Through the Eras

DanceFERRYMEN IN A FUNERAL PROCESSION TEXTINTRODUCTION: The following funeral procession text associatedthe deceased with the god Atum and thusmagically protected him or her from enemies. Itthen addressed two ferrymen called “Whose-Faceis-on-his-Front”and “Whose-Face-is-on-his-Back.”These two ferrymen most likely are represented bythe paired muu-dancers.If [Name of the Deceased] is enchanted, so will Atumbe enchanted!If [Name of the Deceased] is attacked, so will Atumbe attacked!If [Name of the Deceased] is struck, so will Atum bestruck!If [Name of the Deceased] is repelled, so will Atumbe repelled![Name of the Deceased] is Horus.[Name of the Deceased] has come after his father.[Name of the Deceased] has come after Osiris.Oh, you, Whose-Face-is-on-his-Front!Oh, you, Whose-Face-is-on-his-Back!Bring these things to [Name of the Deceased].(Speech of the Ferryman)“Which Ferry should I bring to you, oh, [Name of theDeceased]?(Answer)“Bring to [Name of the Deceased] (the ferry named)“It flies up and lets itself down!”Translated by Edward Bleiberg.that the “Souls of Buto” were deceased kings. Thoughit is true that the “Souls of Buto” had some role in welcomingthe deceased into the next world, no texts actuallyequate the “Souls of Buto” with the muu-dancers.Rather the muu-dancers danced at the ritual point, calledthe Gates of Buto. Advances in understanding the PyramidTexts demonstrate that the muu-dancers performeda different ritual function from the “Souls of Buto” duringthe funeral procession.EVIDENCE FROM TEXTS AND IMAGES. The EgyptologistH. Altenmüller identified six places where themuu-dancers were active in the funerary procession,combining the evidence of texts and representations.This itinerary of the muu-dancers corresponds with thefuneral procession’s itinerary. The muu-dancers begantheir role in the funeral from the “Hall of the Muu.”They were present as the deceased journeyed westwardtoward the land of the dead and then journeyed to Sais,a pilgrimage that was ritually re-enacted during the funeral.They attended the procession of the sarcophaguson a sledge, the separate procession of the canopic jarsand tekenu on a sledge, and at the tekenu ritual. Artistsrepresented the parts of this procession in paintings andrelief sculpture in Old, Middle, and New Kingdomtombs, establishing that this ritual was part of the funeralfor over 1,500 years. Though it must have evolvedand changed over time, the muu-dance was a very longlivedritual.HALL OF THE MUU-DANCERS. Artists also representedthe setting of the Hall of the Muu-Dancers intomb paintings and relief sculptures. The Hall sat in avegetable garden at the edge of the necropolis. When thefunerary procession reached the Hall of the Muu-Dancers, the priests called for the dancers to join the procession.In the paintings and reliefs, the caption for thisevent is, “The Coming of the Muu-dancers.” Thedancers, standing in pairs, executed a step, crossing onefoot over the other with their arms raised to hip-level. Insome representations they say, “She has nodded her head”while they dance, perhaps singing. The Egyptologist E.Brunner-Traut explained this phrase to mean that theGoddess of the West—the goddess of the necropolis—had approved the deceased’s entry into the necropolis.The muu-dancers’ first important role then was to welcomethe deceased to the necropolis with their dance.PYRAMID TEXT 310. Egyptologists have gained furtherunderstanding of the muu-dancers from the PyramidTexts. These texts were the ritual that priests recitedat royal funerals beginning no later than the reign ofKing Unas (2371–2350 B.C.E.). Something similar becamepart of the beginning of all elite funerals somewhatlater. H. Altenmüller correlated Pyramid Texts 306through 310 with New Kingdom scenes of the tekenuand canopic jar procession. Artists divided the scenes intofive parts, including the bringing of the tekenu, a censing,the bringing of the canopic jars, the bearing of thepapyrus stocks, and the dance of the muu-dancers. Thesefive scenes correlate with the five Pyramid Texts. InPyramid Text 310, the spell identifies the deceased withthe god Atum. According to the text, if enemies enchanted,opposed, struck, or repelled the deceased, itwould be no more effective than to do the same to thegod Atum. The text then associated the deceased withthe god Horus. As Horus he asks the two ferrymen—Whose-Face-is-on-his-Front and Whose-Face-is-on-his-Back—to bring the ferry boat called “It flies up andlets itself down” to him. Thus in this text the pair ofArts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.) 77