An affinity for making and appreciating music is one of humanity’s defining characteristics. Little wonder then that the vibrant ancient Egyptian culture embraced music and musicians.
Music and musicians were valued highly amongst ancient Egyptian society. Music was believed to be integral to the act of creation and was essential for communing with their pantheon of gods.
Thanks for the Gift of Life
Scholars speculate that for the Egyptians, music was part of a very human response to showing their gratitude for receiving the gift of life from their gods. Moreover, music straddled all the experiences of the human condition. Music was present at feasts, at funeral banquets, at military parades, religious processions and even while farmers worked in the field or labored at the ancient Egyptians colossal construction projects.
This deep love of music by the ancient Egyptians is alluded to in numerous tomb paintings and on friezes carved into temple walls depicting musical performances, musicians and musical instruments.
While music is thought to have played a social role throughout Egypt’s history contemporary scholars translating papyri dating from the ‘pharaonic’ period of Egyptian writing point out that music appeared to have assumed greater importance during that period of Egyptian history.
Around 3100 BCE saw the Egyptian dynasties we know today firmly established. Music became a mainstay of many aspects of Egyptian society.
Gift of the Gods
While Egyptian latterly associated music with the goddess Hathor who imbued the world with joy, it was the deity Merit who was present with Ra and Heka the god of magic at the beginning of creation.
Merit helped to instill order on the chaos of creation through music. Thus, she was the primordial musician, singer, writer, and conductor of the symphony of creation. This established music’s place as a central element in ancient Egyptian culture.
Music Plays a Social Role
The ancient Egyptians were as disciplined and structured with their music as they were with other aspects of their social order. As revealed in manuscripts, in tomb paintings and temple inscriptions, the ancient Egyptians gave music a prominent role in during religious practices. Music also accompanied its troops into battle and its farmers into their fields. Music was similarly performed in the many workshops supporting Egypt’s monumental construction projects and in the royal palaces.
Egyptians valued music in all of its forms both as part of their religious observances to honor their gods as well as a celebration of everyday life. Many images discovered to date show people clapping their hands, playing instruments, and singing along to the performance. Egyptologists translated ‘inscriptions’ placed underneath the images into lyrics for the song being performed.
Egyptian lyrics for some of their music praise their gods, their pharaoh, his wife and members of the royal family.
In religious terms, the Egyptian goddesses Bes and Hathor emerged, as the patron deities of music. Countless ceremonies were devoted to praising them. These ceremonies involved elaborate musical performances accompanied by dancers.
