Translation of the essay “Genesis according to Esna and Sais theology, (Esna 206)”

by Alberto Elli.

§ 1) Title of the Ritual.

Ritual composed for the temple of Neith, the great, the mother of god, the lady of
Esna; composed (also) for the temple of Neith, the great, the mother of god, the lady
of Sais, in the third month of summer, day 13.

§ 2) Before creation: the birth of Neith.

The Father of Fathers, the Mother of Mothers, the divine being who began to exist
from the beginning, stood in the midst of the Primordial Waters, appearing from
herself, while the earth was (still) in darkness: no earth had (yet) appeared and there
was no vegetation.

§ 3) Its first metamorphoses.

She took the appearance of a cow that no god could (yet) know, anywhere. (Then)
she turned into a lates-fish and left.

§ 4) Creation of light

She made bright the gaze of her eyes: and it was the light.

§ 5) The primal hill

Then she said, "Oh, would this place (become) for me a platform of earth in the midst
of the Primordial Waters, so that I may take support on it!" And this place became a
platform of earth in the midst of the Primordial Waters, just as she had said; and it
was Esna, (which) is (also) Sais! And she took flight above this (sacred) hill: and it
was Pi-netjer, (which) is (also) Pe. She said, "I am well on this hill," and so it was Dep
and that "The pleasant land" became the name of Sais.

§ 6) The creation of Egypt.

And behold, all the things that her heart imagined came true instantly. Then she
stood well on this hill: and it was Egypt, in joy!

§ 7) The creation of the thirty gods.

After creating the 30 gods, (she) pronounced their names, one by one, and rejoiced
after seeing them. And they said, "Praise to you, O lady of the gods, our mother, who
brought us into existence! You made our name when (as yet) we did not know it.
Thou hast separated for us the light (from)the darkness; thou hast made for us a
land on which we could take footing; thou hast distinguished for us the night from
the day. It is truly useful everything that comes out of your own heart, O one who
came into existence from the beginning! All eternity passes before you!"

§ 8) The gods install themselves on the emerged earth.

Then she said to her children, "Let us now lift ourselves up in this place, for it is a
land on which we can take support, so as to drive away (our) weariness. Let us sail
to this place, (which) is Esna and Sais, a land in the midst of the Primordial Waters.
This hill is pleasant and we will reside there!" And she placed a land in the middle of
the Primordial Waters and gave it the name "High Hill."

§ 9) The gods are concerned about the future.

Then they said to the Great and Mighty One, "O thou, our parent1; O thou, from whom
we came forth: make known to us that which has not (yet) come into existence!
Behold, there is but it (= the ground) and we know not what will come into existence."
Neith then said, "I will make known to you that which will come into existence. Now,
let us choose the 4 powers(?), let us make clear the things that are in our belly, let us
formulate what is on our mouth, and (so) today (itself) we shall know all that!" They
did all that she had said, and the eighth hour came in a moment.

§ 10) The announcement of the Sun

The ahat-cow meditated on what would come into existence and said, "Today a
venerable god will be born: after he opens his eye there will be light, after he closes it,
there will be darkness. Men will come into existence by the tears of his eye and gods
by the saliva of his lips. I will fortify him by my strength, I will make him effective by
my effectiveness, I will make him mighty by my power.

His sons shall rebel against him, but they shall be struck down in his name and they
shall be beaten in his name; he is (my) son, who came forth from my body and he
shall be lord of this land, eternally, for I will protect him in my arms and no evil shall
be able to reach him. I tell you (now) his name, that is Khepri in the morning and
Atum in the evening; he will be the radiant god for eternity, in this his name of Ra,
every day."

§ 11) The Ogdoad

1 Lacking a better translation, in italian is the equivalent of “Genitrix” in latin.

Then the gods said, "You enumerate things that we do not know, among these things
we hear." And Khemenu became the name of these gods and became (also) the
name of this city.

§ 12) The birth of the Sun

Then this god came into existence from a secretion that came out of her body and
that she had placed inside the body of this egg. When it pierced the Primordial
Waters, there came into existence the Flood, at an unique point. Some seed fell on
the egg, when it broke this egg that was around this venerable god. It was Ra and it
was hidden in the midst of the Primordial Waters in his name of "Amun the Elder," he
who (then) formed the gods and goddesses with his rays, in his name of Khnum.

§ 13) Mother and children

His mother, the ahat-cow, cried out in a loud voice, "Come, come, you whom I have
created! Come, come, you whom I have begotten! Come, come, you whom I have
brought into existence! I am your mother, the ahat-cow." There came (then) this god,
with his mouth open and his arms spread wide, to this goddess and threw himself
around her neck: these are the things a son does when he sees his mother! And this
day became the beautiful day of the beginning of the year.

Then he wept in the Primordial Waters, for he had (no longer) seen his mother, the
ahat-cow: and men came into existence from the tears of his eye. And he salivated
after he (again) saw her: and the gods came to existence from the saliva of his lips.

§ 14) The primordial gods and the Sun.

These primordial gods rest (now) in their naos; they were pronounced when this
goddess conceived them. They protect Ra inside (his) cabin and hail this god saying,
"Welcome, welcome, O heir of Neith, work of her hands, reaction of her heart! You are
the lord of this land, eternally, just as your mother foretold!"

§ 15) Birth of Apopi

So they cast out the spittle of her mouth, which she had made in the Primordial
Waters, and it became a 120-cubit serpent, named Apophis. And his heart conceived
the revolt against Ra, together with his confederates, who came out of his eye.

§ 16) Birth of Thot

Thoth came forth from his heart when he became sad and (therefore) was called
Thoth. He spoke to his father and he sent him against the revolt, in his name as "Lord
of the word of the god." (And thus) came into existence Thoth, lord of Hermopolis, in
this place, and also the Ogdoad of the primordial divine college.

§ 17) Departure for Esna-Sais

And Neith said to her son, "Come with me to Esna, (which) is (also) Sais, this
platform of land in the midst of the Primordial Waters. I will speak your name to your
city and it will not cease to be heard, every day. I (will) nurse thee, that thy strength
may be great and to increase the fear of thee, so that thou mayest slaughter those
who plot against you."

§ 18) The seven speeches of Meheturet.

[The creation is now practically accomplished. What follows concerns the goddess' journey to
her temple and her final installation in her place of worship. But first there is one more
paragraph of particular interest: how the goddess gave rise to the universe. It is the theory of
the creator word. Her words are at the origin of certain elements of creation (see EsnaV p.
268). On this paragraph, see the interesting article by S. SAUNERON, "La légende des sept
propos de Methyer au temple d'Esna," BSFE 32, 1961, pp. 43-48]

Now, seven speeches had come out of her mouth and had become seven divine
beings: what she had uttered had given name to the Speeches, (had given) name to
the "Word of god" and name to Sais. (And thus) came into existence the Seven
Speeches of Meheturet, which protect Meheturet in every place where she goes.
Then she turned into a ahat-cow and placed Ra between her horns, and swam
carrying him; then the gods said, "(Here) is the Great Swimmer with her son"; (this
was) the origin of Meheturet.

[But what are the "seven speeches of Meheturet" that our text talks about? First of all, who
was MHt-wrt? Her name is interpreted as "the great swimmer" (WB II 122.16); she is a deity in
the form of a cow, an image of the creator goddess of the world, in our case Neith; she would
have swum in the Primordial Waters carrying the infant Sun in her horns to protect it from the
threats of chaos and its adversaries. Already in the Sarcophagi Texts there is mention of the
"7 Tsw of Mehet-uret," although it was not clear to scholars exactly what these were: they
spoke of the seven magical "knots" of the goddess or the seven "sages," assuming that they
were seven deities of uncertain role but proverbial science (thus, for example, WB V 521.9 "die
sieben Weisen (o.ä.) der MHt-wrt"). The present Esna text gives us the right interpretation of
this legend: it is about the active principles of the words of the goddess, the creative speeches
of the universe. In fact, Neith has taken the word seven times in a row, giving rise to certain
elements of creation:

1) Esna 206.2 Then she said, "Oh, may this place (become) for me a platform..."

2) Esna 206.2 She said, "I am well on this hill."

3) Esna 206.4 Then she said to her children, "Let us now lift up this place ..."

4) Esna 206.5 Then said Neith, "I will cause you to know ..."

5) Esna 206.5 The cow-ahat ... said, "Today a venerable god will be born ..."

6) Esna 206.8 His mother, the vacca-ahat, cried out in a loud voice, "Come, come, ..."

7) Esna 206.12 And Neith said to her son, "Come with me to Esna ..."

These creative utterances, once their creative action was unfolded, materialized into defunct
divine principles. From a text in Esna (Esna 196.2) we know that these seven divine-speeches
were buried in the "necropolis of the dead gods" of Pi-netjer: "Pi-netjer of the god of gods is
the tomb of Kematef, the house of Tjanen, the city of Neith, the secret place of the primordial
gods, (i.e.) the Great Speeches of the first generation, the palace of Ra, the castle of the Ba of
Shu and Tefnut." And in Esna 197.24 we read, "Concerning the divine underworld there, it is the
mysterious underworld of Kematef, with Shu, Tefnut and Atum, which is buried with them; it is
the necropolis of the dead gods, of the Seven (materialized) Speeches of Meheturet, in their
appearance of falcons."]

§ 19) Meheturet's travels.

Then she spent a period of four months in the cities of Upper Egypt (it is called the
"Tip of the Country"), putting down rebels who had come in hatred of her Majesty. A
flame shone before her in Upper and Lower Egypt.

§ 20) Arrival in Sais

When she arrived in Sais, in the evening of the 13th day of the third month of the
summer season, this (was) a beautiful and great feast in heaven and on earth and in
every land. Then she changed her appearance into the goddess Ureret; she grasped
(?) her bow in her hand, her arrow in her fist, and settled in the Castle of Neith,
together with her son Ra.

§ 21) Establishment of the feast of the 13th Epiphi.

Then said Ra to the gods who were with him, "Give light before Neith on this day!
Come, hail her on this good day, for she has brought me (so far) safe and sound.
Light torches before her, make merry in her presence, until dawn!"