The best preserved version of this work comes from Berlin papyrus 3008 dating back to Ptolemy Dynasty (323-30 BC), although this work is very old. This papyrus was added to the copy of the book of death by a woman named Tentruty (also known as Teret), and was written in the handwriting of the Ministry (cursive script, every day, Egyptian handwriting). However, this work is not part of the book of death. It is a collection of spells to help the dead master the afterlife, not a narrative film.
In Lamentations, the two goddesses prayed for the soul of the deceased to return and be reborn among them, and prayed that Horus, the son of Osiris, would become the protector of his life and provide him with "bread, beer, cattle and poultry". His son will protect his body and soul. At last Osiris was reborn, and the poem ended with "Look! Here he comes! " Although recited to Osiris, it became a routine part of funeral service, aiming at "awakening the dead" to the afterlife. When a person dies, people think that their soul is trapped in the body and in the house they are used to, and lamenting will awaken the tangled soul and help it move forward.
This poem comes from a longer work, Song of Two Weeping Festivals or Song of Isis and Nefertis. Scholar Miriam Lichtheim discussed the background of this article:
This text basically belongs to the mysterious ceremony of Osiris in the temple. However, because it was included in the book of the dead, it was adapted into a private funeral service, which was made possible by the traditional connection between each dead person and Osiris. This passage is similar to a longer work found in Brenner-Rheinland (British Museum of Papyrus 10 188) and is called "The Song of Isis and Nefertis". This work can be traced back to the 4th century BC, and it was obviously designed for performing in Osiris Temple during some festivals. The comparison between these two pieces of music shows that the shorter work Elegy is not an abridgement of a much more complicated song, but a different version. ( 1 16)
The emotional power of songs and lamentations comes from Osiris myth, which was the most popular story in Egypt during the New Kingdom period (BC 1570- 1069), and Osiris Sect, which became the worship of Isis, was the most extensive and influential.
The Elegy Text of "Islamic State" and Nafis
The following translation of The Elegy of Isis and Nefertis comes from Berlin papyrus 3008 by R.O. Faulkner. The introduction was made by a priest, and the "Osiris Tanchutti (born in Tiku, named Percy)" mentioned in it was the late Tanchutti, whose father was Tehao of the Poerxiusi family. The introduction individualizes lamentation, so the soul of the dead will listen, listen to the call, be resurrected from the body and gain new life.
In the fourth month of the flood, on the 25th day, in the home of the Osiris God, the Lord of ——Khentamenti and Abedos, I read the blessings of the two sisters:
Bless his ba [soul], stabilize his body, improve his card [astral self], and breathe into the nose of the breathless person.
In order to appease the hearts of Isis and Nefertis, Horus was placed on his father's throne and handed over the stable rule of life to Osiris Tanchutti, who was born in Tekao. He was called Perseus the Righteous.
This is good for the walker and god. Recite:
Isis, she said:
Come to your house, come to your house!
Ann, come to your house,
Your enemy is not!
Oh, good musician, come to your home!
Look at me, I'm your dear sister,
You can't leave me!
Good boy, come to your house!
I haven't seen you for a long time
My heart is sad for you, my eyes are looking for you,
I want to see you!
Come to your lover, come to your lover!
Winnipeg, that makes sense. Come to your sister!
Come to your wife, come to your wife,
Tired, come to your master!
I'm your mother's sister,
You can't leave me!
The gods are looking for you,
Cry for you together.
I'll call you when I can see you.
Cry to the sky!
But you can't hear my voice,
Although I am your favorite sister in the world,
You only love me, sister, sister.
Naifudi spoke, and she said:
Oh, good king, come to your house!
Please your heart, all your enemies are not!
The two sisters next to you guard your coffin,
Call you crying!
Turn around.
Talk to us when you see a woman!
King, our Lord, dispel all the pain in our hearts.
Your god and the court of mankind are watching you,
Show them your face, our king!
Our faces live by looking at your face!
Get your face away from us!
We are glad to meet you, king.
We are glad to meet you!
I'm Nefertis, your dear sister!
Your enemy has fallen, he won't!
I'm with you, your bodyguard,
Forever.
Isis, she said:
Why, Ann, you rise in heaven for us every day!
We will never see your light again!
Thoth, your guard, raise your flag,
Your name is the moon.
I came to see your beauty in Horus's eyes.
In the name of your "Lord of the Sixth Party".
The courtiers around you will not leave you,
You conquered heaven with your majesty's power,
Your name here is "15th Lord".
You support us like Ra every day,
You shine for us like ATEM,
God and mankind live by your eyes.
When you stood up for us, you lit up two places,
The bright earth is full of your existence;
The gods and mankind are looking forward to you,
When you shine, no evil befalls them.
When you cross the sky, your enemy is not there.
I am your guardian every day!
You came to us like a child under the moon and the sun.
We will never look at you again!
Your sacred image, Orion in the sky,
Up and down every day;
I'm the one who followed him,
I won't leave him!
The noble image that emanates from you.
Nourish the spirit and people,
Reptiles and herds live on it.
You flowed out of your cave for us in your time,
Pour water for your father,
Support your ka,
Nourish spirit and people.
Oh, my God! There is no god like you!
The sky has your shape and the earth has your shape.
The underground world is full of your secrets,
Your wife is your guardian,
Your son Horus rules this land!
Naifudi spoke, and she said:
Oh, good king, come to your house!
Winnefer, that makes sense. Came to Jeddah,
Oh, strong bull, come to Perth!
Oh, a woman's lover, came to Hartmeheit,
Come to Djedet, your father's favorite place!
Your father's father is your partner,
Your youngest son Horus, your sister's child, is right in front of you;
I am the light that guards you every day,
I will never leave you!
Oh, Ann, come to Saeijs,
Seth is your name;
Come to SAIS to see your mother, knight of god,
Good boy, you shouldn't leave her.
Came to her overflowing * * *,
Dude, you can't leave her!
Oh, my son, come to Seth!
Osiris Tanchutti, named Nini, was born in Perseus, which makes sense.
Come to Seth, your city!
Your place is a palace,
You and your mother will rest in peace forever!
She protects your body and fights off your enemies.
She will always protect your body!
Oh, good king, come to your house,
Lord of Saeijs, come to Saeijs!
Isis, she said:
Go to your house, go to your house,
Good king, come to your house!
Come and meet your son Horus.
As the king of the man of God!
He conquered towns and names.
With his great glory!
The heavens and the earth fear him,
Bow country is afraid of him.
Your court between God and man is his.
In two places, do your ceremony;
The two sisters next to you salute your card.
Your son Horus made a sacrifice to you.
Bread, beer, cattle and poultry.
Thoth recited your manners,
Summon you with his spell;
The son of Horus guards your body,
Bless your card every day.
Your son Horus, your name and the warrior of the temple,
Sacrifice your ka;
The gods held pitchers in their hands,
Pour water for your ka.
Come to your courtier, our king!
Don't leave them!
Look, here he comes!
Osiris myth
The elegy of Isis and the Kiss of Branches and Teeth in the background is understood within the framework of Osiris' murder of his brother and his resurrection story. Although this myth later became popular in Egyptian history, this paradigm may have been known earlier along with the characteristics of other gods, such as early fertility sensitivity, and later associated with Osiris.
The story begins at the beginning of creation. Gaby and Knodt gave birth to five gods: Osiris, Isis, Seth, Nefertis and Horus (known as Old Horus to distinguish them from Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis). Osiris was given the responsibility to rule the earth and take care of the fragile creatures called human beings. Osiris married his sister Isis and brought her to the land of mankind as a queen.
Osiris and Isis found that these mortals were in a savage state, killing each other for no reason and lacking any form of culture or civilization. Osiris took Isis as his wife, gave them law and culture, taught them the correct worship of gods and ways, and provided them with agricultural gifts. Isis gave the gift of equality between men and women, and soon this land became a paradise.
Osiris's brother Seth began to envy their success and power. When his wife Nefertis was conquered by Osiris's beauty and turned herself into Isis to seduce the king, he was already plotting against the king. Seth didn't blame his wife's infidelity, but his brother's irresistible charm and beauty. He made a gorgeous coffin according to the exact size of Osiris, which was the most beautiful coffin ever, and then held a grand banquet. He gave the box to anyone who could put it in. Osiris certainly suits him very well. Seth slammed the lid on his chest and threw it into the Nile. Then he forcibly ascended the throne and declared his rule with Nefertis as his wife.
The coffin drifted down the Nile and was finally placed in a tamarisk tree on the coast of Byblos. The tree grew around and wrapped its chest, but the beauty and sweet smell of Osiris injected into the tree, which attracted the attention of the king and queen Biblus, malkin and Ashtar. They cut down the tree and took it back to their palace as a decorative pillar of the court.
At the same time, Isis went to look for her husband and finally reached the coast of Byblos. As usual, when she shuttled around the earth, she disguised herself as an old woman and became friends with the queen's maid when she went ashore to take a bath. The maids took her back to the palace, where she quickly catered to the royal couple, and Ashtar appointed her as the nanny of her two young sons.
Isis is still grieving for the loss of her husband. She likes her youngest son Dicktis very much and decides to let him live forever, so that his mother will never know her loss. To this end, she must bathe him with eternal flame every night to burn him to death. One night, when Isis was performing a ceremony, Ashtar came into the room and saw her son turn around in the fire, screaming. The commotion angered Isis, who took off his disguise and exposed himself. Malkin and Ashtar fell to the ground, begging her to let them go and provide anything she wanted. She just wanted the tree standing in the yard, and they quickly let her take it away.
Isis rescued Osiris's body from the tree and took it back to Egypt. She hid it in front of Seth in the delta swamp. She asked Nefertis to look after the body, at the same time, she collected herbs and made medicines that could save him. However, when Isis went to look for her herbs, Seth heard the news of his brother's return and went out to look for him. He found Nefertis and tricked her into telling her where the body was hiding. Then cut Osiris into pieces and throw it on land and rivers. When Isis came back, Nefertis told her what had happened and offered to do anything to help Osiris come back. The two sisters then searched the land, found every piece of Osiris and reassembled him.
As the story goes on, Isis and Nefertis have made Osiris complete, except that his * * * was eaten by fish and lost. Although he is incomplete, he can still be resurrected. People suffered under Seth's rule because he forgot them, let the desert wind blow from the dry place, and the crops failed. Equality is forgotten because everyone is fighting for survival and attacking each other. Isis knew that Osiris must come back to bring order and harmony to this land. Together with Nefertis, she tried to summon Osiris' soul back to his body-this moment reappeared in lamentations-and their spells and hymns succeeded.
Osiris was resurrected, but because he was incomplete, he could no longer rule the land of the living; He will have to go down to the underworld, where he will rule the dead. Before leaving, Isis turned himself into a falcon (a kite), flew around his body, sucked his seeds into his body, and became pregnant with a son, Horus. Osiris came later, and Isis raised her son in the delta swamp with the help of Nefertis, Selkate and Ness. As an adult, Horus defeated Seth and won a series of kingdom battles. Then, he ruled justly like his father, with his mother and aunt as advisers, and restored the order of the land.
The Structure and Details of Elegy
It's time to lament that Isis is crying. Let's go! "Come to your home, come to your home, go to your home, your opponent is not!" She told Osiris that his body, his former home, was safe and he might come back. She said, "My heart is mourning for you and my eyes are looking for you" and described herself as "crying to the sky" because she was crying for his return. She called him Winnipeg, which means "beautiful man".
Then Nefertis called Osiris home, called him king, and described how they called him back with tears. She begged him to "dispel all the pain in our hearts", live again, talk again, be a court as before, and let people see his beauty again. She responded to isis and assured him that she would be safe because his "enemy has fallen" and promised that she would always be his bodyguard.
Isis answered the phone again, described how everyone waited for his return, and compared him with Dora, the sun god. Dora rose from the darkness again every morning and shone as brightly as the day before. She said, just like the sun, Osiris filled the earth with his existence. "No matter what God and people think of you/when you shine, no evil comes to them." Isis swore that she would protect him from harm every day and never leave him. He will be safe and justice will prevail, because his son will take Seth's place.
She calls herself Sotheby's, referring to Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, which is traditionally associated with Isis and constancy. She mentioned his ba and ka, which is the aspect of the soul. "Ba" can spread between heaven and earth, while "Ka" is a double of one's spirit and body, a astral self. When she said, "Heaven has your father and the earth has your image", she was reminding her husband that his soul can return to the world it once knew.
Nefertis spoke again, calling Osiris with the images of "a strong bull" and "a woman's lover", and coaxing his soul from the ether to the material world. In order to better serve Mendes, it was dedicated to one of the most famous worship centers in Osiris, and mehyt of Red Hat. She quoted the specific names of the town where Nome (province) is located (Djedet and Anpet). She reminds him of his son Horus and other people who miss him. Nefertis called him back to his mothers, Ness and Seth, where Horus grew up in the delta, sacred to Ness, where he would be safe. The reference to the goddess Ness implies a version of Egyptian creation myth, in which Ness is the wife of ATEM, the father of creation and the mother of all things.
The recitation ends with Isis repeating the preface, and then focuses on Horus and the great things he did. She promised Osiris to "sacrifice bread, beer, cows and poultry" and told him that his friends were waiting for him like Thoth, how eager his son was to see him, and she begged him not to leave all these people who loved him so much. The phrase "The sons of Horus protect your body" refers to the four gods known as the four sons of Horus, who protect the vital organs of the deceased. Isis said that these gods blessed his ka, his astral body, and got their protection. He has nothing to fear. The work ends with the cry of Isis or sisters, "Look, here he comes!" "This shows that their prayers were answered and Osiris was resurrected.
Tragedy in practice
Lamentations were first recited at Osiris Festival or royal funerals, and later used for everyone's funeral service.
Osiris, as the first king, was associated with the Egyptian rulers after his death, while Horus, as the unification of the two places to restore order, was associated with the king before his death. With a few exceptions, every king has a "name of Horus" when he is crowned, calling himself the incarnation of Horus, and Isis is their mother and protector. They were regarded as Osiris after their death and passed on to the afterlife.
With the passage of time and the increasing popularity of Osiris myth, all Egyptians associate themselves with Osiris, and those who can afford it even bury themselves and their families in the Osiris cult center near Abidos. Elegy, originally read Osiris Festival or royal funeral, ranks among everyone's funeral services.
When women died, they began to be more associated with Hassall, while men continued to form an alliance with Osiris. However, in either way, the mourning of Isis and Nefertis will be recited by professional mourners at the funerals of men and women, called Nefertis kites. These women, who usually wear black robes, will encourage mourners to grieve openly at the funeral through their emotional interpretation of this poem.
Lamentations are considered to be the most important, however, in the festival dedicated to Osiris's appeal to God. Scholar Geraldine Pinch wrote:
When it became common to confirm that all the dead were Osiris, Isis and Nefertis often appeared at both ends of funeral coffins. Sisters, sometimes in the form of two kites (little birds of prey), are said to have been waiting for Osiris's mummy for a long time to protect him from further attacks by Seth. At Osiris Festival and funerals of important people and sacred animals, two young women representing isis and Nefertis repeated vigils. ( 17 1)
These festivals are very important, because people express their gratitude for land gifts by commemorating Osiris-especially the floods in the Nile, where they planted crops-and their actions will continue to be richly rewarded. In two major festivals in Osiris, it is necessary to recite lamentations; One is autumn, when the Nile River falls, which is the time to mourn the death of Osiris, and the other is spring, when the door known as the horizon has been opened to celebrate his rebirth. Historian Margaret Bunsen explained:
As the Nile receded, Egyptians went ashore to offer gifts and once again expressed their grief over the death of Osiris. The Nile represents Osiris's ability to renew the earth and restore national life. When the Nile began to rise steadily to the flood stage, Osiris won the honor again. Small shrines floated on the river, and the priests poured sweet water into the Nile to announce the rediscovery of Osiris. ( 198)
Elegy begins these festivals, and there are others. It is described in a specific time and in a precise way. After the first chanting, the festival can begin, but it is important to chant again when celebrating or mourning to ensure God's participation. The priest's scribes gave very careful instructions on how and when to recite lamentations:
Now read this sentence, this place will be completely isolated from the world, and no one can see it or hear it except the priest and priest. One wants to take two beautiful women. They will be arranged to sit on the ground where the main entrance of the hall appears. The names of Isis and Nefertis are written on their arms. Put the painted pottery jar full of water in their right hand and the bread made in Memphis in their left hand, and they will bow. It ends in the third and eighth hours of the day. You can't slack off reciting this book during the festival. It's over.
As part of the ceremony, the lamentations of Isis and Nefertis are also performed regularly in temples. These two young women, always beautiful virgins, sang an "elegy" accompanied by tambourines and other musical instruments. However, music does not overwhelm human voice, but only provides an emotional atmosphere according to the occasion, whether it is happy or melancholy. The focus is always on the voices of the two goddesses, lamenting their passing away and calling for the resurrection and rebirth of the dead.