Articles
The Ancient Egyptian feast of Renenutet
Aleksandra Mironova
Vostok/Oriens '2016, №3
The festival of the goddess Renenutet was one of the most important harvest festivals in Ancient Egypt. The investigation of the festival scenes from the Theban private tombs helps to reconstruct the ritual and symbolic programs of the feast and shows up its relationship with the cults of the gods Neper, Osiris, and Amun-Re. An important aspect of the festival is its connection with the funeral cult, with the myth of the subterranean journey of the Sun god and its rebirth at dawn. The comparison of the festival scenes with the architectural and decorative design of the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari has revealed that the festival of Renenutet took part in this temple. The festival culminated in the rituals held in the chapel dedicated to the solar deities. Perhaps in some temples such chapel could be installed on the roof of the granary that may be associated with the ritual Xnm itn (“the unity with the solar disk”) when the sunrays illuminated the grain. The symbolic meaning of the ceremony was the birth of the god of grain Neper – this event was celebrated on the first day of the Season of the Harvest.
Keywords: Ancient Egypt, Renenutet, Neper, Osiris, Amun-Re, Amduat, Deir el-Bahari
Pages: С. 20–36
