NOTES OF A HARPIST   (II)

Harp of Gods and Pharaohs, Priests and Priestesses

The more than 3000 year-long ancient Egyptian civilization of 31 Pharaonic Dynasties has been divided by Manethon, an Egyptian priest-historian of Alexandria from the Ptolemic Period (3^rd century BC), in his treatise in Greek Ajgyptiaka, into three basic periods: Old Kingdom (2800-2250 BC), Middle Kingdom (2040-1640 BC) with Thebes as its capital, and New Kingdom (1550-1070 BC).

In the fertile land, watered by the Nile – perceived as a majestic gift from the god Hapi – the archaic Egyptian history begins with the unification of Upper Egypt, to the south, and Lower Egypt, to the north (at the Nile Delta), under the legendary King Menes (identified also as Narmer), the founder of the First Dynasty of Pharaohs ¹⁾ (c. 3100-2884 BC). The newly established capital at Memphis became the sanctuary of the state-god Ptah. The shape of the Nile River resembling of a lotus flower with its petals open to the sun each morning, symbolized the ancient Egyptian beliefs in reincarnation and spiritual regeneration of life. Just as life rose from the waters, the annual flooding of the river deposited nutrient rich silt over the land, creating ideal conditions for growing wheat, flax and other crops. The region became a paradise for exotic birds and plants and for nature, in all its splendors. 

The harpist chants laudation of the Pharaoh before the god Shu,
symbolizing the space between Heaven and Earth, who wears an ostrich feather headdress 
and holds a scepter Was, symbolizing the power and domination, and the sign of life – The Key Ankh.
Tomb of Pharaoh Ramesses III, XX Dynasty, 1185-1070 BC, The Valley of the Kings, Western Thebes.
Sketch after James Bruce, Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile, 1813.

The Creation Myth of Divine Power

At the beginning – according to the Egyptian beliefs – there existed only the chaos of the pre-oceanic water, called Nun. At the ancient city of Heliopolis, on the Nile Delta, from the turbulent depth emerged the god of cosmic deities, the Sun God Ra, the "Creator". The chief god in the Egyptian pantheon, later called Amon-Ra, brought with him four children: the god Shu (air) and the goddess Tefnut (water-moisture), the god Geb (earth) and the goddess Nut (sky). The god Geb and the goddess Nut had two sons, Set and Osiris, and two daughters, Isis and Nephthys. From this myth of creation came the conception of the divine ennead – Pesedjet (i.e. group of nine) worshipped as the state religion. In addition to those already named, the important divinities included the gods Amon (Amun/Amen), Ptah, Ra-Harakhte, Horus, Thot, Hapi, Atum, Anubis, Abis, Sokar, and the goddesses Hathor, Meret, Mut, Neith, Ma'at, Nun, Hesa, Bastet, Bashat, and Sekhmet. Their importance increased with the political ascendancy of the localities, where they were worshipped. The local, domestic deities generally originated from other religions, and were mostly the animal gods of prehistoric Africa. The Egyptian gods were represented with human (male or female) torsos, and human or animal heads, which expressed the enigmatic power of the god. Hundreds of creatures like swallows, falcons, hawks, jackals, baboons, crocodiles, fish, frogs, turtles, rams, lions, bulls, cows, serpents, scarabs, and cats became living images of divine patrons as they ruled over the people and their needs and desires like: love, joy, happiness, pleasure, marriage, singers, musicians, dancers, artists, writing, learning, books, sciences, medicine, judgment, law, fertility, harvests, merry-makers, vine, beer, digestion, stomach, lungs, good times, physical comforts, illness, mental power, prosperity, family, childbirth, sexuality, revenge, war, healing, compassion, magic, the dead, and eternity. Many of them combined their duties with each other, in a great number of ways, and took on many of the attributes (and even the names of others, like Ptah-Sokar-Osiris) as the Egyptian myths evolved. They protected the believers and were shaped as amulets, totems, sculpted statues or tattoos; their shrines covered with fresh flowers adorned temples, households, and tombs. 

The Life Beyond the Grave

The ancient Egyptians believed that the vital life force (Ankh – The Key of Life, the eternal sign of life) was composed of several psychic elements, of which the most important was the soul (Ka). The ka accompanied the body throughout life and after death. The final departure to the Kingdom of the Dead could not have occurred without the body. Therefore every effort had to be made to preserve the corpse. Bodies were embalmed and mummified. For the final journey of the deceased to the Underworld (Khert-Neter), the squarish mound mastabas of brick or stone were built above the burial chambers (called Amentet – The Hidden place). The place was protected by the goddess Amenti who welcomed the deceased to their new dwelling place. Inside the tomb, the offering chapel for the soul (Ka) and body (Ba) was filled with food and drinks, meal and milk, tools for pleasures and professional work, domestic wares, treasures, musical instruments, perfumes, clothing, cosmetics, jewelry, and hairdressing supplies, luxury items, and every day necessities. (Later on, the mastabas developed into the step pyramids – symbolizing "stairways" to ascend the heaven, which became more memorial, cult, and religious, than a burial place). In addition, in a secret cubicle a wood or a stone replica of the deceased body (Ushebti) was concealed in the event that the mummy was damaged or destroyed. It was placed next to the canopic jars – embalming urns containing the intestines extracted during the process of mummification. During the Underworld route, the souls of the dead were supposedly beset by innumerable dangers. To help them to overcome the passage to the eternal life, the tombs were supplied with rolls of papyrus copies of the Book of the Dead, a "guide" to the world of the dead. Its also included the book of Coming Forth by Day, a series of spells and enchantments serving to "guide" the deceased through the Underworld, and to explain to them how to overcome the evil-force and demons – the "guardians" of the Gates to the Elysian Fields, the symbol of the eternal fields of peace.

At the mouth of the canyon at Abydos, where archaeological remnants from all periods of ancient Egyptian history are to be found, the main cult centre of Osiris became a pilgrimage site, believed to be the ancient entrance to the Underworld, where the sun sets in the Land of the West. 

The Book of The Dead

The Book of the Dead was a large collection of various religious texts, spells, and passwords written in papyrus manuscripts (sometimes called the mummy-scripts), embellished with beautiful garlands weaving, designs, vignettes, and paintings. It began to appear in Egyptian tombs around 1600 BC, at the end of the Middle Kingdom (2040-1640 BC). It contained the magical formulas, hymns, litanies and prayers to enable the soul ka to pass the Last Judgment Day in the Pillar's Hall – The House of Osiris, the God of Underworld, Prince of Darkness. The text was intended as one to be repeated by the deceased during hazardous navigation into the afterlife. At the end of the ordeal, with the promises by the deceased to sin no more, the now virtuous men found truthful, passed through the Gates of the Elysium, and were finally worthy to enter the Afterlife – to be reborn again in paradise.

The earliest funerary texts of the Book of the Dead were cut into the hieroglyphs in the walls of pyramids; later were painted on coffins, and subsequently inscribed on papyrus scrolls placed in the mummy case; these papyri were from 15 to 30 m (50 to 100 ft) long with multi-coloured illustrations. Copies of the Books of the Dead were found in many Egyptian mastabas belonging to the royal descendents, high priests, military officers, privileged temples officials, their wives, and family members.

During the archaeological excavations at the turn of the 20^th century, many papyrus scrolls of the Books of the Dead were discovered in the tombs of Hunefer, Nebsany, Padiamen, Nefer-uben-f, Inherkhaou, Nakhtefmut, or Patenemheb. 

The Book of the Dead; the beginning of Chapter CXLV (145)
The Userhatnes Papyrus, XXI Dynasty.
The Egyptian Museum, Cairo.
Source: François Daumas, Od Narmera do Kleopatry.
Panstwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, Warszawa, 1973.

Recently, the beautifully illustrated Books of the Dead of Ancient Egypt have been translated into a number of languages, sometimes under different titles, and are available with colour and black and white illustrations. 

Bes – the God of Dancing, Musical Instruments, and Merry-Maker

The god Bes, a domestic deity worshipped at small household shrines, was the most popular god among the common people of Ancient Egypt. Almost of comical, grotesque appearance, he became associated with music, mirth, and dance. He often was pictured playing the harp, flute or tambourine. Even though his name was properly Egyptian, his origin was likely to have been African, resembling a sort of pygmy shaman with the leonine head, wearing a tiara made of feathers. He was a dwarf in figure, plump with a flat nose, bushy eyebrows, and large ears, wearing a leopard skin. Reputed of musical skills, he became a protector of the goddess Hathor (the goddess of love, joy, beauty, and music, playing the sistrum – sort of rattle used to ward off evil spirits). During the Hathor's reluctant travels from Nubia to Denderah, he kept her in good spirit, and brought her joy and good humour. In the Temple of Hathor at Philea, at the Biga Island in Aswan, the image of dancing Bes playing the angular harp is carved on the temple's column. In the Temple of Hathor at Denderah, (north of Luxor; until the 1800's buried in sand), the raised painted relief of Bes sits near the Roman Gate.

One of the earliest portraits of Bes – the protector of childbirth and fertility, women and children – was carved at the Maatkare Hatshepsut's Mortuary Temple (1473-1458 BC, at Deir el-Bahari, in the Valley of the Kings on the Nile's West Bank) as a symbol of the queen's mother Ahmose, who gave birth to a child, a female pharaoh of Egypt. The god Bes was especially protective of children: he fought with knives, and maces when they were in danger; he made them laugh and dance playing the flute and tambourine; he amused them, and made them quiet and calm playing the harp; he watched over them, put them to bed, perhaps even playing lullabies.

One of the earliest known tattoos (viewed as the tribute to a deity or as a connection with the divine) was the picture of Bes (made after the terracotta amulets) on women's bodies, dancers, acrobats, and musicians. Tattooing Bes, sometimes on the women's intimate parts, seems to have been for erotic purposes.

The picture of the harp shown below, played by the god Bes, is a rare representation of the vertically held, triangular harp with the sound-box placed against the player's chest. This angular instrument in which the strings are placed vertically, and the neck and resonator formed an acute angle, was  played by both hands in seated (or standing ) position. The angular harps with acute (or right) angle, were developed simultaneously with the arched harps with the curved neck rising away from the resonator. Originated in the Near East, during the centuries the angular harp has spread throughout Eurasia, and is believed to be an older instrument than the arched harp. 

The god Bes dancing and playing the harp. 
Carving on the pillar at the Hathor Temple at Philea, Biga Island, Aswan.
Ptolemeic Dynasty, 332-30 BC, Greek Macedonian Rule.

Detail of the above Bes carving at the Hathor Temple.

The seated Bes playing the harp.
Sketch by E.A. Wallis Budge from The Gods of the Egyptians, vol. 2, p. 285.
First edition by Methuen & Co., London 1904. 

The Archaeological Evidence of Music in Ancient Egypt

Hieroglyphic and papyrus texts – the records of Egyptian mythology, the archaeological discoveries of the last two centuries, and the literary art and historical treatises by Homer, Herodotus of Halicarnassos, Plato, Plutarch, Diodorus Siculus, and Dio Cassius from Nicaea (today's Iznik in Turkey) revealed that the music played a very important role in the ancient Egyptian society at all its levels. The sound of music, which can be characterized as divine or secular (sacred or profane), found its way into many temples, palaces, workshops, harems, farms, battlefields, tombs, gardens, and into at-home conviviality. The most important aspect of the music was its connection with the gods and goddesses, who presided over its usage during the religious ceremonies. Those who spoke to the gods and goddesses were the priests and priestesses, called the Servants of the God. They were appointed by the Son of Ra, the pharaoh – the highest priest for all gods, who himself alone was not able to perform ceremonies at all temples at the same time. The priesthood (like almost every strata of the Egyptian society) was hereditary, and often passed down from father to son or daughter, or mother to daughter or son. Female priestesses performed the religious rituals, especially for cult centres of female goddesses, Hathor, Isis, Neith, or Bastet. They were of equal rank to the priests, and alike the latter ruled the theocracy. They were often represented as women playing musical instruments, mainly harp, lute, lyre, and sacred sistrum (as shown on the papyrus painting of priestess Anhai, from the XX Dynasty, dated 1100 BC, now preserved at the British Museum). Their knowledge about theCreation Myths was based on the religious beliefs and philosophies of the times, which often changed with different Pharaonic dynasties. The priestly duties included not only caring for the gods, but also for teaching at the religious schools, called the House of Life (Per-Ankh), often serving as the libraries with rich archives. (It is generally believed that the House of Life with its sacred character carried the seed of the mystery and magical tradition, which produced the fabled sagas of Egypt). The priests also supervised the various groups of artists, craftsmen, and workers employed at the temples. Each city had a cult temple – The House of God – built in honour of their god, which was a centre of communication between the macrocosm (the world) and the microcosm (the men). The massive mud brick structures were built over the years by successive kings. The funerary temples of Karnak and Luxor were set on the East Bank of the Nile where the sun rises, then travels across the sky and sets ("dies") in the west. There, vast necropoles – the Cities of the Dead – spread over large mountainous area, known under the collective name of Western Thebes ²⁾.

The worshippers were never allowed into the cult temple, where the statue of the god (Neter) was kept at the sanctuary, called The Holy of Holies. However, they crowded Thebes, on the banks of the Nile, from Karnak to Luxor, during grandiose religious festivals, like the Feast of Opet, lasting several days, or during the secular festive days, like the First of the Month, the New Moon, or the New Year's Feast. On these occasions the god's statue was carried in the procession through the city before the crowd, who chanted and clapped to the rhythm of drums, tambourines and castanets, while dancers twirled graciously their bodies, and singers and harpers chanted their songs. During the daily Rituals of Offering the instrumental ensemble and ritualistic performers were in charge of the musical accompaniment to the hymns and worship psalmodies to the deities. Especially great celebrations were held to commemorate the Sacred Marriage of Hathor and Horus at Denderah. In those, everybody took part, even the members of the Royal Family, High Officials, and Nobles. Their wives, frequently employed by the temples, became greatly esteemed professional singers, called the Chantresses of Amun, and ritual dancers, and harpists, called the Harpers of Amun with their fashionable, noble harps. For sociable banquets of the Nobles the dancing girls and musicians were often selected from among the servants, slaves, or artistically trained women in the royal harem. Some extant imaginary scenes from the pharaoh's Royal Harem – a dwelling house of the First Queens, called God's Wives (sometimes pharaoh's half or full sisters or daughters), and of many of his lesser wives and concubines – depict the amazing feasts filled with song, music and dance. 

Iconography of the Harp in Ancient Egypt

The unknown artists of Ancient Egypt created most pictorial images of the harp throughout the period of the Pharaonic Dynasties during more than three thousand years. Numerous images have been found in papyrus manuscripts, wall paintings, reliefs, and carvings on tombs. The ancient Egyptians painted the most glowing and beautiful scenes around the walls of the tombs, on the sarcophagus, and on the papyrus scrolls that would magically come alive in the Afterlife. The scenes showed the gods and goddesses – the patrons of the dead – welcoming them to the Gates of the Elysian Fields. Musicians and dancers, singers and clappers entertained the family members at the eternal banquet. (Apparently, the male harpers were often blind as can clearly be seen in the tomb paintings and the carvings.) Servants and slaves worked in the fields harvesting the wheat, and carried food and drink. Resting in the bed, after the day's exertions, noticeable enjoyment was provided by the wife of the deceased who sang and played the harp. Her songs were everlasting; her hands plucked the strings forever. It was a perfect picture of life to live... an Afterlife!

In Ancient Egypt one of the favourite and most widely used musical instruments was the harp. Harp parts and even some, almost complete, original harps have survived – thanks to the dry climate – and are now on display at museums worldwide, and in private collections. Most of these instruments were found to be carefully wrapped in cloth, before there were buried.

Our knowledge of the harp in the Ancient Egypt's civilization comes from the archaeological discoveries in the tombs of pharaohs, servants of the gods, officials of the kings, prominent personalities, private individuals, and artisans. On the walls of their tombs the deceased have immortalized the harp's great historical importance and remarkable artistic individuality. 

The Tomb of Pharaoh Ramesses III – "Born of Ra".
The Valley of the Kings, Western Thebes

The most important of all of the Egyptian harp discoveries was made in the mortuary temple complex of Ramesses III (c. 1198-1152 BC) from XX Dynasty, in the Valley of the Kings at Medinat Habu (City of Habu), Southern Necropolis of Western Thebes in Upper Egypt, symbolized by the White Crown (Hedjet). While we know that Ramesses III likely died (or was assassinated) during the trial of the harem conspiracy, his reign (1182-1151 BC) did mark the approaching end of the New Kingdom. The tomb, discovered in 1768 by Scottish explorer James Bruce (1730-1794), was named The Tomb of the Harpists, or The Tomb of the Harpers ³⁾ (sometimes calledBruce's Tomb) due to a bas-relief representation of two blind harpists playing the harp before the gods to please or charm them in return for their help and protection. Because of the faded colors of the wall paintings (and because of some claims that his "discoveries" were simply imaginary), James Bruce in his Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile (3rd ed., 1813) included several of his drawings of the harpers depicted in the tomb's walls. The figures were rather fashioned on the European concept of antiquity and bore little resemblance to the originals.

Bruce's drawings show two large vertical arched "floor" harps played by two men dressed as priests. The harp's sound boxes are decorated with the pharaoh's heads wearing the Red Crown (Deshret) of Lower Egypt, and the Double Crown (Pshent) of Upper and Lower Egypt (the symbol of the god Ra or the god Horus). One of the first publications of the drawings by James Bruce was included in the Napoleonic Reports About Egypt. By looking at the pharaoh's pictures, one can detect a slight resemblance to Napoleon's features. Recent photographs from the tomb of Ramesses III show the wall paintings to be in very poor condition. The following six pictures (photos and drawings) detail the wall paintings at the Mortuary Temple of Pharaoh Ramesses III at Medinat Habu, Valley of the Kings, Western Thebes, XX Dynasty, 1185-1060 BC, New Kingdom.

(Images after Ippolito Rosellini, I Monumenti dell’Egitto e della Nubia. Monumenti civili, Pisa 1832-1844, or Edda Bresciani, L’attività archeologica dell’Università de Pisa in Egitto, Pisa 2002.) 

Blind Harpist playing harp with the Red Crown of Lower Egypt.
Detail, photograph.

Blind Harpist playing harp with the Red Crown of Lower Egypt.
Drawing after James Bruce, detail.
Publication by Ippolito Rosellini.

Blind Harpist playing harp with the Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt.
Detail, photograph.