エジプト中王国時代における供物儀礼の戦略的実践

「王族の器物奉献儀礼」行為とその思想的背景

抄録

In this paper, we examine the possibility that the royal object ritual—a type of funerary ritual deeply connected with the hourly vigil, which is a crucial point of Osirification—was performed strategically in the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. The object friezes on early Middle Kingdom coffins depict the objects offered during this ritual, such as scepters and weapons. These objects have been retrieved especially from late Middle Kingdom tombs as actual burial goods. However, the assemblage of objects and the method of ritual performing remains unclear.

In the first part of this paper, we analyze the object friezes on 83 coffins, which clarifies that certain sets of objects appear on coffins called type 2 and the arrangement of objects in a specific pattern emphasizes offering objects repeatedly to the deceased in the coffin. In the second part, we study several tombs where actual objects associated with the royal object ritual have been found and demonstrate that this ritual performed in the tombs has a similar structure to the type 2 coffins in terms of the assemblage and placement of objects. Finally, we conclude that the royal object ritual was planned to be repeated through the arrangement of the objects although the device changed from the depiction on coffins to the actual burial goods. Unlike the food offering ritual, which was performed repeatedly on the ground after the funeral, the object offering ritual took place only once at the funeral. It is noteworthy that the repetition of the royal object ritual was strategically incorporated into the funeral, which occurred only once, by establishing the structural ritual place. Repeating the royal object ritual implies that the hourly vigil was also repeated, which was believed to achieve the resurrection of the deceased for eternity.