3/10/2014 Letters to the Dead in Ancient Egypt | DIANABUJA'S BLOG: Africa, The Middle East, Agriculture, History and

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Letters to the Dead in Ancient Egypt
Posted on 08/08/2011
One of the more interesting genre of ancient Egyptian literature comprises the so-called Letters to the Dead.
These letters were not affairs of the heart, to commune socially with the deceased, but were pragmatically
employed by the living to a dead relative in order to seek assistance in addressing a particular wrong or problem.
The letters were usually written in hieratic (a cursive form of hieroglyphic) on the inside of a bowl, which probably
contained an offering, and was placed at or in the deceased tomb. There must have been thousands written,
because the few remaining are dated from the Old Kingdom (about 2686-2181 BC) to the late New Kingdom
(about 1550-1069 BC) spanning over 1500 years.
When studying Egyptology I found them to be amongst the most interesting of the texts remaining from
Pharaonic times. They are personal, immediate, and open a small window to the kinds of problems of a personal,
family nature of the time. No doubt, too, their composition and placement at the tomb of the addressee would
have helped ease the frustration or anger of the person writing the letter.
Another genre that I liked working on was from the so-called Strike Papyrus, which was written during the Reign
of Ramses III, 12th Century BCE (c.1198-1166 BCE)., as part of the daily Theban Diaries. See Food strikes in
Ancient Egypt The Turin Strike Papyrus, etc.
As for the letters to the dead, they were probably written onto the bowls by professional scribes a cadre of
scribes who would have also sold their services in writing various kinds of letters to the living. The fact that the
remaining letters extend over a considerable period of time, over 1500 years, means that, as a corpus, they are
written in the three major forms of ancient Egyptian Old, Middle, and Late. Each is characterized by its own
grammar and hieratic script. The differences can be considerable, as that between Chaucerian and modern
English, or medieval and modern French.
Below are transcribed a couple of the letters at the time I studied the bowls there was no internet, which now is a
great aid in obtaining background, translations and photos. We were given photocopies of pictures of the bowls,
having to seek any additional help from the library stacks which at Berkeley are extensive. Nevertheless, the
writing (as you can see) is very faint
Shepsi writes to his dead parents for help in a dispute over property. He writes on the inside of the bowl to his
father, with a shorter message on the outside to his mother.
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3/10/2014 Letters to the Dead in Ancient Egypt | DIANABUJA'S BLOG: Africa, The Middle East, Agriculture, History and Culture
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Letter to the Dead Parents of Shepsi, at Qau - Petrie Museum of Egyptian
Archaeology,University College London
Inside:
(1) Shepsi speaks to his father Iinekhenmut.
(2) This is a reminder of your journey to the dungeon (?), to the place where Sens son Hetepu was, when you
brought (3) the foreleg of an ox*, and when this your son came with Newaef, and when you said, Welcome, both
of you. Sit and eat (4) meat! Am I to be injured in your presence, without this your son having done or said
anything, by my brother ? (And yet) I was the one who buried him, I brought him from the dungeon (?), (5) I
placed him among his desert tomb-dwellers, even though thirty measures of refined barley were due from him
by a loan, and one bundle of garments, six measures of fine barley, (6) one ball (?) of flax, and a cup- even
though I did for him what did not (need) to be done. He has done this against this your son evilly, evilly (7) but
you had said to this your son, All my property is vested in my son Shepsi along with my fields. Now (8)Shers
son Henu has been taken. See, he is with you in the same city. (9) You have to go to judgement with him now,
since your scribes are with (you) in the same city. (10) Can a man be joyful, when his spears are used [against
his own son (??)] ?
* Foreleg of an ox A foreleg or a haunch were traditional gifts as well as offerings to the deceased.
Outside:
(1) Shepsi speaks to his mother Iy.
(2) This is a reminder of the time that you said to this your son Bring me quails for me to eat, and when this
your son brought to you (3) seven quails for you to eat. Am I to be injured in your presence, so that the children
are badly discontent with this your son? (4) Who then will pour out water for you? If only you would judge
between me and Sobekhotep! I brought him from another town, and placed him in his town (5) among his male
and female dead, and gave him burial cloth. Why then is he acting against this your son, when I have said and
done nothing, evilly, evilly? (6). Evil-doing is painful for the gods!
Source: http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/qau/tombs/7695trans.html



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About diana buja
A recent group photo at a training course for veterinarians and vet technicians here in Burundi. I discuss in French with some
Kirundi and have also a Kirundi translator to help with technical aspects ... Blog entries throughout this site are about Africa, as
well as about the Middle East and life in general - reflecting over 35 years of work and research in Africa and the Middle East
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