Celestial Ferryman
| Celestial Ferryman | |||||||||||||
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 drawing of the Celestial Ferryman based from the Papyrus of Ani | |||||||||||||
| Other names | Hraf-haf, Ma-haf | ||||||||||||
| Name in hieroglyphs |
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The Celestial Ferryman is the modern name of an Ancient Egyptian god. the god has multiple names, all with similar meanings, the two most common of which being Hraf-haf and Ma-haf which roughly translates to He whose face is behind him and He who sees behind him respectively.[1]
Mythology
[edit]The Celestial Ferryman plays the role of a Psychopomp who helped guide souls through the waters of the underworld into the Field of Reeds and was said to be rude and ill-tempered.[2] The Celestial Ferryman was also one of the Assessors of Maat where was said to come from the "Cavern of wrong" and judged the sin of copulating with a boy.[3]
Appearances
[edit]The first known mention of the Celestial Ferryman is in the Pyramid Texts of the Old Kingdom where he is called Ma-haf and a guard of Osiris, he later Appears in the Coffin Texts of the Middle Kingdom where he is once again called Ma-haf and guards Osiris.[1]
The Celestial Ferryman is first physically depicted in the Book of the Dead of Ani, here he is drawn as a man sitting in a boat with his head facing backward, in accordant with his descriptive name[4]
Works cited
[edit]- Wilkinson, Richard H. (2003). The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05120-8.
References
[edit]- ^ a b Radwan, Radwan (November 2016). "The Celestial Ferryman in Ancient Egyptian Religion" (PDF). JOURNAL OF The General Union OF Arab Archaeologists. 1 (1): 126–165.
- ^ Mark, Joshua (18 January 2012). "The Forty-Two Judges". worldhistory.org.
- ^ Wilkinson 2003, pp. 84
- ^ Wilkinson 2003, pp. 104
