Through the Eras

DanceCanopic jars of Neskhons, 21st Dynasty. The wooden lids ofthese jars represent the four Sons of Horus, four minor godswho protected the organs that they contained: the falconheadedQebhsenuef (intestines), the jackal-headed Duamutef(the stomach), the baboon-headed Hapy (the lungs), and thehuman-headed Imsety (the liver). © THE BRITISHMUSEUM/TOPHAM-HIP/THE IMAGE WORKS.ANCESTORS. The muu-dancers might also have representedthe deceased’s ancestors. The muu-dancers wereclearly part of a large group called the “Followers of Re.”This group rode in the sun-god Re’s boat that carriedthe sun from east to west in this world during the dayand conveyed the sun through the land of the dead atnight. Membership in the “Followers of Re” was availableto all high officials after their death. The muudancersrepresented all the dead ancestors of the deceasedthat rode in the sun-god’s boat. This connection betweenthe deceased’s ancestors and the muu-dancers also explainsa line from The Story of Sinuhe. In the letter thatthe king wrote to Sinuhe inviting him to return to Egyptfrom the Levant, the king said, “The Dance of theWeary-ones will be performed at the entrance to yourtomb.” The “weary-ones” was another name for all thedeceased’s ancestors. The dancers at the tomb entrancecertainly included the muu-dancers. Thus the muudancersand the ancestors can easily be equated.CHANGE. Muu-dancers were a feature of Egyptianfunerals for at least 1,500 years from the Old Kingdomthrough the New Kingdom. It is possible, though, thatthe muu-dancers were replaced by dancing dwarfs by theTwentieth Dynasty. The Egyptian national epic, TheStory of Sinuhe, was recopied from its composition in theMiddle Kingdom through the end of Egyptian history.A copy made near the time of composition is quoted assaying, “The Dance of the Weary-ones will be performedat the entrance to your tomb.” The word for weary-onesThe Egyptian god Bes, god of dance, music, and pleasure. Stelein the temenos at Dendera. © 2003 CHARLESWALKER/TOPFOTO/THE IMAGE WORKS.in Egyptian is neniu. In a Twentieth-dynasty copy of thesame text it reads, “The dance of the dwarfs will be performedfor you at the entrance to your tomb.” The word“dwarfs” in Egyptian is nemiu. Perhaps by the TwentiethDynasty, the dwarf-god Bes joined the funeral procession.Bes was both a god of birth and re-birth as well asa dwarf. Thus Egyptian traditions could easily assimilatehim into the funeral procession.SOURCESHartwig Altenmüller, “Zur Frage der MWW,” Studien zurAltägyptischen Kultur 2 (1975): 1–37.Emma Brunner-Traut, Der Tanz im Alten Ägypten (Glückstadt,Germany: J.J. Augustin, 1938).SEE ALSO Religion: Funerary Beliefs and PracticesTHE IBA-DANCE AND HEBY-DANCELIFE AND DEATH. The iba-dance and the hebydanceare two different names for the same dance. Oldand Middle Kingdom artists used the word iba in captionsto scenes depicting it, while New Kingdom scribesused heby in the same context. Artists portrayed the ibadanceand the heby-dance in tombs, suggesting they hadsome meaning for the deceased in the next life. Yet theyportrayed the dancers performing while people ate meals,a quintessential part of daily life on earth. During theOld Kingdom, the tomb scenes show the deceased eating,often with a spouse. New Kingdom scenes portray a banquetwith many guests in addition to the deceased andclose family members both eating and watching thedance. Thus it seems likely that the Egyptians watchedArts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.) 79