ON THE IMPROPER USE OF THE LABEL "SHAMANISM" IN EGYPTOLOGY: RETHINKING THE ROLE OF THE OPENING OF THE MOUTH RITUAL AND THE TEKENU CEREMONY IN LIGHT OF ANCESTOR WORSHIP
Renata Schiavo
Study of Religion 2018 DOI: 10.22250/2072-8662.2018.1.5-15 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Citations | 3 |
| Key points | Argues that the Opening of the Mouth Ritual (scenes 9 and 10) and the Tekenu ceremony should be understood in their historical and sociological context rather than as "living fossils" of the Archaic Period, and proposes that both acted as "double rites of passage" in which the deceased became an ancestor and the officiating elder son attained a new social status as chief of the extended family. |
Abstract
There is some debate about the existence of an “ancient Egyptian shamanism”. A number of scholars used such a label to describe religious phenomena relating to the pre and proto-dynastic religion, the Opening of the Mouth Ritual (especially scenes 9 and 10), and the Tekenu ceremony. Moreover, it is possible to identify a certain “evolutionistic” tendency in explaining the two aforementioned rituals as “living fossils” of the Archaic Period. Given That the use of terms “shaman” or “shamanism” could be problematic if applied to Ancient Egypt, the main aim of the talk is to analyze the data concerning the Opening of the Mouth Ritual scenes 9 and 10 and the Tekenu ceremony in order to understand their function in their historical and sociological context through a comparison with other documents, such as the letters to the dead, the Coffin Texts spells 30-41 and the customary laws concerning inheritance. Finally, it is suggested that both the Opening of the Mouth Ritual and the Tekenu ceremony acted as “double rites of passage”, during which not only the deceased became an ancestor, but also the main officiant of the two ceremonies, who was the elder son of the dead, could achieve a new social status as the new chief of the extended family.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on shamanism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ayahuasca Shamanism in the Amazon and Beyond | 2014 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Shamanism as the Original Neurotheology | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Cognitive Neuroscience, Shamanism and the Rock Art of Native California | 1998 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From Culture to Experience: Shamanism in the Pages of the Soviet Anti-Religious Press | 2020 | Historical analysis | |
| Anthropology, Shamanism, and Alternate Ways of Knowing–Being in the World: One Anthropologist's Journey of Discovery and Transformation | 2010 | Reflective essay or personal narrative |