Celestial Ferryman

Celestial Ferryman
drawing of the Celestial Ferryman based from the Papyrus of Ani
Other names	Hraf-haf, Ma-haf
Name in hieroglyphs	or

The Celestial Ferryman is the modern name of an Ancient Egyptian god. the god has multiple names, all with similar meanings, the two most common of which being Hraf-haf and Ma-haf which roughly translates to He whose face is behind him and He who sees behind him respectively. ^[1]

Mythology

The Celestial Ferryman plays the role of a Psychopomp who helped guide souls through the waters of the underworld into the Field of Reeds and was said to be rude and ill-tempered. ^[2] The Celestial Ferryman was also one of the Assessors of Maat where was said to come from the "Cavern of wrong" and judged the sin of copulating with a boy. ^[3]

Appearances

The first known mention of the Celestial Ferryman is in the Pyramid Texts of the Old Kingdom where he is called Ma-haf and a guard of Osiris, he later Appears in the Coffin Texts of the Middle Kingdom where he is once again called Ma-haf and guards Osiris. ^[1]

The Celestial Ferryman is first physically depicted in the Book of the Dead of Ani, here he is drawn as a man sitting in a boat with his head facing backward, in accordant with his descriptive name ^[4]

Works cited

• Wilkinson, Richard H. (2003). The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. ISBN   0-500-05120-8.

References

1. Radwan, Radwan (November 2016). "The Celestial Ferryman in Ancient Egyptian Religion" (PDF). JOURNAL OF The General Union OF Arab Archaeologists. 1 (1): 126–165.
2. Mark, Joshua (18 January 2012). "The Forty-Two Judges". worldhistory.org.
3. Wilkinson 2003 , pp. 84
4. Wilkinson 2003 , pp. 104