Celestial Ferryman
{{short description|Ancient Egyptian deity}}
{{Infobox deity
|type = egyptian
|name = Celestial Ferryman
| other_names = Hraf-haf, Ma-haf
|image =Hraf-haf.svg
|caption = drawing of the Celestial Ferryman based from the Papyrus of Ani
|hiero =
}}
The Celestial Ferryman is the modern name of an Ancient Egyptian god. the god has multiple names, all with similar meanings, the two most common of which being Hraf-haf and Ma-haf which roughly translates to He whose face is behind him and He who sees behind him respectively.{{cite journal |last=Radwan |first=Radwan |date=November 2016 |title=The Celestial Ferryman in Ancient Egyptian Religion |url=https://jguaa2.journals.ekb.eg/article_3902_c72fcef93bfa3c4f39b9e8ec4b8e0a29.pdf |journal=JOURNAL OF The General Union OF Arab Archaeologists |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=126-165}}
Mythology
The Celestial Ferryman plays the role of a Psychopomp who helped guide souls through the waters of the underworld into the Field of Reeds and was said to be rude and ill-tempered.{{cite web| last=Mark |first=Joshua |date=18 January 2012|title=The Forty-Two Judges|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/185/the-forty-two-judges/ |website=worldhistory.org}} The Celestial Ferryman was also one of the Assessors of Maat where was said to come from the "Cavern of wrong" and judged the sin of copulating with a boy.{{harvnb|Wilkinson|2003|pp=84}}
Appearances
The first known mention of the Celestial Ferryman is in the Pyramid Texts of the Old Kingdom where he is called Ma-haf and a guard of Osiris, he later Appears in the Coffin Texts of the Middle Kingdom where he is once again called Ma-haf and guards Osiris.
The Celestial Ferryman is first physically depicted in the Book of the Dead of Ani, here he is drawn as a man sitting in a boat with his head facing backward, in accordant with his descriptive name{{harvnb|Wilkinson|2003|pp=104}}
Works cited
- {{cite book | last=Wilkinson | first=Richard H. | author-link=Richard H. Wilkinson | title=The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt | publisher=Thames & Hudson | year=2003 | isbn=0-500-05120-8 | url=https://archive.org/details/completegodsgodd00wilk_0 }}
References
{{Ancient Egyptian religion footer}}