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Mourning Women and Mourning Hair in Ancient Egypt Funeral.

Posted on November 4, 2013 | 1 comment

All along this work we have found three different mourners involved in Egyptian funerals.

Mourning men pulling hair. Relief from the matasba of Idu in Gizah. VI Dynasty. Photo: www.antiguoegipto.org

Mourning men pulling hair. Relief from the mastaba of Idu in Gizah. VI Dynasty. Photo: http://www.antiguoegipto.org

On one hand there were groups of common mourners (mainly women, but sometimes also men) among the rest of the members of the cortège. They were walking together weeping and making the typical gestures of mourning: beating themselves, raising arms, ripping their clothes…those gesture included also to shake the hair and cover the face with it (nwn) or to pull a front lock of hair (nwn m). Egyptian documents (texts and iconography) do not give evidence that both gestures were made together; common mourners made one or another nor did the whole group do the same gesture all together. It seems that there was no coordination and that the women could make different mourning movements during the procession. The question is if that depended on something.

Was it something spontaneous and did it not depend on any order?
Was it an election of priests?
Did it depend on a local custom?
Was it an election made by the deceased’s family?
Was it an election made by the deceased? Taking into account that the tomb and its decoration was made while he was alive, it makes sense to think about a tomb’s owner election.

On the other hand, Egyptian iconography, specially tombs and papyrus from New Kingdom, show us the deceased’s widow next to the coffin also weeping and making mourning gestures, but apparently never shaking or pulling her hair. She is a mourning wife, but different from the group of common mourners and from the two representatives of Isis and Nephtys.

Isis and Nephtys are at both extremes of the mummy. Behind Roy’s wife mourns her husband’s death. Painting from the tomb of Roy in Dra Abu el-Naga. XVIII Dynasty. Photo: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín.

Finally, the funerary ceremony in Ancient Egypt counted on the participation of two mourning women playing the roles of Isis and Nepthys. The New Kingdom is the most prolific period of Egyptian history in scenes of them. They usually appear at both extremes of the coffin with a passive attitude, although funerary texts refer to them as active members in the corpse’s regeneration.

If we construct the puzzle with all the pieces from the different documents the scene we have is the following: during the cortège these two professional mourners stood static next to the mummy and with their hair covered by a piece of clothing, meanwhile the rest of mourners regretted the death of a person crying, screaming and shaking and/or pulling hair. Once the procession arrived to the necropolis things changed.

Cortège with the common mourners, the deceased’s wife and the two Drty in the role of Isis and Nephtys. Papyrus of Nebqed. Musée du Louvre. XVIII Dynasty. Photo: http://www.eu.art.com

Mourners over the corpse. Detail of the stele of Akbaou. XI Dynasty. Photo: www.commons-wikimedia.org

Mourners over the corpse. Detail of the stele of Akbaou. Musée du Louvre. XI Dynasty. Photo: http://www.commons-wikimedia.org

The Opening of the Mouth ceremony for reviving the mummy took part somewhere in an enclosed area (most probably the tomb) and not in view of anyone. It was when the priestly team entered into the mythical dimension; the myth became rite in a group of practices for getting the deceased’s resurrection. The two women (Drty) turned into Isis and Nephtys and the mummy into Osiris. Outside the common mourners (included the deceased’s wife) kept moaning, but inside the two “kites” carried out a mourning ritual in which they made the nwn and the nwn m gestures. This way they reproduced that part of the Osiris myth in which Isis conceived Horus and he could revenge his father’s death.

During the Opening of the Mouth ceremony the sem priest played the role of the tekenu, helping in the transmission of life force to the corpse, but he also was the representative of Horus for facing Seth. This part of the myth is materialised in the rite by means of the sacrifice of an ox.

Sacrifice of the ox with the presence of the mourner. Painting from the tomb of Rekhmire in Gourna. XVIII Dynasty. Photo: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín.

The animal’s slaughter meant the victory of Horus over Seth, the good over the evil, so the mourning’s end. At that moment we consider the s3mt was cut, cutting this mourner’s hair symbolized the enemies’ annihilation, the end of the mourning and the Udjat eye’s recovery.

The two Drty (two kites), offering nw vases to the four pools. Relief from the tomb of Pahery in el-Kab. XVIII Dynasty. Photo: www.osirisnet.net

The two Drty (two kites), offering nw vases to the four pools, both with short hair. Relief from the tomb of Pahery in el-Kab. XVIII Dynasty. Photo: http://www.osirisnet.net

At the end of the Opening of the Mouth ceremony there were, among others, a hair offering. It was the mourner’s hair that had been shook and pulled and that served for symbolizing the revitalization process of the mummy (recovery of vital faculties, return to the Nun and to the womb…) and the removal of the evil which could drag out that process (lunar eye suffering, enemies, chaos…). This hair was offered as an image of the Udjat eye and materialised the deceased’s resurrection.

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Posted in 07. CONCLUSIONS

Tagged ancient egypt, corpse, dead, death, deceased, drty, funeral, funerary, hair, Horus, Isis, lock of hair, mourner, mummy, Nephtys, nwn, nwn m, opening of the mouth, Osiris, ox, pull, resurrection, s3mt, samt, shake, tekenu, Udjat, Udjat eye, weeping

S3mt: Hair and Mourning, Evil and Udjat Eye.

Posted on October 31, 2013 | Leave a comment

The word s3mt appears repeatedly in the Egyptian funerary texts. It can be translated as lock of hair or mourning and it is closely linked to the idea of destruction of evil, the healing of the lunar eye and finally recovering the Udjat eye.

S3mt seems to refer to something related to the mourning ritual and focused on the mourner’s hair. It could probably be considered as the hair that during the mourning rite women manipulated with a symbolic meaning, shaking it forwards (nwn sm3) or pulling it (nwn m swt).

Group of mourners, one of them making nwn m gesture of pulling her frontal lock of hair. Relief from the mastaba of Mereruka. VI Dynasty. Photo: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín.

Mourner making nwn m gesture of pulling her front lock of hair. Relief from the mastaba of Mereruka. VI Dynasty. Photo: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín.

Two women shaking their hairs. Relief from the Red Chapel of Hatshepsut in Karnak. Photo: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín

Two women shaking their hair. Relief from the Red Chapel of Hatshepsut in Karnak. Photo: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín

The funerary texts communicate that this s3mt was cut, using the Egyptian word Hsq, which meant “cut”, but also “behead”. And also we find evidence that the mourners were shaved at the end of the mourning rite.

The two Drty (two kites), offering nw vases with short hair to the four pools. Relief from the tomb of Pahery in el-Kab. XVIII Dynasty. Photo: http://www.osirisnet.net

Many documents assimilate the hair s3mt with the s3bwt snakes. These were malign animals that in Egyptian mythology beheaded the gods, so they were an image of the enemy and responsible of the death.

Beheading the snake as an image of the evil. The cat of Heliopolis killing the snake Apohis, enemy of Re. Painting from the tomb of Inerkha in Deir el-Medina. XIX Dynasty. Photo: http://www.osirisnet.net

In Egyptian funerary belief, it is necessary to restore the head for living again and annihilate those s3bwt. Making that the adversary is wiped out; the gods recover their heads and also their faculties for seeing, breathing and knowing. In the funerary ambit, this will benefit the deceased, since cutting the s3mt will have the same effects on him: to recover the faculties that give him access to the new life.

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.

Cutting the s3mt is also closely related to the sacrifice and the figure of tekenu. This human victim, who goes back to ancient times in Egyptian history, has a double value, expiatory and propitiatory. In the first documents, one of the remarkable elements of the human victim is a front lock of hair. Once the human victim is replaced by an ox in the Opening of the Mouth ceremony again the lock of hair is one of the most important elements. So, this last one seems to be related with the evil elimination.

Sacrifice of an ox in the funerary ceremony. Painting from the tomb of Menna in Gourna. XVIII Dynasty. Photo: www.osirisnet.net

Sacrifice of an ox in the funerary ceremony. Painting from the tomb of Menna in Gourna. XVIII Dynasty. Photo: http://www.osirisnet.net

As cutting the s3mt is a way of removing the bad, it is also a way of recovering the Udjat eye as symbol of the final resurrection. Firstly Thoth spits on the damaged eye of Horus and this action is narrated in sacred texts as Thoth spitting on the hair sm3, afterwards the mourners are shaved or the s3mt is cut and the Udjat eye is offered to the deceased.

Eye of Horus, the falcon god. Detail from an image of Horus in the tomb of Roy in Dra Abu el-Naga. XVIII Dynasty. Photo: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín.

Summing up, to cut the s3mt supposes annihilate the enemy, the evil but also recover the Udjat eye and allow the final resurrection.

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Posted in 07. CONCLUSIONS

Tagged ancient egypt, cut, dead, death, evil, hair, Horus, light, moon, mourner, mourning, opening of the mouth, Osiris, ox, regenreation, resurrection, s3mt, sacrifice, samt, snake, tekenu, Udjat, weeping

Cutting the s3mt, shaving the Mourners, offering the Udjat eye.

Posted on September 5, 2013 | Leave a comment

According to what we have seen all along this last part of the work, there is a coincidence among cutting the s3mt, shaving the mourners in the role of Isis and Nephtys and giving the Udjat eye. We are at the end of the resurrection process made for the mummy. The two mourners incite with their actions the Osiris’ corpse reanimation[1], after that Osiris is mentioned under a lunar appearance; as Papyrus Louvre I, 3079 says: “gets into the Udjat eye, joining him. Thoth collects the constitutive elements of the eye; afterwards the sadness is captured, because you get up to the sky with it”[2]. The Egyptian myth of Osiris tells how, once the corpse of this god was restored, Horus gave him the Udjat eye (the healed lunar eye of Horus). With this offering, Horus helped in the final reanimation of his father.

Osiris (father) coming back to life and helped by Isis (his wife) and Horus (his son). Relief from the temple of Seti I in Abydos. XIX Dynasty. Photo: www.egypte-antique.fr)

Osiris (father) coming back to life and helped by Isis (his wife) and Horus (his son). Relief from the temple of Seti I in Abydos. XIX Dynasty. Photo: http://www.egypte-antique.fr

The presence of the son is relevant, because it makes necessary the restitution of the deceased’s virility. The result is the Triad (in this case Osiris, Isis and Horus), which is such a common concept in many cultures. Scholar G. Durand considered the Triad had a lunar nature, since the son’s figure, as an extension of the family line, helps in defeating temporality. On the other hand, the Horus presence means the appearance of the living masculine side as a complement of the feminine one incarnated in his mother Isis. G. Durand’s theory is that the origin of the son’s image would be in the primitive androgynous version of the lunar divinities, having so the masculine (son) and feminine (mother) values together[3]. In ancient Egypt belief, as in all cultures, these two values are necessary for generating life, so in the funerary context they are essential for the deceased’s rebirth.

Horus gives his healthy eye (Udjat eye) to his father and that means the lunar resurrection of Osiris, who becomes “the lord of the Udjat eye” [4]. According to some chapters of the Coffin Texts this moment has something to do with cutting the lock of hair s3mt and/or shaving the mourners in the role of Isis and Nephtys. But what does the iconography says?

Funerals of Sobekmose with the two mourners (or two kites) with no mane of hair. Relief from the tomb of Sobekmose in el-Rizeikat. XVIII Dynasty. Photo: www.blognaver.com

The tomb of Sobekmose in el-Rizeikat dating from the reign of Amnehotep III has a very important relief of the mortuary ceremony located in the north wall of the funerary chamber[5]. On the right Anubis is embalming the mummy while the coffin on a sledge is pulled by seven men. On the left the two mourning women with no mane of hair are the Drty or “the two kites”[6], the women impersonating Isis and Nephtys; they are facing the mww dancers. Drty and mww are usually represented in the final moment of the funerary ceremony.

Isis and Nephtys as the two kites. Painting from the tomb of Sennedjem in Deir el-Medina. XIX Dynasty. Photo: www.osirisnet.net

Isis and Nephtys as the two kites. Painting from the tomb of Sennedjem in Deir el-Medina. XIX Dynasty. Photo: http://www.osirisnet.net

Also in the north wall over the previous scene there is an image of the deceased in front of the judges; the inscription says: “…I am the nose that gives life to everybody in the day of completing the Udjat eye in Heliopolis…“[7]

We have seen that the day of giving the Udjat eye is the day of shaving the mourners, and the cut of the s3mt, a Heliopolitan rite, is related with the healing of the lunar eye, so has a lunar nature. Taking that into consideration, it is tempting to relate the expression “the day of cutting the s3mt” we have read in Coffin Texts with “the day of completing the Udjat eye” in the tomb of Sobekmose. We have already suggested the idea of cutting the lock of hair as a way of symbolising the maturity of the moon, so becoming the full moon (Udjat eye).

Hair, moon and Heliopolis converge in ancient Egypt already from at least the Old Kingdom in the figure of the girl Hwnt . According to the Pyramid Texts she is “the great young who is in Heliopolis…she has given you the two arms“[8] and”she put her arms over you” [9]. A. Erman and H. Grapow considered Hwnt wrt as a goddess in Heliopolis, who in the late period was assimilated to Hathor and Nephtys[10]. The Pyramid Texts describe her as “the little girl who is in the eye of Horus” [11], that is, the pupil in the eye’s god[12]. The hieroglyph of a girl with a lock of hair as determinative, made H. Kees think of the lock of hair as a symbol and substitute of the lunar eye[13]; as a consequence he considered the girl with the lock of hair in fury as the damaged eye of Horus, while the hair sm3 was the damage itself[14].

The two Drty (two kites), offering nw vases to the four pools. Relief from the tomb of Pahery in el-Kab. XVIII Dynasty. Photo: http://www.osirisnet.net

By extension we could also relate the shave of the mourners with the two mourners with short hair of the tomb of Sobekmose. They are not the only examples. We count on many tombs with images of the final funerary rites with the two Drty with no mane: the tomb of Sobekhotep[15] and Rekhmire[16] in Gourna, the tomb of Pahery in el-Kab and the tomb of Nefersekheru in Zawyet Sultan (all of them dating from the New Kingdom) show the Drty with short hair at the end of the funerals offering two globular vases in front of the four pools; while the tomb of Renni in el-Kab has an image of the mourner with short hair wrapping a person with a kind of clothing.

The most explicit iconography about what happens in that moment of the funerary ceremony is the tomb decoration of Rekhmire. It shows how after the Opening of the Mouth ceremony, a woman with short hair is offering green make-up[17].

Women (mourner) offering the make-up. Detail from the south wall in the tomb of Rekhmire. XVIII Dynasty.

That is something already documented in the Old Kingdom Pyramid Texts, where we can read: “make up the intact eye of Horus in your face” [18] or “Horus has made up to you his eye” [19]. Also in the Coffin Texts we can find many mentions to that practice, as for instance: “…I make up to you a green eye of Horus in your face” [20], “green make-up and black make-up I give you the eye of Horus, black and white…they will lighten your face” [21].

Giving the make-up is a synonym of giving the Udjat eye. According to Z. el-Kordy, “the offering of the make-up was a way of making the full moon to come back and avoiding the cosmic disorder”, so it was a rite with lunar nature[22]. In the Egyptian funerals it symbolized the victory of Horus over Seth and the offering of the healed eye (Udjat eye) to the deceased, who will come back to life as did Osiris in the legend.

We have seen that in the Egyptian funerary texts to cut the s3mt was related to the healing of the eye of Horus and with the shave of the two mourners. The Egyptian iconography shows us the offering of the make-up (Udjat eye) after the Opening of the Mouth ceremony and made by a mourner without mane of hair. And also many tombs decoration show the two mourners at the end of the funerary ceremony with no mane.

Everything points to an Egyptian funerary custom of shaving or cutting a piece of hair of the two mourners in the role of Isis and Nephtys. But, when?

[1] Pap. Louvre I, lines 49-52.

[2] Pap. Louvre I, line 51.

[3] G.Durand, 1979, p. 285.

[4] Songs…, 10, 3. For some scholars, the writing of the Osiris’ name means “the place of the eye” (W.B. Kristensen, 1992, p. 17).

[5] W.C. Hayes, 1939.

[6] Wb V, 596.

[7]

[8] Pyr., 728.

[9] Pyr., 2002 a.

[10] Wb III, 53, 15.

[11] Pyr., 93.

[12] Wb III, 53, 21.

[13] H. Kees, 1925, p. 6.

[14] H. Kees, 1925, p. 8. Also that made H. Kees think that the lock of hair in the head of the bald of Heliopolis was related to the girl Hwnt (H. Kees, 1925, p. 6)

[15] TT 63.

[16] TT 100.

[17] S. Hodel-Hoenes, 1991, p.130

[18] Pyr., 54b-55.

[19] Pyr., 609.

[20] CT VII, 936.

[21] CT VII, 934.

[22] Z. el-Kordy, 1982, p. 201.

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Posted in 04. HAIR AND THE EYE OF HORUS

Tagged ancient egypt, cut, dead, death, drty, hair, heliopolis, Horus, Isis, kite, lock of hair, make-up, mane of hair, nwnt, offering, opening of the mouth, Osiris, s3mt, samt, shave, triad, Udjat eye

The Egyptian word s3mt. “Hair”, “Mourning” or both?

Posted on August 29, 2013 | Leave a comment

We have read in many chapters of the Coffin Texts that the s3mt was cut -although not destroyed (CT 334) – and offered, and that seems to happen when the mourners were shaved. But, do we know exactly what the s3mt was?

Pharaoh Snofru. Funerary stela from Cairo Museum. IV Dynasty. Photo: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín

The Egyptian word s3mt had different meanings[1]. According to A. Erman and H. Grapow, it meant “sadness” [2]; but s3mt could also be “moan” [3] or “mourning” [4]. Some scholars have translated s3mt as “lock of hair” [5]. Some consider that it could describe “not cut hair” as a sign of mourning[6] or “careless hair” [7]. William A. Ward took as basis chapter 1131 and affirmed that the expression Hdq s3mt meant “cut the dishevelled hair” and for giving this meaning to s3mt he referred to the Prophecy of Neferty[8].

The text relates how the wise man Neferty tells Pharaoh Snofru (IV Dynasty) about the future (First Intermediate Period), as a chaotic time when all rules (natural and cultural) get reversed. Among all the disasters happening to Egypt (the country will be attacked by Asiatics, the sun will not shine, the Nile will dry, and there will be wars…) Neferty says:

“…nobody will cry for the death,

Nobody will fast during for the death,

A man’s hearth will be concerned just about himself,

Today will[9] not be any s3mt carried out,

The heart will be completely away from it…”

W. Helck translated “…today none will dress hairstyle for death” but M. Lichtheim considered that Neferty was saying that the mourning was not done and for G. Lefrebvre Neferty’s words said “…there will not be mourning ceremonies…”[10] Before that Neferty told how none would cry nor fast for the death, that is, would nobody do the orthodox funerary practices; that means that s3mt could be considered as an Egyptian word for the mourning as a funerary custom. So, for us it makes more sense to translate as: “…today will not be the s3mt carried out…” and it would match perfectly with the chaotic image Neferty is describing.

Group of mourning women. Unfinished painting from the tomb of Userhat in Gourna. XVIII Dynasty. Photo: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín.

Thanks to some stelas found in Serapeum we know that during the embalming of Apis there was mourning ceremony called s3mt: “… I was among the miserable, being in moan, being in mourning[11].

The word s3mt could refer to an spect of the mourner’s hair or just to the mourning itself.

Everything points to the Egyptian word s3mt as a funerary custom related to hair and mourning, but nothing indicates that it could refer to a special hairstyle. Would it be maybe the two mourners’ hair manipulated during funerals for the deceased’s benefit?

[1] In the Old Kingdom s3mt is documented as a personal name (P.Kaplony, 1966, p. 68)

[2] Wb IV, 18, 10.

[3] D. Meeks, 1977-1979, p.306, nº 78.3295.

[4] D. Meeks, 1977-1979, p.304, nº 77.3349. Another way of writing s3mt was

[5] R.O. Faulkner, 1962, p. 210.

[6] D. Meeks, 1977-1979, p. 239, nº 79.2409.

[7] D. Meeks, 1977-1979, p. 304, nº 77.3349.

[8] W. Helck, 1970

[9] nn sDm.f implies future.

[10] G. Lefebvre, 1988, pp. 101-102.

[11] W. Jansen, 1994, p. 35; J. Vercoutter, 1962, pp. 37-38.

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Posted in 04. HAIR AND THE EYE OF HORUS

Tagged ancient egypt, chaos, coffin texts, cut, dead, death, deceased, enemy, evil, eye, hair, headless, lock of hair, mourner, neferty, prophecy, restore, resurrection, sacrifice, samt, snofru, spit, Udjat eye

The Hair s3mt and the final Resurrection in the Coffin Texts of Ancient Egypt.

Posted on August 26, 2013 | Leave a comment

Udjat eye in a Middle Kingdom coffin. Beni Suef Museum. Photo: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín.

Once the damaged eye of Horus, that was related with the hair sm3, has been healed it becomes the Udjat eye, the full moon as a symbol of the total regeneration. The question is does this aspect of the lunar eye have any connection with the hair? The answer is yes, it does.

Some chapters of the Coffin Texts relates the final episode of the Egyptian myth of Osiris, when he gets triumphant over his enemies and he is reborn; on earth that means the deceased’s resurrection. It is when Horus gets his eye back, his Udjat eye, and it is interesting to notice how in that moment the funerary texts mention two very relevant things:

The presence of the lock of hair (or just hair) s3mt.
The shave of the mourners.

Chapter 339 is about the Osiris’ victory over the enemies and his resurrection. It mentions towns related somehow with Osiris and his burial: Busiris (where was the Osiris’ spine), Letopolis (here was the shoulder), Buto (the ladies of Buto crying for Osiris were Isis and Nephtys), Abydos (where was his head and his burial place)…; Thoth appears as the god claiming “true of voice” Osiris, Horus also offers his Udjat eye to his father[1]; with that act culminates the final resurrection, it means the end of the chaos, the order restitution and the beginning of the new life. Osiris is reborn as king of the Herafter, while Horus inherits the throne of Egypt. And, according to chapter 339, that moment of restoration is the moment of shaving the mourners in Buto, so shaving Isis and Nephtys:

“…Busiris, this is the day of giving the Udjat eye to his lord. Pe-Dep[2], this is the day of shaving the mourners…”

Razor made of bronze and wood, coming from the tomb of Hatnofer and Ramose in Gourna. XVIII Dynasty. The Metropiltan Museum oj Art of New York. Photo: www.metmuseum.org

Razor made of bronze and wood, coming from the tomb of Hatnofer and Ramose in Gourna. XVIII Dynasty. The Metropiltan Museum oj Art of New York. Photo: http://www.metmuseum.org

Chapter 942 is too damaged, but it seems to allude to the fight between Horus and Seth:

“Provide with her s3mt burning (?)…

Those ones from Hermopolis adore him [3](…), they break the double power. My coming up is the coming up of this goddess, raising with Re…the only lord, which has taken the flame of the Luminous One.

The two i3rty of Sokaris[4] are shaved for her

The face is adorned [5](…) made against her in the name of Wnwt[6]. Seth is put by her under her pleats (…) the peace is made (…) in their names. I am alive and intact, they are alive and intact ».

When Seth is put under Wnwt, which is related to the uraeus snake, the peace is made because in Egyptian belief the uraeus is benefactor; it eliminates the evil (Seth), that is, it helps in restoring the universal order.

Uraeus on the forehead of Amenhotep I. XII Dynasty. Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York. Photo: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín.

What about the hair elements we find in the text? P. Barguet translated the first sentence as: “her plait is destroyed”. If the word instead of s3mt were sm3, we could maybe think of an allusion to the damage suffered by the lunar eye, but if we look at verb, Htm could be also translated as “provide with”, “equip with”, and specially “equip the face with the eye” [7].

Regarding the i3rty, the dual form and the hair determinative make us think of the two mourners Isis and Nephtys. I3r means « sadness » or « mourning » [8]. R.O. Faulkner translated the term i3rr as “weakness of the eye” or “weakness of the heart” [9]. On the other hand, i3rt is also an Egyptian expression that designates the uraeus snake of Re[10] ; so we could also consider that the i3rty would be the two uraei of Sokaris, which will be shaved.

The meaning of Haq is “shave”, so it is applied just to hair. The question is why is it here used with snakes instead of hair? It is no new for us the Egyptian assimilation of both elements, since we have already seen how the plait Hnskt was identified with the snake as symbols of rebirth. For that same reason it would not be so crazy to consider that in Ancient Egypt the two uraei could be identified with both locks of hair s3mt.

Statuettes of Isis and Nephtys mourning. Ptolemaic Period. Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York. Photo: www.metmuseum.org

Statuettes of Isis and Nephtys mourning. Ptolemaic Period. Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York. Photo: http://www.metmuseum.org

So, the chapter 942 would be relating the shave of the uraei, which would be the same as saying that the two locks of hair were cut. With these i3rty of Sokaris maybe we would be facing again a new case of metonymy, the two mourners being mentioned through their most relevant part: the i3rty, so it would be a way of describing Isis and Nephtys. Maybe we are reading about the shave of both mourners’ locks of hair, and these ones assimilated to two uraei as victors over the evil.

After shaving the i3rty (locks of hair or uraei) the text says how the face is adorned or dressed, but…with what? Do we have to think about the arrangement of the Udjat eye on the Osiris/deceased’s face? If so, why is it related to the locks of hair and its shaving?

Finally, we have another passage in Coffin Texts showing a very narrow relationship between lock of hair and eye. In chapter 1131 the deceased is at the same level of Osiris, that one is described as an image of the god. In this context the dead one goes ahead to his resurrection and one of the things happening before that is the following:

“… The lock of hair (or just hair) s3mt is cut; the eye is sealed by the nestling in its hole…”

P. Barguet[11] and William A. Ward[12] transliterated this sentence as follows: Hdq s3mt irt xtmt n t3 nb3b3.f, so having a verb (nb3b3), with unclear translation[13]. But if we take the final as n b3b3.f the texts has more sense: the nestling[14] is into its hole b3b3. This word can refer to the seven orifices on the face, of which two are the eye sockets[15] ; taking into consideration our context, it seem quite logical to think of b3b3 in this chapter as a way to referring to the eye socket. That allows to translate the sentence as « the eye is sealed (or closed) », since the nestling is inside the orbit (as it was a nest) and impedes the vision.

We need also to focus on a following sentence for ending the chapter that says: “Live the nestling that goes out from you…flies the fly and live Osiris…” This flight is strongly connected with the resurrection of Osiris-bird. When that one remains inside the nest-socket, the eye is sealed and that means no to access light, it is the moment of shadows and darkness (death). The chapter 1131 connects that with cutting the s3mt and after doing that the nestling flies and the eye can open; it symbolizes the capacity to see, the brightness after the darkness, the Osiris/deceased’s resurrection.

Sokaris, as a falcon, with the Udjat eye over him, spread his wings for fliying up. Painting from the tomb of Pashedu in Deir el-Medina. XIX Dynasty. Photo: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín.

Sokaris, as a falcon, with the Udjat eye over him, spread his wings for flying up. Painting from the tomb of Pashedu in Deir el-Medina. XIX Dynasty. Photo: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín.

That is a very solid idea in Ancient Egypt and dates back from the Old Kingdom; the dead king could reach the Hereafter as the eye of Horus, but he usually took the aspect of a bird, using the faculties of this animal for flying up[16].

Summing up, the main ideas we can take from these three chapters of the Coffin Texts are:

The s3mt (lock of hair or just hair) is cut just before the final resurrection in ancient Egypt funerals.
The Osiris’ resurrection is connected with the shave of the mourners.
The cut of the s3mt is connected in Egyptian belief with the eye and the vision recovery.

[1] The offer of the Udjat eye will be the offer per excellence, so everything offered will be called “Eye of Horus” (A. Erman, 1952, p. 209).

[2] Buto.

[3] Reconstruction could be (n).f

[4] In ancient Egypt there were assimilation between Osiris and Sokaris.

[5] or “dressed“.

[6] Name related to the uraeus (Wb I, 317, 11).

[7] Wb III, 196, 14.

[8] Wb I, 32, 2.

[9] R.O. Faulkner, 1962, p. 9, 5.

[10] Wb I, 32, 3.

[11] P. Barguet, 1986, p. 665.

[12] W.A. Ward, 1975, p. 62.

[13] It seems to be a verb related to the eye of Horus (Wb II, 243, 14).

[14] this sign is the image of the nestling into the nest

[15] Wb I, 419, 1.

[16] Pyr., 1216 y 1770. Whitney M. Davies, 1977,p. 167.

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Posted in 04. HAIR AND THE EYE OF HORUS

Tagged ablation, ancient egypt, cut, damage, dead, death, falcon, hair, healing, Isis, lunar eye, mourner, Nephtys, Osiris, s3mt, samt, shave, sokaris, Udjat eye

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

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Tag Archives: samt

Mourning Women and Mourning Hair in Ancient Egypt Funeral.

S3mt: Hair and Mourning, Evil and Udjat Eye.

Cutting the s3mt, shaving the Mourners, offering the Udjat eye.

The Egyptian word s3mt. “Hair”, “Mourning” or both?

The Hair s3mt and the final Resurrection in the Coffin Texts of Ancient Egypt.

Hair and Death in Ancient Egypt. First Summary.

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