Expedition to the ancestors. The life of the ancient Egyptians: first work, then fun
Fresco from the tomb of Nebamun at Thebes, c. 1400–1350 BC e.
Fragment (one of three) of a polychrome tombstone painting depicting a feast scene. It shows four women sitting on the ground, one of whom plays the flute, and two dancers entertain the guests with their dance in the upper register, which is not shown here. Dancers wear belts, earrings and bracelets. Female musicians wear earrings on their ears, wide collars on their shoulders, bracelets, armlets and rings on their fingers. The voluminous hairstyles (wigs), the abundance of jewelry and the exceptional grace of the women are striking. They are dressed in translucent festive outfits that beautifully fit their figures. But the dancers are depicted almost naked. Fifteen vertical registers of hieroglyphs have also been preserved. British Museum, London
No one comes from there,
to tell what happened to them,
To tell about their stay,
To cheer our hearts...
Follow your heart as long as you live
Put myrrh on your head,
put on thin fabrics,
Wear yourself with the wonderful real ointments of the gods,
Multiply your pleasures even more
Do not let your heart grieve,
Follow his desire and your good,
Do your work on earth
according to the dictates of your heart
And do not be sad until you come
day of crying for you, -
The one whose heart does not beat does not listen to complaints
And crying will not return anyone from the grave.
So, celebrate the joyful day and do not be sad,
For no one takes his good with him,
And none of those who went there,
not yet come back.
...A scroll is more useful than a chapel...Harpist's song.
Came to us in the recording
on papyrus from the 14th century. BC e.
to tell what happened to them,
To tell about their stay,
To cheer our hearts...
Follow your heart as long as you live
Put myrrh on your head,
put on thin fabrics,
Wear yourself with the wonderful real ointments of the gods,
Multiply your pleasures even more
Do not let your heart grieve,
Follow his desire and your good,
Do your work on earth
according to the dictates of your heart
And do not be sad until you come
day of crying for you, -
The one whose heart does not beat does not listen to complaints
And crying will not return anyone from the grave.
So, celebrate the joyful day and do not be sad,
For no one takes his good with him,
And none of those who went there,
not yet come back.
...A scroll is more useful than a chapel...Harpist's song.
Came to us in the recording
on papyrus from the 14th century. BC e.
People and culture. Not long ago, an interesting article about the music of the ancient Egyptians appeared on our VO website, which fits quite logically into the series of our articles about the culture of ancient peoples, and in particular the same Egyptians. But, besides music, they knew many other entertainments, and were not at all manic and gloomy misanthropes, from morning to night only thinking about their tombs and otherworldly existence.
On the contrary, the Egyptians loved and knew how to have fun, and we know about this from the frescoes, again, on the walls of their tombs, that is, they tried to take with them to the other world everything that gave them pleasure during life, and to the maximum! And now we’ll tell you how they had fun.
And although this story is unlikely to be exhaustive - this is a very broad topic, it nevertheless allows us to get an idea of the daily life of the ancient Egyptians, who worked a lot, but also knew how to relax.
But the illustrations for the story will be miniature figures of “soldiers” from various companies, depicting ancient Egyptians at work and play. It turns out that quite a lot of these figures are produced, so that you can even make dioramas out of them.
Of course, they are very expensive, especially those already painted, but they exist, which means there are those who buy these figures.
So, today we are going not just to our distant ancestors, but to the Egyptians, busy with various pleasant things.
But we will still start with labor, since it was directly related to their culture!
So…
Fresco from tomb TT52, located at Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, part of the Theban necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile, opposite Luxor. Belonged to Nakht, an ancient Egyptian official who served as scribe during the reign of Thutmose IV (1401–1391 BC or 1397–1388 BC), pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty, first dynasty of the New Kingdom
Fragment of a fresco from the tomb of Nakht depicting three artists
The fact is that, working from morning to night in a hot climate, peasants and common people usually wore only one linen apron. Moreover, during field work they often took it off, since it was believed that any clothing restricts movement. This is why many Egyptians preferred to work naked.
So nudity in Egypt was not considered shameful, especially during the era of the Ancient and Middle Kingdoms.
The women's clothing was also very simple - a tight dress with straps, which they also often took off, preferring a short apron on their hips. Even less covered were the dancers and musicians who entertained the Egyptians at feasts and festivals, but why this is so, I think, there is no need to explain.
Egyptian family of the New Kingdom era. Set of two figures from King & Country (Hong Kong). There is also a child, but this is a separate figure!
It is known that during the construction of the pyramids, many Egyptians were periodically herded to this work. But not only men, but also women worked there!
The fact is that working under the scorching Egyptian sun from early morning until late evening required copious amounts of water for the workers building the pyramid. Brigades of girls and young women, many of whom were Nubians, provided drinking water; they brought fresh water to the workers throughout the working day.
After finishing their work they were kept in separate camps to ensure both their own safety and to eliminate the possibility that they would tire out the construction workers with unscheduled night activities!
But the Egyptians used these simple tools to determine the accuracy of making stone blocks... Set of two figures from King & Country (Hong Kong)
King & Country also has stonemasons in its collection! The left stonecutter is interesting. He could well have been cutting grooves in the rocky base of the pyramid. Then these grooves, connected to each other, were filled with water, perhaps even colored water. And when it evaporated, a clear mark remained on the walls of the grooves. But the excess rock was cut down, and thus the entire site for the construction of the pyramid became perfectly level!
Even the “stones” are produced by this Hong Kong company! Take them and combine them with stonemasons, and here you have a finished diorama from the Egyptian stories
Are the stonemasons thirsty? This Nubian woman can bring them water...
Building the pyramids and other structures was grueling work, and the workers needed more than just water to quench their thirst... This young woman is hard at work preparing a large container of local beer for the construction workers. It was hard to work under the scorching sun... Hence the minimum amount of clothing on the girl, which was quite understandable to the Egyptians of that time - “after all, she works”!
Noble people of the Old Kingdom wore a wide sash over an apron on their hips. And it was only this that distinguished them from the poor, and also the quality of the fabric. Well, they also decorated themselves with special collars trimmed with multi-colored enamel. In the Polish movie “Pharaoh” such mantle collars are shown very well.
However, what is important for us now is, first of all, that the Egyptians were passionate dancers. Not a single holiday, not a single significant event in personal and public life was complete without incendiary collective dances and dances, accompanied by singing and playing musical instruments.
The dancers wrapped themselves in ribbons and decorated their heads with wreaths of flowers. Others braided their hair into a long braid, to the end of which they tied a small ball. With quick movements, such a braid wriggled fancifully, which, apparently, was considered beautiful.
Dance of two dancers. Well, their figures were certainly a success. All that remains is to add the spectators beating the beat with their palms
And in this group there are two dancers and a girl accompanying them
Moreover, images of a whirlwind collective dance from the time of the V Dynasty have reached us. It is very reminiscent of modern pop acrobatic dances. So there is nothing contrived about these dancer figures. It was!
Three women playing traditional Egyptian musical instruments
There are images of a dance with a tambourine, a dance with castanets, a dance with wooden sticks, as well as couples dancing to the accompaniment of a harp, which was a truly folk instrument in Egypt. But its form has changed significantly over time.
Images of the Old and Middle Kingdoms are dominated by small six- and seven-string harps, which are played while seated. By the New Kingdom, twelve- and twenty-string harps appeared, larger than human height. You have to play them while standing. But at the same time, a very small harp was widely used, which was pressed to the shoulder while playing.
Harpist and flutist
Harpist with twelve-string harp
After the harp, the flute was considered the second most important instrument. The Egyptians used a whole family of different flutes - short, long and double. They were made from reed and wood, and the mouthpiece was usually made of papyrus.
However, we also have companies in Russia that make figurines of Egyptians no worse. This girl playing something like a banjo was made by the St. Petersburg company Silver Dream Studio. She looks great. And... we will definitely tell you about the work of this Russian company here someday!
What can you do if nudity is so attractive? So figurines of naked Egyptian women are made not only in Hong Kong and here, but also in Astana, where the Astana Toys company operates.
Here, for example, is a figurine of an Egyptian princess with a height of 65 mm. Astana Toys Company. It is interesting that many companies producing figures closely cooperate with each other. One company, say, makes them, while another is engaged in painting them, such as, for example, the same Russian company Silver Dream Studio
Princess on the bed. Height 80 mm. Astana Toys Company
So today we can study the history of Ancient Egypt not only from frescoes and bas-reliefs, but also from figurines of tin “soldiers” made by high-class craftsmen based on them.
Well, we will talk about various other Egyptian entertainment and amusements in one of our next articles in the “Expedition to the Ancestors” series.
PS The author and the site administration would like to thank the management of the "King & Country" company from Hong Kong for the photographs provided for this article.
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