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MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN PERSONAL RELIGION: LETTERS TO THE DEAD
A RESEARCH PAPERSUBMITTED
TO DR. DAWN MCCORMACK
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
BY
KATIE STRINGER
MURFREESBORO, TENNESSEE
5 NOVEMBER 2010
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temples, or the priests who were responsible for the state religion. It seems as if the king was
the responsible party for the religion of most ordinary people; he acted as the intermediary
between mankind and the gods as the religious figure of the state.2
However, religion was
varied, and many different aspects of religion and religious beliefs coexisted together. As
Baines states, Religion need not be a single, homogeneous mode of discourse, there is no
reason, apart from some overarching theory, for insisting that a single form of it pervaded all
of life from the beginning of history.3 Egyptians did not worry themselves with
inconsistencies or contradictions that many Westerners who think in a linear way would find
troubling.
An explanation of the aspects of a persons souls is essential to understanding how
Egyptians viewed the afterlife and their fate after death. Rosalie Davids Religion and Magic
in Ancient Egyptoffers an explanation of those individual parts of a personality and the
purpose as well as characteristics of each. The ka could be most easily explained as a
persons double which at death became a separate part of the personality which was neither
physical nor mortal. David describes this aspect as the essential self of an individual, acting
as his guide and protector.4 The kareceived offerings from the deceaseds relatives.
The ba, which is sometimes translated by scholars as meaning soul, is considered to
be the spiritual body of the person who has died. After death, the ba and deceasedpersons
body could come back together after death. The ba, which is depicted as a human-headed
bird, could also travel outside of the tomb to places the person went in life. To reunite with
the body, the ba had to be able to recognize the body, which is an explanation of
mummification of the deceased.5
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The akh was also an important part of a deceasedpersons personality. David explains
that both the living and the dead could use the supernatural powers of the akh. Apparently,
the akh is the part of the soul that letter writers primarily focused on; as the glorified spirit of
the person, the akh could travel among the world of the living and the afterlife, as well as
intercede or help the living or the dead.6
Essentially, when a person died, the akh became like
the Western idea of a ghost and was able to interact with both the worlds of the living and
the dead.7 The akh could also participate in the afterlife tribunal on the behalf of living
people. This is almost in contrast to the living helping the ka as the akh helps the living; both
the akh and ka are parts of the same personality.
This may leave some room for interpretation by scholars today who have questions
about the afterlife. Was the ba like a ghost or spirit that could travel? Did others encounter
the baon its travels, or is it on a different plane? So far there has been little research into
these questions. Geraldine PinchsMagic in Ancient Egyptoffers explanations of religious
magic and practices among ancient Egyptians in more detail. The ka did not possess
personality, but the ba did maintain the deceaseds characteristics; the two were rejoined after
death. Once the afterlife was attained, after many tests and tribulations, the ba would,attain
the status of an akh, a transfigured spirit.8
The author then explains that the ba of a person
is very rarely described as malicious or a threat to the living. However, she does mention that
demon messengers or ghosts did pose a threat to humans.9 The extent of these threats is
explored below, in relation to the letters to the dead.
The afterlife itself is complex as well. One aspect is the tomb itself as an extension of
life. According to Wente in an article on funerary beliefs Egyptian funerary texts included the
common statement, the corpse to the earth, and the ba [soul] to heaven.10 While the ba
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remained with the mummy and also returned to the afterlife, in the form of a bird, the
mummy, as the human remains, stayed in the tomb. The afterlife itself was an extension of
life on earth; shabtis, as a means to prevent an excessive workload in the afterlife, evidence
the idea that work was still performed in the afterlife. The system of time-keeping in the
afterlife was also probably thought of as an eternity or infinity, as the deceased joined the
gods in their duties. The afterlife and the lives of the gods were thought of as existing in
cyclical time, such as Ra and his daily birth and rebirth which are continuous and unending
cycles.11
Personal or Popular Relationships with Gods
Popular religion practices sometimes show the relationship that people had with the
gods. Prayers by non-royal people are shown to include requests for human wants or needs
such as, pleas for help, spiritual requests, material requests, and personal requests. Specific
examples of requests include access to the favor of the gods and desires for attaining the gods
love.12 Material requests of the gods include food, clothing and housing; personal requests
include health, life and prosperity13 as well as the more specific requests for a good wife, the
satisfaction of personal pride, a good social and domestic life14
, or even such vain requests as
for good looks and a long life. These prayers are generally formulaic and follow standards,
similar to the Egyptian letters to the dead. Many of the letters to the gods come after the
period of time when letters to the dead were written, perhaps suggesting a shift in the belief
system and hierarchy of Egyptian religion.15
Relationships with the gods were also expressed through the naming of children.
Many names that are known from Ancient Egypt contain aspects of a gods name. However,
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the names are not necessarily related to a specific interaction with the god, but instead the
names indicate the help or involvement of a god in the particularly difficult birth process. 16
Personal Religion
John Baines also wrote a chapter titled Society, Morality, and Religious Practice in
Religion in Ancient Egypt: Gods, Myths, and Personal Practice which offers information
regarding the various religious practices of non-royal people. He begins the chapter by
explaining that the Egyptian language does not have a single term in its vocabulary that can
be translated to religion, which again demonstrates the complexity of what scholars of
Ancient History designate as Egyptian religion.17
Though the king may have been seen as the responsibly party during some time
periods for his subjects religious practice18
the Egyptian people surely had their own
practices and beliefs that they were capable of exercising themselves. However, since many
of the ordinary people probably did not have access to the same religious materials or
expensive tombs as the royal or elites, this information is much harder to find today, if it could
be found at all. Examples of worship of household gods, such as Bes, remain along with
other objects related to personal religion and ancestor cults discussed below.
Popular religion among ancient Egyptians included offerings to the gods, requests to
both the gods and the deceased such as intercession, pleas for help, and various processes of
divination.19
Though much information remains about the official religion, thanks to the
kings legacies and the remains of the elite as well as the deserts preservation qualities,
scholars still struggle to decipher the mystery of popular religion.20
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Another aspect of personal or popular religion is the process of gift-giving for special
occasions. During times of celebration such as births or festivals, people would present each
other with food or other useful household gifts.21
Janssens article focuses mainly on the
process of gift-giving as an economic system, but the relationship between giving gifts to
living relatives and acquaintances may transfer over to letters to the dead. This may
especially be true since the gulf between the living and the dead was not perceived to be a
great hindrance to any type of communication but rather a matter of a physical distance. 22
Magic and Religion
Robert Kriech Ritner begins his book, The Mechanics of Ancient Egyptian Magical
Practice with a definition ofmagic from Websters dictionary. The definition explains that
magic is, the use of means (as ceremonies, charms, spells) that are believed to have
supernatural power to cause a supernatural being to produce or prevent a particular result (as
rain, death, healing) considered not attainable by natural means.23 However, this definition
is problematic in the context of Ancient Egypt, because Egyptians did not consider magic to
be unnatural; indeed, Egyptians believed that magic was a part of nature and the natural order
of life.24
Religion and magic were an important and integral part of Egyptian culture from the
beginning of their culture. The first magical amulets found date to the fourth millennium
BCE, and the first magical texts appear around the third millennium BCE.25
Magic, or
Egyptian heka, was something that all the gods as well as some of the glorified dead
possessed. Another word for magical powers, akhu, was also thought to have been an aspect
of underworld deities and the blessed dead. These powers were not considered to have
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been either good or evil, but the dead did have the ability to use their powers to influence the
living or dead.26
An important part ofheka, or magic, was writing.27
As discussed in course lectures,
the Egyptian word for hieroglyphs, medew netjer, means the words of the gods or divine
words, and shows their magical properties.28
Perhaps their belief in the power of words and
writing is a reason archaeologists and scholars today have physical letters that were written to
the dead. An oral tradition may have existed or accompanied the letters, particularly for the
literate population; however, perhaps the letters that were written were considered more
powerful or effective.
Magic among private individuals usually involved life crises, as mentioned in Baines
article, as a type of crisis management.29 Rather than using magic only after a crisis,
Egyptians often employed preemptory, or prophylactic, magical defense as a means to prevent
trouble.30
The magic used by Egyptians did call on people or things that reside in the afterlife,
but the magic was not necessarily seen as evil or demonic.31
In most of Egyptian religion, sweetness and light dominate official sources rather
than concentrating on the negative or evil side of the world and underworld. 32 The official
public documents from Egypt generally do not mention or regard any supernatural beings
other than gods and goddesses. However, in documents that are not related to the state, such
as magical texts, evil or negative forces are indicated. The natural order of life, or maat, was
sometimes disturbed, and some personal religious practices are probably related to those
disturbances. Life centered on several main events, such as birth, puberty, parenthood, and
death, and afflictions such as natural disasters, medical maladies, and unexpected death were
thought to have occurred for specific reasons.33
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Observances were often used to relate religion to the instabilities of life. People
would often try to please the gods or the dead as a preemptive measure towards disaster.
Other preventative measures included the wearing of amulets or the practice of superstitious
activities. These actions show how religion and magic were integral parts of Egyptian life,
both in the world of the living, as well as in the afterlife. Many of the magical practices of
ancient Egyptians are concerned with preventing or counteracting the disturbances
encountered in life.34
In Egyptian belief, magic was a basic cosmic force which was not considered, as it
is in many western cultures today, to be a disruptive concept on the periphery of the
mainstream culture. Everyone in Egyptian culture who had access to information regarding
magic, which may have included all levels of society, would have practiced magic to some
extent. Therefore, magic was not seen as a black art or an aberrant art.35
Ancestor Cults
Ancestor cults are another important aspect of personal religion. Stelae and offering
tables found at both houses and chapels in Deir el-Medina are dedicated to the excellent
spirit, or perhaps the akh of a deceased relative. The names and memories of the individuals,
who are now glorified spirits in the afterlife, are preserved on the stelae and offering tables.
Offerings were made to the spirit, as well as offerings of stone carvings of flowers. 36
Apart from the offerings of food and drink to the dead persons ka on a somewhat
consistent basis, on holidays and special occasions relatives would hold banquets or festivals
near the tombs of their ancestors. The meals that were shared with dead ancestors at these
picnics express the feeling that the dead relatives are still felt, and perhaps not really dead and
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gone, but instead dead and apart from a distance from the living.37
In many cultures in the
southern United States, as well as in Egypt today, many people still have a similar practice of
picnicking and tending to graves on weekends or holidays.
A further indication of ancestor worship is the presence of human-headed busts found
in niches of several houses in Deir el-Medina. These are likely associated with ancestor cults,
and prayers and offerings were likely offered to the dead to nourish the deceased in the
afterlife.38 Florence Friedmans article on such busts, found at Deir el-Medina also gives
some interesting information regarding ancestor worship and how it may have related to
letters to the dead.
39
The author proposes that the busts represent deceased relatives who
could affect the affairs of the living. Friedman believes that the letters to the dead were left in
chapels before statues much like the ones in the homes of workmen at Dei el-Medina. 40 The
statues were perhaps in the homes for similar purposes; family members were responsible for
keeping their deceased relatives happy so as to prevent the dead from interfering negatively
with their lives. The busts of ancestors were probably used in a similar way to the letters to
the dead as well. Friedman claims that perhaps the statues were seen as intermediaries
between the living and the dead, and they could also prevent afflictions through their magic. 41
Relationships Between the Living with the Dead
Many people who suffered misfortune or afflictions did not have a way to interact with
deities. Ordinary people had barely any interaction, if any, with the official religious practices
of the state. This resulted in an inequality of interaction with the gods and state religion for
ordinary, or non-elite and non-royal people.42
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Once a person entered the afterlife, he or she would desire a peaceful existence away
from the trouble of earthly life. However, in death many people were still called to assist
others from their role on earth. According to Baines, both the living and the dead existed in
the same community, and people who were deceased were capable of interacting with the
living either positively or negatively. The dead required their living relatives to assist them in
death through offerings or support in the afterlife such as food or drink, and this made an
impact on the living that were required to maintain their dead ancestors. However, after about
a generation, many ancestors were forgotten or no longer maintained.43
Sources from the Old Kingdom to the Late period explain that the dead were
supposedly capable of harming the living according to several sources listed by Baines in
Practical Religion and Piety which are related in this paper.44 Magic used among the
Egyptians does not seem to contain evil witchcraft or sorcery, though as Baines points out,
this belief could be based on a lack of sources that would explain such practices.45
Problems in life usually resulted in communication with the dead. If a person felt that
he or she had experienced unfairness in life, that person could ask a deceased person for help
after traditional means were unsuccessful. Deceased relatives were expected to help their
relatives. However, the dead were not always cooperative in the eyes of the living; many
times the deceased relative was thought to have been unhappy with their living relatives either
for something that they experienced in their life, or from a lack of attention given to them by
those who were still alive. If the person was unhappy with their relative, their discontent
could cause problems with litigation in the afterlife as well as personal problems for the living
relative.46
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Curses by the deceased, often found in tombs, are another example of the relationship
between the dead and the living. If a tomb was destroyed or damaged by a living person, the
person whom the tomb belonged to could harm the demolisher either in their life or the
afterlife. Another malady that could befall the person who carelessly destroyed the tomb of
the deceased could be the prosecution of the destroyer by a tribunal in the afterlife. Almost
always, the deceased won the case, and the wrongdoer would, suffer hideously, either in this
life or when attempting the transition to the next.47 These examples show the influence that
the dead could still have upon the living; in the case of curses, the effect was a negative
though arguably deserved persecution.
Snakes, crocodiles and scorpions are often mentioned in texts as the threats that people
who violated tombs would encounter. The person who violated the tomb would also answer
to a god in the afterlife, or would sometimes be made to answer to the deceaseds spirit.
Whether the confrontation would take place in the persons earthly life or in the afterlife is
unclear.48
Along with seemingly deserved problems caused by the dead, the living also
thought that the dead were responsible for other problems that befell them. Superstition
dictated that events which may have a very natural explanation (Baines gives the example of a
hyena attacking a persons animals) were actually the result of a malicious dead persons
actions. In order to avert such natural occurrences, the living gave offerings to the dead to
keep them happy and prevent offense.49
Texts are unclear on who exactly these spirits are;
some seem to list the spirits separately from the dead.50 However, the malicious dead are
probably considered those in the underworld who did not pass the test of entry and were
instead damned.51
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Egyptians believed that contact with the dead was normal and expected. There were
several ways to communicate, but one of the most important systems of communication was
through letters to the dead. Living people who believed that someone had wronged them or
that they had suffered an injustice asked for help through a letter that was written to
someone who existed in the afterlife.52
Letters to the Dead
Letters to the dead are, fundamentally, a form of communication between a person and
his or her deceased relatives or acquaintances. The letters are written in much the same way
any other letter was formed to a living person, with a greeting and request. Edward Wente
published several letters to the dead in his 1990 bookLetters from Ancient Egypt. He
introduces the letters with general information regarding the letters. Because the afterlife is
considered a continuation of earthly life, Wente does not regard communication with the dead
as unexpected.53
The letters are written on various types of material. There has been at least one letter
found which was written on papyrus. Other than that example, at least one, The Cairo Letter,
has been found to have been written on linen. The other examples of letters to the dead
appear on pottery vessels or bowls. The letter N3500 is also on papyrus, and may be the
earliest example of a letter to the dead.54
The time period from which the letters come varies. Letters are found from almost all
periods of Egyptian history, from the Old Kingdom to the New Kingdom.55 This paper
explores letters from the Old Kingdom, First Intermediate Period, and New kingdom.
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Reasons for the seeming termination of the letters to dead are also explored below, as part of a
shift in religion to letters to gods instead of to dead relatives.
Few letters exist today, and many of the letters are probably from the portion of the
population that was literate.56 However, the question remains of whether or not individuals
could hire scribes to write the letters for them. Additionally, there may have been an oral
tradition that accompanied or sometimes superseded the writing aspects of the letters. The
letters scholars have today are found in tombs near offering tables where the deceased person
would certainly see and read them.57
Another possibility for the reason scholars have so few
letters is that they were written on a perishable item that was unable to last throughout the
millennia and elements.
The letters presented within are illustrations only of the elite. As Baines states, only
by extension can such practices be posited for the rest of thepopulation.58
However, it is
also interesting to note that both men and women have been found to be authors of letters to
the dead. The role of men versus women in the afterlife as well as the role they play in
haunting relatives is somewhat complex and will be explored in more detail after an
explanation of the letters themselves.
Many of the correspondences from the living to the dead were written because in some
instances, the living believed that the dead were intentionally impairing or hindering their
lives. The example of a letter written by a man to his deceased wife is a great example of
such an occurrence, and that letter is explored in greater detail below.59
Many of the letters to
deceased relatives remind the dead that they are not at fault while also prompting the reader to
believe that the living had done everything he or she could for the deceased person while they
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were alive, as well as now after the deceaseds earthly life. Additionally, the letter is often
accompanied with an offering to appease the deceaseds spirit.60
Baines explains in ShafersReligion in Ancient Egyptthat the letters may have had a
spoken component as well as written, but obviously there is no archaeological evidence for
oral tradition.61
Perhaps if such an oral tradition existed, it may have been easier for the
normal or ordinary and uneducated people to practice.
Letters imply a judgment system in the afterlife which may impact either the living or
the dead- which it affects is not clear from the letters. Aside from judgment and litigation
regarding inheritance and other legal matters, letters also ask the deceased to stop essentially
haunting the living.62
Examples of each with further commentary are seen below. Baines
also reveals that letters to the dead are rather rare when one considers that less than twenty
have been discovered from a period of time which covers more than 1000 years.63
The letters are generally written after the writer has suffered a misfortune or injustice
to a recipient who is either responsible for the misfortune or who can act on their behalf.
Letters often mention litigation or an afterlife tribunal where spirits of the deceased could deal
with cases involving the dead and living. The deceased person is expected to either stop
harming the living or prevent the other deceased, akh, from harming their living relative.
Most letters contain an explanation of the actions of the living relative, both during the
deceaseds life and death, to assist and praise the deceased.64 Letters seem to have been
addressed to the akh aspects of a person, rather than the ka. In effect, the ka was the aspect of
an individuals personality that the living were responsible for maintaining, and in return, the
akh was responsible for helping the family members or friends who were still alive who were
assisting the ka.65
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Letters to the Dead with Commentary
The following section will chronologically detail several of the letters to the dead with
commentary and interpretation of the translations.
Letter 1: Letter from a Wife and Son to her Deceased Husband, Dynasty 6
This is the first example of a letter from Dynasty 6. The letter is found on the Cairo
Linen CG 25975. The letter is one of the only known letters written on linen rather than
pottery. The letter is, in part, as follows:
It is a sister (i.e. wife) who addresses her brother (i.e. husband), and it
is a son who addresses his father.Your condition is like that of one who lived innumerable times. May
Ha, lord of the West, and may Anubis, lord of burial, help you, as weboth desire.
This is a reminder of the fact that Beheztis agent came for leatherwhile I was sitting by your head, when Irtis (i.e. my) son Iy was caused
to be summoned to vouch for Behztis agent and when you said, Keephim hidden for fear of Iy the elder! May the wood of this my bed which
bears me rot should the son of a man be debarred from his household
furniture.Now, in fact, the woman Wabut came together with Izezi, and they both
have devastated your house. It was in order to enrich Izezi that she
removed everything that was in it, they both wishing to impoverish
your son while enriching Izezis son. she is taking away all yourpersonal menials after removing all that was in your house. Will you
remain calm about this? I would rather die and be by your side than to
see your son dependent upon Izezis son.Awaken your father Iy against Behzti! Rouse yourself and make haste
against him! You know that I have come to you here about litigating
with Behzti and Aais son anankhi. Rouse yourself against them, youand also your fathers, your brothers, and your relations and overthrow
[them].
Recall what you said to Irtis (i.e. my) son Iy, They are the houses of
ancestors that need to be sustained, may your son maintain your
house just as you maintained your fathers house.66
The letter is a great example of many of the letters as it follows what seems to be a
formulaic system of the letters, which will be obvious as more letters are explored. The writer
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begins with an introduction of who is writing and to whom. The writer asks the deceased to
intercede and to help his wife and son. The letter is a reminder of a situation involving
others who devastated your house and removed everything that was in it, they both
wishing to impoverish your son while enriching Izezis son. The letter next asks the
deceased to remember the situation and urges her dead husband to rise up and defend herself
and their son.
From this letter, the reader can learn about typical disputes regarding property and
debts. The living wife and son have probably exhausted all resources they know to consult,
and when none of those methods worked, the wife and son wrote to their former head of the
house, who is now deceased, to help them through his connections in the afterlife.
Letters 2 and 3: A Son to His Deceased Father and Son to His Mother, late Old Kingdom
This letter was found written on the inside of a late Old Kingdom Kaw Bowl. The
son, Shepsi, addresses his father Inekhenmut. This letter follows much of the same formula
as the previous with an introduction, reminder, synopsis, and request for help. In this
situation, Shepsi complains of his brother, who had at the time of writing passed into the
underworld where their parents reside. Shepsi claims innocence for any wrong-doings, and he
instead accuses that his brother, had done what ought not to have been done.67 Shepsi
seems to believe that because his fathers inheritance was left to himself instead of to the now
deceased brother, the brother is upset in the afterlife and is causing trouble for Shepsi who is
still living. Shepsi asks his father to intervene with the brother and explain the situation as
well as prevent the brother from causing any more trouble for Shepsi. 68
Interestingly, the same Shepsi wrote to his mother, also in the afterlife, regarding the
same situation. He reminds his mother, Iy, of all the things he did for her in life, and he then
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explains his plight. He even describes what may be considered an ultimatum: Shepsi writes to
his mother that if he dies because of these problems no one will be left on earth to make
offerings on her behalf. Shepsi asks his mother to choose between himself and the brother,
Sobekhotep,whom he respected and helped both in life and in his afterlife. He claims that he
is being injured wrongfully, and requests that his brother be prevented from creating such
afflictions. He also adds that such wrongdoings are disgusting to the gods.69
These two letters follow the patterns and formulas of other letters to the dead. The
author is again requesting help from the dead, this time with another relative who is in the
afterlife.
Letter 4: A Son to His Deceased Father, Dynasty 9
This letter is another example of a son, Heni, writing to his deceased father, Meru.
The letter is from the time of Dynasty 9, and it is written on papyrus. 70 This letter is the one
of the only letters that has been found or published that is written on papyrus instead of
pottery or linen.71 Again, a formula is in place for this letter to the deceased relative. In this
example, the deceased is asked to assist his son in preventing the person Seni from appearing
to him in dreams.72
Again, the writer explains that he was not responsible for the death of Seni, though it
seems from the letter than the dead Seni believes it was Henis fault that he was wounded.
The author admits that what happened to Seni did happen in his presence, but he should not
be held accountable. Heni requests that Meru prevent Seni from creating the disturbances
through dreams by guarding him until the dream visits cease once and for all. 73
Letter 5: A Son to His Deceased Father, First Intermediate Period
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This letter addressed to a father from his son dates to the First Intermediate Period and
was found on a red pottery vessel. The vessel was different than most others found with
letters inscribed though, as it is a jar stand without a bottom, and it contains a lip at the top.74
The formula of the other letters is again revealed: a summary of the problem, the naming of
the person who is causing the problems, and a request for help. The letter also contains a
different aspect from the other letters explored here: the writer asks for a healthy son to be
born to his wife, as well as to his sister.
The letter is somewhat more confusing than the others as well. The author says, Now
I have brought this jar stand over which your mother should institute litigation. May it be
agreeable for you to support her.75
The mother can be assumed to be the paternal
grandmother of the writer, though the request made to her is unclear. This will be explored in
more detail below.
The letter then explains that there is an affliction being caused by two serving maids,
Nefertjentet and Itjai, though it is unclear whether the two women are dead or alive;
additionally, the author does not explicate the problem in detail. Because it is unclear whether
the serving maids are dead or alive, it is difficult to ascertain how the dead will help the
living. These details raise many questions that cannot be answered readily answered.
The letter closes with a request of a second healthy son for your daughter, assumed
to be the sister of the writer. This raises the question of the role the deceased played in the
afterlife: is the deceased capable of causing the woman to become pregnant, or does the dead
relative go to the gods with the authors request? In the first part of the letter the author
claims, let a healthy son be born to me, for you are an able spirit.76
This may suggest that
the deceased is in fact responsible and capable of creating the pregnancy, though it is unclear
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if the spirit has a direct role in this or an indirect role through appeal to the gods in the
afterlife.
Interestingly, Gardiners article about this letter to the dead mentions a figurine that
was found near the letter. The figure is of a woman who seems to be holding a male child.
Inscribed upon the figure is the statement, may a birth be given unto thy daughter.77
This
seems to be directly related to the letter, and it may have been given as an offering at the same
time as the letter. This reemphasizes the hope that the deceased father will use his influence
in the afterlife to bring a son to his daughter, the authors sister.
Letter 6A Grandson to his Grandmother, First Intermediate Period
This letter has not yet been discovered, but scholar Ji Jank writes of the letter which
may have been written at the same time as the one above, by the same author to his
grandmother.78 Jank claims that the letter above references another letter, which
archaeologists have not yet uncovered. In the letter to his father, the author says, Now I have
brought this jar stand over which your mother should institute litigation.79 This reference to
another letter was reconstructed by Jank in his article, Revealed but Undiscovered: A New
Letter to the Dead.
Jank believes that the letter was probably inscribed on a bowl, during the First
Intermediate Period as the letter above was. The letter to the authors father is likely a
reinforcement of the letter to his grandmother which was probably a request for litigation with
a person in the afterlife who was causing him trouble, possibly the serving maids, Nefertjentet
and Itjai.80
Though this letter has not been found, it is an interesting theory which Jank has put
forth. Should the letter be found, it would be fascinating to see whether or not the theory
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would hold. Additionally, the letter would possibly provide more information on the problem
between the author and the people who were causing the problems. The letter would also
possibly provide more information about the figurine which was found with the first letter,
regarding the request of a son for both the author and his sister.
Letter 7: From a Man to His Deceased Wife, Dynasty 19
This letter from the Nineteenth Dynasty is from a man to his dead wife. He believes
that she is haunting him for some wrongdoing that occurred while she was living, and he
explains to her in the letter what a great husband he was. He believes that because he
completed all the duties a good husband is supposed to, she has no reason to haunt him. From
the Leiden Papyrus of the 19thDynasty, translated in PestmansMarriage and Matrimonial
Property:
What have I ever done against you? I have taken you as my wife,when I was a young man; you were still with me, when I filled alloffices; you were with me, I have not repudiated (you), I have not
injured your heart. I did it when I was a young man and I filled all
(kinds of) important offices for the PharaohLife, Prosperity,Health!without repudiating (you), saying: she must always bewith (me), so did I speak. Everything I made come to me, was at
your feet did not I receive it on your behalf saying: I live up to your
heart? but behold, you do not leave my heart in peace, I will litigate
with you and they will distinguish wrong from right I did not hideanything from you during your day of life; I did not make you suffer
pain in all I did with you as (your) master; you did not find me whileI deceived you like a peasant, entering I did not make a man stealall I acquired with you. When they placed me in the post where I am
now, and I was in the situation in which I could not go out according
to my habit, I did what somebody like me does, while he is at homeconcerning your oil and bread and your clothes: it was brought to
you, I did not let it be brought to another place. . . I have not
deceived you. Behold, you do not know the good I did to you, I
write you in order to make you see what you are doing. When youwere ill with the illness which you had I fetched the chief physician
and he treated you and he did everything of which you said do it.
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When I followed the pharaoh on the journey to the south and you
fell into this condition (when you died) I spent the period of eightmonths without eating and drinking as people do. And when I
returned to Memphis I begged leave of pharaoh and went to the
place where you were and cried very much with my people before
my residence. I have dresses and clothes to wrap you in. I had manydresses made and I left nothing good undone in order not to let it be
done for you. Behold, I have lived alone since for three years
without entering a house, although it is not suitable that such a one iscompelled to do that. Behold I have done it for your sake. Behold
you do not know right from wrong, one will judge between you and
me. Behold , the women in the house, I had no intercourse with anyof them.81
This very long letter lists out the very aspects a good husband was expected to exhibit during
life. For example, from this letter we learn that men were expected to stay with their wife,
provide for her, be honest with her, take care of her when she is sick, and be faithful. The
man writing the letter lists the great things he did for his wife in an effort to stop her from
haunting him. This letter explains a lot about how men were expected to behave, but also
shows a sort of vengeance that women were capable of in haunting and torturing their dead
husbands. The man also mentions litigation with his dead wife, which will extinguish the
misfortune she has forced upon him.
Observations
Early letters seem to ask for intercession on the writers behalf, but the latest letter we
have asks the dead person to act as an intermediary to the gods for the living person.82
Letters to the dead are rare, but they seem to have been replaced with letters to the gods by the
Graeco-Roman periods.83 A letter to a god dates from the same dynasty as the letter above
from a husband to his dead wife, Dynasty 19. The letter is addressed to Amun-Re, and the
author requests the gods favor. Similar to the letters to the dead, the writer promises a gift to
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the god in exchange for his help. The author does not explicably state his request, only
requesting success. In exchange, the god will receive an amphora of date-brew as well as
beer and bread.84
The conversion from letters to relatives could be a result of more
integration of personal religion and ancestor worship to more people recognizing the official
religion of the state. Additionally, scholars or archaeologists may not have found letters to the
dead from this period that may have originally existed.
Another interesting question regarding these letters to the dead relates to the people
who were writing the letters. The letters that exist today represent a group of people who
were considered elite and literate. As mentioned previously, an oral tradition may have
accompanied the letter, but there is no archaeological or other record of such a practice. It
may be reasonable to hypothesize that peasants or any people lower than these represented
elite on the hierarchical chain of Egyptian society may have practiced a similar ritual through
oral communication. As Baines astutely states, is this interaction [elite letters to the dead]
between the living and the dead the literate tip of a non-literate iceberg?85 Archaeologists
and scholars may never know, but this is not a subject that can be ignored.
Additionally, because so many of the letters seem to subscribe to a type of formula, it
may be possible that scribes were hired to write the letters as they were transcribed by the
author according to the formula. There is currently no research to certainly determine this,
but it may be a theory that should be further explored. However, this raises the question of
why there are not more letters to be found if others could write them for the author, though the
cost of hiring a scribe may have been prohibitive as well.
Further questions that may never have definitive answers remain prevalent in the study
of Ancient Egypt. There is no evidence that can be found to demonstrate whether or not the
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writers or other Egyptians believed that the letters achieved the desired actions. One may
infer that, because letters continued to be written over the years from the Old Kingdom until
the New Kingdom, Egyptians did believe the letters to be effective. However, the change
from letters to the dead to letters to the gods may be an interesting clue to this as well.
Perhaps by the time of the alteration of addressees Egyptians did not believe that ancestors
had the same powers in the afterlife as the gods.
Moreover, while the akh was the part of the spirit that could interact with other dead
on behalf of the living, the questions remain of the purpose of the ba. If the ba, like a ghost or
spirit that could travel, did go to the places that the living person went while alive, could
others meet the ba on its travels? This remains unanswered, but the ba may have been
responsible for causing the problems for the living person.
Also intriguing is the role that men and women play in the writing of letters, as well as
their respective roles in the afterlife. Letters are written to both men and women in the
afterlife to request assistance, as seen in Letters 2 and 3 above from a son to both his mother
and his father. Additionally, both men and women in the afterlife seem to have been regarded
as potential threats to the living, as seen in Letter 1 regarding the man Behzti and in Letter 5
about the two serving maids Nefertjentet and Itjai.
However, Letter 7 from a man to his deceased wife shows another aspect of the role
that women could play in the afterlife. According to the author of that letter, the wife seems
to be maliciously haunting him as revenge for his treatment of her in life. This could be
related to the idea that women are isfetand cause chaos and problems. This is questionable,
however, since men in the afterlife seem to also cause problems among the living. Another
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possibility is that men were generally more literate, and their examples are therefore more
readily found by archaeologists.
Letters to the Dead and Public History
The question of why these letters matter to Egyptologists and people today still
remains. Aside from the intrigue of reading the words of Ancient people, why do these letters
have any importance to people living in the modern world? As seen in the husbands letter to
his dead wife, these letters give a personality and life to those people who lived so long ago
and seem incredibly disconnected from people today.
The letter to a dead wife presented above is an interesting look into the every-day life
of Ancient Egyptians and their relationships. The words and pleas are personal, even if a
formula has been followed, and one can understand the problems the man seems to be having,
which he attributes to his dead wife. This letter could serve as an example in any exhibit or
public history presentation regarding the daily life of Ancient Egyptians that many modern
people could relate to. The translated words could be easily spoken by any grieving husband
or wife today, even if the words are not meant to be relayed in a magical sense.
As a person reads the pleas and requests from an individual, who walked, breathed,
ate, and simply lived thousands of years ago, the person reading those appeals today may feel
a connection with the person who was having every-day problems similar to those faced
today. The letters can provide a bridge from the past to today. In addition to learning about
Egyptian beliefs in the afterlife and death, scholars and those who are interested in the past
can learn of the peoples everyday lives.
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