Egypte - Legends Of The Gods
A LEGEND OF THE GOD KHNEMU AND OF A SEVEN YEARS' FAMINE.
In the eighteenth year of the Horus, Neter-Khat, of the King of the
South and North, Neter-Khat, of the Lord of the Shrines of Uatchit and
Nekhebit, Neter-Khat, of the Golden Horus Tcheser,[FN#166] when Matar
was Ha Prince, and Erpa, and Governor of the temple-cities in the Land
of the South, and director of the Khenti[FN#167] folk in Abtu,[FN#168]
there was brought unto him the following royal despatch: "This is to
inform thee that misery hath laid hold upon me [as I sit] upon the
great throne by reason of those who dwell in the Great House.[FN#169]
My heart is grievously afflicted by reason of the exceedingly great evil
[which hath happened] because Hapi (i.e., the Nile) hath not come
forth[FN#170] in my time to the [proper] height for seven years. Grain
is very scarce, vegetables are lacking altogether, every kind of thing
which men eat for their food hath ceased, and every man [now] plundereth
"his neighbour. Men wish to walk, but are unable to move, the child
waileth, the young man draggeth his limbs along, and the hearts of the
aged folk are crushed with despair; their legs give way under them, and
they sink down to the ground, and their hands are laid upon their bodies
[in pain]. The shennu[FN#171] nobles are destitute of counsel, and
[when] the storehouses which should contain supplies are opened, there
cometh forth therefrom nothing but wind. Everything is in a state of
ruin. My mind hath remembered, going back to former time, when I had an
advocate, to the time of the gods, and of the Ibis-god, and of the chief
Kher-heb priest I-em-hetep,[FN#172] the son of Ptah of his Southern
Wall."
[FN#166] Tcheser was a king of the IIIrd Dynasty, and is famous as the
builder of the Step Pyramid at Sakkarah. His tomb was discovered by
Mr. J. Garstang at Bet Khallaf in Upper Egypt in 1901.
[FN#167] i.e., the people who were in front of, that is, to the South
of Egypt, or the population of the country which lies between Dakkah
and Aswan.
[FN#168] The ancient Egyptian name for Elephantine Island, which
appears to have gained this name because it resembled an elephant in
shape.
[FN#169] i.e., the palace.
[FN#170] i.e., risen.
[FN#171] i.e., the high court officials and administrators.
[FN#172] The famous priest and magician, who was subsequently deified
and became one of the chief gods of Memphis.
"Where is the place of birth of Hapi (the Nile)? What god, or what
goddess, presideth (?) over it? What manner of form hath he? It is he
who stablisheth revenue for me, and a full store of grain. I would go
to the Chief of Het-Sekhet[FN#173] whose beneficence strengtheneth all
men in their works. I would enter into the House of Life,[FN#174] I
would unfold the written rolls [therein], and I would lay my hand upon
them."
[FN#173] Hermopolis.
[FN#174] Per-ankh, or Pa-ankh, was a name given to one of the temple-
colleges of priests and scribes.
Then [Matar] set out on his journey, and he returned to me straightway.
He gave me instruction concerning the increase of Hapi,[FN#175] and
told me all things which men had written concerning it, and he revealed
to me the secret doors (?) whereto my ancestors had betaken themselves
quickly, the like of which has never been, to [any] king since the time
of Ra, (?). And he said unto me: "There is a city in the middle of the
stream wherefrom Hapi maketh his appearance; "'Abu'[FN#176] was its
name in the beginning; it is the City of the Beginning, and it is the
Nome of the City of the Beginning. [It reacheth] to Uaua,[FN#177]
which is the beginning of the land. There is too a flight of
steps,[FN#178] which reareth itself to a great height, and is the
support of Ra, when he maketh his calculation to prolong life to
everyone; 'Netchemtchem Ankh'[FN#179] is the name of its abode. 'The
two Qerti'[FN#180] is the name of the water, and they are the two
breasts from which every good thing cometh forth (?).
[FN#175] i.e., the Inundation, or Nile Flood.
[FN#176] The Elephant City, i.e., Elephantine.
[FN#177] A portion of Northern Nubia.
[FN#178] This is probably an allusion to the famous Nilometer on the
Island of Philae.
[FN#179] i.e., "Sweet, sweet life."
[FN#180] The Qerti were the two openings through which the Nile
entered this world from the great celestial ocean.
"Here is the bed of Hapi (the Nile), wherein he reneweth his youth [in
his season], wherein he causeth the flooding of the land. He cometh
and hath union as he journeyeth, as a man hath union with a woman. And
again he playeth the part of a husband and satisfieth his desire. He
riseth to the height of twenty-eight cubits [at Abu], and he droppeth
at Sma-Behutet[FN#181] to seven cubits. The union(?) there is that of
the god Khnemu in [Abu. He smiteth the ground] with his sandals, and
[its] fulness becometh abundant; he openeth the bolt of the door with
his hand, and he throweth open the double door of the opening through
which the water cometh."
[FN#181] Diospolis of Lower Egypt, or "Thebes of the North."
"Moreover, he dwelleth there in the form of the god Shu,[FN#182] as one
who is lord over his own territory, and his homestead, the name of
which is 'Aa' (i.e., the 'Island'). There he keepeth an account of the
products of the Land of the South and of the Land of the North, "in
order to give unto every god his proper share, and he leadeth to each
[the metals], and the [precious stones, and the four-footed beasts],
and the feathered fowl, and the fish, and every thing whereon they
live. And the cord [for the measuring of the land] and the tablet
whereon the register is kept are there.
[FN#182] The god who separated the Sky-goddess Nut from the embrace of
her husband, the Earth-god Keb, and who holds her above him each day.
"And there is an edifice of wood there, with the portals thereof formed
of reeds, wherein he dwelleth as one who is over his own territory, and
he maketh the foliage of the trees (?) to serve as a roof.
"His God-house hath an opening towards the south-east, and Ra (or, the
Sun) standeth immediately opposite thereto every day. The stream which
floweth along the south side thereof hath danger [for him that
attacketh it], and it hath as a defence a wall which entereth into the
region of the men of Kens[FN#183] on the South. Huge mountains [filled
with] masses of stone are round about its domain on the east side, and
shut it in. Thither come the quarrymen with things (tools?) of every
kind, [when] they "seek to build a House for any god in the Land of the
South, or in the Land of the North, or [shrines] as abodes for sacred
animals, or royal pyramids, and statues of all kinds. They stand up in
front of the House of the God and in the sanctuary chamber, and their
sweet smelling offerings are presented before the face of the god
Khnemu during his circuit, even as [when they bring] "garden herbs and
flowers of every kind. The fore parts thereof are in Abu
(Elephantine), and the hind parts are in the city of Sunt (?).[FN#184]
One portion thereof is on the east side[FN#185] of the river, and
another portion is on the west side[FN#186] of the river, and another
portion is in the middle[FN#187] of the river. The stream decketh the
region with its waters during a certain season of the year, and it is a
place of delight for every man. And works are carried on among these
quarries [which are] on the edges [of the river?], "for the stream
immediately faceth this city of Abu itself, and there existeth the
granite, the substance whereof is hard (?); 'Stone of Abu' it is
called.
[FN#183] Kens extended south from Philae as far as Korosko.
[FN#184] Perhaps Sunut, = the Syene of the Greeks, and the {hbw
SuWeNeH} of the Hebrews.
[FN#185] i.e., Syene.
[FN#186] i.e., Contra Syene.
[FN#187] i.e., the Island of Elephantine.
"[Here is] a list of the names of the gods who dwell in the Divine
House of Khnemu. The goddess of the star Sept (Sothis), the goddess
Anqet, Hap (the Nile-god), Shu, Keb, Nut, Osiris, Horus, Isis, and
Nephthys.
"[Here are] "the names of the stones which lie in the heart of the
mountains, some on the east side, some on the west side, and some in
[the midst of] the stream of Abu. They exist in the heart of Abu, they
exist in the country on the east bank, and in the country on the west
bank, and in the midst of the stream, namely, "Bekhen-stone, Meri (or
Meli)-stone, Atbekhab (?)-stone, Rakes-stone, and white Utshi-stone;
these are found on the east bank. Per-tchani-stone is found on the
west bank, and the Teshi-stone in the river.
"[Here are] the names of the hard (or, hidden) precious stones, which
are found in the upper side, among them being the . . . . . stone, the
name[FN#188] of which hath spread abroad through [a space of] four atru
measures: Gold, Silver, Copper, Iron, Lapis-lazuli, Emerald, Thehen
(Crystal?), Khenem (Ruby), Kai, Mennu, Betka (?), Temi, Na (?). The
following come forth from the fore part[FN#189] of the land: Mehi-
stone, [He]maki-stone, Abheti-stone, iron ore, alabaster for statues,
mother-of-emerald, antimony, seeds (or, gum) of the sehi plant, seeds
(or, gum) of the amem plant, and seeds (or, gum) of the incense plant;
these are found in the fore parts of its double city." These were the
things which I learned therefrom (i.e., from Matar).
[FN#188] i.e., the stone was very famous.
[FN#189] The "fore part," or "front," of the land means the country
lying to the south of Nubia, and probably some part of the modern
Egyptian Sudan.
Now my heart was very happy when I heard these things, and I entered
into [the temple of Khnemu]. The overseers unrolled the documents
which were fastened up, the water of purification was sprinkled [upon
me], a progress was made [through] the secret places, and a great
offering [consisting] of bread-cakes, beer, geese, oxen (or, bulls),
and beautiful things of all kinds were offered to the gods and
goddesses who dwell in Abu, whose names are proclaimed at the place
[which is called], "Couch of the heart in life and power."
And I found the God standing in front of me, and I made him to be at
peace with me by means of the thank-offering which I offered unto him,
and I made prayer and supplication before him. Then he opened his
eyes, and his heart was inclined [to hear] me, and his words were
strong [when he said], "I am Khnemu,[FN#190] who fashioned thee. My
two hands were about thee and knitted together thy body, and "made
healthy thy members; and it is I who gave thee thy heart. Yet the
minerals (or, precious stones) [lie] under each other, [and they have
done so] from olden time, and no man hath worked them in order to build
the houses of the god, or to restore those which have fallen into ruin,
or to hew out shrines for the gods of the South and of the North, or to
do what he ought to do for his lord, notwithstanding that I am the Lord
and the Creator.
[FN#190] He was the "builder of men, maker of the gods, the Father who
was from the beginning, the maker of things which are, the creator of
things which shall be, the source of things which exist, Father of
fathers, Mother of mothers, Father of the fathers of the gods and
goddesses, lord of created things, maker of heaven, earth, Tuat, water
and mountains" (Lanzone, Dizionario, p. 957).
"I am [he] who created himself, Nu, the Great [God], who came into being
at the beginning, [and] Hapi, who riseth according to his will, in
order to give health to him that laboureth for me. I am the Director
and Guide of all men at their seasons, the Most Great, the Father of the
Gods, Shu, the Great One, the Chief of the Earth. The two halves of the
sky (i.e., the East and the West) are as a habitation below me. A lake
of water hath been poured out for me, [namely,] Hap (i.e., the Nile),
which embraceth the field-land, and his embrace provideth the [means of]
life for "21 every nose (i.e., every one), according to the extent of
his embrace of the field-land. With old age [cometh] the condition of
weakness. I will make Hap (i.e., the Nile) rise for thee, and [in] no
year shall [he] fail, and he shall spread himself out in rest upon every
land. Green plants and herbs and trees shall bow beneath [the weight of]
their produce. The goddess Renenet[FN#191] shall be at the head of
everything, and every product shall increase by hundreds of thousands,
according to the cubit of the year. The people shall be filled, verily
to their hearts' desire, "and everyone. Misery shall pass away, and the
emptiness of their store-houses of grain shall come to an end. The land
of Ta-Mert (i.e., Egypt) shall come to be a region of cultivated land,
the districts [thereof] shall be yellow with grain crops, and the grain
[thereof] shall be goodly. And fertility shall come according to the
desire [of the people], more than there hath ever been before."
[FN#191] The goddess of the harvest.
Then I woke up at [the mention of] crops, my heart (or, courage) came
[back], and was equal to my [former] despair, and I made the following
decree in the temple of my father Khnemu:--
The king giveth an offering to Khnemu[FN#192] the Lord of the city of
Qebhet,[FN#193] the Governor of Ta-Sti,[FN#194] in return for those
things which thou hast done for me. There shall be given unto thee on
thy right hand [the river bank] of Manu,[FN#195] and on thy left hand
the river bank of Abu, together with the land about the city, for a
space of twenty measures,[FN#196] on the east side and on the west
side, with the gardens, and the river front "everywhere throughout the
region included in these measures. From every husbandman who tilleth
the ground, and maketh to live again the slain, and placeth water upon
the river banks and all the islands which are in front of the region of
these measures, shall be demanded a further contribution from the
growing crops and from every storehouse, as "thy share.
[FN#192] Or perhaps, Khnemu-Ra.
[FN#193] Qebhet is the name given to the whole region of the First
Cataract.
[FN#194] The "Land of the Bow," i.e., the Northern Sudan.
[FN#195] The Land of the setting sun, the West.
[FN#196] Schoinos.
"Whatsoever is caught in the nets by every fisherman and by every
fowler, and whatsoever is taken by the catchers of fish, and by the
snarers of birds, and by every hunter of wild animals, and by every man
who snareth lions in the mountains, when these things enter [the city]
one tenth of them shall be demanded.
"And of all the calves which are cast throughout the regions which are
included in these measures, one tenth of their number "shall be set
apart as animals which are sealed for all the burnt offerings which are
offered up daily.
"And, moreover, the gift of one tenth shall be levied upon the gold,
ivory, ebony, spices, carnelians (?), sa wood, seshes spice, dum palm
fruit (?), nef wood, and upon woods and products of every kind
whatsoever, which the Khentiu, [FN#197] and the Khentiu of Hen-
Resu,[FN#198] and the Egyptians, and every person whatsoever [shall
bring in].
[FN#197] The inhabitants of the Northern Sudan, probably as far to the
south as Napata.
[FN#198] The people of the Island of Meroë, and probably those living
on the Blue and White Niles.
"And [every] hand shall pass them by, and no officer of the revenue
whatsoever shall utter a word beyond these places to demand (or, levy
on) things from them, or to take things over and above [those which are
intended for] thy capital city.
"And I will give unto thee the land belonging to the city, which
beareth stones, and good land for cultivation. Nothing thereof shall be
[diminished] or withheld, "of all these things in order to deceive the
scribes, and the revenue officers, and the inspectors of the king, on
whom it shall be incumbent to certify everything.
"And further, I will cause the masons, and the hewers of ore (?), and
the workers in metal, and the smelters (?) of gold, and the sculptors
in stone, "and the ore-crushers, and the furnace-men (?), and
handicraftsmen of every kind whatsoever, who work in hewing, and
cutting, and polishing these stones, and in gold, and silver, and
copper, and lead, and every worker in wood who shall cut down any tree,
or carry on a trade of any kind, or work which is connected with the
wood trade, to "pay tithe upon all the natural products (?), and also
upon the hard stones which are brought from their beds above, and
quarried stones of all kinds.
"And there shall be an inspector over the weighing of the gold, and
silver, and copper, and real (i.e., precious) stones, and the [other]
things, which the metal-workers require for the House of Gold, "and the
sculptors of the images of the gods need in the making and repairing of
them, and [these things] shall be exempted from tithing, and the
workmen also. And everything shall be delivered (or, given) in front
of the storehouse to their children, a second time, for the protection
of everything. And whatsoever is before thy God-house shall be in
abundance, just as it hath ever been from the earliest time.
"And a copy of this decree shall be inscribed upon a stele, [which
shall be set up] in the holy place, according to the writing of the
[original] document which is cut upon wood, and [figures of] this god
and the overseers of the temple shall be [cut] thereon. Whosoever
shall spit upon that which is on it shall be admonished by the rope.
And the overseers of the priests, and every overseer of the people of
the House of the God, shall ensure the perpetuation of my name in the
House of the god Khnemu-Ra, the lord of Abu (Elephantine), for ever."
Egypte - Legends Of The Gods
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