Djadjaemankh
Encyclopedia
Djadjaemankh is the name of a fictitious
ancient Egypt
ian magician
appearing in the third chapter of a story told in the legendary Westcar Papyrus
. He is said to have worked wonders
during the reign of king (pharaoh
) Sneferu
(4th dynasty
).
evidence that he existed. Nevertheless he is object of great interest for Egyptologists, since his magical trick is connected to later cultural
perceptions of the personality of king Sneferu. In the story Djadjaemankh is described as a high lector priest.
, decorated with gold, their handles made of seqab-wood, covered with dja'am
. Let me also be brought 20 virgin maidens with perfect bodies and well-developed bosoms, compassed with braided hairs. Let them be draped in nets after they have disrobed their clothes." All things Sneferu wished are done. And so they row to and fro and Sneferu's heart is gladdened when he sees the girls row. Then it happens that the stroke
maiden goes through her braids with her fingers and a hair pendant in the shape of a fish, made of malachite
, falls into the water of the lake. The stroke maiden becomes silent in shock and grief and stops specifying the clock. Her complete line of rowers becomes silent, too, and they all stop rowing. Sneferu asks: "Shouldn't you row...?" The rowers answer: "Our stroke became silent, without rowing." Sneferu consults the stroke maiden: "That you don't row any further, has which reason?" The woman answers: "This fish-pendant made of fresh beaten malachite is the reason. It fell into the water." Sneferu brings the stroke maiden back to her seat and offers: "Let me give you a duplicate of your pendant as a substitute." The woman says: "I prefer to receive my property back than having a duplicate.” The king orders now: "Go and bring the high lector priest Djadjaemankh to me." And Djadjaemankh is brought to Sneferu at once. The ruler says: “Djadjaemankh, my brother, I have done all things that you have advised and the heart of thy majesty was refreshed when seeing the maidens rowing. Then a fish pendant made of fresh beaten malachite, belonging to the stroke maiden, fell into the water. She became silent, without rowing. So it came that she distracted the whole rowing line. I asked her: 'Why don't you row?' and she said: 'That fish-pendant made of fresh beaten malachite is the reason. It fell into the water.' And I replied to her: 'Row! See, I'm someone who replaces it.' But the maiden said: 'I prefer my own property before some substitute.'" Djadjaemankh utters a secret spell which makes the waters of the lake move, so that one half side of the lake now rests on the other half. The water which had been 12 cubits in height becomes now 24 cubits at one side, whilst the other side is dry now. Djadjaemankh enters the lake's ground and picks up the lost fish-pendant, which was lying on a pot-shard. He brings the amulet back to the stroke maiden and then removes the waters magically back to their original positions. Sneferu spends the rest of the day celebrating together with his royal palace and Djadjaemankh is rewarded generously by the king.
and Kurt Heinrich Sethe
once considered the stories of the Westcar Papyrus as mere folklore
. They saw literary figures like Djadjaemankh and the other heroes of the Westcar Papyrus as a pure fiction, created only for entertainment, since there is no archeological evidence of them.
Modern Egyptologists such as Verena Lepper and Miriam Lichtheim
deny this view and argue that Sethe and Erman may have just failed to see the profundity of such novels. They hold that at one side Sneferu is depicted as generous and kind, while on the other side he shows an accostable
character when he addresses a subaltern, namely Djadjaemankh, with “my brother”. Both go even further and describe Sneferu as being bawdy when he tells Djadjaemankh how the female rowers shall be dressed and look like. Lepper and Liechtheim evaluate the story of Djadjaemankh as some sort of satire, in which a pharaoh
is depicted as a fatuous fool, who is easily pleased with superficial entertainment and unable to solve his problem with a little rowing girl on his own. Furthermore the author of Djadjaemankh's tale places the main actor intellectually higher than the pharaoh and criticizes the pharaoh with this. Additionally the story of Djadjaemankh shows an interesting writing element: a speech in a speech. Sneferu repeats what he said to the stroke maiden, when he explains his problem to Djadjaemankh. The Westcar Papyrus is the first preserved Egyptian document in which a speech in a speech occurs. Liechtheim and Lepper also point to multiple similar but somewhat later ancient Egyptian writings in which magicians perform very similar magic tricks or make prophecies to a king. Their stories are obviously inspired by the tale of Dedi
. Descriptive examples are the papyri pAthen and The prophecy of Neferti. In the Neferti-novel king Sneferu is also depicted as accostable and here, too, the king addresses a subaltern with "my brother". And again the stories of pAthen and the Neferti-novel both report about a bored pharaoh seeking for distraction. Furthermore the novels show how popular the theme of prophecying was since the Old Kingdom - just like in the story of the Westcar Papyrus. Since pAthen and The prophecy of Neferti show the same manner of speaking and equal picking up of quaint phrases as the Westcar Papyrus does, Lepper and Liechtheim hold that Djadjaemankh must have been known to Egyptian authors for a surprisingly long time.
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
ian magician
Magician (fantasy)
A magician, mage, sorcerer, sorceress, wizard, enchanter, enchantress, thaumaturge or a person known under one of many other possible terms is someone who uses or practices magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources...
appearing in the third chapter of a story told in the legendary Westcar Papyrus
Westcar Papyrus
The Westcar Papyrus is an ancient Egyptian text containing five stories about miracles performed by priests and magicians. Each of these tales are being told at the royal court of the King Cheops by his sons...
. He is said to have worked wonders
Miracle
A miracle often denotes an event attributed to divine intervention. Alternatively, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that a god may work with the laws...
during the reign of king (pharaoh
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
) Sneferu
Sneferu
Sneferu, also spelled as Snephru, Snefru or Snofru , was the founder of the Fourth dynasty of Egypt. Estimates of his reign vary, with for instance The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt suggesting a reign from around 2613 BC to 2589 BC, a reign of 24 years, while Rolf Krauss suggests a 30-year reign...
(4th dynasty
Fourth dynasty of Egypt
The fourth dynasty of ancient Egypt is characterized as a "golden age" of the Old Kingdom. Dynasty IV lasted from ca. 2613 to 2494 BC...
).
The literary person
Djadjaemankh appears only in the third story of the Westcar Papyrus - there is no archeological or historicalHistory
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
evidence that he existed. Nevertheless he is object of great interest for Egyptologists, since his magical trick is connected to later cultural
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
perceptions of the personality of king Sneferu. In the story Djadjaemankh is described as a high lector priest.
The wonder of Djadjaemankh
According to the Westcar Papyrus, king Sneferu is in a melancholic mood. He is bored and so he wanders through every room of his palace, to seek some distraction. When unsuccessful, he orders to his servants: "Go and bring the high lector priest and scribe of the books, Djadjaemankh, to me." The summoned is brought to Sneferu at once. Sneferu says to Djadjaemankh: "I have passed every chamber of my palace to find some distraction, but I couldn't find any." Djadjaemankh replies: "May thy majesty go to the lake of the palace, after a bark has been prepared with all the beauties from inside the palace. The heart of highness will be cheering up seeing them rowing to and fro. You will see the beautiful bird's marshes of the lake and their banks then and thine heart will become happy when recognizing their beautiful realms." Sneferu says: "Truly, I shall arrange such a rowing trip. Let me be brought 20 oars made of ebonyEbony
Ebony is a dense black wood, most commonly yielded by several species in the genus Diospyros, but ebony may also refer to other heavy, black woods from unrelated species. Ebony is dense enough to sink in water. Its fine texture, and very smooth finish when polished, make it valuable as an...
, decorated with gold, their handles made of seqab-wood, covered with dja'am
White Gold
White Gold is a 2003 Russian action film directed by Viktor Ivanov from a screenplay by John Jopson and Viktor Ivanov. The story begins with the actual events of 1919 when a White Army train carrying the bulk of Czar Nicholas' gold reserves arrives empty at Siberia's Irkutsk station...
. Let me also be brought 20 virgin maidens with perfect bodies and well-developed bosoms, compassed with braided hairs. Let them be draped in nets after they have disrobed their clothes." All things Sneferu wished are done. And so they row to and fro and Sneferu's heart is gladdened when he sees the girls row. Then it happens that the stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
maiden goes through her braids with her fingers and a hair pendant in the shape of a fish, made of malachite
Malachite
Malachite is a copper carbonate mineral, with the formula Cu2CO32. This green-colored mineral crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system, and most often forms botryoidal, fibrous, or stalagmitic masses. Individual crystals are rare but do occur as slender to acicular prisms...
, falls into the water of the lake. The stroke maiden becomes silent in shock and grief and stops specifying the clock. Her complete line of rowers becomes silent, too, and they all stop rowing. Sneferu asks: "Shouldn't you row...?" The rowers answer: "Our stroke became silent, without rowing." Sneferu consults the stroke maiden: "That you don't row any further, has which reason?" The woman answers: "This fish-pendant made of fresh beaten malachite is the reason. It fell into the water." Sneferu brings the stroke maiden back to her seat and offers: "Let me give you a duplicate of your pendant as a substitute." The woman says: "I prefer to receive my property back than having a duplicate.” The king orders now: "Go and bring the high lector priest Djadjaemankh to me." And Djadjaemankh is brought to Sneferu at once. The ruler says: “Djadjaemankh, my brother, I have done all things that you have advised and the heart of thy majesty was refreshed when seeing the maidens rowing. Then a fish pendant made of fresh beaten malachite, belonging to the stroke maiden, fell into the water. She became silent, without rowing. So it came that she distracted the whole rowing line. I asked her: 'Why don't you row?' and she said: 'That fish-pendant made of fresh beaten malachite is the reason. It fell into the water.' And I replied to her: 'Row! See, I'm someone who replaces it.' But the maiden said: 'I prefer my own property before some substitute.'" Djadjaemankh utters a secret spell which makes the waters of the lake move, so that one half side of the lake now rests on the other half. The water which had been 12 cubits in height becomes now 24 cubits at one side, whilst the other side is dry now. Djadjaemankh enters the lake's ground and picks up the lost fish-pendant, which was lying on a pot-shard. He brings the amulet back to the stroke maiden and then removes the waters magically back to their original positions. Sneferu spends the rest of the day celebrating together with his royal palace and Djadjaemankh is rewarded generously by the king.
Modern analysis
Egyptologists see an important connection between Djadjaemankh's magic performance and the perception of king Sneferu's personality. Adolf ErmanAdolf Erman
Johann Peter Adolf Erman was a renowned Egyptologist and lexicographer.-Life:Born in Berlin, he was the son of Georg Adolf Erman and grandson of Paul Erman....
and Kurt Heinrich Sethe
Kurt Heinrich Sethe
Kurt Heinrich Sethe was a noted German Egyptologist and philologist from Berlin. He was a student of Adolf Erman...
once considered the stories of the Westcar Papyrus as mere folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
. They saw literary figures like Djadjaemankh and the other heroes of the Westcar Papyrus as a pure fiction, created only for entertainment, since there is no archeological evidence of them.
Modern Egyptologists such as Verena Lepper and Miriam Lichtheim
Miriam Lichtheim
Miriam Lichtheim was a translator of ancient Egyptian texts whose translations are still widely used.-Biography:In the 1930s she studied under Hans Jakob Polotsky at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem...
deny this view and argue that Sethe and Erman may have just failed to see the profundity of such novels. They hold that at one side Sneferu is depicted as generous and kind, while on the other side he shows an accostable
Accessibility
Accessibility is a general term used to describe the degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is available to as many people as possible. Accessibility can be viewed as the "ability to access" and benefit from some system or entity...
character when he addresses a subaltern, namely Djadjaemankh, with “my brother”. Both go even further and describe Sneferu as being bawdy when he tells Djadjaemankh how the female rowers shall be dressed and look like. Lepper and Liechtheim evaluate the story of Djadjaemankh as some sort of satire, in which a pharaoh
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
is depicted as a fatuous fool, who is easily pleased with superficial entertainment and unable to solve his problem with a little rowing girl on his own. Furthermore the author of Djadjaemankh's tale places the main actor intellectually higher than the pharaoh and criticizes the pharaoh with this. Additionally the story of Djadjaemankh shows an interesting writing element: a speech in a speech. Sneferu repeats what he said to the stroke maiden, when he explains his problem to Djadjaemankh. The Westcar Papyrus is the first preserved Egyptian document in which a speech in a speech occurs. Liechtheim and Lepper also point to multiple similar but somewhat later ancient Egyptian writings in which magicians perform very similar magic tricks or make prophecies to a king. Their stories are obviously inspired by the tale of Dedi
Dedi
Dedi is the name of a fictitious ancient Egyptian magician appearing in the fourth chapter of a story told in the legendary Westcar Papyrus. He is said to have worked wonders during the reign of king Khufu .-Literary person:Dedi appears only in the fourth story of the Westcar Papyrus - there is no...
. Descriptive examples are the papyri pAthen and The prophecy of Neferti. In the Neferti-novel king Sneferu is also depicted as accostable and here, too, the king addresses a subaltern with "my brother". And again the stories of pAthen and the Neferti-novel both report about a bored pharaoh seeking for distraction. Furthermore the novels show how popular the theme of prophecying was since the Old Kingdom - just like in the story of the Westcar Papyrus. Since pAthen and The prophecy of Neferti show the same manner of speaking and equal picking up of quaint phrases as the Westcar Papyrus does, Lepper and Liechtheim hold that Djadjaemankh must have been known to Egyptian authors for a surprisingly long time.