Theatrical Traditions and Literature from the Continent of Africa.

Performance of the Sundiata epic by musicians from Mali, with translations by a professor Chérif Keita.

Ok so I've just now been made aware of this. Apparently there's a yoruba form of "masquerade theater." Below is a jstor article on the subject, and even further down are related videos I've found regarding the same subject.

I. Proclamation and Divine Command

Year 21, first month of the first season, under the majesty of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Piye beloved-of-Amun, ever living. Command spoken by my majesty:

"Hear what I did, exceeding the ancestors,
I the King, image of god,
Living likeness of Atum!
Who left the womb marked as ruler,
Feared by those greater than he!
His father knew, his mother perceived: He would be ruler from the egg,
The Good God, beloved of gods,
The Son of Re, who acts with his arms, Piye beloved-of-Amun."

II. Tefnakht’s Advance and the Provincial Response

One came to say to his majesty: "The Chief of the West, the count and grandee in Netjer, Tefnakht, is in the nome of ---, in the nome of Xois, in Hapy, in ---, in Ayn, in Pernub, and in the nome of Memphis. He has conquered the entire West from the coastal marshes to Itj-tawy, sailing south with a numerous army, with the Two Lands united behind him, and the counts and rulers of domains are as dogs at his feet.

No stronghold has closed its gates in the nomes of Upper Egypt. Mer-Atum, Per-Sekhemkheperre, Hut-Sobk, Permedjed, Tjeknesh, all towns of the West have opened the gates for fear of him. When he turned around to the nomes of the East they opened to him also: Hut-benu, Teudjoi, Hut-nesut, Per-nebtepih.

Now besieging Hnes. He has encircled it completely, not letting goers go, not letting entrants enter, and fighting every day. He has measured it in its whole circuit. Every count knows his wall. He has made every man besiege his portion, to wit the counts and rulers of domains."
His majesty heard it with delight, laughing joyously.

Then those chiefs, the counts and generals who were in their towns, sent to his majesty daily, saying: "Have you been silent in order to forget the Southland, the nomes of Upper Egypt, while Tefnakht conquers all before him and finds no resistance? Namart, ruler of Hermopolis, count of Hutweret, has demolished the wall of Nefrusi. He has thrown down his own town out of fear of him who would seize it for himself in order to besiege another town. Now he has gone to be at his feet; he has rejected the water of his majesty. He stays with him like one of his men in the nome of Oxyrhynchos. He (Tefnakht) gives him gifts to his heart's content of everything he has found."

III. Piye’s Orders to Engage in Battle

His majesty wrote to the counts and generals in Egypt, to the commander Purem, to the commander Lemersekny, and to every commander of his majesty in Egypt: "Enter combat, engage in battle; surround, capture its people, its cattle, its ships on the river! Let not the farmers go to the field, let not the plowmen plow. Beset the Hare nome; fight against it daily!" And they did so.

Then his majesty sent an army to Egypt and charged them strictly: "Do not attack by night in the manner of draughts-playing: fight when one can see. Challenge him to battle from afar. If he proposes to await the infantry and chariotry of another town, then sit still until his troops come. Fight when he proposes. Also if he has allies in another town, let them be awaited. The counts whom he brings to help him, and any trusted Libyan troops, let them be challenged to battle in advance, saying: 'You whose name we do not know, who musters the troops! Harness the best steeds of your stable, form your battle line, and know that Amun is the god who sent us!'"

"When you have reached Thebes at Ipet-sut, go into the water. Cleanse yourselves in the river; wear the best linen. Rest the bow; loosen the arrow. Boast not to the lord of might, for the brave has no might without him." He makes the weak-armed strong-armed, so that the many flee before the few, and a single one conquers a thousand men! Sprinkle yourselves with water of his altars; kiss the earth before his face. Say to him:

"Give us the way,
May we fight in the shade of your arm!
The troop you sent, when it charges,
May the many tremble before it!"

Then they placed themselves on their bellies before his majesty:

"It is your name that makes our strength,
Your counsel brings your army into port;
Your bread is in our bellies on every way,
Your beer quenches our thirst.
It is your valor that gives us strength,
There is dread when your name is recalled;
No army wins with a cowardly leader,
Who is your equal there?
You are the mighty King who acts with his arms,
The chief of the work of war!"

They sailed north and arrived at Thebes; they did as his majesty had said.

Sailing north on the river they met many ships going south with soldiers and sailors, all kinds of fighting troops from Lower Egypt, equipped with weapons of warfare, to fight against his majesty's army. Then a great slaughter was made of them, whose number is unknown. Their troops and ships were captured, and taken as prisoners to where his majesty was.

IV. Battle at Heracleopolis

They proceeded toward Hnes and challenged to battle. The list of the counts and kings of Lower Egypt included:

King Namart and King Iuput;
Chief of the Ma, Sheshonq of Per-Usirnebdjedu;
Great Chief of the Ma, Djedamenefankh of Per-Banebdjedet; and his eldest son, the commander of Per-Thoth-weprehwy;
The troops of Prince Bakennefi and his eldest son, the Count and Chief of the Ma, Nesnaisu of Hesbu;
Every plume-wearing chief of Lower Egypt;
And King Osorkon of Perbast and the district of Ranofer.

All the counts, all the rulers of domains in the west, in the east, and in the isles of the midst were united in their allegiance at the feet of the great Chief of the West, the Ruler of the domains of Lower Egypt, the prophet of Neith, mistress of Sais, the setem-priest of Ptah, Tefnakht. They went forth against them; they made a great slaughter of them, exceedingly great. Their ships on the river were captured. The remnant made a crossing and landed on the west side in the vicinity of Perpeg. At dawn of the next day the troops of his majesty crossed over against them and mingled with the enemy. They slew many of their men and countless horses. Terror befell the remnant and they fled to Lower Egypt from the blow that was great and exceedingly painful.

King Namart fled upstream southward when he was told, "Khmun is faced with war from the troops of his majesty; its people and its cattle are being captured." He entered into Un, while his majesty's army was on the river and on the riverbanks of the Hare nome. They heard it and surrounded the Hare nome on its four sides, not letting goers go, not letting entrants enter.

V. Piye Resolves to Go to Egypt

They wrote to report to the majesty of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Piye beloved of Amun, given life, on every attack they had made, on every victory of his majesty. His majesty raged about it like a panther: "Have they left a remnant of the army of Lower Egypt, so as to let some of them escape to report the campaign, instead of killing and destroying the last of them? I swear, as Re loves me, as my father Amun favors me, I shall go north myself! I shall tear down his works. I shall make him abandon fighting forever!

When the rites of New Year are performed, and I offer to my father Amun at his beautiful feast, when he makes his beautiful appearance of the New Year, he shall send me in peace to view Amun at his beautiful feast of Ipet. I shall convey him in his processional bark to Southern Ipet at his beautiful feast of 'Night of Ipet,' and the feast of 'Abiding in Thebes,' which Re made for him in the beginning. I shall convey him to his house, to rest on his throne, on the day of 'Bringing in the God,' in the third month of the inundation, second day. And I shall let Lower Egypt taste the taste of my fingers!"

Then the army that was here in Egypt heard of the anger his majesty held against them. They fought against Permedjed of the Oxyrhynchite nome; they captured it like a cloudburst. They wrote to his majesty — his heart was not appeased by it.

Then they fought against "the Crag Great-of-Victories." They found it filled with troops, all kinds of fighters of Lower Egypt. A siege tower was made against it; its wall was overthrown. A great slaughter was made of them, countless numbers, including a son of the Chief of the Ma, Tefnakht. They wrote of it to his majesty — his heart was not appeased by it.

Then they fought against Hut-benu; its interior was opened; his majesty's troops entered it. They wrote to his majesty — his heart was not appeased by it.

(continued below)

VI. Piye’s March into Egypt and the Siege of Hermopolis

In the first month of the first season, on day nine, his majesty went north to Thebes. He performed the feast of Amun at the feast of Ipet. His majesty sailed north to the harbor of the Hare nome. His majesty came out of the cabin of the ship. The horses were yoked, the chariot was mounted, while the grandeur of his majesty attained the Asiatics and every heart trembled before him.

His majesty burst out to revile his troops, raging at them like a panther: "Are you continuing to fight while delaying my orders? It is the year for making an end, for putting fear of me in Lower Egypt, and inflicting on them a great and severe beating!"

He set up camp on the southwest of Khmun. He pressed against it every day. An embankment was made to enclose the wall. A siege tower was set up to elevate the archers as they shot, and the slingers as they hurled stones and killed people there each day.

Days passed, and Un was a stench to the nose, for lack of air to breathe. Then Un threw itself on its belly, to plead before the king. Messengers came and went with all kinds of things beautiful to behold: gold, precious stones, clothes in a chest, the diadem from his head, the uraeus that cast his power, without ceasing for many days to implore his crown.

Then they sent his wife, the royal wife and royal daughter, Nestent, to implore the royal wives, the royal concubines, the royal daughters, and the royal sisters. She threw herself on her belly in the women's house before the royal women: "Come to me, royal wives, royal daughters, royal sisters, that you may appease Horus, lord of the palace, great of power, great of triumph! Grant us your favor!"

A man threw himself on his belly before his majesty, saying: "Be appeased, Horus, lord of the palace! It is your power that has done it to me. I am one of the King's servants who pays taxes into the treasury. I have done for you more than they." Then he presented silver, gold, lapis lazuli, turquoise, copper, and all kinds of precious stones. The treasury was filled with this tribute. He brought a horse with his right hand, and in his left hand a sistrum of gold and lapis lazuli.

His majesty arose in splendor from his palace and proceeded to the temple of Thoth, lord of Khmun. He sacrificed oxen, shorthorns, and fowl to his father Thoth, lord of Khmun, and the Ogdoad in the temple of the Ogdoad. And the troops of the Hare nome shouted and sang, saying:

"How good is Horus at peace in his town,
The Son of Re, Piye!
You make for us a jubilee,
As you protect the Hare nome!"

His majesty proceeded to the house of King Namart. He went through all the rooms of the palace, his treasury and his storehouse. King Namart presented the royal wives and royal daughters to him. They saluted his majesty in the manner of women, while his majesty did not direct his gaze at them.

His majesty proceeded to the stable of the horses and the quarters of the foals. When he saw they had been left to hunger he said: "I swear, as Re loves me, as my nose is refreshed by life: that my horses were made to hunger pains me more than any other crime you committed in your recklessness! I would teach you to respect your neighbors. Do you not know god's shade is above me and does not let my action fail? Would that another, whoever he might be, had done it for me! I would not have to reprimand him for it. I was fashioned in the womb, created in the egg of the god! The seed of the god is in me! By his ka, I act not without him; it is he who commands me to act!"

Then his goods were assigned to the treasury, and his granary to the endowment of Amun in Ipet-sut.

VII. The Capture of Memphis

There came the ruler of Hnes Peftuaubast, bearing tribute to Pharaoh: gold, silver, all kinds of precious stones, and the best horses of the stable. He threw himself on his belly before his majesty and said:

"Hail to you, Horus, mighty King,
Bull attacking bulls!
The netherworld seized me,
I foundered in darkness,
O you who give me the rays of his face!
I could find no friend on the day of distress,
Who would stand up on battle day,
Except you, O mighty King,
You drove the darkness from me!
I shall serve with my property,
Hnes owes to your dwelling;
You are Harakhti above the immortal stars!
As he is king so are you,
As he is immortal you are immortal,
King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Piye ever living!"

His majesty sailed north to the entrance of the canal beside Re-hone, and found Per-Sekhemkheperre with its wall raised, its gate closed, and filled with all kinds of fighters of Lower Egypt. Then his majesty sent to them, saying: "O you who live in death, you who live in death; you poor wretches, you who live in death! If the moment passes without your opening to me, you will be counted slain according to the King's judgment. Do not bar the gates of your life, so as to be brought to the block this day! Do not desire death and reject life! — before the whole land."

Then they sent to his majesty, saying: "Lo, god's shade is above you, Nut's Son gave you his arms! Your heart's plan happens instantly, like the word of mouth of god. Truly, you are born of god, for we see it by the work of your arms! Lo, your town and its gates—may entrants enter, goers go; may his majesty do as he wishes!"

They came out with a son of the Chief of the Ma, Tefnakht. The troops of his majesty entered it, and he did not slay one of all the people he found, and the treasurers, in order to seal its possessions. Its treasuries were allocated to the treasury, its granaries as endowment to his father Amen-Re, lord of Thrones-of-the-Two-Lands.

His majesty sailed north. He found Mer-Atum, the house of Sokar, lord of Sehedj, closed and unapproachable. It had resolved to fight—fear of his grandeur sealed their mouth. His majesty sent to them, saying: "Look, two ways are before you; choose as you wish. Open, you live; close, you die. My majesty will not pass by a closed town!" Then they opened immediately. His majesty entered the town. He sacrificed to Menhy, foremost of Sehedj. Its treasury was allocated to the treasury, its granary as endowment to Amun in Ipet-sut.

His majesty sailed north to Itj-tawy. He found the rampart closed, the walls filled with valiant troops of Lower Egypt. Then they opened the gates and threw themselves on their bellies before his majesty, saying:
"Your father gave you his heritage,
Yours are the Two Lands, yours those in it,
Yours is all that is on earth!"

His majesty went to offer a great sacrifice to the gods of this town: oxen, shorthorns, fowl, and everything good and pure. Its storehouse was allocated to the treasury, its granary as endowment to his father Amen-Re.

Capture of Memphis was completed as his majesty proceeded to Memphis. He sent to them, saying: "Do not close, do not fight, O home of Shu since the beginning! Let the entrant enter, the goer go; those who would leave shall not be hindered! I shall offer an oblation to Ptah and the gods of Memphis. I shall sacrifice to Sokar in Shetit. I shall see South-of-his-Wall. And I shall sail north in peace!"
Memphis will be safe and sound; one will not weep over children. Look to the nomes of the South! No one was slain there, except the rebels who had blasphemed god; the traitors were executed."

They closed their fort. They sent out troops against some of his majesty's forces, consisting of artisans, builders, and sailors who had entered the harbor of Memphis. And the Chief of Sais arrived in Memphis by night to charge his soldiers, his sailors, all the best of his army, consisting of 8,000 men, charging them firmly:

"Look, Memphis is filled with troops of all the best of Lower Egypt, with barley, emmer, and all kinds of grain, the granaries overflowing; with weapons of war of all kinds. A rampart surrounds it. A great battlement has been built, a work of skilled craftsmanship. The river surrounds its east side; one cannot fight there. The stables here are filled with oxen; the storehouse is furnished with everything: silver, gold, copper, clothing, incense, honey, resin. I shall go to give gifts to the chiefs of Lower Egypt. I shall open their nomes to them. I shall be back in a few days."
He mounted a horse for he did not trust his chariot, and he went north in fear of his majesty.

At dawn of the next day his majesty arrived at Memphis. When he had moored on its north, he found the water risen to the walls and ships moored at the houses of Memphis. His majesty saw that it was strong, the walls were high with new construction, and the battlements manned in strength. No way of attacking it was found. Every man of his majesty's army had his say about some plan of attack. Some said: "Let us blockade, for its troops are numerous." Others said: "Make a causeway to it, so that we raise the ground to its wall. Let us construct a siege tower, setting up masts and using sails as walls for it. You should divide it thus on each of its sides with ramparts and a causeway on its north, so as to raise the ground to its wall, so that we find a way for our feet."

Then his majesty raged against them like a panther, saying: "I swear, as Re loves me, as my father Amun favors me, according to the command of Amun! This is what people say: --- and the nomes of the South opened to him from afar, though Amun had not put it in their hearts, and they did not know what he had commanded. He made him in order to show his might, to let his grandeur be seen. I shall seize it like a cloudburst, for Amen-Re has commanded me!"
Then he sent his fleet and his troops to attack the harbor of Memphis. They brought him every ship, every ferry, every shry-boat, all the many ships that were moored in the harbor of Memphis, with the bow rope fastened to its houses. There was not a common soldier who wept among all the troops of his majesty. His majesty himself came to line up the many ships.

His majesty commanded his troops: "Forward against it! Mount the walls! Enter the houses over the river! When one of you enters the wall, no one shall stand in his vicinity, no troops shall repulse you! To pause is vile. We have sealed Upper Egypt; we shall bring Lower Egypt to port. We shall sit down in Balance-of-the Two-Lands!"
Then Memphis was seized as by a cloudburst. Many people were slain in it, or brought as captives to where his majesty was.

Now when it dawned on the next day his majesty sent people into it to protect the temples of god for him. The arm was raised over the holy of holies of the gods. Offerings were made to the Council of the gods of Memphis. Memphis was cleansed with natron and incense. The priests were set in their places.

His majesty proceeded to the house of Ptah. His purification was performed in the robing room. There was performed for him every rite that is performed for a king when he enters the temple. A great offering was made to his father Ptah South-of-his-Wall of oxen, shorthorns, fowl, and all good things. Then his majesty went to his house.

Then all the districts in the region of Memphis heard it—Hery-pedemy, Peninewe, Tower-of-Byu, Village-of-Byt—they opened the gates and fled in flight, and it was not known where they had gone.

Three rulers surrendered. Then came King Iuput, and the Chief of the Ma, Akanosh, and Prince Pediese, and all counts of Lower Egypt, bearing their tribute, to see the beauty of his majesty.

Then the treasuries and granaries of Memphis were allocated as endowment to Amun, to Ptah, and to the Ennead in Memphis.

(continued below)

VIII. Piye’s Visit to the Sanctuaries of Heliopolis

At dawn of the next day his majesty proceeded to the East. An offering was made to Atum in Kheraha, to the Ennead in Per-Pesdjet, and to the cavern of the gods in it, consisting of oxen, shorthorns, and fowl, that they might give life-prosperity-health to the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Piye ever living.

His majesty proceeded to On over that mountain of Kheraha on the road of Sep to Kheraha. His majesty went to the camp on the west of Iti. His purification was done: he was cleansed in the pool of Kebeh; his face was bathed in the river of Nun, in which Re bathes his face. He proceeded to the High Sand in On. A great oblation was made on the High Sand in On before the face of Re at his rising, consisting of white oxen, milk, myrrh, incense, and all kinds of sweet-smelling plants.

Going in procession to the temple of Re, entering the temple with adorations. The chief lector-priest praised god and repulsed the rebels from the king, performing the ritual of the robing room; putting on the sdb-garment; cleansing him with incense and cold water; presenting him the garlands of the Pyramidion House; bringing him the amulets.
Mounting the stairs to the great window to view Re in the Pyramidion House, the king stood by himself alone. Breaking the seals of the bolts, opening the doors; viewing his father Re in the holy Pyramidion House; hearing the morning-bark of Re and the evening-bark of Atum. Closing the doors, applying the clay, sealing with the king's own seal, and instructing the priests: "I have inspected the seal. No other king who may arise shall enter here." They placed themselves on their bellies before his majesty, saying: "Abide forever without end, Horus beloved of On!"

Then he entered the temple of Atum, worshiping the image of his father Atum-Khepri, Great one of On.

Then came King Osorkon to see the beauty of his majesty.

IX. Piye Holds Court at Athribis

At dawn of the next day his majesty proceeded to the harbor at the head of his ships. He crossed over to the harbor of Kemwer. The camp of his majesty was set up on the south of Keheny, in the east of Kemwer.

Then came those kings and counts of Lower Egypt, all the plume-wearing chiefs, all viziers, chiefs, and king's friends from the west, the east, and the isles in their midst, to see the beauty of his majesty. Prince Pediese threw himself on his belly before his majesty, saying: "Come to Athribis, that you may see Khentikhety, that Khuyet may protect you, that you may offer an oblation to Horus in his house, of oxen, shorthorns, and fowl. When you enter my house, my treasury will be open to you. I shall present you with my father's possessions. I shall give you gold as much as you wish, turquoise heaped before you, and many horses of the best of the stable, the choicest of the stall."

His majesty proceeded to the house of Horus Khentykhety. An offering of oxen, shorthorns, and fowl was made to his father Horus Khentykhety, lord of Athribis. His majesty went to the house of Prince Pediese. Pediese presented him with silver, gold, lapis lazuli, and turquoise, a great quantity of everything, and clothing of royal linen of every number, couches laid with fine linen, myrrh and ointment in jars, and stallions and mares, all the best of his stable.

He purified himself by a divine oath before these kings and great chiefs of Lower Egypt: "Anyone who hides his horses and conceals his wealth shall die the death of his father! I have said this, in order that you bear out your servant with all that you know of me. Tell if I have concealed from his majesty anything of my father's house: gold bars, precious stones, vessels of all kinds, armlets, bracelets of gold, necklaces, collars wrought with precious stones, amulets for every limb, headbands, earrings, all royal adornments, all vessels for the king's purification of gold and precious stones. All these I have presented to the King, and garments of royal linen by the thousands of the very best of my house. I know you will be satisfied with it. Proceed to the stable, choose what you wish, all the horses you desire!"
Then his majesty did so.

Then said these kings and counts to his majesty: "Let us go to our towns to open our treasuries, that we may choose according to what your heart may desire, and bring to you the best of our stables, the finest of our horses." Then his majesty did so.

A list of the northern rulers follows:
King Osorkon in Perbast and the district of Ranofer; King Iuput in Tentremu and Taan; Count Djedamenefankh in Per-Banebdjedets and Granary-of-Re; his eldest son, the general in Per-Thoth-weprehwy; Ankh-hor; Count Akanosh in Tjeb-neter, Per-hebyt, and Sema-behdet; Count and Chief of the Ma, Patjenfi in Per-Sopd and Granary-of-Memphis; Count and Chief of the Ma, Pemai in Per-Usirnebdjedu; Count and Chief of the Ma, Nesnaisu in Hesbu; Count and Chief of the Ma, Nekhthor-neshnu in Per-gerer; Chief of the Ma, Pentweret; Chief of the Ma, Pentbekhent; Prophet of Horus, lord of Khem; Pedihorsomtus; Count Herbes in Per-Sakhmet-nebetsat and in Per-Sakhmet-nebetrehsa; Count Djedkhiu in Khentnefer; Count Pebes in Kheraha and Per-Hapy; with all their good tribute of gold, silver, precious stones, couches laid with fine linen, myrrh in jars, horses of good value.

Then one came to tell his majesty: "The wall—He has set fire to his treasury and to the ships on the river. He has garrisoned Mesed with soldiers." Then his majesty sent soldiers of his to see what was happening there, he being the protector of Prince Pediese. They returned to report to his majesty, saying: "We have slain every man we found there." Then his majesty gave the town to Prince Pediese as a gift.

X. Tefnakht Announces His Submission

The Chief of the Ma, Tefnakht, heard it, and a messenger was sent to where his majesty was with cajoling words, saying: "Be gracious! I cannot see your face in the days of shame; I cannot stand before your flame; I dread your grandeur! For you are Nubti, foremost of the Southland, and Mont, the mighty bull! Whatever town you turn your face to, you will not be able to find your servant there, until I have reached the islands of the sea! For I fear your wrath on account of those fiery words which are hostile to me!

Is your majesty's heart not cooled by the things you did to me? While I am under a just reproach, you did not smite me in accordance with my crime. Weigh in the balance, count by weight, and multiply it against me threefold! But leave the seed, that you may gather it in time. Do not cut down the grove to its roots! Have mercy! Dread of you is in my body; fear of you is in my bones!

I sit not at the beer feast; the harp is not brought for me. I eat the bread of the hungry; I drink the water of the thirsty, since the day you heard my name! Illness is in my bones, my head is bald, my clothes are rags, till Neith is appeased toward me! Long is the course you led against me, and your face is against me yet! It is a year that has purged my ka and cleansed your servant of his fault! Let my goods be received into the treasury: gold and all precious stones, the best of the horses, and payment of every kind. Send me a messenger quickly, to drive the fear from my heart! Let me go to the temple in his presence, to cleanse myself by a divine oath!"

His majesty sent the chief lector-priest Pediamen-nest-tawy and the commander Purem. Tefnakht presented him with silver and gold, clothing and all precious stones. He went to the temple; he praised god; he cleansed himself by a divine oath, saying: "I will not disobey the King's command. I will not thrust aside his majesty's words. I will not do wrong to a count without your knowledge. I will only do what the King said. I will not disobey what he has commanded." Then his majesty's heart was satisfied with it.

XI. Final Surrenders and Piye’s Return to Nubia

One came to say to his majesty: "Hut-Sobk has opened its gate; Meten has thrown itself on its belly. No nome is shut against his majesty, for the nomes of the south and the north, the west, the east, and the islands in the midst are on their bellies in fear of him, and are sending their goods to where his majesty is, like the subjects of the palace."

At dawn of the next day there came the two rulers of Upper Egypt and the two rulers of Lower Egypt, the uraeus wearers, to kiss the ground to the might of his majesty. Now the kings and counts of Lower Egypt who came to see his majesty's beauty had legs like those of women. They could not enter the palace because they were uncircumcised and were eaters of fish, which is an abomination to the palace. But King Namart entered the palace because he was clean and did not eat fish. The three stood there while one entered the palace.

Then the ships were loaded with silver, gold, copper, and clothing; everything of Lower Egypt, every product of Syria, and all plants of god's land. His majesty sailed south, his heart joyful, and all those near him shouting. West and East took up the announcement, shouting around his majesty. This was their song of jubilation:

"O mighty ruler, O mighty ruler,
Piye, mighty ruler!
You return having taken Lower Egypt,
You made bulls into women!
Joyful is the mother who bore you,
The man who begot you!
The valley dwellers worship her,
The cow that bore the bull! You are eternal,
Your might abides,
O ruler loved of Thebes!"

Source:

Lichtheim, M. (2006). Ancient Egyptian literature, Volume III: The late period. University of California Press.

Most bada** king award goes to... piankhi. It goes to piankhi.

Tale of the Eloquent Peasant

There was a man named Khun-Anup, a peasant of Salt-Field. He had a wife whose name was Marye. This peasant said to his wife: "Look here, I am going down to Egypt to bring food from there for my children. Go, measure for me the barley which is in the barn, what is left of last year's barley." Then she measured for him twenty-six gallons of barley. This peasant said to his wife: "Look, you have twenty gallons of barley as food for you and your children. Now make for me these six gallons of barley into bread and beer for every day in which I shall travel."

This peasant went down to Egypt. He had loaded his donkeys with rushes, rdmt-grass, natron, salt, sticks of staves from Cattle-Country, leopard skins, wolf skins, ns3-plants, 'nw-stones, tnm-plants, hprwr-plants, sзhwt, sзskwt, miswt-plants, snt-stones, 'bзw-stones, ibs3-plants, inbi-plants, pigeons, n'rw-birds, wgs-birds, wbn-plants, tbsw-plants, gngnt, earth-hair, and inst; in sum, all the good products of Salt-Field. This peasant went south toward Hnes. He arrived in the district of Perfefi, north of Medenyt. There he met a man standing on the riverbank whose name was Nemtynakht. He was the son of a man named Isri and a subordinate of the high steward Rensi, the son of Meru.

This Nemtynakht said, when he saw this peasant's donkeys which tempted his heart: "If only I had a potent divine image through which I could seize this peasant's goods!" Now the house of this Nemtynakht was at the beginning of a path which was narrow, not so wide as to exceed the width of a shawl. And one side of it was under water, the other under barley. This Nemtynakht said to his servant: "Go, bring me a sheet from my house." It was brought to him straightway. He spread it out on the beginning of the path, so that its fringe touched the water, its hem the barley.

Now this peasant came along the public road. Then this Nemtynakht said: "Be careful, peasant; don't step on my clothes!" This peasant said: "I'll do as you wish, my course is a good one." So he went up higher. This Nemtynakht said: "Will you have my barley for a path?" This peasant said: "My course is a good one. The riverbank is steep and our way is under barley, for you block the path with your clothes. Will you then not let us pass on the road?"

Just then one of the donkeys filled its mouth with a wisp of barley. This Nemtynakht said: "Now I shall seize your donkey, peasant, for eating my barley. It shall tread out grain for its offense!" This peasant said: "My course is a good one. Only one wisp is destroyed. Could I buy my donkey for its value, if you seize it for filling its mouth with a wisp of barley? But I know the lord of this domain; it belongs to the high steward Rensi, the son of Meru. He punishes every robber in this whole land. Shall I be robbed in his domain?" This Nemtynakht said: "Is this the saying people say: 'A poor man's name is pronounced for his master's sake.' It is I who speak to you, and you invoke the high steward!"

Then he took a stick of green tamarisk to him and thrashed all his limbs with it, seized his donkeys, and drove them to his domain. Then this peasant wept very loudly for the pain of that which was done to him. This Nemtynakht said: "Don't raise your voice, peasant. Look, you are bound for the abode of the Lord of Silence!" This peasant said: "You beat me, you steal my goods, and now you take the complaint from my mouth! O Lord of Silence, give me back my things, so that I can stop crying to your dreadedness!"

This peasant spent the time of ten days appealing to this Nemtynakht, who paid no attention to it. So this peasant proceeded southward to Hnes to appeal to the high steward Rensi, the son of Meru. He found him coming out of the door of his house to go down to his courthouse barge. This peasant said: "May I be allowed to acquaint you with this complaint? Might a servant of your choice be sent to me, through whom I could inform you of it?" So the high steward Rensi, the son of Meru, sent a servant of his choice ahead of him, and this peasant informed him of the matter in all its aspects.

Then the high steward Rensi, the son of Meru, denounced this Nemtynakht to the magistrates who were with him. Then they said to him: "Surely it is a peasant of his who has gone to someone else beside him. That is what they do to peasants of theirs who go to others beside them. That is what they do. Is there cause for punishing this Nemtynakht for a trifle of natron and a trifle of salt? If he is ordered to replace it, he will replace it." Then the high steward Rensi, the son of Meru, fell silent. He did not reply to these magistrates, nor did he reply to this peasant.

First Petition

Now this peasant came to appeal to the high steward Rensi, the son of Meru. He said: "O high steward, my lord, greatest of the great, leader of all! When you go down to the sea of justice and sail on it with a fair wind, no squall shall strip away your sail, nor will your boat be idle. No accident will affect your mast, your yards will not break. You will not founder when you touch land, no flood will carry you away. You will not taste the river's evils, you will not see a frightened face. Fish will come darting to you, fatted fowl surround you. For you are father to the orphan, husband to the widow, brother to the rejected woman, apron to the motherless. Let me make your name in this land according to all the good rules: leader free of greed, great man free of baseness, destroyer of falsehood, creator of rightness, who comes at the voice of the caller! When I speak, may you hear! Do justice, O praised one, who is praised by the praised; remove my grief, I am burdened; examine me, I am in need!"

Now this peasant made this speech in the time of the majesty of King Nebkaure, the justified. Then the high steward Rensi, the son of Meru, went before his majesty and said: "My lord, I have found one among those peasants whose speech is truly beautiful. Robbed of his goods by a man who is in my service, he has come to petition me about it." Said his majesty: "As truly as you wish to see me in health, you shall detain him here, without answering whatever he says. In order to keep him talking, be silent. Then have it brought to us in writing, that we may hear it. But provide for his wife and his children. For one of those peasants comes here just before his house is empty. Provide also for this peasant himself. You shall let food be given him without letting him know that it is you who gives it to him."

So they gave him ten loaves of bread and two jugs of beer every day. It was the high steward Rensi, the son of Meru, who gave it. He gave it to a friend of his, and he gave it to him. Then the high steward Rensi, the son of Meru, wrote to the mayor of Salt-Field about providing food for this peasant's wife, a total of three bushels of grain every day.

Second Petition

Now this peasant came to petition him a second time. He said: "O high steward, my lord, greatest of the great, richest of the rich, truly greater than his great ones, richer than his rich ones! Rudder of heaven, beam of earth, plumb-line that carries the weight! Rudder, drift not; beam, tilt not; plumb-line, swing not awry! A great lord taking a share of that which is ownerless; stealing from a lonely man? Your portion is in your house: a jug of beer and three loaves. What is that you expend to satisfy your clients? A mortal man dies along with his underlings; shall you be a man of eternity? Is it not wrong, a balance that tilts, a plummet that strays, the straight becoming crooked? Lo, justice flees from you, expelled from its seat! The magistrates do wrong; right-dealing is bent sideways; the judges snatch what has been stolen. He who trims a matter's rightness makes it swing awry: the breath-giver chokes him who is down; he who should refresh makes pant. The arbitrator is a robber; the remover of need orders its creation. The town is a floodwater; the punisher of evil commits crimes!"

Said the high steward Rensi, the son of Meru: "Are your belongings a greater concern to you than that my servant might seize you?" This peasant said: "The measurer of grain-heaps trims for himself; he who fills for another shaves the other's share; he who should rule by law commands theft. Who then will punish crime? The straightener of another's crookedness supports another's crime. Do you find here something for you? Redress is short, misfortune long; a good deed is remembered. This is the precept: do to the doer to make him do. It is thanking a man for what he does, parrying a blow before it strikes, giving a commission to one who is skillful. Oh for a moment of destruction, havoc in your vineyard, loss among your birds, damage to your water birds! A man who saw has turned blind; a hearer deaf; a leader now leads astray! You are strong and mighty. Your arm is active, your heart greedy, mercy has passed you by. How miserable is the wretch whom you have destroyed! You are like a messenger of the Crocodile; you surpass the .... of Pestilence! If you have nothing, she has nothing. If there's nothing against her, there's nothing against you. If you don't act, she does not act. The wealthy should be merciful; violence is for the criminal; robbing suits him who has nothing. The stealing done by the robber is the misdeed of one who is poor. One can't reproach him; he merely seeks for himself. But you are sated with your bread, drunken with your beer, rich in all kinds of treasures.

Though the face of the steersman is forward, the boat drifts as it pleases. Though the king is in the palace, though the rudder is in your hand, wrong is done around you. Long is my plea, heavy my task. 'What is the matter with him?' people ask. Be a shelter, make safe your shore; see how your quay is infested with crocodiles! Straighten your tongue, let it not stray—a serpent is this limb of man. Don't tell lies, warn the magistrates; greasy baskets are the judges, telling lies is their herbage; it weighs lightly on them. Knower of all men's ways: do you ignore my case? Savior from all water's harm: see I have a course without a ship! Guider to port of all who founder: rescue the drowning!"

Third Petition

Then this peasant came to petition him a third time; he said: "High steward, my lord, you are Re, lord of sky, with your courtiers; men's sustenance is from you as from the flood. You are Hapy who makes green the fields, revives the wastelands. Punish the robber, save the sufferer; be not a flood against the pleader! Heed eternity's coming; desire to last, as is said: doing justice is breath for the nose. Punish him who should be punished, and none will equal your rectitude. Does the hand-balance deflect? Does the stand-balance tilt? Does Thoth show favor so that you may do wrong? Be the equal of these three: if the three show favor, then may you show favor! Answer not good with evil; put not one thing in place of another! My speech grows more than snmyt-weed, to assault the smell with its answers. Misfortune pours water till cloth will grow! Three times now to make him act! By the sail-wind should you steer; control the waves to sail aright; guard from landing by the helm-rope. Earth's rightness lies in justice! Speak not falsely—you are great; act not lightly—you are weighty; speak not falsely—you are the balance; do not swerve—you are the norm! You are one with the balance; if it tilts, you may tilt. Do not drift; steer; hold the helm-rope! Rob not; act against the robber. Not great is one who is great in greed. Your tongue is the plummet; your heart the weight; your two lips are its arms. If you avert your face from violence, who then shall punish wrongdoing? Lo, you are a wretch of a washerman, a greedy one who harms a friend; one who forsakes his friend for his client; his brother is he who comes with gifts. Lo, you are a ferryman who ferries him who pays; a straight one whose straightness is splintered; a storekeeper who does not let a poor man pass. Lo, you are a hawk to the little people, one who lives on the poorest of the birds. Lo, you are a butcher whose joy is slaughter; the carnage is nothing to him. You are a herdsman... Hearer, you hear not! Why do you not hear? Now I have subdued the savage; the crocodile retreats! What is your gain? When the secret of truth is found, falsehood is thrown on its back on the ground. Trust not the morrow before it has come; none knows the trouble in it."

Now this peasant had made this speech to the high steward Rensi, the son of Meru, at the entrance to the courthouse. Then he had two guards go to him with whips, and they thrashed all his limbs. This peasant said: "The son of Meru goes on erring. His face is blind to what he sees, deaf to what he hears; his heart strays from what is recalled to him. You are like a town without a mayor, like a troop without a leader, like a ship without a captain, a company without a chief. You are a sheriff who steals; a mayor who pockets; a district prosecutor of crime who is the model for the evildoer!"

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Fourth Petition

Now this peasant came to petition him a fourth time. Finding him coming out of the gate of the temple of Harsaphes, he said: "O praised one, may Harsaphes praise you, from whose temple you have come! Goodness is destroyed; none adhere to it, to fling falsehood's back to the ground. If the ferry is grounded, wherewith does one cross? Is crossing the river on sandals a good crossing? No! Who now sleeps till daybreak? Gone is walking by night, travel by day, and letting a man defend his own good cause. But it is no use to tell you this; mercy has passed you by. How miserable is the wretch whom you have destroyed! Lo, you are a hunter who takes his fill, bent on doing what he pleases: spearing hippopotami, shooting bulls, catching fish, snaring birds. But none quick to speak is free from haste; none light of heart is weighty in conduct. Be patient so as to learn justice; restrain your anger for the good of the humble seeker. No hasty man attains excellence; no impatient man is leaned upon. Let the eyes see; let the heart take notice. Be not harsh in your power, lest trouble befall you. Pass over a matter; it becomes two. He who eats tastes; one addressed answers. It is the sleeper who sees the dream; and a judge who deserves punishment is a model for the evildoer. Fool, you are attacked! Ignorant man, you are questioned! Spouter of water, you are attained! Steersman, let not drift your boat; life-sustainer, let not die; provider, let not perish; shade, let one not dry out; shelter, let not the crocodile snatch! The fourth time I petition you! Shall I go on all day?"

Fifth Petition

Now this peasant came to petition him a fifth time; he said: "O high steward, my lord! The fisher of hwdw-fish slays the iy-fish; the spearer of fish pierces the 'wbb-fish; the dзbhw-fisher attacks the p'kr-fish; and the catcher of wh-fish ravages the river. Now you are like them! Rob not a poor man of his goods, a humble man whom you know! Breath to the poor are his belongings; he who takes them stops up his nose. It is to hear cases that you were installed, to judge between two, to punish the robber. But what you do is to uphold the thief! One puts one's trust in you, but you have become a transgressor! You were placed as a dam for the poor lest he drown, but you have become a swift current to him!"

Sixth Petition

Now this peasant came to petition him a sixth time; he said: "O high steward, my lord! He who lessens falsehood fosters truth; he who fosters the good reduces evil; as satiety's coming removes hunger, clothing removes nakedness; as the sky is serene after a storm, warming all who shiver; as fire cooks what is raw, as water quenches thirst. Now see for yourself: the arbitrator is a robber; the peacemaker makes grief; he who should soothe makes sore. But he who cheats diminishes justice! Rightly filled justice neither falls short nor brims over. If you acquire, give to your fellow; gobbling up is dishonest. But my grief will lead to parting; my accusation brings departure. The heart's intent cannot be known. Don't delay! Act on the charge! If you sever, who shall join? The sounding pole is in your hand; sound! The water is shallow! If the boat enters and is grounded, its cargo perishes on the shore. You are learned, skilled, accomplished, but not in order to plunder! You should be the model for all men, but your affairs are crooked! The standard for all men cheats the whole land! The vintner of evil waters his plot with crimes until his plot sprouts falsehood, his estate flows with crimes!"

Seventh Petition

Now this peasant came to petition him a seventh time; he said: "O high steward, my lord! You are the whole land's rudder; the land sails by your bidding. You are the peer of Thoth, the judge who is not partial. My lord, be patient, so that a man may invoke you about his rightful cause. Don't be angry; it is not for you. The long-faced becomes short-tempered. Don't brood on what has not yet come, nor rejoice at what has not yet happened. The patient man prolongs friendship; he who destroys a case will not be trusted. If law is laid waste and order destroyed, no poor man can survive: when he is robbed, justice does not address him. My body was full, my heart burdened. Now therefore it has come from my body. As a dam is breached and water escapes, so my mouth opened to speak. I plied my sounding pole; I bailed out my water; I have emptied what was in my body; I have washed my soiled linen. My speech is done. My grief is all before you. What do you want? But your laziness leads you astray; your greed makes you dumb; your gluttony makes enemies for you. But will you find another peasant like me? Is there an idler at whose house door a petitioner will stand? There is no silent man whom you gave speech, no sleeper whom you have wakened, none downcast whom you have roused, none whose shut mouth you have opened, none ignorant whom you gave knowledge, none foolish whom you have taught. Yet magistrates are dispellers of evil; masters of the good; craftsmen who create what is; joiners of the severed head!"

Eighth Petition

Now this peasant came to petition him an eighth time; he said: "O high steward, my lord! Men fall low through greed. The rapacious man lacks success; his success is loss. Though you are greedy, it does nothing for you. Though you steal, you do not profit. Let a man defend his rightful cause! Your portion is in your house; your belly is full. The grain-bin brims over; shake it, its overflow spoils on the ground. Thief, robber, plunderer! Magistrates are appointed to suppress crime. Magistrates are shelters against the aggressor. Magistrates are appointed to fight falsehood! No fear of you makes me petition you; you do not know my heart. A humble man who comes back to reproach you is not afraid of him with whom he pleads. The like of him will not be brought you from the street! You have your plot of ground in the country, your estate in the district, your income in the storehouse. Yet the magistrates give to you, and you take! Are you then a robber? Does one give to you and the troop with you at the division of plots? Do justice for the Lord of Justice, the justice of whose justice is real! Pen, papyrus, palette of Thoth, keep away from wrongdoing! When goodness is good, it is truly good, for justice is for eternity: it enters the graveyard with its doer. When he is buried and earth enfolds him, his name does not pass from the earth; he is remembered because of goodness—that is the rule of god's command. The hand-balance—it tilts not; the stand-balance—it leans not to one side. Whether I come, whether another comes, speak! Do not answer with the answer of silence! Do not attack one who does not attack you. You have no pity; you are not troubled; you are not disturbed! You do not repay my good speech which comes from the mouth of Re himself! Speak justice; do justice, for it is mighty; it is great, it endures; its worth is tried; it leads one to reveredness. Does the hand-balance tilt? Then it is its scales which carry things. The standard has no fault. Crime does not attain its goal; he who is helpful reaches land."

Ninth Petition

Now this peasant came to petition him a ninth time; he said: "O high steward, my lord! The tongue is men's stand-balance. It is the balance that detects deficiency. Punish him who should be punished, and none shall equal your rectitude. When falsehood walks, it goes astray. It does not cross in the ferry; it does not progress. He who is enriched by it has no children, has no heirs on earth. He who sails with it does not reach land; his boat does not moor at its landing place. Be not heavy, nor yet light; do not tarry, nor yet hurry; be not partial, nor listen to desire. Do not avert your face from one you know; be not blind to one you have seen; do not rebuff one who beseeches you. Abandon this slackness; let your speech be heard. Act for him who would act for you; do not listen to everyone; summon a man to his rightful cause! A sluggard has no yesterday; one deaf to justice has no friend; the greedy has no holiday. When the accuser is a wretch, and the wretch becomes a pleader, his opponent is a killer. Here I have been pleading with you, and you have not listened to it. I shall go and plead about you to Anubis!"

Conclusion

Then the high steward Rensi, the son of Meru, sent two guards to bring him back. Then this peasant was fearful, thinking it was done so as to punish him for this speech he had made. This peasant said: "A thirsty man's approach to water, an infant's mouth reaching for milk—thus is a longed-for death seen coming, thus does his death arrive at last." Said the high steward Rensi, the son of Meru: "Don't be afraid, peasant; be ready to deal with me!" Said this peasant: "By my life! Shall I eat your bread and drink your beer forever?" Said the high steward Rensi, the son of Meru: "Now wait here and hear your petitions!" Then he had them read from a new papyrus roll, each petition in its turn. The high steward Rensi, the son of Meru, presented them to the majesty of King Nebkaure, the justified. They pleased his majesty's heart more than anything in the whole land. His majesty said: "Give judgment yourself, son of Meru!"

Then the high steward Rensi, the son of Meru, sent two guards to bring Nemtynakht. He was brought, and a report was made of all his property—his wheat, his barley, his donkeys, his pigs, his small cattle—given to this peasant.

Colophon: It is finished.

Source:

Lichtheim, M. (2006). Ancient Egyptian literature, Volume III: The new kingdom. University of California Press.