Celestial Ferryman
| Celestial Ferryman | |
|---|---|
| File:Hraf-haf.svg drawing of the Celestial Ferryman based from the Papyrus of Ani | |
| Other names | Hraf-haf, Ma-haf |
| Name in hieroglyphs | <hiero>Hr:f-Z1-HA-A-f</hiero> or <hiero>mA:ir-A-HA-A-f</hiero> |
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 | edit source]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 | edit source]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 | edit source]- Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Wilkinson 2003, pp. 84
- ^ Wilkinson 2003, pp. 104
