Coptic Culture
Ancient Egyptian Literature, Part XI
by Ed Rizkalla
"O Christ our God, the True Light, let the thought of light shine within us."
أيها المسيح إلهنا النور الحقيقي فلتشرق فينا حواس النور
Jesus Christ is the one and only true light for all mankind. The Christians of Egypt, the Copts, address Christ the Lord, the true light, in their morning prayers, and implore him to let his light to shine within us. The vast majority of the Copts recite their morning prayers in Arabic, the language spoken in Egypt for several centuries.
However, this prayer recited in the original Coptic, or more precisely the last stage of the Egyptian language,
"w p=,=c Pennou]@ piouwini `nta`vmyi. Marouwai `nqyten@ `nje nilogicmoc `nte piouwini.",
"O pichristos pennouti, piouoini enta evmee, maroushai enkhiten enge nilogismos ente pi ouoini." -
perhaps because of the music of the language or the cadence of the verses- tends to evoke a strong feeling of the longing of mankind for the ONE TRUE TRIUNE GOD, and the TRUE LIGHT of the whole universe.
Over the millennia, writing of the Egyptian language evolved. Antonio Loprieno, a contemporary Egyptologist, in his book "Ancient Egyptian, A linguistic introduction" (1) discusses the evolution and history of the Egyptian language. Loprieno notes that the history of the Egyptian language can be divided into two main stages, each of which can be further subdivided into three different phases, affecting primarily the sphere of graphemics.
I) Earlier Egyptian, the language of all written texts from 3000 to 1300 BC surviving in formal religious texts till the 3rd century AD. Its main phases are: (a) Old Egyptian, the language of the Old Kingdom and the First Intermediate Period (3000-2000 BC), (b) Middle Egyptian, also termed as Classical Egyptian, from the Middle Kingdom to the end of 18th Dynasty (2000-1300 BC), (c) Late Middle Egyptian from the New Kingdom to the end of Egyptian civilization. It coexisted with later Egyptian for more than a millennium, and it maintains the linguistic structure of the classical language, but on the graphemic side, especially in the Greco-Roman Period (Ptolemaic dynasty 3rd century BC to 2nd century AD), it shows an enormous expansion of the set of hieroglyphic signs.
II) Later Egyptian, documented from the 19th dynasty to the Middle Ages (1300 BC-1300 AD). Its main phases are: a) Late Egyptian (1300-700 BC), the language of written records from the 2nd part of the New Kingdom. b) Demotic (7th century BC to 5th century AD), the language of administration and literature in the Late Period, c) Coptic (4th century-14th century AD), the language of Christian Egypt, written in a variety of Greek alphabet with the addition of 6 or 7 demotic signs to indicate Egyptian phonemes absent from Greek. Coptic was superseded by Arabic from the 9th century AD onward, but survives to the present time as the liturgical language of the Coptic Church, as shown above by an excerpt from the morning prayers cited above.
John Tait, a contemporary Egyptologist, commenting on Egyptian literature written in the demotic script of the Late Period (2), notes that "the two types of text that survive in greatest numbers are narratives and wisdom literature. Tait further notes that "a considerable number of texts survive that are variously labeled as school-texts or as writing exercises…However the range of texts also comprised satire and prophecy, and religious, astrological, magical, and medical texts, alongside other "scientific" and "sub-literary material."
In the last article of this series, the writer presented and explored some aspects of the tale of "Setna I", an ancient Egyptian literary composition, dated to the Late Period, and written in the demotic script. The main theme for "Setna I" is the respect for "knowledge and wisdom"; however it also sheds more light on other Coptic cultural attributes. The tale of "Setna I" presents two major characters, Setna and Naneferkaptah. The tale indicates that both of Setna and Naneferkaptah are well educated and knowledgeable. However the tale illustrates that each of the two characters was not content with his knowledge, aspired and earnestly sought more in-depth knowledge.
As Naneferkaptah was made aware of the "scroll of Thoth", he started a new quest to acquire the exotic knowledge of the scroll. This quest cost him dearly, as in the process of acquiring this knowledge, he, his wife, and his son lost their lives. Likewise, Setna was already known as a wise sage in his time, however as he came to know that the "scroll of Thoth" was located at the tomb of Naneferkaptah, he also acted to acquire its knowledge. It is noteworthy that the New Kingdom author of the "Satirical Letter of Papyrus Anastasi I" uses a letter, as a literary device, to admonish his readers not to be content with little acquired knowledge but to seek in-depth knowledge.
Similarly the Late Period author of "Setna I" uses a tale to admonish his readers also, not to be content with little knowledge, but seek excellence through in-depth knowledge. Thus the tale of "Setna I" provides another literary composition of a later historical period admonishing respect for education, knowledge and love of wisdom. "Setna I" also helps shed light on the Copts' love for children, and their respect for the individual, the family, and women. The following excerpts from the tale of "Setna I" (3) illustrate the Copts' love for children:
"But Pharaoh wished to marry his son to the daughter of a general and his daughter to the son of a general. In her anguish Ahwere had asked the steward of Pharaoh's palace to plead with Pharaoh on her behalf. The steward had done so and pharaoh had become silent and distressed. To the steward's question, why he was distressed, Pharaoh answered: It is you who distresses me. If it so happens that I have only two children, is it right to marry the one to the other? I will marry Naneferkaptah to the daughter of a general, and I will marry Ahwere to the son of another general, so that our family may increase!"
Pharaoh initially rejected the steward's plea on his daughter's behalf; however he ultimately relented, in respect for her as a young woman and an individual, and he let her marry the man of her choice. After her marriage she conceived and gave birth to a boy, and the tale shows pharaoh's joy at the birth of a grandson as follows: "As my time of purification came I made no more purification. It was reported to Pharaoh, and his heart was happy. Pharaoh had many things taken [out of the treasury] and sent me presents of silver, gold, and royal linen, all beautiful. When my time of bearing came, I bore this boy who is before you, who was named Merib. He was entered in the register of the House of Life."
Several examples from the ancient Egyptian literature from different historical eras, ranging from the Old Kingdom to the Late Period, show continuity of certain cultural traits albeit the changes reflecting their times, e.g. themes of "knowledge", "individuality", and "equality of men and women".
The tale of "Setna I" from the Late Period provides another point of reference to help understand several Coptic cultural attributes, norms, and values. It illustrates the Copts
1) respect for education, knowledge, and love of wisdom, and more specifically their predisposition to strive for excellence,
2) respect for individuality and the individual,
3) equality of men and women and the respect for women in the family and the society at large, and
4) respect for the family as the corner stone of a civilized society, and love of children.
The peace of the Lord be with you all. Irene Passe.
References:
1) Ancient Egyptian, A linguistic introduction, by Antonio Loprieno, Cambridge University Press, New York, NY, 1995.
2) Demotic Literature: Forms and Genres, by W. John Tait, Ancient Egyptian Literature, History and Forms, edited by Antonio Loprieno, E.J. Brill Publishers, Leiden, the Netherlands, 1996.
3) The Late Period, Volume III, by Meriam Lichtheim with a new foreword by Joseph G. Manning, University of California Press, Los Angeles, CA, 2006.
Acknowledgement: The writer would like to acknowledge and thank the staff of the Library of Congress, Washington, DC, for their assistance with research for background material for this article.
Ed Rizkalla is a management consultant and a freelance writer. He is the founder of Pharos on the Potomac Group (POPG), a non-profit organization at Annandale, VA. http://mysite.verizon.net/vzes76jv/pharosonthepotomacgroup