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a collection of literature from poets, bards, songwriters, and skalds in the SCA

Harper’s Song for Upper and Lower Atlantia

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talia
Short Description: 

Ancient Egyptian poem on the impermanence of existence (18th Dynasty)

Poem (Canso): 

Worthy sons and daughters of Anuket,
Do not store all your incense and oils
your necklaces and net dresses up
Solely for use in the necropolis.
 
Burn the oil now, drape yourself in lapis
and eat a pharoah’s fine feast
Anoint yourselves with myrrh
and let holiday never cease
 
For there comes in good measure
A time when all men must sleep
Anubis weighs all hearts in judgment
From the greatest unto the least
 
If you enjoy your moment beneath
the course of Re’s celestial chariot
the seat that waits for you in the West
will not be the less splendid for it
 
Drink deep now of the barley beer
of your best beloved vintage, for
when he walks the Field of Reeds,
Bakaa the brewer will labor no more.
 
Look to the city! Do you see
Hammers making their dull music?
The iron beat of weary work drowns
the silver notes of the temple lutists.
 
The deaf ears of the artisans have forgotten
In the land of Egypt none may tarry long
 
Look to the pasture! Do you see
The young grass that bull is browsing?
That slender stalk of papyrus, half his age,
that he pulls into his eager mouthing?
 
The dancing girl that scribe is kissing
Will not follow him into the tomb.

Documentation / Explanation (Razo): 

This is written in the style of an 18th Dynasty harper’s song, which is a genre of poetry that emphasizes the impermanence of existence and the necessity to enjoy life before passing on. There is a sort of conception of Egyptian culture as being death obsessed, and it is true religion was an important part of their culture, but the evidence given by this genre of song indicates that they were also concerned with being fully present in their lives to the pleasures and joys of their mortal life. 

Another similar work is “Dialogue of a Man with his Soul”, a long poem in which a depressed, suicidal man debates the pros and cons of living versus passing on to the underworld with his soul, who urges him towards life. There is a section where the soul compares a desire to hurry towards death because of current sorrows asthe equivalent of a man abandoning his wife and young children because his dinner was served late. Thematically, this is very similar to a harper’s song, and it was very much in my mind as I was composing this piece. 

The period is loosely 18th dynasty, though I do draw on images and themes from earlier periods of Egyptian history as well. I believe this is a reasonable practice, as ancient Egyptian culture had a robust literary tradition where many documents, tales, and poetry were preserved in writing for future posterity. 

There is considerable disagreement on whether Egyptian poetry had regular meter or rhyme scheme, but the prevailing scholarship does agree that alliteration was a favored poetic device. So was repetition, by the recurrence of identical refrains, by lines being repeated with substitutions of synonyms (example: the young grass/the slender stalk) , and by metaphors (example: the young grass the bull is browsing/the dancing girl the scribe is kissing). I did choose to include a loose rhyme scheme, as this genre was intended to be sung and I wanted it to sound more musical.

 

Bibliography

 

“Song of the Harper” Ancient Egypt Online. https://ancientegyptonline.co.uk/harper-song/  Accessed 5/19/2020

 

Abdelrady, Radwan. “The Ferryman in the Shadows of the Ancient Egyptian Funerary Texts”. Journal of the General Union of Arab Archaeologists https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/eda5/7117053925b25e5c47cf54367d971457df... Accessed 5/18/2020

 

Book of the Dead of the Goldworker of Amun, Sobekmose, ca. 1500-1480 B.C.E. Papyrus, ink, pigment, 14 x 293 in. (35.6 x 744.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.1777E Visited 5/27/2018

 

Bunson, Margaret. Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Gramercy; 2nd Printing edition. August 17, 1999.

 

Erman, Adolf, author. Blackman, Alyward, transl. Ancient Egyptian Poetry and Prose. Dover Publications, Incorporated. 1995

 

Erman, Adolf, author. The Literature of the Ancient Egyptians. London: Methuen & Co. 1927 

 

Foster, John, L. Echoes of Egyptian Voices: An Anthology of Ancient Egyptian Poetry. Univ of Oklahoma Pr; 1st edition. April 1, 1992. 

 

Lichtheim, Miriam. Ancient Egyptian Literature Volume I The Old and Middle Kingdoms. University of California Press. 1975.

 

Mark, Joshua. “Dogs in Ancient Egypt.” Ancient History Encyclopedia. March 13, 2017. https://www.ancient.eu/article/1031/dogs-in-ancient-egypt/  Accessed 5/18/2020

 

McCoy, Raymond. In Every Pleasant Place: Ancient Egyptian Poetry by Broward Egyptology Society.  Enchiridion Publications. 1986

 

Parkinson, R.B. Reading Ancient Egyptian Poetry: Among Other Histories. Wiley-Blackwell; 1 edition. February 17, 2009

 

Parkinson, R.B. The Tale of Sinuhe and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems 1940-1640 BC. Oxford University Press, Incorporated. 2009

 

Reisner, George. “The Dog Which Was Honored by the King of Upper and Lower Egypt.” Bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts. Vol. 34, No. 206 (Dec., 1936), pp. 96-99. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4170605  Accessed 5/18/2020

 

Simpson, William K., ed. Ritner, Robert K., transl. The Literature of Ancient Egypt: An Anthology of Stories, Instructions, Stelae, Autobiographies, and Poetry. Yale University Press; 3rd Revised & enlarged edition.  October 11, 2003

 

Taylor, John Journey Through the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead. British Museum Press, London, 2010.