In
Egyptian mythology
Egyptian mythology is the collection of myths from ancient Egypt, which describe the actions of the Egyptian gods as a means of understanding the world around them. The beliefs that these myths express are an important part of ancient Egyp ...
, the hennu boat or Sokar barque (also henu,
Manuel de Codage transliteration: Hnw) was a symbol of the god
Seker
Seker (; also spelled Sokar, and in Greek, Sokaris or Socharis) is a falcon god of the Memphite necropolis in the Ancient Egyptian religion. Name
Although the meaning of his name remains uncertain, the Egyptians in the Pyramid Texts linked his ...
of
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
. Depending on the era or the prevailing dynasty of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
, the hennu boat sailed toward either dawn or dusk.
In the
Pyramid Texts
The Pyramid Texts are the oldest ancient Egyptian funerary texts, dating to the late Old Kingdom. They are the earliest known corpus of ancient Egyptian religious texts. Written in Old Egyptian, the pyramid texts were carved onto the subterran ...
of Unas (PT 214, 138c) one of the steps the deceased had to take, after leaving his property to his son, after purifying himself, etc. was:
''You will descend on ropes of bronze, in the arms of Horus as his name is "Being in the Hennu barque."''
On the holiday of the god Seker, a stone—possibly a representation of the god—was put on the Hennu barque and pulled with a sled over the fields, while people followed it wearing garlands of onions. A harpist's song from the tomb of Djehutimes (TT 32) describes the practice as follows:
''
epulled
oar by placing the Hennu barque on its sled, going around the walls with his following.''
At times the Hennu barque was identified with Seker himself, as in pKairo CG 51189 (pYuya) where it is stated: ''I have appeared as Hennu.''
which is followed two lines below by this passage: ''I have appeared as Sokar.''
Hieroglyphic depiction
Other divine barks
* The
Neshmet The Neshmet bark was a vessel belonging to the god Nun. The ancient Egyptian deity Osiris was transported in it on the river Nile during the Osiris festival at Abydos. The god's departure from his temple, journey to his tomb, and triumphant return ...
* The sun barks of
Re: the morning bark, ''mandjet'', and the evening bark, ''mesktet''.
[Dilwyn Jones, ''Boats'', University of Texas Press 1995, , p.35]
References
* Margaret Alice Murray, ''Egyptian Religious Poetry'', J. Murray 1949, p. 86
* Ernest Alfred Wallis Budge, ''The Gods of the Egyptians or Studies in Egyptian Mythology. Volume 1'', Adamant Media Corporation, , p. 506
* M. Lurker, ''Lexikon der Götter und Symbole der alten Ägypter'', Scherz 1998, p. 189
Egyptian mythology
{{Egyptian-myth-stub