Nubians Maiherpra.doc

Nubians Maiherpra by Renée Friedman

The small tomb of Maiherpra (a name meaning "the lion on the battlefield") was discovered in 1899 in the Valley of the Kings (KV 36), near the tomb of King Amenhotep II. Burial in the royal valley was a rare privilege for a commoner, but evidently Maiherpra was no common person. Although it was the first substantially intact burial discovered in the valley in modern times, it and its owner never attracted a great deal of attention due in part to the rapid rate of discoveries at the time and also that the tomb was never adequately published. Both, however, are fascinating. Although rifled in antiquity, the tomb still contained a cedar sarcophagus and the gilded anthropoid coffins, inside which the mummy of Maiherpa lay with a gilded cartonnage mask still in position. A winding cloth around the body bearing the cartouche of Queen Hatshepsut shows that Maiherpra had access to the royal storerooms. His burial, however, probably dates somewhat later than the reign of Hatshepsut, some believe to the time of her successors Tuthmose III or Tuthmose IV. Around him had been placed a wealth of other objects including a bowman's set (quiver, arrows, bracers) and collars for his dogs. In addition there was a beautifully illustrated Book of the Dead papyrus (now in Cairo) made especially for Maiherpra, showing him as he actually looked, for when the mummy was unwrapped in 1901, the wellpreserved body of a man about 24 years of age with dark skin and short dark curly hair was revealed. The hair later was found to be a wig, but his Nubian connection is clear, and became even more obvious after the discovery by Howard Carter in the following year. In a small rock hollow just above the tomb, Carter found two leather loincloths carefully folded in a wooden box bearing Maiherpra's name. Maiherpa was clearly a man of status. He was the first to bear the title fanbearer, a title of high distinction later borne by the men in charge of administering Nubia, the Viceroys of Kush. The fanbearer was a trusted personal friend of the king, who not only carried a feathered fan alongside pharaoh at public ceremonies but also formed part of his personal bodyguard. Maiherpra probably knew the king from childhood. His title, child of the royal nursery, indicates that he was raised in the palace and educated with the princes and princesses. Many have speculated on his origins. Some suggest he was the king's son by a Nubian queen, although he does not mention a bodily connection. Perhaps was a son of a Nubian chief brought to the Egyptian court in accordance with the New Kingdom pharaoh's practice of indoctrinating the sons of foreign rulers to promote good relations with Egypt in the long term, although this practice is not documented until later in the New Kingdom. Alternatively, he need not have come from very far away, as our work is showing, he may have been the descendent of one of the wealthy Nubian families that had been resident at the Hierakonpolis for generations.

Maiherpri, a Nubian prince educated at court with the royal princes, one of which became Amenhotep II. Subsequently Maiherpri held office under that king.

Buried: Thebes, Valley of the Kings, New Kingdom 18th Dynasty, 1427-1392 B.C. Book of the Dead of Maiherpri

There were "42" Confessions with "42" judges. One must pass these "Confessions" after practicing holiness to achieve an acceptable death of immortality. The "Confessions" is one of the most distinctive, innovative and best known features of the Book of the Dead. The 42 declarations were found on papyrus in the tomb of the Nubian Maiherperi. The Judgment of the Dead The Declaration of Innocence or Purifications

VIRTUES OF MAAT 1. I have not committed sin. 2. I have not committed robbery with violence. 3. I have not stolen. 4. I have not slain men and women. 5. I have not stolen grain. 6. I have not purloined offerings. 7. I have not stolen the property of God. 8. I have not uttered lies. 9. I have not carried away food. 10. I have not uttered curses. 11. I have not committed adultery, I have not lain with men. 12. I have made none to weep. 13. I have not eaten the heart. 14. I have not attacked any man. 15. I am not a man of deceit. 16. I have not stolen cultivated land. 17. I have not been an eavesdropper. 18. I have not slandered [no man]. 19. I have not been angry without just cause. 20. I have not debauched the wife of any man. 21. I have not debauched the wife of [any] man. 22. I have not polluted myself. 23. I have terrorized none. 24. I have not transgressed [the law]. 25. I have not been wroth. 26. I have not shut my ears to the words of truth. 27. I have not blasphemed. 28. I am not a man of violence. 29. I have not been a stirrer up of strife. 30. I have not acted with undue haste. 31. I have not pried into matters. 32. I have not multiplied my words in speaking. 33. I have wronged none, I have done no evil. 34. I have not worked witchcraft against the king. 35. I have never stopped [the flow of] water. 36. I have never raised my voice. 37. I have not cursed God. 38. I have not acted with arrogance. 39. I have not stolen the bread of the gods. 40. I have not carried away the khenfu cakes from the spirits of the dead. 41. I have not snatched away the bread of the child, nor treated with contempt the god of my city. 42. I have not slain the cattle belonging to the god. The papyrus is the Book of the Dead of Maiherpri, a child of royal nursery and royal fan-bearer, found in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings (KV36) in 1899 by Loret. Who's Who in Ancient Egypt (Who's Who), Michael Rice, Routledge, 1999 For more information see N. Reeves and R. Wilkinson, The Complete Valley of the Kings (1996) and J. Romer, Valley of the Kings (1981).