A FEMALE SCRIBE IN THE TWENTY SIXTH DYNASTY [IRETRAU] | ||||
| Journal of the General Union of Arab Archaeologists | ||||
| Article 2, Volume 6, Issue 2, May 2021, Page 25-40 PDF (1.36 MB) | ||||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/jguaa2.2021.61794.1050 | ||||
 View on SCiNiTO | ||||
| Author | ||||
Heba Maher Mahmoud  
| ||||
| Lecturer at faculty of Arts, Mansoura University, Egypt. | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| (Ar) "كاتبة فى األسرة السادسة والعشرين "ارت رو تتناول هذه الورقة البحثية لقب الکاتبة الخاص بـالسيدة "ارت ايرو"، والذى ذکر عدة مرات بنقوش مقبرتها. وتعد "إرت إيرو" ومکانتها ککاتبة؛ هي من أکثر القضايا تعقيدًا، نظرًا لعدم ظهور نصوص کتبت بواسطتها کما هو الحال عند الکتبة الذکور، فضلاً عن عدم وجود أدوات الکتابة في مقبرتها. ومع ذلک هناک العديد من الأسباب الأخرى التى تتيح النظر إلى اعتبار "ارت ايرو" امرأة متعلمة، ومتقلدة لمنصب الکاتبة ولديها واجبات فعلية. ومما لا شک فيه هو ارتباط ذلک بزيادة القوة المؤسسية الخاصة بالزوجة الإلهية لأمون رع خلال العصر المتأخر، واعتبار "ارت ايرو" صانعة تغيير کبير في نظام الإدارة من خلال تقلدها لهذا المنصب، فمن المعروف هيمنة الرجال على السلطة في مصر القديمة، في حين لم يُسمح للنساء بأن يکونوا جزءًا منها. (En) This research studies Iretrau’s ‘sS-sHm.t’, which was mentioned several times in her tomb. This is a clear reference to literacy. It is notable that Iretrau and her position as a scribe is one of the most complicated issues, due to the lack of texts written by her as a male scribe, as well as the absence of writing tools in her tomb. However, there are many other reasons for looking at Iretrau as a literate woman who held a scribal position with actual duties according to previous indications. The fact that Iretrau used the very plain title of scribe suggests that she was not involved directly in the administration of the institution or assigned certain tasks, such as holding a position in a specific office or bureau. She depended solely on her professional status as a Scribe ‘sS-sHm.t’and a Chief Attendant of the God’s Wife of Amen ‘Sms.t aA.t n dwAt nTr. This reflects her role as the wife of a vizier and mother of a vizier. Undoubtedly, this independence was due to the power of the God’s wife of Amun institution, which was also reflected. Iretrau seemed to be a great change-maker in the administration system, simply by being a female scribe, because the power structure of ancient Egypt was dominated by men entirely, whereas women were not allowed to be part of the governmental bodies or to occupy any governmental positions. On the contrary, Iretrau broke these rules by working outdoors, something which was not applicable to non-royal women. Iretrau's status as a Female Scribe and a Chief attendantwas probably similar to the great Stewards of the God’s Wife of Amen. Proof of this is the fact that she was buried in an exclusive tomb in Asasif like the great Stewards of the God’s Wife of Amen. It is worth questioning the reason why Iretrau does not appear as a scribe in her tomb the same way the male scribes appear in their tombs. Could it be that the position of the male scribe was not appropriate for her, but at least it is imperative to see the tools of a scribe in her tomb, while countless scenes show male Scribe at work! | ||||
Highlights | ||||
| ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| Iretrau; Naaes; Female Scribe; Elite; Psamtichus I; Twenty Sixth Dynasty; Education; Female Literacy; Gender; TT 390 | ||||
| References | ||||
|
BOOTH, A. & Booth, M. (eds.): Ramesses and Radar: A Collaborative Study of a Tomb Complex at South Asasif, Luxor, Egypt, Nerc Geophysical Equipment Faculty, Scientific Report, 2012, 1-7.
BRIAN, M. T. P.: «Women Sex Objects in Ancient Egypt», the Fourth Annual Convention of the North American Society for Sport History at the University of Oregon, June 16-19, 1976, 1-6.
BRUNNER, H.: Altägyptische Erziehung, trans. Mostafa Abd El Baset, Egypt (the National Center for Translation) 2011.
BRYAN, B. M.: «Evidence for Female Literacy from Theban Tombs of the New Kingdom», BES 6, 1984, 17–32.
BUDKA. J.: «The Asasif Revisited: New Results from the Austrian Concessioni; Originalveröffentlichung», ICE 10, 2015, 111-129.
CAPEL, A. K. & MARKOE, G. E.: Mistress of the House, Mistress of the Heaven: Women in Ancient Egypt, Cincinnati (Hudson Hills Press) 1996.
CHAMPOLLION, J. F.: Monuments de L’Égypte et de La Nubie: Notices Descriptives Conformes aux Manuscrits Autographes Rédigés sur les Lieux I, Paris (Chez Firmin Didot Frères: Librairies-Éditeurs) 1929.
ERMAN, A. & GRAPOW (eds.), H.: Wörterbuch der Ägyptischen Sprache. 5 vols. Leipzig (Akademie –Verlag) 1971.
FISCHER, H. G.: Egyptian Woman of the Old Kingdom and of the Heracleopolitan Period, New York (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) 2000.
GOUCHER, C. Lee., and Le Guin, Ch. A. (eds.): Ordering the World: Family and Household, the Balance: Themes in Global History, Boston (McGraw-Hill) 1998.
GOUDSMIT, S. A.: «An Illiterate Scribe», AJA 78, 1974, 78.
GRAEFE, E.: Untersuchungen zur Verwaltung und Geschichte der Insitution der Gottesgemahlin des Amun vom Beginn des Neuen Reiches bis zur Spätzeit, Wiesbaden (Harrassowitz) 1981.
HANSEN, S. C. E.: Das Gottesweib des Amun, København (Ejnar Munksgaard) 1940.
KAMPP-SEYFRIED, F.: «Thebes, el-Asasif’, in K. A. Bard (eds.) », Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt, 1999, 802.
LAZARIDIS, N.: «Education and Apprenticeship, in E. Frood and W. Wendrich (eds.) », UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, 2010, 1-14.
LI, J.: Elite Theban Women of the Eighth-Sixth Centuries BCE in Egypt: Identity, Status and Mortuary Practice, Ann Arbor (MI: UMI dissertation publishing) 2010.
: Women, Gender and Identity in Third Intermediate Period Egypt, New York (NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group) 2017.
LOON, V. A. J.: «Law and Order in Ancient Egypt: The Development of Criminal Justice from the Pharaonic New Kingdom until the Roman Dominate», MA. Thesis, Faculty of Humanities, 2014.
MATIĆ, U.: «Gender in Ancient Egypt: Norms, Ambiguities, and Sensualities», NEA 79 No. 3, 2016, 174- 183.
OLIVIER, A.: «Social Status of Elite Women of the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt: A Comparison of Artistic Features», MA. Thesis, University of South Africa, 2008.
PISCHIKOVA, E.: «Reliefs from the Tomb of the Vizier Nespakashuty: Reconstruction, Iconography, and Style», MMJ 33, 1998, 57-101.
: «Early Kushite Tombs of South Asasif», BMSAES 12, 2009, 11-30.
POLZ, D. C.: «Asasif’, in D. B. Redford (eds.) », The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt I, 2001, 140-142.
PORTER, B. & MOSS, R.: Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs and
Paintings. I: The Theban Necropolis, Oxford (Clarendon Press) 1927.
RANKE, H.: Die Ägyptischen Personennamen. Bd I. Verzeichnis der Namen, Glückstadt (J. J. Augustin) 1935.
ROBINS, G.: Women in Ancient Egypt, London (British Museum Press) 1993.
SABBAHY, L.: «Women, Pharaonic Egypt: from EAH’, in R. S. Bagnall (ed.) », The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, 2013, 1-3.
SWEENEY, D.: «Sex and Gender, in E. Frood and W. Wendrich (eds.) », UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, 2011.
WARD, W. A.: Essays on Feminine Titles of the Middle Kingdom and Related Subjects, Beirut (American University of Beirut) 1986.
WENTE, E. F.: Late Ramesside Letters, SAOC 33, Chicago (University of Chicago Press) 1967.
ZINN, K.: «Literacy, Pharaonic Egypt, in R. Bagnall (ed.) », Encyclopedia of Ancient World, 2012, 1-5.
| ||||
|
Statistics Article View: 465 PDF Download: 619 |
||||
