The Festivals of Opet, the Valley, and the New Year

Their Socio-Religious Functions

Masashi Fukaya

• Publisher: Archaeopress Archaeology
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781789695953
• eBook ISBN: 9781789695960
• Topic: History
• Index: History

The Festivals of Opet, the Valley, and the New Year: Their socio-religious functions compares the religious and social functions of these three Festivals, the first two of which were often regarded by the Egyptians as a pair; the New Year Festival stands out on account of its corpus of surviving material and importance. Until now, detailed study of the New Year Festival has only been carried out with reference to the Greco-Roman period; this study turns its attention to the New Kingdom. The book analyses the broad perspectives that encompass Egyptian religion and cult practices which provided the context not only for worship and prayer, but also for the formation of social identity and responsibility. The festivals are examined in the whole together with their settings in the religious and urban landscapes. The best example is New Kingdom Thebes where large temples and burial sites survive intact today with processional routes connecting some of them. Also presented are the abundant written sources providing deep insight into those feasts celebrated for Amun-Re, the king of the gods. The volume also includes a list of dated records which provides a concordance for the Egyptian calendars.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright page
• Dedication
• Contents Page
• Acknowledgements
• Acknowledgements
• List of Figures, Tables and Text
• Abbreviations
• 1.1. Introduction
• Introduction
• Introduction
• 1.2. Overview of Egyptian calendrical systems and festivals
• 1.3. Theban religiosity
• 1.3.2. Historical development of the religious city Thebes
• Figure 1. Locations of festival reliefs and graffiti within the Karnak temple.
• Figure 2. Elevation of the Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak.
• Chapter 2
• Opet Festival
• Figure 3. Elevation of the court of Herihor, Khonsu temple at Karnak.
• Figure 4. Locations of references to and representations of festivals at the Luxor temple.
• (based on Naville 1985, vol. 5, pls 123–6; Karkowski 1976, fig. 2; idem 2001, 132).*
• *Several fragments have been found for the upper register to occupy only 10 % of it: an unidentified episode (Karkowski 1990, fig. 7); Amun’s barque procession with royal statues (Kwaśnica 2001, 86, fig. 2); Amun’s barque resting at Luxor (ibid., fig. 3 r
• Figure 5. Procession of bulls moving towards the Luxor temple at the Opet Festival, represented on the western wall of Ramses II’s forecourt at Luxor. (This photograph shows the sixth bull, on whose buttocks are carved the two signs the ‘Festival of Opet’
• Figure 6. Elevation of the southern wing of the eastern wall, upper terrace, Hatshepsut’s temple at Deir el-Bahari
• Chapter 3
• Valley Festival
• a. Day 1 of the Valley Festival (facsimile from MH III, pl. 142, list 2, 135–6, by courtesy of the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, and photograph taken by the author).
• b. Day 2 of the Valley Festival (facsimile from MH III, pl. 142, list 4, 165-6, 135–6, by courtesy of the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, and photograph taken by the author).
• Figure 8. Elevation of the northern wall of the upper terrace depicting the Valley Festival at Hatshepsut’s temple at Deir el-Bahari. * These scenes are partially published by Karkowski (1992, 160–2, figs 3–5) and Kwaśnica (2001, 91, fig. 3, left).
• Figure 10. Episode 8 and the column texts in the Valley Festival scenes at Deir el-Bahari (PM II2, (83, II)).
• Figure 11. Tomb of Tjanuny (TT 74).
• Figure 12. Tomb of Userhat (TT 56).
• Figure 13. Tomb of Amenemheb (TT 85).
• Figure 14. Tomb of Menna (TT 69).
• Figure 15. Schematic sequence of Type A and B scenes in the private tomb
• Figure 15 A. Northeast wall of the tomb of Ramose (TT 55 (8–10)), after Davies 1941, pls 13–21.
• Figure 16. Valley Festival represented in the tomb of Amenmes (TT 19 (3–4, I)), after Foucart 1928, pls 6–8, 13–4, and 16.
• Figure 17. Stela in the tomb of Ramose (TT 7 (9)).
• Chapter 4
• New Year Festival
• Figure 18. Locations of the New Year texts and scenes, and of treasuries.
• Figure 19. New Year quarters at the Karnak temple.
• (photograph taken by the author).
• Figure 20a. Stairway leading from the pillared hall to the solar courtat the Akh-menu, viewed from south
• Figure 20b. Stairway to the solar court and Corridor XL at the Akh-menu, viewed from west.
• (photograph taken by the author).
• (photograph taken by the author).
• Figure 21 a. Corridor XL and the opening to another stairway at the Akh-menu, viewed from south
• Figure 21b. Stairway leading from Corridor XL perhaps directly to the roof of the Akh-menu, viewed from west
• (Episodes 1 and 2, Corridor XL at the Akh-menu). Photograph taken by the author.
• Figure 22a. Elevation of the north wall of Corridor XL at the Akh-menu (PM II2, 123 (432)), drawn by the author.
• Figure 22b. Text on the north wall of Corridor XL at the Akh-menu.
• Figure 22c. Thutmose III performing rituals to the ithyphallic Amun-Re. The god is not yet in full investiture
• Figure 22d. Priests carrying a vase and a candle taper (part of Episode 3, Corridor XL at the Akh-menu).
• Figure 22e. Thutmose III dedicating offerings to Amun-Re. Between them are represented a priest holding two tapers in front of two candle chests and two figures of Hapi below (Episode 4, Corridor XL at the Akh-menu). Photograph taken by the author.
• Photograph taken by the author.
• Figure 22f. Priest holding two tapers in front of two candle chests towards Amun-Re, who wears the double-plume headdress (part of Episode 4, Corridor XL at the Akh-menu). Photograph taken by the author.
• Figure 23. Scene of HA.t-rnp.t depicted on the west wall of Room XXXVII at the Akh-menu (after Pécoil 2000, pls 115–7).
• for the front of the year’.
• (photograph taken by the author).
• Figure 24. Present state of Room XV at Karnak, viewed from west
• (photograph taken by the author).
• (photograph taken by the author).
• Figure 25a. Distant view of Thutmose IV’s peristyle hall, east wing, now at the Open-Air Museum, Karnak
• Figure 25b. Beasts dedicated to Amun-Re, east wing of Thutmose IV’s peristyle hall
• Figure 25c. King dedicating paraphernalia and royal statues to Amun-Re, west wing of Thutmose IV’s peristyle hall.
• The stern of Amun’s barge is visible below left (photograph taken by the author).
• (photograph taken by the author).
• Figure 25d. Vessels dedicated to Amun-Re, west wing of Thutmose IV’s peristyle hall, continued from Figure 25c
• (after Naville 1895, vol. 3, pl. 63).
• Figure 26. Hatshepsut’s ‘coronation text’ at her Deir el-Bahari temple
• (PM II2, 45 (155, III, 2–3); after Nelson 1981, pls 211–2).
• Figure 27. New Year formula carved on the west wall of the Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak by courtesy of the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago.
• Figure 28. Northwest and north walls of the tomb of Imiseba (TT 65 (8–9)).
• Imiseba offers before the Theban triad. Behind him are elaborate representations of individuals, who carry Amun’s sacred vase in the uppermost register, which continues onto the north wall depicting offering bringers. Below the vase, priests, who belong t
• Davies MSS. 10.10.9 by courtesy of the Griffith Institute, University of Oxford.
• Figure 29. Kindling candles, accompanied by the New Year formula, in the tomb of Tjay (TT 23 (8, II)).
• Figure 30. New Year scene in the tomb of Amenhotep (TT 415 (1, II), according to Loret’s (1889, 30–1) description.
• Figure 31. North wall of the tomb of Qen (TT 4 (5)), by courtesy of the Griffith Institute, University of Oxford.
• The upper register portrays Qen’s family adoring Ptah and Maat, a representation parallel to that of TT 2 (10, II) which depicts the Festival of the Two Goddesses on I Peret 22. To the left of the lower register, Qen and his wife Nefertere receive ointmen
• Figure 32. Tomb of Menkheperreseneb (TT 112 (6)), after Davies 1933b, pls 28–9.
• Figure 33a. Tomb of Amenemhat (TT 82 (5)), after Davies and Gardiner 1915, pls 4–6, and Engelmann-von Carnap 1999, pl. 3, by courtesy of the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut Kairo.
• In front of the female singers in the second register, a passage includes the ‘New Year Festival’.
• The five men carrying an eye-paint vessel and a torch represent those days.
• Figure 33b. Tomb of Amenemhat (TT 82 (17)), after Davies and Gardiner 1915, pls 21–3, and Engelmann-von Carnap 1999, pl. 5, by courtesy of the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut Kairo.
• Figure 34. Sequence of the New Year scenes in the tomb of Amenhotep (TT 73 (1–3)).
• Figure 35. Scenes of annual taxation and the New Year in the tomb of Mentuiyuy (TT 172 (8–10)).
• Figure 36. Tomb of Intefiqer (TT 60 (11)), after Davies and Gardiner 1920, pls 10 and 13–4.
• Figure 37a. West wall of the tomb of Paheri at el-Kab, left half (after Tylor and Griffith 1894, pls 3–5).
• The uppermost text describes Intefiqer as receiving the ‘salutation on the day of the New (Year) Festival’.
• Figure 37b. West wall of the tomb of Paheri at el-Kab, right half (after Tylor and Griffith 1894, pls 3–5).
• in front of him and above each of the two registers representing offering bringers.
• Chapter 5
• Conclusions
• Appendices
• Appendix 1
• Appendix 1
• List of dated religious events
• Table 1. Festivals involving evening and morning rituals.
• Table 2. Dates of the inundation of the Nile at Thebes
• Tables and text
• Appendix 2
• Tables and text
• (E=East Bank, W=West Bank).
• Table 3. Estimated seasonal cycle at Thebes in 1300–1299 BC (corresponding to –1299–1298 astronomical).
• Table 4. Presence of the vizier Neferrenpet and the royal butler Sethherwenemyef at Thebes in year 6 of Ramses IV
• Table 5. Visits to Thebes of the royal butler Sethherwenemyef.
• Table 6. Visits to Thebes of the vizier Ta in the reign of Ramses III (unnamed vizier in brackets).
• Table 7. Visits to Thebes of viziers (v), the overseers of the treasury (t), and royal butlers (b).*
• Table 8. Dates of the Ssp-itrw, Mentu Feast, and xnp-Sa.
• Table 9. Dates of the Opet Festival during the New Kingdom and later.
• Table 10. Entries for the Opet Festival in the Medinet Habu calendar.
• Table 11. Dates of the Valley Festival: activities at western Thebes.
• Table 12. Dates of the Wag Festival falling in the Shemu season.
• Table 13. Dates of graffiti on the roof of the Khonsu temple, Karnak.
• Table 14. Dates of the wAH-mw performed at western Thebes.
• Table 15. Dates of graffiti at Thutmose III’s valley temple at Deir el-Bahari.
• Table 16. Offerings from various Theban temples.
• Table 17. Attestations of bouquets of Amun and Amun-Re. (1/2)
• Table 18. Locations of private tomb scenes depicting the Festivals of the Valley and the New Year. (1/9)
• Table 20. Occurrence of private tomb festival scenes in two registers (Ramesside tombs underlined).
• Table 21. xa.t-nsw.t scenes in the Theban private tombs. (1/2)
• Table 22. Dates of the ihhy.
• Table 23. Dates of HA.t nHH.
• Table 24. Duration of the New Year celebrations.*
• Text 1. New Year formula.
• List of references
• List of references
• Back cover
• Acknowledgements
• List of Figures, Tables and Text
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• Opet Festival
• Valley Festival
• New Year Festival
• Conclusions
• Appendices
• List of dated religious events
• Appendix 1
• Appendix 2
• Tables and text
• List of references