Confessions 11-15

Confession 11: O He-of-the-Cavern who came forth from the West, I have not fornicated with the fornicator.

In Egypt this was different than we might expect. Marriage was considered not by a service but by declaring love or the intent to be together to the populace/family. This could also be a parent or set of parents setting up an arranged marriage. In Ancient Egyptian terms fornication here refers to what we would call cheating on a marriage, an affair or a similar act. There are many additional laws governing this confession. For example, a woman could nullify a marriage simply by stating that her husband was not providing for her. (In some cases even if the thing he was not providing was sex.) Divorce also did not happen in the long drawn out manner it does in modern times. From the few records I have read on the matter (primary source stuff) apparently speaking it to those involved was enough.

Ok enough on that. I will try to get a coherent post on marriage practices in the future. For now let us move on to who this confession is spoken to. From the west can refer to either one who is rising from the dead(walking out of the Duat) or someone who rules the desert. More than likely this is Set. He hid out in a cavern and he is also associated in some mythology with fornication and/or misdeeds. 

Confession 12: O He-Whose-Face-is-Behind-Him who came forth from his hole, I have not caused anyone to weep.
This is what it sounds like. It means that a follower has not purposefully said or done things with the intention of hurting others.. of making them weep. As to who, this is one that eludes me as well. I have to make a guess because while there have been studies of the Book of the Dead I have yet to find a source that tries to name the assessors. This research has been all mine. Coming forth from the hole is a term I have seen in reference to the mound of creation. The hole could refer to where Nun came from at the beginning of the world. I don't really know what it means that his face is behind him. Another possibility is Hra-f-ha-f a god who steers the boat of Ra who is often depicted looking over his shoulder.

The Gayer-Anderson Cat at the British Museum.

Confession 13: O Bast coming forth from the secret place, I have not eaten my heart.
This time they were nice enough to give us the goddess. Her secret place is likely her temple at Per-Bast. There are two possible translations of eating the heart. The first, and more straightforward one, is that committing offense against Ma'at's law. This is probably not the case after reading the next confession. More likely it refers to being false in appearance, attitude or personality. The heart, ab, is the center of good and evil thoughts and weighed in judgement. Eating your heart would be destroying it in the way Ammut would and that would be infecting it with evil.

Confession 14.O Hot-Legs who came forth at twilight, I have not transgressed.
I am again not sure who "Hot Legs" is aside from some reference to pin-ups that I am sure the Egyptians knew nothing about. However, the description does suggest they come from night time or dusk. It could be Nut or Hathor who are both supposed to be images of beauty and are associated with twilight times. Aside from that I am not sure who "Hot Legs" might be. One who walks in fire at night? Could be. The second part is much more clear. I have not transgressed refers to laws. These could be the laws of Ma'at, the government or the society. It isn't specific in what the transgression is against but the glyph choice suggests it is related to law. 

Confession15. O He-Who-is-Blood who came forth from the place of slaughter, I have not grain-profiteering.

Grain profiteering is gaining monetary profits by cheating others. Again, this is about treating others unfairly for personal gain. This seems to refer directly to cheating people out of money though deceit or unethical practices.In the modern scheme of things I would consider this any sort of cheating others for profit. So, overcharging for a service or product, misrepresenting product or any number of modern schemes that involve getting more money that the sold item or service is worth.

I have always associated "He who is Blood" to either be Horus, where blood is a reference to bloodline, or Set as the one in charge of the military. Either god would be quite appropriate as Horus is a god of vengeance and taking action against wrongs. Set on the other hand is sometimes associated with greed and deceit. Like many of these I need to do much more research on the references before I can be definitive on which god it might be.

What Sounds Like a Pterodactyl and Symbolizes the Sun?

A heron. Specifically, Ardea bennuides a heron from Egypt and the Arabian peninsula that is now extinct. Descriptions of the bird, including Egyptian drawings, show the bird to look much like the Great Blue Heron of the Americas. (see picture) The bird, like most herons dwelled in shallow waters and water laden plant beds hunting for fish, frogs and other small animals. It is also believed, that like modern herons that inhabit areas where humans fish, these birds followed fisherman and may even have been tamed by them. (If you're curious about the pterodactyl comment check out the call of the Great Blue Heron on What Bird.com.) 

 So what does this all have to do with Ancient Egypt? 

The Benu Bird was a heron (Ardea Bennuides, hence the scientific name containing Bennu) that the Egyptians associated with the sun. It wasn't just the sun but it was the closest thing the Ancient Egyptian mythology has to what we might call a phoenix. Benu served many purposes in the religion. He was the bird whose screaming call started time. He was the bird who set Ra on fire to blaze in the sky. Benu was a symbol of rebirth and rejuvenation. In the later periods he was merged with the idea of the Arabian phoenix. He also accompanied Ra in the boat through the Duat. In some myths he lights the way for the boat and in others he is referred to as the Ba (soul) of Ra.

One of the most important myths associated with the Benu Bird is related to creation. This myth is most often recorded in Helopolis (modern Ain Shams .."Eye of the Sun" just north of Cairo) Even Herodotus wrote about the Benu Bird. It is from his retelling that we get the association between Benu and the phoenix.

At the beginning of time (sometimes before Ra exists) Benu rises from the waters of Nun. He brings and creates light to drive away the chaos. Benu, meaning "Brilliant Rising" or "Rising Light" is the name Nun and/or Ra bestow upon him. Benu then cries out and time starts. The bird then leaves Egypt but it is never quite told where he goes. Herodotus claims in his version that he flew off to Arabia. In his version after 500,000 years the Benu returns. Ra does not recognize the bird because he did not create him. The bird informs Ra that it is the child of the first Benu and in a bundle carries the remains of its father. The Benu wishes to bury its father in the mound of creation where he first rose from chaos. Benu then flies off and is supposed to return when Osiris becomes pharoah.

Other examples of the story of the Benu Bird exist in the Book of the Dead (ie the Book of Coming Forth by Day) and some of the various coffin texts. Here he serves the purpose of guiding the gods through the Duat. It was believed since Benu appeared from the darkness as the first light he was best suited to navigating the darkness of the Duat.

Benu's name is related to the Egyptian verb "webenu" (wbn) which means "to shine" or "to radiate light". Some of the titles associated with him were "Lord of Time", "He Who Brought Himself into Being", "The Shining One", "Dispeller of Chaos", and "He Who Keeps Time". Benu is sometimes associated with Thoth because Thoth recorded history and Benu kept track of time.

From the Tomb of Inherkha

Benu was worshiped for many reasons. He was believed to be associated with safe travel, both in the Duat and at night. Benu was a sign of luck and rejuvenation. Many texts associate Benu with the rising of the Nile which might have to do with the heron species migrating to Egypt when the Nile is rising and there is plenty of floodplain to hunt in while raising chicks. 

Books to check out:

**Cry of the Benu Bird: An Egyptian Creation Myth by Shana Greger 

**Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt  by Geraldine Pinch

**The Egyptian Book of the Dead. (There are many, many, many versions of this book. I personally prefer the version by Faulkner because it is easy to understand and has nice pictures of the complete text.)

The Art of Nature

Ancient Egyptian art has many beautiful qualities; color, form, balance, some might say perfection. There is one interesting fact that many people overlook. Egyptian art commonly catalogs nature. Before reading texts you can tell the season by the birds and fish in the art. There are vast illustrations of what plants and animals were in Egypt or brought from other countries. There are a few things I wanted to share on this subject.

First, this video (not in English but there are subtitles) about Karnak.



and the second is the research of Rozenn Bailleul-LeSuer. Who studies avian imagery in Egyptian art. I had the chance to see her speak at the 58th annual meeting of ARCE (American Research Center in Egypt). Her work centers around both dating tomb representation with seasons and using the imagery in marsh artworks to research how and if migratory bird patterns and numbers have changed. It also gives us a glimpse into how Egyptians categorized various behaviors such as brooding and chick rearing.

I am personally fascinated by the way meticulous Egyptian art is giving us a good look at ancient ecosystems.