Barks of the gods Sacred boats,

barks of the gods Sacred boats, either in miniature

form or full-size, used as part of ancient Egyptian

religious ceremonies, these vessels were important because

they accentuated the nurturing role of the Nile in

Egyptian life through the centuries. The religious significance

of the barks can be traced to the belief in the

spiritual Nile, which carried the dead to the various

levels of eternal paradise and bliss. The spiritual Nile

led the deceased out of the mortal world if they were

worthy.

RÉ sailed across the heavens on solar barks, using the

MANDET to ascend the sky each morning and the MESEKET

to descend at twilight. He also employed a bark for his

nightly voyage through the TUAT or the Underworld. The

bark of OSIRIS was mentioned in the PYRAMID TEXTS. An

elaborate vessel, this bark had a cabin for a shrine and

was decorated with gold and other precious metals and

stones. In the New Kingdom, the bark of Osiris was

called the neshmet or the KHA’EMHET, and was refurbished

or replaced by each pharaoh. The bark of the god PTAH

was the neb-heh.

AMUN’S bark, called the userhetamun, or the

weseghatamun, “Mighty of Brow Is Amun,” was Egypt’s

most famous ritual boat. Made of cedar wood and about

200 feet in length, the bark was entirely gilded and decorated

with gems. The rams’ heads were fashioned out of

gold. The vessel was replaced or redecorated almost every

year and was used for special Amunite ceremonies in and

around THEBES. A special lake was built for certain rites,

and a temple was designed to house the bark when it was

not in use.

Most barks followed a similar design. They were

fashioned as floating temples, fronted by miniature

obelisks, with flagstaffs and highly ordained cabins,

which served as the sanctuary of the god. The major

deities had barks covered in gold. Other Egyptian deities

sailed in their own barks on feast days, with priests rowing

the vessels on sacred lakes or on the Nile. KHONS’S (1)

bark was called “Brilliant of Brow” in some eras. The god

MIN’S (1) boat was named “Great of Love.” The HENNU

BOAT of SOKAR was kept in MEDINET HABU and was

paraded around the walls of the capital on feast days.

This bark was highly ornamented and esteemed as a cultic

object. The barks could be actual sailing vessels or be

carried on poles in festivals. The gods normally had both

types of barks for different rituals. A fleet of such barks

was discovered in ABYDOS.

Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt