Scenes of Oxen and Cows Participating in the Funeral Procession from the Old Kingdom to the End of the New Kingdom

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Assistant professor of Egyptology department of Archaeology-Faculty of Arts-Tanta University. (EGYPT)

Abstract

Cattle that participated in the funeral procession, whether bulls or cows, played an important role in the procession by bearing the greatest burden in pulling the deceased’s coffin from the lowest river bank towards the necropolis and ascending it to the tomb through a steep road, thus they had contributed by their physical strength to facilitate the transport of the deceased to his lasting place. The participation of cattle in this event was due to physical strength, and religious symbolism, the procession's cattle were described as healthy, strong and young. In addition cattle had associated with the red color, whether explicitly described or depicted. The red cow appeared next to the black cow in the procession of the deceased, accompanied by texts addressed to them, and other texts were expressing a state of sadness and crying for the deceased. The procession's cows contributed; through the ritual of milk scattering to facilitate the mission of transporting the deceased and purifying the road to the tomb. The procession's cattle had another important role besides the dragging of the procession. Thus, the research studies the critical stage of the funeral procession, in which the procession's cattle played important and decisive roles in transporting and resurrection of the deceased, through scenes, most of which are depicted on the walls of the noble tombs from the Old Kingdom until the end of the New Kingdom.

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References

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