the Festivals of Osiris and Sokar in the Month of Khoiak the Evidence From Nineteenth Dyn Royal...

8/10/2019 the Festivals of Osiris and Sokar in the Month of Khoiak the Evidence From Nineteenth Dyn Royal Monuments at

1/30

The Festivals of Osiris and Sokar in the Month of Khoiak: The Evidence from Nineteenth

Dynasty Royal Monuments at AbydosAuthor(s): Katherine J. EatonReviewed work(s):Source: Studien zur Altgyptischen Kultur, Bd. 35 (2006), pp. 75-101Published by: Helmut Buske Verlag GmbHStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25157772.

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2/30

The

Festivals

of Osiris and

Sokar

in

the

Month

of

Khoiak:

The

Evidence

from Nineteenth

Dynasty Royal

Monuments

at

Abydos*

Katherine

J.

Eaton

(Tafel 5-6)

Abstract

There

were

three

sets

of

processional equipment

for Osiris and Sokar

depicted

on

Nineteenth

Dynasty royal

monuments

at

Abydos

-

Sokar's

/*e?w-barque;

the

?Osiris

Fetish,"1

associated

with

Osiris-Khentyimentiu;

and

a

barque carrying

a

bed,

which resembles

funerary

boats

depicted

in

vignettes

to

Book

of

the Dead

Chapter

1.

Ptolemaic records

of ritual

describe three

divine

images

to

be

made

for the

Festival

of Osiris

-

Sokar-Osiris;

Osiris-Khentyimentiu;

and

the

divine

members,

a

set

of

disembodied

limbs.

These

sets

are

representative of the processional equipment depicted

on

Nineteenth Dynasty Abydene

monuments.

However,

the

layout

and decorative

program

of the

Temple

of

Seti

I

at

Abydos

strongly

indicate

that

the

internal rites for Sokar's Festival

were

still

independent

of

those

for Osiris' Festival

at

Abydos,

during

the

reign

of

Seti I.

Auf den

koniglichen

Denkmalern

der 19.

Dynastie

in

Abydos

waren

drei

Grupen

von

Prozessions

ausstattungen

fur Osiris

und

Sokar

dargestellt:

Sokars

Henu-Barke,

der

Osirisfetisch,

der

mit Osiris

Khentyimentiu

verbunden

ist

und eine

Barke,

die

mit

einem

Bert

ausgestattet

ist

und

die

der

Bahre,

die

in

den

Vignetten

von

Tb

1

ahnelt.

Ptolomaische

Aufzeichnungen

des Rituals

beschreiben

drei

gottliche

Bildnisse,

die fur

das Fest der

Osiris

angefertigt

wurden:

Sokar-Osiris,

Osisris-Khentyimentiu

und

die

gottlichen

Gebeine,

eine

Ansammlung

von

korperlosen

GliedmaBen.

Diese

drei

Garnituren

sind

charakteristisch ftir die Prozessionsausstattungen auf den Denkmalern der 19.Dynastie

aus

Abydos. Die

Raumgestaltung

und das

Dekorationsprogramm

des

Tempels

von

Sethos I. in

Abydos

weisen

jedoch

deutlich darauf

hin,

dass

die

Riten

fur das Sokar-Fest in

Abydos

wahrend

der

Regierungszeit

von

Sethos

I.

immer

noch

unabhangig

von

denen

fur das Osiris-Fest

waren.

Each

year

in the

month of Khoiak there

was a

festival

during

which the

god

Osiris

was

brought

from his

temple

(hwt-ntr

wsir

hnti-imntiw)

to

his

tomb

at

Peker

(pkr),

probably

the

area

known

today

as

Umm

el-Qab

(Fig.

1, ?Sacred

Route").

By

the

Middle

Kingdom2

the

ancient

Egyptians

had identified

the tomb

of

the First

Dynasty

king

Djer

at

Umm

el-Qab

Thanks

to

the United

States

Information

Agency

which funded

my

research

through

a

grant

ad

ministered

by

the American

Research

Center

in

Egypt;

to

the IFA-Penn-Yale

Expedition

to

Abydos,

which

provided

me

with

accommodations

at

Abydos;

and

to

Ogden

Goelet and Anne

Weis,

whose

comments

were

invaluable.

1

The

term

?fetish"

is

sometimes used in

a

pejorative

way

to

imply

that

the

religious

ideas

surrounding

the

image

in

question

were

in

some

way

?primitive."

I

do

not

subscribe

to

this view.

However,

I

use

the

term

?Osiris

Fetish"

because

it has

long

been used

to

describe

a

particular image

associated

with

Osiris' cult and

changing

the

terminology

now

would be

confusing.

2

This date is based on the types of pottery left as offerings near the tomb of Djer, see G. Dreyer, e.a.,

in:

MDAIK

56, 2000,

117-118.

Previously

it

was

thought

that little

pottery

dated

prior

to the New

Kingdom,

see

B.

Kemp,

?Abydos",

in:

LA

1,37.

A

statue

of

Osiris

on a

bier

that

was

found

in

this tomb

may

date from the late

Middle

Kingdom,

but the

date is

disputed,

see

A.

Leahy,

in:

Or

46,

1977,

424-434,

pis.

26-29.

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3/30

76

K.J. Eaton

SAK

35

as

the tomb of

Osiris;3

pilgrims

came

from all

over

Egypt

to

view the

procession

from

Osiris'

temple

to

his tomb and

to set

up

stelae and

statues

in

offering

chapels

along

its

route.4

With the

possible

exception

of the

Amarna

Period,

this festival

was

celebrated

at

Abydos

throughout

the New

Kingdom.

The

month of Khoiak

(ki

hr

ki,

mid-October

to

mid

November)

was the fourth month of

Akhet,

the inundation season and this festival was

performed

to

ensure

the

successful rebirth

of the

god

Osiris

and the land of

Egypt.

The

inundation

was

associated

with

Nun,

the

nothingness

of

precreation.

After the inundation

receded the earth

was

reborn

-

dry

land covered

with

fertile

black silt

emerged

from

the

waters

and

a new

crop

would

soon

be

planted.

t_2 ?*

\\

)

x

(

x?-x

\

(0\

5ooit

I i\

/

\

'

1st*^jSwwrtyJ

I

?j

catacomb

*im&9

Kingdom

/^"^^is.

V^

;

?

cenotaph

\

"X

V

I

|i

.

doflcatac&ote

\\^hUei

ei-Zebib

%

cenotaph

empte

_

\

/V

~o

i?^aph

vXof^ ^8B&/

Nt^mpj/ofM^11-

1

I

'

**

?s

^

kn

IL

n

^"^Pte3^,tom*Srfttn

i

il


4/30

2006

The

Festivals of

Osiris

and Sokar

in theMonth of

Khoiak

77

procession

from

the

Osiris

Temple

to

Peker

-

the

great

barque,

the

nSmt-barque

and the

barque

?Truly-arisen-is-the-Lord-of-Abydos"

-

along

with

a

portable

shrine.

There is

no

evidence for the

use

of

four

images

in

Osiris'

Khoiak

festival

at

Abydos.

Some

of the

Abyd

ene

barques probably carried the

same

images

on

different stages of

the

journey.

Some

of

these

conveyences

were

river

barges,

for

example,

while others

were

processional

barques.6

Each

year,

in

the

days

leading

up

to

the festival

processions,

new

images

of

the

gods

Osiris

and

Sokar

were

made

out

of

a

mixture

of

grains

and

other materials.

Often

called

?corn

mummies,"

the

recipes

for

these

images

varied

both

regionally

and

over

time.7

The

stela of Ikhernofret

is

quite

vague

regarding

the form of the

images

carried

in these

vessels

but does

specify

that

they

were

adorned

with

gold,

and

precious

stones.8

These

descriptions

accord well with

later

examples

of

corn-mummies from other

sites,

which

were

quite

frequently

decorated with

gold

foil9

or

placed

in coffins decorated with

gold

foil.10

During

Osiris' Khoiak festival at

Abydos,

the

previous

year's

mummies were carried from the

Osiris

Temple

to

the

god's

tomb

at

Peker

(pkr)u

and

buried.12

Processional

equipment

that

was

likely

used

during

these festivals

was

depicted

in

mem

orial

temples

and

chapels

of

three Nineteenth

Dynasty kings

at

Abydos (Fig.

1)

-

Ramesses

I,

Seti

I

and Ramesses II.

These

represent

the

most

complete surviving

visual

depictions

of

Osiris'

processional

equipment.

Nevertheless,

a

complete

analysis

of this

material,

with

textual

descriptions

of

the

festivals and

archaeological

remains

of

the

images

has

yet

to

be

undertaken.

Textual

and

iconographic

evidence

suggests

that,

by

the New

Kingdom,

a

single

national

tradition

had been

adopted

for

the

performance

of

the

Khoiak festival

throughout Egypt

and

that,

in

its broad

outlines,

this

tradition followed the

ritual

progression

described

in the

Ptolemaic

temple

of

Hathor

at

Dendera and

other

late

monuments.13

The

archaeological

evidence,

on

the

other

hand,

paints

a

different

picture.

Systematic

studies

by

Raven

and

Tooley

of

different

types

of

Osiris

burial

-

including

Osiris

beds,

Osiris

bricks

and

corn

mummies

-

indicate

that

there

was

significant

variation in

the

size

and

composition

of these

images

and in

the moulds

used

to

make

them.

These

differences

endure

into the Late

Period,

6

Lichtheim

suggested

that

the

?great

barque"

may

have

carried

processional barques,

see

M.

Lichtheim,

Ancient

Egyptian

Literature

1,125,

n.

2.

7

For

a

general

overview

of

the

making

of

such

figures,

see

A.

Tooley,

in:

JEA

82,1996,175-176;

and

M.

Raven,

in:

OMRO

63,1982,

28.

8

In

lines

3-4

of

his

stela,

Ikhernofret

gives,

as

one reason

for

being

sent to

Abydos,

the

adornment of

the

image

of

Osiris-Khentyimentiu

with

gold

that

had

been

won

in

victories

in

Nubia. In lines

15-16,

he

describes

his adornment

of

the

breast

of

the

image

with

gold

and

precious

stones.

9

Raven,

in:

OMRO

63,1982,19-20

(Corn-Mummies

from Thebes

nos.

2-9,13,14,15);

21-27

(Corn

Mummies of Unknown

Provenance

2,15,

and

16).

10

Raven,

in:

OMRO

63,1982,

21-23

(Corn-Mummies

from Tihna

nos.

1,

2, 4,

7,

8,16,

and

17).

11

Umm

el-Qaab

is

generally accepted

to

have

been

pkr,

see n.

3.

12

The

Osireion

may

have

served this

function for

the

Temple

of

Seti I at

Abydos.

13

G.

Gaballa /K.

Kitchen,

in: Or

38, 1969,

36.



5/30

78

K.J.

Eaton

SAK

35

continuously

at

individual sites

and

sporadically

over

whole

regions.14

In

fact,

even

the

Dendera

texts

include

references

to

numerous

images

of

Osiris

associated with

specific

localities.15

The

present

study

focuses

on

a

single

local tradition

during

a

limited

period

of time

-

Abydos

in the

Nineteenth

Dynasty,

to reconstruct

the sizes

of the

processional

barques

depicted

in New

Kingdom temples

at

Abydos

and the

character of

the ritual

materials

they

contained.

This has

important implications

for the

conduct

of

ritual,

temple

design,

and for

reconstructing

the

degree

of standardization

in

Egyptian

ritual

during

the later

New

Kingdom.

Since

the

conduct of ritual

during

this

period

seems

to

adhere

to

local

conventions,

evidence from other

places

and time

periods

is

applied

with caution.

Three different

kinds

of

barques

that

were

probably

used

to

transport

images

of

Osiris

and

Sokar

during

their

Khoiak festivals

are

depicted

on

thewalls

of

the

Abydene

memorial

chapels and temples of the Nineteenth Dynasty kings Ramesses I, Seti I and Ramesses II.16

These

structures

were

all

located

to

the

south

of the

Osiris

Temple

at

Abydos

(Fig.

1).

By

far

the

most

material

comes

from the

Temple

of

Seti

I

at

Abydos

(hereafter

referred

to

as

the

?Seti

Temple").

Many

deities

were

venerated

in the

Seti

Temple,

and

seven

clearly

had

barque

chapels

of their

own

(Fig.

2,

the

seven rooms

to

the

west

of

the

Second

Hypostyle

Hall).

However,

Osiris

and

Sokar

are

both

special

in that

they

had

larger

complexes

of

rooms

devoted

to

them.

Osiris

has

a

complex

of

eight

rooms

at

the

rear

(west)

of

the

temple,

reached

through

a

door in the

west

wall of his

barque chapel.

Sokar

had

a

complex

of three

rooms

reached

through

a

door

on

the

west

end of the south

wall

of the Second

Hypostyle

Hall,

called

the

Nefertem-Ptah-Sokar

Complex.

The Seti

Temple

and

the other memorials

probably

served

as

stations for

images

from

the

Osiris

temple

when

they

went out

on

procession,

but

the

decorative

program

in

the

Seti

Temple

suggests

that

images

of Osiris

and

Sokar

were

made

there

as

well. I believe

that

there

were

overlapping processional

circuits

(Fig.

1).

The

images

belonging

to

the Seti

Temple

would

go

out

on

procession, visiting

the

chapel

of

Ramesses

I,

and

perhaps

other

local

shrines before

going

to

the

cenotaph

of

Seti

I,

the

Osireion.17

Meanwhile,

the

images

from the

Osiris

temple

might

have

visited

royal

memorial

temples

before

and/or

after

going

to

Peker.18

14

M.

Raven,

in:W.

Clarysse/A.

Schoors/H.

Willems

(eds.),

Egyptian

Religion

the Last

Thousand

Years,

1,

OLA

84,1998,227-239;

Tooley,

in: JEA

82,1996,167-179;

and

Raven,

in:

OMRO

63,1982,7-38.

15

Raven,

in:

Clarysse/

Schoors/ Willems

(eds.),

Egyptian Religion

the

Last

Thousand

Years,

1,

OLA

84,

1998,237;

E.

Chassinat,

Le

mystere

d'Osiris

au

mois

de Khoiak

1,1966,91-98;

and

H.

Beinlich,

Die

,Osirisreliquienc:

zum

Motiv der

Korperzergliederung

in

der

altagyptischen

Religion,

AA

42,

1984.

16

For

a

list

of

these

scenes

and their

locations,

see

Chart

1.

17

The

ritual burial of

statues

was

not

confined

to

the festival of

Khoiak.

It

also

formed

part

of

a

weekly

ritual, see L. Gabolde, in:BIFAO 89,1989,175 andD. Arnold, in:B. Shafer

(ed.), Temples

of Ancient

Egypt,

1997,

57-58.

18

It is

not

clear

to

me

whether

such

visits would

have

actually

been

part

of

the

Khoiak

festival

or

if there

were

other

occasions

on

which Osiris

would visit

the memorial

chapels

and

temples

which did

not

lie

on

the

route

from the Osiris

temple

to

Peker.



6/30

2006

The

Festivals of

Osiris and

Sokar

in

theMonth

of

Khoiak 79

Ptah-Sokar

Chapel

I

l*|n|*#|(*

0

(

_____

___Seti

Ptah

HRe"

HAmuiBftjr

VH,sis

HHorufl

^^^-j^^^^,^^^i^^J_|arques

1

^^^^^^H_

_JB11^L_J___i__^B_JJ-_^_Ste

##### | 5__H__L Hg^MBilil*l,B,il Second ypostyleaft ^M

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___^r____rv___fr^

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w

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msm

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J

even

H^jih|

HH_____________i_____K_/____i

JHH^^HLjJ^H

_XT

^KK^K^KK/K^KKmfmKKi

_________________HI____Hfl_H

were

originally H flH_MHH_H_HBf >?,

"

H

|

Four _

p

were

blocked

up

H

H

by

Seti I's

son,

_Jf-."?.'.

''_____

_?

*-

:

-B

Ramesses

II.

*1||

Hit

f^M

henu-barque

I

P'l

I

O

-

Osiris'

I

Second

Court

H

processional

I

objects

Fig.

2

-

Plan of

the

Temple

of

Seti

I

at

Abydos

[Based

on

Calverley/Gardiner, Abydos

I,

1933]

Osiris

has

a

complex

of

eight

rooms

at

the

rear

(west)

of

the

temple,

reached

through

a

door

in

the

west

wall

of

his

barque

chapel.

Sokar

has

a

complex

of three

rooms

reached

through

a

door

on

the

west

end

of

the

south

wall of

the

Second

Hypostyle

Hall,

called

the

Nefertem-Ptah-Sokar

Complex

(shaded

dark

grey,

along

with the

routes out

of

the

temple

featuring

henu-barque

scenes).



7/30

80

K.J. Eaton

SAK

35

The first three sections

of

the

present

study

each

assemble the

textual

and

archaeological

evidence for

the

use

of

a

particular

set

of

processional

equipment

-

Sokar's

henu-barque

(1);

the

?Osiris

Fetish"

image,19

associated

with

Osiris-Khentyimentiu

(2);

and

a

barque

carrying

a

bed,

which is

strongly

reminiscent of

funerary

boats

depicted

in

vignettes

to

Book

of

the

Dead

(BD)

Chapter

1

(3).

According

to

a

tradition recorded

in

the

later

Temple

of

Hathor

at

Dendera,20

three divine

images

were

made

for

the

Khoiak

festival21

-

Sokar

Osiris;22

Osiris-Khentyimentiu;23

and the

divine

members,

a

set

of disembodied

limbs.24

These

sets

are

representative

of

the

processional

equipment

depicted

on

Nineteenth

Dynasty

Abydene

monuments.

However,

in

other

respects,

the

performance

of

the

Khoiak festivals

in

these

monuments

clearly

deviated

from

the

tradition

recorded

in later

texts. For

example,

in their

analysis

of

the Sokar

Festival

as

depicted

the

Temple

of

Ramesses

III

at

Medinet

Habu

Kitchen

and Gaballa concluded

that:

?...the Festival of Sokar proper, on the 4th Akhet, day 26, was probably already

incorporated

into

the

Osirian

festival

of

that month from

well

before the

New

Kingdom

when

our

evidence becomes

explicit

..."25

Nevertheless,

as

I

hope

to

show,

the

organization

of the

Seti

Temple

and

its

images

strongly

indicate

that,

as

of

the

time of

Seti

I,

the internal

rites

for

Sokar's

Festival

were

still

independent

of Osiris' Khoiak

Festival

at

Abydos.

1

Sokar's

henu-barque

Although

many

Egyptian

gods

had

barques

or

other

means

of

conveyance,

the

henu-barque

is unique to the god Sokar. Depictions of this barque in the Seti Temple show it to have

followed

a

well-established

iconography

like those

depicted

in

some

Theban

area

temples

(Fig.

3).26

It

has

a

crescent-shaped

hull

(a)

that

is

attached

to

a

four-legged

frame

(b)

with

restraining

ropes

(c).

There

are

two

or

three small

steering

oars

at

the

stern

(d).

The

prow

is

elaborately

decorated

with

a

series

of horizontal

projections

(e),

sometimes

identified

as

a

large

flared

mat;

and,

from

top

to

bottom,

a

bull's

head

(f),

a

backward-facing antelope

19

On

my

decision

to

use

the

term

?fetish",

see n.

1.

20

Chassinat,

Le

mystere

d'Osiris

au

mois

de

Khoiak

1-2,

1966-1968;

S.

Cauville,

in:

BSFE

112,

1998,

23-36,

fig.

1;

and

Beinlich,

Die

,Osirisreliquien\

58-68.

21

For

a

general

overview

of

the

making

of these

figures

according

to

the

later

instructions,

see

Tooley,

in: JEA

82,

1996,

175-176;

and

Raven,

in: OMRO

63, 1982,

28.

22

Chassinat,

Le

mystere

d'Osiris

au

mois

de

Khoiak

1, 41,

57-58;

and F.

Daumas,

?Choiakfeste",

in:

LA

I,

958-960.

23

Chassinat,

Le

mystere

d'Osiris

au

mois

de Khoiak

1,

1966,

41-51,

54-56; Cauville,

in: BSFE

112,

1998, 25;

and

Raven,

in:

OMRO

63, 1982,

28.

24

The

divine

members

were

essentially

a

set

of

disembodied

limbs.

Chassinat,

Le

mystere

d'Osiris

au

mois

de

Khoiak

1,

51-52,

56-57.

The

divine members

and

their

relationship

to

the various

Osiris

?reliquaries"

from different

parts

of

Egypt

are discussed in

Beinlich,

Die

,Osirisreliquien\

AA 42,

1984.

25

G.

Gaballa/K.

Kitchen,

in: Or

38, 1969,

36.

26

For

example,

at

Medinet

Habu,

in

the Festival

Court,

see

PM

II,

498

(93)-(95)

I,

4-5;

Medinet

Habu

4,

1940,

pis.

196, 221,

222 and

223;

and

Gaballa/Kitchen,

in:

Or

38, 1969,

figs.

1

and

2.



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2006

The Festivals of

Osiris

and

Sokar

in

theMonth of

Khoiak

81

head

(g),

a

fish

(h)

and six falcons

(k).27

Depictions

of

the

henu-barque

usually

include

images

of

two

falcons

wrapped

in cloth

(m),

or

mummified

-

one on

top

of the

cabin,

the

other

in

ront of it.

A

third

image

may

have been carried in the cabin

of

the

barque (n).

The

whole

rests

on

a

sledge

(o)

and

platform

with

carrying

poles

(p).

When

the

barque

is

at

rest,

it

usually

appears

on a stand decorated with a row of

dd-pillars

surmounted

by

a row of

cnh-s\gns

(q).

In

fact,

this stand

became

so

closely

associated

with

Sokar's

henu-barque

that

in

a scene on

the

east

wall of the

First

Hypostyle

Hall

it

was

shown

being dragged

-

an

event

that would

only

have occurred after the

barque

had

been removed from

its stand. This

stand does

not

seem

to

have been

used

for

any

other

processional

barque.28

Fig.

3

-

Diagram

of the features of Sokar's

henu-barque.

a.)

crescent-shaped

hull;

b.)

four-legged

frame;

c.)

restraining

ropes.

At

the

stem

the

barque

has

d.)

steering

oars.

At the

prow

the

barque

has:

e)

a

flared

mat

(?);

f.)

a

bull's

head;

g.)

a

backward-facing antelope

head;

h.)

a

fish;

and

k.)

six

small

falcons. The

barque

carries

m.)

two

additional falcons

-

one

on

top

of the

cabin,

the

other

in

front

of it.A third

image

may

have been

carried

in

n.)

the

cabin.

The

whole

rests

on

o.)

a

sledge; p.)

a

platform

with

carrying poles and q.)

a

barque

stand decorated with

a row

of

dd-pil\ars

surmounted

by

a row

of

rnh-sigas.

The

henu-barque

seems

to

have

carried

three

divine

images,

alluded

to

above:

the

two

falcons

wrapped

in

cloth,

or

mummified

-

one

on

top

of the

cabin,

the

other

in

front

of it

-

and

a

third

image,

out

of

sight,

in

the cabin.

Scenes

on

the

west

end of

the north

wall

of

27

My

summary

of these features relies

heavily

on

descriptions provided

by

E.

Brovarski, ?Sokar",

in:

LA

V,

1055-1074, esp.

1066-1067;

and

Gaballa/Kitchen,

in:Or

38,1969,

17.

28

Karlshausen,

who

did

not

include the

barque

of

Sokar

in her

study

on

the

iconography

of

processional

barques,

did

not

mention

this stand in her section

?Decor

du

piedestal

de

la

barque,"

see

C.

Karlshausen,

L'iconographie

de

la

barque processionelle

divine

en

Egypte

au

Nouvel

Empire,

Dissertation Presented

to

the

Faculty

of

the

Universite

Catholique

de

Louvain,

1997,

290-292.



9/30

82

KJ. Eaton

SAK

35

the

Ptah-Sokar

Chapel

support

this

interpretation

(Fig.

2 and PL

5a).29

There,

three

deities

carry

the

epithet

?who-is-in-his-barque"

(imy wii.f).

Two

are

depictions

of

falcon

statues

labelled

?Horus

who-is-in-his-barque"

and

?Isis

who-is-in-his-barque".30

They

appear

together

in

a

single

shrine

resting

on

a

sledge

and their function

was

clearly protective,

?his-barque"

in

the

epithet referring

to

the

barque

of

Sokar.

The third

image

features

a

god

lying

upon

a

bed with

an

erect

phallus

labelled

?Sokar-Osiris

who-is-in-his-barque".

This

scene

celebrates the

revivification

of the

god

and indicates

that

his

?mysteries"

were

celebrated

in this

room.31

It

appears

that,

at

different

points

in the

ritual,

the

two

falcons

and the

god

on

the

bier

could

embody

different

syncretic

relationships.

On

the south

wall of the Ptah-Sokar

Chapel

(Fig.

2),

the

scenes

have

the

same

layout

as

those

on

the north

wall,

with

a

god

on a

bier

and

two

falcons

in

a

shrine

(PL

5b).32

Here,

however,

the falcon

statuettes

are

labelled

Sokar and the god

on

the bier is labelled Osiris-Wennefer. This scene, together

with

the

protective figures

in

the

upper

register

(PL 6a),

may

be

an

example

of the

vignette

to

BD

Chapter

182

(Fig.

4).33

Guardians

holding

lizards and

snakes

are

not

common

in

temple

ritual

scenes.

BD-Chapter

182

is associated with the

deceased's

metamorphosis

into

Osiris

Wennefer. There

are

many

versions,

but all

clearly

refer

to

the

deceased

as

Wennefer.34

A

very

simple

version,

inscribed

in TT

296

(Dyn.

19-20),35

reduced this

chapter

to

the

essentials:

?I

am

Thoth,

true

scribe,

who

gives

meat

offerings

to

every

god,

king's

scribe,

wise

in

the

god's

words,

whose reed

(pen)

has

protected

the Lord of the

Universe,

maker of

laws,

who makes

writings speak,

who has

given

breath toWennefer."36

It

seems

probable,

therefore,

that

both

scenes

of

the

god

on

the bier

were

meant to

represent

the deceased

god

Sokar.

The

images

of the

god

on a

bier

are

associated

with

the

?mysteries"

in

which

a new corn

mummy

of the

god

was

made. We have

no

New

Kingdom

evidence

concerning

the form

of Sokar's

corn

mummy,

but the

Abydos

reliefs,

together

with references

to

the

making

of

these

images

from other

contexts37

indicate

they

were

indeed made

during

this time

period.

29

PM VI, 24 (220M221); A. Mariette, Abydos 1,1869, reprint 1998, 23 [78]; andA. Mariette, Fouilles

executees

en

Egypte,

en

Nubie,

et

au

Soudan,

2,1867,

86

[cxxix].

30

One

might

suggest

that themasculine

pronoun

in

Isis'

epithet

was

a

mistake.

However,

the

fact that

her

image

shares

a

shrine with

Horus

indicates

that

this

particular image

of

Isis

formed

a

pair

with the

image

of

Horus.

31

R.

David,

A

Guide

to

Religious

Ritual

at

Abydos,

1981,

105.

32

PMVI,24(218H219).

33

See,

for

example,

Af

(Dyn.

20-21),

in

R.O.

Faulkner,

The

Ancient

Egyptian

Book

of the

Dead,

1972,

178-179

and Tb

(Naville)

1,

pi.

CCVIII.

For

BD-abbreviations,

see

Chart 3.

34

For

several versions of

BD-Chapter

182,

see

T.G.

Allen,

The Book

of the Dead

or

Going

Forth

by

Day,

SAOC

37, 1974,

196-200

and

Tb

(Naville)

2,

447^48.

35

This was not included inM. Saleh, Das Totenbuch in den thebanischen Beamtengrabern des Neuen

Reiches,Texte

und

Vignetten,

AV

46,

1984.

36

T.G.

Allen,

The Book

of the

Dead

or

Going

Forth

by

Day,

198.

37

In

Theban

festival

calendars

the

twenty-first day

of the fourth

month of

Akhet

was

called the

'Day

of

Opening

the

Aperture

in the

Shentayet

Shrine," very

likely

a

reference

to

letting

light

into

the shrine



10/30

2006

The

Festivals of

Osiris and

Sokar

in

the

Month of Khoiak

83

According

to

texts

from

the

Temple

of Hathor

at

Dendera,

such

images

were

to

be

one

cubit

long,

about

52

cm.38

Corn

mummies this

size have

been

found,

but it is

not

clear that

they

belong

to

Sokar.39

If

a

corn

mummy

52

cm

long

were

placed

in the cabin of

a

henu

barque

with the

proportions

suggested

by

the

Seti

Temple

reliefs,

the

minimum

length

for

the

carrying pole

of

platform

would be

approximately

3.33

m.

This is

very

close

to

my

estimate of 3.5

m

for

the

minimum

length

of

the

carrying poles

on

Osiris'

barque

platfrom,

although

that

estimate is

based

on

entirely

different

sources.40

If

If

^"l

rfffi

pjffifflfl

11

If.

Fig.

4

-

Vignette

to

BD

182,

as

depicted

in

Af

[Tb

(Naville)

3

(1886,

reprint

1971),

pi.

CCVIII]

There

is

no

evidence

to

suggest

that

Sokar

mummies

were

ever

made

in

another

size,

although

figures

of

Osiris

showed

significant

variation.

An

Osiris

mould from Late

Period

Abydos

measures

71.5

cm

long

and,

if

a

figure

of

this

length

were

inserted

into

the

cabin

onto

the

grain

figure

of the

god,

see

Gaballa/Kitchen,

in:

Or

38, 1969,

38.

38

For

more on

the

composition

of

such

figures,

see

Chassinat,

Le

mystere

d'Osiris

au

mois de

Khoiak

1,

1966, 57-58;

Raven,

in:

OMRO

63,

1982,

28;

Tooley,

in:

JEA

82,

1996,

175-176;

L.

Mikhail,

in:

GM

81,

1984, 33;

and

C.

Seeber,

?Kornosiris",

in: LA

III,

744-746.

39

Many

com

mummies

were

found

in

falcon-headed

coffins,

suggesting

association

with

the falcon

headed

god,

Sokar.

However,

the

names

of the

deities,

when

present,

varied.

Two

completely opposing

views have been

published

on

this

topic.

Chassinat

believed

that

even

the coffins

labelled Osiris

Khentyimentiu

were

used

to

bury

Sokar

figures,

see

Chassinat,

Le

mystere

d'Osiris

au

mois de Khoiak

1,1966,58.

Raven

thinks that

none

of these

images represent

the

god Sokar, having

stated that

?Sokaris

figures

have

never

been identified

among

the

surviving archaeological

material."

Raven,

in:

Clarysse/Schoors

H.

Willems

(eds.),

Egyptian

Religion

the

Last

Thousand

Years, 1,

OLA

84, 1998,

237.

40

For

presentation

of

the

evidence

used

to

arrive

at

the

estimate for

the

size

of

Osiris'

barque,

see

pp.

88

90.



11/30

84

K.J. Eaton SAK

35

of the Sokar

barque,

that

barque

as a

whole would

measure

about 4.5

m.41

Barques

of

up

to

5

m

could have made the

widest

turn

in

the

hypostyle

halls

required

to

leave the

temple.

On

the

other

hand,

as

discussed

below,

this

would almost

certainly

make the

henu-barque

larger

than Osiris'

barques.

The

images

intended

for

New

Kingdom

Osiris

beds found

in

the

Valley

of

the

Kings

range

from

152 cm to 202

cm;

if

inserted into

the

cabin,

the

resulting

barque

would

have been

too

large

to

make the

turns

required

to

leave the

temple.42

Thus,

it

seems

most

likely

that

the

corn

mummy

made

for

Sokar

in

the

Seti

Temple

was

about

52

cm

long, already complying

with the standard

one

cubit

measure

called

for

in

later

texts.

2 The

Osiris Fetish

and

its

Conveyences

Differences

in

the

depictions

of

processional

images

are

usually

attributable

to

temporal

change, regional

variation,

or

ritual

practice,

but

three

substantially

different

configurations

of the so-called Osiris Fetish

appear

inareas of the Seti

Temple

dating

to the time of Seti

I.

This

is

a

clear

case,

therefore,

in

which

region

and time

were

not

determinative

factors.

The

Osiris

Fetish

is

also

depicted

in the

Chapel

of

Ramesses

I and the

Temple

of

Ramesses

II

at

Abydos.43

The

origins

of the

Osiris

Fetish

are

obscure and debated

but,44

by

the

Nineteenth

Dynasty,

the

fetish

seems

to

have

represented

the head

reliquary

of Osiris

Khentyimentiu.45

The

Osiris

Fetish

essentially

consists

of

a

wig,

sometimes

with

a

face,

stuck

onto

a

plain

pole.

?..

.in

most

representations

the

fetish is adorned

not

only

with

sun

disk

and

plumes,

but

also with

uraei and

headbands,

and

the

ribbons associated with these

fillets. These elements

of

the

developed

cult

symbol

were

all

intended

to

suggest

its character

as

the

'head' of

the

deity."46

The

Osiris

Fetish

is

depicted

on

three different stands

on

Nineteenth

Dynasty

royal

monuments at

Abydos.

The

simplest configuration, depicted

towards

the north end of

the

west

wall of

the First

Osiris

Hall

(Fig.

2),

sets

the

pole

of

the

fetish

in

a

base

composed

of

two

figures

of

the

king,

kneeling

and

wearing

the

nemes-head&ress.A1

The

pole

of

the fetish

is

exposed

and

41

Tooley,

in: JEA

82, 1996,

176.

42

Raven,

in:

OMRO

63, 1982,

13-14

(nos.

6 and

7).

43

For the

locations of these

scenes,

see

Chart

1.

44

R.

Wilkinson,

Reading Egyptian

Art, 1992,169.

45

Winlock

argued

that the fetish

was

not

seen as

the

head

reliquary

of Osiris

by

Nineteenth

dynasty

Egyptians,

and

that

the dismemberment

and

scattering

of the

body

of

Osiris

were

later beliefs.

He

asserted

that

references

to

Osiris'

body falling

apart

prior

to

the

Late

Period refer

to

his

body

falling

apart

in

his

coffin,

H.

Winlock,

The

Temple

of

Ramesses I

at

Abydos,

MMA

Papers

5,1937,

reprint

1973,

23-24.

The

fact

that

Nineteenth

Dynasty

texts

refer

to

the Osiris

Fetish

as

the

head

of

Osiris

establishes

that the

Egyptians

of

this time

associated

itwith

the head

of

Osiris. Beinlich

summarized

the history of scholarship and debate surrounding the larger issue of the use of reliquaries in ancient

Egypt,

see

Beinlich,

Die

,Osirisreliquien',

17-42.

46

R.

Wilkinson,

Reading Egyptian

Art, 1992,

169.

47

The

only

example

appears

on

the north end

of

the

west

wall

of

the

First Hall in

the

Osiris

Complex

in

the

Seti

Temple,

for references

see

Chart

1.



12/30

2006

The Festivals of

Osiris

and

Sokar

in the

Month of Khoiak

85

the face is shown

frontally.

The

king

anoints the head of the fetish with ointment and

the

scene

includes

a

list of

ointments

and

perfumes

to

be offered.

The other

two

types

of

depiction

contain

more

complicated

configurations

of

ritual

equipment.

One

type

shows

the fetish

set

into

in

an

elaborate

carrying

platform

featuring

the

god

Aker

(the

Aker

platform)

(2.1.1);

the other has it in

a

processional

barque (2.1.2).

These

two

depictions

correspond

to

two

modes

of

transport

recorded for the

Osiris

Fetish

at

Abydos

-

carriage

on

the

open

(Aker)

platform

or

in

the cabin of

a

boat,

either

a

river

barge

or a

processional

barque.

2.1.1

The Fetish

in

the

Aker

Platform

Fig.

5

-

The

Osiris

Fetish,

as

depicted

on

the

south wall of Osiris'

barque

chapel

in

the

Seti

Temple

[A.

Caulfield,

The

Temple

of

the

Kings

at

Abydos:

Seti

I,

ERA

8

(1902,

reprint

1989)

pi.

II]

On the

south wall of

the

Osiris

Barque

Chapel (Fig.

2)

the fetish has

no

face,

but is

clearly

identified

by

its

wig

(Fig.

5).

The

same

composition

appears

twice

on

the

west

wall of the

Chapel

of Ramesses I

and in

an

elaborate

version

of the

vignette

to

BD-Chapter

138

(Fig.

6),48

which

has

strong

affinities with

these

representations

of the

Fetish.49

In

the

Temple

of

Ramesses

II,

the

stand

is

shown

carried in

procession,

but the

upper

part

of the

scene

is lost.

The

golden

stand is

characterized

by images

of

two

mummiform

lions

back-to-back,

each

48

Ik

(Dyn.

19),

Tb

(Naville)

3,

CLII.

For

BD-abbreviations,

see

Chart

3.

Most

vignettes

to

this

chapter

were

much

simpler,

featuring

the Osiris

Fetish with

an

adoring figure

of the

deceased

and

a

protective

figure (usually

a

recumbent

jackal

on a

shrine).

Milde also

noted

that

on

pHori, Dyn.

21

(pCleveland

21.1032),

the

fetish is

depicted

in

the

middle of

a

ship.

For

further discussion of the

vignettes

to

this

chapter,

see

H.

Milde,

The

Vignettes

in the

Book of the Dead of

Neferrenpet,

Egyptologische Uitgaven

7,1991,236-237.

49

Chapter

138

is the last

chapter

on

the BD

of

Neferrenpet,

see

Milde,

The

Vignettes

in

the Book of the

Dead of

Neferrenpet,

236.



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86

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>"

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il

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The

Festivals of

Osiris

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in

theMonth of Khoiak

87

that

was

used,

among

other

things,

to

greet

the

sun.55

In

Nineteenth

Dynasty

Thebes and

Nubia,

these

figures

also

appear

on

the

barque

of Amun-Re

-

southern

Egypt's

premier

solar

deity

-

but

they

are

not

shown

with his

barque

in the

Seti

Temple.56

On

the

top

of the

stand,

a

group

of

royal figures

dressed

in

gold

supports

the

fetish

pole.

The

two

kneeling figures

in

the

center

wear

the

nemes-headdress

-

like those

on

the

simpler

stand

depicted

in the First

Osiris

Hall.

They

are

assisted

by

two

standing figures

of the

king

wearing

the white

crown;

a

third

pair

of

royal

figures,

in

the

blue

crown,

kneel

as

they

offer

mv-jars.

These

six

statuettes

of

the

king

are

flanked

by protective figures

of

jackals

and

cobras.

In

the

vignette

to

BD

138

in

the

BD

of Ptahsem

(Ik),

Isis

holds the

pole

along

with

a

male

figure

-

probably

Horus,

but

possibly

the

king.

As

on

other

depictions

of the

Osiris

fetish,

these

figures

are

flanked

by protective figures, including

recumbent

jackals

on

shrines.

A number of standards appear on the south wall of the Osiris Chapel. The entire Fetish

ensemble is

flanked

by

ram-standards tied

with

red

ribbons.

The

rams wear

solar

headdresses and

may

represent

the

ram

of

Mendes,

which is

the

Z??-spirit

of

Osiris.57

The

solar

ram

is

associated with

the sun's

crossing

of the

netherworld

at

night.58

The

vignette

to

BD-Chapter

138

on

Ik

also features

ram

standards. The

one on

the left

was

labelled

?cbiw

of Buto"

and

the

one on

the

right

?cbiw

of

[Hieraconpolis?]."59

The other standards

in

the

wall ensemble include:

a

standing jackal,

a

reclining jackal,

a

hawk

with

a

statuette

of

the

king

and

a

male

figure

wearing

the twin

plumes

and

holding

a

spear.

The

BD

of

Ptahsem

(Ik),

contains falcon

standards,

wadjet-eyes, standing jackal

standards

and ankh

signs holding

feathers.

There

are

indications

at

Abydos

that the

Osiris

Fetish

was

brought

out

in

procession

the

carrying

poles

on

the

platform

shown

on

the south wall of

the Osiris

Chapel

and the

remains

of

a

processional

scene

in

the

nearby

Temple

of Ramesses

II,

where

only

the lower

part

of

the

base

and

its bearers

are

preserved.60

These, however,

are

both interior

scenes.

Several

private

stelae,

from the

New

Kingdom

and

later,

have lunette decorations

indicating

that

people

were

familiar

with

images

of

the Osiris Fetish and

were

permitted

55

E. Brunner-Traut, ?Gesten", in: LA II, 580-581; and R. Wilkinson, Reading Egyptian Art, 1992, 17.

56

I

argue

elsewhere

that

these

figures

may

once

have been

associated

primarily

with

Osiris'

barque,

but

later

added

to

Amun-Re's

as

he

absorbed

the

attributes of

other

deities,

K.

Eaton,

The

Ritual

Functions

of

Processional

Equipment

in the

Temple

of Seti

I at

Abydos,

Dissertation Presented

to

the

Faculty

of

New York

University,

Department

of Middle

Eastern

Studies, 2004,

247-251. It is also

possible

that

they

served

to

mark the

processional barque

of

the

primary

local

deity.

Karlshausen

recognized

that

the

iconography

of the

barque

of

Amun-Re

at

Seti Fs

Abydos

Temple

differed

in

these

respects

from

contemporary

depictions

of

his

barque

at

Thebes,

see

C.

Karlshausen,

L'iconographie

de la

barque

processionelle

divine

en

Egypte

au

Nouvel

Empire,

Diss.

Louvain,

1997,

87. The

relevant

portions

of

Seti

P

s

Theban

and

Abydene

Memorial

temples

are no

more

than

two

years

apart

in

date.

For the

dating

of

these

two

monuments

see

P.

Brand,

The

Monuments of Seti I:

Epigraphic,

Historical and

Art

Historical Analysis, PA 16, 2000, 160 (Abydos) and 235-236 (Gurnah).

57

R.

Wilkinson,

Reading

Egyptian

Art,

1992,

61.

58

Wilkinson,

Reading Egyptian

Art,

61.

59

Milde,

The

Vignettes

in

the

Book of the

Dead

of

Neferrenpet,

236,

n.

4.

60

PM

VI,

36

(38H39);

and

K.

Kuhlmann,

in:MDAIK

38,

1982,

pi.

103.



15/30

88

K.J.

Eaton

SAK

35

to

depict

it

in

relatively

public

areas as

well.61

The

Chapel

of

Ramesses

I,

where the fetish

is shown twice

in the lower

register

of the

west

wall,

probably

served

as a

station

for

this

image.

It

appears

again

at

the

center

of the

top

register

on

the

east

wall

of

the

Central

Hall

of the

Osireion

(decorated

in

the

time

of

Merenptah),

where the

king

offers

to

Osiris

Khentyimentiu,

Re-Horakhte and

a

fourth,

unidentified

figure.62

The

presence

of

Re

Horakhte

again

suggests

solar

associations.

2.1.2

The Fetish

in

Boats

On

the

wall

opposite

that of the fetish

scene

in

Osiris'

Barque

Chapel

(Fig.

2)

there is

a

parallel

scene

with

a

processional

barque

(Fig.

7),

identified

by

some as

the

nSmt-barque.63

Even

Karlshausen,

who believes that the

nSmt-barque

was

a

river

barge,

described

this

processional

barque

as

?comme

une

neshemet

en

reduction."

The

nSmt-barque

is

easily

identified

by

its

papyriform

ends

and

by

the

image

that it

carried,

the

Osiris

Fetish.64

According

to

Lavier,

the

nSmt-barque

was

associated with

the

gods

triumphant

return to

the

temple.65

Anthes associated itwith the

?Erste

Auszug."66

That

two

completely

contradictory

readings

of

the

same

material

are

possible

underscores how

vague

these

descriptions

are.

Based

on

the textual

descriptions,

the

nSmt-barque

could have been either

a

river

barge

or

a

processional

barque,

and

indeed,

in the New

Kingdom

it

was

depicted

both

on

water67

and

with

carrying

poles.68

On

the

other

hand,

although

the

processions

to

Osiris'

tomb

at

Peker

(Umm

el-Qaab)

and

the

cenotaph

of

Seti

I

(the Osireion)

may

have

begun

on

water,

there

is

no

evidence for canals

leading

to

either

site.

Thus,

most

of both of these

journeys

would

61

All of the

examples

that I

know of date

to

the New

Kingdom

or

later. Several

are

in the British

Museum,

most

of unknown

provenance

(for

example,

BM

139,

141 and

161),

at

least

one

is

almost

certainly

from

Abydos

(BM

146),

see

BM

Stelae

9,

1970,

pis.

XIX

(BM 141),

XX

(BM

139)

and

XLVII

(BM 146)

and

BM

Stelae

10,

1982

pis.

52-53

(BM

161).

None of theMiddle

Kingdom

stelae

or

related

objects

in

Simpson's

ANOC

groups

include

depictions

of the Osiris

Fetish,

see

ANOC,

1974.

Nor

do

any

appear among

the

pre-New

Kingdom

inscribed material

found

by

the

expedition,

see

Simpson,

Inscribed Material

from

the

Pennsylvania-Yale

Excavations

at

Abydos,

5-8

and

33-53. This

seems

to

correspond

to

a

more

general

change

in

decorum

concerning

the

depiction

of deities

on

private

monuments.

Among

the

Middle

Kingdom

stelae

published

in

the

above

collections

it is

very

unusual

for deities to be depicted, with Wepwawet, Min and amumiform figure of Osiris wearing the white

crown

being

the

only

three encountered

among

Simpson's

ANOC

groups.

62

East

wall of

the

central

hall,

see

Cenotaph

of

Seti

12, 1933,

pi.

73.

63

R.

Anthes,

in:

Fs Mus.

Berlin,

1974,

25.

64

The

relevant

portion

of

the

image

in the

tomb of

Paser

has been

destroyed.

65

M.

Lavier,

in:

BSAK

3,1989,289-295.

66

R.

Anthes,

in: Fs Mus.

Berlin,

1974,

26.

67

See

the

stela

of

Houyou

(Dyn.

19),

Lyon

museum

of Fine

Arts

H

1379,

in

C.

Karlshausen,

L'icono

graphie

de

la

barque processionelle

divine

en

Egypte

au

Nouvel

Empire,

Diss.

Louvain,

1997,

cat.

306;

and

the

Chapel

of

Mayor

Paser

at

Medinet Habu

(tp.

Rs.

Ill),

in

S.

Schott,

Wall

Scenes

from the

Mortuary

Chapel

of

the

Mayor

Paser

at

Medinet

Habu,

E.

Hauser,

transl.,

SAOC

30,1957,

pi.

2.

68 The

processional

barque

depicted

on the north wall of Osiris'

barque

chapel

in the Seti

Temple

is

generally

believed

to

be

a

depiction

of the

nSmt-barque,

see

R.

Anthes,

in: Fs Mus.

Berlin,

1974,

25.

Even

Karlshausen,

who

believes

that

the

nSmt-barque

was a

river

barge,

described

this

processional

barque

as

?comme

une

neshemet

en

reduction,"

see

C.

Karlshausen,

L'iconographie

de la

barque

processionelle

divine

en

Egypte

au

Nouvel

Empire,

Diss.

Louvain, 1997,

125.



16/30

2006

The Festivals of Osiris and Sokar

in the

Month of Khoiak

89

have been conducted

by

land. This

physical

fact

must

override

all of

the

textual

evidence

in

favor of

a

water

journey

and the

identification of

the

nSmt-barque

as a

river

barge

per

se.69

Fig.

7

-

A

barque

that

carried the Osiris

Fetish,

as

depicted

on

the north

wall of Osiris'

barque chapel

in

the

Seti

Temple

[A.

Caulfield,

The

Temple

of

the

Kings

at

Abydos:

Seti

I,

ERA

8,

1902,

reprint

1989,

pi.

Ill]

The

equipment

associated with the

nSmt-barque

shares

many

features

with

the

Aker

platform

and this

boat-shaped

palanquin

was

clearly

used

to

transport

the Osiris

Fetish

on

certain

occasions.

In

its

depiction,

the

top

of the

fetish

appears

above

the

shrine with its

face in

profile

and

is

surrounded

by

solar

imagery

similar

to

that from the south wall-

the

Souls of Pe, here accompanied by a figure of the king and all performing the henu-gesture;

and the

ram

standards. There

are

other

iconographical

similarities between the

two

conveyances:

golden

figures

of the

king,

wearing

the

nemes-headdress,

support

the fetish

pole

along

with

protective jackals

and

cobras.

In

this

case,

however,

some

figures

of

the

king

are

replaced by

golden

statuettes

of

Isis and

Nephthys, raising

their

arms

in

a

gesture

of

mourning.

Two

of the

standards

depicted

in

front of

the

fetish ensemble

on

the

south

wall,

a

jackal

and

a

falcon,

appear

again

at

the

prow

of this

barque,

which

has

a

similar

69

One

might

suggest

that

ritual

practice changed

over

time.

Tutankhamun

seems

to

have

changed

the

route of the

Opet

Festival

procession

atThebes from a land

journey

south toLuxor with return

by

barge

by

river

to

a

round-trip

journey

on

the

river,

see

W.

Murnane,

?Opetfest",

in:

LA

IV,

575.

However,

there

is

no

indication

that

there

were

water routes to

the

destinations under consideration

herein

at

any

time.

Thus,

if

there

were

variation

over

time that

variation would have

to

have involved

moving

the

site

of

Peker

to

a

place

accessible

by

water,

an

unlikely

proposition.



17/30

90

K.J. Eaton

SAK

35

crew

of

golden

divine

statuettes

and

statuettes

of the

king

with

silver

skin and

gold

clothing.

Some

of these

figures

appear

on

all

Nineteenth

Dynasty

processional barques

with the

exception

of

Sokar's

henu-barque

and the

barque

with the

bed;

these

include the

two

figures

of

the

king

in the

nemes-headdress

and

the

kneeling figure

of the

king

offering

nw

jars.

The

latter

also

appears

on

the

Aker-platform.

Other

figures

appear

only

on

depictions

of

Osiris'

barque

at

Abydos

and Amun-Re's

barque

in

Thebes

and Nubia

(but

not

Amun

Re's

barque

at

Abydos), namely

two

figures

of

the

goddess

Mert

and the

Souls

of

Pe

or

Nekhen.70

There is

a

female

figure

-

perhaps

Isis

-

in

a

gesture

of

mourning

and,

at

the

stern,

a

figure

of Horus who

helps

the

king

steer

the

barque.

Another

barque,

from

the

westernmost

scene

on

the south wall of the

Hall

of

Barques,

varies somewhat in its

iconography

and

may

represent

a

change

in the decoration of

prow

and

stern

that occurred later, in the reign of Seti I

or

that of Ramesses II. The top of the

shrine is

destroyed

so

it

is

not

known

if the fetish

protruded

from the

top,

but the

barque

differs

in

two

primary

respects

from the

one

depicted

in

the Osiris

chapel:

First,

prow

and

stern

are

completely

covered

by

aegieaes

composed

of

a

broad collar

surmounted

by

the

head of

the

deity;

it

does

not

have

the

papyriform

ends associated with the

nSmt-barque.

Second,

a

figure

of

the

king

does

not

help

the

falcon-headed

figure

steer

the

barque.

The

images

in this hall

were

laid

out

in

paint

under

Seti

I,

but carved

in the

reign

of

Ramesses

II,

so

the

date

and

significance

of the differences

are

not

clear.71

2.2

The

size

of

the

platform for

the

Osiris

Fetish

Attempts

to

estimate

the size of Theban

processional barques

rely

on

three

categories

of

evidence

-

textual

sources,

depictions

of

processions,

and

the

size

of

architectural

elements.

These

data do

not

indicate

the size of the

barques,

but those

of the

platforms

upon

which

they

were

carried. The

platforms

consisted

of

two

or more

carrying poles

held

together

by

crossbars and

the

processional

scenes

indicate that

barques

were

roughly

the

same

length

as

their

carrying poles.

These

scenes

provide

no

clear indication

of the

barques'

width and

the

length

to

width ratios

of

model

barques

varies

from

as

little

as

3:1

to

as

much

as

13:1,72

Even the

lowest

figures

would

indicate, however,

that

the

processional

barques

were

not

wider than their platforms.

70

I

argue

elsewhere that these

figures

may

once

have been

associated

primarily

with Osiris'

barque,

but

later

added

to

Amun-Re's

as

he

absorbed the attributes

of

other

deities,

Eaton,

The Ritual

Functions

of Processional

Equipment

in

the

Temple

of Seti

I

at

Abydos,

Diss.

New

York

University,

2004,

247-251.

It is

also

possible

that

they

served

to

mark

the

processional

barque

of

the

primary

local

deity.

Karlshausen

recognized

that the

iconography

of the

barque

of

Amun-Re

at

Seti Fs

Abydos

Temple

differed

in these

respects

from

contemporary

depictions

of

his

barque

at

Thebes,

see

Karlshausen,

L'iconographie

de

la

barque

processionelle

divine

en

Egypte

au

Nouvel

Empire,

Diss.

Louvain,

1997,

87.

The relevant

portions

of

Seti

Fs Theban and

Abydene

Memorial

temples

are

no

more

than

two

years apart in date. For the dating of these two monuments see Brand, The Monuments of Seti 1,160

(Abydos)

and

235-236

(Gurnah).

71

J. Baines/

R.

Jaeschke/J.

Henderson,

in: JEA

75, 1989, 13-30,

and

Brand,

The

Monuments

of

Seti

I,

167.

72

Figures

from

examples

depicted

in CG

4798-4976

u.

5034-5200,

1913.



18/30

2006 The Festivals of

Osiris

and

Sokar

in

theMonth of

Khoiak

91

Since

the

sizes

of

barque platforms

varied

regionally,

we

must

focus

on

data from

Abydos

proper.73

Middle

Kingdom descriptions

of

the

procession

from the

Osiris

Temple

to

pkr74

at

Abydos

include

descriptions

of

at

least

three

barques

or

boats,

but these

are

too

vague

to

shed

light

on

the

question

of

barque

size.75

A

related

category

of evidence

is

that

of

the

corn

mummies

made for the

Khoiak festivals

of

Sokar and

Osiris.

The

size

of

corn

mummies

varies

and

we

have

none

dating

to

the

New

Kingdom

from

Abydos.76

Thus,

for

the

size of

barque

platforms

at

Abydos,

we

must

rely

on

Abydene

processional

scenes

and

architecture.

Estimating

barque

size

in

processional

scenes

requires calculating

the

probable

size of

priests.

Legrain

suggested

that the size of the

barque

platforms

might

be reconstructed

by

assigning

an

average

number of .44

m

to

the shoulder width of

each

priest

and

multiplying

this

by

the

number

of

priests

shown

carrying

the

barques.77

Holscher

observed, however,

that the number of priests shown in processional images may reflect the status of the deity

and

not

the

actual

size of the

participation.78

In

the

Theban

area,

for

example,

some

temples

are

too

small

to

contain

the

thirty

priests

shown with

the

barque

of

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