WHEN GODS AND MAGICIANS ROAMED THE EARTH THE DIVINE INTERVENTION ON RD DDT’S CHILDBIRTH, THE PROPHECY OF 9Di AND THE USE OF THE PAPYRUS WESTCAR AS A LEGITIMACY TOOL

Description

The knowledge of the importance of religion and its reality in Ancient Egypt’s mind is indispensable for the understanding of its role and that of magic in the maintenance of maat during the, sometimes, isefetic, successions of dynasties, many of them of non-royal origins. The relevant maatic concern is very well shown on some of the literary production of this Civilization.
As a prime example, one sees this in Papyrus Westcar, where both divine and magical play an intertwined game oriented to the acceptance of royal rupture and the rise of a new dynasty. This phenomenon seems to have been logically used by those who lived in Kmt and who needed to satisfy their own desires and needs of legitimacy, viewed as an almost subversion of the most profound beliefs of ancient Egyptians. Questions immediately emerge: “To whom were these stories written? The elite? The religious class without whom the new lineage could very well be condemned? Surely not to the masses... or was it?”, “Did this strategy work?”. The search for answers could lie, partly, in two of Papyrus Westcar tales, RD DDT and 9Di. Both seem to have an interesting hidden meaning that one proposes to analyze, using as a starting point the clearly oriented strategy of bringing the purest elements of the Old Kingdom, 2wf w, and the older gods, to a specific moment after it! This essay will try to provide a new understanding of these tales as possible tools rather than simple literary compositions. It is, however, vital never to forget that, sometimes, certainties can only be just illusions!

Period	9 May 2016 → 10 May 2016
Event title	The International Conference Sources to Study Antiquity: Between Texts and Material Culture
Event type	Conference
Location	Lisboa, PortugalShow on map