Fekri A. Hassan - Egypt in the Memory of the World

[karem]

Enjoy - sites.matrix.msu.edu/egyptian-archaeology/files/2011/01/ch14.pdf

[zarahan]

Good roundup by Hassan. he says:
"By emphasizing different aspects and de-contextualizing these, the various users or
consumers of ancient Egypt formulated particular historical narratives, all claiming to
be founded on one monolithic tradition. In recent years Egyptologists have realized that even in
ancient Egypt a process of legitimation was based on a constant reinterpretation of "ancient"
Egypt and a reiterative process of invention of traditions Egypt"

^^Doesn't this sound to you that he is saying that the Egyptians themselves
kept reinterpreting and reinventing narratives about themselves for various
legitimation processes? If so, Egyptians themselves are part of a process of
"consuming Egypt" in various aspects?



i AGREE WITH HIS CONCLUSION
---------------
The road ahead must lie in a reconsideration of the information to be gained
from a study of ancient Egypt for the benefit of humanity, enriching the human
experience by explaining how, barely out of the Stone Age, small communities on
the banks of the Nile succeeded in developing a sustainable political system that
lasted for more than 3000 years. Egyptologists should aspire to revise their
research agenda and teach curricula which focus on the social and cultural
dynamics of Egyptian civilization, with an emphasis on an understanding of the
social processes by which Egypt was transformed several times throughout its long
history from most ancient Egypt to the present. Policy makers and the public need
to be informed of the factors that contributed to the special character of Egyptian
knowledge and the social context of Egyptian worldview. The philosophical reflec-
tions of Egyptians on ethics, good governance, and society surely deserve a
prominent place in our map of ancient Egypt. Egyptology needs to become
actively engaged not just with current theories in archeology and anthropology,
but with the new directions in history, cultural studies, the social sciences, and
the humanities.

--------------------------------------------------------------
FROM AN OLD ES THREAD on "CONSUMING EGYPT"

The book below details how Europeans have been
obsessed with ancient Egypt thru the centuries,
from Greece all the way down to present.



jacket blurb
“Consuming Ancient Egypt examines
the influence of Ancient Egypt on the
everyday lives of people, of all ages,
throughout the world. It looks at theA
Egypt which the tourist sees, Egypt in
film and Egypt as the inspiration for
opera. It asks why so many books are
published each year on Egyptological
subjects at all levels, from the austerely
academic to the riotous celebrations of
Egypt as a land of mystery, enchantment
and fantasy.

It then considers the ways in which
Ancient Egypt interacts with the living
world, in architecture, museum-going,
the acquisition of souvenirs and
reproductions, design, and the perpetual
appeal of the mummy. The significance
of Egypt as an adjunct to (and frequently
the subject of) marketing in the
consumer society is examined. It reveals
much about Egypt's immemorial appeal
and the psychology of those who
succumb to its magnetism.”.

From:
-- Consuming Ancient Egypt, 2003,
By Sally MacDonald, and Michael Rice.


Another book notes:

quote

"Roman emperors built Egyptian gardens
in their palaces. Cults based on Egyptian
gods and godesses spread throughout the
empire. The goddess Isis, for example,
was worshipped from England to
Afghanistan. Later medieval popes
constructed obelisks that mimicked those
of the pharaohs. Medieval doctors
ground up mummies and fed them to
patients in the mistaken belief that these
well preserved bodies had supernational
healing powers.

In the 19th century, Egyptian influence
became fashionable in design and the
arts. Jewelry, furniture, and an
assortment of decorative objects and
accents pieces were adorned with
designs and images that conjured
thoughts of life along the Nile.
Egyptian themed (and or at least
tinged) operas, plays and novels were
a hit with the general public.

It seemed that the more that was
revealed about ancient Egypt, the
more appetite for faux relics and
representations grew in America and
throughout Europe. The discovery of
King Tutankhamen's tomb in the early
20th century sparked yet another
round of Egyptomania."

From:
--Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the
Islamic Conquest. By Educational
Britannica Educational 2010

-----------------------------------------

The European obsession with Egypt extended
to consuming the dead flesh of Egyptian mummies
as one article notes:


"At the same time that Europeans were
condemning various native peoples as
cannibals, however, they were practicing
a form of cannibalism themselves. Use
of medicines made from blood and other
human body parts was widespread in
Europe through the 17th century.
Europeans of the period consumed fresh
blood as a cure for epilepsy and
substances from various body parts to
treat a variety of diseases, including
arthritis, reproductive difficulties,
sciatica, warts and skin blemishes. A
primary source for this material was the
bodies of executed criminals. Pieces of
mummified human flesh imported from
Egypt were considered a general panacea
and were widely prescribed by the
physicians of the day..[as author
Beth Conklin reports]"

--Brief history of cannibal controversies
David F. Salisbury. August 15, 2001

According to the bookbelow, so
obsessed were Europeans with eating
the dead bodies of ancient Egyptians for healing,
when Egyptian material ran short they created fake
mummies out of executed European criminals, aged,
poor and those dead of hideous diseases, "seasoned"
them with sand, bitumen and sunlight, and then
passed their flesh off as the flesh of Egyptian
mummies- an early example of "pharmaceutical"
fraud? Even today among European occultists, the
powdered flesh of Egyptians mummies apparently
can still be purchased..

[karem]

Glad you were able to give it a read Zarahan. I'd heard of mummy unveiling ceremonies, but I had no idea European Egyptomania was so bad that some of them ate mummy remains.

Doesn't this sound to you that he is saying that the Egyptians themselves
kept reinterpreting and reinventing narratives about themselves for various
legitimation processes? If so, Egyptians themselves are part of a process of
"consuming Egypt" in various aspects?

Yes, and yes. At least I think so anyway. The tourism industry is part of consuming the past is it not ?