The Westcar Papyrus (inventory-designation: Papyrus Berlin 3033) is an ancient Egyptian text containing five stories about miracles performed by priests and magicians. In the papyrus text, each of these tales are told at the royal court of King Khufu (Fourth Dynasty, 26th century BC) by his sons.
The surviving material of the Westcar Papyrus consists of twelve columns written in hieratic script. The document has been dated to the Hyksos period (18th to 16th century BC) and states that it is written in classical Middle Egyptian.M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol.1, University of California Press 1973, p.215 Egyptologists think it is possible that the Westcar Papyrus was written during the Thirteenth Dynasty. The papyrus has been used by historians as a literary resource for reconstituting the history of the Fourth Dynasty.
The papyrus is now on display under low-light conditions in the Egyptian Museum of Berlin.Verena M. Lepper: Untersuchungen zu pWestcar. Eine philologische und literaturwissenschaftliche (Neu-)Analyse. In: Ägyptologische Abhandlungen, Band 70. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2008, , pp. 41–47, 103 & 308–310.
Discovery In 1823 or 1824, British adventurer Henry Westcar (1798–1868) apparently discovered the papyrus during travels in Egypt. For unknown reasons, he did not note the exact circumstances under which he obtained the artifact.
In 1838 or 1839, German Egyptologist Karl Richard Lepsius claimed to have received the papyrus from Westcar's niece. As Lepsius was able to read some signs of Hieratic, he recognized some of the royal cartouche names of the kings and dated the text to the Old Kingdom.
There are inconsistencies about the true nature of the acquisition and the subsequent whereabouts of the Westcar Papyrus. Lepsius writes that the document was on display in the Oxford Bodleian Library, but public exhibitions have been documented there since the early 1860s and Lepsius' name does not appear in any lists or documents. Furthermore, Lepsius never made the text of the Westcar Papyrus public; he stored the papyrus at home in his attic, where it was found after his death. These inconsistencies have led to widespread speculation; many British historians speculate that Lepsius may have stolen the papyrus.Verena M. Lepper: Untersuchungen zu pWestcar. Eine philologische und literaturwissenschaftliche (Neu-)Analyse. Ägyptologische Abhandlungen, Band 70. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2008, , p. 15–17.
In 1886, German Egyptologist Adolf Erman purchased the papyrus from Lepsius' son and left it to the Museum of Berlin. As the hieratic signs were still insufficiently investigated and translated, the Westcar Papyrus was displayed as some kind of curiosity. Since Erman's first attempt at a complete translation in 1890, the Westcar Papyrus has been translated numerous times, resulting in different outcomes. The dating of the text also varies.Verena M. Lepper: Untersuchungen zu pWestcar. Eine philologische und literaturwissenschaftliche (Neu-)Analyse. Ägyptologische Abhandlungen, Band 70. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2008, , p. 317–320.
Material description Papyrus Westcar is a reused papyrus made of the plant Cyperus papyrus. The scroll of Westcar has been separated into three parts. During the life of Lepsius and Erman it was in two parts; it is not known when and why the scroll was separated into three fragments. The text written on the papyrus includes twelve columns in all. The first part contains on the recto (the front) columns one to three, the second part contains on its recto columns four and five and the third part contains on the verso (the back) columns six to nine and on the recto, the final columns, ten to twelve. The papyrus textile is grainy, of greyish-yellowish colour and very fragile. Part one was fixed onto linen and placed between two glass panes. At five spots the papyrus was fixed to the glass with methyl cellulose. Part two was fixed to a cardboard and wooden plate and is covered by a glass pane. Part three was simply placed between two glass panes and was completely glued to them. The adhesive used for this has partially lost its transparency and a whitish haze has appeared. The edges of all three parts were left free for air circulation. Because of the paper lamination during the eighteenth century, all the papyrus fragments are partially damaged; at several spots the material is torn, distorted, and squashed. Some of the fibres are now lying over the inscription. All of the artifact shows large gaps and the rim of the scrolls is badly frayed. Because of the gaps, many parts of the text are now missing.
The text itself is completely written in black iron gall ink and carbon black ink and divided by rubra into ten paragraphs. Between the neatly written sentences red traces of an older text are visible. It looks as if Papyrus Westcar is a palimpsest; the unknown ancient Egyptian author obviously tried but partially failed to wipe the older text off. The clean and calligraphical handwriting shows that the author was a highly educated professional.Verena M. Lepper: Untersuchungen zu pWestcar. Eine philologische und literaturwissenschaftliche (Neu-)Analyse. Ägyptologische Abhandlungen, Band 70. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2008, , p. 17–21.
Context Surrounding the Papyrus These stories come to King Khufu from his sons. Khufu was an actual monarch during the 4th Dynasty, but these stories and the papyrus itself were written in the 13th Dynasty. This retelling of life in the 4th Dynasty does not exist in reality. Rather, these stories are meant to entertain the king. Each son brings a story to the king detailing past events from other kings, works of magicians, and a love affair.
Contents of the Story
Story No. 1 Very little is left of the first story, only the ending that has been preserved. The first story, told by an unknown son of Khufu (possibly Djedefra) in which Khufu orders blessed offerings to King Djoser. Offerings include items such as bread, beer, an ox, cake and incense. It seems to have been a text detailing a miracle performed by a lector priest in the reign of King Djoser, possibly Imhotep the architect under King Djoser.Adolf Erman: Die Märchen des Papyrus Westcar I. Einleitung und Commentar. In: Mitteilungen aus den Orientalischen Sammlungen. Heft V, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Berlin 1890. page 10 – 12.
Story No. 2 The second story, told by Khafre, is set during the reign of one of Khufu's predecessors. King Nebka's chief lector Ubaoner,Spelt Ubainer by Parkinson finds that his wife is having a love affair with a townsman of Memphis. Ubaoner's wife and the commoner had spent a night in the gardens pavilion. A caretaker of Ubaoner reports back details of their night. Upon hearing these details, Ubaoner fashions a crocodile in wax. Ubaoner casts a spell for the figurine to come to life upon contact with water. The spell reads as such. "As for the man who will come to wash in my pool, you shall seize that commoner in your mouth!" Ubaoner sets his caretaker to throw the wax crocodile into his pool. Upon catching the townsman, the crocodile takes him to the bottom of the lake, where they remain for seven days as the lector entertains the visiting King Nebka. When he tells Nebka the story, and calls the crocodile up again, Ubaoner orders the crocodile to let go of the commoner. The King remarks that the crocodile is a frightening animal. Nebka orders the crocodile to take the commoner into the water, where they are not seen again. Then he has the adulterous wife brought forth, set on fire, and thrown in the river.Miriam Lichtheim: Ancient Egyptian literature: a book of readings. The Old and Middle Kingdoms, Band 1. University of California Press 2000, , page 215 – 220.
As Khafre finishes the story, Khufu says to offer blessings similar to the first story; beer, bread, an ox, cake, and incense.
Story No. 3 The third story, told by another son named Baufra, is set during the reign of his grandfather Sneferu. Sneferu finds himself bored in his palace one day, as he cannot find anything to do. Sneferu calls for chief lector Djadjaemankh. He advises him to gather twenty young women and use them to sail him around the palace lake in his barque. Djadjaemankh proclaims that this will fix Sneferu's boredom, as he will see beautiful sights on his rowing trip. Sneferu orders twenty beautiful oars made of ebony, sandal wood, and gold. Sneferu asks for women who fit certain requirements such as have yet to have children, beautiful limbs and braided hair. He gives the women nets to drape around them as they sail. However, one of the girls loses an amulet after getting her hair caught on an oar - a fish pendant made of turquoise so dear to her that she will not even accept a substitute from the royal treasury, and until it is returned to her neither she nor any of the other women will row, even after the King demands it. Sneferu goes to Djadjaemankh with his problem, asking what he should do. Using magic, Djadjaemankh halves the water in the lake and puts it on top of the other half. After finding the pendant and putting the water back into place, Sneferu rewards Djadjaemankh with everything he has ever wanted.
Repeating the tradition of giving offerings, King Khufu declares bread, an ox, beer, cake, and incense to King Sneferu.
Story No. 4 The fourth story, told by Hordjedef, concerns a miracle set within Khufu's own reign. A townsman named Dedi,Spelt Djedi in Parkinson. from a fictional place called Djed-Sneferu is capable of miracles. Hordjedef claims Dedi is over a hundred years old and can eat and drink excessive amounts of food and beer. According to Hordjedef, Dedi has the power to reattach a severed head onto an animal, to tame wild lions, and knows the number of secret rooms in the shrine of Thoth. Khufu wanted to build shrine rooms similar to the ones at Thoth. Intrigued, he sends his son to invite this wise man to the court, and upon Dedi's arrival he orders a goose, an undefined waterbird, and a bull beheaded. Dedi reattaches the heads. Khufu then questions him on his knowledge on the shrine of Thoth, and Dedi answers that he does not know the number of rooms, but he knows where they are. When Khufu asks for the wheres and hows, Dedi answers that he is not the one who can give Khufu access, but the first of the three future kings in the womb of the woman Rededjet is. This is a prophecy detailing the beginnings of the Fifth Dynasty, starting with Userkaf.
Story No. 5 The final story breaks from the format and moves the focus to Rededjet giving birth to her three sons. Upon the day of her children's birth, Ra orders Isis, Nephthys, Meskhenet, Heket, and Khnum to aid her. According to Ra, these children are supposed to be great leaders who will worship these gods. They disguise themselves as musicians and hurry to Rededjet's house to help her with the difficult birth. The three children are born, each described as strong and healthy, with limbs covered in gold and wearing headdresses of lapis lazuli. The maidservant of Rededjet later has an argument with her mistress, receives a beating and flees, vowing to tell king Khufu what had happened. But on the way, she meets her brother and tells the story to him. Displeased, he beats her, too, and sends her on a path to the water's edge where a crocodile catches her. The brother then goes to see Rededjet, who is crying over the loss of his sister. The brother starts to confess what has happened and at this point the papyrus story ends.
Analysis and interpretations