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== Ancient Egypt and the Power of Music

Ancient Egyptian music brought peace and joy to its performers and audience. From the light notes of the harper’s strings to the sharp, rhythmic clapping and the rapid fire drumming of the percussion instruments the music celebrated in word, sound, image and movement, both life and death.

Wall painting from the tomb of Rekhmire West Bank Luxor, 18th Dynasty                                                                                                                                                            From TourEgypt.net                                                                                                            http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/music.htm

Recorded as early as the Old Kingdom, (c2686 - 2181 BC), in the hieroglyphics and paintings in tombs, music was an integral part of Egyptian life. The earliest depictions of musical instruments appear at this time. They include the harp, pipes and end-blown flutes. (Ek 2003) http://www.thenagain.info/webchron/africa/EgyptMusic.html  and were played by both women and men – though men appear more often and the presence of women as harpists brings up some interesting questions about the social status and purpose of the harpist and their songs.(Bochia 1998) Woman playing an arched harp, detail from a tomb wall painting, Egyptian, Old to Middle Kingdom (painted limestone)/ Beni Hasan, Middle Egypt/ The Bridgeman Art Library from www.bridgemanart.com

One of the earliest pieces of evidence for the prominence and importance of music in the Old Kingdom, is a mastaba, pr-djt, which can be loosely translated as ‘house of eternity’ and consists of a rectangular stone structure with a flat roof, located in West Field at Giza around the famous Great Pyramids of Giza that is the tomb (G 4520) of Khufuankh, whose title was Tenant of the Great House, Overseer of singers of the Great House, Overseer of flutists, singer and director of court music. (The Giza Archives, Museum of Fine Arts Boston) http://gizapyramids.org/code/emuseum.asp?style=text&currentrecord=1&page=search&profile=people&searchdesc=[G%204520]*&searchstring=FullTextSearch/,/contains/,/[G%204520]*/,/false/,/true&newvalues=1&newstyle=single&newcurrentrecord=10 The eMuseum of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston posts the following information about Khufuankh in its Giza Archives section: Khufuankh (G 4520), Male

Also known as: Alternate spelling: 	Khufuw-ankh Alternate spelling: 	Khufu-ankh Manuel de Codage: 	xwfwanx Primary Name: 	Khufuankh

Remarks: Owner of G 4520. Limestone false door (MFA 21.3081) inscribed for Khufuankh, identified as [rx nswt xntj-S pr-aA Hsw jmj-r Hsw pr-aA jmj-r sbjw] royal acquaintance, palace attendant of the Great House, singer, overseer of singers of the Great House, overseer of flautists; found in situ in G 4520. Limestone offering stone (14-4-49 = MFA 47.1634) inscribed for Khufuankh and his wife Djefatka; Khufuankh identified as [rx nswt Hsw xntj-S pr-aA] royal acquaintance, singer, palace attendant of the Great House; found in situ in front of false door. Limestone seated family group statue (14-3-4a = MFA 14.1445.1 + 14-3-4b = MFA 14.445.2) of Khufuankh, his wife Djefatka, and son Menkaure-ankh; found between G 4620 and G 4530 (SW of G 4630), originally from G 4520. Appears on small false door inscribed for Iaunisut and his wife Iupu, north outer jamb, identified as [xntj-S pr-aA] palace attendant of the Great House; found in situ in exterior chapel of G 4520. Limestone offering basin inscribed for Khufuankh, identified as [Hsw xntj-S] singer, palace attendant; found in situ in front of small false door inscribed for Iaunisut and his wife Iupu in exterior chapel of G 4520.

Depicted in statuary form in much the same way as the Pharaohs, with his wife by his side, Khufuankh is clearly an important figure who must have been much appreciated by his ruler, Userkaf, the First Ruler of the Fifth Dynasty, (2494 to 2345 BC). Perhaps this painting from the nearby Saqqara Necropolis dated to about the same time (2400BC), depicts the flutist himself in concert. “Painted relief depicting a flute player and a singer at a funerary banquet, from the Tomb of Nenkhefetka, Saqqarah, Old Kingdom, c.2400 BC (wall painting), Egyptian 5th Dynasty (c.2494-2345 BC) / Egyptian National Museum, Cairo, Egypt / Giraudon / The Bridgeman Art Library” Retrieved from: http://images.bridgemanart.com/cgi-bin/bridgemanImage.cgi/400wm.XIR.9361020.7055475/198460.jpg Flutes, which are the earliest known instruments, were first made from double pipes and then simplified to a single pipe played at an angle as seen above. Double piped oboes were played as well. One of the pipes served as a drone while the other played the notes. Evidence for these exists from as early as 2800BC. Percussive sounds were, of course, an early form of music. Rhythmic clapping accompanied poetry, dance as it continues to do today as a unique legacy to the civilization’s modern descendents. Percussion instruments, therefore, appear early on as well. These consisted of bone clappers, castanets, drums of various types and sistrums. Sistrum from the British Museum Bronze arched sistrum with Hathor head decoration                                                                               Egypt Late Period, after 600 BC Retrieved from: http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/aes/b/bronze_arched_sistrum.aspx The sistrum was usually played at festivals to mark off the end of phrases as well as to ward off demons and evil spirits and protect the festival. (Anderson 1976 British Museum) Its shape, according to R.D. Anderson’s catalogue entry for the British Museum site where this image originated, is similar to that of the religious symbol of the Pharaonic era, the ankh. The ankh symbolized life and what better shape for an instrument that joined with others in celebrating just that, life, through music. During the Middle Kingdom (2000 to 1700BC or the Eleventh to as late as the Thirteenth Dynasties), different kinds of drums came into use, specifically the barrel drum and more complicated musical compositions and forms developed. In addition, the ‘chamber’ groups became smaller and more women participated. (Ek 2003) Percussion instruments, like all of the instruments, were associated with specific deities, in this case, Sekhmet and Bas. Sekhmet was the Goddess of Medicine and Healing as well as of the Hunt and War. Her head was that of a lioness symbol of the huntress, whose breath was thought to have created the Sahara. (Wikipedia) She protected the pharaohs, leading them into battle. Popularized in the Middle Kingdom, she is found depicted in many forms throughout the area of Lisht. Sekhmet Wikipedia                                                                                                                                                                                               Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sekhmet.svg

Head of Sekhmet in Granite from the Temple of Mut in Luxor (1403-1365BC), now in the National Museum, Copenhagen Wikipedia                                                                                                                                                                                                    Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Luxor_Sekhmet_New_Kingdom.JPG

Menats or castanets made of two flat pieces of bones that were hit against each other were popular as well during the Middle Kingdom. Often dedicated to Hathor the Goddess of Music and Banquets among other things, they figure prominently in many images and had two shapes, one recognizable today and associated with the Spanish castanet and the other, and early form that took the shape of a boat cut in half. One of the most interesting musical instruments of the Ancient Egyptians was the harp. Egyptian Harp Exhibited at British Museum                                                                                                                                                  Retrieved from: www.tabathayeatts.com another version available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Egyptian_harp.jpg

The ornate decoration and attention to detail including gold paint and inlay clearly demonstrate that importance and exclusiveness of the harp in Ancient Egypt as seen in this detail of a base of a harp found 1889, (location unknown). Another image from the tombs depicts one of these harps being played by a blind harpist from the mortuary temple complex of Ramesses III (c. 1198-1152 BC) from XX Dynasty, in the Valley of the Kings at Medinat Habu (City of Habu), Southern Necropolis of Western Thebes in Upper Egypt. Named by its discoverer, Scottish explorer James Bruce (1730-1794) who uncovered it in 1768,(Adams 2004), The Tomb of the Harpists, or The Tomb of the Harpers, it shows the base head wearing the symbolic double crown of both Upper and Lower Egypt. Blind Harpist playing harp with the Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. Drawing after James Bruce, detail. Publication by Ippolito Rosellini. Retrieved from: http://www.zwoje-scrolls.com/zwoje39/text07.htm

Edward Onslow Ford - The Singer aka Egyptian Singer, 1889, detail of base of harp, right - on temporary display at Tate Britain, September 2010.png Retrieved from: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Edward_Onslow_Ford_-_The_Singer_aka_Egyptian_Singer%2C_1889%2C_detail_of_base_of_harp%2C_right_-_on_temporary_display_at_Tate_Britain%2C_September_2010.png

There were a number of types and they all appeared early, as seen in the earlier image detail of a woman playing an arched harp dating from the Old to Middle Kingdom, but most often during the New Kingdom period. The origins of the harp in human history can be found in the hunting bow. Shaped either as the bow or in a triangular shape, they were played by both men and women. The early forms found in the Old Kingdom had eight to twelve strings and were elaborately decorated. They probably did not have the ability to project or be heard from a very great distance, but were considered elite treasures. There are interesting theories regarding the special status not only of the harp, but of the status of the harpist. The Harper had a unique position and the Harper’s Songs are famous as belonging to the genre of Wisdom songs. These were sacred hymns of advice – primarily, according to Bochia (1998) – written by men for men. Relief 37.126 Yale Art Gallery                                                                                                                                                                     Retrieved from Kelly Simpson, (1969) pdf

The Harper’s Songs were often sacred and played for primarily male audiences at banquets and funerals. In tomb paintings it is a male harper that plays at the feet of the tomb owner thus reflecting the sacredness of his lyrical message for the listener. The gender specific nature of the Harper’s Songs and their performers becomes quite evident in the New Kingdom, according to Bochia’s theory. However, others dispute this. Garcia argues that this is not really the case. “During the New Kingdom the singers' titles of Smaj.t and Hsj.t became quite common among the female relatives of high officials. In contrast to the Servant of the God, Hm.t nTr, of the Old and Middle Kingdoms who had served female deities only, these songstresses officiated at ceremonies of male gods too. Some ceremonial texts used during the worship of Isis or Nephthys for instance have survived. Their structure seems to imply that they were sung alternatingly by two priests and included solo passages interpreted by priestesses.” (Garner nd)

One early example of a Harper’s Song from the Old Kingdom goes as follows: “The singer Tjeniaa says: How firm you are in your seat of eternity, Your monument of everlastingness! It is filled with offerings of food, It contains every good thing. Your ka is with you, It does not leave you, O Royal Seal-bearer, Great Steward, Nebankh! Yours is the sweet breath of the north wind! So says his singer who keeps his name alive, The honorable singer Tjeniaa, whom he loved, Who sings to his ka every day.” Stela of Nebankh from Abydos (Lichtheim. 1945 p. 194)

Along with the development of the harp, its iconography and role in Egyptian life and rituals, other developments took place. Music became more complicated and simultaneously more meaningful both in lyrical and musical form. The evolution of stringed instruments led to the creation of the lyre makes its first appearance in the New Kingdom. The lyre, ancestress of the modern day guitar, was used for both solo and ensemble work often employed in the love poetry, that both male and female singers performed. In addition, the high priests and priestesses made it also a part of their rituals as they celebrated life, lamented loss, helped the grieving and the deceased to move on. Music wove itself through the life of Ancient Egypt, propelling it forward and restraining its force. The lyrics and sounds transmitted the cultural and spiritual beliefs as well as being used as in the times of Akhenaton and Hatshepsut, as vehicles for spreading their political beliefs. Treasured, revered, and loved, music was the heart of Egypt then and remains a lasting reminder of the creativity and innovation that the human spirit is capable of.

References

Bochi,P. A. (1998) Gender and Genre in Ancient Egyptian Poetry: the Rhetoric of Performance in the Harpers' Songs. Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt,35, 89-95.

Bridgemanart. (2013) Woman playing an arched harp, detail from a tomb wall painting, Egyptian, Old to Middle Kingdom (painted limestone). Retrieved from: bridgemanart.com Bridgemanart. Painted relief depicting a flute player and a singer at a funerary banquet, from the Tomb of Nenkhefetka, Saqqarah, Old Kingdom, c.2400 BC (wall painting). Retrieved from: bridgemanart.com

Brtitsh Museum. (2013) Sistrum from Ancient Egypt. Retrieved from: http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/aes/b/bronze_arched_sistrum.aspx

Ek, K. (2003) Music in Ancient Egypt, 3000 to 270 BC. Africa South of the Sahara Chronology.World History Chronology. Retrieved from: http://www.thenagain.info/webchron/africa/EgyptMusic.html

Foster, J. L. (1974) Love songs of the New Kingdom. New York, NY: Scribner.

Garner, A. (nd) Ancient Egyptian Music and Dance: Unofficial Website of Alan Garner. Retrieved from: http://alangarner.atspace.org/music.htm#rem4

Lichtheim, Mariam. (1945) The Songs of the Harpers. Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 4(3):178-212.

Museum of Fine Arts Boston. (2013) G 4520 Khufuankh. The Giza Archives. Retrieved from: http://gizapyramids.org/code/emuseum.asp?newvalues=1&emu_action=advsearch&rawsearch=FullTextSearch/,/contains/,/[G%204520]*/,/false/,/true&module=People&profile=people&newsearchdesc=[G%204520]*&newstyle=text&aggregatesearch=0

Simpson, William Kelly. (1969) A Short Harper's Song of the Late New Kingdom in the Yale University Art Gallery. Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, 8: 49-50.

Wikipedia. (2013) Sekhmet. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sekhmet ==