Medu Netcher - Egyptian Hieroglyphs

In this course you will be introduced to Medu Netcher (Divine Speech), the Kemetic (i.e. Ancient Egyptian) sacred language and script, commonly referred to as Egyptian hieroglyphs.

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In this course, Dr. Mario Beatty introduces you to Medu Netcher (Divine Speech), the Kemetic (i.e. Ancient Egyptian) sacred language and script, commonly referred to as Egyptian hieroglyphs. The course focuses on a phase of the language conventionally known as Middle Egyptian, dating from around 2100 BCE onwards. Using primarily the book by James Allen, Middle Egyptian (2014), the course will acquaint you with the fundamental elements of grammar and vocabulary in order to provide a unique and innovative examination of this African civilization from the inside through highlighting and translating numerous primary texts.

Mario Beatty, Associate Professor of Africana Studies, received his B.A. degree in Black World Studies at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, his M.A. degree in Black Studies at The Ohio State University, and his Ph.D. degree in African-American Studies at Temple University. He has taught at Morris Brown College, Bowie State University, and he served as Chairperson of the Department of African-American Studies at Chicago State University from 2007 to 2010. From 2004 to 2007, he served as an educational consultant for the School District of Philadelphia where he helped to write curriculum and to train teachers in the novel, district-wide mandatory course in African-American history. He currently serves as President of The Association for the Study of Classical African Civilizations (ASCAC). His research interests include the Ancient Egyptian language, history, wisdom literature, astronomy in Ancient Egyptian religious texts, comparative analyses of African cultures, the image and use of ancient Africa in the African-American historical imagination, the theory and practice of African-American Studies, and Pan-Africanism.

In this lesson, you will learn all of the hieroglyphs referred to as uniliterals. These glyphs represent all of the fundamental consonants of the language and are the foundation needed to understand everything else in the course.

In this lesson, you will learn about the four major uses of Egyptian hieroglyphs as ideograms, as phonograms, as determinatives, and as phonetic complements. The primary focus is on the concepts of hieroglyphs as ideograms, phonograms, and determinatives.

Building on lesson #2, this lesson begins with a discussion of determinatives, but primarily focuses on the use of hieroglyphs as phonetic complements. This lesson prepares you to largely complete the important exercise at the end of Chapter 3 in James Allen, Middle Egyptian.

This lesson focuses on special cases in the use of hieroglyphs as determinatives and phonetic complements.

This lecture explains the importance of Coptic as the last stage of Medu Netcher and introduces you to the Saidic Coptic Alphabet. Various Coptic equivalents are provided for Kemetic words drawn from Leo Depuydt's Core Vocabulary Noun List.

In this lesson, you will learn about nouns in Medu Netcher in reference to the concepts of gender (i.e., masculine and feminine) and number (i.e., singular, plural, and dual). This lesson prepares you to complete exercises #1 and #2 at the end of Ch. 4 in James Allen, Middle Egyptian.

This lecture video focuses on special cases for nouns that do not behave as expected in reference to gender and number. This video highlights special cases involving some individual nouns, geographical place names, collective nouns, nouns that are viewed as non-countable, and false plurals. This video is primarily to be used for reference purposes.

This lecture video focuses on noun phrases, i.e., two or more words used to express a relationship. In Medu Netcher, noun phrases are used to express three different relationships: possession (i.e., direct or indirect genitive), apposition, and connection (i.e., conjunction and disjunction). In addition to explaining these noun phrases, the video also highlights a special type of noun phrase referred to as "honorific transposition." This video prepares you to complete the exercise on noun phrases at the end of Chapter 4 in Allen's book.

This lecture video focuses on Exercise #3 at the end of Allen, Middle Egyptian, Ch. 4 on transliterating and translating noun phrases. Through the use of the PAC Method where P= possession (direct genitive, indirect genitive, or direct genitive in honorific transposition), A= apposition (nouns side by side referring to the same entity), and C= connection (conjunction "and"; disjunction "or"), this video concretely demonstrates how to transliterate, translate, and provide the appropriate grammar for examining noun phrases.

This lecture video introduces you to major prepositions in Medu Netcher as a building block for understanding a prepositional phrase (i.e., a preposition + a noun or noun phrase). With the understanding of the prepositional phrase, the lesson provides you with a brief glimpse of what is called the Adverbial sentence in Medu Netcher where the Subject is a noun or noun phrase and the adverbial predicate that follows is a preposition + a noun.

This lecture provides you with a clear sense of the basic structure of an adverbial sentence in Medu Netcher which often begins with an optional particle, and is followed by the subject (i.e., noun or noun phrase) which is, in turn, followed by the adverbial predicate (i.e., an adverb or a prepositional phrase). Since this is the dominant sentence type in Medu Netcher, you need to master its structure. Being familiar with the major prepositions and particles will tremendously assist you in deciphering the elements in this sentence structure, even if you are not familiar with all of the vocabulary.

This lecture introduces you to suffix pronouns and describes their three major uses: 1. as a genitive after a noun with our sense of possessive adjectives; 2. after prepositions; 3. as a noun with the simple tense of the verb. Please note that these uses are taken from Gardiner's Egyptian grammar book because Allen's grammar book does not provide enough clarity in Chapter 5 for the learner. The lecture concludes by highlighting a couple of examples from Allen's grammar book that show suffix pronouns in the context of adverbial.

This lecture introduces you to adjectives and focuses on two major uses: 1. adjective as modifier; 2. adjective as predicate. When adjectives are used to modify nouns in Medu Netcher, they follow them and agree in gender and number. When adjectives are used as predicates they are positioned before the noun (i.e., subject) and do not agree in number and gender with the noun. When adjectives are used as predicates, only the masculine singular form is used. In Allen's grammar book, these two uses are actually found in two different chapters, 6 and 7, but I think it is much easier to explain them together at the same time so that you can see the contrast. As I have indicated on a number of occasions, my approach transcends going chapter by chapter in Allen, but we will eventually cover everything.

The lecture introduces you to a special type of adjectival construction called the Nefer Her construction that, on the surface, looks the adjective as predicate, but various context clues allow us to see the uniqueness of this construction. Medu Netcher uses this construction to describe the characteristics of someone or something. Unlike the adjective as predicate construction, the Nefer Her construction attaches the adjectival quality to the person rather than the thing being talked about. Knowing how to distinguish between the Nefer Her construction and adjectives used as predicates will be very important moving forward.

This lecture introduces you to apparent adjectives (i.e., words that are not really adjectives in Medu Netcher, but are usefully translated as such in English). This video focuses on apparent adjectives that are really nouns from the standpoint of Medu Netcher. After beginning the discussion on apparent adjectives, the lecture introduces our first Egyptian scene for translation which is a ritual libation scene between a deceased mother and daughter.

The lecture continues our discussion on apparent adjectives (i.e., words that are not really adjectives in Medu Netcher, but are usefully translated as such in English). This video focuses on apparent adjectives that are really prepositional phrases from the standpoint of Medu Netcher. After completing the discussion on apparent adjectives, the lecture provides a full transliteration and translation of our first Egyptian scene which is a ritual libation scene between a deceased mother and daughter.

Lesson 17 focuses on explaining demonstrative pronouns and provides specific examples utilizing the exercise at the end of chapter 5 in Allen's grammar book. All of the examples in the lecture are taken from a very important literary text more appropriately termed by Jacob Carruthers as "The Nine Petitions of the Farmer Whose Speech is Good" and commonly referred to as "The Eloquent Peasant." The lecture provides a general background of this story before providing the examples taken from the text.

This lesson introduces you to verbs in Medu Netcher and exclusively focuses on categorizing and describing verbs based upon their root class.

This lesson presents and explains dependent pronouns and their three major uses: 1. as subject after adjectival predicate; 2. after a number of particles except iw; 3. as object of a verb. After introducing the third use of dependent pronouns, the outlines of the verbal sentence structure that is abbreviated as VsdoSOA are explained.

Using small examples taken from Sir Alan Gardiner's Egyptian Grammar, this lesson focuses on introducing you to basic translations of primarily verbal sentences. It also provides you with initial conceptual tools to analyze sentence structure. Key terms discussed are main and subordinate clauses, marked and unmarked clauses, and the 3 types of subordinate clauses in Medu Netcher: adverb clauses, noun clauses, and relative clauses. This lesson highlights the adverb clause, the most dominant clause that you will encounter in reading Middle Egyptian.

Building on the foundation of Lesson 20, this lesson focuses on the various ways to translate what is called the Sedjemef form. Since Medu Netcher does not have a rigid tense system, the sedjemef form can be translated as present, past, future, or subjunctive, but context will usually call for translations that are subjunctive or future. Elements can also be inserted between a verb and its subject to communicate additional information in translating the verb. The sedjemef form can be made passive by adding an element "tw" between the verb and the subject (sedjemtuef= "he is heard). The sedjemef form can be made to communicate completed or past action by adding an element of "n" between the verb and the subject (sedjemenef= he heard, he has heard).

This lesson begins by presenting independent pronouns and follows with a discussion on nominal sentences. It explains the 3 nominal sentence patterns, AB, A pw, and A pw B with examples.

As a prelude to the discussion on the Coffin of Amenhotep II, this lesson focuses on some important aspects of early Kemetic history, highlighting the famous Narmer Palette. He explains the early concept of the Ruler as the embodiment of the falcon divinity Horus and describes the evolution of the fivefold titulary attached to the Ruler.

As part of providing necessary context to the divine imagery of Isis on the coffin of Amenhotep II, this lesson describes and explains the beginnings of the myth of Osiris, Isis, and Horus in the late Old Kingdom. The lesson presents late period accounts of this myth by Greek scholars Diodorus (1st c. BC) and Plutarch (1st c. AD) that dominate popular discourse. The lesson deconstructs these accounts steeped in Greek interpretation in order to ground the explanation of the myth in actual Kemetic texts.

As part of providing necessary context to the divine imagery of Isis on the coffin of Amenhotep II, this lesson describes and explains the beginnings of the myth of Osiris, Isis, and Horus in the late Old Kingdom. The lesson concretely demonstrates in narrative form how to decenter Greet accounts of the myth as primary texts by focusing on select excerpts from the Pyramid Texts.

As part of providing necessary context to the divine imagery of Isis on the coffin of Amenhotep II, this lesson describes and explains the beginnings of the myth of Osiris, Isis, and Horus in the late Old Kingdom. The lesson concretely demonstrates in narrative form how to decenter Greet accounts of the myth as primary texts by focusing on select excerpts from the Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts.

This lesson presents a complete transliteration and translation of a scene from the coffin of Amenhotep II in the Valley of the Kings (KV 35). The scene depicts the goddess Isis situated at the foot of the coffin with her hand on a "shen" ring and squatting atop the symbol for gold. In addition to the transliteration and translation, the lesson provides descriptive grammatical and cultural commentary to assist in contextualizing and interpreting the deeper meaning of the scene. Please find below the specific readings that were referenced in the video.

This lecture introduces prepositional nisbes. A prepositional nisbe is an adjective derived from a preposition. Most primary prepositions have a nisbe form. Prepositional nisbes are heavily used in epithets and titles of officials and divinities. After explaining prepositional nisbes, major examples of their use in titles are presented.

This lecture continues the discussion on prepositional nisbes and provides major examples of their use in the titles of officials and divinities.

This lecture begins by explaining the reverse nisbe, a relatively rare grammatical construction which is an adjective and like other adjectives, it can be used in something like the nfr Hr (i.e., "beautiful one of face) construction that has already been introduced and discussed. The lecture introduces and explains marked and unmarked relative clauses as a prelude to beginning the discussion on the Htp di nswt offering formula.

This lecture continues the discussion of the Htp di nswt offering formula and introduces and explains major uses of active participles with an example from the offering formula and the Horus names of Amenemhat I and his son Senusret I.

This lecture continues the discussion of the Htp di nswt offering formula. In terms of new grammar, it introduces what is called the superlative which is used to indicate that the quality of someone or something is the highest of all.

This lecture completes the discussion of the Htp di nswt offering formula. In terms of new grammar, the lesson introduces you to how Medu Netcher can form various verbal nouns as an extension of the root, focusing on the word Htp. It concludes with a discussion of the important concept of imakh based on a selection of primary texts from the Old Kingdom.

This is the first part of a detailed discussion on the important concept of Akh. After introducing basic, essential vocabulary, it begins the definition of Akh in its cosmic context, highlighting its importance at creation and its link to the invisible power of light.

This is the final part of a detailed discussion on the important concept of Akh. This lecture highlights information gleaned primarily from non-mortuary texts (i.e., Old Kingdom tomb autobiographies and Middle Kingdom stelae). The ancient and enduring ritual of the "Opening of the Mouth" is centered to provide additional context on the process of being and becoming an Akh in the afterlife.

The first part of this lecture highlights important features of African cultural unity between Ancient Egypt and other African cultures by explaining the meaning and importance of leopard skin and walking sticks (i.e., medu) in the hands of high officials. The latter half of the discussion focuses on providing some necessary background to the discussion, transliteration, and translation of the late Old Kingdom tomb of Mehu by focusing on how Egyptologists generally describe architectural features of the ka-door and also highlighting the most important titles that Mehu held as Prime Minister of the country.

The first part of this lecture is a continuation of our discussion on leopard skin last week through highlighting the importance of the Goddess Seshat and her role in the temple foundation ritual ceremony referred to as "the stretching of the cord." The session highlights an innovative view of Seshat's headdress in the work of the Spanish astronomer, Juan Belmonte. The second part of the lecture focuses on framing part of the essence of the idea of Kemetic governance through engaging select excerpts from a work authored by Jacob H. Carruthers.

This lesson formally begins our translation of the ka door of Mehu by focusing on the first two lines of the upper lintel which highlight the divinities of Anubis and Osiris respectively. The lesson goes into greater detail in discussing Anubis in his foundational role in successfully transforming the deceased through contextualizing some of his most important titles. It concludes with an initial discussion of the beginning of the second line focusing on Osiris.

This lecture begins by completing the translation of the second line in the upper lintel of the Ka Door of Mehu. The balance of the session focuses on providing the necessary context to explain a very important Kemetic scribal institution referred to as the Per Ankh (The House of Life). Through an engagement with the major work on this institution by Sir Alan Gardiner, author of the foundational Egyptian Grammar book, this discussion highlights both the insights and some of the conceptual and textual limitations of his article. This session prepares us to go into greater detail next week around all of Mehu's titles that have the element of House (per) contained within them.

This lesson attempts to lay a beginning foundation to understanding the complexity of the Kemetic Concept of the Ka. The Ka is often left untranslated, but it is often imprecisely translated as "spirit." When attempting to translate it into the English language, many Egyptologists opt for translations like "double, life force, animating force, vital force," yet these translations do not exhaust its immensity and complexity. This lesson begins with a discussion of the formation of the Ka by the divinity Khnum on his potter's wheel and provides a detailed excerpt from a Hymn to Khnum in the Temple of Esna that describes the complexity of the various divine actions involved in forming the Ka and creating a new life. In reference to creation, the lesson also highlights Utterance 600 in the Pyramid Texts which discusses how the essence of the Ka is transmitted from Atum to Shu and Tefnut as an embrace in the form of the Ka hieroglyph and animates the creation of all life thereafter. The work of two continental African scholars, Mouhamadou Nissire Sarr and Yao Fabrice-Alain Davy Mene are discussed briefly as modern attempts to explain the Ka in reference to other African cultures like the Peul and the Akan respectively, but also to gesture to the continuity and cultural unity of these ideas vis-a-vis Kemet. The work of Andrey Bolshakov is important for his comprehensive literature review on various interpretations of the Ka and his particular focus on the Ka in tomb representations which emphasizes how the Ka manifests in the context of the afterlife. I share some basic, but fundamental vocabulary around the Ka and human anatomy linked to both men and women. The dissertation work of Maylana Williams is highlighted for her contribution in reconceptualizing the N41 glyph in Gardiner's sign list that he refers to as "a well full of water." Williams argues that the glyph is actually and "womb-vulva" and goes into great detail in explaining how this reinterpretation greatly adds to all of the various contexts in which this glyph is depicted either as a phoneme or as a determinative (i.e. classifier). The lesson concludes by briefly engaging the concept of "a container" in the work of Michael Rowlands on "the unity of Africa." That is to say, the womb is a sacred container of life, but this idea is also extended to many other features in African cultures and I concluded on this point as what I think can be a useful concept to ground further deeper exploration and examination of the complex views of life found on the African continent from antiquity to the present.

This lesson begins by translating the third line of the upper lintel on the Ka Door of Mehu. Phrases and Titles found on Ka Doors are often given greater context in more narrative form in other parts of the tomb. In translating the third line, I highlighted a phrase that asks for offerings to be provided to Mehu during "every festival and every day." Referencing part of the handout that was originally provided on the Ka Door of Mehu, I cite and explain the specific festivals that Mehu makes reference to in another part of the tomb. This provided us with another opportunity to discuss the historical complexity of the Kemetic Calendar(s), civil, lunar, and eventually civil-based lunar, and situating important festivals within them. The second part of the lesson focuses on translating and explaining all of the titles on the Ka Door of Mehu that integrate the element of pr "house" within them in some way.

This lesson focuses on continuing our discussion of the third line of the upper lintel on the Ka door of Mehu by examining the important concept of Djet time which is commonly translated as “eternity.” Djet time is often contrasted with Neheh time which is also commonly translated at “eternity.” The major work by the prominent German Egyptologist Jan Assmann entitled The Search for God in Ancient Egypt, pp.73-80 was used as a starting point not only for our discussion, but to also provide a sense of major issues in orientation and perspective in examining Djet and Neheh time. Although Assman rightly asserts that these two concepts do not have one word equivalents in English translation, he is on less solid ground in arguing that the Ancient Egyptians had no concept of “space” as part of the cosmic totality, but only of “time.” Since Assmann used Chapter 17 of the Book of Coming Forth By Day in the New Kingdom to emaphasize this view, I presented two visual images from the shrines of Tutankhamun in the New Kingdom to ground an alternative view. Since an understanding of Maat is also inextricably linked to this discussion, I also highlighted Assamann’s view that Maat in the New Kingdom in the post-Amarna period was stripped of its central importance as a moral code as texts begin to emphasize a closer relationship to divinity. The work by Emily Teeter entitled The Presentation of Maat critiques the fundamental inaccuracies and limitations of Assmann’s interpretations and conclusions regarding this period. In attempting to define Djet time, Assmann also attempts to grapple with the dominant aspectual framework of Medu Netcher to contain the interpretation of Djet and Neheh time within an exclusive temporal environment. I present an alternative view that argues that Djet time that speaks to the timeless, permanent, expansive, metaphysical and unchanging essence of creation where Atum-Ra emerges from the primeval waters on Nun at the Sep Tepy “the first occasion” implies an inherent atemporal aspect that is part and parcel of the temporal environment. Assmann attempts to solidify his interpretation of Djet time by contrasting the divinities of Ra and Osiris. He links the sun divinity Ra to Neheh time and Osiris to Djet time. I argue against this rigid separation and assert simply that Osiris is not only considered the “Ruler of Djet time” as Assmann argues, but he is also commonly referred to as Neb Neheh, “the Possessor of Neheh time.” I conclude with the imperative for comparative studies to be done on this issue between Kemet and other African civilizations and to think deeply through the problems of orientation, evidence, perspective, and interpretation.

This lesson focuses on completing our discussion on the Ka door of Mehu through highlighting and examining major remaining titles and issues. Two major issues highlighted in the discussion centered on Mehu's judicial titles and his titles dealing with the regalia of the Ruler, especially the Crowns of Upper and Lower Kemet. The next lesson will focus on Lady Peseshet, a Director of Female Physicians in the Old Kingdom. In the readings you will find the original description of Peseshet's Ka door in Selim Hassan's Excavations in Giza and an excerpt on her importance by Theophile Obenga in preparation for next week.

This lesson focuses our attention on the importance of the Ka door of Lady Peseshet who was the Director of Female Physicians during the 4th dynasty. She is the first recorded female physician in world history and evidenced by her title, she was not alone. Her Ka door is in the tomb of Akhethotep, who is probably her son and she is positioned beside a man named Kanefer on her Ka door who scholars think is probably her husband and thus, Akhethotep's father. Her tomb was initially published in Selim Hassan's Excavations at Giza, 1929-1930. Her Ka door provides us with an opportunity to contextualize her identity within the broader Kemetic social order and medical profession. The excerpt on "Male/Female Relations in Ancient Egypt" by Theophile Obenga is used to provide some necessary context on the importance and power of women in Kemet. In the discussion, I also made reference to a work by Barbara Lesko entitled The Remarkable Women of Ancient Egypt that can be utilized to expand and amplify some of the ideas in Obenga's work. The work by Paul Ghalioungi on The Physicians of Pharaonic Egypt is used to discuss the debate surrounding the essence and meaning of the Kemetic word "swnw" "physician,"; the education of the physicians in the House of Life; the various important medical titles and specialization within the broader organzational structure that was, at once, national, regional, and local.

This lesson seeks to provide deeper context to our discussion of Peseshet and the vocation of the role of the physician in Kemet by investigating and exploring the importance of the divinity Djehuty (Thoth). I begin with a brief excerpt from the late period Book of Thoth (2005) edited by Richard Jasnow that reads like an initiation text between a Master Teacher and a student disciple who is named mer rekh "one who loves knowledge," a phrase that some scholars argue as the source of the Greek word "philosopher." A Kemetic phrase of greeting, ankh, udja, seneb (life, prosperity, and health) is used as a starting point to discuss the deep origins of the cosmos and the role that marshaling these forces and energies plays in healing, especially in highlighting the importance of the eye of Heru (Horus).

The divinity Djehuty (Thoth) is the inventor of Medu Netcher and thus, the divine patron of scribes, priests, physicians, etc. who seek to investigate, explore, and acquire knowledge from the depths of the mysteries of the cosmos in all areas of life. Djehuty is prominently shown in the form of a sacred ibis bird, a bird that frequents aquatic environments, especially the papyrus swamps in Kemet. The word papyrus, from which our word "paper" is ultimately derived, has no known etymology in Greek because this was not an indigenous plant in their environment. It is theorized that the word papyrus may come from the phrase pa per aa "that of the Great House," a phrase referring to the central role of the Greek government in production and distribution of this product when they ruled Kemet. In addition to Djehuty's central importance in terms of both language (oral and written), and writing, Djehuty was also over the sacred city of Khemenu (Hermopolis), a city that refers to the Eight Infinite divinities that collectively form the essence and substance of the primeval waters of Nun that precede what is called the sep tepy "the first time" that creation happens, and the sun divinity Ra emerges.

Djehuty, in the form of the ibis and a reflection of the reactive activity within the primeval waters of Nun, lays the primoridal egg from which Ra emerges to give light and life. The principle of Heka (magic) is also a force that animated and permeated the cosmos, it was not separate from it, and it couldbe both productive and destructive. Djehuty in the form of the moon is also seen as the son of Ra. The Kemites viewed the sky or heaven as a face having two sacred eyes referred to as Udjat eyes of Heru (Horus), the right eye viewed as the sun and the left eye the moon. As a divine healer, Djehuty lessens the injury inflicted on the eye of Heru (Horus) by Seth and initiates divine healing. This archetype becomes critical for grounding what it meant to be physically and spiritually whole and healthy in Kemet. This lays the foundation for a detailed discussion in the next lesson on further explaining illness, healing, and the myriad treatments that physicians engaged in to help restore a person's wholistic health.

This lesson provides a narrative overview of major features of illness and healing in Kemet. There were a wide range of illnesses that were present in Kemet: various parasitic diseases, bacterial and viral infections, deformities like club foot, tumors, probably cancer, metabolic disorders like liver disease, various diseases of internal organs dealing with the cardiovascular system, lungs, large bowel, rectum, anus, urinary tract infections; various disorders of the ears, eyes, and skin; pains and aches in various bones and joints; the general breakdown of the body that occurs twith the ageing process. Illness can come from these negative physical processes or they could come from the power of a divinity or a deceased or living person. In addition, sickness and suffering could also be viewed as a self-inflicted character wound based upon negative thoughts and behavior towards others and towards oneself and negative personality traits, especially greed.

The lesson emphasizes the importance of their knowledge of and examination of the heart in a strict medical sense and also in relationship to character as the seat of one's consciousness, intelligence, will, desires, emotions, and feelings. From the heart spring what are called the Metu which could refer to anything long and thin in the body, including blood vessels, ducts, nerves, tendons, and muscles. From the heart, these Metu branch in all directions of the body. Air flowed into the body through these Metu and during life, oxygenated blood flows through them from the pulsating heart. To provide you a sense of their technical medical approach involving the heart, I have provided an example from Case #1 of the Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus in the readings taken from the excellent work by Gonzalo Sanchez and Edmund Meltzer.

Using the work of Charles Finch, the prominent African American physician at Morehouse College that has spent much of his career exploring science in Africa, entitled "African Background to Medical Science," I highlight the rigorous methodological approach evidenced in medical papyri by Kemetic physicians. Using the work of Theophile Obenga on medicine in his work African Philosophy: the Pharaonic Period, I discuss the complex range of therapeutic treatments to heal the body and spirit practiced in Kemet. Using the work of Nabil Ebeid, I presented the surgical instruments depicted in the Temple of Kom Ombo and referenced his discussion on the Udjat eye mathematically used in the process of creating prescriptions for illness combining various things. In my discussion of healing, I highlighted the importance of dreams and dream interpretation in Kemet. You will find supportive readings to guide further investigation for those who are interested in this topic. And lastly, using the work of Dialo Diop, a Medical Doctor of Biological Sciences at the University of Cheikh Anta Diop, I provided some narrative sense of the importance of the Kemetic contribution to medicine in world history and its enduring influence from antiquity to the present.

This lesson is the first part of a discussion on the life and legacy of Imhotep, a Prime Minister in the 3rd dynasty under the reign of Netcherkhet (Djoser) who is primarily revered for designing and overseeing the construction of the vast Step Pyramid Complex in Saqqara. From the rock inscription in Wadi Hammamat of Khnumibre inscribed during the Persian reign of Darius (495-491 BC), I ground the discussion providing a sense of a long family genealogy of 25 Master architects and builders that stretched back to Imhotep's father, Kanefer. In addition, based on Late Period texts, his mother's name was Khereduankh and his wife's name was Renpetneferet.

On the south side of the entrance colonnade of the enclosure around the Step Pyramid complex was found a statue of Netcherkhet and on the base of this statue, he is mentioned along with the name and a series of important titles of Imhotep. This pairing of the Ruler and an official on a statute base like this is singularly unique and definitively marks Imhotep as an official that was considered to have extraordinary knowledge and skills from the very beginning. I provide a full transliteration and translation of the base of this important statue which I have not seen fully rendered in the English language.

The second text that I focus on is a libation receptacle honoring Imhotep commissioned by the 4th son of Ramesses II, Khaemwaset, a renaissance man in his own right who had a deep appreciation for the Kemetic past and restoring monuments that were decaying, especially in the area of Memphis where he held office as a Sem priest of Ptah. This libation receptacle is very important, and it is not widely known, discussed, or even integrated at all into discussions on Imhotep. It is especially important because it explicitly calls Imhotep the son of Ptah and most scholarship argued that this epithet originated during the Late Period. It is fitting that Imhotep would be honored in this way by Khaemwaset in the form of a libation vessel because there was a long tradition of scribes and priests pouring a water libation explicitly to Imhotep before they commenced their work, clearly honoring the great legacy that Imhotep left in the Kemetic memory in the area of wisdom, administration, architecture, engineering, astronomy, and medicine.

In the next lesson, we will intimately discuss the divinity Ptah and Imhotep's importance as the son of Ptah and further examine his enduring memory and legacy inside and outside Kemetic civilization.

This lesson is a meditation and reflection on the deeper meaning of why Imhotep is referred to as the "son of Ptah." The memory of Imhotep was pervasive throughout Kemetic history and transcended incorporations on various temples and monuments to include songs, proverbs carried on in the oral tradition, and literary texts as evidenced by "the Song of the Harper" and "the Immortality of Writers" respectively. Ptah, a divinity intimately linked to creative thought and utterance, speaks to the idea of the means by which the cosmos was transformed into reality.

In highlighting a well-known text commonly referred to as "the Memphite Theology" inscribed on a slab of black granite during the reign of Shabaka (715-701 BC) of the 25th Kushite dynasty, I use an excerpt from Jacob Carruthers Mdw Ntr: Divine Speech that presents and analyzes the power of the Creator's thought (i.e. ib "heart, mind") and tongue (i.e. speech) in the process of creation. This principle was self-evident and existed in the primeval waters of Nun to ultimately produce the forces and elements of the cosmos. Ptah embodies the intellectual principle of creation and its material realization in the structure and substance of the cosmos.

Among many characteristics, Ptah is especially revered as a patron of craft persons, builders, masons, and sculptors because he speaks to the power of creative speech that arises from perception and fashions raw materials from the power in the earth into various products (i.e. statues, jewelry, towns, building, temples, pyramids, medical remedies, etc.) through actions. Imhotep's most notable achievement in designing and overseeing the construction of the Step Pyramid Complex was viewed by Djoser and the Kemites themselves as unprecedented and extraordinary in terms of both conception and scale and it would lay the foundation for all future efforts at pyramid building. I highlight the work of Dieter Arnold entitled Building in Egypt: Pharaonic Stone Masonry as an excellent work that goes into great detail in terms of all of the various tools, methods, skills, and techniques involved in engineering any pyramid. Most treatments on the Step Pyramid focus on the various structures and dimensions of the complex, but I argue that the greater legacy of Imhotep is not in the actual finished product, but is to be found more in the complexity of all of the information, knowledge, skills, and vision needed in the conceptualization and process of construction.

The Mortuary Temple of Seti I at Abedju (Abydos) is stunning in the both the conception and beauty of the layout and scenes. Seti I ruled in the early part of the 19th dynasty and was the father of Rameses II. Although not complete in examining all of the scenes in the temple, the early work in 4 volumes on The Temple of Sethos I (1933) by Amice Calverly and Alan Gardiner and the more recent work by Rosalie David entitled The Temple Ritual at Abydos (2018) provide a solid foundation to ground a narrative study of the temple. I have attached the 4 volumes of The Temple of Sethos I (1933). For those interested in a more engaged and intensive study of Seti I's reign, I have attached the monumental work by Peter Brand entitled The Monuments of Seti I.

I begin the lesson by providing Seti I's throne name of Men Maat Ra ("Enduring one of the Maat of Ra) and his birth name which identifies him from birth as being linked the divinity Seth. Because this mortuary temple was situated in Abedju, a sacred sanctuary of Wsir (i.e. Osiris) who is featured heavily inside the temple in scenes, Seti I opted to replace the unknown Seth animal in the writing of his birth name in this temple with the knot of the goddess Aset (i.e Isis). Rulers can also be described as being beloved of a particular divinity and Seti I describes himself as being "beloved of Ptah."
This lesson is used to highlight the importance of the infinitive and its wide-ranging use in Kemetic scenes in both tombs, temples, and literary texts. The infinitive belongs to a special class of verbs known as verbal nouns. Unlike verb forms that are finite, the infinitive presents action that is not linked to a specific tense (i.e. past, present, future), aspect (i.e. the kind of action- completion or extension), mood (i.e. indicative or subjunctive) or voice (i.e. active and passive). The normal translation of the infinitive into English is ex. "to learn" and the gerund "the learning or learning." The infinitive is actually a noun that describes the action of the verb and as such, it can be used in most of the same ways that other nouns are used. In scenes, the infinitive is often used in headings to capture the essence of major action.

In this lesson, I present three scenes from the temple of Seti I to sensitize you to how the action of a scene is captured and is also contingent upon who is performing the action. In the scene that I present of Djehuty giving the two crowns of Upper and Lower Kemet to Seti I, the major action is captured by the sDm.n.f form (Allen, Ch. 17) which refers to completed action. In the other two scenes that I present, one with Seti I offering the Djehuty in the form of the heby (i.e. ibis) and Seti I offering the goddess Maat to Wsir (i.e. Osiris), the action in both is captured by the infinitive because these actions are part of a daily temple ritual and are viewed as ongoing, habitual and repetitive for eternity.

I have attached the transliteration of these scenes from Rosalie David's Temple Ritual at Abydos (2018) for you to review in preparation for the next lesson where we will transliterate, translate, and provide rich cultural context to understand the deeper meaning of these scenes and to further emphasize the importance of knowing how to feel for and spot the infinitive operating in Kemetic scenes

This lesson begins by addressing a question around the authenticity of a woman named Meritptah who was called the world's first female doctor in a book by Kate Campbell Hurd-Mead entitled A History of Women in Medicine (1938). Since Hurd-Mead does not provide any source for this assertion coupled with the fact that we have no actual evidence of a woman named Meritptah as a physician during any period in Kemetic history obviously means that this position can not be supported based upon the evidence. I use Wolfram Grajetzki's article on this issue who correctly deconstructs this falsehood, but I also point out that Grajetzki perpetuates another falsehood in relationship to the female physician that we do know and have discussed named Peseshet. Grajetzki argues that we don't know whether or not Peseshet was the Director of male or female physicians when the title on her ka door very clearly states that she was the Director of female physicians. In addition, he argues that it is questionable as to whether or not Peseshet herself was even a physician although she is titled as a Director of female physicians. I clearly argue that it is illogical to argue that anyone, male or female, who is a Director of anything would not have intimate knowledge and training in their respective vocations. No Egyptologist would ever make a case like this for a male who held any office as a Director.

Another question raised centered around the spirit of Djehuty compared to Djelis or memory keepers in the Bambara society, a word that means "blood" communicating its central importance to the life of a community across generations. This question inspired a deeper discussion of Aset (Isis) as her sacred "tit" image which is red communicating the idea of blood is the glyph that replaces the Seth animal in all writings of Seti I's name in the temple. I link the two strips of red cloth dangling from the sides of the "tit" image of Aset (Isis) to the two strips of red cloth wrapped around the standard of Djehuty, positioned on the kilt of Seti I, and protruding from the back of his crown in the neck region in the scene that we translate in this session. As the throne, Aset (Isis) is the blood that is essential to the life of a person, a community, and intergenerational transmission of memory and in the context of this temple specifically the office of Ruler since the founding of the "Union of the Two Lands."

The scene that is highlighted in this session depicts Seti I making incense and presenting it to Djehuty. I contextualize this ritual action as part of a daily offering ritual that has various features in awakening the ba power of a divinity to come and temporarily reside in the physical form (ka) of divine statues in the respective shrine chapels in this temple.

This lesson begins with a continuation of our discussion of a scene in the Temple of Seti I at Abedju (Abydos) where Seti I is making and giving incense to Djehuty in the form of the sacred Hebi or Ibis. We complete our transliteration and translation of this scene along with cultural commentary.

The second part of the lesson seeks to resolve a historical debate around deciphering the image of the Ankh "life" symbol. Sir Alan Gardiner's grammar cites Battiscombe Gunn as the initial proponent of a view that argued that the ankh "life" symbol was a "sandal strap." In an earlier lesson, I reviewed this view without fully committing to it, but expressing the idea that I could understand on a metaphorical level how it could communicate the idea of elements in the cosmos being tied together. After that lesson, I researched and reviewed major visual evidence on the ankh and I have now decisively concluded that it is not a sandal strap, but it is rather a plant knot that can symbolize any flower or plant, but primarily the sedge plant of Upper Kemet, the papyrus plant of Lower Kemet, and the white and blue lotus flowers, especially the blue lotus flower that rises and closes with the sun and has a very potent, fragrant smell. The sandal strap, like garlands, and other items, are made from plants and this is why you can see them in words. The sandal strap is part of a sandal made of papyrus and this is why it can be used as a design feature in sandals, but it is not a sandal strap in and of itself. The image of ankh combines within itself the idea of earth, water, and air, all essential elements of what we call "life." I submit evidence, primarily from the Temple of Seti I, to demonstrate the strength of my revised view of this symbol.

I conclude by reinterpreting another symbol that is closely linked to the Ankh, and that is the tit symbol heavily linked to Aset (Isis). Based upon Spell 156 in the Book of Coming Forth By Day that talks about a ritual of anointing tit image of Aset (Isis) of red jasper with a plant called Ankh imy, i.e. "the life which is in it" or "that which life is in" (a reverse nisbe), I hypothesize that the tit image actually is a mirror image of the ankh, covering it with red cloth symbolizing blood and the ends are bent down on the image to indicate death juxtaposed against the ankh image whereby the stems protruding from the side are erect. Because the Kemites knew that blood is transported from the heart to all parts of the body and that blood also transports air (i.e oxygen) and nutrients throughout the body, it is essential in empowering the deceased to live again and Aset (Isis) is the goddess that embodies this idea. I also show the musical instrument of the sistrum of Aset (Isis) and demonstrate how the sound of that instrument mirrors the sound in papyrus thickets and intimately speaks to the sounds of creation emerging out of the primeval waters of Nun embodied in the essence and movement of the papyrus plant.

This lesson focuses on interpreting and explaining the royal insignia and various aspects of the crowns on the head of Seti I in on our scene in the Temple of Seti I at Abedju (Abydos) where Djehuty (Thoth) gives life and scepters of Rulership of Upper and Lower Kemet to Seti I. To ground our discussion, I make reference to the dissertation by Sandra Collier, The Crowns of Pharaoh: the Development and Significance of Ancient Egyptian Kingship (1996). Although this dissertation is not comprehensive and lacks deeper analysis of the meanings of the various crowns in Kemet, it is a good starting point for these types of discussions. On page 12-14, she describes in a very useful chart form 8 major crown types with various subtypes which can have 1 or more among 15 different added elements.

The ascension to the throne of a new Ruler occurred during the morning immediately following the death of the previous Ruler while the formal coronation was planned to be in alignment with some natural cycle of life (i.e. planting festival on New Year's Day, the day of the re-appearance of the moon, or the Festival of Wsir (Osiris) when the inundation of the Nile had receded and new plants began to sprout. (Collier, p.31-32)

In interpreting and explaining the insignia and crowns on the Seti I in the scene, I begin with the Heqat scepter and the Nekhekh flail, which are definitely transmitted to Horu (Horus) from Wsir (Osiris), but, as I explain, these are ancient insignia that actually precede the latter part of the Old Kingdom when we begin to see Wsir (Osiris) come to visibility and prominence. Wsir (Osiris) absorbs some of the attributes and insignia of an earlier divinity named Andjety who is shown in the Temple of Seti I and is referred to there as Wsir (Osiris) Andjety.

Following the discussion of the Heqat scepter and Nekhekh flail, I gesture to some of the meanings attached to the nemes headdress (Collier, p.69-70; 76), the cobra (uraeus) (Collier, p.28, 78), the ram's horns and sun disc which can be linked to both Amun-Re and Re-Horakhety, and the 2 Shuti ostrich feathers (Collier, p.59, 68). The crown that Seti I is wearing in this scene indicates that he is the embodiment of Horu (Horus) and intimately links him to both the earliest Heliopolitan cosmology of Re and also the particular manifestation Horu (Horus) appearing in Waset (Thebes), the sacred locale of the high divinity of Amun-Re who is transcendent yet immanent in all life. These two elements combined ground the Ruler's cosmic authority to govern the country in both the deep past and relatively more recent past after the First Intermediate Period and into the Middle Kingdom when Amun-Re assumes greater importance and centrality as a high divinity in governing the country.

This lesson provides a complete transliteration, translation, and grammatical commentary of the scene of Djehuty giving the life of Horu (Horus) to Seti I in the shrine of Seti I in the Temple of Seti I at Abedju (Abydos). The lesson provides a complex look inside my mind as a translator of Kemetic texts and highlights significant differences between my translation of this scene and the translation provided by Rosalie David in her book Temple Ritual at Abydos. This is the first time that I have attached descriptive excerpts from Allen's grammar book as part of translating a scene. This is a major feature of Theophile Obenga's method of specifically citing paragraphs in the process of understanding, explaining, and justifying translations. In terms of grammar, this lesson emphasized imperatives (i.e. commands), participles, the subject-stative construction, and the pseudo-verbal construction. Read closely my translation and explanation of the grammar in this scene, contrast it with Rosalie David and understand my key differences and how I support my interpretation. Read the specific grammar descriptions in Allen referenced by me over and over and each time we see these grammar features again, your knowledge and familiarity of them will grow stronger and over time many of your reads will become automatic. This process takes time, but consistent engagement is going to make the process much easier. In the final analysis, the art of translation is about both understanding language and culture and their inextricable relationship. You can not truly know one without the other. This is especially the case with Medu Netcher where understanding the complexities of the added dimension of image writing is critical to any translation and hopefully this lesson demonstrated the knowledge that a translator of Medu Netcher should possess and the different translation approaches that you will inevitably encounter as you engage more texts.

Ramesses II, the son of Seti I, ascended to the throne formally around the age of 25, but was being prepared for this role significantly before this, serving as hereditary prince and co-regent alongside his father as is attested in the Temple of Seti I at Abedju (Abydos). Ramesses II is one of the most recognizable Kemetic rulers and you will feel and see his imprint everywhere in Kemet in terms of construction. The fact that he ruled for approximately 67 years provided him with an opportunity to leave a lasting legacy. It is fitting to begin our discussion on the grammar of Kemetic royal names with him because of his prominence.

This lesson provides a nuanced discussion of the grammar of his birth name and throne names respectively which is something that you will not encounter as you read standard works on his life and times. I attempted to situate his names in a historical context, linking him to his grandfather Ramesses I and the last ruler of the 18th dynasty Horemheb who named Ramesses II's grandfather, Ramesses I, as his successor before he died without an heir. Ramesses II is named after his grandfather Ramesses I, and the major epithet, "who Ra has chosen" appended to Ramesses II's throne name is taken intentionally from Horemheb where it is first used. Thus, Ramesses II' birth name and throne name evidence a deep conversation around memory with a genealogy of the recent past. I have attached a detailed grammatical analysis of his name and I have also attached an excerpt from the chronicles of Manetho which provides us with some sense of how Kemetic royal names like Ahmose I, the founder of the 18th dynasty and Ramesses were rendered in Greek and how they inform and influence English translations. I also discuss the importance of Coptic in informing English translations, but each royal name has to be examined individually in regards to dynamics of translation and pronunciation.

In the next lesson, I will provide nuanced commentary on all of Hatshepsut's royal names and also discuss the names of Tutankhamun, a name that you will see adorn a large amount of consumer products in modern Egypt.

This lesson focuses on presenting and explaining the fivefold titulary of Hatshepsut, who was the daughter of the Ruler Djehutymose I and her mother Iahmes, holding the powerful office of the God's Wife of Amun, and eventually the Great Royal Wife of the Ruler Djehutymose II. After Djehutymose II died, his heir was Djehutymose III born of a lady of the court named Aset (Isis). Because Djehutymose III was only 3 or 4 years old and due to Hatshepsut's vast experience and royal pedigree, she handled the affairs of the country to ensure continuity of governance and eventually entered into a formal co-regency with Djehutymose III, undergoing all of the coronation rituals with a fivefold titulary given divine support by Amun.

As the lesson emphasizes, Hatshepsut's fivefold titulary is very nuanced, influenced by both her father and his remembrance of the early 12th dynasty in the Middle Kingdom, especially Senusret I, but also emphasizing her own feminine power in a unique way that allowed her to describe her essential leadership qualities, while, at the same time, obliquely making reference to important divinities (i.e. Amun, Wosret, Wadjet, and Maat) that grounded those leadership qualities from birth.

This lesson is dedicated to the memory of Tina Turner (maa kheru, "true of voice"), who, in a CNN interview with Larry King in 1997, told him that, based upon her spiritual practice of Buddhism, which believes in reincarnation, she was told that in a past life that she was Hatshepsut. Thus, this is a very appropriate lesson to honor the memory of this great musical artist who believed that she was deeply connected to and inspired by Kemet in this personal way.

Here is the Link for the Kemet Exhibition in Leiden on Hip Hop, Jazz, Soul and Funk referenced in the beginning of the lesson.

https://www.rmo.nl/en/exhibitions/temporary-exhibitions/kemet-exhibition/

This lesson focuses on Tutuankhamun, who came to the throne as a youth around 9 years old, following the aftermath of a series of greatly debated successors of Akhenaten, and reigned for approximately 9 years. His royal tomb in the Valley of the Kings (KV 62) found on November 4, 1922 was announced with great fanfare because it was largely intact, full of thousands of treasures. The opening of this tomb captured the world's imagination and I discuss the importance of this find for both modern Egyptians and African Americans.

I begin in the contemporary moment discussing the politics surrounding the artistic depiction of the hip-hop artist Nas overlayed on the famous golden mask of Tutankhamun in a current museum exhibit in Leiden on how Ancient Egypt and Nubia has been part of the inspiration for many Black musical artists in jazz, funk, hip-hop, and soul. I link this to the subtle, ongoing politics of historical facial reconstructions of Tutankhamun, evidenced most recently in the new facial reconstruction announced by a team from Brazil, Australia, and Italy.

In beginning the discussion on the identity of Tutankhamun, I highlight two major debates in Egyptology around his parentage and immediate predecessors based on available evidence. It is commonly agreed that Tutankhamun's father was Akhenaten, but there is still an ongoing debate around the identity of his mother. Some scholars argue that his mother was Nefertiti and others argue that she was Kiya, a lady at court that held the title "great beloved wife." Some scholars like Nicholas Reeves argues that Nefertiti was the sole one who functioned as co-regent with and succeeded Akhenaten until Tutankhamun and other scholars like John and Colleen Darnell argue that Akhenaten and Nefertiti's eldest daughter Meritaten functioned as co-regent and succeeded Akhenaten and was succeeded by a man named Semenkhare whose clear identity is still unknown. I have attached a reading from Ronald Ridley's book on Akhenaten that discusses the end of Akhenaten's reign and attempts to walk the reader through the major sources of evidence that are debated along with the historical evolution of vastly different views by scholars interpreting this evidence. I attach an excerpt from Nicholas Reeves work on Tutankhamun laying out his argument for Nefertiti as Akhenaten's successor and a brief narrative on Tutankhamun. I also attach a chapter from the book by John and Colleen Darnell on Akhenaten and Nefertiti that focuses on the topic of Akhenaten's successors before Tutankhamun. This book is particularly useful because they have essential bibliographic essays on source material for each chapter which can really assist you if you wish to explore these issues in greater detail even if you do not agree with some of their arguments or interpretations.

I conclude by discussing the grammar of the birth name of Tutankhamun "the living image of Amun" which was originally Tutankhaten "the living image of Aten." Two very prominent officials, Aye and Horemheb, who were also important during Akhenaten's reign, were both clearly instrumental behind the scenes in moving the country back toward Amun although they clearly had their own internal rivalry as power brokers. The politics of the movement back toward Amun is clearly evident in what is commonly referred to as the Restoration Stela of Tutankhamun.

In the next lesson, I will complete the grammar analysis of Tutankhamun's royal names and add a narrative discussion on Akhenaten and his theology of light and introduce some of my innovative work on the unique art style of his reign.

This lesson begins with a discussion of the alteration of Tutankhamun's birth name from Tutankhaten by examining some of the major theological implications of contrasting Amun with the Aten in his probable father Akhenaten's sebayet "wisdom instruction." Akhenaten's elevation of the Aten is definitely an extension and elaboration on ideas of his father Amenhotep III during the latter part of his reign. During his reign, Akhenaten elevates the Aten to a central focus and uniquely provides it with its own shenu's (i.e. cartouches). I have attached a full grammatical analysis of the early and later versions of the names of the Aten discussed in the lecture. I have also attached a full grammatical analysis of the fivefold titularies of both Tutankhamun and Akhenaten respectively.

During the second part of the lesson, I heavily focus on introducing some of my innovative scholarship around interpreting major features of the distinctive art style that accompanied the elevation of the Aten in Akhenaten's sebayet. I provide insight into the broad parameters of my method which involves both viewing the art as conveying a complex visual communication system that unites geography, landscape, astronomy, and language. I have attached the "Great Hymn of the Aten" in the Tomb of Aye that provides us with the most elaborate statement on Akhenaten's sebayet. As demonstrated in this lesson, my work moves us decisively away from viewing Akhenaten's body as depicting any physical deformity like Frohlichs or Marfan Syndrome by some Egyptologists. In interpreting Akhenaten's art style, it is essential to understand the concept of the Akhet "horizon" and the centrality that this plays in his sebayet. Among other features of his body, I prominently show how Akhenaten literally maps the form of the Akhet "horizon" on his body by forming a curvature in his torso and/or back that equates with the outlines of the mountain glyph. And when the rays of the sun, i.e the Aten reaches his body, it forms the glyph of the Akhet which is a combination of the sun and the mountain glyph. The importance of the Akhet was certainly not unique to Akhenaten's office as a Kemetic Ruler, but what was unique was his attempt to link himself exclusively to this recurring celestial phenomena through elevating the Aten. This scholarship is a major intervention in all existing scholarship that will hopefully fundamentally shift how we view the art style during his reign.

This lesson focuses on primarily discussing the cosmic symbolism in the Temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel which is situated north of Lake Nasser on the Nile River, approximately 43 miles from the 2nd cataract. Ramesses II had this temple built to give honor to and marshal the power of the cosmic energy of the netcheru Ptah, Rahorakhety, and Amun respectively in his governance of the Kemet, in addition to deifying himself alongside of them. Because the power of these netcheru are invoked not only to sustain and maintain the life of the country, but to also defeat any perceived enemies.

Although I do not delve into this issue with any great detail in this lesson, Ramesses II's famous battle at Qadesh with the Hittites is illustrated prominently on the north wall in the pronaos of the temple to commemorate his "victory" against them although it is clear from the aftermath that this was not an overwhelming "victory" for either side.

In this battle, he narrated his singularly unique courage and fierce fighting and he gave high praise to Amun because he was able to live to tell the story of what happened in what appeared to be a certain defeat and death for him on the battlefield. The memory of this battle was so important for him that he had it carved on many temples during his reign. I have attached a translation of this battle from Miriam Lichtheim's Ancient Egyptian Literature (Vol. 2) for you to acquire some sense of how this battle was narrated from the Kemetic side.

I begin this lesson by displaying an album cover that features the facade of the Temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel from the great Black musical group Earth, Wind, and Fire from their 1977 album entitled "All in All." I then play my favorite song from Earth, Wind, and Fire entitled "Imagination," featuring the beautiful, soaring, and cosmic falsetto voice of Philip Bailey. In his autobiography discussing the importance of Kemet, Maurice White said "Our rich culture didn't start on slave ships or in cotton fields, and it sure didn't start in the Cabrini-Green projects of Chicago. It started in Egypt. Knowing where you came from gives you confidence and pride that can't be easily taken away. Egypt gave the planet mathematics, astronomy, science, medicine, the written word, religion, symbolism, and spirituality. Despite what centuries of distortion have told us, the civilized world did not start in Europe: it started in Egypt. This is the core reason I turned to Egyptology: it encourages self-respect." He goes on to say "I wanted EW&F to use the symbols of Egypt in our presentation to remind black folks of our rich and glorious heritage. And not just African Americans: today we have scientific proof that all of mankind has African origins. We are all brothers. Everybody is connected. On some basic, primal level we all are a reflection of the universe, and in that reflection we are connected to one divine source, God." (see Maurice White with Herb Powell, Maurice White: My Life with Earth, Wind, and Fire- 2016).

I use Earth, Wind, and Fire's concept of "All in All" to frame and discuss the deeper, hidden cosmic imagination that is operating in the layout of the temple, from the outer facade, going inside to the pronaos, and finally to the inner sanctuary, i.e. the Holy of Holies (Djeser djeseru). In the Holy of Holies, where we see Ptah, Amun, Ramesses II, and Rahorakhety, the rays of the sun shine on principally Amun, Ramesses II, and Rahorakhety twice a year, February 21st and October 21st, and brush the left shoulder of Ptah. I have attached my full transliteration and translation of this inner sanctuary for you.

Some Egyptologists have theorized that one reason why the sun is shining in the sanctuary may be related to the coronation and birthday of Ramesses II and I attempted to show that I think this is a plausible inference based upon translating the inner sanctuary and understanding the cryptographic rendering of his names in this space. I also present and attach for you the scientific work of Amanda- Alice Maravelia who studied this temple closely, and based upon astronomical software used, factoring in the shift of the temple to higher ground with the construction of the High dam, she argued that the temple is a harbinger for two prominent seasons in the Kemetic calendar, Peret and Shemu. I accept her argument, but without displacing the importance of the coronation and birth names which she does. Multiple meanings can easily operate simultaneously in the Kemetic imagination without contradiction. It is difficult for some scholars, especially steeped in Western logic, to really understand this and actually feel this dynamic as an a priori assumption when engaging Kemetic texts, both literary and artistic.

I have attached a partial translation of the Temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel and the Temple dedicated to his Great Royal Queen Nefertari adjacent to his taken from the monumental, foundational work of Kenneth Kitchen on Ramesside Inscriptions.

If we take Earth, Wind, and Fire's "All in All" as a framing concept, we can say that the "All (i.e. everything in the cosmos) is governed by the same divine, intellectual principle that produced it (i.e. the All). As Ptah is conceptualized as "the flash of the spirit," the first instance of the Creator's mind/heart and will at work, he represents the bridge between the heart (i.e. the intellectual principle) and the tongue (i.e. the material realization and articulation of that principle in the substance of cosmos). This is why in the Holy of Holies Ptah is not in complete darkness because he represents this important, cosmic bridge. This is an important intervention that I make in this lesson that runs counter to many of the standard treatments of this temple that usually frame Ptah as being in complete darkness.

Like Ptah, the music of Earth, Wind, and Fire is a powerful example of articulating divine speech that arises from deep thought and elevates us by giving us all life, power, strength, and light like the sun for eternity.

For over 2000 years, Kemetic Rulers built monuments in The Temple of Karnak, located on the east bank of the Nile in Waset (Thebes). The major focus of the temple centered around Amun-Ra, his wife Mut, and their child, Khonsu. Measuring approximately 1 mile long and 1/2 mile wide, this is the largest temple complex in the world. The temple has a main axis oriented East-West that includes the first 6 pylons and the inner Holy of Holies sanctuary and a North-South axis that includes pylons 7-10. As mentioned in the lesson, the pylons are a useful way of orienting yourself in this vast temple.

This lesson focuses on explaining the essence and power of Amun-Ra through translating a scene on the west wall of the famous Hypostyle area of the temple, an area comprised of 134 open and closed bud papyrus columns the lay immediately behind the second pylon, that was constructed during the reign of Seti I and completed by his son Ramesses II. In the scene that we focus on, Ramesses II kneels before the Great Ennead and Amun-Ra, Mut, and Khonsu. As a primordial netcher and Ruler of the netcheru and existence, this scene highlights the idea of the Ennead, here emphasizing their human forms and not their anthropomorphic forms, as the mirror of and sum total of the image of Amun. As the scene demonstrates, Amun's power is shown in the specific context here of bringing Hapy, the Nile flood, the major source of life for the country.

I have attached a full transliteration and translation of the scene that is highlighed in the lesson video, i.e. the conversation between Amun-Ra and the Great Ennead. I have also attached to this lesson a major reflection on the temple by Mirolsav Verner. And lastly, I have attached 3 large volumes that focus exclusively on scenes in the Hypostyle area of the temple that were produced by The Oriental Institute in Chicago. We will revisit various scenes from this temple again over the course of the next year.

In preparation for our trip to Kemet, the focus of this lesson is to translate a small scene in the famous White Chapel of Senusret I at Karnak that centers around the importance of Amun and Atum in crowning Senusret I. Senusret I had a co-regency with his father Amenemhat I and I discuss the importance and connection between both of their Horus names. The Horus name of Amenemhat I is Wehem Mesut "one who repeats the birth" and the Horus name of his son Senusret I is "one who lives the birth." This White Chapel highlights the elevation of Amun in the Temple of Amun during this Middle Kingdom period that was to become the core of the vast, larger temple complex at Karnak in later periods. The White Chapel was constructed in celebration of Senusret I's sed festival of renewal after 30 years of being on the throne. It later served as a temporary resting place during processions for the sacred barque containing the statue of Amun.

After providing general reflections on some highlights and meaning of the Kemet Study Tour 2023, I focus this lesson on Maat and Creation, the first installment of many discussions over at least the next 2-3 months. I begin with an examination on the hieroglyphic writing of the word itself and major variant writings, citing select passages from my article on Maat written as a graduate student which I have attached. I focus on two major symbols, one that I have re-interpreted as the primeval hill which Allen and Gardiner view as a pedestal or platform and the other which is the ostrich feather. On Maat and Creation, I highlight a passage from Coffin Text 80. I have attached the glyphs and translation from Raymond Faulkner of this passage. I have also attached the full publication of Volume 2 of the Coffin Texts from which this passage is taken. This is a major reference work as you grow deeper in your knowledge and experience with the language.

In this lesson, I also use Theophile Obenga's commentary on Maat emphasizing its divine essence which means that Maat can not be reduced to a mere ethical or moral philosophy as the departure point for discussing it. I have also attached Obenga's article on Ancient Egyptian philosophy referenced in the lesson with his treatment of Maat towards the end.

This lesson continues our discussion on Maat and Creation. I begin by highlighting a major verb in Medu Netcher, kheper, "to come into existence, become, happen, and transform." This word is utilized in very diverse and complex ways grammatically to emphasize the dynamic process of creation. I use the work by Theophile Obenga entitled The African Genesis, to explain this Kemetic cosmology that is commonly referred to as the Heliopolitan cosmology. I have attached the whole work here and I cite Obenga's full translation of a passage from the Bremmer Rhind Papyrus.

In formulating a cosmology, one can not simply use the external world (i.e. the outside) to explain the universe. One has to deeply reflect on the nature of space and time, the basic elements and components of the universe and the gradual differentiation of the cosmos, along with patterns of observed regularity. The Ennead of the Kemetic Heliopolitan cosmology represents the framework of their attempt to explain the diversity of components in the cosmic order of Maat and the dynamic of creation. The word for Ennead is pesedjet and I make reference to the article by Lana Troy on "The Ennead: The Collective as Goddess" to highlight the Ennead collectively akin to a mother goddess, i.e. the idea that each generation yields the birth of a more complex distribution of the elementary cosmic components.

Because of its importance in both structuring the physical world and organizing the family, the Ennead is considered the highest judicial authority of the divine world and thus, serves as a divine council called djadjat in the final judgement of the deceased where their heart is weighed against the idea of Maat. The judgment of the deceased becomes the initial step in their renewal, regeneration, and rebirth.

I conclude by translating a scene in the Temple of Seti I at Abydos that shows Maat next to the Goddess Renepet, the goddess of the concept of the year. This pairing of goddesses speaks profoundly to the Kemetic scientific observations of phenomena such as Sirius, the sun, the moon, and the Nile over a very long period of time to create the 365 day calendar in what the Egyptologist/astronomer Juan Belmonte calls "Keeeping Maat on Earth" in work on Ancient Egyptian Astronomy entitled "In Search of Cosmic Order: Selected Essays on Egyptian Archaeoastronomy." I have attached my full transliteration, translation, and grammar analysis of this scene discussed in class for reference.

In this session, we begin to attempt to examine and understand on a deeper level the beautiful metaphors that the Kemites used themselves to describe and explain Maat. We primarily focus here on Maat found on the Stela of Horemheb. The Stela of Horemheb found in his tomb at Saqqara contains a very nice visual scene of Horemheb praising Ra-Horakhety, Djehuty, and Maat. We will translate a couple of lines in this stela that highlight the power of Maat as the Northwind. An image of the stela is attached along with a link that takes you directly to a detailed narrative description of the stela which is now housed in the British Museum. I have attached a document containing the stela, my translation of the lines dealing with Maat, a full hieroglyphic transcription of the stela contained in Wolfgang Helck, Urkunden der 18. Dynastie, and a full translation of the stela in the work by Benedict Davies, Egyptian Historical Records of the Later Eighteenth Dyansty.

We began a discussion of Maat found in the Wisdom Instruction of Ptahhotep at the end of this session, but I will post all of the materials for this text in our next session.

The Sebayet (Wisdom Instruction) of Ptahhotep is one of the most important, oldest wisdom texts in world history. It is a reflection on life and the requisite social values that the Kemites saw as necessary to preserve and perpetuate an optimal social order for future generations. In this lesson, we will highlight one Maxim from this text that highlights the power of the enduring essence of Maat. Most Egyptologists who translate this text use the most complete version of the text conventionally labeled Papyurs Prisse (PP). The original hieratic version was published in 1911 by Gustave Jequier entitled Le Papyurs Prisse et Ses Variantes. Since most people are not able to read the original hieratic version, a wider reading audience depends upon the reliability of hieroglyphic transcriptions of the text. In the 20th century, one major hieroglyphic transcription of this text was done by Zybnek Zaba called Les Maximes de Ptahhotep (1956). Although there are some problems with Zaba's hieroglyphic transcription that I have written about, I have attached it here to show you examples of major versions of the text placed side by side to provide you with a sense of changes made to the text over time.

I begin this lesson with a discussion on the importance of humility in the Sebayet (Wisdom Instruction) of Ptahhotep contained in Maxim 1. The second part of the lesson is a continuation and completion on the discussion of the Maxim on Maat contained in Lesson 64. See Lesson 64 for a fuller description and all of the texts/readings. I have attached here my full transcription, transliteration, translation, and grammar analysis of the four lines in Maxim 1 of Ptahhotep that focuses on humility in this lesson.

This lesson begins with a brief discussion on clarifying the transliteration and translation of a line in the Prologue of the Sebayet (Wisdom Instruction) of Ptahhotep that frames it as "the phrases (maxims) of good speech." I have attached the glyphs, transliteration, and translation of this line. The balance of the lesson is devoted to providing an initial general overview of one of the most famous stories in Kemet commonly referred to as "The Eloquent Peasant." The story revolves around a protagonist named Khuninpu who gets his goods stolen by a low ranking official named Nemtinakhet and after unsuccessfully appealing to Nemtinakhet to return his goods over a period of 10 days, he takes his case to the Chief Steward named Rensi in the area in which his goods were stolen. In nine petitions, Khuninpu offers profound, speculative insights on good speech and doing Maat as the foundation of ethical leadership and good governance.

This lesson begins with a close grammatical examination of the line towards the end of the first petition in "The Nine Petitions of the Farmer Whose Speech is Good" that revolves around the Chief Steward Rensi informing the Ruler Nebkaure about the qualities of Khuninpu. I offer a retranslation of this line arguing that what is being emphasized through the use of the nfr Hr construction is actually the good character of Khuninpu that manifests in his speech. The setting for the petitions takes place in Rensi's "courthouse barge" (Lichtheim's translation). See the end of the article by Nili Shupak given last week that provides greater contextual detail of the judicial importance of this phrase that is missing from Allen's work.

The "courthouse barge" suggests a nautical context which is extended and reinforced by Khuninpu petition when he metaphorically links the importance of Rensi's office to sailing with the "right wind" on the "Lake of Maat." The latter part of this lesson discusses the importance of Maat being defined as a large body of water and the various ways that people can navigate the challenges of sailing on this body of water that provides us with profound lessons on life and doing Maat in the face of injustice.

This lesson extends our discussion in Lesson 67 on the importance of Chief Steward Rensi being positioned both literally and metaphorically on "the Lake of Maat" in The Nine Petitions of the Farmer Whose Speech is Good. I begin by addressing a question around sacred lakes in temples and how important they were for priests in using them to cleanse and purify themselves before engaging in their service. For the Kemites, all life emerges from the primeval waters of Nun so, in a very powerful sense, the spiritual importance of water in any context, especially temples, implicitly hearkens back to a return to the source (i.e. Nun), the beginning of beginnings. Although the lakes at temples are not explicitly referred to as "Lakes of Maat," they profoundly contribute to the optimal maintenance of Maat as I illustrated by reading two small excerpts from the beginning of Kimani Nehusi's book entitled Libation.

I cite a small excerpt from the Third Petition of the text where Khuninpu emphasizes the role and office of Rensi in maintaining Maat by saying "the possessions of everyone are from you like the waters." Once again, we see the importance of water and it really ripples throughout the whole text with nautical metaphors. I use this excerpt as a springboard to highlight and examine a common phrase in Kemetic autobiographical texts where individuals will refer to themselves as "acting on the water" of netcher in general or a particular netcher. In the lesson, I focus on a prayer to Djehuty on the palette of a scribe named Iahmes during the reign of Djehutymes III where he prays that Djehuty "give his favor to one who acts on his water." The meaning of "acting on the water" of a netcher can speak to a wide range of optimal ritual and/or moral values and actions that ultimately uphold the cosmic order of Maat. I provide four additional examples in English translation from Miriam Lichtheim's book on Maat in Egyptian Autobiographies and Related Studies (1992) on the importance of this common phrase.

I end the lesson with a brief excerpt from the First Petition where Khuninpu tells Rensi that he is going to emphasize his importance by making his name according to all of the good rules, i.e. according to the Fivefold Titulary of the Ruler. In doing so, Khuninpu tells Rensi that he is not just a speaker of Maat, or a Doer of Maat, but he is also a "Creator of Maat," i.e. with his judicial procedures and judgments he intentionally makes the power of this principle of cosmic order felt on earth.

Our African ancestors in the Nile Valley pioneered the idea of the "scales of justice." In this lesson, I highlight two small excerpts from the third and eighth petitions of the Nine Petitions of the Farmer Whose Speech is Good that focus on the importance of the scale (balance) in relationship to Maat. Arriving at a "just" decision around a conflict involves weighing speech and evidence before rendering a decision. These excerpts highlight the natural extension of the scale (balance) from the social to the cosmic sphere where, in Kemet, one's heart, i.e. the lifespan of their thought, speech, and action is weighed against Maat as a prerequisite for an optimal transition into the next life. I have included my full transliteration, translation, and grammatical commentary of the excerpts discussed in this lesson. I have also included the glyphs, transliteration,and translation of the 3rd and 8th petitions respectively by James Allen in Middle Egyptian Literature.

Towards the end of the lesson, I focus on a contrast between Maat and the Greek concept of the scales of justice referred to as "Dike." I use the work of Vincent Tobin entitled "Maat and Dike: Some Comparative Considerations of Egyptian and Greek Thought" to emphasize major differences between these worldviews. In general, Tobin argues that Maat speaks to a more optimistic, moral universe that extends into the afterlife whereas Dike is grounded in a more pessimistic, amoral universe that ends at death and does not extend into the afterlife. I have attached the full article for your deeper exploration.

This lesson begins by concluding our discussion of The Nine Petitions of the Farmer Whose Speech is Good (The Eloquent Peasant) through highlighting a passage in the 8th Petition that focuses on the power of Maat in life and entry into the afterlife, on earth (ta) and in heaven (pt). In the story, Khuninpu heightens the importance of the divine world in the final petitions (i.e. 8 and 9) when it appears like justice on earth in the form of a decision by Chief Steward Rensi returning his stolen goods is not going to materialize. At the end of the story, Rensi has the 9 petitions of Khuninpu preserved and read and he has Nemtynakhet brought to him and Nemtynakhet is punished for his crime by having all of his property given to Khuninpu along with receiving a physical beating. I have attached the excerpts from the 8th petition and the end of the story.

The discussion of the importance of Maat for entry into the next life in the Nine Petitions of the Farmer Whose Speech is Good naturally leads into a fuller, deeper discussion of this theme by focusing on the famous Weighing of the Heart Judgment scene in the Book of Coming Forth By Day (Chapter 30 and 125) and specifically the meaning of "True of Voice" as an epithet of the deceased at the culmination of the judgment. I tease out part of the meaning of Maa Kheru by asking us to think about the distinction between "speech" and "voice." The judgment takes place in "The Hall of Two Maats (Two Truths) and I argue that I think this term refers to the power of Maat in two realms, on earth (ta) and in heaven (pt). In the scene, the Ennead (i.e. Ra-Hor-Akhety, Atum, Shu, Tefnut, Geb, Nut, Isis, Nephthys, Horus, Hathor, Hu, and Sia) compose a divine council witnessing the judgment.

This divine council is going to lead to a deeper discussion of the Kemetic view of the cosmos in the next lesson in relation to Maat, but I start this discussion in this lesson through referencing the scientific mind and spirit of the great George Washington Carver. I use him as a (re)-entry point to a discussion on the Kemetic view of the cosmos and highlight his profound respect for exploring the depths of the natural world in his life and work which mirrors the kind of view that can easily be observed in Kemet that does not separate "science" from "spirituality" and this view yielded phenomenal human achievements and excellence in every arena of life. I use Carver's own words to ground the importance of this view by using Gary Kremer's George Washington Carver: In His Own Words (pp. 147,148,152,153,155,158,161). I have attached the chapter from this book that I referenced.

In the next lesson, I will focus on examining Maa Kheru in the Old Kingdom as far back as we can see it in texts, highlighting both the Pyramid Texts and excerpts from officials from their tombs.

This lesson focuses on beginning to provide a necessary historical context of the concept of maa kheru "true of voice" utilizing select excerpts from the Pyramid Texts and one Old Kingdom tomb from an official named Khuiwer. Answering the following questions in nuanced ways drive the discussion:

1. Does maa kheru begin with being linked to Usir (i.e. Osiris)?
2. Is maa kheru reflective of an objective or subjective assessment? i.e. Is it reflective of a judgment from without or the person themselves? Or both?
3. Does maa kheru imply a trial and a judgment and if so, where is the setting, i.e. where does it take place?
4. How is maa kheru distinguished from, yet overlaps the concept of imakh?
5. What are the implications of the different ways in which we can see maa kheru in grammar?

In this lesson, I begin to address questions 1, 2, 3, and 5. The major article by Rudolf Anthes, "The Original Meaning of Maa Kheru" is used as a starting point for our discussion, but his article focuses almost exclusively on references in the Pyramid Texts which is a limitation of his work. I highlight one reference on maa kheru in this lesson from an Old Kingdom tomb of Khuiwer that both expands and complicates Anthes core thesis which argues that maa kheru refers to an assessment that is made on the life of the deceased. Khuiwer and other texts highlight the idea that maa kheru can also be a subjective assessment. Maa kheru is not originally linked directly to Usir (Osiris) based upon the Pyramid Text references.

I have attached the primary texts and my transliteration and translation of the excerpts highlighted in the Pyramid Texts and the text of Khuiwer.

This lesson focuses on maa kheru in the context of answering two major questions posed to me after viewing Lesson 71. The first question asked me to elaborate on the corpus of Kemetic Letters to Ancestors. In answering this question, I cite two letters from the work by Edward Wente, Letters From Ancient Egypt. The first letter is from a mother to her deceased son written on a bowl in a spiral pattern and I read the English translation and show the glyphs that highlight maa kheru in the letter as both something that can be given to the deceased at the side of every netcher and an actual place in the afterlife. I also include the full article on this letter by Alexandre Piankoff and Jacques Jean Clere entitled "A Letter to the Dead on a Bowl in the Louvre" for further exploration. The second letter is a letter from a husband to his decease wife and I read select passages, but I have attached the full translation by Wente. In addition, I am posting the piece by Michael Rowlands on "The Unity of Africa" and specifically I want you to take a look at the section entitled "A Politics of Closure" that speaks to the spiritual power of containers in Africa.

The second question revolved around the concept of gr (ger) "silent, restrained, calm" as an optimal trait of a person that exhibits and actualizes good character. Navigating life with optimal moral values is the foundation for someone being maa kheru and ger is an important value to highlight. I discuss this concept by reading select maxims in the Wisdom Instruction of Ptahhotep (Maxim 3, 24, 25 in Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature).

I end this lesson with a narrative re-emphasis on the importance of the Kemetic view of the cosmos for this discussion on maa kheru.

This lesson focuses on maa kheru in the Stela of Intef who was Chief of the Army during the 11th Dynasty. This stela gestures to the "weighing of the heart" of the deceased as a prerequisite evaluative process for entering into the afterlife. I highlight this text for a number of reasons. First, it shows a grammatical construction that is a subject-stative construction, i.e. "his voice is true" vs. the common nefer Her construction "true of voice." The use of the subject-stative construction implies a cumulative process of past action as part of a comment on a state of being. Thus, unlike the nefer Her construction, the subject-stative construction emphasizes a state, not a quality.

Second, the text emphasizes the mathematical dynamic of the weighing of the heart with the concept of Aaw "surplus." And lastly, the text has a very interesting statement asserting that if a person demonstrates honesty in admitting to their faults during the weighing process, the faults will not be factored in as part of the weighing of the heart.

I have attached the full glyphs, transliteration, and translation of the lines highlighted in the Stela of Intef along with the English translation of the Stela by Miriam Lichtheim contained in her work entitled Ancient Egyptian Autobiographies Chiefly of the Middle Kingdom. I have also attached the article in French by Jacques Jean Clere on the Stela of Intef.

This lesson highlights some of my initial reflections on presenting at and attending the Symposium on Cheikh Anta Diop held in Dakar, Senegal celebrating the 100 birthday of Cheikh Anta Diop. I particularly make reference to major scholars in Africa who presented at the conference and are intimately involved in teaching Medu Netcher and Egyptology in their respective countries. At the end of the lesson I discuss the most impactful presentation for me which was delivered by Malick Deme, a scholar at the University of Cheikh Anta Diop who teaches Egyptology and his work focuses on the origins and evolution of iron techniques and production among Nile Valley populations from the Neolithic to the Late Period. This presentation was complimented by Etienne Zangato, an archaeologist at the University of Nanterre in Paris, who focuses on early iron production in Central Africa from approximately 2500 BCE.

I have attached the following list of all works referenced in the lesson:

1. Hamady Bocoum- The Director of the Museum of Black Civilizations. An article on the historical background of the Museum of Black Civilizations in Dakar, Senegal completed in 2018
2. Mpay Kemboly- African Egyptologist in the Democratic Republic of Congo- An article on the teaching of Egyptology at the University of Kinshasa
3. Alexis Tague Kakeu- African Egyptologist in Cameroon- An article on Egyptology in universities in Cameroon
4. El Hadji Malick Deme- African Egyptologist at the University of Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar, Senegal- Metallurgy in Pharaonic Egypt (2021)- I provide the title pages and references to select objects that I highlighted in the lesson from his book and presentation
5. Dialo Diop- Retired Medical Doctor from the University of Cheikh Anta Diop and upholder of the political legacy of Diop- Title page of his book on Cheikh Anta Diop which is a collection of some political writings
6. Aboubacry Moussa Lam- African Egyptologist at the University of Cheikh Anta Diop- Title page of The Paths of the Nile: Relations Between Ancient Egypt and Black Africa
7. Mouhamadou Nissire Sarr- African Egyptologist at the University of Cheikh Anta Diop- Title page of his book Funerals and Performances in the Tombs in the Old and Middle Kingdom
8. Yoporeka Somet- African Egyptologist at Dedan Kimathi University in Kenya- Title page from two of his works. One entitled Ancient Egypt: An African World System (2018) and his new work on Reading Cheikh Anta Diop: A Thematic Approach (2023).
9. Etienne Zangato- An African Archaeologist at the University of Nanterre in Paris- Title page from his work on the First Societies of Metallurgists in Central Africa (2022)

The Royal Wisdom Instruction for Merikare is a fascinating literary text to study with many complex dimensions. Merikare was a Ruler in the 10th Dynasty based in Herakleopolis during what is commonly referred to as the First Intermediate Period, a period of well over a century that saw the Kemites fighting themselves. There was a rival 11th Dynasty that was based in Waset (Thebes) and ultimately they defeat Herakleopolis and begin the complete reunification process of Kemet. This Royal wisdom instruction composed by one of Merikare's predecessors, provides him with intimate advice on how to best govern the country that combines a deep sense and respect for culture and traditions that extended far back into the ancient past along with a sobering sense of the present, observed reality of conflict. In this lesson, I highlight the fact that the Ruler also faced a final judgment, i.e. "the weighing of the heart" in order to render him Maa Kheru "True of Voice." The text highlights many optimal character traits and actions that the Ruler needed to effectively govern and I focus on the power of his tongue (i.e. speech) as central to this process.

I have attached my hieroglyphic transcription, transliteration, and translation of the lines highlighted in the lesson. You will also find in this file the book from which I copied the glyphs by Wolfgang Helck, Die Lehre fur Konig Merikare (1977). I have attached Miriam Lichtheim's full translation contained in Ancient Egyptian Literature, Vol. 1.

I have also attached the major transliteration and translation of the Wisdom Instruction for Merikare by Stephen Quirke of the University College of London in his book on Egyptian Literature (2004).

Quirke is a British Egyptologist who welcomes new approaches to the field coming from both Arab and African-Centered scholars respectively. He wrote the Afterword to Yoporeka Somet's book entitled Ancient Egypt: An African World System (2018) and I have attached it here. In addition, he noted the influence of the Arab scholar Okasha El Daly who has written a very important work entitled Egyptology: The Missing Millenium: Ancient Egypt in Medieval Arabic Writings (2005). In discussing El Daly, I specifically made mention of a Youtube video by Okasha El Daly captioned as "Medieval Muslims and Egyptian Hieroglyphs" that is very informative. Towards the end of this lecture, he presents the Weighing of the Heart scene from Ancient Egypt and he argues that the Kemetic idea of weighing the deeds of one's life in a final judgment influenced the same conception in Islam.

As a prelude to examining the philosophy of governance contained in the Royal Wisdom Instruction for Merikare next week, this week's focus is on the concept and origin of the word philosophy itself through heavy reference to selected works by Theophile Obenga. Obenga views philosophy as a systematic reflective thinking about life and seeks to use this definition to open up a cross-cultural conversations that does not endorse or replicate ideas of Western superiority beginning with the Greeks. In fact, Obenga says that the word philosophy itself has no known etymology in either the Greek language nor the Indo-European language family.

Due to the absence of any etymology for the word, Obenga pioneered an etymology of the Greek word sophos "wisdom" emanating from the Kemetic word seba "to teach, learn, educate." Obenga naturally looked for this etymology of sophos based on the well-known fact and substantial Greek literature providing us with a positive portrayal and appraisal of the knowledge contained in and received from Kemet. I highlight the work Busiris by the Athenian orator Isocrates (436-338 BCE) which asserts that the Ancient Egyptians were viewed as the originators of philosophy and that the Greek Philosopher Pythagoras (590-530 BCE), who studied in Egypt for 22 years under the guidance of Kemetic priests, was the principle Greek scholar to bring back all philosophy to the Greeks from his education in the Nile Valley especially in the form of astronomy, geometry, and various rituals and ceremonies.

In the latter part of the lesson, I highlight a relatively recent work entitled the Book of Thoth (2014) by Richard Jasnow and Karl Theodor Zauzich to provide us with a rare glimpse into ideas and ritual utterances, conversations, and practices involved in the initiation process of Kemetic priests in the House of Life. This text, in at least 30 manuscripts scattered in various museums around the world, is principally dated from 300 BCE to 300 AD but Dag Herbjornsrud, the prominent Norwegian scholar, cites Joachim Quack from the original larger publication on the Book of Thoth in 2005 as saying that the initiation text clearly extended back until at least the 12th c. BCE. I provide a narrative overview of the major contents that have been studied in the existing manuscripts. The work is framed as a conversation between a Master who is named "One who Praises Knowledge" which is probably a reference to Djehuty (Thoth) and/or a priest functioning as the Master inspired by Djehuty (Thorth) and a Student named Mer-Rekh "one who loves knowledge." I agree with Herbjornsrud's position that the Mer-Rekh "one who loves knowledge" could very well have directly provided the educational inspiration for the Greek word philosophy which has the same basic meaning.

The Sebayet (Wisdom Instruction) for Merikare is a very sophisticated treatise on major ideas and ideals of governance in Kemet. Governance is informed by various ways of knowing in Kemet and in this lesson, I highlight the power of the legacy of ancestors and ancestral wisdom. The speech and counsels of the ancestors is elevated as both guide and authority in sustaining and reconstructing a society based on Maat. All of the ancestral predecessors of Merikare in his divine office as Ruler are conceptualized as part of a "Royal Ka," a collective genealogy that extends back to the earliest beginnings. The wisdom of this "Royal Ka" is transmitted intergenerationally both orally and in writing and Merikare is empowered to use both to inform the present in his quest to navigate all of the problems he is attempting to solve in the observed reality.

I have attached my full transliteration and translation of the excerpt on Maat from the text highlighted in the lesson. I have also attached a brief description of the Royal Ka by Lanny Bell in an edited book by Byron Shafer, The Temples of Ancient Egypt.

I highlighted the importance of bread in this lesson in the context of the word sny "to copy." I have attached an excerpt on bread from the book by Magda Medawy and Amr Hussein, The Pharaoh's Kitchen and a chart on the complexity of cereal production and processing by Mary Murray in an edited book by Paul Nicholson and Ian Shaw entitled Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology.

The framing of this lesson revolves around elaborating on a small excerpt of a Youtube interview of Theophile Obenga by Oba T'Shaka, former colleagues at San Francisco State University. Obenga was asked a question about whether or not the power of African culture can help to bring peace to humanity. Obenga answers in the affirmative and cited a well-known Kemetic story of Khufu and the Magicians to, in part, illustrate his point. This story is actually an interconnected cycle of three stories that speak to the past, present, and future respectively. Each story is relayed by one of the sons of Khufu, Ruler during the 4th Dynasty for whom the largest Pyramid at Giza was constructed.

In the first story, Khufu's son named Bauefre tells him about a story of the past under the reign of Seneferu, Khufu's father. Seneferu was in search of new ideas on how to spend his leisure time and a famous Lector Priest named Djadjaemankh who was a master of Hekau (i.e. "magic") suggested to him to have some beautiful women row him in a boat on the Lake of the Palace. Seneferu was enthusiastic about this idea and during the rowing, one of the women stopped because she had lost her fish pendant made of turquoise in the lake. Seneferu tells her that he will replace it, but she insists on retrieving the original at the bottom of the lake. Seneferu calls the Lector Priest Djadjaemankh to solve this problem with his speech of Heka and he commences to part the waters of the lake to retrieve the pendant and then he returns the waters to their original position.

In the second story, which Obenga highlights in his interview, Khufu's son Hordjedef insists on telling his father a story about a great master of Hekau in the present, who has no high titles and is just a commoner (i.e. "nedjes") whose name is Djedi. Djedi magical exploits are renowned, as he knew how to tie back a severed head, to make a lion walk behind him without a leash, and he knew the whereabouts of the secret chambers of the sanctuary of Djehuty. In order to demonstrate the power of his Hekau, Khufu asks Djedi to sever the head of a captive and to tie it back together. Djedi responds forcefully to Khufu and says that although he knew how to do this, this is something that should never be done to people because of their elevated divinity. He then commences to successfully perform this powerful feat of Hekau on geese and cattle. The exact same sense of the elevated divinity of people is also found in the Wisdom Instruction for Merikare which I also cite in this lesson.

Obenga used this Kemetic story to emphasize the idea that bringing peace to humanity is intimately connected to how one views the conception and value of people.

I have attached my full transliteration, translation, and grammatical analysis of all of the lines discussed in the lesson along with the accessible English translation by Miriam Lichtheim in Ancient Egyptian Literatute, Vol. I. I have also attached the whole book on text which contains the original text and the hieroglyphic transcription in A.M. Blackman, The Story of King Kheops and the Magicians. I have also attached Stephen Quirke's full transliteration and translation of the text published in his book on Egyptian Literature (2004).

In Lesson 79, I use an excerpt from the work of Asa Hilliard's SBA: Reawakening of the African Mind entitled "Maat and Socialization" to help us to frame some concise, narrative commentary on some important Kemetic ideals, ideas, and practices in their quest to sustain and maintain a social order grounded in Maat. In practical terms, I highlight that in the arena of governance the text emphasizes the importance of making sure that the material needs of officials supporting the Ruler are optimal in order to disincentivize the lure of potential compromise and corruption. In the public arena, I draw attention to the imperative to help the most vulnerable in the society and the importance of khet "property, possessions, things" in the context of family and community. I use an excerpt from Maulana Karenga's important book on Maat: The Moral Ideal in Ancient Egypt to discuss helping and protecting the vulnerable in the society. In my discussion of khet, I also gesture to issues around inheritance and provide a glimpse of a case study on a woman in the New Kingdom named Naunakhte who was disheartened by the lack of support from 3 of her 8 children and this impacted what she left them in her "will."

In addition to looking at the Wisdom Instruction for Merikare, I also discuss briefly the virtual genre of "Appeals to the Living," i.e. texts primarily found in tombs and on stela which revolves around the deceased reflecting on their good character in life as a rationale to communicate with those living on top of the earth to provide them with prayers and offerings. I have attached for your perusal the major dissertation by Stephen Shubert on this topic. For this task, I prominently use the stela of the commoner named Iti in a piece entitled "Three Stelae from Naga ed-Deir by Henry George Fisher in a book of essays honoring the prominent Egyptologist Dows Dunham. Dows Dunham was viewed as a friend and trusted advisor by William Leo Hansberry, the Howard University based scholar from 1922-1959, who pioneered what became African Studies in the US in so many ways. I cite a brief letter from the Introduction of a book on Hansberry by Joseh Harris, a professor in Howard University's History Department that reveals Dows Dunham directly making the case to as to why he would not support Hansberry participating in an archaeological excavation in Egypt or Sudan because of the erroneus racist idea that the presence of an "American Negro" would instantly be viewed as decreasing its intellectual value. I provide you with the whole essay by Harris.

I have attached my full transliteration, translation, and grammar of lines discussed and displayed in glyphs in the lesson. There were some lines that I did not show glyphs for in the Wisdom Instruction for Merikare, but I have added them as part of the documentation for this lesson.

For those that do not have the major reference source by David Shennum entitled English-Egyptian Index of Faulkner's Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, I have attached it here.

In preparation for our discussion on Maat and Maa Kheru (True of Voice) in the famous Weighing of the Heart scene in the Book of Coming Forth By Day, it is appropriate to help lay a solid foundation for that prospective lesson with an examination of important concepts. This lesson begins with a narrative, brief exploration of one of those concepts, the Ba. The major scholarly treatment on the Ba in English is a book by Louis Zabkar which I have attached below. In this work, Zabkar lays out two broad theoretical approaches to explaining the Ba. One approach has Kurt Sethe as a major scholar who views the Ba as part of a person's nature which implicitly creates a dualistic opposition between the "body" and the "soul." Zabkar argues for a different approach that views the Ba as a "mode of existence" in which the deceased continued to live. I read two detailed paragraphs from his book on pages 113 and 162 respectively explaining his approach.

I discuss the saddlebill stork which is the bird that is used to write the word Ba and I offer a passage from the Wisdom Instruction of Ptahhotep which speaks to the dynamic of a person who intentionally seeks to "set goodness" in his Ba while on top of the earth in order to build up a cumulative power that will inevitably help the person in the next life. In the form of a bird, the Ba conveys the power of the freedom of movement. I have attached my transliteration, translation, and grammar of this line. I also highlight the article by John Gee on Ba Sending to emphasize the idea that a person can send their ba to someone else, especially in a dream. The power of the freedom of the Ba is also shown through the deceased being able to continue the power of their ib and physical activity with things like eating, drinking, and even copulating.

I use this lesson to also begin a discussion on Martin Delany and his predominant allegorical approach to Medu Netcher contained in a work entitled the Principia of Ethnology (1879) towards the end of a long, illustrious career. From my research, Delany is the first African American to attempt to translate Egyptian hieroglyphs. I have attached my article from the ANKH journal on this topic. On page 47, Delany writes two lines of hieroglyphs in his own hand which are copied from a work by George Gliddon on Ancient Egypt who is heavily credited with communicating the importance of the implications of Champollion's decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs to an American audience. The first line that Delany drew was actually supposed to be a depiction of the Ba, but he continued a mistake from Gliddon's publication which miscopied the line based on the original text by William Osburn, The Antiquities of Egypt. I did not actually provide this line in transliteration, but I discussed in translation at the end of the lesson. I spend the balance of the time in this lesson contextualizing and explaining an important shield situated at the end of Delany's text that he refers to as "the Garden of Hesperides." This symbol conveys a complex combination of symbolic and cultural understandings that include freemasonry, the Bible, Ethiopia, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and concepts derived from the Yoruba culture and language, a language he was exposed to in 1859 by Samuel Crowther in his trip to modern day Nigeria in search of a place for African Americans to emigrate to as a response to the seeming entrenchment of the institution of slavery in the US.

I have attached Delany's two chapters from Principia of Ethnology on "The Builders of the Pyramids" and "the Garden of Hesperides." I made mention of Delany's discussion of Freemasonry and I have attached is full address here on the topic before the St. Cyrpian Lodge in 1853. Since the number three is a sacred number in Freemasonry, based, in part, on the importance attached to the 47th problem in the work entitled Elements by the 3rd c. B.C. Greek mathematician Euclid which is a proof dealing with the Kemetic/"Pythagorean" Theorem. I have attached Theophile Obenga's discussion of this in French in his book on Egyptian Geometry. Delany extended the mathematical importance of the number three to a divine level to discuss Biblical and Egyptian conceptions of the power of God. I have attached a brief excerpt on this theme contained in the work by Francoise Dunand and Christiane Zivie-Coche entitled Gods and Men in Egypt.

This lesson focuses on contextualizing the importance of a line of hieroglyphs copied by Martin Delany in his work on Principia of Ethnology (1879) that comes from one of the pair of obelisks in Luxor Temple dedicated to Ramesses II which now resides in Paris at the Place de la Concorde. Freemasonry, I provide you with both my technical translation and grammar of this line along with Delany's more allegorical translation and explain the importance and meaning of his attempt through highlighting his involvement in Freemasonry. Delany attempted to synthesize Masonic, Biblical, and Hieroglyphic understandings and approaches in the symbolic presentation of his shield on the Garden of Hesperides introduced in the last lesson. I briefly reference the important work by Scot Trafton entitled Egypt Land: Race and Nineteenth Century American Egyptomania and I provide you here with an excerpt discussing Martin Delany and Prince Hall Freemasonry juxtaposed against white freemasons in the understanding and use of Egypt and Ethiopia. Since many of the prominent leaders in the U.S. government, most notably the first President George Washington, were Freemasons, I emphasize how this is clearly seen today in the construction of the Washington Monument in the form of an Egyptian obelisk. I provide an excerpt for you from the work by John Gordon on the Washington Monument.

I have provided background readings from Labib Habachi's The Obelisks of Egypt recounting the elaborate 5 + year process of France removing this obelisk from Luxor Temple and transporting it several thousand miles to Paris directed by a marine engineer named Jean-Baptiste Apollinaire Lebas.

In the attached readings, you will also find the complete hieroglyphs and translation of Ramesses II's obelisks in Luxor contained in Kenneth Kitchen's Ramesside Inscriptions.

In deciphering symbols in Delany's Garden of Hesperides, I provide you with Delany's own explanation of some of these symbols in the Principia of Ethnology, most namely his discussion of the Ram, Bull, Dog, and Phoenix. I conclude the lesson by laying a foundation for a more extensive discussion on obelisks through highlighting the importance of the city Iwnw (i.e. Heliopolis "the sun city") and the Benu "Phoenix" bird in Kemet. On the Phoenix, I provide you with an excerpt from Stephen Quirke's The Cult of Ra: Sun-Worship in Ancient Egypt and my dissertation that talks about the Benu "Phoenix" bird linked to the planet Venus which, I think, helps to deepens our understanding of the dynamic meaning of obelisks in Kemet.

In this lesson, I focus on the importance and meaning of teken.wi "obelisks" in Kemet through highlighting Hatshepsut's efforts to raise obelisks at Karnak. From what we can see in the historical record, the construction of obelisks extends back to at least the latter part of the Old Kingdom and Iwnw "Heliopolis" (i.e. "sun city") was a very important location for raising obelisks due to the Creation Cosmology that emerged from there. I provide a small excerpt from Stephen Quirke's book on The Cult of Ra to gesture to the importance of Obelisks at Heliopolis and the importance of the Benu bird (i.e. Phoenix) in the Heliopolitan cosmology.

Hatshepsut attempted to construct what would have been the largest obelisk in Kemet, but during the quarrying process, a crack developed in the granite and the site was abandoned in Aswan. This unsuccessful attempt tells us a great deal about the Kemetic process of extracting obelisks from the earth. I provide a chapter by Labib Habachi on "How Obelisks were produced" to discuss the meaning of this failed attempt, but I provide a more detailed, current excerpt on "Theories of Erecting Obelisks" from Dieter Arnold's book on Building in Egypt: Pharonic Stone Masonry.

I provide the scene of Hatshepsut raising obelisks for Amun-Ra at Karnak in glyphs, transliteration, and grammar that was highlighted in the lesson. Take note that the glyphs besides Hatshepsut are an example of what is referred to as "retrograde writing" (i.e. writing that flows in an unexpected, abnormal direction for intentional reasons). One theory is that retrograde writing flows in a west-east solar orientation in alignment with the solar cycle of rebirth.

In this lesson, I continue the discussion of Hatshepsut raising obelisks at Karnak by focusing on an excerpt where she specifically talks about the pyramidal-shaped tip of the obelisk which is referred to as benbenet. I provide the glyphs, transliteration, translation, and grammar of the lines focused on in the lesson along with an article in French on this passage by Luc Gabolde, and the full hieroglyphic text contained in Kurt Sethe's Urkunden der 18 Dynastie (see the top of p.365 for the specific lines highlighted in the lesson).

I use the discussion of the benbenet to segue into a detailed discussion of a very famous math problem in Kemet referred to as Problem #14 in the Moscow Papyrus on the Volume of a Truncated Pyramid. The Kemites were the first to have developed the mathematical formula to calculate the volume of a truncated pyramid and I use the work of Theophile Obenga in his books on African Philosophy and Egyptian Geometry respectively to ground the discussion. I provide all glyphs, transliteration, translation, and grammar of this famous problem. I attach articles by Kurt Vogel and Quido Vetter to contrast with Obenga in terms of perspective and interpretation.

The recent occurrence of a solar eclipse in parts of the US on April 8, 2024 inspired this lesson to introduce you to how this rare celestial event was imagined by the Kemites in antiquity. The historical assessment by Otto Neugebauer and Richard Parker from their work on Egyptian Astronomical Texts that the Kemites have no records of eclipse observation before the late period and the records that we do have may even point to a non-Kemetic origin in Bablylonia. In writing my dissertation on the Image of Celestial Phenomena in the Book of Coming Forth By Day, I found this proposition by Neugebauer and Parker absurd on its face and I sought to develop a method that could provide scholars with an approach to explore the whole range of Kemetic texts for eclipse imagery that would be grounded in a very systematic cultural astronomy approach. Greek testimony is very clear and elaborate on not only the evidence of eclipse observation, but also the more complex dynamic of eclipse prediction.

In my method, I use cultural clues from Greek testimony on Egypt along with vocabulary dealing with eclipses that survive in Demotic and Coptic texts to explore earlier literature while paying close attention to the movement and relationship between the sun and the moon. You will find attached major vocabulary on eclipse imagery that can be used by anyone to look more closely at Kemetic texts for these kinds of precise astronomical observations. I also provided the work of Gyula Priskin who has examined Coffin Texts 160 with his own method and determined that this utterance is describing a solar eclipse.

The general orientation in this lesson lays the groundwork for the next lesson which will focus on the application of my method to part of Chapter 17 in the Book of Coming Forth By Day which I contend carries and transmits evidence of very ancient solar eclipse observation in Kemet.

In this lesson, I extend my observations on solar eclipse imagery in Kemet and apply my method of looking for eclipse vocabulary in Chapter 17 of the Book of Coming Forth By Day. The Book of Coming Forth By Day is commonly and inaccurately referred to as the Book of the Dead based upon the early work in 1842 by the German Egyptologist Karl Richard Lepsius on the topic. I have attached a mini-biographical entry on his life.

Chapter 17 is an ancient ritual utterance that is also found in the form of the earlier Coffin Texts 335. I begin by providing a general definition and orientation around the Book of Coming Forth By Day. I cite to the works of Foy Scalf and Peter Dorman respectively which you will find attached. I spend the balance of the lesson describing and demonstrating the presence and evidence of solar eclipse imagery in Chapter 17 which revolves around an injury to the eye of Horus that resulted from Horus fighting with Seth, but, as I state clearly, Djehuty as the moon is actually the one who inflicted the injury on the eye of Ra (i.e. the moon blocked the sunlight) and Djehuty is the one who heals the wound as he recedes from the face of the sun. I provide full glyphs, transliteration, translation, and grammar of the essential part of Chapter 17 that highlights solar eclipse imagery.

The implications of my method ruptures the Neugebauer/Parker thesis that argues that we can not see early eclipse observations in Kemetic texts before the late period and allows any researcher to reread these earlier texts with a new lens and heightened sensitivity to intellectual exploration of Kemetic astronomy.

This lesson marks the beginning of a very lengthy and in-depth discussion on the famous weighing of the heart scene in the Book of Coming Forth By Day (Chapter 30). For this discussion, we will be using primarily the Papyrus of Ani (British Museum-BM- 10470) brought to England by E.A. Wallis Budge. We will be specifically using the translation by Raymond Faulkner in a beautifully illustrated book of the papyrus. We will supplement this by reference to various variants contained in Thomas George Allen's The Book of the Dead or Going Forth By Day.

I begin our examination of this complex scene by defining, discussing and contextualizing the central importance of the heart. I ground our exploration in the Wisdom Instruction of Ptahhotep and then emphasize the sophisticated medical knowledge by the Kemites of the heart contained in the Ebers Medical Papyrus. I focus on one small line in the Book of Coming Forth By Day, "The heart (ib) of my mother, the heart (ib) of my mother, the heart (h3ty) of my transformations..." to reflect on the nuance self-evident here between ib and h3ty which are both translated by "heart" into English which obscures the distinction that is being made when they are paired together in such close proximity.

Because Anubis is at the center of the scene, I discuss his critical role in the mummification process and within that process, there is a concerted attempt to preserve and keep the heart within the body. I have attached a recent article in the journal Nature on a major find of a mummification workshop in close proximity to the Pyramid of Unis dated to the 26th Dynasty (664-625 BC).

Utterances in The Book of Coming Forth By Day often have rituals embedded in them that virtually go unremarked by scholars looking at these texts. I highlight one ritual that is attached to Chapter 30 of the Book of Coming Forth By Day that calls for making a scarab of nephrite adorned with gold and placing it on the heart of the deceased. This is what is commonly referred to as a "heart scarab." I provide you with two images of these objects mentioned in the lecture. I conclude this lesson by emphasizing the importance of the scarab linked to the heart in this chapter and ritual as a powerful symbol of rebirth, renewal and regeneration.

This lesson begins with an excerpt from Kimbwandende Fu-Kiau's African Cosmology of the Bantu-Kongo emphasizing the importance of a person being able to "walk innerwards" to the essence of our being, i.e. probing, examining, and improving the depths of our identity, knowledge, and character. This is an appropriate way to continue our discussion on the importance of the heart in the Judgment scene in the Book of Coming Forth By Day (Chapter 30). I provide a full transliteration and grammatical explanation of the following passage that frames the heart as a kind of independent entity that needs to be implored by the deceased to not speak against him during the Judgment:

"Do not stand against me as a witness. Do not oppose me with the divine magistrates making your incline (turning aside) against me in the presence of the Keeper of the Balance. For You are the Ka which is in my body who protects and who causes my members (i.e. body parts) to be whole."

Attached to this lesson are two important sources. The first one is by Rogerio Sousa entitled Heart of Wisdom: Studies on the Heart Amulet in Ancient Egypt (2011). I gestured to this source at the beginning of the lesson to conclude our discussion of the importance of the heart scarab at the end of Lesson 86 for those who would like to venture much deeper into this area of inquiry. I have also attached a major source on the weighing of the heart scene by Jiri Janak in Rita Lucarelli and Martin Stadler, Eds., The Oxford Handbook of the Egyptian Book of the Dead (2023). This source was used to talk about heart amulets and different illustrations of the weighing of the heart scene in various papyri and the meaning and importance of the process of weighing the heart itself which is an attempt to ascertain value, i.e. the quality of one's character in thought, word, and deed over the span of their lifetime, not literal weight.

As part of a series of lessons on the Weighing of the Heart scene in the Book of Coming Forth By Day, I focus here on contextualizing the importance of the heart. I begin with an excerpt of a text from Intef, a Herald under the reign of Djehutymes III and Governor of the Thinnite nome, which has a very elaborate discussion of the heart, but I specifically highlight the heart as framed as a guide, an instructor, and a divinity within a person.

For the balance of the lesson, I focus on the Wisdom Instruction of Ptahhotep that we have previously referenced and discussed on various levels. I specifically focus on the themes of character and knowledge linked to the heart. I highlight two common terms that are translated as character, "qed" and "bit" respectively, and theorize and discuss the distinction between the pairing of the two in such close proximity in the text. I also emphasize the heart's importance as both the seat of knowledge, wisdom and memory, and the instrument for acquiring them. The first lesson in Ptahhotep is an admonition against arrogance (i.e. getting big-headed or "great of heart" with one's knowledge) and a call for humility and respect in engaging with others because "the limit of a craft is not reached," i.e. there is always more to learn and know and one can learn from anyone regardless of their perceived and/or real social status.

I included full glyphs, transliteration, translation, and grammar of all passages from the text of Intef and Ptahhotep discussed in the lesson.

This lesson focuses on exploring and explaining a dominant, optimal personality type in Kemet referred to as ger which is commonly translated as the silent or quiet person. This personality type emphasizes moderation, restraint, being cool-tempered, avoiding unnecessary strife, and being intentionally thoughtful in speech, manner, and conduct. I use Maxim 2 and 3 in the Wisdom Instruction of Ptahhotep to explore the depth of how this ideal personality type plays out in relationship to the heart in varied social contexts and circumstances in attempting to behave according to Maat. I provide a full transliteration, translation, and grammar of all lines discussed in the lesson.

Please find attached also the Ten Virtues of the Egyptian Mysteries outlined by George G.M. James in Stolen Legacy. The first two are the Control of thought and the Control of Action, both ideas which are implicitly embedded in the power of the ger (the "quiet" person). I have also attached an excerpt from Asa Hilliard's SBA: The Reawakening of the African Mind outlining and highlighting 14 Maxims in Ptahhotep that he asserts focus on various forms of violence and how to counter those physical and mental forms of violence through the strength of character.

I begin this lesson with the song "Angel" by Chaka Khan which is an intimate reflection on confronting the darker aspects of ourselves in terms of negative thoughts and actions and attempting to speak to "the angel deep inside of me" to move toward the light in the form of more optimal thought and behavior. This particular lesson was influenced theoretically by the work of Linda James Myers, Understanding an Afrocentric World View: Introduction to an Optimal Psychology.

n Kemet, one of the worst, if not the worst, character flaws that a person can have is greed. I use Maxim 18 in the Wisdom Instruction of Ptahhotep to focus on the impact and consequences of the evil of greed not just on the victims, but on families, the society, and especially on the heart of the person committing these crimes. In this maxim, two concepts of evil are highlighted in relationship to greed, "Djut" and "bint" respectively and we are given an opportunity to theoretically differentiate the two here because they are in close proximity. For this task, I rely on the recent dissertation by Paul Larsen entitled Lexical Studies on the Concept of Dirtiness in Ancient Egyptian Daily Life. In the lesson, I highlight the section on Djut, p. 205-225.

Greed rises to such a cosmic disturbance of Maat that in this maxim it is referred to as "a painful disease of the shunned serpent" and the serpent implied is Apophis who attempts to block the voyage of the sun netcher Ra every day in the duat (netherworld) and the dark power of this attempt amounts to the annihilation of the whole of creation itself. I provide you with a small excerpt of Apophis in the Book of the Amduat that focuses on the 7th hour of the night and Apophis' attempt to destroy Ra.

The myth of Apophis endangering Ra can be likened to the struggle that can take place within oursleves to bring forth light. Both the dark and light sides of life will always exist, but the potential choice to elevate to a more optimal consciousness and action is always there to be made if we so choose.

Greed can show up in a variety of contexts and situations, but in this maxim, it highlights how it can destroy relationships in families. Many of these problems around greed can surface during the death of a family member and the resulting issues around inheritance that can cause conflicts and this is also alluded to in this maxim. Ptahhotep closes the maxim by saying that "the greedy one of heart" has no tomb" which effectively means that they cut themselves off from access to eternal life. I provide a chapter on the importance of the tomb from the work of Aidan Dodson and Salima Ikram entitled The Tomb in Ancient Egypt to reinforce the importance of the ending of this maxim.

I provide the full glyphs, transliteration, translation, and grammar of the maxim, including all of the lines that I did not get an opportunity to descriptively cover during the lecture.

I begin this lesson with a grounding theoretical discussion of evil put forward by an African Egyptologist named Mpay Kemboly from Kinshasa, DRC who wrote a book in 2010 entitled The Question of Evil in Ancient Egypt. I engage here a much more limited article authored by him entitled "Grappling with the Notion of Evil in Ancient Egypt." He defines evil in Kemet as "anything that disrupts Maat" and provides a discussion of selected texts to demonstrate how evil plays out on a cosmic, social, and personal level.

I use Kemboly's treatment on evil to engage an excerpt of the Weighing of the Heart Scene in the Book of Coming Forth By Day where Djehuty (Thoth) is relaying to the Ennead the verdict of judging the heart of the deceased (i.e. Ani). In this scene, I highlight a concept related to evil called "beta" (bt3) commonly translated as "sin," but sometimes translated as "wrong" or "crime." This word has a determinative of a household sparrow which is commonly used to place words within a negative semantic category. I use the excerpt from Patrick Houlihan's book on The Birds of Ancient Egypt to theorize why this bird was used to convey human lessons of avoiding the evils of greed, excess, and damage to the environment and to others.

In asserting that the deceased Ani has no "beta," Djehuty clarifies and elaborates on what he means by this on a cosmic, social, and personal level by affirming that Ani 1) did not diminish the offerings in the temples (cosmic); 2) he did not destroy what had been made (social, i.e. overturning established societal norms of governance); 3) he did not go about with deceitful speech while he was on earth (personal). I read Djehuty's speech here as both prelude and paraphrase of the 42 Declarations of Innocence (the "Negative Confessions") that the deceased must make affirming being in alignment with Maat. I use the article by Jan Assmann entitled "Death and Initiation in the Funerary Religion of Ancient Egypt" to present the idea that the Declarations of Innocence were not just affirmations as part of an initiation into eternity, but they were also very much reflective of statements and oaths made in the context of priestly initiation rituals and ceremonies.

I provide all of the glyphs, transliteration, translation, and grammar for the excerpt discussed in the Weighing of the Heart scene (Chapter 30) in the lesson.

This lesson focuses on examining and explaining the importance of 3 netchers in the Weighing of the Heart Scene in the Book of Coming Forth By Day: Shai, Renenet, and Meskhenet. These netchers are represented pictorially in the scene, but not in the written text itself which means that prior knowledge of their importance was known and assumed. Shai is the netcher that most directly deals with fate and the Kemites had a view that fate could illuminate and influence a person's social position, profession, the wealth that they receive in life, and their lifespan and manner of death. They also had a view that fate could be altered by a netcher, especially in the length of life. I use the article by Frank Miosi entitled "God, Fate, and Free Will in Egyptian Wisdom Literature" as a grounding to engage this topic since he consulted a significant amount of both the primary and secondary literature on the topic. For comparative purposes to Kemet, I have attached the article by Segun Gbadegesin "Toward a Theory of Destiny" which discusses this topic from the vantage point of Yoruba philosophical discourse.

The netcher Meskhenet is depicted twice in the scene, one as a netcher alongside Renenet and the other as the head of a female netcher perched atop a birthing brick which is, in turn, situated atop a shrine. Mothers gave birth to children normally squatting on the floor, on two bricks. The child is given a name, the umbilical cord is cut, the child is washed, and then placed on a covered brick. Meskhenet is the netcher who helped to form the child whose fate was inscribed on the birthing bricks. The birthing bricks are objects through which divine power flows throughout the birthing process. I use the article by Ann Macy Roth and Catharine Roehrig entitled "Magical Bricks and Bricks of Birth" to provide deeper context to the presence of Meskhenet in the scene.

Renenet is the netcher that speaks to the harvest and is from the root rnn which means "to nourish" or "to cultivate." She deals with fertility. She is the mistress of granary, of fertile lands, who brings both goods and food to people. As a netcher dealing with sustenance on a broad level, it is easy to see how her domain is extended to growth and development of a child. Miosi argues that Shai allots a person's length of life and manner of death while Renenet assigns at birth and oversees the development of the physical aspects of a person which appear to be fated and provides the harvest to them in terms of material goods.

I conclude by referring to and engaging Miosi's discussion around defining the concept of netcher in Kemetic wisdom literature and why this task is so important to clearly understanding the Kemetic concept of fate.

The major reference pages cited in the lesson in Marshall: 9-10, 42, 61, 72, 74, 76, 80-81, and 106. The major pages cited in Roth's article: 113-115, 128, 144-147.In the prior lesson, we focused on 3 netchers, Shai, Meskhenet, and Renenet in our discussion of the role they play in understanding the concept of fate and destiny in Kemet in relationship to the Weighing of the Heart scene in the Book of Coming Forth By Day. Implicitly, each one of these netchers relates to both the concept of birth and rebirth in the afterlife. To add more nuanced context to our discussion of birth, this lesson highlights major ideas contained in a new published book by Amandine Marshall entitled Motherhood and Early Childhood in Ancient Egypt. At least, in English, this work is rare in terms of a descriptive treatment of this topic based upon much of the available major primary sources.

On page 42, Marshall shows an image of a pregnant woman on an ostracon and in her womb is literally the image of a child as a gestating/living sun. I have never seen an image like this before that makes this link so direct. I have usually theorized it based upon the sky goddess Nut giving birth to the sun netcher Ra everyday, but in Marshall's book we see this in human form on this object. The child as a living sun connect Kemet to many other African cosmologies and I highlight the work of Kimbwandende Fu-Kiau on Bantu cosmology as an exemplar for this comparison.

I highlight other major Kemetic ideas of birth linked to the sun in terms of adornment (i.e. the menat necklace of Hathor), a recently discovered birth brick by Josef Wegner with decorated apoptropaic paintings on all 6 sides, ivory wands, depictions of the Aker lions bordering the two horizons, the Opening of the mouth ceremony probably being inspired by the cleaning of a child's mouth immediately after delivery, and the headdress of the goddess Meskhenet which Ann Macy Roth argues is probably not a uterus or the uterine horns of a cow as commonly argued, but is a pesesh-kef knife/instrument used to definitively separate the mother from the child.

This lesson focuses on providing deeper historical, cultural, and astronomical context for interpreting the meaning and importance of the Akhet (Horizon) in Kemet. The Akhet is a liminal region imbued with an immaterial, yet visible light energy force that had the power to birth and rebirth daily the cosmos and divinities and by natural extension, people. The daily rising and setting of the sun on the eastern and western horizons profoundly illuminated the cyclical renewal of life and provided the Kemites with both the knowledge and hope that they too, like the sun, could be restored and reborn after facing the forces of darkness and death.

The Kemites inherited the tradition of systematically observing the Akhet from earlier Nile Valley populations as is clearly attested in examples such as the stone alignments at the famous site of Nabta Playa and on tags from the famous tomb U-j in Abydos which provide us with some of the earliest evidence of writing in Kemet (3500-3400 BCE). I try to highlight various major examples of the importance of the Akhet in this lesson (i.e. The Great Pyramid of Khufu callled the Akhet Khufu "Horizon of Khufu," Khafre's Pyramid and the Sphinx, Pylons in Temples, the spiritual idea to build tombs and temples in mountain formations, and Akhenaten's creation of his new capital called Akhet-Aten ("The Horizon of the Aten").

The continual Kemetic focus on the Akhet is grounded in a sophisticated astronomical tradition and I spend the balance of the lesson introducing and discussing the importance of the formal announcement this week (August 23, 2024) by the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities in a public Facebook post with pictures of the discovery of what they called the "first and largest astronomical observatory from the sixth century BC" in a place called Buto in Lower Egypt 50 miles east of Alexandria. This find highlights the great skill of Kemetic astronomers through their use of astronomical instruments like shadow clocks and sundials and even the use of the actual architectural layout of the structure to facilitate optimal observation of celestial phenomena.

I have attached the translated Facebook post for your review, but please read multiple online sources for more nuanced information. I try to highlight some of this information in the lesson. This site will certainly be providing us with important knowledge on Kemetic astronomy for many years to come.

This lesson focuses on examining and explaining the importance of Hathor's role in the context of the Weighing of the Heart scene in the Book of Coming Forth By Day. In the scene, Hathor immediately follows the netcher of the divine Ennead. I begin by highlighting an excerpt from a festival calendar at her famous Temple of Dendera with the Zodiac that refers this Ennead as "her Ennead," implying that she personifies the entire Ennead. Since her name literally means the "enclosure of Horus," her name indicates not only the domain where Horus governs, but also the whole genealogy of netchers that produced Horus, i.e. the Ennead. In reference to the famous Zodiac itself, I make reference to the important work of Jed Buchwald and Diane Josefowicz entitled The Zodiac of Paris which provides a descriptive account of the ideological (i.e. religious and scientific) motivations behind removing the zodiac from Hathor's temple and taking it to Paris where it now resides in the Louvre.

To emphasize Hathor's importance linked to the West and to the sun netcher Ra, I provide the full glyphs, transliteration, translation, and grammar of Ch. 186 in the Book of Coming Forth By Day. This scene shows Hathor in cow form emerging from the side of a mountain in the midst of a papyrus thicket with a sun disc situated between her horns. This type of scene of cow with a sun disc between its horns is a very ancient one in Nile Valley civilizations that hearkens back to the 6th-4th millenium B.C.E. among African pastoralists. I use the work of Josep Autuori on "Egypt, Africa, and the Ancient World" to demonstrate this point.

I provide an excerpt from Geraldine Pinch's work on Hathor who has done important work on this goddess. I also provide excerpts from the work of C.J. Bleeker on Hathor and Thoth and Alison Roberts work on Hathor Rising to help us to understand Hathor's intimate connection to the whole solar journey and her link to the West. Hathor is a netcher that speaks to the idea of fertility, love, joy, happiness, music, dance and she plays a central role in festivals (i.e. "the beautiful festival of the Valley") that honor ancestors.

This lesson begins with addressing a question on the pronunciation of the name Hathor vs. Het Heru. With references to O 6 in Gardiner's sign list, Greek, and Coptic, I attempt to layout the essential contours of this debate and conclude by arguing that they are equally correct from a certain perspective. The pronunciation Het Heru uses the Egyptological convention of placing the sound "e" in between consonants and keeps the weak consonant "u" at the end. The word Hathor is the rendering of the name of the goddess in Coptic, the last phase of Medu Netcher, and in this phase, we are provided with a sense of the vowel sounds that went in between the consonants. At some point in the evolution of the word's pronunciation, the weak consonant "u" was no longer pronounced and hence, we have "Hathor" with the vowel sound "a" in between the phonemes /h/ and /t/ and the vowel sound "o" in between the phonemes /h/ and /r/.

I complete the transliteration and translation of the scene in Ch.186 of the Book of Coming Forth By Day on Hathor and highlight the importance of three divine boats: the Bark of Millions of years, the boat for the blessed ones, and the Neshmet boat of Osiris. In the next lesson, I will go into greater detail on the importance of these boats from a Kemetic internal frame of reference, but in this lesson I conclude on emphasizing their importance and influence on both Judaism and Islam. For the influence on Judaism, I cite the work of Scott Noegel entitled "The Egyptian Origin of the Ark of the Covenant" and for the impact on Islam, I refer to Abdel Moneim Abubakr's article on "Divine Boats of Ancient Egypt" (p.98).

This lesson continues and builds upon the foundation laid in the prior lesson on introducing divine boats in relationship to Hathor in Chapiter 186 of the Book of Coming Forth By Day. This lesson focuses on Djehuty, the netcher of deep thought, wisdom, and divine speech, among many other attributes, in Chapiter 182 in the Book of Coming Forth By Day (part of the "Theban Recension). In this chapiter, Djehuty is referred to as "Great of Magic in the Bark of Millions of Years." I discuss the sun netcher Ra in relationship to this divine boat and emphasize the imperative to examine and understand the power of myth in relationship to celestial cycles (i.e. the sun, the moon, the stars, constellations).

The name of Djehuty is discussed in addition to his intimate connection to the moon, his link to both Ra and Maat, and with the sacred ibis, one of his major animal forms. I attach the full translation of Chapiter 186 in the Book of Coming Forth By Day, an entry on the sacred ibis from Patrick Houlihan's The Birds of Ancient Egypt, and selected excerpts on Djehuty from Claas Beeker's book on Hathor and Thoth (see p. 110, 119, 122).

I begin this lesson by presenting and explaining core vocabulary in relationship to the month and the major phases of the moon. I attach my article "On the Source of the Moon's Light in Ancient Egypt" which analyzes the famous statue of Horemheb in the MET (NY) and the Book of Coming Forth By Day to demonstrate that the Kemites knew that the source of the moon's light was the sun at least a millennium before the important astronomical discovery is wrongly attributed to the Greeks.

The moon is often linked to the netcher Djehuty who can be sometimes depicted in the form of a Sacred Ibis. I explore the character of the ibis from a Kemetic internal frame of reference utilizing excerpts from The Book of Thoth. I have attached an overview of this text and the specific lines referenced in the lesson (i.e. Lines 15, 30, 31, 327, 328, 352, 441, 442). From their frame of reference, they highlight the difficulty faced by the Ibis when eating and I see in this metaphor, clearly evidenced in this text, a life lesson on the pain and sacrifice needed to become a master in the pursuit of truth and knowledge. Djehuty also the embodiment of the "momentum of memory" as Greg Carr would say. In other words, the Kemites are not just making systematic empirical observations of celestial phenomena, they are also compiling and cataloging this information for use by future generations. The importance of memory is a theme that is not nearly emphasized enough in reference to Djehuty.

I conclude by going back to the scene in Chapter 186 of the Book of Coming Forth By Day on Hathor peering out the side of a mountain welcoming the deceased into the west (i.e. land of Osiris and the ancestors). Hathor is said to be the one "who makes the Neshmet barque of Osiris." I use the famous Middle Kingdom stele of Ikhernofret and another stele from Munich to narratively discuss the importance of the barque of Osiris in the context of the ritual drama Mystery play of Osiris that was re-enacted annually at Abydos. I use these texts to emphasize that Osiris is linked to many festivals (solar, lunar, seasonal, daily, ancestral) and this dynamic clearly speaks to celestial and terrestrial cycles. When reading Kemetic texts, it is just obvious that the deep structure of myth communicates knowledge in all domains and we really need to shift the dominant surface engagement with these "mythical" texts and to be more systematic in contextualizing them.

Because the statue and the neshmet barque of Osiris are composed of different types of woods and metals (gold, lapiz lazuli, turquoise, etc.), this explains the reason why Hathor is the one who makes the neshmet barque because, as a goddess, she is linked to many foreign lands and mining expeditions to extract these precious metals from the earth. The extraction of these metals from the earth is an opening up of the earth that is a kind of fertility in and of itself which Hathor embodies.

I have attached my article on "The Master of Secrets" so that you can see the actual stele of Ikhernofret on the first page. I have also attached the full book by Miriam Lichtheim on Ancient Egyptian Autobiographies Chiefly of the Middle Kingdom (see pgs. 77-80; 98-100). Lastly, I have attached an article by John Iskander on the Haker feast. This is a feast involving Djehuty vindicating Osiris against his enemies in the great tribunal "at the time of counting the dead and numbering the blessed." This feast helps to make one a blessed ancestor (i.e. an Akh).

This lesson begins by continuing the discussion of Osiris' Neshmet bark,but shifts the focus to a more detailed discussion on overcoming enemies. I use the Stela of Ikhernofret and Chapter 18 of the Book of Coming Forth By Day to explore what it means to be maa kheru (true of voice) and the power of good character and good speech vs. enemies. I define the concept of enemy (lit. someone or something that "opposes" you) and demonstrate that it not only applies to external forces, but it also can speak to negative thoughts and behaviors that can weigh on a person's heart. In Maxim 14 of the Wisdom Instruction of Ptahhotep, this impulse to be guided by our lower nature is referred to as "listening to the belly."

In the Kemetic view, people have the free will to make decisions and choices although certain aspects of life (i.e. status and wealth) are deemed to be heavily influenced by netcher. The material blessings that may accrue to someone from netcher are not indicative, in and of themselves, of good character. In other words, good character is something that can be actualized regardless of status, position, and/or wealth. The weighing of the heart scene as part of the final judgement of a person implicitly speaks to the power of free will as the deceased has to account for their actions in relationship to both social norms and the divine world during their lifespan, in part, by making declarative statements of the "I have not..." sort.

I have attached Chapter 18 of the Book of Coming Forth By Day which relays how Djehuty made Osiris Maa Kheru (True of Voice) over his enemies. I have also attached the excerpt from the Wisdom Instruction of Ptahhotep highlighted during the lesson. You can also refer to p. 186-187 in Allen's translation of the text below. For reference purposes, the article by Frank Miosi on God, Fate, and Free Will is attached again.

The 100th lesson of Medu Netcher with Dr. Mario Beatty (@Mariosesh) marks a major milestone in our journey of learning the ancient Kemetic language here in Knubia.

This celebratory session is filled with gratitude, reflections, and testimonies from Knubians who share how the course has impacted their lives. Dr. Beatty expresses appreciation for the support of the Knubian community and reflects on the transformative power of Medu Netcher, not just as a language, but as a way to connect deeply with African heritage and spirituality.

The session includes heartfelt tributes to Dr. Beatty’s teaching and discussions on the cultural significance of African knowledge systems. This landmark lesson serves as a bridge between the wisdom of the past and the future, inspiring continued learning and growth in this community.

This lesson is largely a reflection on providing a sense of meaning and context for interpreting the undeniable shift that just took place not only in U.S. history, but also in world history and the global political economy as an outgrowth of the recent 2024 U.S. election. To anchor this reflection, I begin with a song selection entitled "Tomorrow," produced by Quincy Jones (Maa Kheru) and featuring Tevin Campbell on vocals and Gerald Albright on alto saxophone. While narrating the message of "Tomorrow" appropriately through the vocals of a child, Quincy Jones embodies and emphasizes in the musical video the systematic intergenerational transmission that must be studied and incorporated to actually produce a "Tomorrow."

In Roland Martin's recent work entitled White Fear: How the Browning of America is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds (2022), he projects out what America is going to look like demographically within the next 30 years and urges African Americans to seriously plan for the inevitable "Tomorrow" that is on the horizon that will eventually situate White Americans as a minority. Carol Anderson makes a similar argument to Martin in her work White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide (2017) while providing a more descriptive sense of historical context. Both center the historical and ongoing centrality and importance of race and racism in unraveling and understanding the Trump phenomenon.

Discussions taking place within the African American community in the main are clearly at odds with pundits on the right and left who have sought to argue that the Democrats lost primarily because of their choice not to directly speak to the working class. I deconstruct this argument by using a chapter in Ronald Walters work on "The Attack on the Black Poor" in White Nationalism, Black Interests: Conservative Public Policy and the Black Community. This chapter charts the historical complicity of the Democrats and Republicans in evading the working poor and the use of the power of race in appearing to punish the Black working poor in creating public policy as a powerful symbolic and substantive way that is commonly used to convince the White working poor to ostensibly vote against their objective economic interests.

I also provide two chapters from David Kertzer's Ritual, Politics, and Power to help complicate the way that we view or should view how the power of symbols and rituals play out in modern politics. Some people would like to naively believe that a mere simple distillation of facts should be enough to convince people to make informed voting decisions in their objective interests during elections, but Kertzer's work delves into the power of the emotional and, indeed irrational, nature of political theater. Race and Racism in U.S. politics is a dog whistle that can be consistently conjured up in irrational, powerful ways that completely transcends any appeal to objective "facts." In other words, the reinforcement and reification of a racial hierarchy becomes the political goal itself which actually allows and empowers U.S. corporate elites to do significantly less for the working poor because they can convince large swaths of the white working poor to evade any objective sense of class solidarity through symbolic promises of white pride and superiority always powerfully framed against the Black community while adding immigrants to the mix for greater effect.

The recent U.S. election officially and definitively mark the end of an American world order that held sway for most of the 20th century and into the 21st century. That 20th century American order saw the undermining and overthrow of numerous countries around the world in the name of freedom (i.e. Capitalist exploitation and mineral extraction) and democracy. I provide the Introduction from Stephen Kinzer's work on Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change From Hawaii to Irag (2006) and the first chapter from Susan Williams' White Malice: The CIA and the Covert Recolonization of Africa (2021) to provide some sense of the depth of the violence and chaos that the U.S. has fomented and orchestrated abroad.

I end the lesson with a sense of deep historical perspective and comparison in looking back at the First Intermediate Period in Kemet, a period marked by the absence of a sense of national unity for at least 150 years. During this time, local leaders within nomes assert greater power and prominence. Reunification eventually came from an unexpected place in Waset (i.e. Thebes) and there are many lessons that we can take from this long era of Kemetic instability about staying focused on planning and building for Tomorrow regardless of how dire current circumstances may appear because none of us ultimately knows how history is going to unfold, but we actively contribute to it with everything that we say and do as a community. I have provided Stephan Seidlmayer's chapter on The First Intermediate Period from the Oxford History of Ancient Egypt as background reading for an extended discussion on this moment and the current political environment in the next lesson.

This lesson begins with a reflection on the importance of education, memory, and intergenerational power in Kemet emerging out of national disunity and regional conflicts that marked the First Intermediate Period (FIP) through highlighting a prominent literary text produced in the early 12th dynasty referred to as "The Debate Between a Man and his Ba." Coming out of the FIP is when we see a flourishing of literature and some of this literature attempts to implicitly convey a memory of some of the sense of the historical mood of the period. The theme of "The Debate Between a Man and his Ba" revolves around questioning whether or not life is worth living in the face of major social problems of evil and greed. The debate goes back and forth and the Ba is given the last word ultimately urging the man to live life to the fullest regardless of the amount and intensity of the hardships experienced and observed until one's appointed time of going to the West (i.e. death).

The educational seeds planted always bear fruit in the next generation and the 12th dynasty in Kemet is in every way a continuity of its predecessors in Waset (Thebes) who constructed their own sophisticated institutions of power in ways that are self-evident in all domains of life. I use this as a springboard to make some further commentary on our present time of trouble in the US through focusing on and critiquing some of the prominent ideas contained in the Chapter on Education in the Conservative Policy Blueprint for re-imagining the US called "Project 2025." This project lists 108 different organizations coming together in unity to produce these policy positions and they have relentlessly worked over the past 50 years in think tanks, societies, non-profits, and other organizations to make their white nationalist capitalist dream come to fruition in the present moment.

I assert in this lesson that Project 2025's positions in Education are not just an outgrowth of the white backlash against progressive legislation like the 1964 Civil Rights Act, but it also extends back in a direct line to the politics of the aftermath of slavery and the very sophisticated ways that African Americans throughout the South crafted and pioneered an educational agenda that would ensure common schooling for all students for the first time in this country. This moment exhibited the intergenerational power, self-determination and political organizational skills of the African American community. African Americans were not able to fully cement this progressive educational agenda due to the resistance of the white south coupled with the complicity of the North in relaxing federal oversight. I provide a chapter from Heather Andrea Williams' Self-taught: African American Education in Slavery and Freedom (2005) that provides a narrative overview of the struggles taking place in education during the 19th century that are always a battle for the future.

I provide two important speeches from Asa Hillard and Theophile Obenga discussing the critical importance for African people of grounding education in a cultural knowledge base, not simply a limited, but necessary, critique of socio-economic inequities in education and their impact on children. Hiliard's speech is entitled "Teacher Education from an African-American Perspective" and Obenga's speech delivered at the First Conference of Intellectuals from Africa and the Diaspora is entitled "Africa's Place in the World: African Renaissance in the 21st Century."

This lesson focuses on attempting to provide greater cultural and literary context for interpreting the association between especially Djehuty (Thoth) and baboons in Kemet. In highlighting the presence of the baboon perched on the balance of the scale in the weighing of the heart judgement scene in the Book of Coming Forth By Day, I argue that this strategic positioning is suggestive of the use of the baboon to convey the importance of separating truth from falsehood.

To assist in understanding on a deeper level the importance of separating truth from falsehood, I recount in great detail a Kemetic story dated to the 19th dynasty on this topic and provide my sense of major lessons that can be discerned from engaging this text. I use Miriam Lichtheim's translation in Ancient Egyptian Literature for this discussion and I supplement with a small reference from J. Gwyn Griffiths entitled "Allegory in Greece and Egypt" (See p. 89-91). For a modern equivalent inspired by this story, I cite the beautiful work by Dr. W. Joye Hardiman, a founding member of ASCAC and current Co-Chair of the Creative Productions Commission, entitled The Ra-Surrection of Truth From the Chains of Falsehood.

I attempt to outline the importance of the baboon in Kemet on a historical, social, and cosmic level. On the historical level, the baboon was situated in the southern part of Kemet and the Nile Valley extending all the way at least to modern Ethiopia. Baboons were not part of the milieu of Western Asia so when we see them on material objects we can decisively infer an African cutlural context. In searching for early historical depictions of the baboon in the Nile Valley, I was inspired to also look at data coming from Nubia in what is commonly referred to as the A-Group (3800-2900 BCE) situated primarily between the 1st and 2nd cataracts. When reviewing information, I happened to look at the famous Qustul Incense burner in Nubia from Cemetery L popularized by the scholarship of Bruce Williams out of the Oriental Institute in Chicago, and my strong impression of the animal in the first barque was a baboon and I wanted to understand why Williams concluded that it was a feline. In my review, I discovered that there were scholars before Williams who viewed the animal as a baboon, but Williams interpretation has superseded these earlier views. I attach the web site here for your evaluation, but I am now convinced myself that this is a baboon in a very important scene that merits another look.

On the social level, I call your attention to a 5th Dynasty tomb of Tepemankh in Saqqara now in the Cairo Museum that depicts an official using a baboon on a leash to enforce rules of the social order by punishing a thief. I attach the web site for your evaluation. On a cosmic level, I cite select passages from the thesis by Helena Pio entitled Baboons in Ancient Egyptian Art (p.19, 21) and a direct passage from Chapter 17 of the Book of Coming Forth By Day where baboons are associated with Aset (Isis) and Nebet-Hwt (Nephthys) and the rising sun as Khepri.

I think to understand the use of baboons in Kemet on a deeper level requires a sensitivity to observation and scholarship that seeks to understand the complexity of the baboon in nature. For this task, I rely heavily on the final 3 chapters of the excellent work of Dorothy Cheney and Robert Seyfarth entitled Baboon Metaphysics to assist in providing greater insight into the complex language of thought among baboons and how their communication style in the form of grunts possess their own discrete social meaning which is not just relational, but is also individualized within their social hierarchy. Cheney and Seyfarth also assert that "mind-reading pervades language" and this point I think is often overlooked in discussing language. We attempt to assess the intentions, motivations, and essence behind verbal communication and baboons are involved in a similar process with grunts. The authors affirm that baboons "have a social mind that is innately computational and judgmental." Baboon communication style is not reducible to involuntary, emotional grunts. Their communication style masks a complex cognitive process that has constructed a complex society. The weighing of the heart scene elevates the power of netcher to pierce and perceive the language inside a person (i.e. the heart) in the process of judging them for entry into the afterlife. I think the baboon form of Djehuty in the weighing of the heart scene is reflective of the operation and affirmation of this divine, powerful, complex, and mysterious process of judging.

Qustul Incense Burner

https://isac.uchicago.edu/museum-exhibits/nubia/qustul-incense-burner

Baboon in Tomb of Tepemankh

https://egypt-museum.com/relief-of-baboon-catch-criminals/#google_vignette

Funerary Rites in Kemet are part of a cosmic drama of rebirth and renewal involving various parts of the community (i.e. the family, friends, musicians, priests, dancers, mourners, etc.). This lesson focuses on explaining some of these rituals through engaging an elaborate illustration contained in Chapter 1 of the Book of Coming Forth By Day. (See Tarek Tawfik, "Spell 1 of The Book of the Dead and Its Vignette.) I begin the lesson by highlighting the importance of Aset (Isis) and Nebet-Hut (Nephthys) in this cosmic drama of rebirth through showing an illustration and reading a passage from Chapter 151 of the Book of Coming Forth By Day. Using the illustration, I call your attention to the fact that this was one important visual image used in Kemet to communicate the astronomical observation of the winter solstice. (See Heinrich Brugsch, Thesaurus Inscriptionum Aegyptiacarum, p. 408-411).

Mohammadou Nissire Sarr (UCAD Dakar), and Yoporeka Somet (Dedan Kimathi University Kenya) are two prominent Continental African Egyptologists who have important scholarship on comparing Kemet to other African civilizations on the topic of funerary rites. I have attached the chapters from their respective books in French to provide you with greater detail that was only narratively covered in class. Somet's comparison with Kemet focuses on the Dagara of Burkina Faso. In order to provide you with a powerful textual and visual representation of Dagara funerary rites, I cite to Malidome Some's book in English Of Water and the Spirit: Ritual, Magic, and Initiation in the Life of an African Shaman discussing his grandfather's final days and funeral and I also provide some visual evidence of Some's funeral which is easily accessible on Youtube.

Although music and dance were an essential component of Kemetic funerary rites, they were not explicitly incorporated into the Book of Coming Forth By Day Chapiter 1 illustration that we will primarily focus on. Because of this fact, I took time towards the end of this lesson to provide some textual documentation of music and dance in Kemetic funerary rites. I cite an excerpt from the famous Middle Kingdom story of Sinuhe and I also discuss the importance of the muu dancers (literally "those who belong to the waters) as representing the ancestors in helping to usher in the rebirth of the deceased at various points of the funeral. (See Miriam Guardia, "Dancing for the Dead: muu Dancers in Egyptian New Kingdom Scenes)

Dagara Funeral Excerpt
https://youtu.be/GHgb-nxh-Xc?si=wuyGArubSkAuvNTq

Funeral Ritual for Malidoma Some
https://youtu.be/relsnFj5HLg?si=pSMh4DfvR_MxJwzH

As we enter the New Year 2025, I use this lesson to focus in greater detail on major issues around the origins of the Kemetic calendar of 365 days, a calendar that we, of course, still use to frame our contemporary sense of time. For this discussion, I principally engage a chapter in the recent book Astronomy of Ancient Egypt by Juan Belmonte entitled "The Kemetic Calendar: A Gift of the Nile." Although this book contains many innovative and insightful interpretations of various aspects of Kemetic astronomy, I use this lesson to challenge his declarative and absolute statement in his title that the Kemetic calendar was "the gift of the Nile." This is an important challenge because scholars can be situated in one of four groups in explaining the origins of the Kemetic civil calendar: 1) those that elevate the heliacal rising of the bright star Sirius; 2) those that elevate the Sun (i.e. solstices, equinoxes); 3) those that focus on the Moon; 4) those that give primacy to the Nile. In the 20th century, Otto Neugebauer, who was an authority on Egyptian astronomy, consistently demeaned and diminished the content of Kemetic astronomy and argued that the Kemetic calendar probably started with an attempt to create an average of the time that it took for the annual flooding of the Nile river to arrive. He was adamant that the Kemetic calendar had no real astronomical basis and thus, he focused exclusively on the Nile River. Although Belmonte critiques the pejorative views and bias of Neugebauer he, nevertheless, attempts to revise and rehabilitate Neugebauer's thesis by making reference to a line in the Palermo Stone and to his own observation of a concept referred to as "the zenith pass" (i.e. the idea that the sun can consistently shine in the same place at the same time of year at certain latitudes- Elephantine is used as an example- p.329-330). As part of my critique, I submit an excerpt of Toby Wilkinson's review of prior scholarship on the Palermo Stone, because Belmonte neglects to do this for this piece of evidence and I conclude that this does not provide strong support for a Nile origin thesis of the calendar.

I ultimately argue that the origins of the Kemtic calendar can not and should not be delinked from astronomical observations related to Sirius, the Sun, and/or the Moon. In addition, focus on elevating the Nile without reference to and coupled with an astronomical anchoring amounts to the weakest and most unlikely origin theory in my view. Scholars have been on a journey to settle on exclusively one theory, but I think that the theories are probably not mutually exclusive in the Kemetic mind and environment. In other words, for example, can we imagine that astronomical observations of the star Sirius and the Sun both worked together to crystalize and conceptualize the idea of a 365 day year? I think so. From the ASCAC World History Project, I have included the work of Rekhety Wimby Jones on "The Calendar Project."

I conclude my discussion by referencing the megalithic alignments that took place at Nabta Playa (4500-3600 BC) in the Nile Valley 62 miles west of Abu Simbel, significantly prior to the formal unification of Kemet. Both Sirius, other major stars, and the Solstices were important features of these alignments for a kind of calendar reckoning and this find implicitly speaks to the fact that sophisticated astronomical observations were part of the Nile Valley environment and these ideas were shared and exchanged through both trade and migration over millenia. It is also to be noted that these observations occurring at Nabta Playa were at a significant distance from the Nile River.

In reference to another major issue, Belmonte weighs in on the issue of the number of calendars operating in Kemet during the historical period. He says that the work of Richard Parker, The Calendars of Ancient Egypt (1950) has unfortunately caused a significant amount of confusion because it argued that 3 calendars were operating at the same time in Kemet (i.e. two lunar and one solar). Parker's work was critiqued, revised, and updated by Leo Depuydt in his work on the Civil and Lunar Calendar in Ancient Egypt (1997) where he argued for two calendars. Belmonte asserts that Depuydt has further revised and updated his view in recent years to use the language of "lunar timekeeping" and not "lunar calendar" implying that there was only one civil calendar and the lunar dates of various festivals were situated within this civil calendar not existing independently side by side. The view that Belmonte argues for in this chapter is that there was one civil calendar during most of Kemetic history.

Since this was a discussion on the sun (ra or re), I also took the time to explain the reasons behind the different transcriptions and pronunciations of the word through reference to Coptic when we are able to see the vowel sounds. For this word, Coptic shows a significant variability in pronunciation based upon various regional dialects and phonological environment. Thus, it is not possible to decide on just one way to pronounce this word because there actually was never one way to pronounce the word although the different vowel sounds were mutually intelligible by native speakers of Medu Netcher. I think that one of the major reasons that vowel sounds were omitted in the hieroglyphic script was directly related to the dynamic of regional dialects. In other words, the consonants were relatively stable, but the vowel sounds had much greater variability.

The cathecism of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) by Marcus Garvey was "Princes shall come out of Egypt, Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God." In contemporary times, for Garvey this prophecy meant "that Black Men will set up their own government in Africa, with rulers of their own race." (Tony Martin, Race First, p.77). Garvey was part of a long genealogy of African people and organizations looking back to Nile Valley Civilizations for historical and cultural foundations, knowledge, and inspiration in helping to navigate the modern world. I begin this lesson with highlighting the posthumous pardon that Garvey received from President Joe Biden during the final week of his Presidency for manufactured, trumped up charges of mail fraud in 1923. The fight to clear Garvey's name and reputation of this unjust conviction has been a steady drumbeat of letters, petitions, and advocacy for a century which is a reflection of what Garvey has meant to the African World community. This advocacy to clear his name would have continued even without a pardon, but it is absolutely certain that a pardon would not have been granted absent this vigorous and perpetual advocacy. I attach a chapter entitled "U.S.A. vs. UNIA" from Tony Martin's monumental work on Garvey entitled Race First. This chapter provides an insightful national and international context behind the machinations to dismantle and destroy Garvey and the UNIA.

Garvey was a deep thinker and some of his major philosophical writings on a range of themes are contained in the book entitled Marcus Garvey: Life and Lessons edited by Robert Hill. I attach a small chapter from the book on Garvey's ideas of "Governing the Ideal State." Garvey was very concerned about how to use the state to curtail greed and corruption by leaders in the bureaucracy. Although Kemet (Ancient Egypt) was not specifically mentioned, it is an interesting intellectual exercise to compare some of Garvey's ideas with governance themes in Kemet.

In terms of governance, I use this lesson to begin our discussion of the famous Declarations of Innocence in the Book of Coming Forth By Day, Papyrus of Ani. I focus on the first 3 declarations (I have not done wrong; I have not robbed; I have not stolen). What we see in Kemet in these Declarations of Innocence is a concerted attempt to place good character in alignment with Maat at the center of the educational/initiation process. I have attached an important chapter on the Declarations of Innocence by Maulana Karenga in his work Maat: The Moral Ideal in Ancient Egypt to help provide additional context and depth to this discussion. Since I highlight the theme of theft and robbery in the Declarations, I use this lesson to also discuss the grand theft of the Papyrus of Ani from Luxor by E.A. Wallis Budge bringing it to the British Museum. (See brief attached excerpt from Jason Thompson's Wonderful Things: A History of Egyptology, Vol. 2).

The next lesson will be devoted to a deep dive on the importance of the famous Theban Tomb of Rekhmire, Prime Minister of Djehutymes III, in discussing both funerary rituals and the functions of his office upholding Maat as Prime Minister

This lesson focuses on the famous tomb (TT 100) of the Prime Minister Rekhmire during the reign of Djehutymes III (Thutmose III) in the 18th dynasty. This is one of the most important tombs in all of Kemetic history. This tomb combines elaborate depictions of funerary rituals with a unique, descriptive, and dynamic presentation of the breadth and depth of the duties of the office of the Prime Minister in alignment with Maat.I have attached a brief overview of Rekhmire and his tomb from Betsy Bryan's article entitled "Administration in the Reign of Thutmose III" in Eric Cline and David O'Connor, Thutmose III: A New Biography (2006).

I begin this lesson by calling your attention to the announcement of some recent archaeological finds in Kemet: the Valley Temple of Hatshepsut which contains 1500 decorative blocks, some of them depicting Hatshepsut alongside Djehutymes III; the tomb of the Director of the Palace of Queen Tetisheri; the tomb of an Old Kingdom Physician named Teti Neb Fu (should be Neb Fu Teti) in Saqqara. I have provided links to a video on the Tomb of Rekhmire and general articles on the announcement of the new find

I highlight an excerpt from the Installation of Rekhmire as Prime Minister that talks about his role in seeing that everything is done according to "hep," a concept commonly translated as "law." One of our scholars in ASCAC, Angi Porter, a Professor of Law at American University (DC), has studied this issue and has suggested that we use the term "protocol" as a useful translation of the concept that can help us to reduce the conflation and confusion with Western concepts of law. I also discuss the work of Jean-Marie Krutchen who would agree with Angi Porter and has defined "hep" as "rule, regulation, habit, rite, ceremony, and even "cycle" of a planet.' Krutchen asserts that the underlying idea of hep is "recurrence, exemplified by the movement of celestial bodies, as well as by the behavior of earthly beings." This definition situates hep within the realm of Maat as a cosmic principle that has existed since "sep tepy" (The first occasion, i.e. the beginning of the organized cosmos). Thus, "hep" is in Krutchen's view, like Maat, greater than ideas of justice or ethics. In the social order, Krutchen says that defining "hep" as "law" is too narrow and she ultimately views the concept as indicating "every kind of rule, either natural or juridical, general or specific, public or private, written or unwritten." I have attached Krutchen's entry on "Law" in Donald Redford's The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt.

I have attached the line from the Installation of Rekhmire as Prime Minister and provided you with the glyphs, transliteration, translation, and grammar. You will also find Raymond Faulkner's article on the Installation that provides the glyphs and translation of the whole text. I also provide a translation of the Installation from Miriam Lichtheim's Ancient Egyptian Literature. And finally, for reference purposes, I provide you with the two volumes on the Tomb of Rekhmire by Norman de Garis Davies (1943).

The Tomb of Rekhmire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcWkDzSTEsM

New Archaeological Find of Valley Temple of Hatshepsut and Director of the Palace of Queen Tetisheri

https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/538198.aspx

New Archaeological Find of Physician Teti Nebfu (Should by Neb fu Teti)

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/137555/Egypt-uncovers-the-mastaba-tomb-of-a-royal-physician-named

This lesson focuses on defining the concept of "character" in Kemet and discussing important character traits of Rekhmire in alignment with Maat in assuming and carrying out his office of Prime Minister in the reign of Djehutymes III. As Prime Minister, Rekhmire was called the Hem-netcher (High Priest, literally "servant of netcher") of Maat, clearly indicating the sacredness of the responsibilities of the office. I begin with a comparative discussion of the Kemetic concept of Maat and the Yoruba concept of Omoluabi. For a discussion of the Yoruba concepts of Omoluabi and Iwa Pele (Good Character), I reference the two-part Howard University lecture by Kola Abimbola entitled Omoluwabi: Self-actualization and Communal Responsibility." Abimbola emphasizes the importance of Omoluabi and Iwa Pele as part of being "a Global GPS for living." For him, Iwa Pele speaks to "the ethics of the whole," i.e. inculcating optimal virtues in the essence of our being to ground a sense of communal responsibility that transcends selfishness.

I show the glyphs for the word for "character" in Medu Netcher and discuss how the etymology is intimately tied to pottery and communicates the image of molding and fashioning one's character like a potter on a potter's wheel. I highlight excerpts in the Tomb of Rekhmire that elevate the importance of Maat and discuss various concrete principles and behaviors in alignment with Maat in which he engaged (i.e. "I defended the widow...I gave bread to the hungry..." As part of this discussion, I pause to speculate on the meaning of the heart and windpipe "nefer" (F 35), a glyph that is used to convey the idea of beauty and goodness. The beauty of Rekhmire's tomb lies in the fact that it is such a complex communication with the netcheru, the ancestors, the living, and the future and it deserves to be studied deeply.

I have attached the following readings:

1. Alan Gardiner's article on "The Autobiography of Rekhmire"
2. Alexander Cory, The Hieroglyphics of Horapollo Nilous (See p. 95 for passage on the heart and windpipe)
3. George Boas, The Hieroglyphics of Horapollo (Foreword)
4. Transliteration, Translation and Grammar of lines on Maat in Rekhmire highlighted in the lesson
5. Page on showing the glyphs for the word "character" in Medu Netcher and related words
6. Janine Borriau, "Pottery" (Overview of importance of pottery to help provide you with a more engaged link to the concept of "character." See particular the image of a man on the potter's wheel from the Tomb of Ty in the Old Kingdom (5th dynasty), p. 126)

Kola Abimbola, "Omoluwabi: Self-Actualization and Communal Responsibility"

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti_-6woiO4I&t=47s

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZYE_bqR8Bw

In our discussion in lesson 108 on the concept of character linked to pottery, a number of Nubians noted a Biblical parallel discussing the potter's wheel, highlighting Jeremiah 18. I use this lesson to extend and deepen our discussion of the concept of character by providing much more detail on the divine creative process on the potter's wheel. For this task, I utilize and engage an important article by Peter Dorman entitled "Creation on the Potter's Wheel at the Eastern Horizon of Heaven." When we think about the Potter's Wheel in Kemet, most of the attention is focused on the ram-headed netcher Khnum who sets up the potter's wheel, separates heaven from earth in what Dorman refers to as "a re-enactment of the genesis of the created world." I provide a dictionary entry on Khnum and examples of hymns on Khnum in the Temple of Esna from Miriam Lichtheim's Ancient Egyptian Literature to illustrate the importance of Khnum and the Potter's Wheel.

Despite the importance of Khnum and the Potter's Wheel, Dorman highlights the overlooked link between the potter's wheel and the daily rejuvenation of Ra, the sun netcher, on the eastern horizon. In his article, Dorman provides scenes from Royal tombs depicting the potter's wheel, and I prominently highlight the image from The Book of Night in the Tomb of Ramesses VI. For Dorman, the idea of "spinning the Potter's wheel" refers more accurately to the process of conception in the celestial womb, not giving birth. I conclude by discussing the importance of this creation on the potter's wheel linked to the formation of one's character reflecting the power and creative energies within each of us to mold and shape, embrace optimal ideas, virtues, values, emotions, etc. and to discard those that are suboptimal. Like a pot, our bodies are containers for a wide array of thoughts and actions and the essence of a person resides in the interior, not exterior, aspects. Kemet constantly makes the link between cosmology, community, and the character of a person. Improving one's character is not merely an individual affair, but it has an impact on not only the renewal of the community, but more importantly the renewal of Maat in the cosmos.

This lesson focuses on providing essential historical and cultural context in the process of interpreting a renowned painting called "The Ascent of Ethiopia"(1932) by Lois Mailou Jones, an artist who taught at Howard University for 47 years (1930-1977) before retiring. Despite the fact that this painting featured prominently in the marketing for the recent "Flight Into Egypt" Exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the companion volume to the exhibit surprisingly provided very little explanatory information and insight on both the context and meaning of the painting. The following is the only commentary on the painting in the book: "The allegorical Ethiopia also appears in Lois Mailou Jones's The Ascent of Ethiopia (pl. 23), a painterly vision of racial uplift. Jones's Black queen wears a regal ancient Egyptian vulture headdress and observes the progress of her people as they attain creative and economic autonomy." (Akili Tommasino, Flight Into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt, 1876- Now, p.23)

I use a major interview with Lois Mailou Jones by Charles Rowell to establish a deeper context of her art and life in her own words. Among many other things, we learn from this interview that she was initially inspired to teach at Howard University by a conversation with William Leo Hansberry and once she arrived at Howard in 1930, she began to work closely with both Carter G. Woodson and Arthur Schomburg as an illustrator for various publications. I have attached samples of these illustrations from Tritobia Hayes Benjamin's book on her life and art. Jones recounts that her painting was directly inspired by the influence of another famous Black female artist, Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller, who created a very famous sculpture entitled "The Awakening of Ethiopia" and the Flight Into Egypt book does an excellent job of contextualizing the meaning and importance of this piece.

Despite the influence of Fuller, Jones' painting reflects a very intentional use of a range of Kemetic symbols and it is very clear to me that she viewed and studied a lot of Kemetic art, especially growing up in Boston and spending a great deal of time and education at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston which has extensive collections on both Kemet and Nubia/Kush. I attempt to provide you with a much wider and deeper interpretive lens for engaging this painting through explaining major elements of detail in terms of both Kemetic and African American symbolic content, style, and the meaning of the use of color. This painting unites the African past and present in complex ways on both divine and human levels and speaks to the power of marshalling the indwelling divine power that resides within each of us to help build a collective future.

Heru (Horus) Behdet, a specific manifestation of Heru, appearing in many temples and stelae as a combination of a hovering falcon and sun disk, is a powerful symbol of rebirth, renewal, protection, and the eternal struggle to promote, sustain, and maintain Maat in the face of opposition and enemies. The symbol often appears over temple pylons and doorways, i.e. liminal border spaces that mediate between the human and divine domains. The symbol can also be accompanied by two uraei on either side of the disk representing the protective power of the goddesses Nekhbet and Wadjet of Upper and Lower Kemet respectively. I provide you with the glyphs for the common phrase that is often seen accompanying the symbol, "(Heru) Behdet, great netcher, many-colored of plummage ("who comes forth from the horizon" can sometimes be added, but if not, can be inferred from the specific placement on the pylon in temple architecture)." True to the Kemetic worldview, Behdet refers to both a location in Upper Kemet (Edfu) and a locale in Lower Kemet (Tell el-Balamun).

The most famous location of the myth of the Heru Behdet as the winged solar disk resides in The Temple of Edfu, a temple started by Ptolemy III in 237 BCE and completed by Ptolemy XII in 57 BCE. Since this temple is always a major site visit of the Kemet Study Tour, I focus in this lesson on this site almost exclusively and I highlight important excerpts on the myth of the winged solar disk contained in this temple and published in English translation by Herbert W. Fairman, "The Myth of Horus at Edfu- I." This myth charts the journey of Heru Behdet fighting enemies of Ra seen and unseen in heaven and earth. I especially highlight the direct linkage of Heru Behdet to the planet Venus as both the "morning star" and "evening star." Due to the dramatic ascent and descent, appearance and disappearance of Venus, implicitly likened to the falcon, it becomes an important symbol of triumph over enemies and light over darkness, i.e. the promise of a new dawn, a new day, a new period of renewal and regeneration. Ultimately, the symbol speaks to the eternal vigilance that is needed in the perpetual challenge and triumph of Maat over isfet, of good over evil.

I attach a major article by Alan Gardiner entitled "Horus the Behdetite" primarily for reference purposes for his argument of attempting to locate the origins of Heru Behdet in Lower Kemet. I also attach the extensive dissertation on Horus Behdet by Randy Shonkwiler who departs from Gardiner's view and argues that based upon the collected evidence, the symbolic origins can not be decisively determined. Shonkwiler asserts that his dissertation is the first serious and systematic study of the presence of the symbol prior to the Greco-Roman period. The next lesson will focus on this earlier aspect of the symbol primarily utilizing Shonkwiler's work.

In this second part of our discussion on Heru (Horus) Behdet, I focus on a scene in the Temple of Seti I at Abydos which depicts Seti I enthroned and flanked by the two goddesses of Upper and Lower Kemet, Nekhbet and Wadjet respectively who are in turned flanked by the netchers Horus, Djehuty, and Seshat (who is behind Djehuty). The Heru (Horus) Behdet as the winged solar disk frames the scene at the top and Horus and Djehuty are shown binding and uniting Upper and Lower Kemet together in the form of their respective plants (Sedge and Papyrus). These plants are tied around the symbol of the trachea (windpipe) and lungs (F 36). I begin by discussing the importance of both the trachea and lungs glyph (F 36) along with the glyph used to express the picture of a wing (H 5) by citing excerpts from Richard Wilkinson's book entitled Reading Egyptian Art. The ritual of Sema Tawy "the union of the two Lands" is a foundational ritual that is repeated at the beginning of the reign of each Ruler. The earliest attestation that we have of Heru (Horus) Behdet is from an inscribed panel from the Step Pyramid of Djoser designed by Imhotep.

In this lesson, I attempt to demonstrate the importance of viewing the symbols of Heru (Horus) Behdet and the Union of the Two Lands as intimately connected not just a symbolic way, but also as speaking to the idea of a sacred science that is visually providing us with how light energy from the sun, the Creator netcher of all existence and all reality, is absorbed and transformed by plants (i.e. photosynthesis) and converted into a perpetual, cyclical process of energy transfer that supports and sustains life in the most comprehensive sense of that word. I elaborate more on my theory of the ankh as a plant knot (clearly depicted in this scene) to illustrate this deeper connection between Heru (Horus) Behdet and the Union of the Two Lands.

I provide the appropriate pages relevant to this scene from Randy Shonkwiler's dissertation on Horus Behdet (pp.184-186; 601-602), translating the speeches of Heru (Horus) Behdet, Djehuty, Nekhbet, and Wadjet.

Kemet has many funerary rituals in the form of complex behaviors, speech, offerings, amulets, songs, dances, etc. to assist in insuring an optimal transition and future of the deceased. These funerary rituals are presented as a ritual drama of renewal which is coherently mapped onto and informed by their cosmology. This ritual drama involves family members, priests, friends, musicians, mourners, dancers, etc. and emphasizes the fact that the deceased can not attain the achievement of a beautiful afterlife as an isolated individual. The love and support of the community "on top of the earth" is essential during and after the transition of the deceased.

This lesson focuses on the beginning of the process of these funerary rituals for the deceased in a stage referred to as "the procession to the necropolis" (literally "that which is under netcher"). For this task, I use the entry by Harold Hays in the UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology on "Funerary Rituals" to provide a narrative grounding while I supplement with layers of complexity from other texts. Hays' piece focuses on the Theban Tomb of Rekhmire which we have already emphasized and examined in prior lessons on the importance of this tomb in terms of jurisprudence (i.e. how Maat should operate in the society).

The "procession to the necropolis" of the deceased involves a voyage from the east to the west bank reflecting the movement of both the sun Ra and Usir (Osiris) and also the idea of rebirth, i.e. coming "to land" from the source of the primeval waters of Nun. The boat itself, often made of papyrus, is intimately linked to Maat and I attempt to highlight this dynamic of cosmic order by reference to the astronomical ceiling in the Tomb of Senenmut, specifically the depictions of the centrally important star Sirius (Aset) and the constellation Orion (Usir or Osiris). I also provide 3 excerpts from the 9 Petitions of the Farmer Whose Speech is Good ("The Eloquent Peasant") to help to provide further depth to understanding what is involved in the "procession to the necropolis." (Petitions 3, 8, and 9).

In examining Kemetic scenes of both daily life and the afterlife, it is obvious that the role and importance of plants are central, not peripheral in both the culture and cosmology. Along with the papyrus plant, the blue water lilly (lotus) clearly stands out for special reasons based upon their observation of the plants in nature and their various uses. Just a cursory look at the illustrations in the Book of Coming Forth By Day chart the importance of the blue water lilly (lotus) in a funerary context. In addition to seeing the plant consistently in the illustrations, the plant is highlighted textually in Chapter 81a & b entitled "Making the transformations into a blue water lilly (lotus)." In observing this plant in nature, it emerges from water in alignment with sunrise, closes before noon and blooms for 3 days. The combination of the blue and gold color of the plant made it a powerful symbol of the emergence of Ra out of the primeval waters of Nun in their Creation cosmology and thus, naturally became a powerful symbol of eternal life and rebirth. This meaning is further reinforced by the netcher linked to the blue water lilly (lotus) called Nefertem whose name literally means "the beautiful one of Atum." I provide a full transliteration, translation and grammar of Ch. 81 in the Book of Coming Forth By Day (Papyrus of Ani).

An important perspective on the blue water lilly (lotus) that is not well-integrated into common literature emphasizes the potent psychoactive chemical properties of the plant used both medicinally and to depress the central nervous system when combined with wine. The Kemites obviously knew about the power of the chemical properties and impact of this plant as evidenced of its citation in the major Kemetic medical treatise commonly referred to as the Ebers Papyrus during the reign of Amenhotep I. I attach literature past and present on this particular theme.

Because the Kemites were renowned for their medical prowess in antiquity, knowledge of this plant was intergenerationally transmitted in actual historical texts among the Greeks, Romans, and Muslims as asserted in W. Benson Harer's article "Pharmacological and Biological Properties of the Egyptian Lotus." And based upon J. Andrew McDonald's article on "Botanical Determination of the Middle Eastern Tree of Life," he utilizes primarily archaeological evidence to conclude that the Kemetic blue water lilly (lotus) was synthesized, integrated, and became the most prominent important and symbolic historical template for various conceptions of "trees of life" in Western Asia.

This lesson begins with a continuation and conclusion of our discussion from Lesson 114 on the Blue Water Lilly (Lotus) by addressing and clarifying questions raised in the Chat. In the process of addressing questions, I highlight an excerpt from another text to be considered on the Blue Water Lilly (Lotus) contained in the literary text entitled "The Dispute of a Man With His Ba."

Another prominent plant, the papyrus, had more functional uses than the Blue Water Lilly (Lotus) and possessed an undeniable profound impact in late antiquity as the writing material of choice to transmit administrative and intellectual ideas. I begin this discussion by providing important vocabulary on the papyrus plant and highlighting the earliest archaeological evidence that we have of a papyrus roll found in the tomb of an official named Hemaka in the First Dynasty. Since the Book of Coming Forth By Day (BD) is written on papyrus, I provide a reading discussing its production and I discuss Chapter 159 and 160 in the BD on the papyrus plant.

I use the book on Papyrus by Richard Parkinson and Stephen Quirke to discuss the Ramesseum Library (p. 58 and 62) as a backdrop for revealing a new archaeological find of a "House of Life" educational institution attached to the Ramesseum. I conclude with demonstrating the deep influence of papyrus with a discussion on the famous Library of Alexandria constructed under the imperative of Ptolemy I Soter to gather as many texts on papyri from different cultures and store them at the Library. The prominent Egyptian priest named Manetho who wrote a History of Egypt for a Greek audience was obviously very influential under Ptolemy I Soter's reign in translating various Kemetic texts into Greek and to also play an important role in crafting a new divinity named Serapis to function as a spiritual bridge between Kemet and Greek ideas. I use the book by Mostafa El-Abbadi entitled "The life and fate of the ancient Library of Alexandria" to discuss the destruction of the library which he situates as probably occurring during the Alexandrian War in 48 BC citing the biography on Caesar by Plutarch who was very knowledgeable regarding Alexandria and its history.

This lesson begins with a continuation of our discussion on the power of the Blue water lilly (lotus) plant by contextualizing its important role as part of what John Nunn terms "drug therapy" in Kemetic medicine. I use this as a departure point for narratively discussing the importance of the Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus and the systematic approach contained within this text that reveals the physician's examination of the patient and provides insights into the process by which a diagnosis was arrived at. Each medical case has the components of a title, the examination, the diagnoses and prognosis, and treatment. Each case contains one of the following three prognoses: 1) A medical condition which I will treat; 2) A medical condition which I will contend with (lit. "fight"); 3) A medical condition which can not be treated. In this lesson, I highlight these phrases in Medu Netcher and provide glyphs, transliterations, translations, and grammar. I also highlight 3 medical cases that contain each phrase. I attach the full glyphs, transliteration, and translation of these medical cases from the work by Gonzalez Sanchez and Edmund Meltzer on The Edwin Smith Papyrus. Major titles of various Kemetic healers are discussed to provide a glimpse of their wholistic medical approach.

After the narrative discussion on Kemetic medicine, I shift to astronomy and I focus on the profound solar observations that can be seen in the relationship of the Horemakhet (i.e. the Sphinx) to the pyramids of Khufu and Khafre and the temple immediately in front of it. I utilize the discussion by Mark Lehner in the work The Complete Pyramids to demonstrate the fact that the Sphinx is not just communicating ideas of the daily circuit of the sun, but it also astronomically reveals precise knowledge of grand solar cycles of both the solstices and the equinoxes.

This lesson is directly inspired by the recent presentation by Dr. Ramenga Mtaali Osotsi, Professor Institute of General Studies, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, Kenya at the 41st Annual ASCAC Conference entitled ‘god’ is Word in an Alien Tongue: Re-thinking ntr in African Epistemology. Osotsi asserted that the major problem in translating the word netcher as "god" began at the inception of Egyptology with Jean Francois Champollion and has continued unabated up until the present day. He highlights various ideas in Kemet that do not adhere to the expected script for the behavior of a "god." He shifts our attention to concepts of work, intellectual exploration, and paths as entry points to explain ntr informed by insights from a comparative analysis with other African languages. To this discussion, I add the insights of Rkhty Amen on ntr who, with a similar imperative, sought to define ntr by completely transcending debates of monotheism, polytheism, henotheism, and/or pantheism.

After providing an overview of intellectual positions by Osotsi, Amen, Obenga, and Diop, I focus this lesson more on the image of the glyph itself as streamers or cloth wrapped around a pole and teasing out how a re-interpretation of the power exhibited within the glyph actually helps to ground these more progressive African interpretations by Osotsi and Rkhty Amen. Gardiner attributes the interpretation of ntr as a cloth wrapped around a pole to the British Egyptologist Percy Newberry. I discuss this brief, but important aritcle in detail and I conclude the lesson by talking about the word incense "sntr" (i.e. inherently linked to ntr) from my ASCAC presentation on "A New Look at the Nubian Qustul Incense Burner." In his article, Newberrry comments on a unique glyph which is overlooked in discussions on ntr contained in the Gardiner sign list R 9 that is a combination of the ntr glyph with a bag of linen (V 33). This glyph helps to explain the work of creation and creating incense through making cuts in an incense tree and using a bag or a basket to catch the resinous substance that falls from the tree that the Kemets literally calll "the sweat of ntr" in a London Medical Papyrus in the British Museum cited by Newberry.

I made a passing reference to an important chapter on ntr in Erik Hornung's The Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt and I have attached here for your review and reflection.

After addressing some major questions from Lesson 117, this lesson focuses primarily on the ritual power of incense grounded in a comparative historical perspective of Kemet and Christianity. This lesson was, in part, inspired by the viewing of the recent installation of the new Catholic Pope Leo XIV. I show a brief video clip of the beginning of the installation ritual where Pope Leo XIV, wearing the miter crown, ritually purifies himself with incense and then proceeds to the sacred altar to cense the Church. The miter crown worn by the Pope looks very similar to the kheperesh crown linked to Amun worn by Kemetic rulers (see Sandra Collier, The Crowns of Pharaoh, p. 116-127). Like the miter, the kheperesh crown shows two long lappets protruding from the base of crown behind the head. In Egyptology, this feature has been described, but its meaning has not been theorized. I suggest that this feature could be directly linked to the glyph for netcher with streamers protruding from the side of the pole wrapped in cloth. This would mean that the crown is directly reflecting, in part, the idea of the Ruler as the embodiment of netcher and thus, the guarantor of Maat and the divine mediator between the visible and invisible worlds. In addition, I highlight two articles by Aylward Blackman on incense and the House of the Morning respectively. These articles demonstrate the central ritual importance of incense as part of the daily temple rituals.

Kemet ritually used incense for over 3000 years before the emergence of Christianity, but during at least the first 400 years of Christianity, major leaders and scholars went to great lengths to oppose any use of incense and even the trade of incense. This Christian opposition to incense was primarily done as a means to distance the faith from "polytheistic" religions and Judaism. Burning incense was considered demonic, idolatrous, and outside Church rules and norms despite its pervasive use in not only sacred spaces like temples, but also, many spaces and events linked to daily life. I use the insightful dissertation by Beatrice Caseau entitled Euodia: The Use and Meaning of Fragrances in the Ancient World and their Christianization (100-900 AD) to delve deeply into this topic (see Chapter 1 and Conclusion). Caseau says that "Particularly in the first centuries of the Roman Empire, it was customary to pay a visit to Egyptian shrines and bring home stories about them. This is how the very fragrant Egyptian ceremonies had a lasting influence on the "imiginaire" of festive sacrifices and temple rituals." (p. 72-73). Kemetic spiritual influence was pervasive around the Mediterranean in late antiquity in the form of the worship and reverence of especially Isis.

When we see a contemporary scene of the Pope engaging in ritual purification with incense, we absolutely know that this was not a ritual of Christian origin, but it was informed and deeply influenced by preexisting spiritual traditions, most notably Kemet. After the Christian Church enacted a formal law in 392 AD to completely ban the burning of incense, they then began to proceed to thoroughly Christianize its ritual use and thus, transform an overwhelming negative view into a thoroughly positive view. I suggest that this transformation took place in the context of a political environment where Christianity was no longer in opposition to the Roman Empire, but it became the religious voice of the power of Empire and as a result, Christianity could more easily shift its attention towards consolidating its gains and power. In other words, repackaging a sacred ritual of burning incense was a powerful way to normalize Christianity in harmony with the existing spiritual traditions in diverse local cultural landscapes.

I also attach the complete book by Erik Hornung, Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt that was briefly mentioned in this lesson.

This lesson continues our discussion on the power of incense by shifting the focus to a case study of its central importance in the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahri. This temple consists of three terraces and I highlight and examine the middle terrace which contains the Punt reliefs in the southern part of the terrace and Hatshepsut's divine birth scenes on the northern part. I cite the work of Filip Taherka entitled "Hatshepsut's Punt Reliefs" to especially underscore the importance of examining not just the content of scenes, but also their location in the temple which can assist us in crafting a deeper, richer, and more layered analysis.

This lesson continues our discussion on the power of incense by shifting the focus to a case study of its central importance in the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahri. This temple consists of three terraces and I highlight and examine the middle terrace which contains the Punt reliefs in the southern part of the terrace and Hatshepsut's divine birth scenes on the northern part. I cite the work of Filip Taherka entitled "Hatshepsut's Punt Reliefs" to especially underscore the importance of examining not just the content of scenes, but also their location in the temple which can assist us in crafting a deeper, richer, and more layered analysis.

Hatshepsut said that she anointed her body with this resin from these incense producing trees which made her fragrance to be like "the dew of netcher" and her odor to be "mingled with Punt." On the northern part of the terrace, Amun is depicted before her mother Iahmes (i.e. "the moon is born") who said that he appeared in the form of Djehutymes I (i.e. Hatshepsut's father) to give birth to Hatshepsut. This can help to explain the common epithet in Hatshepsut's birth name, khenmet Amun "united with Amun." clearly suggesting a direct relationship with the netcher from birth. Hatshepsut's divine birth linked to Amun was heralded with and through the fragrance emanating from these incense producing trees in Punt.

The major publication of Hatshepsut's temple is contained in Edouard Naville's The Temple of Deir el Bahari. I attach volumes 2 and 3 and also separate excerpts from these volumes that focus on the Punt reliefs and the divine birth scene in this lesson. I attach the full glyphs of the Punt reliefs from Kurt Sethe, Urkunden der 18 dynastie. I provide glyphs, transliteration, and translation for excerpts from scenes discussed in the lesson. For broader context on historical and contemporary debates on Punt's location, see El-Sayed Mahfouz, "New Perspectives on the Expeditions to the Land of Punt." In this lesson, I also make reference to the piece by Stephen P. Harvey, "Interpreting Punt: Geographic, Cultural, and Artistic Landscapes."

All temples in Kemet contain profound reflections of and relationships to various celestial phenomena (i.e. the sun, moon, stars, planets). It takes deep study of a wide range of texts to fully contextualize and be sensitive to the layers of astronomical meaning embedded in these temples. This lesson is a concise attempt to reveal some astronomy in relationship to the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut. I begin by making reference to the long avenue of sphinxes in front of her temple. I provide some useful Kemetic vocabulary on "the sphinx" and I explore some of the reasons why we see lions on both sides of the avenue by making reference to the Book of Coming Forth By Day, Chapter 17 which depicts the symbol of the horizon positioned between two lions who are referred to as "yesterday" and "tomorrow" and are directly linked to Osiris and Ra respectively and thus, speak to the power of the transition and transformation of darkness into light and vice versa.

The construction of Hatshepsut's temple was probably guided by Senenmut, the Director of the Estate of Amun in Waset (Thebes), the Director of her building program, and one of her most trusted officials. He not only reserves a hidden image of himself in her mortuary temple, but he also has a very famous Tomb 353 which overlooks the temple and runs parallel to the northern part of the avenue of sphinxes. Senenmut's tomb is prominently discussed in reference to an astronomical ceiling in one of the chambers, but I highlight in this lesson the interesting fact that Senenmut literally places Hatshepsut's Horus name among the northern constellations twice and directly links them to the planets Jupiter and Saturn. (See Peter Dorman, The Tombs of Senenmut, p.81, 143, Plate 84-85).

As one ascends to the third terrace of stairs of Hatshepsut's temple, it is not an accident that we see the Osiride statues on that level that have been raised (i.e. upright). I provide an excerpt from Coffin Text Spell 74 that communicates this profound idea of cosmic rebirth of Osiris through being raised from his side (i.e. death, his prone corpse). It is also not an accident that we see the main inner sanctuary of Amun-Re on this highest third terrace. I provide a brief excerpt on Amun taken from Jan Assman's The Search of God in Ancient Egypt (p.237-238) and I attach the whole book by Franciszek Pawlicki on the Main Sanctuary of Amun-Re (p.28-29) in this temple which provides you with an insightful narrative treatment of the architectural and astronomical prowess of the Kemites to marshal light into the dark, hidden recesses of the sanctuary two times a year.

In her temple, Hatshepsut highlights the celebration of the following festivals: 1. the feast of Djeser djeseru ("the holy of holies"); 2. the beautiful feast of the Ruler; 3. the beautiful feast of 1 Shemu (i.e. first month of the Harvest season); 4. all feasts of heaven and earth. I conclude by focusing specifically on the "Feast of the Valley" which facilitated an elaborate, palpable meeting between "those on top of the earth" and the ancestors. During the festival, Amun would depart from the east bank at Karnak to the west bank and visit the temples of deceased Rulers and the necropolis. The whole populace participated in this festival through performing various rituals at family tombs. In bringing the living into the realm of the ancestors and vice versa, it reaffirmed the cosmic cycle of life, death, and rebirth in the heavens and on earth.

Ryan Coogler's recent movie "Sinners" has prompted many engaging and insightful discussions helping us to understand and contextualize all of the rich layers of meaning embedded in this film. I largely focus this lesson on some of my narrative reflections on the film, focusing specifically on the themes of African spiritual continuities in the US, the Africanization of Christianity, and magic v. religion. It is very clear that Coogler read and studied deeply in crafting this film and I draw your attention to the following 4 important works that can be used to inform Coogler's presentation of African spiritual continuity that is actually pervasive in the film, but is powerfully embodied in the character of Annie: Michael Gomez, Exchanging Our Country Marks: The Transformation of African Identities in the Colonial and Antebellum South; Sterling Stuckey, Slave Culture: Nationalist Theory and the Foundations of Black America; Yvonne Chirieau, Black Magic: Religion and the African American Conjuring Tradition; Katrina Hazzard-Donald, Mojo Workin': The Old African American Hoodoo System. Coogler evidences keen awareness of many African spiritual continuities, perhaps most notably counterclockwise ritual of divine and ancestral communion referred to as "the ring shout" which is discussed heavily in Sterling's book and expanded upon in the other works. This ritual help to sustain and maintain the blending of various African spiritual, music, and dance traditions, and Christianity was simply incorporated into this pre-existing foundation. I put forward the hypothesis of Coogler's selection of the title for the movie that may have been informed by a close reading of Gomez's and/or especially Hazzard-Donald's work that provides a vignette of one of the great bishops of the AME Church Daniel Payne who attended a Christian worship service north of Philadelphia in 1878 and was astounded and offended by the ring shout playing a central role. Payne castigated the Pastor who responded to him by saying that "sinners" could not be converted to Christianity without having a ring shout and that "the Spirit of God works on people in different ways." What the Pastor was giving voice to is the idea and fact that enduring, lived cultural and spiritual experiences are much more complicated than basic tenets or articles of faith or ideology. I think Coogler chose this title to erode the divisions between magic and religion, sacred and secular music, spirituality as lived experience vs. spirituality as faith and allow us to see how these themes manifest in both ourselves and our communities in complex way.

I conclude with a beginning discussion on the power of Heka ("magic") in Kemet by focusing on Coffin Texts 261. In Kemet, it is meaningless to discuss themes of religion vs. magic or supernatural vs. natural. These types of false binaries actually tell us more about the perspective and mind of the scholar than they do about Kemet. Heka is a force that is present at the creation of the cosmos and it precedes and animates both authoritative utterance (i.e. speech) and perception. And because it is present at the beginning of creation, it animates everything which logically explains why Kemet and other African civilizations demonstrate complex ways of accessing and actualizing this power in both speech and ritual. I provide the glyphs for Coffin Texts 261 (the whole volume is attached, see Spell 261) and the translation and brief commentary by Janes Allen in his Genesis in Egypt: The Philosophy of Ancient Egyptian Creation Accounts

No Assignment

Common Determinatives

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Instructions for James Allen Exercise

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Middle Egyptian by James Allen - Chapter 3 Exercise and Sign List

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Copy the whole Egyptian noun list in Leo Depuyd'ts Fundamentals of Egyptian Grammar. As you copy each noun, pay close attention to every glyph. If there is a glyph that you are not familiar with, look it up in the sign list and make sure that you understand what it is as an ideogram, phonogram, and/or determinative.

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Look over the Sahidic Coptic alphabet a few times this week. In class on Tuesday, I will introduce this alphabet and demonstrate the importance of this last stage of Medu Netcher.

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Please cross-reference the following Coptic nouns with Leo Depuydt's Core Vocabulary Noun List. Based upon the lecture video, practice pronouncing these Coptic words.

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Please find the homework exercise at the end of Ch. 4 in James Allen, Middle Egyptian. You are to complete the first two exercises. In exercise #1, do not attempt letters "m" and "n." In exercise #2, do not attempt letter "j."

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Please find attached a file on major prepositions in Medu Netcher. I want you to purchase a pack of blank 3 X 5 note cards. As you view the file, on the front of your blank note card should be the preposition and on the back of the note card should be the definition. After you have completed making these note cards, I want you to spend 5 minutes in the morning and 5 minutes at night every day reviewing these and testing yourself until you feel absolutely comfortable that you know them by heart. Do not worry if it takes you a long time. Just stay consistent. Next week we will introduce prepositional phrases and hopefully begin our discussion of the most prominent sentence type in Medu Netcher, adverbial sentences.

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Please find attached a file from Allen's grammar book on Major particles found in section 10.3 and 10.4. I went over all of these particles in the lesson but take some time to review them in written form. I have also attached a file on suffix pronouns and their uses. For this week, I want you to copy what you see and reduce it all to 3 X 5 blank note cards. In addition to this, I want you to copy the whole chart and uses of suffix pronouns 5 times on 5 different days this week in preparation for the lecture next week.

Please find attached the following 3 files and the assignment for each one:

Note cards on adjectives and their uses in Medu Netcher - I want you to copy what you see and reduce it all to 3 X 5 blank note cards. Each page of the file has a line in the middle of the page indicating what should go on the front and back of the note card. Once you have completed these note cards, just read them over once every day. It doesn't matter if you do not fully understand everything yet. I will explain in greater detail in the lecture.
Core Adjective Vocabulary for Depuydt's grammar book - I want you to copy the list of major adjectives 5 times. You will frequently see these in texts so it's important to be familiar with them.
Verb List from Allen's grammar book - Copy the list of 54 verbs from Allen's grammar book. There is a small defect in his font on this page. Any time that you see what looks like an empty circle, just know that this is the so-called placenta when you draw that glyph. Since we introduced verbs in this lecture on suffix pronouns, it is good for you to be familiar with a few more verbs before I formally introduce the verbal sentence. You do not have to memorize these verbs. Just copy them. Over time as you gain greater experience with the language in texts, you will find it easier to spot verbs.

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Please find attached the first Egyptian scene that we will transliterate and translate in class next week. As you look at the scene, try to figure out all of the vocabulary that you know and then try to figure out how to transliterate and translate the scene. There is actually nothing in the scene that you cannot translate based upon the knowledge of Medu Netcher that you have thus far. Don't worry about if you can't transliterate or translate everything. Just try to make an attempt. With every scene, I will provide not only grammatical commentary, but also historical and cultural commentary allowing us to understand the meaning of the scene wholistically. When you present a scene, it's important to gather as much information as you can about the scene. Here is a general description of the attached scene without going into too much detail. Please note that these types of general details should be written and understood for every scene that you encounter:

General Theme: A Relief with a Libation scene
Present location: Bologna, Civic Archaeological Museum
inv. KS 1914Material: Limestone
Dimensions: 38 X 56 cm
Palagi Collection (Nizzoli)
Provenance (i.e., where it was found in Egypt): Unknown
Historical period: 19th to 20th dynasty (1292-1075 BCE) NOTE: This relief is a part of a tomb decoration.

Book Source: Il Senso Dell'arte Nell'antico Egitto (1990), p.149.

Egyptian Scene #4 (PDF)

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Please find attached a chart on demonstrative pronouns. Copy this chart five times, preferably on five different days.

Also, find attached Raymond Faulkner's Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian. This is the standard reference dictionary used by Egyptologists writing in English. Please read the separate attachment for more detailed instructions on the homework assignment using this dictionary.

Review the list of 54 verbs that I gave you to copy from Allen's grammar book at the end of Chapter 12 in preparation for the lecture next week beginning our focus on verbs.

Please find attached a chart of the dependent pronouns and their major uses. Please copy this chart and uses 5 times. It will be a couple of weeks before this is discussed.

Please find attached a book by David Shennum entitled English-Egyptian Index of Faulkner's Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian. This is an important work that you can always use for reference purposes. In addition, please find attached an assignment linked to this index. The assignment will require you to look up words in Shennum's English dictionary which will take you to specific pages in Faulkner's dictionary. Once you find the word, draw the glyphs, provide the transliteration, and translation of the word.

Please find attached a very small book by Raymond Faulkner entitled A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian: Addenda and Corrigenda. This work provides additions and corrections to his dictionary. At your leisure, you can just peruse the work. This is to be used as a reference work. There is no assignment attached to it.

No Course Assignment

Please find attached more detailed instructions for the following assignments:

Complete exercise on demonstrative pronouns in Allen, Ch. 5.

Complete exercise in Allen on identifying the root class of the 54 verbs that you have already copied. I have also attached to this assignment a list of 36 third weak verbs from Gardiner's grammar book that you should copy.

Complete exercises that focus on the basic verbal sentence structure extracted from Ch.2 and 3 of Gardiner's grammar book. I have attached the Medu Netcher verbal sentence structure for reference purposes.

NOTE: Please attempt and complete the assignments in this exact order.

Allen Ch. 5 Exercise

Medu Netcher Root Class Assignment

Gardiner Exercise Ch.2 and 3 and Verbal Sentence Structure Chart

Please find attached a document on "Notes on Sentence Structure in Medu Netcher" which is a small review of concepts covered in the lecture.

Notes on Sentence Structure in Medu Netcher

Please find attached a document on translating the sedjemef, the sedjemtwef, and sedjemenef forms respectively. This is a small review of concepts covered in the lecture video.

Next week we will start translating our second Egyptian scene which is the side of the coffin of Amenhotep II and features the goddess Isis. Please find attached the scene. We will spend at least the next two weeks on this scene. Also, please find attached excerpts taken from the book by George Hart on Egyptian Gods and Goddesses. Read the entries on Horus, Isis, and Osiris.

Please find attached a basic Kinglist and Map of the Nile Valley for reference purposes.

Please find attached the chart on Independent Pronouns. Over the next two weeks, copy this chart 5 times on different days. Also find a document explaining nominal sentences. Please copy this lecture at least one time. We will discuss it in about three weeks.

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Please find attached an assignment to be completed from Allen, Ch. 7 exercise on adjectival and nominal sentences.

Ch. 7 Allen Exercise on Adjectival and Nominal Sentences

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Please find below the specific readings that were referenced in the video.

This lecture introduces prepositional nisbes. A prepositional nisbe is an adjective derived from a preposition. Most primary prepositions have a nisbe form. Prepositional nisbes are heavily used in epithets and titles of officials and divinities. After explaining prepositional nisbes, major examples of their use in titles are presented.

Please read over the brief prepositional nisbe chart at least 3 times on 3 different days before class on Tuesday.

Prepositional nisbe chart

Read Paragraphs 8.7, 8.8, and 8.9 in Allen, p. 112-114.

Here are three major sources on titles in Ancient Egyptian, dealing with both men and women. I will make constant reference to these works over the next two months and beyond.
William Ward, Index of Egyptian Administrative and Religious Titles of the Middle Kingdom
William Ward, Essays on Feminine Titles of the Middle Kingdom and Related Subjects
Henry George Fisher, "Administrative Titles of Women in the Old and Middle Kingdom"

This lecture continues the discussion on prepositional nisbes and provides major examples of their use in the titles of officials and divinities.

Lector Priest scene in Tomb of Ptahhotep - This scene was referenced in the lecture and shows the title of lector priest in a live scene. There is a narrative description of the scene that follows.
Please find attached a 3 page discussion on the Htp-di-nswt offering formula from James Allen, Middle Egyptian. Please look over this for class next week as we will discuss each part in detail.
Please find attached an article that I wrote on a major title in Ancient Egypt called "The Master of Secrets." This title is referenced in both Lecture 28 and 29.
Please find attached a discussion of the Tomb of the female physician Peseshet from the Old Kingdom by Theophile Obenga. She is referenced in lecture 29 and we will transliterate and translate the titles shown in Obenga's discussion.

This lecture begins by explaining the reverse nisbe, a relatively rare grammatical construction which is an adjective and like other adjectives, it can be used in something like the nfr Hr (i.e. "beautiful one of face) construction that has already been introduced and discussed. The lecture introduces and explains marked and unmarked relative clauses as a prelude to beginning the discussion on the Htp di nswt offering formula.

Please find attached lecture notes on marked and unmarked relative clauses as explained in the video.

Relative Clause Lecture Notes

This lecture continues the discussion of the Htp di nswt offering formula and introduces and explains major uses of active participles with an example from the offering formula and the Horus names of Amenemhat I and his son Senusret I.

Please find attached lecture notes on the active participle as outlined in the video and the example of the two Horus names of Amenemhat I and Senusret I.

This lecture continues the discussion of the Htp di nswt offering formula. In terms of new grammar, it introduces what is called the superlative which is used to indicate that the quality of someone or something is the highest of all.

This lecture completes the discussion of the Htp di nswt offering formula. In terms of new grammar, the lesson introduces you to how Medu Netcher can form various verbal nouns as an extension of the root, focusing on the word Htp. It concludes with a discussion of the important concept of imakh based on a selection of primary texts from the Old Kingdom.

Please find attached a reading on the Nile divinity Hapy that was referenced in the discussion.

Hapy- Nile Divinity

This is the first part of a detailed discussion on the important concept of Akh. After introducing basic, essential vocabulary, it begins the definition of Akh in its cosmic context, highlighting its importance at creation and its link to the invisible power of light.

This is the final part of a detailed discussion on the important concept of Akh. This lecture highlights information gleaned primarily from non-mortuary texts (i.e. Old Kingdom tomb autobiographies and Middle Kingdom stelae). The ancient and enduring ritual of the "Opening of the Mouth" is centered to provide additional context on the process of being and becoming an Akh in the afterlife.

Please find attached the Ka Door of Mehu, a high official of the late Old Kingdom. We will transliterate and translate this whole scene and provide essential historical and cultural context over the next two weeks. The scene is accompanied by an excerpt from Nigel Strudwick's book on The Administration of Egypt in the Old Kingdom that provides transliterations of all of his important titles. Although this work does not provide specific translations of the titles, this source can help you to decipher all of the titles in the scene. For translations of the titles, you need to consult the work that I gave you by William Ward, Index of Egyptian Administrative and Religious Titles of the Middle Kingdom. In class, I will provide specific page numbers where each title is found in this book. Finally, I provided an example of a more narrative autobiographical text from the tomb of Mehu in English translation from Nigel Strudwick's work on Texts from the Pyramid Age.

Ka Door of Mehu

The first part of this lecture highlights important features of African cultural unity between Ancient Egypt and other African cultures by explaining the meaning and importance of leopard skin and walking sticks (i.e. medu) in the hands of high officials. The latter half of the discussion focuses on providing some necessary background to the discussion, transliteration, and translation of the late Old Kingdom tomb of Mehu by focusing on how Egyptologists generally describe architectural features of the ka-door and also highlighting the most important titles that Mehu held as Prime Minister of the country.

Assignments:

1. Conduct a search on Google of the Tomb of Mehu. Click on the second entry entitled "A Virtual Tour through the Tomb of Mehu." Take a virtual tour of the tomb in preparation for the beginning of our more detailed discussion of the tomb next week.
2. Review important features of grammar in preparation for next week, i.e. direct and indirect genitive, the offering formula and the relative form, participles (i.e. "adjective as modifier), prepositional nisbes, and the sDm.f form.

Hartwig Altenmuller- "The Leopard Skin in Ancient Egypt and Africa"
Aboubacry Moussa Lam- "Sticks, Clubs, and Scepters in Ancient Egypt and Black Africa"
Henry G. Fisher- "Notes on Sticks and Staves in Ancient Egypt"

The first part of this lecture is a continuation of our discussion on leopard skin last week through highlighting the importance of the Goddess Seshat and her role in the temple foundation ritual ceremony referred to as "the stretching of the cord." The session highlights an innovative view of Seshat's headdress in the work of the Spanish astronomer, Juan Belmonte. The second part of the lecture focuses on framing part of the essence of the idea of Kemetic governance through engaging select excerpts from a work authored by Jacob H. Carruthers.

Readings:

Please find attached the following readings which were referenced in the lecture.

1. Juan Belmonte, "Unveiling Seshat: New Insights into the Stretching of the Cord Ceremony" in Juan Belmonte and Mosalam Shaltout (Eds.), In Search of Cosmic Order: Selected Essays on Egyptian Archaeoastronomy
2. Theophile Obenga, "Astronomy" in African Philosophy: The Pharaonic Period 2780-330 BC
3. Slab Stela of Nefret-Iabet in Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
4. Jacob H. Carruthers, "The Wisdom of Governance in Kemet" in Maulana Karenga and Jacob Carruthers (Eds.), Kemet and the African Worldview

Attachment Folder

Please find attached a file from Allen's grammar book on Major particles found in section 10.3 and 10.4. I went over all of these particles in the lesson, but take some time to review them in written form. I have also attached a file on suffix pronouns and their uses. For this week, I want you to copy what you see and reduce it all to 3 X 5 blank note cards. In addition to this, I want you to copy the whole chart and uses of suffix pronouns 5 times on 5 different days this week in preparation for the lecture next week.

This lesson formally begins our translation of the ka door of Mehu by focusing on the first two lines of the upper lintel which highlight the divinities of Anubis and Osiris respectively. The lesson goes into greater detail in discussing Anubis in his foundational role in successfully transforming the deceased through contextualizing some of his most important titles. It concludes with an initial discussion of the beginning of the second line focusing on Osiris.

1. Mary-Ann Pouls Wegner, "Wepwawet in Context: A Reconsideration of the Jackal Deity and Its Role in the Spatial Organization of the North Abydos Landscape"
2. Jorge Ogdon, "Studies in Archaic Epigraphy: On the Earliest Epithets of Anubis" in 2 Parts
3. Terence DuQuesne, "Imy wt" in UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology
4. Mario Beatty- The Image of Celestial Phenomena in the Book of Coming Forth By Day: An Astronomical and Philological Analysis (Dissertation)
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Readings:

1. James Hastings, Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, Volume 8 (1915). Google this work and go to the entry by Sir Alan Gardiner ofn"Life and Death (Egyptian)," pp. 19-25.

2. Sir Alan Gardiner, "The House of Life" Journal of Egyptian Archaeology (1938)

3. The Kemetic Dvinity of Khnum

4. Excerpt on "the sidelock of youth" in Amandine Marshall, Childhood in Ancient Egypt (2022)

5. Hratch Papazian, "The Central Administration of the Resources in the Old Kingdom: Departments, Treasuries, Granaries, and Work Centers" in Juan Garcia (Ed.), Ancient Egyptian Administration (2013)

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Readings:

1. "Two Hymns to Khnum in the Temple of Esna"
2. Mouhamadou Nissire Sarr- "The Ka and the Ba in Egypto-African Ontology"
3. Yao Fabrice-Alain Davy Mene- "The Comparative Study of the Egyptian Ka and the Akan ekala/kra Revisited"
4. Andrey Bolshakov- Man and His Double5. Michael Rowlands- "The Unity of Africa"

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Readings:

1. Aylward Blackman, "The House of the Morning"
2. Dilwyn Jones, An Index of Ancient Egyptian Titles, Epithets, and Phrases of the Old Kingdom

Note: The excerpt from this reading provides you with his translation of the following titles discussed in the lecture:

1. Overseer of the two bureaux of the royal regalia;
2. Overseer of the Two Treasuries (i.e. the National Treasury);
3. Overseer of an troop-house (lit. Overseer of the side of the house);
4. Master of Secrets of the House of the Morning;
5. Royal Chamberlain (lit. "one who is under the head of the Ruler)

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Readings:

1. Jan Assmann, The Search for God in Ancient Egypt, pp. 73-80.

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Readings:

1. White and Red Crown in Pyramid Texts
2. Tomb of Mehu- Transliteration and Translation
3. Autobiography of Weni- Hieroglyphic Text and Translation
4. Lady Peseshet
5. Ka Door of Peseshet
6. Henry Fisher- The Reading of the Necklace Seal in Titles
7. Remaining Titles of Mehu- Lecture 42

Attachment Folder

Readings:

1. Theophile Obenga- Male-Female Relations in Ancient Egypt
2. Selim Hassan- Excavations at Giza for Peseshet
3. Paul Ghalioungi- Physicians of Pharaonic Egypt
4. Remarkable Women of Ancient Egypt- Barbara Lesko Part I
5. Remarkable Women of Ancient Egypt- Barbara Lesko Part II

Attachment Folder

Readings:

1. Dag Herbjornsrud- The Radical Philosophy of Egypt
2. Patrick Houlihan- The Sacred Ibis in The Birds of Ancient Egypt
3. Sir Alan Gardiner- Titulary of the King; the Origin of the word "Pharaoh"
4. Patrick Boylan- "The Symbols of Thoth" in Thoth: The Hermes of Egypt
5. George Hart- "Thoth" in A Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses
6. James Allen- The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts- Spell 181 on Thoth
7. Jacob Carruthers- Mdw Ntr (Divine Speech)- Excerpt on "the Eight Infinite Ones"
8. Kurt Sethe- Amun und de acht Urgotter von Hermopolis (1929), pp. 64-65 at www.archive.org/details/Sethe1929

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Charles Finch- The African Background of Medical Science
Nabil Ebeid- Egyptian Medicine in the Days of the Pharaohs- Excerpts on Surgical Instruments and Udjat Eye
Robert Ritner- Dream Books
Luigi Prada- Visions of Gods- Article on Dreams in Kemet
Dialo Diop- Contribution to the Study of the History of Medicine Since Antiquity
Gonzalo Sanchez and Edmund Meltzer- Case #1 in Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus
Luigi Prada- Dream Books in Ancient Egypt

Attachment Folder

Dietrich Wildung- Chapter on Imhotep in Egyptian Saints
James Allen- A Monument of Khaemwaset Honoring Imhotep
Kenneth Kitchen- Excerpt on Khaemwaset in Pharaoh Triumphant- The Life and Times of Ramesses II
Jamieson B. Hurry- Imhotep- The Genealogy of Khnumibre in Wadi Hammamat
Theophile Obenga- Imhotep

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Miriam Lichtheim- The Immortality of Writers in Ancient Egyptian Literature, Vol. II
Jacob Carruthers- Memphite Theology in Mdw Ntr
Dieter Arnold- Tools and Their Applications in Building in Egypt
William Kelly Simpson- The Song of the Harper in The Literature of Ancient Egypt
Memphite Theology

Attachment Folder

The Infinitive and the Tomb of Seti I at Abydos
Rosalie David- Temple Ritual at Abydos- Transliteration and Translation of Djehuty and Seti I Scenes
Amice Calverly- The Temple of King Sethos I Vol. I
Amice Calverly- The Temple of King Sethos I Vol. II
Amice Calverly- The Temple of King Sethos I Vol. III
Amice Calverly- The Temple of King Sethos I Vol. IV
Peter Brand- The monuments of Seti I

Attachment Folder

The Blood of Aset-Isis in the Book of Coming Forth By Day Spell 156
Wolfram Grajetski- Meritptah

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Music for the Gods in Lise Manniche- Music and Musicians in Ancient Egypt with the Systrum on p. 63-64
Spell 156 in Papyrus of Nu on Ankh Imy Plant and Isis
Ankh Imy Plant entry in Penelope Wilsom- A Ptolemaic Lexicon

Attachment Folder

Sandra Collier- The Crowns of Pharaoh Chart
Sandra Collier- The Crowns of Pharaoh dissertation

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Djehuty Giving Life to Seti I in Temple of Seti I at Abydos- Complete Transliteration, Translation, and Grammatical Commentary and References

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Greek names of Ahmose I, Seti I, and Ramesses II in Manetho
Royal Names of Horhemheb, Ramesses I, Seti I, and Ramesses II in Ronald Leprohon- The Great Name- Ancient Egyptian Royal Titulary
Grammar of birth name and throne name of Ramesses II
Egyptian King List and Map
Stephen Quirke- Principal Names of the kings of Egypt in Who Were the Pharaohs

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Theophile Obenga- Hatshepsut
Royal Names of Ahmose, Amenhotep I, Djehutymose I, Djehutymose II, and Hatshepsut in Ronald Leprohon- The Great Name- Ancient Egyptian Royal Titulary
Gay Robins- The Names of Hatshepsut as King
Goddesses Wosret and Wadjet in Richard Wilkinson- Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt
Lanny Bell- Divine Kingship and the Royal Ka in Byron Shafer- Temples of Ancient Egypt
Hatshepsut's Fivefold Titulary and Grammar Analysis

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Ronald Ridley- Chapter on The End of Akhenaten's Reign in his book on Akhenaten
John and Colleen Darnell- Chapter on Successors of Akhenaten with a useful bibliographic overview in their book on Akhenaten and Nefertiti
Nicholas Reeves- Excerpt on Nefertiti as Akhenaten's Successor and Tutankhamun

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The Titulary for the Aten in Akhenaten's Sebayet
Tutankhamun's Fivefold Titulary and Grammar Analysis
Akhenaten's Fivefold Titulary and Grammar Analysis
The Great Hymn to Aten

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The Holy of Holies in the Temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel- Transliteration and Translation
Amanda Maravelia- Astronomy in the Temple of Abu Simbel
Miriam Lichtheim- The Battle of Kadesh of Ramses II
Kenneth Kitchen- Temple of Abu Simbel Ramesses II and Nefertari- Partial Translation and Glyphs
Abu Simbel Inner Sanctuary
General Layout of Temple of Abu Simbel Ramesses II

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Layout of the Temple of Karnak in Elizabeth Blythe- Karnak- Evolution of a temple
Amun and the Ennead in the Temple of Karnak Hypostyle Hall
Miroslav Verner- Temple of the World- Temple of Amun at Karnak
Scene with Amun, Mut, Khonsu, the Great Ennead and Ramesses II in Temple of Karnak- Transliteration and Translation
Harold Nelson- The Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak, Vol. 1
The Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak Vol. 2
The Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak Vol. 3

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Amun and Atum in the White Chapel of Senusret I at Karnak-Glyps, Transliteration and Translation
Alain Arnaudies- White Chapel of Senusret I

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Mario Beatty- Maat- The Cultural and Intellectual Allegiance of a Concept
Coffin Texts- Volume 2
Theophlle Obenga- Egypt- Ancient History of African Philosophy
Coffin Texts 80- Glyphs and Raymond Faulkner Translation

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Theophile Obenga- The African Genesis- How the Existing Came to Exist
Maat and Renepet (The Goddes of the Year) in the Temple of Seti I at Abydos- Glyphs, Transliteration, and Translation
Lana Troy- The Ennead- The Collective as Goddess
Maat and Renepet (The Goddes of the Year) in the Temple of Seti I at Abydos
Weighing of the Heart Scene and English Translation

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Maat on the Stela of Horemheb- British Museum
Maat on the Stela of Horemheb- Hieroglyphic Text, Transcription, Full Translation, and My Translation of Lines for Maat

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James Allen- Instructions of Ptahhotep
Maat in the Instruction of Ptahhotep- Maxim 5
Ptahhotep
Mario Beatty- ANKH Article on Ptahhotep
Les Maximes de Ptahhotep

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Humility in the Instruction of Ptahhotep- Maxim 1

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Jacob Carruthers has appropriately and more accurately renamed this text as "The Nine Petitions of the Farmer Whose Speech is Good." I have attached his chapter on this text from his book Mdw Ntr: Divine Speech. I have also attached the major translations of this text by Miriam Lichtheim and James Allen respectively. You will also find a document highlighting the main characters of this story. And lastly, in citing the work by Nili Shupak on "The Judiciary and Law in the Eloquent Peasant," I talk about the importance of cloth in this text used both as a means to obstruct that path of Khuninpu by Nemtinakhet and also as a means to shield and protect vulnerable people in the society.

Eloquent Peasant
The Eloquent Peasant- Allen Translation
Jacob Carruthers- Nine Petitions of the Farmer Whose Speech is Good
Good Speech in Prologue of Ptahhotep
Characters in the Nine Petitions of the Farmer Whose Speech is Good
Nili Shupak- Judiicary and Law in the Eloquent Peasant

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I have attached my full transliteration, translation, and grammatical commentary of all of the lines discussed in the lesson.

Nine Petitions of the Farmer Whose Speech is Good - Excerpts from First Petition
Nili Shupak udiicary and Law in the Eloquent Peasant
The Eloquent Peasant - Narrative Frame to Second Petition Allen Transliteration and Translation

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Attached you will find all glyphs, transliterations, translations, and grammar for the lines highlighted in the lesson.

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I have also attached the book my Miriam Lichtheim entitled Maat in Egyptian Autobiographies and Related Studies that I have made reference two in the past three lessons.

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Nine Petitions of the Farmer Whose Speech is Good- Excerpt from Eigth Petition- Lesson 69 Medu Netcher
Book of Coming Forth By Day Excerpts- Lesson 70 Medu Netcher
The Scientist as Mystic in Gary Kremer- George Washington Carver
Weighing of the Heart Scene and English Translation
The Eloquent Peasant Conclusion in Allen Middle Egyptian Literature
George Washington Carver- Journal of Negro History

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Excerpts on Maa Kheru in Pyramid Texts
Excerpt on Maa Kheru in Tomb of Khuiwer
Rudolf Anthes- The Original Meaning of Maa Kheru

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Letter from a Mother to her Deceased Son and Letter from a Husband to his Deceased Wife
Alexander Piankoff and Jacques Jean Clere- A Letter to Dead on a Bowl in the Louvre
Michael Rowlands- The Unity of Africa
Ptahhotep

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Excerpt on Maa Kheru in Stela of Intef-Chief of the Army-11th Dynasty
Jean Jacque Clere-Stela of the Troop Commander Intef For Maa Kheru in Lictheim Autobiographies of the MK p 62

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Alexis Tague Kekeu- Egyptology in Cameroon
Hamady Bocoum- Historical Background of Museum of Black Civilizations
Mpay Kemboly- Egyptology at the University of Kinshasa
Major Works Referenced in Medu Netcher Lesson 74 on Cheikh Anta Diop Symposium

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The Instruction for Merikare
Afterword by Stephen Quirke in Yoporeka Somet- Ancient Egypt- An African World System
Wisdom Instruction for Merikare in Stephen Quirke- Egyptian Literature- Full Transliteration and Translation
Wisdom Instruction for Merikare Excerpt on Maa Kheru and the Power of Speech-Glyphs Transliteration Translation and Grammatical Commentary

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Theophile Obenga Seba as the Kemetic Origin of Greek Sophos in Egypt Greece and the Alexandrian School
Theophlle Obenga- Egypt- Ancient History of African Philosophy
Theophile Obenga- The African Origin of Philosophy in Ancient Egypt and Black Africa
Richard Jasnow and Karl Theodor Zauzich- Overview of the Book of Thoth in Conversations in the House of Life
Dag Herbjornsrud- Radical Philosophy of Egypt
Jacob Carruthers- Modern African Thinking About African Thought

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Mary Murray- Chart on Stages of Cereal Production and Processing
Bread in Kemet in Magda Mehdawy The Pharaohs Kitchen
Lanny Bell- Divine Kingship and the Royal Ka in Byron Shafer- Temples of Ancient Egypt
Instruction for Merikare- Excerpt on Maat

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A.M. Blackman- The Story of Khufu and the Magicians- Text in Hieroglyphs
Excerpt on People as the Flock of Netcher in the Story of Khufu and the Magicians and the Instruction for Merikare
Stephen Quirke- Tales of Wonder at the Court of King Khufu- Transliteration and Translation
Miriam Lichtheim- Three Tales of Wonder

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Asa Hilliard- Maat and Socialization in SBA- The Reawakening of the African Mind
Steven Shubert- A Study of Ancient Egyptian Appeal to the Living Texts
Instruction for Merikare- Excerpt on Maat and the Ruler
Stela of Iti- Appeal to the Living Excerpt
Maulana Karenga- Social Justice and the Vulnerable in Maat- The Moral Ideal in Ancient Egypt
English-Egyptian Index of Faulkners Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian
Joseph Harris- William Leo Hansberry- Profile of a Pioneer Africanist
Koenraad Donker van Heel- Mrs. Naunakhte and Family
Henry Fisher- Three Stelae from Naga ed-Deir on Appeal to the Living

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Gods and Numbers in Francoise Dunand and Christiane Zivie-Coche- Gods and Men in Egypt
Louis Zabkar- A Study of the Ba Concept in Ancient Egyptian Texts
Theophile Obenga on Euclids 47th Problem- The Kemetic-Pythagorean Theorem
John Gee- Ba Sending and Its Implications
Saddlebill Stork in Patrick Houlihan The Birds of Ancient Egypt
Ba in the Wisdom Instruction of Ptahhotep
Martin Delany- The Origins and Objects of Ancient Freemasonry
Chapters on Builders of the Pyramids and the Garden of Hesperides in Martin Delany- Principia of Ethnology-rotated
Martin Delany and Egyptology- ANKH Article Mario Beatty

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Martin Delany's Hieroglyphs in Principia of Ethnology- Ramesses II Luxor Temple Obelisk in Paris
Background on Transporting Rameses II Luxor Obelisk to Paris in Labib Habachis The Obelisks of Egypt
Mario Beatty - On the Phoenix and the Planet Venus in Kemet
Excerpt on Phoenix and Heliopolis in Stephen Quirke's The Cult of Ra
Rameses II Luxor Obelisks in Paris- Hieroglyphs and Translation in Kenneth Kitchen's Ramesside Inscriptions
Excerpt on Origins and Completion of Washington Monument in John Gordon s Washington Monument
Excerpt on Martin Delany - Freemasonry in Scot Traftons Egypt Land
Excerpts on Phoenix Ram - Bull - and Dog in Martin Delany's Principia of Ethnology for Decoding Garden of Hesperides

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Hatshepsut Raising Obelisks for Amun-Ra at Karnak- Glyphs, Transliteration, Translation, and Grammar
Dieter Arnold- Theories on Erecting Obelisks in Building in Egypt
Stephen Quirke- The Cult of Ra- Excerpts on the Phoenix, Heliopolis, and Obelisks
Labib Habachi- How Obelisks Were Produced

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Quido Vetter- Moscow Papyrus Problem 14 on Truncated Pyramid
Kurt Vogel- The Truncated Pyramid in Egyptian Mathematics
Theophile Obenga on The Volume of a Truncated Pyramid In African Philosophy and French excerpt in Egyptian Geometry
The Obelisks of Hatshepsut at Karnak- Luc Gabolde Article, Glyphs from Urkunden der 18 dynastie, and Transliteration, Translation, and Grammar of Excerpt

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Eclipse Vocabulary in Kemet
Garry Gilmore and John Ray- Solar Eclipse in Coptic
Gyula Priskin- The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Moon- Coffin Text 160 on Solar Eclipse

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Karl Richard Lepsius- Mini-biographical entry
Peter Dorman- The Origins and Early Development of the Book of the Dead
Solar Eclipse Imagery in the Book of Coming Forth By Day- Ch. 17
Foy Scalf- What is the Book of the Dead

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Thomas Allen- The Book of the Dead
Finds in New Mummification Workshop in 2016
Ritual in Chapter 30 Book of Coming Forth By Day on Heart Scarab and Supportive Images and Information on the Scarab
Eugene Strouhal- The Medicine of the Ancient Egyptians- References to Heart in Ebers Medical Papyrus
Hieroglyhs, Transliteration, Translation, Grammar on Heart Excerpts in Ptahhotep, Papyrus of Ani, and Ebers Papyrus

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Rogerio Sousa- Heart of Wisdom- Studies on the Heart Amulet in Ancient Egypt
Jiri Janak- The Judgment in Rita Lucarelli- The Oxford Handbook of the Egyptian Book of the Dead
Book of Coming Forth By Day Excerpts- Heart- Chapter 30- Lesson 87
Kimbwandende Fu-Kiau- Excerpt from African Cosmology of the Bantu-Kongo

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Text of Intef on the Heart- Herald of Djehutymes III- Glyphs - Transliteration - Translation - Grammar - Lesson 88
Excerpt on Heart - Knowledge - Memory in Ptahhotep - Glyphs - Transliteration - Translation - Grammar - Lesson 88
Excerpt on Character in Ptahhotep - Glyphs - Transliteration - Translation - Grammar and Dieter Arnold Picture and Description of the Level - Lesson 88

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The Instruction of Ptahhotep- Maxim 2 and 3 on the Heart and the Power of the Quiet Person- Glyphs, Transliteration, Translation, Grammar
Ptahhotep on Violence in Asa Hilliard- SBA- The Reawakening of the African Mind
Ten Virtues in Egyptian Mysteries in George G.M. James- Stolen Legacy

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Instruction of Ptahhotep Maxim 18 on Greed Lesson 90 Glyphs - Transliteration - Translatio Grammar
Paul Larsen- Lexical Studies on the Concept of Dirtiness in Ancient Egyptian Daily Life- Dissertation for Djwt- evil
Erik Hornung- The Egyptian Amduat- Apophis in the Seventh Hour of the Netherworld-
Egyptian Mortuary Beliefs and the Nature of the Tomb in Aidan Dodson and Salima Ikram- The Tomb in Ancient Egypt

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Jan Assmann- Death and Initiation in the Funerary Religion of Ancient Egypt
House Sparrow as the Bad Bird- Patrick Houlihan- The Birds of Ancient Egypt
Book of Coming Forth By Day Excerpts- Concept of Beta and Evil- Lesson 91
Mpay Kemboly- Grappling With the Notion of Evil in Ancient Egypt

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Ann Macy Roth- Magical Bricks and the Bricks of Birth
Frank Miosi- God, Fate, and Free Will in Egyptian Wisdom Literature
Segun Gbadegesin- Toward a Theory of Destiny

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Ann Macy Roth- Pesesh Kaf and the Opening of the Mouth Ceremony
Excerpts from Amandine Marshall- Motherhood and Early Childhood in Ancient Egypt- Lesson 93
Excerpts from Kimbwandende Fu-Kiau- Self-Healing Power and Therapy- Lesson 93

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Astronomical Discovery in Buto- Egyptian Antiquities Facebook Post Translated from Arabic by Google Translate

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Hathor in Ch. 186 - Book of Coming Forth By Day - Glyphs - Transliteration - Translation - Grammar.pdf
Hathor Defined in Geraldine Pinch - Egyptian Mythology
Excerpts on Hathor from Claas Jouco Bleeker - Hathor and Thoth
Excerpt on Hathor - Serpent Power - and the Solar Eye in Alison Roberts - Hathor Rising

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Abdel Abubakr- Divine Boats of Ancient Egypt
Hathor in Ch. 186- Book of Coming Forth By Day - Glyphs - Transliteration -Translation - Grammar
Scott Noegel- The Egyptian Origin of the Ark of the Covenant

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Djehuty in Chapter 182 of The Book of Coming Forth By Day
Excerpts on Thoth from Claas Jouco Bleeker- Hathor and Thoth
Patrick Houlihan- The Birds of Ancient Egypt- Sacred Ibis

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Mario Beatty On the Source of the Moons Light in Ancient Egypt
Mario Beatty - Master of Secrets Article
John Iskander- The Haker Feast and the Transformation
Richard Jasnow and Karl Theodor Zauzich- Overview of the Book of Thoth in Conversations in the House of Life
Excerpts from the Book of Thoth- Lesson 98
Miriam Lichtheim- Ancient Egytian Autobiographies Chiefly of the Middle Kingdom
Hathor in All Her Places- Excerpt from Barbara Lesko- Goddesses of Egypt- Lesson 98

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Chapter 18 in The Book of Coming Forth By Day- Maa Kheru - True of Voice
Excerpt on Netcher and the Enemy in Ptahhotep Maxim 14
Frank Miosin: God, Fate and Free Will in Egyptian Wisdom Literature
James Allen- Instructions of Ptahhotep

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Chapter 18 in The Book of Coming Forth By Day- Maa Kheru - True of Voice
Excerpt on Netcher and the Enemy in Ptahhotep Maxim 14
Frank Miosin: God, Fate and Free Will in Egyptian Wisdom Literature
James Allen- Instructions of Ptahhotep

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No Assignments

Carol Anderson- After the Election- Imagining in White Rage- The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide
David Kertzer - Ritual - Politics - and Power - Chapter 1 and 4
Ronald Walters - The Attack on the Black Poor in White Nationalism - Black Interests
Stephan Seidlmayer- The First Intermediate Period
Stephen Kinze r- Introduction- Overthrow - Americas Century of Regime Change From Hawaii to Iraq
Susan Williams- Chapter 1 in White Malice- The CIA and the Covert Recolonization of Africa

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Asa Hilliard- Teacher Education from an African American Perspective
Heather Andrea Williams - Self-taught - African American Education in Slavery and Freedom - Ch. 9
James Allen- The Debate Between a Man and His Soul
Lindsey Burke- The Department of Education Project 2025
Theophile Obenga- African Renaissance

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Ayi Kwei Armah- Eloquence of the Scribes- Style
W. Joye Hardiman- The Ra-Surrection of Truth From the Chains of Falsehood
Dorothy Cheney and Robert Seyfarth- Baboon Metaphysics- Ch. 10-12
J. Gwyn Griffiths- Allegory in Greece and Egypt
Thomas Allen- The Book of the Dead- Spell 17
Helena Pio- Baboons in Ancient Egyptian Art
Miriam Lichtheim- Ancient Egyptian Literature- Truth and Falsehood

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Book of Coming Forth By Day Excerpts- Isis and Nephthys- Ch. 151- Lesson 104
Heinrich Brugsch- Thesaurus Inscriptionum Aegyptiacarum- Winter Solstice - p. 408-411
Miriam Guardia - Dancing for the Dead - Muu Dancers in New Kingdom Funerary Scenes
Story of Sinuhe
Tarek Tawfik- Spell 1 of the Book of the Dead and Its Vignette
Malidoma Some- Of Water and the Spirit- Grandfathers Farewell and Funeral- Ch. 3 and 4
Nicola Harrington- Living With the Dead- Funerals Ch. 4
Yoporeka Somet- Ancient Egypt- An African System of the World- Death and Funerary Rites of the Dagara and Ancient Egypt- Ch. 2 and 3
Mohamadou Nissire Sarr- Funerals and Representations in the Tombs of the Egyptian Old and Middle Kingdom- Comparisons with Current Civilizations of Black Africa

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James Allen- Ancient Egyptian Phonology- Discussion for Coptic Vowels for Ra- the Sun
Toby Wilkinson- Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt- The Palermo Stone
Werner Vycichl- Entry on Ra- the Sun on p. 170 in his book Etymological Dictionary of the Coptic Language
Rekhety Wimby Jones- The Calendar Project
Fred Wendorf- Astronomy of Nabta Playa
Juan Belmonte- The Calendar of Ancient Egypt- A Gift of the Nile in his Book Astronomy of Ancient Egypt

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Betsy Bryan - Rekhmire in Chapter entitled Administration in the Reign of Thutmose III in Eric Cline and David OConnor Biography on Thutmose III
Excerpt From Tomb of Rekhmire - Installation of the Prime Minister - Glyphs - Transliteration -Translation - Grammar
Jean-Marie Krutchen- Law in Donald Redford- The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt
Miriam Lichtheim- Ancient Egyptian Literature- The Installation of the Vizier Rekhmire
Raymond Faulkner- The Installation of the Vizier Rekhmire
Tomb of Rekhmire- Volume 1
Tomb of Rekhmire- Volume 2

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Ch. 81 Book of Coming Forth By Day on Blue Water Lilly - Lotus - Transliteration Translation and Grammar
The Destruction of Mankind - Ra and Hathor in Miriam Lichtheim - Ancient Egyptian Literarture -Vol 2
Jason Pohl - Investigating the Psychedelic blue lotus of Egypt
Images of Blue Water Lilly - Lotus in Sandro Vannini- King Tut - The Journey Through the Underworld
J. Andrew McDonald - Biological Determination of the Middle Egyptian Tree of Life - Egyptian Lotus
W. Benson Harer - Pharmacological and Biological Properties of the Egyptian Lotus
William Hayes - The Egyptian God of the Lotus

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The Dispute Between a Man and His Ba- Lichtheim Translation
Mostafa El-Abbadi- The Life and Fate of the Ancient Library of Alexandria- Excerpts on Collecting Books and the Burning of the Library
Dilwyn Jones- A Glossary of Ancient Egyptian Nautical Titles and Terms- Entry on Processional Barge of Amun
Thomas Allen- The Book of the Dead- Spell 159 and 160 on Papyrus
Richard Parkinson and Stephen Quirke- Papyrus- Ch. 3 on Content and Storage
Holger Kockelmann- How a Book of the Dead Manuscript Was Produced
Edouard Naville- Aegyptische Todtenbuch- Ch. 160 Book of Coming Forth By Day on Papyrus Plant Amulet
Edouard Naville- Aegyptische Todtenbuch- Ch. 81B Book of Coming Forth By Day on Blue Water Lilly- Lotus
Guillermo Carvajal- House of Life Discovered at the Ramesseum in Luxor- Filled With Drawings and School Games
Dispute Between a Man and His Ba- Excerpt on Blue Water Lilly
Vocabulary of Papyrus
Tomb of Hemaka First Dynasty- Earliest Evidence of Papyrus Roll in Kemet

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Edouard Naville- The Temple of Deir el Bahari of Hatshepsut- Select Scenes on Incense and the Punt Expedition
Divine Birth Scene of Hatshepsut- Edouard Naville- Egyptian scene from Deir el Bahari and James Breasted English Translation
El Sayed Mahfouz- New Perspectives on the Expeditions to the Land of Punt
Stephen Harvey- Interpreting Punt
Hatshepsuts Punt Expedition- Glyphs in Kurt Sethe Urkunden der 18 dynastie
Edouard Naville- The temple of Deir el Bahari of Hatshepsut Part 2
Edouard Naville- The temple of Deir el Bahari of Hatshepsut Part 3
Excerpts from Hatshepsut and Incense in her Temple at Deir el Bahrin Glyphs Transliteration and Translation
Filip Taterka-Hatshepsuts Punt Reliefs

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Medu Netcher - Egyptian Hieroglyphs

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