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Somaliland the "land of Punt"  and it's ties with ancient  Egypt

An Egyptian priest with censor from the Book of the Dead -papyrus of Hunefer 1370 BCE

•  Transcript is an edited version of "History of Somalis  and Somalia" a BB C Somali speaking Section program of  the world Service by Mustafa  Haji Nur in 2.12.1985.

From about 6,000 years ago there is a wide range of evidence from visitors to the Horn of Africa. Such visitors have included people from Arabia and the Gulf, from Greece or Rome, but the earliest of these outside reports  concern Egypt and what the ancient Egyptians called the land of Punt or God's  land. This lay somewhere down the Red Sea from Egypt, and it was the place that incense came from. Now before looking at where Punt was; let us see what the Egyptians had to say about this land of the Gods.

One of the earliest references to Punt comes in a story written down well over 4,000 years ago during the time of Egypt's 12th dynasty or even much earlier. The story of the shipwrecked sailor was a very popular story. It is originally a folk-tale which has been elaborated. And it strikingly illustrates the way Egyptians regarded Punt as the land of the Gods, a land  of legend and magic. One of the nobles of Egypt had been sent on an expedition from Egypt's Red sea coast across to the gold mines on the Sinai peninsular  but this ship was driven away to the south down the Red Sea by a violent  storm. The ship was destroyed. The narrator was the only survivor and he tells the story of what happened next.

The narrator:

•  "I was thrown onto  an island by the waves of the sea, and once the storm had gone, I spent 3  days exploring it. There were figs and a variety of other fruits as well  as fish and birds to eat. I eat my fill and then I made a fire and made an  offering to the Gods. It was then I heard the sound of thunder; the trees  broke and fell and the ground shook. A great snake moved through the island. It was 50 feet long and had the beard of a God. Its body was gold and its  eyebrows were holy blue. I threw myself onto the ground shaking with  fright".

•  " Who brought you  here little one. Answer me quickly or I will burn you to  ashes". Said the great snake:

•  "I was too frightened  to answer properly, so the great snake picked me up in his mouth and took  me to his cave - and so carefully that my skin was not even scratched. So  I took courage and explained my desperate position. And the snake replied".

•  "Fear not little  one. And take heart. Like you: I have lost all my companions. Once I had  my children and my brothers here, 75 snakes in all; but a star fell down  and all were burnt except myself. You will spend 4 months here and then a  ship will come and take you back to Egypt to see your wife and children again".

•  "Then I bowed to  the ground in thanks and said that when I returned I would send him pure  perfumes, myrrhs and incense.I would kill oxen in his honour and geese and  I would send him ships laden with the most precious thing of Egypt".

•   The great snake with great laughter said "Little  one. I am the Prince of Punt. All incense and myrrh is mine; and they are  the chief products of this island. Return safely to your home, little one,  see your children and speak well of me. That is all I ask of you".

•   "Then the ship came as he had promised and I bowed  to the ground to say farewell. And he gave me a great cargo of myrrh, and  incense and other perfumes and spices of eye cosmetics, giraffes tails, elephant  tusks, greyhounds, monkeys and other treasures".

•   "And all this I placed on the ship and we sailed  north for 2 months.Then we reached Egypt and I presented all this treasure  to the King and I was much honoured and rewarded by him".

Obviously little of this is real history - but it does contain some interesting information  about Punt, and the products produced there. More serious details comes in the record of the most famous of the Egyptian voyages to Punt, that organised  by Queen Hatshepsut who ruled Egypt 3480 years ago. This formidable woman who nearly always portrayed herself as a man, sent 5 large ships to Punt probably in the year 1495  BC and she  commemorated this and other achievements of her reign in carvings at the  temple of Deir el Bahariin Western Thebes. The temple rises in 3 terraces lined with pillars and columns - and was approached up a long avenue lined with statues. It must have been a most impressive building and not least because of the series of carvings showing the voyage to Punt ( of which  Hatshepsut was particularly proud). The carvings run along 3 walls and include long inscriptions announcing the success of the expedition to the Gods and  to the court, with the Queen offering gifts to the Gods and measuring the  myrrh and other goods. There are also panels showing the presentation of the 'tribute' to the Queen, and the ships departing and returning.

The right picture shows the departure of the fleet; the lower being loaded with myrrh trees  and another goods.

Most interesting are the carvings of Punt itself. In the first, the expedition has landed with the 'king's messenger', the Egyptian commander advancing at the head  of some soldiers. In front of him is a pile of necklaces, axes, daggers and beads, obviously for trading. On the other side of the scene is to be found the chief of Punt, named as Perehu, his extremely fat wife, with the donkey , and their 2 sons and a daughter as well as 3 other Punites with the donkey  that Eti has been riding. The artist made a particular point of carving this because the Egyptians are not normally shown as riding animals until later, and then usually only horses. Behind the figures of the Chief of Punt and his family are houses, set on poles, with ladders leading up to them. They stand in the trees, and around are lines of water.

There are inscriptions referring to the Puntites.The coming of the chiefs of Punt, with bowed heads, to receive the army of Egypt. They say as they pray for peace, Why have you come to this land which your people do not know. Did you come from heaven or by the sea of God's land ? Can we reach to the great King of Egypt and praise him?

This no doubt is the normal exaggeration of the Egyptian artists there is no reason to believe anything but trade was involved  in this expedition.

Another scene shows the exchange of goods, there is the tent of the King's messenger with the goods of Punt piled high, and  a long line of Puntites approaching carrying more. And then there is the story of the shipwrecked sailor and Queen Hetshepsut's carvings are not the only references to Punt. Egyptian ships were sailing down the Red Sear even earlier - perhaps 5,000years ago. During the 4th dynasty of the rulers of Egypt, one of the black slaves of the King's son is said to be from Punt. The during the 5th dynasty in the reign of King Isesia dwarf came from Punt, and was remembered for a long time. For many years later, a man called Lord Harkhuf made a series of journeys up the Nile into Sudan and on one of these  he also found a dwarf and wrote to the king about it. The response came quickly.

•   "Come northward to the court immediately. Thou shalt  bring this dwarf with thee, for the dances of the god, to rejoice and gladden  the heart of the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, who lives forever. When he  goes down with thee into the vessel appoint excellent people- who shall be  beside him on each side of the vessel; take care lest he fall into the water.  When he sleeps at night appoint excellent people who shall sleep beside him  in this tent; inspect ten times a night. If thou arrivest at court this dwarf  being with thee alive, prosperous and healthy, my majesty will do for thee  a greater thing than that which was done for the treasurer of the god, in  the time of Isesi, according to the heart's desire of my majesty to see this  dwarf. Commands have been sent to the chief of the New Towns, to command  that sustenance be taken in every store-city and every temple.

It seems this particular dwarf did not come from Punt; perhaps he was a pygmy from what is now Zaire. No other dwarves were reported from Punt though the noble, Khui of one ruler apparently went 11 times to punt. He left no record of his journeys, but it seems that getting to Punt wasn't too difficult but building the ships might be. One Lord records his expedition to avenge a commander of sailors killed by the "sand dwellers"  while building a ship for Punt. A little later the minister Heni left an account of his expedition to built a ship during the 11th dynasty.

•   " My lord sent me to despatch a ship to Punt to  bring for him fresh myrrh. I went forth with any army of 3,000 men. I made  the road a river, and the desert a stretch of field, for I gave a leather bottle, a carrying pole, 2 jars of water and 20 loaves to each one among  them every day. I made 12 wells in the bush and others on the way. Then I  reached the Red Sea; then I made this ship, and I dispatched it with everything,  when I had made for it a great sacrifice of cattle, bulls and antelopes."

The scene with the loading up of 2 of the ships with a line of men carrying the goods aboard. The inscription tell us what the Egyptians were getting in return for their material goods, axes, knives  and beads.

The loading of the ships very heavily with the marvels of Punt. All the sweet smelling woods of God's land, heaps of resin, of young myrrh trees, of ebony and ivory, with cinnamon wood, with incense and eye cosmetics, shells and throwing sticks of Punt, apes, monkeys, dogs, the kins  of the southern panther (leopards?) with natives and their children. Never was anything like this taken to any King of Egypt before.

From another part of the inscription we discover that the expedition returned with 31 young myrrh trees in all, apparently  to try and start a plantation in Egypt itself at the temple, and so remove  the need of the long voyages dawn to Punt. It was not apparently successful, nor were several other later efforts in the next few hundred years. The inscription shows us one or two other points which could help to establish where Punt was. The houses are conical mat huts; the animals shown include the giraffe, and what is probably a rhinoceros with a horn on its nose, and  long horned cattle. Then there are the people who are shown as predominately red-skinned, like the Egyptians with a few black skinned inhabitants; they  have long narrow beards with hair falling to the shoulders and same times ending in curls. In a couple of other cases the people of Punt are similarly shown as being of two types. In one of these cases the people are shown on a round sailing raft which supposedly came from Punt to  Egypt.

This suggests the difficult part was getting to the Red Sea to build the ship, not actually sailing to  Punt. And interestingly, recent archaeological excavation has found remains on the Red Sea coast north of Ali Quasays at the mouth of the Wadi Gasus,  which indicate this was the area where the Egyptian ships for Punt were built. One inscription refers to a period just after the expedition of Henu, and it refers to the then ruler, Pharaoh of Egypt, as the beloved of Hathor, goddess and mistress of Punt. It is perhaps worth asking the question what were the Egyptian relations with Punt? For their own inscriptions suggest some sort of control or even conquest. For example, take this hymn to the God Amon Rain the 18th dynasty; about the time of queen Hatshepsut.

•   " I work a wonder for you in  the countries of the sunrise. I make the countries of Punt obey you and come  to you with all the pleasant and sweet words of their countries, to ask for  your peace".

At the same time Punt is continually referred to as the land of the Gods - probably because it was the home of the incense  and myrrh so much in demand for Egyptian temples. It's clear from the account of the expedition of Hatshepsut that the Egyptians treated the chief of Punt as ruler of his country, not as a subordinate, but when chiefs of Punt come  to Egypt with goods they are treated as if they bear tribute - this however  is likely to be a convention, not a real sign of subordination. In Imperial China, for example, the empire was the centre of the world. Everyone outside it were barbarians; but same of those close to the borders might eventually  became important enough to send gifts, to pay tribute, but those a long way  away in Europe perhaps would never became important enough even to became  subordinates, or even important enough to send tribute. Indeed despite the occasional references to tribute it is in fact that the Egyptians only traded  with Punt and never controlled it.

At this point it is time to start considering where Punt actually was - as it has been the subject of considerable dispute. Among the areas where it has been suggested Punt was, include: up the Nile in Sudan,  in Eritrea, North Somalia, North Yemen and even in Moscow, Mauritania or  Mozambique! But the two most likely places have always been in North Somalia or in Yemen, the 2 places where incense was own on a substantial scale. One author, P. Montet, actually suggests Punt was both countries, on both sides  of the Red Sea.

Punt was certainly in Africa because in one inscription in Egypt, it is written that if it rains on the mountain of Punt then the  region of the Nile was affected: It also extended into Asia because another inscription was the phrase Punt of Asia. So in the light of these two indications, we can identify the two shores of God's Land with the two sides of the Bab el Mandeb Strait, further proof is supplied by the fact that the  incense-bearing tree grew equally well in Arabia and in Africa.

And incense was the most important export of punt. One ancient Greek geographer, Agatharchides, later wrote a vivid, if possibly, imaginary description of sailing past the coasts where incense grew.

•   For a heavenly and indescribable fragrance seems  to strike and stir the senses of everyone. Even far out from the land as you sail past, you do not miss a share in the enjoyment. For in the spring, whenever a wind arises from the land, it happens that fragrant odours blowing  from the myrrh bushes and others of the kind, reach the neighbouring ports  of the sea."

As we have suggested incense was the main export of Punt; and archaeologist Neville Chittick regards this point as  being the best reason for placing Punt in  Somalia, in an interview shortly before his death.

•   "The chief line of evidence is the emphasis on incense  and the northern slopes of the mountains in Somalia is the prime area, the  only area, where the 2 main varieties of the right type, occur. But, of course  you can extract incense from trees in regions further north but it is of  inferior quality. Actually we have no means of knowing whether the Egyptians  were aware of the higher quality stuff and the illustrations in the reliefs  of the trees concerned are insufficiently precise in their particulars for  it to be possible to distinguish which type the Egyptians meant. A case can  certainly be made out for Eritrea but then you have to take it that the Egyptians  were making do with inferior incense. And it is very difficult to think that  any part of the Eritrean coastline can look like the lagoons and hills you  see in the relief of Hatshepsut. It is true that Oman/Yemen produce incense  too, and incense of the highest quality but then there is the nature of the  appearance of the inhabitants which is African rather than Arab in the  carvings."

Neville Chittick. And it is worth noticing that in addition to incense there are 5 varieties of myrrh  also found in Somalia - and myrrh was another major export of Punt. So such an export archaeologist as Neville Chittick certainly thought Punt was in  Northern Somalia and he carried out a survey of possible archaeological sites  some years ago to look for evidence.

Many academics, like Neville Chittick believe these links between Punt and Ancient Egypt were very close and that Egypt left  its mark on the north Somali coast in language, building and in other ways. We quoted from Mohammed Jama Habashi, Cabdullahi Sheikh Xuseen and Cabdirahmaan Sheikh Hassan all of whom believe that the permanent influence of Egypt on  the area was great. Another academic who has given consideration to the possible links of other peoples with the Horn of Africa in ancient and classical times  is Dr. Ali Abdurahman Hersi, the former head of the National Academy. In his very interesting and valuable thesis on the Arab Factor in Somali History, Dr. Ali also considers the possible impact of ancient Egypt on the Horn of  Africa. This is what he says.

•   "As depicted on the walls of an Egyptian government  official's tomb at Luxor, there was a great similarity in the style of construction between Egyptian and Puntite boats. So were their sails also  reported to have been alike. Today the nomadic Somali carries around with  him at all times a wooden headrest for the protection of his hair and this  pillow is almost a carbon copy of its ancient Egyptian counter part. Moreover,  the pillow is known to the present Somalis by the term 'Berkin' or 'Barshin' of 'Barshi' which bears considerable resemblance to the Egyptian term 'Barsi'  by which the pillow was Known to the Egyptians.

•   Then there are possible religious connections as  seen in the pyramid buildings. The numerous tumuli (ancient cairn graves) surviving today throughout much of northern Somaliland, can be with some justification seen to be result of attempts at pyramids these simple structures  contain some of the deceased's material possessions besides his body. Naturally there are some similarities here in religious belief, and maybe even of actual cultural borrowing. In fact there still survives in Somali the word "Hur" applied to a bird which symbolised god known to the ancient Egyptians by  the same name. And in certain parts of Somaliland there is found a beautifully coloured bird about the size of a fully-grown chicken which, besides its other Somali name, is alternatively known as 'shimbir Fircoon', that is Pharaonic  bird. Besides borrowing a number of words for incense from the of Punt, the Egyptians were known to have imported from there a god called Besa or Bisou."

Finally there are a few other possible links that Dr Ali draws attention to:

•   "As in ancient Egypt the beginning of the new  agricultural year in Somaliland is today marked by regular festivities. Bonfires are kindled and allowing charcoal hurled at the four directions to ward off  approaching evil forces. This is followed by feasts and a series of songs  and dances in which praises are sung to God, the Prophet, and the saints,  and the soil is exhorted to greater fertility in the coming year. In certain  localised riverine areas the celebrations include stick fight sport competitions, which are held also in rural Egypt where the competition is known as 'tahtib',  stick fight."

But perhaps not too much should be made of words That appear to be the Same, as linguist Cabdallah Cali Mansour explains.

NarrLinguist Cabdallah Call Mansour. In fact this comment emphasises something of importance, However possible or likely are the supposed links between the Somali coast and ancient Egypt, it must be  stressed that there is virtually no evidence for such contacts, and certainly  no archaeological evidence. It is very probable that the northern coast of Somalia was Punt - and one reason as we shall see very soon, is because the  Greeks and Romans traded with places- along and other spices. But again it is likely there is still no evidence of any kind to suggest that there where  political links.

We know nothing about the people of Punt except what can be seen on the Hatshepsut inscriptions - that they were of 2 kinds  and that some were Negroid, that they lived in huts, collected and grew incense,  and had a chief with a fat wife. We do not even know if they were Somalis or non, though it is possible The Egyptians suggested, that they conquered  Punt. This is extremely improbable, the Egyptians were boasting. Two other points should be noticed. The Egyptian contacts with Punt were obviously not very frequent. It is probable that the nobles and kings exaggerated the difficulties of getting to Punt, but it suggests that contacts were not made  often or very regularly. Secondly, we should just mention a little archaeological evidence of Egyptian beads dug up by D M Dixon in the journal of Egyptian  archaeology [ Vol 155 1996]

•   "On the question of the export of beads from Egypt  to the area within which Punt lay or with which it was in contact, reference may be made to the discovery at Nakuru in Kenya of a well-preserved short  faience cylinder-bead (colour not stated) found near a body (which the great  Kenyan archaeologist Louis Leakey considered to be that of achief) buried  in an ultra-crouched position and painted with red ochre. m e burial belonged  to a period dated by the excavator to c.1000 - 850 BC. Beck, who examined  this bead did not think it was Egyptian, though Leakly himself in a later  paper, wrote: 'Beads found in direct association with the dates around 1000  BC that trade with the civilisations of the period ( such as the Egyptian  ) exited."

•   Professor W B Emery tells-me that during the early-1920s  he was shown a quantity of typically 18th dynasty blue faience cylinder-beads  which had been found at an unspecified locality on the coast of Jubaland  by a number of the Kenya Boundary Commission shortly after the end of the  First World War. According to this official, the site - in question was strewn with fragments of human bone, and, to -judge by his description, it would  appear to have been a badly denuded cemetery. Naturally, too much should not be made of such discoveries, for, these beads could have arrived in Kenya  and Jubaland at a much later date. Still, their importance lies in 'their relationship to what can now be recognised as a widespread trade from the Eastern Mediterranean about 3500 years ago which probably included among  its objects of barter the strings of beads, represented among the exports  taken by Hatshepsut's trading expedition to the Land of Punt'.

D. M. Dixon summing up the/evidence for Egyptian contacts further south in Africa. At this point we will digress for a moment. So far we have really only talked about Egyptian voyages to Punt. It is also possible that Punt sent ships to Egypt - for there is one tomb of an Egyptian official who lived same 400 years after Hatshepsut a painting showing two  small sailing boats - and archaeologist de Garis Davies believes that these  were Punt boats. (Quoted From the periodical Quaderni di Studi Etiopici 5.1984)

The commerce with Egypt which the great expedition of Queen Hatshepsut had started seems to have been continued in part at least by vessels of Punt brining their freight to an Egyptian port. There the Egyptians met them and bartered for such produce as the primitive craft had been able  to transport.

The pictures in the tomb do in fact show ships that explain why Davies described them as primitive

•   "It is difficult to describe these ships in a manner  which will not cause laughter - for the hulls are shown as bolster like shapes, rounded at both ends, and coloured pink like the background. The shape and  colour and absence of marking seems to mean that it was not a heavy raft  made of wood though this would seem to have been necessary to weather the  storms and to defy the coral reefs. It would also seem to have been necessary for holding the high mast and the steering gear and for securing the one  moving rope for the sail. The vessel seems in fact to have been something  like the skin coracles of the Euphrater; its deck was but little raised above  the sea, and it did not have any defence against waves or wind; and the sail  was apparently so simple that the craft could only have made progress with  the wind directly behind it. And according to the pictures the crew was small."

•   "The ships personnel seem to have comprised a captain,  a steersman a crew of one, and a woman and a child as passengers, with perhaps  a worker and a cook with a small pot. There is no indication of any provisions."

•   "Not too much should be made of some of these details  as it is likely that the picture is only representational and not an exact copy. Nevertheless the boat is clearly very different from the Egyptian boats  painted in the tombs- and it is therefore likely that it does show a boat  of Punt."

Intermittent contact with Punt continued after Hatshepsut's expedition. An inscription of the l9th dynasty Pharaoh, Harmhab (who ruled from 1350 BC to 1315 BC) mentions the Chief of Punt bringing tribute; and in the 20th dynasty the Pharaoh Ramses the third (1198 to 1167 BC) sent  the last recorded expedition to Punt. As always it was recorded as being very successful.

The inscription of Ramses describes galleys and barges ; laden with, the products of Gods Land, consisting of all the strange goods of the country  and mentions in particular the plentiful myrrh of Punt, laden by ten thousands  of measures, without number; and refers to the children of the chiefs of  Gods land who brought the tribute.

(Quoted from R. Pankhurst in Quaderni di Studi Etiopici 5 I984) That was the last known Egyptian contact with Punt - and we have  no further references to Punt at all.

(Source of this article is here:)

http://www.panspantry.co.uk/incstrd.htm#punt source areefe-tube

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