Ancient Egyptian Literature: Volume III: The Late Period (Near Eastern Center, UCLA) by Miriam Lichtheim

Ancient Egyptian Literature: Volume III: The Late Period (Near Eastern Center, UCLA) Reviews

• 
  Banole

  While still useful, Miriam Lichtheim's three volume work suffers from the dogmas, biases and ideologies of Miriam Lichtheim .
  The sad fact is that Lichtheim was educated and drenched in perhaps the grossest form of arrogant German Eurocentrism.
  Lichtheim seemed to cling to the old Hegelian worldview, which placed black African peoples outside of human history. For Lichtheim all signs of civilizations found in ancient Africa "proper" was the result of either Asian, Semitic or even European "invaders" or immigrants "filtering in" from the "East". For Lichtheim, Hegel was right. Civilization and humanity originated in Asia. Asia was the Mother of All.
  In his Introduction to the 2006 Edition of Volume 1, Loprieno writes that Lichtheim placed "...Egypt within a literary tradition shared with the world of Western Asia...."
  We hasten to add that this failed attempt by Lichtheim to force ancient black African(ancient Egyptian) literature into the "Western Asia" "literary tradition" is indeed an intellectual fraud.
  Especially since we know that "ancient Egyptian"(ancient Negro African) literature is the oldest writings on earth!
  Lichtheim's translations and commentaries reflect her dogmas and her ideologies.
  
  Today we know that dogma is false. Civilization and humanity originated in Africa.
  
  Ancient Egyptian art depicts numerous examples of the king dancing in religious ceremonies.
  The ancient Negro Africans (ancient Egyptians) used dance in much the same way dance is still used almost everywhere in Black Africa today.
  
  On page 27 Vol 1., Lichtheim translates the well-known part of Harkhuf's mission to Yam. King Neferkare is anxious to have the dwarf at court who knows how to dance the dance of the Gods. There is another text where the king says he wishes to dance before the Deities.
  This seems to indicate profound religious and cultural connections between "ancient Egypt" and the heart of Africa. Especially since we know that the king had many priestly duties and that he was a God /priest on earth with a celestial mandate.
  In most African cultures today a God or Goddess has certain specific dances. Especially trained priest and priestess demonstrate and teach the dances of the different deities.
  For example, the Yoruba Gods(Orisa) Shango and Obatala have special dances and music. So does the Goddess Oshun and Yemoja.
  Lichtheim's translation and commentary ignores the undeniable Black African religious and cultural realities reflected in those passages. Here we have the virtual triumph of ideology, racial chauvinism and dogma over scholarship.
  
  In her translation of the Mereneptah Stela (p.75 Volume 2 Lichtheim writes: "Seth turned his back upon their chief"(the Libyans). In her notes on this passage (p78) she writes:"The god Seth was viewed as the protector of the foreign peoples to the east and west of Egypt....". There is a lot of information packed into that short sentence. Set was the God of foreigners: Europeans and Semites!
  Remember Seth was usually associated with evil, disorder and instability by the ancient Egyptians.
  The God of both the Egyptians and the Nubians was Horus.
  If Lichtheim's aim was to educate and spread knowledge to her least sophisticated readers we wonder why she said nothing about the texts from the tombs of Seti 1st or Merenptah or even Ramses 3rd (Book of Gates) where it is clearly written that both the ancient Egyptians and the Nubian-Sudanese(nehasu) were to have the God Horus
  protect their souls in Tuat. While both the Europeans (tamaho) and the Semites(amou) were to have their souls beaten or hammered by the Lion head Goddess Sekhmet.
  The Gods and Goddesses of ancient Egypt almost always originated in Nubia. And if I am not mistaken, the priestess at the most sacred temple of Amen(Amon, Amun) at Thebes had to be a Nehasi or Nubian woman!
  Here again we see that the ancient Egyptians never confused themselves with Semites, Asians and certainly not with Europeans.
  No amount of scholarly jargon or erudite rhetoric can change the facts! Not one of the Classical European writers, Greek or Roman, said that the "ancient Egyptians" were Semites, Asians or Europeans!
  
  Anyone who can read the text in the original or even a good translation can begin to understand that "ancient Egypt" was as African as Nubia or Yam or Wa wat or Punt or Kush.. Remember that the mythologies and religious thinking of the Egyptians and the Nubians form one long continuum over time and space.
  While the Egyptians and the Nubians often fought each other they never forgot their common origins in the heart of Africa.
  Again the ancient Negro African peoples we call "ancient Egyptians" tell us who they were. We know that the ancient Egyptians did not eat with the Hebrews-it was considered a great sin. Gen. 43:32.
  Herodotus tells us that neither an Egyptian woman nor man would kiss a Greek on the mouth.
  If a Greek touched a knife the Egyptian would consider the knife "unclean" and would never use it again. Incidentally we find this same way of thinking among many traditional east African cultures.
  
  Throughout her 3 volumes Lichtheim does everything possible to obscure deny or ignore the Black Negro African reality of "ancient Egypt" and its cultural and ethnic origins.
  
  In volume III, page 3, Ms. Lichtheim continues to sing the same old song. The "egyptianized kings" of Nubia restored the royal power of a single dynasty over most of the country'. No Ms. Lichtheim! Perhaps they were not "egyptianized kings"- perhaps they were kinsmen attempting to revitalize the culture of Kmt( Egypt) from its ancient sources.
  It is well known that Egyptian culture was always revitalized from Nubia. They were the same peoples.
  To the dismay of Ms. Lichtheim, her "ancient Egypt" and her "Nubia" were part of the same Nile Valley cultural complex-the same black African cultural universe.
  Until the very end Miriam Lichtheim remained locked in her eurocentric intellectual prison.
  The three volumes must be read with caution and an appreciation of the strong cultural, ethnic and racial biases of the late Ms. Lichtheim-biases that color her interpretations and translations of the text.
  
  
• 
  عبدالرحمن

  As usual i was talking to my italian teacher about books and literature.
  One day he said that i should read the stories of Setne Khamwas and i did!
  Honestly i was not expecting another epic like Gilgamesh.
• 
  Jeremy

  It is rare to find an easily readable translation of ancient writings. This is one of those rarities. Although, they are interesting they are sparse writings by nature.
• 
  Erik Rostad

  I picked this up at the suggest of Sophus Helle to read The Stories of Setne Khamwas. They are very interesting and reminded me of Indian Jones movies (a quest for an object of inestimable worth, in this case a book) and a certain parable of Jesus (rich man & poor man in the afterlife).
• 
  Abeya El Bakry

  returned to library unfinished.
• 
  Lauren

  This three-set series was glued to me for a good portion of my undergraduate career.
• 
  EmmsBookShelf

  These three volumes are an absolute blessing for my honours degree in ancient history!!