Maā Kheru (‘speaker of truth’): Ancient Egyptian Thought and Scribal Education

[Akyeame Kwame]

Maā Kheru (‘speaker of truth’): Ancient Egyptian Thought and Scribal Education

Dr. Kwasi Konadu

Summary This paper examines the thoughts and meanings related to scribal education in ancient Egypt through an exploration of the process of scribal education in the Waset region of southern (upper) ancient Egypt, and the subsequent paths of trade schooling or an in-depth scribal apprenticeship. It looks at the structures responsible for the dissemination of knowledge and the system of thought and practices that characterized the dimensions of and assess to knowledge. Through the use of secondary readings and interpretations, the essay highlights the virtues and contemporary implications of the educational system of ancient Egypt, specifically, in relationship the modes of scribal education. Lastly, the paper employs specific concepts, such as Maat, and demonstrates their pervasiveness in the codification of as well as the approach to education in ancient Egypt.
Introduction Much has been debated about the internal collapse of ancient Egypt as a viable and sovereign nation, but few have examined the implications of what Ayi Kwei Armah regarded as a caste system for the division of knowledge, wherein a separation between the intellectuals (“knowers�) and the people (“seekers�) existed. According to this logic, knowledge did not circulate well and, as a consequence, the foreign invasions that neutralized those who knew engendered a population largely paralyzed with confusion, which then either migrated to maintain their cultural integrity or surrendered to the invasion and/or confusion. In the first instance, it appears that the intergenerational transmission of cultural knowledge and leadership was compromised. Secondly, what is significant here is that we know very little about ancient Egypt—what is regarded as the historical peak of ancient Egypt seemed to have been a declining moment—to the extent that we can draw conclusions such as the one made by Armah. Lastly, the real value of Armah’s statement is its instructive capacity to prompt us to examine the structures responsible for the dissemination of knowledge and the system of thought and practices that characterized the dimensions of knowledge and the nature of its accessibility. The object of this essay, therefore, is to examine the philosophy and function of scribal education as an example of ancient Egyptian spiritual-temporal socialization and suggest a vision of education that is consistent with those timeless notions of socialization held by the ancients. We will explore the process of scribal education in the Waset region in the southern (upper) part of ancient Egypt, and the subsequent paths of trade schooling or in-depth scribal development through an intense apprenticeship.1 Scribal education refers to the specific first step training in the formal process of general educational. The step ultimately led to positions in sacred or mundane offices of the government.2 It is should made clear from the outset that the governmental system of ancient Egypt existed in a symbiotic
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relationship with the spiritual, economic, socio-political, and military design of the social order and represented the people’s most comprehensive knowledge of the cosmic order. Ancient Egyptian Thought and Education Though we may be limited in primary sources that may provide an accurate sketch of ancient Egyptian thoughts, secondary readings and interpretations derived from paintings, monuments, architecture, and the writing system have proven to be of great value for our understanding. The educational system of ancient Egypt was first and foremost a systematic and multilayered process that embodied the people’s conception of an ordered and spiritual reality. The system’s tangibility was symbolic of that order and functioned, by design, as a medium to develop and transform the total being of its participants. Here, the symbolic must be distinguished from the notion of a “sign� for practical purposes. It will suffice to say that signs operate on a one-to-one correspondence (i.e., one sign, one interpretation), while symbols operate on a one-to-many correspondence (i.e., one symbol, many interpretations). As a result, symbols may be regarded as complex attributes with multiple meanings. Indeed, for the ancients, “symbols reveal a profound and multilayered knowledge of the universe that illuminates and uncovers the unity between their lives, their natural environment, celestial phenomena, and the Creator… [Therefore,] these symbols both represent and reflect how African people see reality and how they convey and transmit this knowledge.�3 Ancient Egyptian teaching was “first [and chiefly]… characterized by the method of symbolism… Indeed, this was the essential characteristic of the [ancient] Egyptian method: observation of the concrete fact or the concrete symbol of a fact, for the purpose of rousing in the student the evocation of its abstract aspect.�4 Symbols were derived from precise and systematic observations of the cycles of nature, cosmic entities, and the behaviors of human, plant, and animal life. These phenomena presented themselves as ordered occurrences and thus made it possible for analogies, metaphors, and symbols to be developed and used as a
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stand in rather than a stand for reality. This means that symbols represent the fundamental unity of and interplay between the spiritual and temporal realities and not an objectified notion of reality, where the symbols only “stand for� an object. Therefore, we can deduce that symbols and symbolism not only “consolidate and synthesize knowledge and produce abstract vehicles to access that knowledge,� but also function as modes of inquiry, which allows for systematic investigation or continual probing in the search for deeper meanings.5 The concepts of Mdw Ntr (divine speech) and Mdw Nfr (good speech) embody the sacred knowledge of ancient Egypt. Corresponding terms, such as Sba, which means “educated, wise, and intelligent,� denote the continual mode or process through which one develops deep thought. Connotatively, Sba refers to teaching, learning, wisdom and study. The ancient Egyptians organized knowledge in the following manner: Through Sba, students gain Sia (deep insight and clarity of thought) and Hu (authoritative utterance and clarity of speech), which both produces Heka (powerful and transformative speech) that must be in agreement with Maat (divine law and order). Maat, however, must be seen in its totality and not so much as virtues of a “pictogram� of divine law and order. This becomes clear when we consider [a]ll the categories that we must use to approximate this concept was for the [ancient Egyptian] one word… When isft (disorder) occurs, Maat must be restored, but its meaning was never questioned. This, of course, is unlike Western philosophy where notions of truth, justice, and righteousness are relative and existential terms that have no true essence, and because of this, they are endlessly debated.6 In short, Maat “is symbolic of the divine energy in the universe that sustains and maintains the relationship between unseen [yet experienced] cosmic forces and physical realities.�7 The educational process of ancient Egypt was clearly rooted in the totality of Maat and is often identified by the concept of Sba. In this sense, Sba has as its object the development of students who have the capacity and ability of Mdw Nfr (good speech), and once mastered, Mdw Ntr (divine speech). Good speech can be understood in the context that
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humans also speak through their spirit, thoughts, and behaviors. In this respect, good speech is not the quantity but rather the quality of what one says, which implies that “good speech [was both] the medium of education as well as the end product of education.�8 It is “within African deep thought, [we find that] the concepts of schooling, education and socialization were integrated into the larger process of human transformation—the process of becoming more like the divine.�9 The Scribal Education in the Waset Region The region of Waset was located in southern (upper) ancient Egypt approximately 400 miles south of Cairo. According to Hilliard, “the center of power, leadership, and spirituality was in the deep south of the nation during most of [ancient Egypt’s] existence…�10 To the ancients, Waset represented the University City, which was also called Niwt (“the city�). Chancellor Williams noted the foundation of [Waset], like the [ancient African] state of which it was the center, goes back so far in [antiquity] that not even a general stone age period can be suggested… [Waset was] the intellectual center of Black Africa, the chief seat of learning, of science, religion, engineering and the arts.11 In the Waset region, “there existed two magnificent temples, the Shemayit-Ipet (Luxor temple) and Ipet-Isut (Karnak temple).�12 The Ipet-Isut, the foremost and largest temple complex in ancient Egypt, was the center of Waset. Both temples of Waset “contained the most highly developed [educational] systems on record from ancient times.�13 In ancient Egypt, the cultural imperative of instructing future generations and preserving and enhancing culture “required serious training… [and thus,] the role and training of the scribe (sš) was essential to the development of the country.�14 The term sš (scribe) is also an expression for writing, painting, and drawing.15 Fundamentally speaking, there were two levels of education, which are commonly referred to as the “outer temple� and “inner temple.� The outer temple was akin to schools “of primary education which answered
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the social necessities� of the people.16 The inner temple corresponded to an advanced learning situation that was similar to an intense and prolonged apprenticeship, which lasted from a few years to a lifetime of study, living, and learning. Generally, students were granted the title of sš (scribe) after four to eight years of skill-oriented (elementary) instruction in the outer temple. Thereafter, the student(s) would either receive further instruction (advanced and specialized learning) as an apprentice to an elder Sebai (instructor) in the inner temple or pursue trade schooling. According to one writer, “[i]nstruction, at least at the elementary level, was given to a group which sat about the teacher and recited the lesson in a singsong fashion.�17 The lessons were recited by the class and then put to memory; the cultivation of a sharp mind was a prerequisite for mastering vocations within the oral and written traditions. Life at a scribal school, in part, consisted of writing model compositions (copying the wisdom and teachings of the ancestors) onto cheap materials, such as ostraca and wooden tablets. The Sebai (instructor) would then make corrections in the margin, until the student achieved a certain level of mastery to be able to use papyri. Reading and writing were also learned by coping the Sb3yt (ancestral wisdom texts), which themselves, provided norms of good speech and principles of good conduct.18 In learning the art of writing, one had to be proficient in the use balance and space, be knowledgeable of the proportion and disproportion of symbols and their aesthetic value, since symbols were arranged symmetrically and inserted in a well-balanced space within a square grid.19 The Sebai often modeled the writing process to instruct students “to write complete words or phrases without analyzing the component signs. By this time they gradually learned to recognize individual words. First the text was written by a teacher or his assistant and then copied by the student. Later they would write from dictation and probably eventually from memory.�20 Students would often be admonished to be on task and not be idle, to read diligently (“write with hand and read with mouth�), and to seek the counsel of wise elder-instructors (“enter into the methods of one’s teacher and bear his instructions�).
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A student learned to set their heart not on pleasures, but upon hearing the words (wisdom) of their ancestors. With a developed respect for elders and wisdom, students often bestowed blessings of good health, the attainment of honor, and the goodness of elderhood and a happy life upon their Sebai. The scribe (student) “learned to speak and how to act and even what to want by internalizing the wisdom literature known as the sb3yt (‘ancestral wisdom texts’) through study and by observing, interacting, and learning from those with more developed skills for ‘no one is born wise’.â€�21 As one scribe explained, writing a letter to his wife in the third year of his training: “I repeat what my instructor said so as to master temperament. I am one who is eminently quiet, who controls his temper, being tight-lipped and devoid of vociferousness, namely, this scribe that I am, who is valuable to his [Niswt (king)] and most expert in his calling.â€�22 Scribes being trained at the Ansēbe (place of teaching or school) studied “astronomy, mathematics, and geometry, [with] the wisdom of their ancestors [being] a prominent aspect of the curriculum.â€�23 During a scribe’s educational training, the scribe did not separate his skill or profession from his spirituality and intellectual traditions… Consequently, the scribe was not only interested in showing excellence and efficiency in his skill, but he was always interested in preserving and perpetuating the culture and history… [Therefore his] primary allegiance was to his culture and history; being a scribe was secondary.24 A number of women studied and became scribes and often the girls that did so also “received training in specialized arts like singing, dancing, and the playing of musical instruments.â€�25 Although both boys and girls received physical and health training, boys received training in archery, horsemanship, and the art of self-defense. In general, social mobility was contingent upon the skills acquired within each respective calling or profession. Now, “[h]ow much mobility existed among the callings is not known with certainty, but even though a caste system existed, entry into certain callings must have been relatively open, especially that of the scribe.â€�26 6
The scribe in ancient Egypt society did not belong to an elite, homogeneous group, even though the position of a scribe was an honored rank in society. To the less privileged, scribal education was a form of socio-economic mobility; however, upward as well as downward mobility occurred quite frequently, regardless of socio-economic standing. The educational system had an open admission policy irrespective of heredity.27 The fact that most of the Sb3yt (‘ancestral wisdom texts’), such as the Instructions of Ptahhotep, Kagemni, Amenemope, are framed in the form of a dialogue between father and son or instructor and child, the reference was not always a biological one.28 What actually occurred was a dialogue that expressed the pedagogical relationship between father, beyond the heredity connotation, and son or child, often a direct reference to a student regardless of biological origins. Although sons were taught to follow the professions of their fathers, efficiency and not heredity dictated the elevation of competent scribes to available positions.29 In as early as the Old Kingdom, it was observed, “the ‘father-son’ relation of scribal teacher and student can be fictive [i.e., misleading]. The language of father-son succession is thus used to break the rule as much as to hold it.�30 The very few sources for ancient Egyptian educational methods lack explicit and detailed information, specifically, of the technical nature since those methodologies were secret.31 Based upon what little we know, we are able to grasp that the overall method for teaching and learning was an interactive and collective rather than an individualized process, although some received individual instruction.32 Group instruction also included the memorization and recitation or singing of the instruction texts.33 Hence, the oral and written modes of instruction converged and defined each other.34 The educational process was designed to be both a systematic and transformative process. “The process of education was not seen primarily as a process of organizing knowledge. It was seen as a process of the transformation of the learner who progressed through successive stages of rebirth.�35 As a didactic strategy, the Sebai (instructor) “modeled the behavior that they expected the initiates
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to learn. The masters [instructors] were alert and in a position to react to and to nurture the direct experience of students in order that they could experience to learn higher level lessons.�36 In general, learning was facilitated through oral and written instructions, symbols, stories, proverbs, singing, dramatizing, observing, repeating, imitating, memorizing, and participating.37 Ancient Egyptian pedagogy demanded that “the study of nature [be] facilitated by the study of symbols, stories, proverbs, songs, puzzles, rhythm, and the sacred writings of the Mdw Ntr.�38 Ancient Egyptian education was not confined to a particular locale or structure called a “school� even though there were places of (formal) instruction. In fact, “there was no obligation to go to school…�39 The ancestors were the real school and their teachings provided the scribe with the necessary virtues of good speech and conduct, character development, and impetus to do, speak, and live Maat.40 Scribal Education and Ancestral Wisdom Texts The righteous and culturally competent student, and individual person, was one who lived, studied, and learned in synchronization with Maat. Good speech and conduct, that is, speaking and doing Maat, engendered both internal and external equilibrium with divine order. The “ancestral wisdom texts� not only provide evidence of the praxis of education in ancient Egypt, but also the very character of these texts speak directly to the development and maintenance the equilibrium mentioned above. Thus, character development was central in the spiritual, ideational, and physical education of the scribe/student. In this regard, the Instructions of Amenemope is relevant. Composed during the 18th dynasty (c. 1554 – 1320 B.C.E.), the social and intellectual position of the text suggests the audience was not only the scribe, but also the people of ancient Egypt. Amenemope clearly recognized the ability to “speak the truth and act with sincerity is the duty of every [person].� Some have argued that Amenemope’s “high moral and religious ideals were inspired by an influence that was not of African but was of Asiatic origin.�41 However, “the concepts presented in Amenemope are
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present in earlier [ancient Egyptian] instruction literature�42 and it is also “clear that [the Book of] Proverbs is dependent upon the Instruction of Amenemope. The influence of Amenemope was mediated through scribal education in the capital city of Jerusalem.�43 In precise language, Amenemope called “upon the scribe to be both accurate and honest in his work. The scribe’s finger [was] not a finger only, but the beak of the [deity, Djehuty], the great divine scribe who presided over the weighing of the deeds and hearts of men [and women].�44 Overall, the wisdom of Amenemope is timeless: “Better is bread when the mind is at ease than riches with anxiety. Keep your tongue safe from words of distraction, and you will be the loved one of the people, [and] then you will find your place within the [inner] temple.�45 On a late twelfth dynasty manuscript called the Papyrus Prisse, we find the Instructions for Kagemni, composed around the third dynasty (c. 2700 – 2613 B.C.E) and the Instructions of Ptahhotep, composed during or after the sixth dynasty (c. 2345 – 2161 B.C.E.).46 Evidently, there are only fragments of the Instructions of Kagemni, while the Instructions of Ptahhotep, the only complete text of its kind, survived in its entirety. The Instructions of Ptahhotep is a wealth of knowledge on the virtues of humility and patience in the face of confrontation; the use of cautiousness and the power of speech; the trappings of greed, pride, and arrogance; and why the learner should council with both the wise and the ignorant. The Instructions of Ptahhotep was “intended to instruct the [student] in wise conduct and in good manners, but, at the same time, it sets out to be [a] model for the appropriate expression of ideas; [the student] is to be an ‘artist’ in speech.�47 Carruthers extends this statement to include that the object of Ptahhotep’s teachings was also the society at large due to the omission in Ptahhotep’s son’s name.48 The ancestral wisdom of Ptahhotep exemplified Maat. Ptahhotep spoke, “hold fast to truth and overstep it not. Be silent—this is better than tef tef (idle talk or chatter). Speak only if you know that you can unravel the difficulty.� Here, Ptahhotep speaks about the duty of the wise person:
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A wise person’s heart and tongue are in harmony, his lips are accurate when he speaks. His eyes see, his ears are pleased at hearing what is good for his son, who does right and is devoid (free) of falsehood.49 When he has grown old and has attained honor, he talked in like manner to his children and renewed the instruction of his father [i.e., ancestors]. And everyone that is so instructed should talk to his children and they again to theirs.50 The Instructions of Duaf’s Son Khety, also known as the “Satire on the Trades,â€� was composed during the Middle Kingdom (c. 1979 – 1801 B.C.E.) and became a desired textbook in elementary and advanced learning institutions on account that it praised scribal education and “men of books.â€�51 In this regard, some have even declared the purpose of the text was to emphasize the advantages, even the glorification, of the scribal profession over the hardships of other vocations.52 Khety, the scribe and son of Duaf, produced these instructions for his son, Pepi, upon his entry into scribal school. Khety’s wisdom text began with the words, “speak no hidden words and speak no insolent words. Behold, this I set before you and your children’s children.â€� The text further informs us, “formal scribal education [was] the prerequisite for a career in government and that such careers [were] open to families from the ordinary ranks of life as well as the nobility and elite.â€�53 Other ancestral wisdom texts were also valuable. The Instructions of Niswt (king) Amenemhat I is an autobiographical account of Amenemhat I’s reign and called upon his son to lead (“look, I have made the beginning, that I might tie up the end for youâ€�), while warning him “against treachery and [called] on the people to vindicate his memory.â€�54 The Instructions for Merikerē was written by Niswt (king) Khety III for his son, Merikerē, so that he might benefit from his cumulative life experiences. Niswt Khety III advised his son to “be a craftsman in speech, so that you may prevail, for the power of a man is the tongue and speech is mightier than any fighting. Follow the example of your forefathers (i.e., the knowledge of the ancestors). Read their sayings and be guided by them.â€� The wisdom text ends, “[m]y speech
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gives all the laws of [leadership of the nation] which instruct you that you may uplift the young.�55 The Teachings of Antef (c. 2181 – 2173 B.C.E) contained twenty statements about Antef, and in each of them, he demonstrates that he has put into practice precepts that were contained in the ancestral wisdom texts of the sages. The entire manuscript assures us that the wisdom of the text are not “maxims� academic in character, but guidelines for conduct which officials and other citizens were expected to learn and live.56 The Teachings of the Scribe Ani (c. 1554 – 1320 B.C.E.) is significant for various reasons, but in particular it emphasizes the nature of ancestral communication, reverence for ancestral wisdom, and the ritual of libation. Ani, speaking to his son, states, pour libation to your father and to your mother, who rest in the cemetery in the mountain. The water is a witness for those who offer what is due, or what is acceptable to the [deities]. Fail not to do this… what you do your son shall do for you.57 Ani’s son, evidently arguing for an educational approach suitable to his own, asserted, “each man is educated in accordance with his own nature.� Ani, as one should expect from a wise elder, replies, “the fierce lion lays aside his ferocity and passes by the timid [donkey]… You must be obedient; you do not know what you are doing (yet).�58 The immediate lesson for educators and parents is that children should not be given or asked to make choices about learning or life until they have developed the competency and sensibility to do so effectively. Further, a child’s cultural orientation and most significant education come through their family. As the Instructions of Papyrus InSinger maintains, “for education to succeed, a youth must have a willingness to learn and a sense of [accountable behavior when they deviate from wise council].59 Thus, when the sage and scribe Ptahhotep explains, “no one is born wise,� the allusion is to the need for education, even in situations where persons such as a Niswt (king) seems to be an exception; however, the Niswt too must be educated! The ancestral wisdom texts exhibit the timelessness of ancestral wisdom, how
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its truths can be used to facilitate human development, and that the object or vision of education is to develop speakers and doers of truth. The ancient Egyptian educational system was functional, that is, a blend of theory and practice, and it could be characterized as a holistic education. Lubicz, however, has argued that “the educational system of Ancient Egypt was limited and suited to individual ability; it gave to each what was necessary to whet his interest and his faculty for working, but reserved the teaching of the Temple for those who were willing to undergo rigorous training.�60 Lubicz was correct in the sense that those who went through the “outer temple� did not necessarily pursue the path of in-depth knowledge and wisdom of the “inner temple.� 12
NOTES
1 The Waset region was renamed Thebes (Thebia) and Luxor (L’Quqsor) by the Greeks and Arabs, respectively. 2 Asa G. Hilliard, III, The Maroons within Us: Selected Essays on African American Community Socialization (Baltimore, 1995), p. 122. 3 Mario H. Beatty, “Maat: The Cultural and Intellectual Allegiance of a Concept,� in: Jacob H. Carruthers and Leon C. Harris (Eds.), African World History Project: The Preliminary Challenge (Los Angeles, 1997), p. 214. 4 Isha Schwaller de Lubicz, Her-Bak: The Living Face of Ancient Egypt (Rochester, 1954), pp. 325-326. 5 Asa G. Hilliard, III, SBA: The Reawakening of the African Mind (Gainesville, 1998), p. 11. 6 Beatty, “Maat: The Cultural and Intellectual Allegiance of a Concept,� p. 215. 7 Ibid., p. 220. 8 Jacob H. Carruthers, Mdw Ntr: Divine Speech (London, 1995), p. 121. 9 Hellmut Brunner, Altägyptische Erziehung (Wiesbaden, 1957), p. 3; Hilliard, “SBA: The Reawaking of the African Mind,� p. 9. 10 Asa G. Hilliard, III, “Waset: The Eye of Ra and the Abode of Maat,� in: Jacob H. Carruthers and Leon C. Harris (Eds.), African World History Project: The Preliminary Challenge (Los Angeles, 1997), pp. 128, 138. 11 Chancellor Williams, The Destruction of Black Civilizations (Chicago, 1976), p. 87. 12 Anthony T. Browder, Nile Valley Contributions to Civilization (Washington, DC, 1992), p. 114. 13 Hilliard, The Maroons within Us, p. 121. 14 Theophile Obenga, “Who Am I? Interpretation in African Historiography,� in: Jacob H. Carruthers and Leon C. Harris (Eds.), African World History Project: The Preliminary Challenge (Los Angeles, 1997), p. 39. 15 Ibid., p. 39. 16 Schwaller de Lubicz, Her-Bak: The Living Face of Ancient Egypt, p. 323. 17 Ronald J. Williams, “Scribal Training in Ancient Egypt,� Journal of the American Oriental Society, 92 (1972), p. 216. 18 Ibid., p. 217. 19 Obenga, “Who Am I? Interpretation in African Historiography,� p. 39; Gael Callaghan, “The Education of Egyptian Scribes,� The Bulletin of the Australian Centre for Egyptology, 3 (1993), pp. 7 –10. 20 Williams, “Scribal Training in Ancient Egypt,� p. 219. 21 Ibid., p. 39. 22 Edward Wente, Letters From Ancient Egypt (Atlanta, 1990), p. 16. 23 Obenga, Who Am I? Interpretation in African Historiography,� p. 39. 24 Ibid., p. 39. 25 Williams, “Scribal Training in Ancient Egypt,� p. 220. 26 Jacob H. Carruthers, Essays in Ancient Egyptian Studies, (Los Angeles, 1984), p. 99. 27 Harold Washington, Wealth and Poverty in the Instruction of Amenemope and the Hebrew Proverbs (Atlanta, 1994), pp. 38-43; Obenga, Who Am I? Interpretation in African Historiography,� p. 39; Hilliard, The Maroons within Us, p. 123; Carruthers, Essays in Ancient Egyptian Studies, p. 91. 28 Brunner, Altägyptische Erziehung, pp. 10-11. Brunner (1957: 11) notes, “The pupil/schoolboy stayed in the house of his teacher, he (the schoolboy) also cared about the possessions of the household… the continuity of the social life was based on this institution, which only secured juniors for the relevant posts.� 29 Washington, Wealth and Poverty in the Instruction of Amenemope and the Hebrew Proverbs, p. 38; Wente, Letters From Ancient Egypt, p. 15; Williams, “Scribal Training in Ancient Egypt,� p. 215. 30 Washington, Wealth and Poverty in the Instruction of Amenemope and the Hebrew Proverbs, p. 41. 31 Brunner, Altägyptische Erziehung, p. 6. 32 Washington, Wealth and Poverty in the Instruction of Amenemope and the Hebrew Proverbs, p. 32; Hilliard, The Maroons within Us, p. 97; Schwaller de Lubicz, Her-Bak: The Living Face of Ancient Egypt, p. 325. 33 Washington, Wealth and Poverty in the Instruction of Amenemope and the Hebrew Proverbs, p. 32. 34 In regards to the significance of singers and story-tellers in Ancient Egypt: “The educated ‘scribes,’ it is true, created Egyptian literature, but there existed before them, and in addition to them, persons who practiced a [so-called] less sophisticated art—an art that exercised an influence, moreover, on the literature� (Adolf Erman, The Ancient Egyptians (New York, 1966), p. lvi). 35 Hilliard, The Maroons within Us, p. 123. 36 Ibid., p. 97. 37 Elleni Tedla, Sankofa: African Thought and Education (New York, 1995), p. 134. 38 Hilliard, The Maroons within Us, p. 102. 39 Brunner, Altägyptische Erziehung, p. 7. 40 Brunner, Altägyptische Erziehung, p. 5; Hilliard, SBA: The Reawakening of the African Mind, pp. 12-18 41 E. A. Wallis Budge, The Teachings of Amen-Em-Apt, Son of Kanekht (London, 1924), p. xv. 42 William K. Simpson et al, The Literature of Ancient Egypt (New Haven, 1972), p. 241.
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43 Washington, Wealth and Poverty in the Instruction of Amenemope and the Hebrew Proverbs, p. 203. 44 Budge, The Teachings of Amen-Em-Apt, Son of Kanekht, p. 124. 45 Simpson et al, The Literature of Ancient Egypt, pp. 249-250. 46 Budge (1924: 7-8) argued that the Instructions of Kagemni was the oldest book in the world and that the Instructions of Ptahhotep was composed in the fifth dynasty (c. 2494 – 2345 B.C.E.) rather than the sixth. Hilliard (1998), as well as Carruthers (1995), claims the Instructions of Ptahhotep is the “oldest complete text in human history� and dates it around the time of scribe/sage Ptahhotep (c. 2345 B.C.E.). See Hilliard (1998: 78-87) for a discussion on this text. 47 Erman, The Ancient Egyptians, p. 55. 48 Carruthers, Mdw Ntr: Divine Speech, p. 122. 49 This passage has been modified for the sake of clarity. See Simpson et al, The Literature of Ancient Egypt, p. 173; Erman, The Ancient Egyptians, p. 63. 50 This passage has been modified for the sake of clarity. See Erman, The Ancient Egyptians, p. 65. 51 Budge, The Teachings of Amen-Em-Apt, Son of Kanekht, pp. 12-14; Erman, The Ancient Egyptians, p. 67. 52 Washington, Wealth and Poverty in the Instruction of Amenemope and the Hebrew Proverbs, p. 45; Williams, “Scribal Training in Ancient Egypt,� pp. 215, 217. 53 Carruthers, Mdw Ntr: Divine Speech, p. 117. 54, R. B. Parkinson, Voices from Ancient Egypt (Norman, 1991), p. 48. 55 Carruthers, Mdw Ntr: Divine Speech, p. 139. 56 Budge, The Teachings of Amen-Em-Apt, Son of Kanekht, p. 28. 57 Ibid., p. 238. 58 Williams, “Scribal Training in Ancient Egypt,� p. 221. 59 Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Autobiographies Chiefly of the Middle Kingdom (Fribourg, 1988), p. 158. 60 Schwaller de Lubicz, Her-Bak: The Living Face of Ancient Egypt, p. 324. 14

[Akyeame Kwame]

bump

AK

[ras k]

question?

are the 'knowers' graduates/students of the innertemple
and the 'seekers' graduates/students of the outertemple -

AND

if we accept that the knowers were neutralized by the invasions, leaving the seekers in confusion and disarray...is this related to how i feel when i read all these blackulously interesting posts of which i can partially relate,yet still feel incredibly unprepared in spite of all that i DO know...

for instance, i could recognize that there is so much more to know, while recognizing that i Do know a lot already

and here i will share that 'confusion and disarray' is precisely what i feel as i 'seek' more info/knowledge - not quite satisfied with what i have learned
(and being humbled,embarrassed, shamed, spurred on by the knowledge of others)
so, the real question - are we all to become knowers? - are we all to study in the inner temple - ... for if i feel confusion know, what will i feel upon transition (death) ... assuming some how or the other i do not continue my 'studies' .. ???

final question for (k)now... is the answer to my questions 'man know thyself?'

ras k

[Akyeame Kwame]

Originally Posted by ras k

question?

are the 'knowers' graduates/students of the innertemple
and the 'seekers' graduates/students of the outertemple -

AND

if we accept that the knowers were neutralized by the invasions, leaving the seekers in confusion and disarray...is this related to how i feel when i read all these blackulously interesting posts of which i can partially relate,yet still feel incredibly unprepared in spite of all that i DO know...

for instance, i could recognize that there is so much more to know, while recognizing that i Do know a lot already

and here i will share that 'confusion and disarray' is precisely what i feel as i 'seek' more info/knowledge - not quite satisfied with what i have learned
(and being humbled,embarrassed, shamed, spurred on by the knowledge of others)
so, the real question - are we all to become knowers? - are we all to study in the inner temple - ... for if i feel confusion know, what will i feel upon transition (death) ... assuming some how or the other i do not continue my 'studies' .. ???

final question for (k)now... is the answer to my questions 'man know thyself?'

ras k

htp ras k...check post #12 in this thread and tell me the thoughts that come to you...

http://www.assatashakur.org/forums/u...=consciousness

AK

[ras k]

htp ak

i felt the poetic words (browder)...

i felt baba ahmed's words to draptomania :

"be diligent but patient with yourself; the type patience that habitually does a lil bit everyday and nite... its better than something great and attractive to many done once."

i felt the re-iteration of the nguzo saba

i feel the respect for your baba

i especially feel "the unileal evolution from blank slate to supaman"

looking at 'speaker of truth', sometimes the 'uncovering' of the symbols, the systems of education/thought/living - the sheer volume and immensity of it all - it can be overwhelming...

but - we are never alone - and ifa has said not to discount the ancestors if we ever come to knowledge without knowing how we got there...(paraphrased - i hope correctly)


together - ras kagiso mpala

feel the beauty of shared experience
now we know the meaning of life
each one of us is a difference
without gun, club or knife

together we are together
and together we've been for long
together we walk together
and together we sing this song

many people are alive today
could they all be living wrong
we should all take the time to say
'i know what keeps us strong'

there isn't much more to say
'cause its all been said before
we correct mistakes along the way
thus we have no time for war

1996


ras k

[Akyeame Kwame]

Originally Posted by ras k

htp ak

i felt the poetic words (browder)...

i felt baba ahmed's words to draptomania :

"be diligent but patient with yourself; the type patience that habitually does a lil bit everyday and nite... its better than something great and attractive to many done once."

i felt the re-iteration of the nguzo saba

i feel the respect for your baba

i especially feel "the unileal evolution from blank slate to supaman"

looking at 'speaker of truth', sometimes the 'uncovering' of the symbols, the systems of education/thought/living - the sheer volume and immensity of it all - it can be overwhelming...

but - we are never alone - and ifa has said not to discount the ancestors if we ever come to knowledge without knowing how we got there...(paraphrased - i hope correctly)


together - ras kagiso mpala

feel the beauty of shared experience
now we know the meaning of life
each one of us is a difference
without gun, club or knife

together we are together
and together we've been for long
together we walk together
and together we sing this song

many people are alive today
could they all be living wrong
we should all take the time to say
'i know what keeps us strong'

there isn't much more to say
'cause its all been said before
we correct mistakes along the way
thus we have no time for war

1996


ras k

glad u dug the thread and the contributions made by all...i figured it would add to Our discussion here...Meda wo ase for the poem as well...stay BlackNificent!!!

AK