A LEGEND OF THE GOD KHNEMU AND OF A SEVEN YEARS' FAMINE.
In the eighteenth year of the Horus, Neter-Khat, of the King of the South and North, Neter-Khat, of the Lord of the Shrines of Uatchit and Nekhebit, Neter-Khat, of the Golden Horus Tcheser,[FN#166] when Matar was Ha Prince, and Erpa, and Governor of the temple-cities in the Land of the South, and director of the Khenti[FN#167] folk in Abtu,[FN#168] there was brought unto him the following royal despatch: "This is to inform thee that misery hath laid hold upon me [as I sit] upon the great throne by reason of those who dwell in the Great House.[FN#169] My heart is grievously afflicted by reason of the exceedingly great evil [which hath happened] because Hapi (i.e., the Nile) hath not come forth[FN#170] in my time to the [proper] height for seven years. Grain is very scarce, vegetables are lacking altogether, every kind of thing which men eat for their food hath ceased, and every man [now] plundereth "his neighbour. Men wish to walk, but are unable to move, the child waileth, the young man draggeth his limbs along, and the hearts of the aged folk are crushed with despair; their legs give way under them, and they sink down to the ground, and their hands are laid upon their bodies [in pain]. The shennu[FN#171] nobles are destitute of counsel, and [when] the storehouses which should contain supplies are opened, there cometh forth therefrom nothing but wind. Everything is in a state of ruin. My mind hath remembered, going back to former time, when I had an advocate, to the time of the gods, and of the Ibis-god, and of the chief Kher-heb priest I-em-hetep,[FN#172] the son of Ptah of his Southern Wall."
[FN#166] Tcheser was a king of the IIIrd Dynasty, and is famous as the builder of the Step Pyramid at Sakkarah. His tomb was discovered by Mr. J. Garstang at Bet Khallaf in Upper Egypt in 1901.
[FN#167] i.e., the people who were in front of, that is, to the South of Egypt, or the population of the country which lies between Dakkah and Aswan.
[FN#168] The ancient Egyptian name for Elephantine Island, which appears to have gained this name because it resembled an elephant in shape.
[FN#169] i.e., the palace.
[FN#170] i.e., risen.
[FN#171] i.e., the high court officials and administrators.
[FN#172] The famous priest and magician, who was subsequently deified and became one of the chief gods of Memphis.
"Where is the place of birth of Hapi (the Nile)? What god, or what goddess, presideth (?) over it? What manner of form hath he? It is he who stablisheth revenue for me, and a full store of grain. I would go to the Chief of Het-Sekhet[FN#173] whose beneficence strengtheneth all men in their works. I would enter into the House of Life,[FN#174] I would unfold the written rolls [therein], and I would lay my hand upon them."
[FN#173] Hermopolis.
[FN#174] Per-ankh, or Pa-ankh, was a name given to one of the temple- colleges of priests and scribes.
Then [Matar] set out on his journey, and he returned to me straightway. He gave me instruction concerning the increase of Hapi,[FN#175] and told me all things which men had written concerning it, and he revealed to me the secret doors (?) whereto my ancestors had betaken themselves quickly, the like of which has never been, to [any] king since the time of Ra, (?). And he said unto me: "There is a city in the middle of the stream wherefrom Hapi maketh his appearance; "'Abu'[FN#176] was its name in the beginning; it is the City of the Beginning, and it is the Nome of the City of the Beginning. [It reacheth] to Uaua,[FN#177] which is the beginning of the land. There is too a flight of steps,[FN#178] which reareth itself to a great height, and is the support of Ra, when he maketh his calculation to prolong life to everyone; 'Netchemtchem Ankh'[FN#179] is the name of its abode. 'The two Qerti'[FN#180] is the name of the water, and they are the two breasts from which every good thing cometh forth (?).
[FN#175] i.e., the Inundation, or Nile Flood.
[FN#176] The Elephant City, i.e., Elephantine.
[FN#177] A portion of Northern Nubia.
[FN#178] This is probably an allusion to the famous Nilometer on the
Island of Philae.
[FN#179] i.e., "Sweet, sweet life."
[FN#180] The Qerti were the two openings through which the Nile entered this world from the great celestial ocean.
"Here is the bed of Hapi (the Nile), wherein he reneweth his youth [in his season], wherein he causeth the flooding of the land. He cometh and hath union as he journeyeth, as a man hath union with a woman. And again he playeth the part of a husband and satisfieth his desire. He riseth to the height of twenty-eight cubits [at Abu], and he droppeth at Sma-Behutet[FN#181] to seven cubits. The union(?) there is that of the god Khnemu in [Abu. He smiteth the ground] with his sandals, and [its] fulness becometh abundant; he openeth the bolt of the door with his hand, and he throweth open the double door of the opening through which the water cometh."
[FN#181] Diospolis of Lower Egypt, or "Thebes of the North."
"Moreover, he dwelleth there in the form of the god Shu,[FN#182] as one who is lord over his own territory, and his homestead, the name of which is 'Aa' (i.e., the 'Island'). There he keepeth an account of the products of the Land of the South and of the Land of the North, "in order to give unto every god his proper share, and he leadeth to each [the metals], and the [precious stones, and the four-footed beasts], and the feathered fowl, and the fish, and every thing whereon they live. And the cord [for the measuring of the land] and the tablet whereon the register is kept are there.
[FN#182] The god who separated the Sky-goddess Nut from the embrace of her husband, the Earth-god Keb, and who holds her above him each day.
"And there is an edifice of wood there, with the portals thereof formed of reeds, wherein he dwelleth as one who is over his own territory, and he maketh the foliage of the trees (?) to serve as a roof.
"His God-house hath an opening towards the south-east, and Ra (or, the Sun) standeth immediately opposite thereto every day. The stream which floweth along the south side thereof hath danger [for him that attacketh it], and it hath as a defence a wall which entereth into the region of the men of Kens[FN#183] on the South. Huge mountains [filled with] masses of stone are round about its domain on the east side, and shut it in. Thither come the quarrymen with things (tools?) of every kind, [when] they "seek to build a House for any god in the Land of the South, or in the Land of the North, or [shrines] as abodes for sacred animals, or royal pyramids, and statues of all kinds. They stand up in front of the House of the God and in the sanctuary chamber, and their sweet smelling offerings are presented before the face of the god Khnemu during his circuit, even as [when they bring] "garden herbs and flowers of every kind. The fore parts thereof are in Abu (Elephantine), and the hind parts are in the city of Sunt (?).[FN#184] One portion thereof is on the east side[FN#185] of the river, and another portion is on the west side[FN#186] of the river, and another portion is in the middle[FN#187] of the river. The stream decketh the region with its waters during a certain season of the year, and it is a place of delight for every man. And works are carried on among these quarries [which are] on the edges [of the river?], "for the stream immediately faceth this city of Abu itself, and there existeth the granite, the substance whereof is hard (?); 'Stone of Abu' it is called.
[FN#183] Kens extended south from Philae as far as Korosko.
[FN#184] Perhaps Sunut, = the Syene of the Greeks, and the {hbw
SuWeNeH} of the Hebrews.
[FN#185] i.e., Syene.
[FN#186] i.e., Contra Syene.
[FN#187] i.e., the Island of Elephantine.
"[Here is] a list of the names of the gods who dwell in the Divine
House of Khnemu. The goddess of the star Sept (Sothis), the goddess
Anqet, Hap (the Nile-god), Shu, Keb, Nut, Osiris, Horus, Isis, and
Nephthys.
"[Here are] "the names of the stones which lie in the heart of the mountains, some on the east side, some on the west side, and some in [the midst of] the stream of Abu. They exist in the heart of Abu, they exist in the country on the east bank, and in the country on the west bank, and in the midst of the stream, namely, "Bekhen-stone, Meri (or Meli)-stone, Atbekhab (?)-stone, Rakes-stone, and white Utshi-stone; these are found on the east bank. Per-tchani-stone is found on the west bank, and the Teshi-stone in the river.