Akhet - The Horizon

Heb Sed - The Royal Jubilee

King Djoser making the run of the South Court.
Imhotep Museum. Photo: author.

Of all the many festivals, local as well as nationwide, there was one which differed quite a bit from the rest. While they all were aimed at the relationship between the gods, the king and the people, the Heb Sed was more directly focussed around the kingship as such and its complete renewal.

Far back in time
The earliest sign comes from an ebony label found in King Den´s tomb at Abydos. The seal depicts the paying of homage to the enthroned king and the claim to territory, two of which were the most important ingredients in the proceedings.

From the 4th Dynasty onwards, there are plenty of evidence all throughout the different time periods that the Heb Sed was celebrated. One of the more remarkable signs of the Heb Sed can be found at the Djoser Step Pyramid complex at Saqqara. To the southwest lies the so called Heb Sed Court wit its remarkable stylized buildings. Those on the west are shaped like the shrine of Upper Egypt and those on the west like the shrine of Lower Egypt.

Also at Saqqara, at the pyramid complex of King Pepi II, have been found remains of reliefs which show the king performing the ritual run which wass an important part of the Heb Sed. At Dahshur a stela found in the enclosure of the Bent Pyramid, King Sneferu is depicted wearing a Heb Sed robe

Karnak has several traces; there is a small Heb Sed temple of Amenhotep II, and in his second or third year of reign, Amenhotep IV celebrated a Heb Sed there. Then there is of course the famous "Festival Temple of Thutmose III", wwhich is very special. If it was connectedd to and Heb Sed celebrations is however unclear.

The Heb Sed court at Saqqara.
Photo: author.

Preparations
Elaborate preparations had to be undertaken once it was decided that a Heb Sed should be celebrated. Sometimes a whole new festival temple was built and dedicated fo the puropse, or a festival hall was constructed on already existing premises. Obelisks were cut at the quarries at Assuan and transported on the Nile, to be set up in front of the temple where the festival took place. One of its courts were dedicateed to be the Court fo the Festival, if no special buildin had been erected for that purpose. The god of this temple was considered the one which the king expected most from, and elaborate gifts and offerings were handed down here. Gods from other temples would travel to the festival, and be housed in special Sed shrines, temporary shrines called Hose ffo the Festival. These were built on the patter of the ancient reed shrines.

Apart from the Court of Festival, there were two more important buildings: the Festival Hall, where the Great Throne stood, and the "Palace" Which the king used to change costume and insignin between the various rituals. He actually lived there during the festival and the place was fitted with bedrooms, bathroom and a throne room.

The city was busy with these preparations long beforehand, with the king recieveing barges with high officials accompanying visiting gods from all over Egypt. Other officials and high dignitaries would also gather in time for the festival to begin. It seems the carried special titles for the occasion but we don´t know if that meant the also had a special function. There was a council of the Great Ones of Upper and Lower Egypt, ten members apparently from the two parts of the country and they at least were present at the rituals. Also the Royal family was taking part.

The Opening
During the five days it lasted, numerous and complicated connetions were made between the god and the king, between the people and the king, and between the land itself and the king. Normally the Heb Sed was celebrated only in the thirtieth year of a king´s reign and it´s whole purpose was to test the king´s ability to rule. In many instances however, the Heb Sed was celebrated already after shorter periods, like ten years, perhaps if there was need of ascertaining the king´s power. Thereafter it was celebrated regularly. The symbols and rituals were often changed depending on the times, circumstances and location of where it was held.

A great procession opened the festival on the first day on the first month of the "Season of Coming Forth" (1Tybi). The statues of the gods were carried by the priesthood and both the king and commoners partook. Already gifts and offerings were presented, not only to give thanks for past loyalty or to secure a good relationship in the future, but also to throw an impresson of prosperity over the future, to show his effectiveness as a regent. In the Court of Festival, the king visits all the shrines where the visiting gods are housed.

Celebrations
There are processions before the throne betwee these shrine visits and this part of the festival seems to take up two or three days with much coming and going with much ancient symbolism. The king recieves many pledges of loyalty. He also heads processions to honor a god or a goddess in the Court of Festival. There are also breaks in which the king retires to the "Palace" to change closthe or insignia or simply to rest. These occasions are as filled with pomp as the other processions. A relief shows the king behind the standard of the Royal Placenta, a choirmaster, a fan-bearer and a door-hinge-bearer being met by a master of ceremonies, a recitation priest and courtiers. The nobles; the "Great Ones of Upper and Lower Egypt" kiss the ground before his feet. Water is poured from a special jar which means "union" and which is used especially for that part of the rites, the Unification of the Two Lands.

Among other prominent gods, there were ceremonies involving Horus of Nekhen, Wepwawet, Sobek, and there were also representatives of the two towns Pe and Dep in the Delta.

And so it goes during these 2-3 days. Processions mix with visits to the shrines, with homage before the king, with him withdrawing to the "Palace". The texts call it sometimes "Assuming the protection of the two lands".

The Dedication of the Field
On one of the three days, the king crossed a piece of land in its length and breadth. First he performed it as Ruler of Lower Egypt, wearing the Red Crown, and then as Ruler of Upper Egypt with the White Crown. He was accompanied by the standard of Wepwawet, carried by a priest of the "Souls of Nekhen". But was it an actual piece of land or was it just an area marked out in a temple court as a symbol of the Two Lands?

By this crossing of the land, the king asserts his power to rule it, and at the same time he dedicates it to the gods. This is the most central theme of all the rituals in the Heb Sed - to renew the social order with the king as ruler.

More ceremonies
More ceremonies which conclude the festival then ensues. Among these there is one where Pharaoh as king ofLower Egypt is carried on a boxlike litter by the "Great Ones of Upper and Lower Egypt" to the chapel of Horus of Libya wher he recieves the was sceptre and the crook and the flail. Then his power is proclaimed. Next Phara oh as king of Upper Egypt is carried on a basket-shaped litter and the procession goes to the two chapels of Horus of Edfu and Seth of Ombos. Here the king is handed a bow and arrow, with which he shoots an arrow in each one of the four directions. Then the processon returns to the Court of the Great Ones where homage is paid to the Royal Ancestors. They haven´t played a great part earlier in the festival but now they do for they are now the Ancestors of not one, individual king, but all kings. Here one can see the link between ruler and ancestors being renewed and the power of kingship confirmed.

As the date of the Heb Sed normally was the same as the one for the coronation, that is, the first of Tybi in the Season on Coming Forth, the last five days of the preceding month Khoiak had seen the celebration of the Osiris mysteries. With the conclusion of the Heb Sed, a long stretch of no less than ten days of festivals, rituals and ceremonies were over.