damage”, “hurt”)[2]. We already find this verb in the Pyramid Texts of the Old Kingdom:

The two armas over the head is a very normal posture among mourners in Ancient Egypt. Painting from the tomb of Roy in Dra Abu el-Naga. XVIII Dynasty. Photo: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín.

The two arms over the head is a very normal posture among mourners in Ancient Egypt. Painting from the tomb of Roy in Dra Abu el-Naga. XVIII Dynasty. Photo: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín.

“The deceased is the Lord of his enemies, which have been beaten by Horus for him. Go up! Sit over him! You are stronger than him, hurt him…!” (di ir.k swt ir.f)[3]. Isis is sitting, her arms over her head. Nephtys, holds her breasts because of the death of her brother, Anubis is bended over his stomach, Osiris is in his damage » (Wsir m swt.f) [4].

We could maybe consider the word swt as a passive participle of the verb sw, so the translation would be something as: “the damaged ones” or “the hurt ones”, the ones who have been damaged, that is, the mourners Isis and Nephtys; they were hurt by the death of Osiris and that is why they are in mourning. This would also explain the use of the hieroglyph of hair as determinative in so many words that refer to mourners and mourning.This passage is clearly describing the typical funerary scene in which the mummy is laying while Anubis makes his embalming process and the two mourners Isis and Nephtys regret the death of her husband/brother.

We should also notice a kind of word game with the “locks of hair” (swt) in chapter 531 and the “hurt ones” (swt) in chapter 332, in both cases applied to the mourners who dishevel their hair as a sign of mourning. It is as well interesting how each mourner is indentified with a lock of hair; so mourners and hair go together. That is what we call a metonymy; the whole (the mourners) is designated using its most significant part (the hair).

But we wanted to go on searching more on the verb sw and we found that it also could be translated as “to increase the strength” or “to get the strength back” [5]. We can read this verb in the Pyramid Texts[6] and also in the Coffin Texts:

“…I came and I recovered the strength back in nsrsr island”[7].

In both texts the dead, after drinking milk or beer (both considered revitalising drinks), recover his force and comes back to life. It makes sense the use of the hair as determinative ; if the hair is an energy source and the nwn/nwn m gesture pretend the resurrection of the corpse, it is normal here to find it related with a verb meaning « fortify ». On the other hand, swt is a causative verb that derives from wt, whose translation is “be powerful” or “be big” [8]. In addition, wt also means « to embalm » [9] and there is direct relationship between embalming and the deceased’s resurrection. One of the main goals of embalming was to reconstruct the whole body, the physical reconstruction as getting the soul’s support, and this consolidation is connected with the hair element.

[1] Wb IV, 59, 16

[2] Wb IV, 59, 18

[3] Pyr., 652.

[4] Pyr., 1281-1282.

[5] D. Meeks, 1977-1979, II, p. 311, nº 78.3367; D. Meeks, 1976, p. 88, n. 14.

[6] Pyr., 1282 b.

[7]CT VII, 1013. Translation of P. Barguet (P. Barguet, 1986, p. 417).

[8] Wb IV, 77, 9.

[9] Wb I, 378, 8.

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Tagged ancient egypt, coffin, corpse, dead, deceased, egypt, funeral, funerary, hair, Isis, lock of hair, mourn, mourner, mourning, Neftis, Nephtys, Osiris, resurrection, weeping

The Locks of Hair swt are Isis and Nephtys.

Posted on July 1, 2013 | Leave a comment

The chapter 531 of the Coffin Texts treats about the prophylaxis of the different parts of the funerary mask, always assimilating them with many divinities. After saying how perfect is the face (that is the mask) of the dead we read:

“Your White Crown is Thoth; your crown is Wp-wawt[1]. Your eyebrows are both Enneads. Your eyes are the boat of the day and the boat of the night.

Your two locks of hair are Isis and Nephtys.

Your nape is Duanenuy. Your plait is Hddt

The funerary mask is like a complete head, or like its substitute, and to put it on the deceased’s face is a revivifying action. The dead is assimilated to the acephalic Osiris and the mask has two functions. On one hand it hides the damage made by Seth on the Osiris’ face; on the other hand it restores the faculties to the head, as to see and to breath; through the mask the dead can also perceive things that mortals cannot notice[2]; the replacement of the head, symbolised by the placement of the mask, allows the deceased to come back to life.

Scholar D. Meelks translated the word swt as “lock” or “plait”[3]. Due that the chapter is describing the funerary mask; we could think that this word would be making an allusion to the two locks of hair that fall on both sides of the face; in the same way that Isis and Nephtys are always at both extremes of the dead.

Khonsu's funerary mask. XIX Dynasty. Metropoliltan Museum of New York. Photo: www.metmuseum.org

Khonsu’s funerary mask. XIX Dynasty. Metropoliltan Museum of New York. Photo: http://www.metmuseum.org

Let’s remember also that we have already seen how the word swt designates the front lock of hair the mourners pull. Maybe both locks of hair were assimilated to the hair the two goddesses pull from.

In the wig both locks of hair fall at both sides of the face while the rest of the hair falls over the back. The term hnskt usually means “plait of hair”[4]. But in the context we are the two locks of hair are assimilated with Isis and Nephtys, and just before the text mentions the nape, so it makes sense to think of Hnskt as the mop of hair that in the wig falls on the back[5]. On the other hand, the term Hnskty is a dual that means « the two women with plait », Isis and Nephtys[6]. And that refers us to those images of Isis and Nephtys with the head-dress afnt (see image in header) or to those images of mourners with the hair tied in a back tail; , which would reinforce the idea that hnskt could be that hair identified with the goddess Hddt (a kind of Isis in Edfu).

Mourners with hair tied in a back tail. Painting from the tomb of Roy in Dra Abu el-Naga. XIX Dynasty. Photo: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín.

Mourners with hair tied in a back tail. Painting from the tomb of Roy in Dra Abu el-Naga. XVIII Dynasty. Photo: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín.

At this point we consider important to point out a scene of a libation on an altar in Dendera. In it the spelling of Isis Hddt is changed by another one that refers to a light symbolism. We are in a context where the mission of Isis is to bright in the sky just in the moment of bringing the flood[7]. That makes us think about what we have seen in former chapters about the nwn gesture and the beginning of the Egyptian year; the nwn gesture would be a way of symbolising the new flood, the new year and, therefore, the new life. Again we would be facing the hair element with a strong regenerating symbolism.

[1] “The One who open the ways”, the name of the jackal god from Asiut, that opens the ways to the king in the battle. Let’s think about its presence also in the Sed Festival.

[2] D. Meeks, 1991, p. 7.

[3] D. Meeks, 1977-1979, II, p. 312, nº 78.3373.

[4] Wb III, 116, 4.

[5] Chr. Desroches-Noblecourt considers that Hnskt refers to the small braids under the head-dress afnt (Chr. Desroches-Noblecourt, 1953, p. 28, n. 2) and that it is related with the manifestation of the deceased’s ka (Chr. Desroches-Noblecourt, 1953, p. 25, n. 5). The mother of the dead in funerals wears the head-dress afnt: “Your mother is the great cow in el-Kab, (with) the crown Atef and head-dress afnt, with long hair, with hanging breasts, which has nursed you” (Pyr., 2003).

[6] Wb III, 121, 1. It appears like that in The Songs of Isis and Nephtys, Pap. Bremner-Rhind I; 1,9; 3,23; 6,23 y 11,19.

[7] M-Th. Derchain-Urtel, 1993. Leuven, p. 102.

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Tag Archives: lock of hair

Hair and Death in Ancient Egypt. First Summary.

Hair, Enemy and Sacrifice in Ancient Egypt. Part II: Tekenu and Magical Heads.

Hair, Enemy and Sacrifice in Ancient Egypt. Part I: The Tekenu.

Cutting the Lock of Hair s3mt in Ancient Egypt.

Hair and Snake as Symbols of Rebirth in Ancient Egypt.

Hathor and Baldness in Ancient Egypt Symbolism.

The two Ringlets wprty give Access to the Realm of the Dead.

Hair, Hathor and Moon.

The meaning of the word swt

The Locks of Hair swt are Isis and Nephtys.

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