Music in Ancient Egypt

Music in Ancient Egypt | Ancient Egyptian Dance | Singing in pharaohs Facts and What is Traditional Musical Ancient Egyptian Instruments?

discover the history of music and singing arts in the Pharaonic civilization and what the ancient Egyptians used string instruments to dance and sing and patterns of love and religious songs discovered on the Pharaonic era.

Music in Ancient Egypt

From Ancient Egyptian Literature there saying of the Sage Ani From the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt in The New Kingdom period in ancient Egypt was mentioned in an Egyptian Papyrus: singing, dancing and incense are the food of the The Egyptian Gods. Music occupied an important place in people’s lives and was considered an important royal, popular, and Ancient Egyptian religion art, and there were local Egyptian musical instruments that developed rapidly due to contact with the peoples surrounding Egypt and the entry of some foreign instruments into them, and musical instruments are divided into three main groups:

Traditional Musical Ancient Egyptian Instruments

Pharaonic Harp Musical Instrument

The Harp is the oldest and most common string instrument, a wooden box to amplify sound and produce vertical strings connecting to the wooden leg on its limbs.

It was of different sizes, including those placed directly on the floor or fixed on a base, some of which were curved and could reach the length of the musician or higher, and therefore played standing, and the music was played using hands on different chords to obtain two accompanying tones (resolution and response). The harp was made of ebony and decorated with gold “Ancient Egyptian Metallurgy” and precious stones.

What type of instrument is a harp?

The wooden box and wooden leg were being worked as in Industry in ancient Egypt. The number of strings of a harp varies from 9-19 strings and the increase of strings from 13 to 19 made for the gods, ankles that hold the strings and serve as keys in modern instruments and color in two white colors that thicken the white strings and are made of ivory and black that hold black strings and are made of ebony.

Pharaonic Lyre Musical Instrument

It is a wooden instrument of Asian origin with five strings and a parallel stretch between the sound box and the wooden frame, attached horizontally or vertically while playing, an instrument like what is now known in Egypt as “semsemia”, also called the harp. The kanara was named in Egyptian (Lyre) and was transferred by the Hebrews from them and named it “Lyre”, then the Arabs moved it and called it Lyre.

The number of his strings increased to 13, and five kanaras were found in the most famous museums in the world, three of which were placed in the Berlin Museum, one in National Archaeological Museum – Leiden in the Netherlands and one in The Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square “Museums in Cairo“.

Pharaonic Tanbūra Musical Instrument

It is an instrument with an oval wooden box from which emerges a long or short neck and is like today the instrument called oud. It was worn on the chest or in a horizontal or vertical position like the rababa and had three or four strings.

Pharaonic Rebab Musical Instrument

It is a single-string instrument made of tree antlers and goat or deer skin, and the string can come from the ponytail as well as the bow string.

What is Wind Instruments in Ancient Egypt?

1. Flute: It is a thatch pierced with different lengths and there is a double flute that consists of two flutes that meet at the mouth and diverge whenever they are far from it.
2. The trumpet: A metal instrument that could be more than half a meter long and was used for military purposes.
3. Nay: It is one of the oldest wind musical instruments in Egypt it is a simple bamboo flute and can be a double.
4. The Water Organ: Which was formed of a group of long and short pipes that work by compressing water on the air and Dr. Mahmoud Al Hanafi believes that the first water organ appeared in Alexandria during the Ptolemaic period around 170 BC. I.C. invented by a person named Actsibus.

What is Rhythmic Instruments in Ancient Egypt?

1. Drum: Cylindrical shape of wood or metal equipped with a large piece of skin, and beats drums with drumsticks of different sizes and shapes.
2. Tambourine: The Egyptian tambourine was rectangular in shape, there are many effects, inscriptions and images representing this tambourine, and there is also a round tambourine that is made of wood.
3. Cymbals: They are usually made of copper and resemble a small gear, which is a small diameter brass sheet and contains a lug when used.
4. Small drums: small drums that give a high sound
5. The sistrum: a metal musical instrument in the form of a horseshoe penetrated by thin bars that sound when moved, used by women in religious celebrations
6. Cups: These are metal tools that look like cups and are struck together.
7. Rattles: A small wooden instrument still used for children called kherkhasha.

 Musical scale in Ancient Egypt:

The Egyptians linked music to the movement of celestial bodies, and believed that the rhythm of music is only one aspect of the rhythm of the universe as in Astronomy in ancient Egypt, and therefore sought to reveal the relationship between the balance of planets and stars and musical tunes, and so they put for each tone of the seven-note musical scale a symbol of Hieroglyphs “The ancient Egyptian Pharaonic language” similar to the symbol of the planet, and thus the symbols of the planets became the symbols of the Egyptian seven-way musical scale.

Not only they did see that all the Ancient Egyptian science and all the sacred arts such as Medicine in ancient Egypt, astronomy, Sculpture in Ancient Egypt, and Architecture in ancient Egypt are related to each other and are guided by unique laws and calculations, but so they saw that these sciences are the prerogative of the clergy and that their first place is the Mortuary Temples. But music leaked, of course, in civil life and was practiced by all as in Ancient Egyptian Government, but it remained disciplined in its rules by High Priest of Amun who punished those who pronounced themselves on these rules.

The Egyptian musical scale was initially a five-note scale and came from an astronomical origin where they see have a symmetry between the five stars of the carriage and the musical scale, then changed in the era of the New Kingdom from the scale five to seven, where they added two notes and became seven, The musical scale consisted of seven symbols, the same as the seven planets.

The role of religion in preserving the intimacy of music in ancient Egypt:

Through priests and Egyptian Temples, the Egyptian religion has played the greatest role in preserving the intimacy of Egyptian music by:

1. Formation of people working in this field on musical rules by the priests who supervise them
2. He linked music to the popular gods of the Egyptians, such as God Osiris, who considered him a god of music in contrast to the god of Agriculture in Ancient Egypt and fertility, and there were groups in his name and in the name of his son God Horus, who was the supervisor of musical instruments,  and there is the god Mener, the inventor of music and protector of its arts and the significance of his name (protector of eternity) and pronounced in Greek as “Maneros”.

Osiris may have inspired the Greeks to invent what they called the Musyat, the Lords of the Arts.

God Hathor, however, is unique in being the goddess of music and the arts and their specialized patroness. And God Bes (symbol of the physical strength and power of the offspring) dancer or harp holder and not also.

1. The priests set the hours of listening to music and musical genres for these moments, there is time to hear calm, high, relaxed, enthusiastic or loud music, and the music of women, parties, children as in Social Structure in Ancient Egypt, agriculture, and Festivals in Ancient Egypt is made.
2. They removed all foreign influences from the music of the peoples surrounding Egypt and allowed only music that matched Egyptian taste and resisted Asian and African music that irritated lusts and senses. This indicates the depth of cultural understanding of music and its role in establishing a balanced high-end life.
3. The temples established their own groups and used various instruments played by priests according to strict religious artistic rules.
4. Egyptian priests recorded their musical pieces and religious songs on various registers that they circulated in the temples.
5. Songs have appeared with music under loan supervision since the Old Kingdom with The beginning of the Egyptian Pharaohs kings, the Third Dynasty of Egypt and have been recited inside temples and accompanied by religious and funeral prayers and singing sometimes accompanied by dance at religious and social events. The most important musical instruments of the time are (short and long flute, angular harp, and curved compound).
6. At the time of the New Kingdom, the role of temples continued to be a pioneer of music, and the manufacture of stringed musical instruments particularly developed, increasing the number of harp strings to 22 at the time of the Twentieth Egyptian Dynasty “The Ramesside Period“, and some of these instruments reached more than two meters in height. Plato recommended to his people to listen to Egyptian music with scientific rules and laws and considered it the best music in the world, in his book (The Republic) it seeks to express beauty on the one hand and seeks to refine souls and spirits and entertain souls on the other.
7. Titles have appeared for music pieces associated with the gods such as The Temple of Abydos in Sohag and the Temple of Hathor in El Quseyya, and from the era of King Senusret I from Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt, a woman named “Hessit Em Benet”  (guitarist) and another musician named “Singer and Musician of his Lady”. In Tomb of Mereruka in Saqqara, the deceased is found with his wife, who plays the harp.
8. The movement of the hand was at the origin of the musical note in Egypt, and when the singer sings, he sits on one knee, lifts the other, waving his hand in the air and drawing the movements of the melody to organize the rhythmic arrangement, so that the musician sat in front of the singer. Thus, the movement of the hand helped the singer’s memory to restore the melody and therefore he named the song in Egyptian (Hessbet Em Jeret) and its meaning literally (music by hand) and symbolized the song with a drawing that helped the hand.

Perhaps one of the most important Egyptian Monuments shown by musicians and musical instruments are the inscriptions on the walls of temples and Egyptian Tombs associated with the The Pyramids of Giza region “Great Pyramid of Giza, Pyramid of Khafre, Pyramid of Menkaure, The Sphinx of Giza“, as well as on the walls of the staircase leading to the fifth hall of the Temple of Dendera in Qena, in the Pharaonic Tombs of the Valley of the Queens and Valley of the Kings in Luxor and on the walls of the The Temple of Philae in Aswan,  and there is also the Tomb of King Amenhotep II | KV35 of the eighteenth dynasty.

There, in the Tomb of King Ramesses II | KV7  “King Ramses II” of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, some musical instruments were found, as well as in the Tomb of Tutankhamun | KV62 for King Tutankhamun.

The flute and harp were the oldest musical instruments, and with the New Kingdom, the idea of organized bands composed of several musical instruments played in harmony and regularity emerged.

From the 18th dynasty, a papyrus (comic papyrus) was found showing a band of animals led by a donkey playing the harp, followed by a lion singing and playing the harp, then a crocodile playing the oud surrounded by a crown of irises and a monkey playing a double flute. There is a mural in which a blind man plays the harp and a flute player, which indicates that the blind was in favor of working in music.

Dance in of Ancient Egypt:

Religious dance first emerged as a kind of rites in temples and in the processions of the gods during religious and agricultural festivals, then gradually became a worldly art practiced by young dancers who mastered its movements and carefully formed dance boards in palaces and in public popular life.

Surprisingly, the ancient Egyptians were so respected for their dance that they thought that among the teachings of the status, Greek historian Diodorus Siculus “Diodorus of Sicily” said: “Osiris (the greatest idol) respected God Thoth and worshipped him for his law and spread it in the social body of astronomy, music, dance, Ancient Egyptian Sport and other arts that attained perfection.

They preceded the nations on the tracks of elevation and happiness of life. “Dancing among the ancient Egyptians represented celestial movements on the model of musical melodies, and they danced around structures and temples in the form of a circle,” Menes Trier said in his 1683 book, “Ancient and Modern Dance.”

They imagine the temple as the sun in the middle of the sky, and they revolve around it as a representation of the zodiac, that is, as planets, stars that orbit the sun its daily and annual cycle” and we have not found in the ancient texts details of this ancient religious dance on the structures.

“The group of planets, the circle of stars and planets is at the center of this astronomical dance,” said Luceran Licien of Samosate, born in the second century A.D in the city of Samosate  in ancient Syria.

What is the pharaoh dance style?

1. Rhythmic dance by a group of young men or women, controlled by rhythmic instruments or controlled by applause, performed by moving the legs in slow or fast steps and raising the arms above the head.
2. Sports dance:  This is a dance that is faster and stronger than rhythmic dance and includes dances related to the rhythm and flexibility of the body, such as standing on one leg or elevating the other dancer from the ground and others.
3. Acrobatic dance: a dance that shows the exaggeration of the movements of its dancers.
4. Marital dance: for men or women where couples are composed of one sex.
5. Group Dance: The bands perform a coherent rhythmic decorative performance.
6. Simulation dance: which imitates or ingests animals or aims to rain or imitate hunting, agriculture, etc.
7. Actor’s dance: which approaches the art of contemporary ballet where the dancer performs paintings in direct representing historical, legendary, or emotional events.
8. Musical dance: The dancers follow the sounds of the harp, drum, tambourine, or other instruments combined and the goal is to embody the pieces of music.
9. Religious dance:  This is a dance that constitutes a religious ritual inside or outside the temple when following the gods during religious holidays.
10. Funeral dance: It is also a religious dance, but it appears in the processions and aims to exorcise the dead and bring pleasure to his heart, and this dance may have been sad.
11. War Dance: It included the embodiment of movements that occur in battles and wars, jumping and fencing movements, conflicts, ball and running, intended to entertain fighting soldiers, and was generally practiced by Libyan and Nubian soldiers fighting with the Egyptian army.

These eleven types of ancient Egyptian dance were classified and studied by the inscriptions, Egyptian Antiquities, drawings  in Egypt Archaeological Sites and sculptures of the Czech scholar (Irina Kasova) and illustrated in an important qualitative book entitled “Ancient Egyptian Dance“, translated by Dr. Mohamed Jamal Eddin  Mokhtar and revised by Dr. Abdel  Moneim  Abu Bakar and published in 1961. We can add two other types:

1. Dramatic dance: Dramatic dance was practiced in temples during celebrations to remember the tragedy of Osiris and God Isis, and Herodotus said that when he visited Egypt, he saw the dramatic dance rituals performed by the priests of the temples on this occasion and described the conflict that was taking place between the partisans of Horus and the followers of Seth to the rhythm of the drum, and they embody this drama by dancing.
2. The dance of death: a kind of funeral dance that aimed to express the sadness of the separation from the dead, to bring pleasure to his soul and to expel the evil spirits that can accompany him and go with him to the other world, which is like what he is doing (the deputies) right now.

Music in Ancient Egypt | The singing arts and dance genres of the Pharaohs, discover the history of the art of music and singing

How did ancient Egyptians sing?

Singing was born early in ancient Egypt and perhaps the songs of the peasants are the oldest we can deduce from the history of singing in Egypt.

Singing also flourished in temples and was a liturgical medium accompanying feasts, religious events, and funeral ceremonies, and the gods oversaw singing “especially related to the goddess Hathor, who sponsored these ancient arts, so Hathor was dubbed the Mistress of Rapture and the Lady of Dance, singing, and playing. Since ancient times from Predynastic Period and Naqada III, ancient Egyptian women participated in much service to the gods.

The lists of many priestesses of the temple who contributed to this work, which were not some kind of professionalism or humiliation, were kept to us, but were often a color of volunteerism or hobby that earned the owner a great place and respect.

Many high-class women, especially in the new age, were nicknamed singers and musicians of one of the gods. Female Pharaohs and princesses were also depicted carrying prayers, beating tambourines, or clapping chords during certain rituals.

Specialized songs appeared every holiday of the year with each yield, each month and each of the three seasons. The priests maintained the stability of these songs and imposed punishments on those who violated their artistic and poetic elements. Religious hymns were also known in the temple and invocations of offerings.

Individual singing, duet singing (dialogue) and group singing area  and singing was inherent in people’s daily lives. There were songs of the great or minor Osiris, the songs of God Amun, the songs of Maat and the songs of God Sokar. There is still controversy among scholars about the difference between religious texts and religious songs, as well as signs of some texts that are closer to songs than texts or poems.

The link between singing and musical art in ancient Egypt:

The Royal Court was ruled by a group of singers, led by the so-called “president or chief singer as in The army in ancient Egypt,” and overseen by three people with the title of “Royal Song masters” or “Supervisors of Royal Concerts.”

Thus, we see that the songs are divided into religious songs, royal songs, agricultural songs, holiday songs, war songs, victory songs, etc. In some regions and at certain times, the festivals of the year may have reached almost 70 festivals, all of which were theatres of hunting, music, and dance.

Singing was such a great and respectable practice that the Architect Hemiunu of the Great Pyramid of King Khufu “Fourth Dynasty of Egypt” was nicknamed “The Great Singer”. He was one of the most famous singers of the former Empire (Hem Ra), who served as president of royal singers and bridesmaids, along with male singers such as Senefru Nefer from Fifth Dynasty of Egypt and Meri Ptah.

The Egyptians kept some of their songs in the papyrus” and the most famous of these papyri, which preserved these beautiful legacies (Harris Papyrus) preserved at The British Museum in London, and Chester Beatty Medical Papyrus preserved in the Twain Museum and found a collection of songs written on pieces of pottery and ceramics preserved at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

These archaeological documents include a large collection of love songs and description of the beauty of the beloved, whether in the form of an individual song sung by the lovers or sung by the beloved, or in the form of (dialogues / duet), that is, bilateral songs that lovers exchange while singing their passages, and each respond to each other describing their love and feelings.

Love Songs: These are models of love and description songs: Music in Ancient Egypt

First song: Music in Ancient Egypt

My love, a garden filled with lotus buds and flowers.

And her chest ripples with the fruit of love.

And her arm is fun, and her beautiful lips.

A trap set up for the bird.

And I am a wild goose.

Who is attracted by taste?

Second song: Music in Ancient Egypt

My love, she is there on the other side.

the waters of the flood separate us.

And on the sand of the shore, a crocodile hides.

But I don’t fear him, and he doesn’t terrorize me.

And I will cross the water until I get to her house, and my heart will be happy.

And I open my arms to take her in my arms.

Third song: Music in Ancient Egypt

I love it, my love.

When I go to the lawn of the garden.

To bathe before your eyes.

And I let you fill your eyes with my beauty.

I’m in my white linen dress.

And it stuck to my body after it got wet.

And I go down to the water to catch a beautiful goldfish for you.

I put it through my fingers.

Come my love and look at me… »

Song 4: Music in Ancient Egypt

I would like to be her maid for my pleasure to see her all day

I would like to be the one who washes her dresses to enjoy the smell of perfume that comes out of his clothes….

I wish I could be a ring on her finger.

Song 5: Music in Ancient Egypt

Woman: I will never move away from you, my love.

And my wish is to stay in your house.

And under your command, you the most beautiful of men.

And the dearest of all people.

And I’ll put my hand in yours

I come and go with you to all the fun places.

You are the well-being and you are life.

Man: I’m going to lie in my house and get sick.

And when the neighbors come to visit me,

my little darling will come with them.

And then the doctors will be ashamed.

Because they didn’t know about my disease or my medication.

But she will immediately know where the disease is.

And her gaze will be my medicine.

It brings health back into my body.

And restore healing in my heart.

As the current descends into the Nile to the north

And the north wind went south.

Generations that are leaving.

And the new generations come in their place.

Don’t let your heart get sad.

Have a great day.

And does not mention evil.

Song 6: Music in Ancient Egypt

Have fun while you’re alive

You don’t know what tomorrow will bring.

And who came back from the other world to tell us what was going on there?

No one can take their belongings to the other world.

And there is no one going there.

Facts about singing and music in ancient Egypt:

Singing like other arts and literature was divided into two basic genres:

First: religious songs performed by singing priests, where they rehearse and compose prayers and texts and sing religious songs and invocations of offerings to the gods, including:

1. Songs of Osiris large or minor
2. Songs of Amun
3. Songs of Maat
4. Songs of the Gods (Soker, God Atum, God Anubis, Ta Tenen, God Ptah, Thot,  God Min, Horus).
5. The twelve songs of the gods (Ra, Ra Hor Akhti, Ra Atum, Ra Osiris) with a varied ritual supplement with three offerings in jubilation and a spell for purification.
6. Songs of the planets, the sun, and the Nile River.
7. Hymns of protection and prevention.

Second: worldly songs: which include romantic songs, of nature, wisdom, happiness, songs of bird sellers, birth and birthday songs, women, nursing women, breeders and songs of navigators, sailors, harvesters, homelands,  farmers, warriors, etc.

References Music in Ancient Egypt: The Book of Egyptian Civilization, Egypt

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