The Neshmet bark was a vessel belonging to the god
Nun. The ancient Egyptian deity
Osiris
Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wsjr'', cop, ⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲉ , ; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎𐤓, romanized: ʾsr) is the god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He wa ...
was transported in it on the river
Nile
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest riv ...
during the Osiris festival at
Abydos Abydos may refer to:
*Abydos, a progressive metal side project of German singer Andy Kuntz
*Abydos (Hellespont), an ancient city in Mysia, Asia Minor
* Abydos (''Stargate''), name of a fictional planet in the ''Stargate'' science fiction universe ...
. The god's departure from his temple, journey to his tomb, and triumphant return were enacted and drew many spectators who participated in the public parts of the mysteries.
In myth
The myth of the death and resurrection of Osiris kindled hope for eternal life in the hearts of the believers, and since the
6th dynasty they often preferred to be buried near their god at Abydos. Their mummies were taken to the city in decorated funerary boats reminiscent of Osiris' Neshmet bark. Involvement in building a Neshmet bark was an event of some importance and duly recorded among the good deeds in a person's 'autobiographical' mortuary inscriptions. Tomb depictions show the deceased in Neshmet barks, thus
Rekhmire's statue is shown in a shrine on the bark with a priest making libations.
Other divine barks
There were other divine barks such as the
Hennu bark of
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 ...
, as well as the sun barks of
Ra, which included the morning bark, ''
mandjet'', and the evening bark, ''
mesktet''.
[Dilwyn Jones, ''Boats'', University of Texas Press 1995, , p.35]
References
Egyptian mythology
{{Egyptian-myth-stub