The Two Brothers

Egyptian Folktale

Once there were two brothers. Anpu was the elder, and Bata was the younger. When their
parents died, Anpu was already married and had a house of his own, so he took his little brother with
him and treated him like his son. When the little brother grew to be a young man, he became an
excellent worker. He did the plowing. He harvested the corn, and there was no one his equal in the
whole land. Behold, the spirit of the god was within him.

Every morning, the younger brother followed his oxen and worked all day in the fields, and every
evening, he returned to the house with vegetables, milk, and wood. He laid all these before his elder
brother, and he took with him his bread, and he drove the cattle into the field.

Because Anpu loved his younger brother very much, his wife became very jealous and she
wanted to destroy Bata. One day, when Anpu and Bata were in the fields, they needed some corn, so
Anpu sent Bata home to get some. The younger brother found the wife combing her hair and said to
her, “Get up and give me some corn that I may run to the field for my elder brother is in a hurry. Do not
delay.”

At eventide, Anpu returned home earlier than his brother because Bata had much work to do in
the fields. Anpu was met by his wife, who was crying bitterly. She showed him her arms and legs which
he had painted black and blue and accused Bata of having beaten her up. She pretended to be in great
pain. She did not give him water to wash his hands with. She did not light the fire for him. She pretended
that she was very sick.

Anpu became very angry. He sharpened his knife and waited for Bata in the stable. When the sun
went down, Bata came home as usual, loaded with herbs, milk and wood. As he entered the door, he
saw the feet of his brother and the sharp knife hanging by his side. The brother sprang from him and
Bata fled praying to the god Ra. “My good Lord! Save me from death, thou who divines the evil from the
good.” Ra heard his cry. He made a river flow between one brother and the other and filled it with
crocodiles.

Bata asked his elder brother, “Why do you seek to kill me? Am I not your brother and have you
not always treated me as if you were my father? Has not your wife been as mother to me? Now since
you want to kill me, I shall go to the Valley of the Acacia.”

Anpu answered, “Why did you beat up my wife and almost kill her.”

Bata answered, “I did not do such thing. Have I told you that I have always looked upon her as my
mother?”

So, Anpu went home. He found his wife near the river washing off the black and blue dye with
which she had painted herself. Filled with great anger, Anpu killed his wife and cast her to the dogs.
Then, he sat down, poured ashes on his head and mourned for his younger brother.

Bata reached the Valley of Acacia. Since there was no one with him, he slew wild beasts for
food, built himself a house and met the Nine Gods who knew of his innocence and goodness. Ra said to
the god Khunumu, “Behold, frame a woman for Bata that he may not remain alone.” So Khunumu made
for Bata a wife to dwell with him. She was indeed more beautiful than any other woman in the whole
land. She was like a goddess, and Bata loved her very much.

Source: Grade 8 Learner’s

Material

Ancient Egyptian literature comprises a wide array of narrative and poetic forms including

inscriptions on tombs, stele, obelisks, and temples; myths, stories, and legends; religious
writings; philosophical works; autobiographies; biographies; histories; poetry; hymns; personal
essays; letters and court records. Although many of these forms are not usually defined as
"literature" they are given that designation in Egyptian studies because so many of them,
especially from the Middle Kingdom (2040-1782 BCE), are of such high literary merit.

The first examples of Egyptian writingcome from the Early Dynastic Period (c. 6000- c. 3150
BCE) in the form of Offering Lists and autobiographies; the autobiography was carved on
one's tomb along with the Offering List to let the living know what gifts, and in what quantity,
the deceased was due regularly in visiting the grave. Since the dead were thought to live on after
their bodies had failed, regular offerings at graves were an important consideration; the dead still
had to eat and drink even if they no longer held a physical form. From the Offering List came
the Prayer for Offerings, a standard literary work which would replace the Offering List, and
from the autobiographies grew the PyramidTexts which were accounts of a king's reign and his
successful journey to the afterlife; both these developments took place during the period of
the Old Kingdom (c. 2613-c.2181 BCE).