MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF

FOREIGN LANGUAGES - INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
FACULTY OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION



SUBJECT: READING 1

TRADITIONS OF EGYPTIAN

Lecturer : Nguyen Ngoc Hai

Group members :
Nguyen Thi Bich Ngan – 21DH121018
Tran Thi Yen Nhi – 17DH491354
Nguyen Hong Phan – 21DH123294
Dang Thi Hong Phuc – 21DH123296

HCMC – 13 November, 2021

Table of Contents
ANCIENT EGYPT ....................................................................................................1

BELIEFS (RELIGIONS) ...........................................................................................3

HOLIDAY..................................................................................................................6

FOOD .........................................................................................................................8
 Egypt is a country which is located in northeastern of Africa with the
population of 101,993,000. The word ‘Egypt’ comes from the Greek Aegyptus,
which was derived from the ancient Egyptian name ‘Hwt-Ka-Ptah’ (“Mansion of the
Spirit of Ptah”), which was also the name of the city of Memphis. Egypt is well-
known with the Nile river valley and delta because it used to be saw as a home of
accient Middle East civilzation. Egypt also being famous for its variable traditions
which has been affected by the accient thought, such as: ancient Egypt, food, beliefs
(religions), holiday.

ANCIENT EGYPT
The ancient Egyptians simply called their land Kemet, which means 'Black
Land,' after the rich, black soil around the Nile River, where the earliest villages
were established. Later, the country was dubbed Misr, which means 'country,' and is
still used by Egyptians to refer to their country today. Egypt flourished as an
autonomous nation for thousands of years (c. 8000 BCE to c. 30 BCE), with a society
known for tremendous cultural breakthroughs in every field of human knowledge,
from the arts to science to technology and religion. Ancient Egypt's magnificent
monuments represent the richness and majesty of Egyptian culture, which impacted
a wide range of ancient civilizations, including Greece and Rome.

Pyramids, mummies, pharaohs,... are the special symbols when we mentioned

to Egypt. They are also the heritage, the proof of Egypt's long-standing civilization.

The Pyramids of Giza

The Pyramids of Giza—the Great Pyramid of Khufu, Pyramid of Khafre, and

Pyramid of Menkaure—remain one of the most enigmatic Seven Wonders of the
Ancient World (and the only one still standing) after more than 4,000 years of hype.
On each journey to Cairo, seeing these 4th-dynasty pyramids and their guardian

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Great Sphinx rise from the Giza Plateau is a must (and the reason many travelers
find themselves in Egypt).

The Giza Pyramids, designed

to last eternity, have done exactly
that. The massive tombs date back
to Egypt's Old Kingdom era and
were built some 4,500 years ago. In
the afterlife, Egypt's pharaohs were
Picture 1 The Great Pyramids of Giza supposed to become gods. They
built temples to the gods and massive pyramid tombs for themselves to prepare for
the next world, which were equipped with everything a monarch would need to lead
and maintain himself in the next world.

The great Pyramids of Giza consists of three Pyramids: Pyramid of Khufu,

Khafre Pyramid, Menkaure Pyramid. Around 2550 B.C., Pharaoh Khufu began the
construction of the first Giza pyramid. His Great Pyramid, which stands 481 feet
(147 meters) above the plateau, is the biggest in Giza. Each of the estimated 2.3
million stone blocks weighs between 2.5 and 15 tons.

The Mythology - The Mummy

The Mummy in Ancient Egypt is the first modern description of a 3,000-year

survey of all Egyptian burial accoutrements. The Egyptians believed that part of a
person’s soul, the ba, returned to the body every night after death. Preserving the
body was, therefore, crucial to the soul's survival in the afterlife.

The oldest Egyptian mummies scholars have found are examples of natural
mummification. The Egyptians buried the dead in sand and they dried out naturally.
Later, seeing how well preserved the bodies were, people sought to perfect an

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artificial mummification process and it began four days after a person’s death.
Families took the body to the Nile’s West bank, where the embalmers worked
outdoors. First, the embalmers cleaned the body. Then, they made a slit on the left
side of the body and removed the stomach, intestines, lungs and liver.

There are a few royal mummies from the Middle Kingdom. The organs of
these 11th Dynasty princesses were
kept within. Their jewelry left
impressions on their flesh, indicating
that the embalmers did not dry their
bodies before wrapping them. Today,
scholars work hard to preserve
human and animal mummies in
Picture 2 Excavation of King Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922.
specially designed cases. The
mummies of the pharaohs are the most well-known, many of these now held in the
Cairo Museum. Other mummies are displayed in museums across the world.

BELIEFS (RELIGIONS)
According to Hopkins, N. & Saad, R., Egypt is indicated as a place of
“everyday piety” since it has been intergrated into Egyptian society from C. 3000
BCE. Canadian Museum of History provided that the beginning of Egyptian religion
was from the people who lived across Nile with the thought form of Godhead. The
Egyptian religion developed from magical power of sceptre to mythical (God) and
now is monotheistic. In addition, Baines, J. R., stated that the king and the gods are
the two most crucial elements of Egyptian’s public religion.

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 The king (pharaoh)
takes part as the connection
between humanity and the
gods, the center of human
society, the representation
of the gods on Earth. The
authority of the king shows
their political position
Picture 3 Ramses II (the king) making an offering to Horus (the god).
through kingship and how
bureaucrats obey the king. The previous title of the king was the Horus name- a
prospect of the sky god Horus who was describe as an falcon. Especially when the
pyramids was built, two titles “Son of Re” and “ Perfect God” were being added.
“Son of Re” created closer relationship with people but depended on the leading
character- the Sun god, while “Perfect God” marked as a small god that became
“perfect” by having higher position but being limited the divinity. The king receive
the sumptuous devine and sometimes even more than any god. The king crave for
full divinity but can’t break out of human circumstance such as: Amenhoptep III,
Ramses II while Amenemhet III is an example of the king became minor god after
death. This has showed the limitation of divinity. The king took responsible for
keeping everything in order “maat”, especially when the year transition occured or
the death of a king and this is the primary in Egytian’s thoughts. “Maat” is very
important because it included the concept of reciprocity, fairness, truth, moderation
which eshtablish the maintenance between religion, political behavior and morality.

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 Egyptian religion
was polytheistic, the
gods resident in the
cosmos and had variety
of nature and capacity.
Egyptian called god as
“netjer” but this word
also mentioned demons
Picture 4 Anubis- God of death. in some circumstances,
netjer indicated wider range of beings not just divinity of other monotheistic
religions. Eventhogh the god are not almighty or know-it-all but they have limitless
power and ability that human don’t have like: instant teleport, present at more than
one place at one time, withstand mortal wounds,.. Egyptian claimed that the god look
gracious practically, however, some goddeses have strongly ambivalent
characteristics: Neith, Sekhmet, and Mut, particularly is Seth who incarnated as
tumbled side of world’s order. So, it is dificult to specify the trait of god and a diety
whose characteristic can be known clearer, the power he/she has fewer. There are
three main types of god: gods, goddesses and young deities. Canadian Museum of
History stated that at first, each town in Egypt was guided by a specific deity who is
in the form of animal (cat- goddess, ibis-god,…), for instance: the sun god’s cult
place was in Heliopolis, Amon was in Thebes. As worship increases, these gods will
be endowed with human bodies and other attributes. Most of the major temple in
New Kingdom period divinize “the mythical family”- Osiris, Isis and Horus. Baines,
J. R. implemented that the most significant forms of god were bull and falcon while
goddess were cobra, lioness, vulture and cow. He also mentioned that animal forms
reflect the deity’s characteristic, some lioness goddesses were fiercer than cat
goddesses. The god was described as having the body of a human and the head of
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an animal representing them while the king was in contrast who was in animal body
and human head (Sphinx). In the next period of Egyptian religion, people worshiped
deity in group, such as Great Ennead of Heliopolis which included nine deities,
Ogdoad of Hermopolis included eight deities.

Nowaday, the majority of Egyptian religion is Muslim (monotheistic) since

Greeks and Romans conquered Egypt. Hopkins, N. & Saad, R. provided that Friday
is the chief congregational prayer day, the working day begin from Sunday to
Thursday and weekend is Friday and Saturday. Muslim chief holidays are
“Ramadan”- fasting month, and “‘Id al-Adha”- Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.
Muslim belives in “Death and the Afterlife”, they believe that living is just a
temporary state and their life really begins after they die, their soul actually exists
before birth and after death.

HOLIDAY
Mystical Nile Festival The Nile River is a famous destination of Egypt. The
mysterious Nile River festival is a way to show the close relationship between life
and civilization of the Egyptians with the Nile. The festival originates from a
fascinating legend about the goddess Aixirong, when her husband died in an
accident, she wept so much that her tears turned into floods that flooded both banks
of the Nile. In order to relieve the suffering of the goddess, the people sang together,
they moved her and found joy again. Thereby, it is said that every time the river
water overflows the two banks, the tears of the goddess rise to create silt to build up
on the riverbank, the sprouts gradually bloom, and the food crops are lush.

The Lantern Festival is a very special religious festival in Egyptian culture.

This festival takes place during the Indian fasting month of Ramadan with many
different rituals. There are two main parts: the ceremony and the festival: The
ceremony is held sacred and solemn in the mosque. Particularly, the festival is an
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opportunity to perform various types of folklore, from singing, dancing and lighting
up the mosques. The special thing is that the lanterns here are completely handmade,
not only beautiful but also very special. Egyptian lanterns are sacred and popular
symbols of Ramadan Egypt, tourists should definitely not miss this festival when
traveling to Egypt.

Beer and sex

festival in Egypt In 1479
BC, it was the program
of one of the most
ruined festivals in
Egypt: the "Festival of
the Drunk", which was
meant to celebrate the
Picture 5 The Ancient Egyptian Festival of Alcohol and Sex.
salvation of people's
souls. Archaeologists say they have found among the ruins of a temple in Luxor
evidence that an annual Egyptian festival that includes sex, drugs and "rock 'n" music
'roll' ancient. Tourists traveling to Egypt can participate in the festival, this famous
festival in Egypt brings everyone joy. The festival takes place in the first month of
the year, after the first flood of the Nile River created by the lion-headed war goddess
Sekhmet. According to legend, the bloodthirsty god Sekhmet almost destroyed all
humans, but the sun god Re tricked her into drinking so much bright red beer that
Sekhmet thought it was blood. This unique festival in Egypt often attracts a large
number of people as well as tourists from all over the world to participate, you will
be fascinated by the dances and lyrics in the festival.

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 The special
Moulid festival is
held in the Tanta
region of the Nile
Delta, in memory of
Ahmed El Bedawi -
the Sufi saint of the
13th century. The
festival takes place
Picture 6 Moulid Cultural Festival. with many different
types: part pilgrimage, part dance, part Islamic mystic rites. Tanta is home to Egypt's
largest Moulid Festival, where more than 3 million people flock from all over the
world each year, including those as far away as Sudan. And this is also an event that
receives the attention and investment of the Egyptian government. The religious
center of the festival is the Mosque, where it is believed that Ahmed el-Bedawi was
cremated. At the tomb of Saint Ahmed el-Bedawi, throngs of devotees try to enter a
trance, away from the tumultuous world outside, and turn their hearts to God, the
life of the saint. During this Egyptian festival, all strict Islamic rules on gender
discrimination will be temporarily suspended. It is not only a journey for the devout,
but it can also be said that Moulid is an opportunity to get rich for those who sell
plastic guns, brand shoes, hats... or show off a lot of entertainment.

Moulid Cultural Festival

FOOD
Besides these special festivals, food, beverage in the Egyptian parties is also
a point that worth paying attention to. Meat would be reserved for special occasions,
festivals or family gatherings. Goats, sheep, geese,… were all meats commonly

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 served at festivals of the ancient Egyptians and
were often grilled. Fresh fruits and vegetables are
usually stored in large crates and served
throughout the festival, guests will be welcomed
with fruits such as pomegranates, grapes, squash,
dates, figs. Figs are prepared in a stew with honey.
Desserts in festivals are usually sweet bread, raisin
bread, pies, honey cakes, because at that time in
Picture 7 Raisin bread ancient Egypt, there was no sugar, so this
sweetness would be replaced by honey. Cheese is also often served during these
ceremonies.

In addition to food, beer and wine are also

served at these parties. Wine is fermented from a
variety of grapes, beer is fermented from barley.
However, the wine people will use home made
wine which will often be imported from other
regions especially the west....

During festivals, the ancient Egyptians

Picture 8 Grapes wine were often given food as gifts, no matter how
crowded the festival was. Ancient Egyptians who attended festivals worshiping the
goddess Isis often left with a mountain of food such as ducks, geese, vegetables,
meat and salt,... Even drinks like wine and beer.

9
 Egypt Dining Etiquette

Furthermore, the Egyptians also had unique eating rituals and should be
followed. Meat needs to be prepared according to halal standards because Muslims
man is not allowed to eat pork. Do not eat in front of or invite Muslims during the
days of Ramadan. Dining etiquette before the meal: Before begin the meal, guests
say “Sahtain” and “Bismillah” (the name of God) when the meal is over, guests
should say “Daimah”.

Depending on the region, people use spoons, forks, knives or no utensils at

all. If using hand, people need to use only right hand, hold food or any utensils for
eating. People must wash their hand before eating if they don’t use ustensils and also
washing hands again due to the fact that they will certainly got some messy finger
at the end of the meal. The left hand should not be on the table and used to give food
to others.

One thing to remind that guest will always be offered a lot of food but don't
refuse it, if really don't want it anymore, take very little and leave a few pieces.
Especially, don't eat or drink until the oldest has started and after finishing the meal
says thank the hoste for a wonderful meal. In addition, the Egyptians also have a
specific rules of drinking that is never pour water/bevergaes by yourself when
attending a party, let the host or your neighbor’s glass refill for you and you refill
for the neighbor’s glass

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