Relief 276. This inscription is accompanied by a relief, showing the transport of the sarcophagus across the river. Over the relief are the words: The great 'towl-boat, the name of which is "Mighty-is-Isesi." Three men on the bow are designated as: Overseer of ten; [naval] commander; overseer of I-1 (sb'); while one in the stern is called "captain." The sarcophagus and lid are shown, accompanied by the words "sarcophagus" and "lid." Son's Inscription 277. The son Senezemib, called Mehi, left in his father's tomb a short inscriptiona stating that he placed the above records on the walls of his father's tomb. Only the ends of the three lines remain, but the son closes the record of his pious work with a reminder to his own son by referring to himself as one "whose son shall do the like for him." MORTUARY INSCRIPTION OF NEZEMIBb 278. A short mortuary prayer, interesting for its quaint claim that the deceased was never beaten! Nezemib (Ndmyb) was probably a private citizen of the middle class, from whom very few monuments have descended to us. 279. O ye living who are (yet) upon earth, who pass by this tomb; let water be poured out for me, for I was a master of secret things. Let a mortuary offering of that which is with you come forth for me, for I was one beloved of the people. Never was I beaten in the presence of any official since my birth; never did I take the property of any man by violence; (but) I was a doer of that which pleased all men. aLepsius, Denkmäler, II, 78, b; Sethe, Urkunden, I, 67. bCairo, 1732; published by Mariette, Mastabas, 417; Brugsch, Thesaurus, V, 1212; Sethe, Urkunden, I, 75. TOMB INSCRIPTION OF THE NOMARCH HENKUa 280. This nomarch, with his brother, was ruler of the Cerastes-Mountain nome, the twelfth nome of Upper Egypt, opposite the Lycopolite, or thirteenth, nome. He flourished late in the Fifth or early in the Sixth Dynasty, and his descendants enjoyed the favor of the Sixth Dynasty Pharaohs (§§ 344 ff.). So little is known of the nomarchs of the Old Kingdom that the meager data of this inscription are of importance. Especially noteworthy are the statements regarding the settlement of people from other nomes in his nome. Besides being much mutilated, the inscription is frequently very obscure. I have only rendered the more important passages and those which are most intelligible." 281. O all ye people of the Cerastes-Mountain; O ye great lords of other nomes, who shall pass by this tomb, I, Henku (Hnkw), tell good things: II I gave bread to all the hungry of the Cerastes-Mountain; I clothed him who was naked therein. I filled its shores 13with large cattle, and its lowlands' with small cattle. 141 satisfied the wolves of the mountain and the fowl of heaven with 'flesh] 15of small cattle lord and overseer of southern grain in this nome settled the 'feeble1 towns in this nome with the people of other nomes; 161 was ... 181 aIn a cliff-tomb at Der el-Gebrâwi; published by Davies, Deir-el-Gebrâwi, II, Pls. 24, 25; Sethe (from Davies), Urkunden, I, 76–79. bSee Davies' excellent remarks on Henku, ibid., 42. This general beneficence toward man and beast includes here the animals sacred in Henku's locality. Across the river the jackal was the sacred animal, while in Henku's own nome the hawk was sacred. It is no accident that these are just the two animals which Henku fed, for the word translated "wolf," should be more general, designating all wild animals of the canine family and the like. We have here then the first symptoms from which the belief in the sacredness of whole classes of animals (as opposed to one member only) afterward grew up. The same thing in a later stage is observable in the Saite time. On a stela in Miramar a man says: “I gave bread to the hungry, water [to] the thirsty, clothing to the naked; I gave food to the ibis, the hawk, the cat, and the jackal" (Bergmann, Hieroglyphische Inschriften, Pl. VI, ll. 9, 10). 19those who had been peasant-serfs therein, I made their offices as officials (Sr). 20I never oppressed one in possession of his property, so that he complained of me because of it to the god of my city; (but) I spake, and told that which was good; "never was there one fearing because of one stronger than he, so that he complained because of it to the god. I arose then to be ruler (ḥk3) in the Cerastes-Mountain, together with my brother, the revered, the sole companion, ritual priest, Re-am (R>m1), 23I was a benefactor to it (the nome) in the folds of the cattle, in the settlements of the fowlers. I settled its every district 24with men and cattle small cattle indeed. I speak no lie, 25for I was 26one beloved of his father 27praised of his mother, 28excellent in character to his brother, 29and amiable to [his sister]. ---- a aSeven short lines are omitted. |