Household Religion

The past decade has witnessed a huge expansion of research on the “archaeology of ritual,” but the field is still grappling with serious theoretical and methodological issues, concerning everything from the definition of “ritual” itself to the challenges of identifying ritual activity outside of designated sanctuary spaces. The present paper argues for a greater role for coroplastic studies in the ongoing scholarly discourse on defining and refining an archaeology of ritual. As the case study of Greco-Roman Egypt demonstrates, terracotta figurines provide valuable data for rituals embedded within the daily routines and living space of the household. A range of archaeological and textual data suggest that terracotta figurines may have taken part in at least three types of domestic ritual in Greco-Roman Egypt: (1) the veneration of cult images at domestic shrines; (2) the performance of magical rites; and (3) construction rituals for houses. The figurines in question thus provide important evidence for the interrelationship of “popular” and “official” religion.

"The study of the Household Religion in Ancient Egypt is based on tex-tual and material sources, though the greatest contribution comes from these latter. However, to the relevance of these sources is added a large number of difficulties that must be overcome in order to maximize the information available.
To illustrate these difficulties and simultaneously the contribution of the archaeological sources, this article presents to concrete examples; The Box Beds and the clay figurines. Through these cases it is possible to real-ize the interpretation difficulties when dealing with material sources, the relevance of comparison, but also the diversity of information they pro-vide."

The objects known as “votive beds” are similar to handmade terracotta bed models, but show taller legs and a vertical panel on one of the long sides. The panel indicates the main/front face of the objects and always shows an open-work decorative motive, a molded scene or a combination of both types of decoration. Nearly omnipresent in these decorations are dancing or standing Bes figures, usually flanking a central scene with female figures on a boat with duck-headed prow. Among them, a standing naked female figure in frontal view and holding papyrus stems with both arms may represent a specific manifestation of the goddess Hathor, while a seated female lute-player points to the connection of the votive beds with the musicians and chantresses of the god Amun.

When the provenance of these objects is known it is tightly linked with the Theban area (Medinet Habu, Deir el Medina, Dra Abu el Naga, temple of Sethi I, Karnak Nord). The finding contexts are mainly connected with domestic structures and their dating falls within the Third Intermediate Period. The total absence of textual evidences makes the decipherment of these objects challenging. Nevertheless, a thorough analysis of the archaeological contexts and an in-depth study of the iconographic details can offer a chance to catch interesting glimpses of the fertility and birth-protection rituals which were probably performed by female members of the religious musical troupe within their houses.

The Egyptian Religion, an omnipresent element of this civilization, is a composite reality where different aspects fit. One of these aspects is the Household Religion – the set of religious expressions made by the believer in his house.
This religious practice was, up until the moment of this investigation, insufficiently known. The scarcity of textual sources and the features of the material sources – with great dispersion, both in time and space, and without secure origins and interpretations – were always determinant constrains for the accomplishment of this goal. It was with clear conscience of the existing difficulties, but motivated by the singularity and importance of the theme, that we initiated our research.
We started our characterization of the Household Religion in the ancient Egypt by identifying the sources, and, in the case of the material sources, it was created a database. After that, we did a time and spatial framework that allowed us to know the diachronic and geographic presence of this practice. These two previous steps were essential for us to analyze cautiously this phenomenon – the Household Religion – taking into account the gods involved, the motivations, the ritual space implicated – in the house – and its expressions.
The knowledge and acknowledgement of this religious phenomenon and its relevance in the religious context of this civilization are, from now on, more evident, intelligible and, above all, accessible. This was what driven us to do this work.

KEYWORDS: Household Religion, ancient Egypt, home, family, ancestors, gods, magic, material sources

(Thesis and database written in Portuguese. If you are interested in the subject please do not hesitate to contact me.)

"Using the life of a young girl and her family as a model, this book recreates the daily life of the middle-class residents of the ancient town of Lahun during Egypt’s Middle Kingdom period. This perfect snapshot in time has been painstakingly recreated using recently published textual data and archaeological findings.
•Provides an illuminating and engaging re-construction of what daily life was like in ancient Egypt
•Describes the main issues of everyday life in the town - from education, work, and food preparation to religious rituals, healing techniques, marriages, births, and deaths
•Authentically recreated through the use of recently published textual data and archaeological findings directly from the settlement of Lahun and other sites
Includes photographs and illustrations of actual artifacts from the settlement of Lahun"

Household religion in ancient Egypt was the subject of a PhD research carried out from 2010 to 2015, of which the focus was the material sources existent for the study of this issue. For such, a database gathering the remains of religious nature identified in houses between the Early Dynastic Period and the Late Period was created.
The collection of sources allows a new analysis about what were the religious practices in the house in Ancient Egypt. One of the ideas that is emphasized is the possibility of knowing these practices not only in the New Kingdom but also in the Middle Kingdom. Thus, this paper presents the existing sources for the study of household religion in the Middle Kingdom and systematizes the information resulting from these sources characterizing this religious practice during this period.

W hile early research tended to reconstruct a monolithic view of Israelite/Judean religion, a focus on the diversity of religious ideas and ritual practices has recently come to the forefront in scholarly inquiries. Household or family religion is one of the themes that has emerged from these varied approaches and diverse understandings of ancient religions in general, and Israelite and Judean beliefs and practices in specific. However, the treatment of household religion in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean world has, until quite recently, relied primarily on textual data to reconstruct and interpret the sacred beliefs and practices of families and households, although this trend is shifting towards more archaeological analyses Albertz et al. 2014). The vast majority of ancient populations were illiterate, thus written sources skew our view towards elite, mythic, and divine households. While this information is extremely useful, it cannot be viewed as normative as it leaves common households and families out of the scholarly picture. Studying the material remains from domestic structures can help to fill gaps in our understanding of ancient household religion, both at the nonelite and elite levels (see collected studies on ancient Mesoamerican households in . The excavated pillared houses and bench tombs of ancient Judah are an underutilized data set, yet contextual analysis of artifacts from these domestic contexts provide the best direct evidence for reconstructing the sacral beliefs and practices of Judean households (see Albertz et al. 2014). Archaeological data when studied contextually are our best entrée into the material domestic religion of ancient Judean families and households.

RESUMO
A morte, elemento essencial em todas as Culturas, teve, na civilização do antigo Egito, um expoente máximo do seu peso na existência humana. A morte e os mortos eram parte integrante da vida dos antigos egípcios como é, aliás, perceptível pelos numerosos e diversos vestígios deixados por este povo, desde as famosas pirâmides até aos riquíssimos textos como, a título de exemplo, o Livro dos Mortos.
No Egito antigo os entes falecidos eram entendidos como membros da família alargada e uma relação bilateral era desenvolvida entre os dois mundos. Os mortos esperavam receber dos vivos os devidos rituais e oferendas de modo a assegurar o seu bem-estar. Os vivos, satisfeitas as necessidades dos mortos, poderiam esperar o seu auxílio e proteção nos problemas da vida quotidiana.
É no contexto desta relação que vemos o culto prestado aos antepassados extrapolar o ambiente tumular que lhe é naturalmente associado para surgir, igualmente, em casa como parte integrante, e de grande relevância, da Religião Doméstica – conjunto das práticas religiosas realizadas em espaço doméstico – desde, pelo menos, o Império Médio (c. 2055 – 1650 a.C.).
Assim, pretendemos, por um lado, apresentar a natureza da relação que se estabelecia entre vivos e mortos no antigo Egito e, por outro lado, recorrer ao culto e rituais que era eram realizados em casa para ilustrar o funcionamento desta mesma relação.

ABSTRACT
Death, an essential element in all Cultures, had, in the civilization of ancient Egypt, a greatest exponent of its weight in human existence. The Death and the dead were an integral part of the life of the ancient Egyptians, as can be seen in the many and diversified vestiges left by this people, from the famous pyramids to the rich texts, such as the Book of the Dead.
In ancient Egypt the deceased kins were understood as members of the extended family and a bilateral relationship was developed between the two realms. The dead hoped to receive from the living the proper rituals and offerings in order to ensure their well-being. The living, having complied the needs of the dead, could expect their help and protection in the problems of daily life.
It is in the context of this relationship that we see the ancestors’ worship extrapolate from the tomb environment that is naturally associated to it, to emerge also at home as an integral and highly relevant part of the Household Religion – a set of religious practices performed in domestic space – from at least the Middle Kingdom (c. 2055 - 1650 BC).
Thus, we intend, on the one hand, to present the nature of the relationship that was established between the living and the dead in ancient Egypt and, on the other hand, to resort to the worship and rituals that were performed at home to illustrate the functioning of this same relationship.

In ancient Egypt the relationship between the believers and their deities, a bilateral
relationship where the believer made offerings and pay the due respect to the gods
expecting from them help and protection, is mainly conceived within the framework
of the religious phenomenon known as personal piety occurring from the New
Kingdom onwards.
Household religion, this is, the set of religious practices that took place at home,
usually understood as an expression of egyptian personal piety, is a possible path to
a deeper knowledge of this relationship. Resorting to a set of material sources found
in various settlements in ancient Egypt that attest that gods were present in houses,
it is possible to essay a characterization of divinities’ cult in domestic context.
Thus, the aim of this presentation is to use the textual sources to understand the
reasons that grounds the relationship between men and gods and the material
vestiges found at homes to identify which gods were present at egyptian houses,
how they were worshiped and also since when.

In ancient Egypt the deceased were an integral part of the world of the living. The dead kin were perceived as extended family members and a bilateral relationship was developed between the two worlds.
This relationship was characterized by its interdependence. On one hand, the deceased expected to receive from the living all the due rituals and offerings in order to ensure their well-being. On the other hand, fulfilled all the needs of the dead, the living might expect their assistance and protection in everyday life problems.
Although the deceased expected from everyone the needed rituals and offerings the truth is that it was within the family that this obligation was more felt. It is in this context that we see emerge the ancestor cult as an integral part, and with high relevance, of household religion, attested since the Middle Kingdom.
The knowledge that we can have about this domestic religious practice results from both textual and material sources. It is the combination of texts, objects and structures that makes possible for us to understand the motivations underlying this practice and where and how it was accomplished.
This presentation aims to present these sources and demonstrate the information resulting from a joint analysis.