On 25/09/2012 18:25, Noah Gardiner
wrote:
I think it is a fantastic insight that the Egyptian folk stories
(ie Tale of Two Brothers, Khemwaset etc) are ways of discussing
sexual mysticism -
indeed they are often very explicit - as when a grave robber
thinks he is getting his way with the lovely
Tabubue and wakes up naked in the street with his penis in a clay
pot!
I will check out the full article in the library as the authors
are being coy -
the festival of local sufi saint and his wife at Luxor, is said by
some researchers to be an archeological memory
of the festival of Opet (Amun & Mut).
Older versions of the festival had a symbolic sexual component
(now suppressed) -
although I'm currently reading Mahfouz's "Cairo Trilogy" - which
covers the period from 1918 - independence. It
is full of "cigarettes, and whiskey and wild wild women" -
also much Islamic and Koranic folklore - of which the author was
an expert -
do you have any thoughts on this view of Egyptian society?
mogg
[log in to unmask]" type="cite">
This will
certainly interest Mogg and many others on this list, if you
didn't already know about it: "A recently deciphered Egyptian
papyrus from around 1,900 years ago tells a fictional story that
includes drinking, singing, feasting and ritual sex, all in the
name of the goddess Mut."
I don't know the site, but the article seems legit:
http://www.livescience.com/23401-cult-fiction-ancient-egypt-priest.html
--
Noah Gardiner
Doctoral candidate, Dept. of Near Eastern Studies
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor