Koiak (; , []), also known as Choiak (, ''Khoiák'') and Kiyahk. (, ''Kiahk'', []; or ), is the fourth month of the ancient

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

and

Coptic calendar The Coptic calendar, also called the Alexandrian calendar, is a liturgical calendar used by the farming populace in Egypt and used by the Coptic Orthodox and Coptic Catholic churches. It was used for fiscal purposes in Egypt until the adoptio ...

s. It lasts between 10 December and 8 January of the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...

, or between 11 December and 9 January of the Gregorian calendar in Coptic calendar years immediately following a Coptic calendar leap year (which occur every four years, in Coptic calendar years immediately preceding those that are divisible by 4 to produce an integer; i.e., 1719, 1723, 1727, 1731, etc. are all examples of leap years in the Coptic calendar). The month of Koiak is also the fourth month of the Season of '' Akhet'' (Inundation) in

Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

, when the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

floods historically covered the land. They have not done so since the construction of the High Dam at

Aswan Aswan (, also ; ) is a city in Southern Egypt, and is the capital of the Aswan Governorate. Aswan is a busy market and tourist centre located just north of the Aswan Dam on the east bank of the Nile at the first cataract. The modern city ha ...

Name

The name of the month of Koiak comes from the

phrase ''kꜣ ḥr kꜣ'' "Soul upon Soul", a name of the sacred ancient Egyptian

Apis Bull In ancient Egyptian religion, Apis or Hapis, alternatively spelled Hapi-ankh, was a sacred bull or multiple sacred bulls worshiped in the Memphis region, identified as the son of Hathor, a primary deity in the pantheon of ancient Egypt. Initi ...

. It is attested in cuneiform with the pronunciation ''ku-i-iḫ-ku'', likely representing /kɔʔ-iḥ-kɔʔ/ with an o-vowel as in later Coptic. It is also attested in

Imperial Aramaic Imperial Aramaic is a linguistic term, coined by modern Aramaic studies, scholars in order to designate a specific historical Variety (linguistics), variety of Aramaic language. The term is polysemic, with two distinctive meanings, wider (socioli ...

in the letters of Ananiah in the Jewish colony of

Elephantine Elephantine ( ; ; ; ''Elephantíne''; , ) is an island on the Nile, forming part of the city of Aswan in Upper Egypt. The archaeological site, archaeological digs on the island became a World Heritage Site in 1979, along with other examples of ...

, Egypt as .

Coptic tradition

The month of Koiak holds a special place in the rite of the

Coptic Orthodox Church The Coptic Orthodox Church (), also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt. The head of the church and the See of Alexandria is the pope of Alexandria on the Holy Apo ...

. It is known as the "Mariam Month" ("Month of Mary") because the Nativity according to the

falls on 29 Koiak. The month is characterized by beautiful midnight praises that commemorate the Lord's

Incarnation Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It is the Conception (biology), conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic form of a god. It is used t ...

and venerate his mother, the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. The name of the Koiak midnight praise translates into ''Seven and Four'', describing the outline of the praise that consists of 4

Canticle In the context of Christian liturgy, a canticle (from the Latin ''canticulum'', a diminutive of ''canticum'', "song") is a psalm-like song with biblical lyrics taken from elsewhere than the Book of Psalms, but included in psalters and books su ...

s and 7 Theotokia (glorifications of Saint Mary). It was at the beginning of the month of Koiak in Coptic calendar year 1726 that the Virgin Mary was said to have appeared in churches all over Egypt.

Coptic Synaxarium of the month of Koiak

Rituals

During the month of Koiak, many rituals and festivals are performed in Egypt to celebrate

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wikt:wsjr, wsjr'') was the ancient Egyptian deities, god of fertility, agriculture, the Ancient Egyptian religion#Afterlife, afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...

Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

, and

Nephthys Nephthys or Nebet-Het in ancient Egyptian () was a goddess in ancient Egyptian religion. A member of the Great Ennead of Heliopolis in Egyptian mythology, she was a daughter of Nut and Geb. Nephthys was typically paired with her sister Isis ...

. These rites have been prominent as early as the New Kingdom. Two women will take the roles of the goddesses, Isis and Nephthys, to mourn for their dead brother Osiris. The main festival was over a length of ten days, ending at the day of Osiris's resurrection. This day also marked the beginning of the new agricultural season, when the Egyptians began to plant new crops for the year. Each day of the festival also featured a scene of purifications, feasts, and constructions of memorials associated with Osiris's resurrection.

References

Citations

Bibliography

Synaxarium of the month of Kiahk
{{Coptic months Months of the Coptic calendar Egyptian calendar