Monday, April 23, 2012

Confessions 31-35


Confession 31. O Captain who came forth from Weten, I have not discussed
I have not discussed likely refers to not revealing private matters to uninvolved parties. Who is not involved in a situation is likely open to interpretation. Is a best friend uninvolved? What about some other confidant? When I read this I take it to mean revealing secrets or revealing personal matters to people who are outside of what those involve consider their confidants. After three days of searching for where or who "Weten" might be I am at a loss. I have yet to find any references to it. I will continue to look and hopefully in the near future there will be an answer for this Captain who came forth from Weten.

Confession 32. O Possessor of the Two Horns who came forth from Asyut, I have not been garrulous about matters. 
Asyut is mentioned here again, Lycopolis. The possessor of two horns is probably either Isis or Hathor. It is hard to tell considering that most of our copies of the Book of the Dead come from time periods where Isis and Hathor were, at times, merged into one goddess. Garrulous is a state of talking in a roundabout way. It also means not talking about trivial matters in ways that blow them out of proportion or make them out to be more important than they are.

Confession 33O Nefertum who came forth from Memphis, I have not done wrong, I have not done evil.
Nefertum is the son of of Sekhmet and Ptah. He is the god of the lotus blossom and Memphis is sacred to him and his family. This is a repetition of not going against Ma'at. Evil and Wrong are general terms that in Egyptian text refer to breaking the Laws of Ma'at.

Confession 34. O He-Who-Does-Not-Allow-Survivors who came forth from Bursiris, I have not disputed/cursed the king.
Bursiris is the birth place of Osiris (and probably the rest of Nut's children as well.) He who does not allow survivors could mean one of two things... either Osiris in his seat at Judgement or Set as the head of the military or just as a nasty character. Disputed the king or cursed the king here refers to more than just bad language. It is more related to destruction of tombs and mummies, disturbing the dead and those things. The other thing this could refer to is "king" could be translated as "king of the gods" which could be Ra or Osiris.This could refer to cursing the gods or going against the order of the universe.


Confession 35. O He-Who-Acts-As-He-Wishes who came forth from Antinaiopolis, I have not waded in the water.
This city (which has the Greco-Roman name here. The Egyptian city is likely Her-Wer.) This location is sacred to Khnum, Bes and Hathor. This is probably Bes because of the title. Bes is known for acting outside the norms of the other deities. Khnum, being a god of creation could also be thought of as a god who acts as he wishes in his role as a creator. I have not waded in the water means entering the sacred water of a temple to which you are not devoted to or a sacred spring, oasis, etc which is sacred to those you are not devoted to. It is a ways of maintaining sacred space which the Egyptians had a very complex protocol for. (It look like I have yet another topic to address after these confessions. Ideas of sacred space in the Egyptian culture.)


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