Calendar Entry #32: Ritual of Ankhet and Welcoming of the Rising of the Nile

We continue our journey through the Cauldrons Calendar feast/festival/holidays.

Nile floodplains - Aerial view of where the Nile flooding ends.  The green fertile lands
after centuries of flooding separate from the poor desert lands that did not flood. (c) Andrew

The annual flooding of the Nile was a welcomed event as the flooding waters provided new nutrient rich top soil.  The three seasons in Ancient Egypt were named for what was happening agriculture-wise.  The month of Akhet was for the inundation - rising and eventual flooding of the Nile.  Every year the Nile's waters would rise and flood the region.  This was due to heavy summer rains in the highlands of Ethiopia, and occurred between June and September each year.   In June the inundation was seen in Aswan but reached as far as Cairo by September.

While flooding, in modern terms, is something that generally brings destruction and or death, the ancient Egyptians welcomed it, because as the river rose it would provide vital water for the farm land.  In addition, once the waters receded it left behind a deposit of rich, black silt that fertilised the land, making the growing of crops possible and fruitful. (See the picture above for an indication of how fertile the flooded area was compared to the non-flooded area).  However, the level of the flooding determined how many crops were able to be planted.  If the inundation was too low, the flooding not as great, then fewer crops could be planted and famine was a threat.

The ancient Egyptians did not know that the Nile flooded due to the monsoon rains in Ethiopia.  They believed that it was at the will of the Nile god Hapi that the inundation occurred.  If the floods were too great (so that they overran the walls protecting villages and destroyed houses) or too low (so that there wasn't enough silt for farming) then it was due to Hapi being displeased with something the Egyptians did or didn't do.  They would worship him and give offerings in the hope that he would bring just the right amount of flooding to the region.  They had no way to control the level of the inundation so worship and offerings to Hapi were very important to agriculture and life for those affected.

Ankhet or Anuket was the personification and goddess of the Nile river in ancient Egypt.  Each year when the inundation would begin the Festival of Ankhet would start.  People would throw offerings of coins, gold, jewellery and other precious gifts into the river as thanks for the water and the nutrients that the flooding would bring.  Anuket was the giver of life, the nourisher of the fields.  She brought the fertility to the lands when the Nile flooded.

For Egyptians in ancient times, Hapi allowed the flooding to occur and controlled the level of flooding, and Anuket brought the fertile black silt with that flooding. 

Calendar Entry #30: Kemet New Year & Opet Festival

Kemet New Year

 

This is the beginning of the first month in the Ancient Egyptian calendar.  In a year divided into three, four month long seasons, each with three, ten day weeks.  The first season is Akhet, meaning the inundation.  It is a time when the banks of the Nile would have been flooding.  The four months are known interchangeably around the internet by both their Coptic and Kemetic names.  This is the first day of Thoth (Djehuty), followed by Paopi (Pa-en-Opet), Athyr (Hethert) and Khoiak (Ka-her-ka). 

 

The second season, Peret, means growing or coming forth.  Farmers would have been working the fields, planting and growing crops for the coming year.  The months are Tybi (Ta'abet), Mechir (Pa-en-mekher), Phamenoth (Pa-en-Amenhotep), and Pharmuthi (Pa-en-Renenutet).

 

The third and final season of the year is Shomu which means heat.  It is the summer season, and a time of waiting between growth and inundation.  The months are Pachons (Pa-en-Khonsu), Payni (Pa-en-inet), Epiphi (Ipip), and Mesore (Mesut-Ra-Heruakhety).

 

 

Opet Festival

 

Procession of Amun - Opet Festival

 

Also called the Beautiful Feast of Opet, this was an annual festival celebrated in Thebes in Ancient Egypt from the New Kingdom period on.  A statue of Amun of Karnak, with statues of Mut, Khonsu and the reigning king visited the temple of Luxor in a great procession stopping at several locations for the priests to rest and for offerings and prayers to be made.  It would have travelled back to Karnak on the river on the god's ceremonial barque, which was escorted by the royal barque with the king onboard. 

 

The festival was celebrated differently in different periods with it lasting eleven days during the reign of Thutmoses III, according to the Feast List of Amon of Elephantine, while the Festival Calandar of Medinet Habu (attributed to have been from the reign of Ramesses II) had it lasting 24 days. 

 

While it more likely that the Opet festival was celebrated in the second or even third  month of this season (depending on which period of Ancient Egyptian history you are looking at), the festival is placed on our calendar to coincide with the first day of the Kemetic new year as this is the day that modern Kemetic reconstructionists will generally celebrate the Opet Festival. 

 

The purpose of the festival, in ancient times, seems to be focussed on the renewal of divine 'kingship' and to recrown the reigning king.  At the height of the festival, Amun-Re's powers were transferred to the king, reconfirming his right to rule.  The renewal was important because it was believed that during the course of the year the gods would become weary and their power diminished.   It follows that that the powers of the earth and the king would also wane. 

 

The celebrations were great.  There were acrobats and musicians, sacrifices and feasts.  Oxen were offered, and most probably slaughtered and eaten by those in attendance.

Calendar Entry #28: Asalha Puja Day, Lailat al Bara'ah and Birthday of Horus

We continue our journey through the Cauldrons Calendar feast/festival/holidays.


Asalha Puja Day

Sermon in the Deer Park

This is one of the most important festivals for Theravada Buddhists.  It is a day that celebrates the anniversary of the first sermon delivered by the Buddha at Deer Park over two and a half thousand years ago. 

 

It is named for the month of Asalha in the old Indian calendar and is celebrated on the full moon of that month - the 8th lunar month. 

 

The typical activites for Asalha Puja Day may include:

• Recital of the Eight Precepts by the monks. 
• Giving of alms to the monks.
• A Sermon may be delivered by a monk who may then lead a Meditation.
• Monks lead the lit candle procession three times around the Temple while chanting in Sanskrit.

 

Asalha was also the start of the monsoon season and it is a sort of Buddhist Lent or three month 'Rains Retreat' where monks spend three months of the rainy season in permanent dwellings, in a type of intensive retreat.   As monks usually travel around spreading the Buddha's teaching, this is a time for them to stay put during the period of poor weather.  This is specifically important for those in Thailand and India where the monsoon winds and torrential rain can make travel difficult and dangerous.  It also stops wandering monks from unintentionally damaging newly planted rice crops. 

 

During these three months the monks are not allowed to spend a night away from their chosen residence, or if they must go out, they have to be back before dawn the next morning.  Although there are exceptions, such as if a monk needs to be somewhere for a longer time due to the illness of a family member or a religions work that is more than a day away.  If this happens, no more than a seven day stretch is allowed.  It comes from Buddha and has been preserved throughout the centuries.

 

Lailat al Bara'ah

Also known as Mid-Sha'ban it is In keeping with Islamic tradition this celebration began at sunset last night (14th of July).   It is the night that is known as Lailat al Bara'ah or Laylatul Bara'ah, and means the night of records, the night of assignment, the night of deliverance and the night of 'quittancy' or forgiveness of sins.  It is believed, in the Sunni tradition, that this is the night that Allah travels to the nearest heaven to forgive every deserving Muslim.  The Shias believe that this is also a celebration of the birth of their final Imam - Muhammad al-Mahdi. 

 

Muslims may spend the night in a prayer filled vigil and while some accounts state that there is a celebration with feasting, others state that the day after Lailat al Bara'ah (so that would be today this year) is a day of fasting. 

 

Birthday of Horus 

I wrote about this in the Epagomenal Days post yesterday. Click here to read it.

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Calendar Entry #27: Epagomenal Days

We continue our journey through the Cauldrons Calendar feast/festival/holidays.

A figure of Thoth carved on the back
of the throne of the seated statue of Rameses II.
Jon Bodsworth

Today is the first of five deity birthdays celebrated in Ancient Egypt that are indicated on our calendar. They are collectively known as the Epagomenal Days. In this previous post I recounted the myth where Nut was able to give birth to five children on the days made by Thoth from the light of the moon. These five days were added to the calendar annually from the 13th to 18th of July. Each day a different deity was said to be born, starting with Osiris, then moving to Horus, Set, Isis and finally Nephthys. The Epagomenal days are said to be the Heriu-renpet - 'the Five Days Upon the Year'.

In the Ancient Egyptian civil calendar each season was made up of four months, each with three 10 day weeks. This made 360 days in the year. The five Epagomenal Days come between the end of the previous year and the beginning of the new one. It was said that during this time the world was in a transitional stage from one year to another.

During this time it was said that the people of Egypt were at risk of the plague caused by Sekhmet, but it was also She who could protect them from it. A ritual called shtp shmt (pacifying Sekhmet) was performed and protective charms were drawn and worn on linen around the neck during these five peril filled days.

While the five days are named as the birthdays of the five deities, there is little to no evidence that they were anything other than names. There were no feasts recorded on the epagomenal days despite the royal artisans being work free on those days. By all research accounts it looks as though all the festivities were held back until the New Year festival celebrations.

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Calendar Entry #25: Holiday of Sokar

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Seker or Sokar is a funerary falcon god, closely associated with other gods Ptah and Osiris, both with ties to death and the underworld. This has let to the triple god depiction in late periods of Ptah-Seker-Osiris.

The Book of the Dead mentions him making silver bowls and a silver coffin and the Pyramid texts link his name to 'Sy-k-ri' - the call from Osiris to Isis, meaning 'hurry to me' in the underworld. His name could have been derived from 'skr' meaning 'cleaning the mouth' a reference to the Opening of the Mouth ceremony.

Along with Ptah, his primary cult centre was Memphis. This holiday may have been closely related to the Festival in the Estate of Ptah, also on this day, due to the link they have as Ptah-Sokar. In this form Ptah-Sokar represents the soil and its power in the creation of life. Ptah was considered the patron of artisans and Sokar became the patron of goldsmiths specifically.

Calendar Entry #24: Feast of Ptah

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A Feast of Ptah, in his feast of 'lifting the sky,' has been known to have been celebrated in Memphis as well as Deir el-Medina at around the same time. There have been many references to this feast, including a work journal from Deir el-Medina that referred to the Feast of Ptah as the 'Great Feast'.

The main sanctuary of Ptah was in Memphis, where he was revered as Ptah 'South of the White Walls'. There were many places of worship for Ptah in Thebes, including a temple dedicated to him just north of Karnak. He was also one of the most popular deities in Deir el-Medina. The rock sanctuary on the road to the Valley of the Queens was the main sanctuary for him, where he was 'Ptah of the Beautiful Place.'

I have not been able to find out specifics about rituals, processions or practices that took place during this Feast, although royal artisans celebrated it by making offerings to him in the Valley of the Kings. Additionally there is speculation that grain offerings given just prior to the feast may have been made into beer for the offerings during the feast.

Ptah is the principal deity of the Memphite Triad of Ptah, his wife Sekhmet and their son Nefertem. He is credited with having created the universe and has been linked to Sokar and Osiris, as Ptah-Sokar. He is usually depicted in paintings in mummiform, which isn't to suggest death, but deathlessness. It suggests he was eternal, never changing and fixed in his significance and endurance.

Calendar Entry #22: Holiday of the Shemsu of Horus

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Canopic Jars of Neskhons, photograph CaptMondo

 

The Shemsu of Horus, or Shemsu-Heru or Followers of Horus have been more commonly referred to as the children of Horus and are four minor deities who helped Horus, particularly in the embalming of the dead.  They protected the canopic jars that contained the internal organs of the mummified deceased.  In earlier times, from the First Intermediate Period to the end of the 18th Dynasty, the stoppers of the canopic jars were made in the face of the deceased.  After this they were shaped to depict the Shemsu.  These were Imsety, the human headed protector of the liver, Hapy, the baboon headed protector of the lungs, Duamutef, the jackal headed protector of the stomach and Qebehsenuef, the falcon headed protector of the intestines. 

 

The Followers of Horus is a term that has also been applied to the early invaders and conquerors of Egypt who made Egypt into the great Dynastic civilisation it became.  The Pre-Pharaonic rulers of Upper Egypt thought of themselves as 'Shemsu-Heru'.  

 

 

Calendar Entry #21: Anubis Ceremony & Corpus Christi

We continue our journey through the Cauldrons Calendar feast/festival/holidays.

 

 Anubis Ceremony

 

 

Anubis supervising mummification - Sarcophagus circa 400BC
Photographer: Andre, Amsterdam

 

 

Anubis (Anpu, Inpew, Yinepu) was the god of the underworld in ancient Egypt.  His role was to protect and guide the spirits of the dead, guiding them in the afterlife towards Osiris.  Written in the Pyramid Texts, found in Unas, was, "Unas standeth with the Spirits, get thee onwards, Anubis, into Amenti, onwards, onwards to Osiris."

 

He is depicted as a jackal or jackal headed man, painted black.  This was said to be because black is the colour of fertility, which is linked to death and rebirth found in the afterlife.  It was also because Anubis is the god of embalming and some say that the black represented the tar from the embalming process.

 

When the cult of Osiris became popular and Osiris became more recognisable and 'powerful' he took over much of Anubis' role as protector and caretaker of the dead.  Anubis became 'He Who is Before the Divine Booth', the god of embalming who presided over funerary rites. 

 

There are a few ceremonies that Anubis is featured in, but the most well documented is the 'Opening of the Mouth' ceremony. 

 

Once the funerary rituals and mummification of the body had taken place, it was thought that Anubis would appear by the mummy and awaken its soul.  Upon arriving at the door of the tomb a priest wearing the mask of Anubis, embodying the god himself, removed the mummy from the sarcophagus and placed upright against a wall.  The 'Opening of the Mouth' ceremony was performed which consisted of rituals of purification, censing and anointing of the mummy, accompanied by incantations.  The mummy would be touched at various places by ritual objects to restore the senses.  The spirit would then be able to see, hear, speak and eat. 

 

Once completed the tomb would be sealed.  It was believed that Anubis would then lead the deceased to the afterlife, to the Halls of Ma'at.  This was where Anubis, in his role of 'He Who Counts the Hearts' would preside over the weighing of the heart and the judging of souls.  Anubis would pass judgment on the deceased and Thoth would record it.  

 

 

Corpus Christi

 

 

Holy Communion (Eucharist) Chicago, 1973

Corpus Christi is a feast on the Christian Calendar.  It is held on the first Thursday after Trinity Sunday, because of its association with Maundy Thursday.  Maundy Thursday focussed on the commencement of the Eucharist (body and blood of Christ) while Corpus Christi is about celebrating the actual presence of Christ in the consecrated bread and wine.  So while one celebrates the act, the other, Corpus Christi, celebrates what the act symbolises.  It is officially known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

 

First celebrated in the 13th Century, Corpus Christi did not gain worldwide acceptance until the 14th Century, due to the untimely deaths of the bishop's and pope's ordering its installation in the Christian calendar.  While it officially sits on a Thursday, some congregations will celebrate it on the following Sunday.

 

Calendar Entry #20: Wadjet Ceremony

We continue our journey through the Cauldrons Calendar feast/festival/holidays.

A Wedjat/Udjat 'Eye of Horus' pendant - Jon Bodsworth

 

Wadjet was a local goddess of Per-Wadjet, an important place in terms of the Predynastic era of Ancient Egypt, who became the patron goddess and protector of Lower Egypt.  She is usually depicted as a snake-headed woman or as a snake (usually a cobra) and her name means "the papyrus-coloured (blue/green) one" which is a general  term for a cobra.  One Pyramid Text said that the papyrus plant came from Wadjet. 

 

Wadjet is associated with Nekhbet, who was depicted as a white vulture.  Where Wadjet was protectress of Lower Egypt, Nekhbet was protectress of the Upper.  The two goddesses stayed separate and distinctive (even when the Upper and Lower were unified) as the 'two ladies' were seen as the protectors who brought Egypt together. You can see on the image of the Wadjet, above, that you have both Nehkbet's vulture and Wadjet's cobra. 

 

The Wadjet Ceremony coincides with the northern hemisphere's Summer Solstice.  As the 'lady of flame' she was the protector of Ra, often depicted as a cobra coiled around his heard.  As a solar deity, the Eye of Wadjet was the original name for the Eye of Ra and the Eye of Horus.  The Eye of Wadjet was known to ward off evil, which ties in nicely to her protector role.  This day marks 35 days of purification before the next flood season. 

 

Calendar Entry #19: Appearance of Min

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In ancient Egyptian mythology, Min was the black painted god of fertility.  He wasn't a regular fertility god like Osiris or Hapi who watched over the fields, but he was a god of male fertility.  This can been seen in the usual ithyphallic (with an erect and uncovered phallus) depictions of him.  This was quite scandalous for other cultures, with many of his monuments defaced over time by Christians. It was said that he could give a pharoah the ability to father a child.  When the pharoah had fathered an heir he (the pharoah) was then associated with Min. 

His cult originated in predynastic times (4th millenium BCE) and was centred mainly around Coptos.   

I have found reference to the festival of the departure of Min - which is a fertility festival at the start of the harvest season where the Pharoah would soe seeds; (there has been some controversial interpretations to say he actually had to ejaculate to ensure the annual flooding of the Nile) these seeds are presumed to have been plant seeds, possibly for the erect Egyptian cos lettuce. 

However, as to a Day of the Appearance of Min, I've yet to uncover anything of substance.  I'll keep looking and if I find anything I'll add it here.  However, as the festival of the departure of Min was in the third month of Shomu and we are now in the fourth month of Shomu, which would still be the harvest season, I wonder if there is a possiblity that Min's appearance is to keep an eye over the harvest.

Calendar Entry #18: Procession of Sopdu, the warrior + Feast of the Beautiful Reunion

We continue our journey through the Cauldrons Calendar feast/festival/holidays.

Procession of Sopdu, the Warrior

Relief of the funerary temple of Sahure of Sopdu
5th dynasty of Egypt - Egyptian museum of Berlin

As I posted yesterday, Sirius (the brightest star in the night sky) was deified in ancient Egypt taking on many forms, one being Isis-Hathor.  In its god-form, Sirius is known as Sopdet (feminine) or Sopd (masculine).   Originally Sopdu was the name for the scorching summer heat, leading Egyptians to view it as war-like and therefore, the subsequent deification of this heat as Sopdu, the war god.  As the heat arrived shortly after the heliacal rising of Sirius, Sopdu was seen as being the progeny of Sopdet.

Due to the rising of the sun (and thus the heat) in the east each day, Sopdu is associated with the east, which also happens to be where his cult was centred the most.  As a war god he is portrayed as a warrior, and said to guard Egypt's borders.

Sopdu has been mentioned in the Pyramid Texts and a representation of him was found on an Abydos ivory tablet owned by Djer of the First Dynasty.

Feast of the Beautiful Reunion

Sacred barque of Hathor -
Bas relief in hypostyle hall, temple of Edfu, Egypt

Hathor and Horus’ pairing in ancient Egyptian mythology was the reason for a long festival known as the Feast of the Beautiful Reunion.  This festival highlighted the marriage of Hathor to Horus, which started with Hathor journeying from her temple in Dendera to the temple of Horus in Edfu, some 180km away.

The procession started 14 days before the new moon where the Goddess’ statue would have been carried on a barque stopping at the temples of the towns between Dendera and Edfu.  This allowed the common people to join in on the festivities.  Worshippers could be involved with some of the ceremony, leave offerings, pray to the deities or even ask for some divine guidance.  This would have involved an ‘oracle’ who the worshipper would approach with a question.  The questions were posed to allow a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer.  The oracle would ‘consult’ with the deity.  The answer would come with something like a nod or lean of the statue.  For example, forward for ‘yes’ or backwards for ‘no’.

Hathor was said to travel south to Edfu, where she would stay for two weeks while the marriage was consecreated in the temple of Horus.  When she arrived at Edfu the Horus statue would welcome her (carried by priests and other officials) but before they went ashore they would take a quick detour to the Mound of Geb, where the two statues would be placed on a shrine/altar area where the Opening of the Mouth ritual would be performed.

Calendar Entry #17: Feast of Hathor as Sirius

We continue our journey through the Cauldrons Calendar feast/festival/holidays.

Zodiac from the Temple of Dendera
currently in the Lourve Museum, Paris

 Before we start specifically on this feast there is a little theory that needs to be dealt with.  Egyptian mythology evolved and changed quite a lot over time.  As seen in previous entries with Horus, in his many forms, the Gods and Goddesses changed.  It wasn't just the Greek influence that changed names (Isis instead of Aset etc) but the myths around the Gods and their origins, relationships with each other, their attributes as well as their names changed as one God or Goddess rose to prominence in a certain area, or as a certain area grew more important on a national scale.  This can be seen with the rise of Amun's 'power' when Thebes was elevated to the 'capital' of Egypt during the Eighteenth Dynasty which I wrote about previously.

In this spirit, when the cult of Ra rose to prominence Ra became associated with Horus as Ra-Horakhty. Hathor had been paired with Ra in some regions and when Isis began to be paired with Ra, Hathor and Isis began to be merged in some regions also, as Isis-Hathor.   It is this pairing of Isis-Hathor, that is seen in this feast.

The third day of Mesore (today) is set aside to celebrate Hathor in her aspect as Sirius, the brightest star in the sky.  Ancient Egyptians called this star Sothis and Sopdet, and attributed it to many things including the Eye of Ra.  As I already stated in a previous entry, Hathor has been known as the Eye of Ra at times.  The star Sirius (Sothis/Sopdet) is seen as a representation of Hathor in that role.

Narrative inscriptions from the Hathor temple at Dendera reaffirm Isis-Hathor as Sirius. 

"Radiantly, above Her father’s forehead, the Golden One rises, and Her mysterious form occupies the bow of His boat. Her rays unite with the luminous God on that beautiful day of the birth of the sun disk on the morning of the new year’s feast." 

This refers to the heliacal rising of Sirius which re-establishes world order by creating a new year,

". . . the beautiful one who appears in heaven, the truth who regulates the world at the head of the sun barge, the Queen and Mistress of awe, the ruler (of Gods and) Goddesses, Isis the great, the Mother of the Gods."

Close up of the Zodiac above showing Sirius
as the star between the horns of the cow Hathor.

There are many images of Hathor that have survived the ages.  The mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut, near Der al Bahri, has Hathor as a standing cow with a sun disk between her horns.  Similar images of her have been found in the temple of Dendera and in Saqqara on the walls of the stepped Pyramid of Djoser.  The zodiac from the temple at Dendera depicts Hathor as Sirius using this form.  See image to the right.

Many Egyptian temples were built so the rays of the rising Sirius would fall upon their altars, such was the importance of Sirius to the Egyptian civilisation. It is believed that the temple of Hathor at Dendera was oriented in a way to allow the viewing of Sirius, although there is some speculation that this was just a happy coincidence.

The Great Pyramid also shows a Sirius alignment.  Star shafts leading from the Queen and King chambers of Khufu's pyramid point to specific stars, the King Chamber's to the Orion constellation (as this was identified with Osiris) and the Queen Chamber's southern shaft was oriented to Sirius, being identified with Isis (Isis-Hathor). 

Calendar Entry #16: Ipip Festival and Dipolieia

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Ipip Festival
 

Tawaret also known as Ipet

Months, in ancient Egypt, were named for feasts that were celebrated during or at the beginning of the next month.  The month of Ipip (Ipt-hmt) is the third month in Shomu and is named after the Ipip festival. The fourth month of Shomu (the summer season) is Mesore and has just begun.  With Ipip occurring at the beginning of Mesore, it's name was taken for the the name of the preceding month.

The Ipip Festival has been mentioned in many sources, from an account by a jeweller in Saqqara to documents pertaining to Deir el-Medina, to papyri dating to the third year of Ramesses X.  During the late New Kingdom the festival was celebrated in the temple of Karnak and the oracle text of Nesamun from the late 20th Dynasty said that Amon of Karnak appeared during the feast's procession.  However, aside from this mention, and despite the festival being referred to in many different ancient sources, the actual rituals and other details about the Ipip festival are largely unknown.

Ipip was another name for the hippopotamus goddess Ipet.  She was a fertility goddess from Thebes and at times equated to the goddess Mut.  She may have been a focus, but again there are no actual references to her that have survived.

 

Dipolieia  (and Bouphonia)

Buphonia, bulls circling an altar. 
Attic black-figure oenochoe (wine jug)
by a Gela painter 510-480 BC

Dipolieia is a religious festival held in ancient Greece in honour of Zeus.  (Di - Zeus, Polieus - of the city).  One of the main features of this festival, as observed by the Greek traveller Pausanias, is the Bouphonia (which at times has also been another name for Dipolieia).

The Bouphonia (ox murdering) is a ritual that involves the slaying of an ox, that had desecrated the altar of Zeus. Porphyry of Tyre, a Neoplatonic philosopher, described it as a bronze table rather than what would traditionally be an altar.  This suggests that the ritual may have had roots in Mycenaean culture because Mycenaean altars were usually tables of offerings; tables are common in representations of bull offerings in Mycenaean and Minoan art. There is a theory that at some time in the ancient past an unfortunate ox happened upon such a Mycenaean table and started munching on the grains that had been set there as an offering.  An incensed bystander or perhaps a priest, slayed the ox for its sacrilege.

For the Bouphonia, the altar/offering table was set with 'sacred grains' or cakes or both.  A group of oxen were ushered into the Acropolis, near the altar.  (Excavations have found a small temple with an open air precinct, for the oxen to be coaxed into, that has a small central structure where the Dipolieia sacrifice most probably took place).   The first unfortunate ox to eat from the altar was slain with a double axe (a bronze relic much like the table) by a cult official from the Thaulonidae clan called the bouphonos.  The bouphonos (ox murderer) would drop the axe and flee.  The ox was then butchered and eaten in a sacrificial feast.

After feasting comes the second part of Dipolieia, the ritual trial for the murder of the ox as the slaughter of a labouring ox was forbidden.  A judicial assembly was held in the Prytaneum and all who had taken part, in some form, in the slaying of the ox were summoned to appear.   Each laid the blame for the murder upon another.  The water-bearers, who purified the axe were accused.  They passed the guilt to the sharpener of the axe, who cast it upon the person who felled the ox.  That person passed blame to the axe itself.  The axe, unable to speak in it's own defence, was found guilty and thrown into the sea.

Afterwards the hide of the slain beast was stuffed with straw and set to give the appearance of still being alive.

Calendar Entry #15: Ceremony of Horus & Skira

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Ceremony of Horus the Beloved

Statute of Isis Suckling Horus; Bronze

Karnak Late Period (664-332 B.C.)

Egyptian Museum, Cairo

The name Horus is a sort of catch-all for many deities (I'm not going to mention them all).  One of the most famous would be Harseisis also called Heru-sa-Aset or Horus-son-of-Isis.  It was he who was conceived after the death and resurrection of his father, Osiris.  Heru became the patron of Lower Egypt owed in part to his battles with his uncle Set, in an attempt to not only avenge his father's murder, but to protect the people of Egypt and become the rightful ruler.  

 

There are many myths regarding how the Upper and Lower Kingdoms were united.  One, found in the Chester Beatty Papyrus I is the mythological story of “The Contendings of Horus and Seth” which describes the victory Heru had over Set (who was patron of the Upper Kingdom), as to who would take over Osiris' throne.   Some scholars point to this victory as being the basis of a Father-Son line of kingship succession rather than the King's brother taking over upon his death.  

 

A relief of Horus and Geb from tomb
KV14 in the Valley of the Kings.
kairoinfo4u

 

An older form of Horus, is that of Haroeris, Heru-ur or Horus the Elder.  Heru-ur was worshipped in pre-Dynastic Upper Egypt.  He was a creator god, the falcon who flew at the beginning of time.  In this form, he is the brother of Osiris and Set, the second born of Geb and Nut's five children.   Heru-ur was the consort of Hathor, and it is in this form, that I suspect this ceremony refers to. 

 

This month, although not specifically mentioned by name on the Cauldrons' Calendar, features the Festival of the Beautiful Reunion.  This is a long festival where Hathor journeys from Dendera to Edfu to marry Horus, her beloved.  I'll cover this soon, it is coming up, so do watch out for it. 

 

What today's ceremony entails, I have been unable to uncover.  I could say that it is some sort of preparation for his upcoming nuptials, but that would be baseless speculation.  If anyone has anything more concrete then please comment.     

 

 

Skira

Erechtheum

Skira is a three day long festival in the calendar of ancient Athens, which marks the end of the old year.  It was such an important celebration that, in Athens, the last month of the year was called Skirophorion, after the festival.  Skirophorion was the month of the final harvest of grain, so Skira was also a major agricultural festival.

 

To open the festival the priests of the Erechtheum (Erechtheus doubled as Poseidon in Athens - Poseidon Erechtheus) and Helios and the priestesses of Athena jointly took part in a procession beneath a canopy out of Athens to Skiron near Eleusis.  Plutarch stated that one of the three 'sacred plowings'  took place at Skiron, so it has been suggested that the end of the procession had some agricultural significance.

 

For the men, Skira meant they had to fast during the day, playing dice games to while away the time.  For women it was something different.  Skira, being about dissolution, seemed to flip social order.  This was one of the few days women were allowed to leave the women's quarters and gather in public.  They sacrificed and feasted and denied their husbands sex.  Some sources state that they ate large quantities of garlic to keep the men away.  Aristophanes' comedy Lysistrata (411 BCE), portrays the women as using the freedom of Skira to plot to stop male domination.  

 

There was a also race during this festival to the shrine of Dionysos, where the participants were young men carrying vine branches.  The victor would receive a drink made of wine, honey, cheese, grain and olive oil - all the fruits Athena had been asked to bless. 

 

I'm not entirely sure that's a drink I would have wanted to win... or at least, taste.   

Calendar Entry #14: Festival of Mut & Pentecost

We continue our journey through the Cauldrons Calendar feast/festival/holidays.

 Festival of Mut

Mut Precinct, showing the Isheru, Karnak. 
Captured and edited by Luana on Wikimapia

The specifics of this festival, referred to by some scholars as the 'Great Offering' are unknown but it was also referred to as the 'Sailing of Mut', the Lady of Isheru. During the New Kingdom a statue of the Goddess was placed on a barque (boat) and sailed around the Isheru. The Isheru was a horseshoe shaped lake that was associated with different goddesses who took the role of Daughter of Re.  In the temple of Karnak, Mut was associated with Re as his daughter, coming to be known as the Eye of Re and this festival is to honour Mut in that aspect.

Held in Thebes each year, as with other feasts of the Solar Eye, this festival was likely to have been accompanied by music and lot of singing, dancing and drinking.  Sternberg-el Hotabi stated, in her 1992 work Ein Hymnus an Hathor, that this type of celebrating was to pacify the furious Eye of Re on her return to Thebes from Nubia.

There are several references to the Sailing of Mut in documents originating from Deir el-Medina, an ancient Egyptian village where many of the artisans who worked on the tombs in the Valley of the Kings lived.  There have been inferences taken from some of these documents that some form of the festival may have taken place in Deir el-Medina, as the royal artisans were given time off work during the 'Sailing of Mut'.  It is likely that the feast rituals in Deir el-Medina would have included offerings of flowers and ointment to pacify the furious returning Goddess.

Mut is the mother of Khonsu and the wife of Amun at Thebes.  She was depicted as a woman with a vulture skin on her head as well as the crown of upper Egypt.  She can be traced back to the middle kingdom, but it is likely  that she was worshipped earlier.

Pentecost

Pentecost by Jean II Restout

Pentecost is also known as Whit Sunday, Whitsun, or Whit.  It is celebrated seven weeks after Easter Sunday.  Sometimes considered similar to Shavuot (where God gave the 10 commandments at Mount Sinai) Pentecost commemorates the birth of the Christian church by the giving of power of the Holy Spirit.

This is one of the most ancient feasts of the church even been included in the Acts of the Apostles (20: 16) and St. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians (16: 8).

The acts of apostles recounts the story of the original Pentecost.

Now when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty wind coming, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them parted tongues as it were of fire, and it sat upon every one of them: And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they began to speak with divers tongues, according as the Holy Ghost gave them to speak. [Acts 2:1-4]

Pentecost is called Whit Sunday due to an old practice where some churches would baptise some of their converts on Pentecost.  The newly baptised would wear white robes. 

Calendar Entry #11: Offerings to Hapi and Amun

We continue our journey through the Cauldrons Calendar feast/festival/holidays.

 

Offerings to Hapi

 

Hapi is the Nile god (not to be confused with Hapy/Hapi - the son of Horus).  Worshipping of Hapi occurred in both temples and on the river Nile itself.  The annual flooding of the Nile was a very important part of life both in ancient and also modern times.  When the Nile floods the floodwaters deposit nutrient-rich sediment on the plains, creating fertile soil.  The annual floods were attributed to Hapi in ancient times, and offerings of food were thrown into the river because the people knew that if the floods were insufficient then there was a risk of famine.  Prayers and offerings for Hapi were for the floods but also the other blessings the river brought like fish, lotus, papyrus.  Things that the Egyptians used in daily life. 

 

 

Follow this link to read the longest surviving hymn to the Nile flood; a literary composition in Middle Egyptian, of uncertain date.

http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/literature/floodtransl.html

 

Offerings to Amun

Amun depicted with cow offerings from
the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

Amun rose to become one of the most important god figures in Ancient Egypt.  He was the patron god of Thebes, and when Thebes became the capital during the Eighteenth Dynasty, Amun became more nationally recognised.  

 

Offerings have been recorded as being made in the form of grain, floral arrangements as well as cows.  

 

Hatshepsut claimed the right to rule by declaring that she was the daughter of the sun god Amun.  The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut in Deir el Bahari on the west bank of the Nile near the Valley of the Kings is full of pictures of him receiving her gifts, although subsequent rulers had evidence of her removed from the temple. 

 

Calendar Entry #10: Receiving of Ra

We continue our journey through the Cauldrons Calendar feast/festival/holidays - well we would if I had found anything.

Today is slated on the calendar (and all over the interwebs) as being the day Ancient Egyptians celebrated the 'Receiving of Ra'.  Unfortunately, though I've read over 100 pages of text, visited numerous sites over the last couple of days, and consulted all the books I have here with me in Sydney (only a small portion of my personal library unfortunately) I've been unable to find anything more than what the great and powerful (lol) Wikipedia says - "The Holiday of 'The Receiving of Ra' was celebrated on May 26 in the Gregorian calendar."  Gee that's a revelation.

Now I could have gone into a This Is Your Life kind of spiel about Ra, however it wouldn't really sit well in this series of posts and I've decided to do a Gods and Goddess of the World series where I'll look at Ra and his incarnations more fully than I would for this post.

If anyone out there has any actual information about the Receiving of Ra celebration - as in, what they did, why it's called what it is, what it's celebrating, then please leave a comment.  I would really appreciate it.

Calendar Entry #7: Feast of Goddesses

We continue our journey through the Cauldrons Calendar feast/festival/holidays - here we have another Ancient Egyptian based celebration. 

Naos, Isis Temple, Philae Island, Egypt - Rémih

The Feast of Goddesses is also known as the Feast of the Netjerts (Goddesses) in Their Temples. A heightened energy goddess day this celebrates every aspect of the feminine in reverence and gratitude.  While I haven't found anything specific about what you did on this day, I would guess it may have been something to do with the Netjerts feasting in their own temples... at a quick guess. <:-)

There were daily rituals held in the temples where the Netjer(t)s were fed and attended to.  This was done in an inner sanctuary or naos of the temple.  While the temple workers prepared the food, it was a purified Pharaoh or High Priest who opened the naos and tended to the Netjer(t).

The food that was served before the Netjer(t) was taken away when the Netjer(t) was thought to have satisfied himself/herself, which (s)he did not consume in a material sense of the word, but on an esoteric level.  It was believed that the Netjer(t) consumed only the spiritual essence of the meal, which allowed the food to be distributed to others, passing first to the other statues in the temple, then to local funerary chapels for the sustenance of the dead, and finally to the priests to physically eat.  This was called the reversion of offerings.

When there was a festival or feast, these daily rituals were set aside for the other festival observances.  Though many of the festival's interactions with the Netjer(t) were carried out by the priests alone, the food at a feast would have been much more substantial than for daily ritual and it is likely that rather than just dividing the food amongst the priests, the other festival attendees would probably have participated in the reversion of offerings. 

Calendar Entry #6: Festivals of Hathor and Bast

We continue our journey through the Cauldrons Calendar feast/festival/holidays.

Festival of Hathor - Beautiful Feast of the Desert Valley

Hathor, as the Mistress of the West, emerges
from a hill representing the Theban necropolis.

By all references that I've found this festival is most probably referring to the Beautiful Feast of the Desert Valley, of which Het-Hert (Hathor) played a major role.  It was observed during the third season of Shemu (sometimes written as Shomu). On our modern calendar, that would occur sometime in mid-May. This festival, also known as heb nefer en inet was an annual festival in Thebes that dates back at least as far as the Middle Kingdom (a period in the history of ancient Egypt stretching from the start of the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Fourteenth Dynasty, between 2055 BC and 1650 BC). 

This was essentially a festival of the dead, and was held in the desert to the west of Thebes, an area sacred to Het-Hert in her funerary role of Lady of the West.  During the festival, which lasted several days, a statue of Amun (Amun-Ra in later times) was carried, from Karnak temple,  in a grand procession across the Nile River from east to west to visit mortuary temples on the opposite bank.  This journey was symbolic;  Amun-Ra, through his oracle statue, traveled to the west to pay his respects to the Akhu, the blessed dead.

Limestone relief of the Beautiful Feast of the Valley,
found within the enclosure of the Temple of Het-Hert at Deir el Medina

The Beautiful Feast of the Valley was a joyous celebration of death, similar to Dia de los Muertes in Mexico, although one source suggests that it would have had more of a Mardi Gras feel to it, in which banqueting, dancing and other festivities at the necropolis sought to bring joy to all the dead interred there.  During this festival Het-Hert was constantly present, being the patroness of the festivities.  The deceased were presented with items attributed to Het-Hert - the sistrum and Hathor's necklace.  Many graves have been found containing offerings to her.

The Ancient Egyptian word 'nfr' (transliterated to nefer) means not only beautiful but has also connotations of wholeness, vitality and perfection. There are prayers carved in the Temple of Het-Hert at Dendera, made during festival times where people address the goddess asking for bodily health and vitality. 

Festival of Bast

The cat goddess Bast – Ancient Egyptian
sculpture in Louvre museum

This was also a day to celebrate the Festival of Bast.  However, there are some sources who quote that it is the festival of Hathor and Bast.  Unfortunately, the information regarding a joint festival seems to be the same copied and reproduced on the many websites around.  No books or other sources, that I have been able to access, have confirmed that there was a joint festival.  Most sources say that on this day are the festivals of Hathor and Bast - plural, indicating that they are separate.  This is how I am going to treat them.  

The festivals of Bast were some of the most popular in Egypt, because of the music, dancing and wine.  Men and women sailed together along the Nile, singing, clapping, shaking rattles and playing flutes.  As they passed people or towns, everyone would start to sing and cheer together.  In Bubastis the festival began with sacrifices to Bast.  The Temple of Bast stood in the centre of town so all could see it.  Worshippers came from all over Egypt leaving offerings, bronze statues, amulets and mummified cats in her temple - thousands of cat remains have been found in underground crypts where the temple once stood. 

Calendar Entry #5: Day of Purification of all Things

We continue our journey through the Cauldrons Calendar feast/festival/holidays. 

My research hasn't been able to uncover anything specific about the Day of Purification of all Things.  One would assume it would be very much what it suggests.  Purification was part of life in Ancient Egypt, the purpose was to empower the senses in different ways, such as the power of insight.  Purifying the whole body was an essential part of holy practices.  There were divine lakes for purification in their temples.  Egyptian priests bathed several times a day, and the priests often shaved all the hair from their bodies to allow them to be purified as much as possible.

Myrrh, Lotus and Sandalwood oils were widely used in Ancient Egyptian purification rituals and the ankh has also been thought by many scholars as being an aquatic symbol representing water in these rituals.

Many of the Gods of Egypt are depicted bearing an Ankh.  Sometimes they would extend the ankh to the Pharaoh, indicating both the gift of life and the purification of the subject.