Going Forth By Day

by Mary R Woldering

  Marai sat again, his head rested wearily in the crook of his elbow on the ledge of the well. His exhaustion showed more rapidly by the second. I hope he succeeds. Not only for him, but because it would pain that old buzzard, too, Marai yawned. I’ll just stay here for a few moments, then find some place safer to sleep until the morning.

  A pulse from the bag of stones Marai had fastened to his belt stirred his reverie as he sat heavily and tried to decide where he could rest. He untied the bag and spread the mouth of it wide. Even though he did not lay the stones out, their light flickered again and a vision formed in his thoughts. His three wives were seated in a small room.

  Deka sat to one side, apart from Ariennu and Naibe. She was singing the same strange song she had always sung in times of trial.

  Ha-go-re!

  Akh-go-re

  Neter Deka Nefer Sekht

  I hear my sacred name.

  I waken.

  I fly all away…

  The song was her way of telling Marai she knew his spirit was there looking in on them. Ariennu was brushing Naibe’s hair out as the young woman lay in her elder sister’s lap and tried to ignore the cinnamon-skinned woman.

  Beneath the notes of her song, Deka’s voice spoke to the air in the room, hoping this slight conjuration of Marai’s “spirit” had worked. Part of the message was for Ariennu.

  Do you hate me? Please try to understand, ghost of he who was my brief light, she begged. Is it because of what I am; what I have done? Am I now one who looks at two from far away, and we are no longer three who look into the sunlight together?

  Ariennu wasn’t listening. She continued soothing Naibe-Ellit; combing her hair.

  Deka… Marai’s thoughts whispered. Know that I live, and while I live I will seek you, no matter what arms are holding you now, he tried to caress her thoughts with his voice. He saw her head lolling along an incline of air as if his hands were reaching through the light of the Child Stones to touch her cheek. Deka, I miss you. I sit at the well where you touched me; where we kissed so lightly.

  Oh, but you don’t understand, her voice became plaintive, like the whimper of a lost little girl. She sniveled, eyes looking backward to the veil of finger-woven rope netting in the doorway. I tried to tell you, tried to tell all of you, but as Wise MaMa says, sometimes you were such a dumb ox.

  Beyond the netting, Marai knew the general lay sleeping alone after a late night of revelry.

  Something is awake in me that isn’t part of you, Deka sent a final thought, and there is nothing you can do. The light from the bag fell dim a last time as she spoke.

  Marai drew the strings of the bag shut. He wanted to die suddenly… to be done with everything as if it had never happened. Bowing his head and rubbing his eyes, he pushed aside a careless lock of his hair, noticing the flicker of his silvery metallic stone welling at the big man’s brow. It had come forth one more time as he absorbed the last images.

  “Oh, I really am so tired,” he whispered aloud and shut his eyes, hoping to clear his thoughts. “Help me, my goddess, help me.” In that last waking moment he felt her warmth from far away. It surrounded him and gave him just a little more strength. His heart whispered the refrain of her song one more time.

  Shine for one who begs to serve you

  Return to the night…

  Quietly he set his head on the wide rim of the well, unaware of the very human shadow that strode out of the dark toward him.

  GLOSSARY

  Akkad – Ancient name for the area of modern-day Iraq; a person from that region.

  Amenti – Also known as Duat, Land of the Underworld – The West, Field of Reeds. Place of the dead.

  Apep – A huge serpent (or crocodile) which lived in the waters of Nun or in the celestial Nile. Each day he attempted to disrupt the passage of the solar barque of Re. In some myths, Apep was an earlier and discarded sun-god himself. Another name for Apep is Apohis.

  Asar – An ancient Egyptian deity of the underworld and resurrection. Also known as Osiris.

  Aset – The ancient Egyptian goddess of health, marriage, and wisdom, also known as ‘Isis’.

  Ashera – A mother goddess who appears in a number of ancient sources “Queen of Heaven”, consort of the Sumerian god Anu and Ugaritic El (both bull deities) the word elat is used to describe her as “goddess”. Her name can also be spelled ‘Asherah’.

  Baal – Refers to any god and even to human officials.

  Bakha Montu – The meaning of his name was “nomad”. The warrior nature of Montu made him a bull. Montu would also be represented as a man with the head of a bull. There were at least three great sacred bulls of the Ancient Egypt called the Apis of Memphis, Mnevis of Heliopolis, and Buchis at Hermonthis (the Bakha).

  Bast – The ancient Egyptian goddess of protection and cats. She was the daughter of Ra, the sun god. As protectress, she was seen as defender of the pharaoh, and consequently of the chief god, Ra. Also known as Bastet or Ubasti.

  Benben – The mound that arose from the primordial waters, Nu, and on which the creator god Atum settled. The Benben stone is the top stone of the Egyptian pyramid. It is also related to the obelisk. In vulgar usage refers to a phallus.

  Benu – An ancient Egyptian deity linked with the sun, creation, and rebirth.

  A possible inspiration for the Greek ‘Phoenix’. Also spelled ‘Bennu’.

  Bes – A deity worshipped as a protector of households, and in particular, of mothers and children and childbirth. Bes later came to be regarded as the defender of everything good and the enemy of all that is bad. This deity was represented as a hairy dwarf having a tail and wearing a lion’s skin.

  Buhen – An ancient Egyptian settlement on the west bank of the Nile north of the Second Cataract. Currently underneath Lake Nasser.

  Buto – An Ancient coastal city near Alexandria. The goddess Wadjet was its local goddess, often represented as a cobra. Her oracle was located in her renowned temple in that city. King Menkaure received a tragic prediction there, according to legend.

  Diorite – A granite-like stone.

  Djehuti – The Egyptian god of mathematics, writing, and scholarship. In some creation myths, he is the voice of Ptah (the word or logos that appears in Christian and Jewish creation myths) as Ptah emerges from the Cosmic Egg. Also known as Thoth.

  Dumuzi – A shepherd god who represents the harvest season but also became a god of the underworld thanks to the goddess Ishtar (Ashera).

  El Anu – The bull was symbolic to El. He may have been a desert god at some point, as the myths say that he had two wives and built a sanctuary with them and his new children in the desert. In vulgar usage in the Caananite language ‘el’ refers to a phallus.

  Green Sea – An ancient name for the Mediterranean Sea.

  Hazor – The site of Canaanite and Israelite settlement. Known as Tell el-Qedah in Arabic.

  Heka – Magic, sorcery.

  Heru – The ancient Egyptian god Horus, God of the Sun, Sky, and Kingship.

  Hethrt – Hethara Hathor Mistress of Life, the Great Wild Cow, the Golden One, the Mistress of Turquoise, Lady of Iunet (Dendera, Egypt), beauty, happiness, music, and dance.

  Hul Gil – ‘Joy plant’ in Sumerian. Known as the ‘opium poppy’ in English.

  Iah – The Egyptian Time God, “IAH-DJUHTY”.

  Iaret – The Cobra, the chief symbol for all of Lower Egypt. (The vulture, 'Nekhebet' was the symbol for Upper Egypt).

  Iat – The Egyptian goddess of milk, and by association, of nurturing and childbirth.

  Ibu – The tent of purification. This is the place where mummification was performed.

  Inanna – Sumerian pantheon in ancient Mesopotamia. She is a goddess of love, fertility, and war.

  Ineb Hedj – The earliest name for Memphis (Men Nefer), later called Cairo. The word means “White Wall”.

  Kalasaris – A garment made from a sheath held up by one or two straps. These garments were worn down to the ankle, while the upper edg
e could be worn above or below the breasts.

  Ka’t – An ancient Egyptian word for woman and for vagina. When used in a derogatory tone, it implies women are ‘good for only one thing’.

  Keleb – Sexually submissive male or ‘dog position’ in male-to-male pairings (Canaanite term).

  Kemet – An ancient name for Egypt.

  Kephri – The ancient Egyptian god of rebirth, the sunrise, and the scarab. Also spelled Khepri.

  Khaftan – A robe or tunic worn as a coat or overdress. Also spelled ‘kaftan’.

  Khmenu – Worship center for Djehuti (Thoth). Also known as Khmun or Hermopolis.

  Khonsu – An ancient Egyptian moon god. Marked the passage of time alongside Thoth.

  Kina-Ahna – Canaan (Israel & Palestine).

  Krater – A large vase used to transport water or to mix water with other

  substances.

  Kuna – Canaanite version of the word Ka’t (see above).

  Kush – Sudan.

  Lilitu – Similar to Lilith, succubus and avenger. Used to reference women with unnatural power over men.

  Maat – The ancient Egyptian goddess of truth and justice.

  Malidthu – The Canaanite goddess of fertility, love, childbirth, and the myrrh tree.

  Menhit – See Bakha Montu.

  Min – Fertility god represented in male human form, shown with an erect penis.

  Nefer Nebty – Belladonna or ‘deadly nightshade’.

  Nemes – The striped head-cloth worn by men in the royal family in ancient Egypt.

  Nut – Goddess of the Sky, Stars, the Sun, the Moon, Light, Heaven, Astronomy, the Universe, and the Winds. Depicted as a woman or a cow covered with stars.

  Per-A-At – Heliopolis. The center of worship for Ra.

  Pshent – The name for the double crown of ancient Egypt. Also known as ‘sekhemti’.

  Ptah – An ancient Egyptian god of craftsmen and architects.

  Pyr akhs – A term for the modern ‘Pyramid’. The terms Pyr Mer and Eternal House were also used.

  Qustul Amani – A possible city in the far south of ancient Egypt.

  Ra-Kedet – The ancient name for Alexandria.

  Raet – Solar cow goddess and consort of Montu. Similar to Hathor.

  River Asar – The ancient name for the Nile River.

  Sanghir – An ancient Middle-eastern tribe.

  Scheid – A term for a vulgar man, an “asshole”.

  Sebek – A human with a crocodile head. Sebek was also associated with pharaonic power, fertility, and military prowess, but served additionally as a protective deity with apotropaic qualities. Invoked particularly for protection against the dangers presented by the Nile River.

  Sed – The 30 year festival in which the king was ritually murdered & rejuvenated.

  Sekhmet – Also spelled Sakhmet, Sekhet, or Sakhet, among other spellings. Sekhmet was originally the warrior goddess as well as goddess of healing for Upper Egypt, when the kingdom of Egypt was divided. She is depicted as a lioness.

  Senet – An ancient Egyptian board game involving the movement of pieces around a board of thirty squares.

  Sepat – A sub-national administrative district in ancient Egypt. Also called a ‘nome’.

  Seref – A celestial being.

  Sesen – An ancient term for a lotus.

  Sesen Points – Equivalents to Chakra.

  Sesh – A lower level of priest, an initiate.

  Seshat – The Ancient Egyptian goddess of wisdom, knowledge, and writing. She was seen as a scribe and record keeper. She was the female counterpart of Djehuti.

  Shendyt – A kilt-like garment worn in ancient Egypt.

  Shenti – A type of loincloth worn under a Shendyt.

  Sheol – The underworld, Hell in Canaanite.

  Shinar – Babylon.

  Shu – The ancient Egyptian god of wind and air.

  Sistrum – A percussion instrument consisting of a handle and a U-shaped metal frame.

  Ta-Ntr – Land of the Gods.

  Ta-Seti – The Land of the Bow, Nubia.

  Tyre – A Phoenician ancient trading outpost, Lebanon.

  Wadi – The Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some cases, it refers to a dry riverbed that contains water only during times of heavy rain or simply an intermittent stream. Wadis were often used as camps or way-stations.

  Wdjat (Udjat) – Also Called “Udjat”, Wadjet, or Eye of Horus. A symbol intended to protect the pharaoh in the afterlife and to ward off evil.

  Wepwawet – Originally a war deity whose cult centre was Asyut in Upper Egypt (Lycopolis in the Greco-Roman period). His name means, opener of the ways and he is often depicted as a wolf standing at the prow of a solar-boat. Some interpret that Wepwawet was seen as a scout, going out to clear routes for the army to proceed forward.