Tale of the shipwrecked sailor
Encyclopedia
The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor is a Middle Kingdom
story of an Ancient Egypt
ian voyage to "the King's mines" .
discovered the papyrus in 1881 (also stated as a finding originating from the Middle Kingdom).
The name of the scribe who copied it, and who claimed to be "excellent of fingers"(cunning of fingers) despite having made a few slips in the copying,is known as Amenaa, or Ameni-amenna.
The sailor then describes how his ship, manned by 120 (some translations have 150) sailors, had sunk in a storm and how he alone had survived and was washed up on an island. There he finds shelter and food (he says "there was nothing that was not there"). While making a burnt offering
to the gods, he hears thunder and feels the earth shake and sees a giant serpent approach him. The serpent asks him three times who had brought him to the island. When the sailor cannot answer, the serpent takes him to where it lives and asks the question three times more. The sailor repeats his story, now saying that he was on a mission for the king.
The serpent tells him not to fear and that god has let him live and brought him to the island, and that after four months on the island he will be rescued by sailors he knows and will return home. The serpent then relates a tragedy that had happened to him, saying that he had been on the island with 74 of his kin plus a daughter, and that a star fell and "they went up in flames through it". In some translations, the daughter survives; in others, she perishes with the rest. The serpent advises the sailor to be brave and to control his heart, and if he does so, he will return to his family.
The sailor now promises the serpent that he will tell the king of the serpent's power and will send the serpent many valuable gifts, including myrhh and other incense
. Laughing at him, the serpent says that the sailor is not rich, but that he (the serpent) is Lord of Punt
and that the island is rich in incense, and that when the sailor leaves he will not see the island again as it will become water. The ship arrives and the serpent asks him to "make me a good name in your town" and gives him many precious gifts including spices, incense, elephants' tusks, greyhounds and baboons.
The sailor returns home and gives the king the gifts he took from the island, and the king makes him an attendant and gives him serf
s. The tale ends with the master telling the narrator, "Do not make the excellent (that is, do not act arrogant) my friend; why give water to a goose (literally, bird) at dawn before its slaughtering in the morning?"
Never-the-less, interpretation of the story has changed from the naive initial understanding of the story as a simplistic tale of the folk tradition, into a sophisticated analysis, developed into which the narrative is shown to have complexity and depth: a shipwrecked traveller engages upon a spiritual endeavour ( or quest), journeying through the cosmos, to meet a primordial god, thus providing to the traveller a gift of moral vision to return with to Egypt .(please go-to referenced article for the original interpretation) Further, Richard Mathews writes that this "oldest fantasy text contains archetypal narrative of the genre: an uninitiated hero on a sea journey is thrown off course by a storm, encounters an enchanted island, confronts a monster, and survives, wiser for the experience.", commenting additionally that the monster (snake) is the prototype for "the greatest fantasy monster of all time - the dragon, sometimes called the 'wurm'."
Specific analysis:The tale itself begins with a framing device
in which an attendant or "follower" ( conventionally—although not in the papyrus—referred to as "the sailor") tries to comfort his master ("Mayor", although it has been suggested that both might be of equal status), who is returning from an apparently failed expedition and is anxious about how the king will receive him.
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
The Middle Kingdom of Egypt is the period in the history of ancient Egypt stretching from the establishment of the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Fourteenth Dynasty, between 2055 BC and 1650 BC, although some writers include the Thirteenth and Fourteenth dynasties in the Second Intermediate...
story of an Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
ian voyage to "the King's mines" .
Historical information
At least one source states that the papyrus having the story written upon, was found within the Imperial Museum in St. Petersburg, is located within this museum but that there is no information about where it was originally discovered. Alternatively it is stated that, in fact, Vladimir GolénschiffVladimir Golenishchev
Vladimir Semyonovich Golenishchev was one of the first and most accomplished Russian Egyptologists.Golenishchev came from an old noble family, of which Field Marshal Kutuzov was also a member, and was educated at the Saint Petersburg University. In 1884–85 he organized and financed excavations in...
discovered the papyrus in 1881 (also stated as a finding originating from the Middle Kingdom).
The name of the scribe who copied it, and who claimed to be "excellent of fingers"(cunning of fingers) despite having made a few slips in the copying,is known as Amenaa, or Ameni-amenna.
Synopsis (see also translations in external links)
The tale begins with a follower (sailor) announcing or stating his return from a voyage at sea. He is returning from an apparently failed expedition and is anxious about how the king will receive him. An attendant reassures him, advising him on how to behave before the king, and repeating the proverb, "The mouth of a man saves him". To encourage his master, he tells a tale of a previous voyage of his in which he overcame disaster, including meeting with a god and the king.The sailor then describes how his ship, manned by 120 (some translations have 150) sailors, had sunk in a storm and how he alone had survived and was washed up on an island. There he finds shelter and food (he says "there was nothing that was not there"). While making a burnt offering
Burnt Offering
Burnt Offering was a punk fanzine based in and around Northampton, England, from 1979 to 1980.In keeping with the DIY style of the time, Burnt Offerings house style was a mixture of badly-typed articles, ransom note effect lettering and cartoon drawings...
to the gods, he hears thunder and feels the earth shake and sees a giant serpent approach him. The serpent asks him three times who had brought him to the island. When the sailor cannot answer, the serpent takes him to where it lives and asks the question three times more. The sailor repeats his story, now saying that he was on a mission for the king.
The serpent tells him not to fear and that god has let him live and brought him to the island, and that after four months on the island he will be rescued by sailors he knows and will return home. The serpent then relates a tragedy that had happened to him, saying that he had been on the island with 74 of his kin plus a daughter, and that a star fell and "they went up in flames through it". In some translations, the daughter survives; in others, she perishes with the rest. The serpent advises the sailor to be brave and to control his heart, and if he does so, he will return to his family.
The sailor now promises the serpent that he will tell the king of the serpent's power and will send the serpent many valuable gifts, including myrhh and other incense
Incense
Incense is composed of aromatic biotic materials, which release fragrant smoke when burned. The term "incense" refers to the substance itself, rather than to the odor that it produces. It is used in religious ceremonies, ritual purification, aromatherapy, meditation, for creating a mood, and for...
. Laughing at him, the serpent says that the sailor is not rich, but that he (the serpent) is Lord of Punt
Land of Punt
The Land of Punt, also called Pwenet, or Pwene by the ancient Egyptians, was a trading partner known for producing and exporting gold, aromatic resins, African blackwood, ebony, ivory, slaves and wild animals...
and that the island is rich in incense, and that when the sailor leaves he will not see the island again as it will become water. The ship arrives and the serpent asks him to "make me a good name in your town" and gives him many precious gifts including spices, incense, elephants' tusks, greyhounds and baboons.
The sailor returns home and gives the king the gifts he took from the island, and the king makes him an attendant and gives him serf
SERF
A spin exchange relaxation-free magnetometer is a type of magnetometer developed at Princeton University in the early 2000s. SERF magnetometers measure magnetic fields by using lasers to detect the interaction between alkali metal atoms in a vapor and the magnetic field.The name for the technique...
s. The tale ends with the master telling the narrator, "Do not make the excellent (that is, do not act arrogant) my friend; why give water to a goose (literally, bird) at dawn before its slaughtering in the morning?"
Commentary and analysis
Interpretations: For some the meaning is transparently that it is a tale intended as a source of inspiration or reassurance for the noble mind, perhaps similar to something like a courtly creation intended for the royal ear or otherwise for the considering of aristocratic persons.Never-the-less, interpretation of the story has changed from the naive initial understanding of the story as a simplistic tale of the folk tradition, into a sophisticated analysis, developed into which the narrative is shown to have complexity and depth: a shipwrecked traveller engages upon a spiritual endeavour ( or quest), journeying through the cosmos, to meet a primordial god, thus providing to the traveller a gift of moral vision to return with to Egypt .(please go-to referenced article for the original interpretation) Further, Richard Mathews writes that this "oldest fantasy text contains archetypal narrative of the genre: an uninitiated hero on a sea journey is thrown off course by a storm, encounters an enchanted island, confronts a monster, and survives, wiser for the experience.", commenting additionally that the monster (snake) is the prototype for "the greatest fantasy monster of all time - the dragon, sometimes called the 'wurm'."
Specific analysis:The tale itself begins with a framing device
Framing device
The term framing device refers to the usage of the same single action, scene, event, setting, or any element of significance at both the beginning and end of an artistic, musical, or literary work. The repeated element thus creates a ‘frame’ within which the main body of work can develop.The...
in which an attendant or "follower" ( conventionally—although not in the papyrus—referred to as "the sailor") tries to comfort his master ("Mayor", although it has been suggested that both might be of equal status), who is returning from an apparently failed expedition and is anxious about how the king will receive him.
Further reading
- Bradbury, Louise. (1984–1985). "The Tombos Inscription: A New Interpretation." Serapis, 8, 1–20.
- Bradbury, Louise. (1996). "Kpn-boats, Punt Trade, and a Lost Emporium." Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, 33, 37–60.
- Kitchen, Kenneth A. (1993). "The Land of Punt." In Thurstan ShawCharles Thurstan ShawCharles Thurstan Shaw is an English archaeologist.Born in Plymouth, England, the second son of Reverend John Herbert Shaw and Grace Irene Woolart, Thurstan Shaw was educated at Blundell's School in Tiverton, then at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University. He received a B.A in 1936 and was...
et al. (eds.), The Archaeology of Africa. London: Routledge, 587–608. - Segert, Stanislav. (1994). "Crossing the Waters: Moses and Hamilcar." Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 53, 195–203.
- Redmount, Carol A. (1995). "The Wadi Tumilat and the 'Canal of the Pharaohs'." Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 54, 127–35.
External links
- Hieratic text and hieroglyphic transcription of the tale (This is one of the more important online sources of hieratic text and hieroglyphic transcription. It is maintaied by Stephen Fryer.)
- English translation by W. M. Flinders Petrie
- The hieroglyphic of The Shipwrecked Sailor, following the transcription on pp. 41-48 of Blackman (1932).