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By
Dr . Cl yde Wi nt er s











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Copyr i ght 2012
Cl yde Wi nt er s












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Dedi cat i on

Thi s book i s dedi cat ed t o my wi f e Susan Di ane Wi nt er s. She
i s t he Love of My Li f e and ever yt hi ng t hat makes l i vi ng i n
t hi s wor l d al l r i ght .



















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Tabl e of Cont ent s Page
Dedi cat i on 5
Chapt er One: The Deci pher ment of Mer oi t i c 7
Chapt er Two: Mer oi t i c Wr i t i ng 39
Chapt er Thr ee: Pr onounci at i on of Mer oi t i c 48
Chapt er Four : Mer oi t i c Nouns 51
Chapt er Fi ve: Pr onouns 69
Chapt er Si x: Mer oi t i c Synt ax 74
Chapt er Seven: Adver bs 78
Chapt er Ei ght : The Ver bs and Af f i xes 81
Chapt er Ni ne: Mor t uar y Pr act i ces 94
Chapt er Ten: Mer oi t i c Rel i gi on 107
Chapt er El even: Egypt i an and Mer oi t i c 121
Chapt er Twel ve Af r i can Languages & Mer oi t i c 126
Chapt er Thi r t een: Mer oi t i c I nscr i pt i ons 132
Chapt er Four t een: Mer oi t i c Text 134
End Not es 151
I ndex 153






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Chapter 1: The Decipherment of Meroitic

Ther e ar e many myst er i es concer ni ng t he Mer oi t es of t he
Mer oi t i c ci vi l i zat i on of Nubi a and t he Sudan. Thi s anci ent
ci vi l i zat i on l ast ed f or hundr eds of year s and has l ef t us
many wonder f ul monument s.
I n addi t i on t o many gr and monument s t he Mer oi t es l ef t us
a wr i t t en l anguage. Al t hough schol ar s had been abl e t o r ead
t he l et t er s of t hi s anci ent Kushi t e wr i t i ng f or many year s
up t o now t he f ul l meani ng of t he Mer oi t i c t ext s had el uded
us.
I n t hi s book we wi l l exami ne t he hi st or y and st r uct ur e
of t he Mer oi t i c l anguage. Thi s l anguage was used t o wr i t e
admi ni st r at i ve and f uner ar y t ext f or over 500 year s. Today
we can r ead t he Mer oi t i c t ext i n t hei r ent i r et y usi ng t he
cognat e l anguage f or Mer oi t i c: Tokhar i an ( Wi nt er s
1984, 1989, 1996a, 1996b, 1996c) .
The peopl e of Mer oe, t he Kushi t es had t hei r own
al phabet of 23 si gns. Thi s was a wonder f ul i mpr ovement over
hi er ogl yphi c wr i t i ng, whi ch was made up of numer ous
i deogr aphi c and phonet i c si gns. Pr i or t o t he i nt r oduct i on
of Mer oi t i c, t he Mer oi t es used Egypt i an hi er ogl yphi cs.

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Fr anci s Ll ewel l yn Gr i f f i t h, an Egypt ol ogi st was abl e t o
deci pher t he Mer oi t i c scr i pt over 60 year s ago. Al t hough
Gr i f f i t h deci pher ed Mer oi t i c, we wer e unabl e t o r ead t hi s
wr i t i ng because we di d not know t he cognat e l anguage.
Cont r over sy has sur r ounded t he or i gi ns of Mer oi t i c.
Mer oi t i st s compar ed Mer oi t i c t o many l anguages over t he year s t o
t r y and f i nd t he cognat e l anguage of Mer oi t i c i n Af r i ca and
Asi a. As a r esul t of t hi s r esear ch schol ar s wor ki ng on Mer oi t i c
ar r i ved at t he concl usi on t hat Mer oi t i c was not an Af r o- Asi at i c
l anguage, t he f ami l y of l anguages spoken i n t he ar ea f or mer l y
occupi ed by t he Mer oi t es .
Gr i f f i t h and B. G. Haycock ( 1973) , t r i ed t o r ead Mer oi t i c
usi ng Nubi an. Pr i ese t r i ed t o r ead East er n Sudani c i n Mer oi t i c;
and Fr . Hi nt ze compar ed Mer oi t i c wi t h t he Ur al Al t ai c l anguages.
Al l of t hese at t empt s t o r ead t he Mer oi t i c t abl et s f ai l ed.
These schol ar s f ai l ed t o f i nd a mat ch bet ween Mer oi t i c and
t he ver nacul ar l anguages of Nubi a and t he Sudan. Thi s made i t
necessar y t o t ur n t o t he hi st or i cal l i t er at ur e concer ni ng t he
Kushi t es t o f or ma new hypot hesi s r el at ed t o possi bl e sour ces of
t he Mer oi t i c l anguage.
The hi st or i cal l i t er at ur e of t he Kushi t es comes f r om
Egypt i an and cl assi cal sour ces. The cl assi cal l i t er at ur e and t he
devel opment of a gr ammar f or Mer oi t i c l ed t o t he hypot hesi s t hat
t he cognat e l anguage of Mer oi t i c was pr obabl y Tokhar i an.

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Wer ner Vyci hl e ( 1957) has pr ovi ded us wi t h many l exi cal
i t ems r el at i ng t o t he Sudanese. The peopl e of Upper Nubi a and
t he Sudan wer e known i n Egypt i an as k-'-s and k-'-s-i . The
Hebr ew peopl e cal l ed t he Kushi t es kus. I n t he cunei f or m
i nscr i pt i ons t he Sudanese wer e cal l ed Kusiya. I n t he Et hi opi c
i nscr i pt i ons of Ezana, t he Kushi t es wer e cal l ed Kashi or Kasu.
I n Sumer i an t he Kushi t es wer e cal l ed Melukha = Kasi and Kasi =
Kush.
The best evi dence f or Mer oi t i c ci vi l i zat i on and hi st or y
comes f r omt he cl assi cal l i t er at ur e. Thi s vi ew i s suppor t ed by
t he f act t hat Lepsi us used t he cl assi cal l i t er at ur e t o f i nd ol d
Mer oe.
Fol l owi ng t he Egypt i an and ot her anci ent peopl es t he
cl assi cal schol ar s cal l ed t he Sudanese: Et hi opi ans or Kushites.
The cl assi cal schol ar s made i t cl ear t hat t he Kushi t es l i ved not
onl y i n Af r i ca but al so Asi a. Homer al l uded t o t he t wo Kushi t e
empi r es when he wr ot e " A r ace di vi ded, whomt he sl opi ng r ays;
t he r i si ng and t he set t i ng sun sur veys" . Her odot us
( L. xi i ; C. l xx. ) sai d t hat t her e wer e t wo Et hi opi as. The Roman
St r abo al so cl ai med t hat t her e wer e t wo Et hi opi as.



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The count r i es of Bact r i a, Af ghani st an, Geor gi a, anci ent
El amand Bel uchi st an wer e al l cal l ed Kush. The Ar meni an
hi st or i ans al ways named t he east er n Par t hi ans Kushan. The peopl e
l i vi ng t her e cal l ed t hemsel ves Kushana, Kuisa or Kua. Thi s was
i nt er est i ng because t he Kushi t es wer e al so cal l ed Kua.
Moses Chor ene ( / Xor enac' i ) i n Pat mut ' i wn Hayoc'
(Venice,1881) cl ai med t hat t he f our di vi si ons of Per si a: Medi a,
El ymai s, Ar i a, and et c. as Kush. Rawl i nson ( ) di scussed t he
uni t y of Et hi opi ans i n Asi a and Af r i ca.
Thi s woul d expl ai n t he st at ement by Phi l ost r at us i n Li f e of
Appol l oni us and J er om, t hat t he Gymnosophi st s of Kush, who
set t l ed near t he sour ce of t he Ni l e, descended f r omt he Br ahmi ns
of I ndi a, havi ng been f or ced t o mi gr at e af t er t he mur der of
t hei r ki ng. The Gymnosophi st s wer e Buddhi st s ( See Appendi x 1) .
Fl avi us Phi l ost r at us, t he wr i t er of t he Vi t a Apol l oni i , Vol .
1, cl ai med t hat t he Gymnosophi st s of Mer oe or i gi nal l y came f r om
I ndi a ( Conybear e, Vol . 1, 1950, p. 45) . Gi ven t he f act t hat t he
Kushana had f or mer l y r ul ed I ndi a ar ound t he t i me t hat t he
Mer oi t i c wr i t i ng was i nt r oduced t o t he Kushi t e ci vi l i zat i on, t o
t he hypot hesi s t hat t he ancest or s of t he Gymnosophi st may have
been Kushana phi l osopher s. The hi st or i cal evi dence of t he
Kushana havi ng r ul ed I ndi a made t he Cl assi cal r ef er ences t o



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I ndi ans i n Mer oe, an i mpor t ant sour ce f or t he const r uct i on of
al t er nat i ve t heor i es about t he possi bl e l ocat i on of t he cognat e
l anguage f or Mer oi t i c.
Ther e was ext er nal evi dence, t hat suppor t ed t hi s t heor y. A
t heor y expl ai ns obser ved phenomena and has pr edi ct i ve power . I
have t heor i zed t hat due t o t he cl ai ms of t he Cl assi cal wr i t er s
t hat some of t he Mer oi t es came f r omI ndi a ( Conybear e, Vol . 1,
1950, p. 271) .



Phi l ost r at us: The Li f e of Apol l oni us of Tyana makes i t cl ear t hat
t he Gymnosophi st l i ved i n Upper Egypt and t he Mer oi t i c Empi r e.



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The Gymnosophi st s wer e Buddhi st s.

Ther e wer e Gymnosophi st communi t i es i n Upper Egypt and t he
Mer oi t i c Sudan. The Gymnosophi st s used Tochar i an and t he
Khar ost hi scr i pt t o wr i t e t hei r scr i pt ur es. Thi s makes i t cl ear
t hat Tochar i an and Khar ost hi wer e i mpor t ant means of
communi cat i on f or t hi s Mer oi t e popul at i on. Tochar i an was
t her ef or e pr obabl y a maj or l anguage i n t he Mer oi t i c Sudan.

The hi st or i cal evi dence makes i t cl ear t hat t her e was pr obabl y
t wo mi gr at i ons of Buddhi st Gymnosophi st s t o Egypt and t he
Mer oi t i c Empi r e. Asoka was a suppor t er of Buddhi sm. Zachar i as P.
Thundy, i n Buddha and Chr i st make i t cl ear t hat t he edi t s of
Asoka ( c. 274- 236 BC) i ndi cat e t hat t hi s r ul er sent mi ssi onar i es
t o Egypt t o pr each t he Buddhi st Dhar ma( pp. 242- 243) .
Thundy mai nt ai ns t hat ar chaeol ogi cal evi dence exi st f or a
communi t y of I ndi an sages l i vi ng i n Memphi s as ear l y as 200 BC
( p. 243) . We know t hat decendent s of t hese mi ssi onar i es wer e st i l l
i n Egypt over t wo hundr ed year s l at er because t hey wer e vi si t ed
by Apol l oni us of Tyana.
Asoka used Khar ost hi t o wr i t e hi s edi t s. The Buddhi st al so used
t hi s wr i t i ng syst emt o r ecor d t hei r scr i pt ur es. Thi s means t hat



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t he Gymnosophi st s woul d have had a l ong t r adi t i on of empl oyi ng
Khar ost hi t o communi cat e t hei r i deas. The Gymnosophi st s wer e
pr obabl y wel l r espect ed by t he Mer oi t es and some Mer oi t es
pr obabl y had knowl edge of Buddhi st t eachi ngs and l i t er acy.
Some Mer oi t es may have pl ayed an i mpor t ant r ol e i n Buddhi st
because Bl emmyae, a pr omi nent gr oup i n t he Mer oi t i c Sudan ar e
ment i oned i n Pal i t ext Ti pi t aka ( see: J DM Der r et t , ( 2002) A
Bl emmya i n I ndi a, Numen 49: 460- 474) . Dr . Der r et t wr ot e t hat i n
ear l y Pal i t ext " wehave a Bl emmya ( an Af r i can) i n f r ont r ank
Buddhi st t ext s of ver y r espect abl e age ( p. 465) . The Buddhi st t ext
wher e Bl emmya wer e ment i oned ar e ver y ol d. The Vi naya pi t aka, i s
dat ed t o t he 4t h cent ur y B. C. E.
I f Bl emmya ar e ment i oned i n Buddhi st s t ext we can be sur e t hat
Mer oi t es wer e not i gnor ant of Khar ost hi . Thi s woul d expl ai n why
many of t he Mer oi t i c symbol s agr ee wi t h Khar ost hi . They agr ee
because some Mer oi t es wer e pr obabl y al r eady l i t er at e i n
Khar ost hi due t o t he i nf l uence of Buddhi smi n t he Mer oi t i c
Empi r e.
Ther e seems t o have been a second mi gr at i on of Buddhi st s t o t he
Mer oi t i c Empi r e many year s af t er Asoka sent mi ssi onar i es t o
Egypt . These mi gr ant s came t o t he Mer oi t i c Empi r e af t er t hei r
ki ng was mur der ed.



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Fl avi us Phi l ost r at us, t he wr i t er of t he Vi t a Apol l oni i , Vol . 1 ,
cl ai med t hat t he Gymnosophi st s of Mer oe or i gi nal l y came f r om
I ndi a ( see F. C. Conybear e, Phi l ost r at us: The Li f e of Apol l oni us
of Tyana( p. 45) , 1950) . Gi ven t he f act t hat t he Kushana had
f or mer l y r ul ed I ndi a ar ound t he t i me t hat t he Mer oi t i c wr i t i ng
was i nt r oduced t o t he Kushi t e ci vi l i zat i on, l ed t o t he
hypot hesi s t hat t he ancest or s of t he Gymnosophi st may have been
Kushana phi l osopher s. The hi st or i cal evi dence of t he Kushana
havi ng r ul ed I ndi a made t he Cl assi cal r ef er ences t o I ndi ans, t he
Gymnosophi st s i n Mer oe, an i mpor t ant sour ce f or t he const r uct i on
of al t er nat i ve t heor i es about t he possi bl e l ocat i on of t he
cognat e l anguage of Mer oi t i c.
Ther e i s ext er nal evi dence, whi ch suppor t s my t heor y. A t heor y
expl ai ns obser ved phenomena and has pr edi ct i ve power . I have
t heor i zed t hat due t o t he cl ai ms of t he Cl assi cal wr i t er s t hat
some of t he Mer oi t es came f r omI ndi a ( F. C Conybear e ( Tr ans. ) ,
Phi l ost r at us: The l i f e of Apol l oni us of Tyana Vol . 2, ( 1950)
pg. 271) . Accor di ng t o t he Li f e of Apol l oni us, t he I ndi an Mer oi t es
wer e f or mer l y l ed by a Ki ng Ganges, who had " r epul sed t he
Scyt hi ans who i nvaded t hi s l and [ I ndi a f r om] acr oss t he
Caucasus" ( Conybear e, Vol . 1, Pg. 273) . Pi l ost r at us al so made i t



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cl ear t hat t he I ndi ans of Mer oe came t o t hi s count r y af t er t hei r
ki ng was ki l l ed.
The pr esence of t hi s t r adi t i on of an I ndi an Ki ng of t he I ndi an-
Mer oi t es conquer i ng t he Scyt hi ans pr edi ct s t hat t he I ndi an
l i t er at ur e shoul d r ecor d t hi s hi st or i cal epi sode. Thi s
pr edi ct i on i s suppor t ed by a J ai na t ext cal l ed t he Kalakeharya-
Kathanaka , whi ch r epor t s t hat when t he Scyt hi ans i nvaded Mal wa,
t he Ki ng of Mal wa, cal l ed Vi kr amadi t ya def eat ed t he Scyt hi ans
( H. Kul ke & D. Rot her mund, Hi st or y of I ndi a( London, Rout l edge:
1990, pg. 73) . Thi s ki ng Vi kr amadi t ya may be t he Ganges ment i oned
i n t he Li f e of Apol l oni us. Conf i r mat i on of t he Ganges
st or y, suppor t s t he Cl assi cal l i t er ar y evi dence t hat t hei r wer e
I ndi ani zed - Mer oi t es t hat coul d have i nt r oduced t he Tochar i an
t r ade l anguage t o t he Mer oi t es.
I n addi t i on t o t he cl assi cal ment i on of t he I ndi ans set t l i ng
Mer o, and Asoka' s edi t sendi ng mi ssi onar i es t o Egypt , we al so
have a hor de of Kushana coi ns t hat wer e f ound on t he f l oor of a
cave at t he pr esent monast er y- shi ne at Debr a Demo i n moder n
Et hi opi a i n 1940.
Mor eover , t her e wer e ot her I ndi ans i n Egypt i n addi t i on
Gymnosophi st / Buddhi st communi t i es i n Upper Egypt and Kush/ Mer oe.
For exampl e, at Qusei r al - Qadi mt her e was a l ar ge I ndi an



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speaki ng communi t y ( see: R. Sal omon, " Epi gr aphi c r emai ns of
I ndi an t r ader s i n Egypt " , J our nal of t he Amer i can or i ent al
Soci et y, ( 1991) pp. 731- 736; and R. Sal omon, Addenda, J our nal of
t he Amer i can Or i ent al Soci et y, ( 1993) pg. 593) . These I ndi ans
wer e i n Egypt wr i t i ng messages i n t hei r own l anguage, ar ound t he
t i me we see a swi t ch f r omEgypt i an hi er ogl yphi cs t o t he Mer oi t i c
wr i t i ng syst em. Al l of t hi s suppor t ed t he t r adi t i ons of t he
Mer oi t es t hat speak of a knowl edge of t he Kushana/ I ndi ans among
t he Mer oi t es.
The evi dence t hat t he Cl assi cal r ef er ences t o an I ndi an- Mer oi t e
Ki ng who conquer ed t he Scyt hi ans i s suppor t ed by t he I ndi an
l i t er at ur e, pr ovi des ext er nal cor r obor at i on of t he t r adi t i on
t hat some of t he Mer oi t es wer e of I ndi an or i gi n.
The pr esence of I ndi an t r ader s and set t l er s i n Mer oe ( and
Egypt ) , makes i t al most i mpossi bl e t o deny t he possi bi l i t y t hat
I ndi ans, f ami l i ar wi t h t he Tokhar i an t r ade l anguagedi d not
i nt r oduce t hi s wr i t i ng t o t he Mer oi t es who needed a neut r al
l anguage t o uni f y t he di ver se et hni c gr oups who made up t he
Mer oi t e st at e. I n r el at i on t o t he hi st or y of l i ngui st i c change
and bi l i ngual i sm, i t i s a mi st ake t o bel i eve t hat l i ngui st i c
t r ansf er had t o t ake pl ace f or t he Mer oi t es t o have used



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Tokhar i an, when i t di d not t ake pl ace when t hey wr ot e i n
Egypt i an hi er ogl yphi cs.
I n summar y t he cl assi cal l i t er at ur e makes i t cl ear t hat t her e
was a connect i on bet ween t he Gymnosophi st s ( of Mer oe) and t he
I ndi ans. The f act t hat hi st or i cal event s ment i oned i n t he
cl assi cal sour ces ar e f ound i n t he I ndi an l i t er at ur e conf i r mt he
vi ew t hat t her e wer e I ndi an- Mer oi t es who coul d have i nt r oduced
t he Tokhar i an t r ade l anguage t o t he Mer oi t es. The f act t hat t he
Nubi ans who wer e pr obabl y not par t of t he" Mer oi t i c st at e" , used
hi er ogl yphi cs and Copt i c t o wr i t e t hei r l anguage wi t hout
abandoni ng t hei r nat i ve l anguage suppor t t he vi ew t hat t he
Mer oi t es coul d have al so used Tokhar i an t o wr i t e Mer oi t i c. And
t hat event hough t he Kushi t es wr ot e Mer oi t i c i nscr i pt i ons i n
Tokhar i an, t heywoul d not have had t o abandon t hei r own l anguage.

My deci pher ment of Mer oi t i c i s based on t he Kushana t heor y. The
Kushana t heor y i s t hat a gr oup of East I ndi an schol ar s
i nt r oduced t he Mer oi t i c wr i t i ng syst emt o t he Mer oi t es. The
Kushana hypot hesi s was based on t he f ol l owi ng evi dence, 1) no
Af r i can l anguage has been f ound t o be a cognat e l anguage of
Mer oi t i c 2) t he Cl assi cal l i t er at ur e says t hat t he Kushi t es



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l i ved i n Asi a and Af r i ca; 3) t he Gymnosophi st s/ Buddhi st s, or
" naked sages" of Mer oe came f r omI ndi a.
Bef or e I began wor k on Mer oi t i c, ot her r esear cher s had al r eady
f al si f i ed t he Af r i can t heor y f or Mer oi t i c' s cognat e l anguage.
Mer oi t i c i s not r el at ed t o l anguages spoken i n t hi s ar ea.
Gr i f f i t h and Haycock t r i ed t o r ead Mer oi t i c usi ng Nubi an and
f ai l ed. K. H. Pr i ese t r i ed t o r ead t he Mer oi t i c t ext usi ng
East er n Sudani ; he al so f ai l ed. The f act t hat not even Nubi an, a
l anguage spoken by a peopl e who wer e engaged i n const ant l y
conf l i ct wi t h t he Mer oi t es , f ai l ed t o be t he cognat e l anguage
of Mer oi t i c made i t cl ear t hat we must l ook el sewher e f or t he
cognat e l anguage spoken by t he Mer oi t es.
The evi dence pr esent ed above pr ovi des i nt er nal and ext er nal
val i di t y f or my t heor y based upon t he sour ces I have ci t ed
pr evi ousl y. The sour ces I have used ar e i mpar t i al , t o di sconf i r m
my hypot hesi s someone needs t o show t hat my pr oposi t i ons ar e not
f ul l y i nf or med[ i . e. , t her e wer e no I ndi ans Nor t h Af r i ca and Kush
when t he Cl assi cal wr i t er s mai nt ai ned t hey wer e] and pr esent
r i val expl anat i ons based on t he evi dence.
The f act t hat t he cl ai ms made by t he Cl assi cal wr i t er s
i ssuppor t ed by t he I ndi ans t hemsel ves i f f ur t her st r ong
conf i r mat i on of t he Kushana hypot hesi s. The hypot hesi s based on



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t he cl assi cal l i t er at ur e, was enough t o suppor t t he or i gi nal
Kushana Hypot hesi s. The pr edi ct i ng power of t he or i gi nal t heor y,
mat ches t he obser ved nat ur al phenomena whi ch was conf i r med
el sewher e by cognat e pl ace names, et hononyms, l exi cal i t ems and
gr ammat i cal f eat ur es, i ndi cat e t hat my t heor y has not be
f al si f i ed.
The abi l i t y t o r el i abl y pr edi ct a l i ngui st i c r el at i onshi p
bet ween Kushana and Mer oi t i c, was f ur t her conf i r mat i on of t he
Kushana Hypot hesi s, because t he l i ngui st i c connect i ons wer e
deduci bl e f r ompr edi ct i on. I cont r ol l ed t he Kushana Hypot hesi s
by compar i ng t he st at ement s of t he cl assi cal wr i t er s, wi t h
hi st or i cal , l i ngui st i c ant hr opol ogi cal and t oponymi c evi dence
f ound not onl y i n Af r i ca, but al so I ndi a and Cent r al Asi a [ wher e
t he peopl e al so used Tokhar i an as a t r ade l anguage t o uni f y t he
var i ous peopl e i n Cent r al Asi a] .
I const r uct ed t hr ee t est abl e hypot heses i n suppor t of t he
Kushana t heor y, and i t seems onl y f ai r t hat t hese var i abl es must
be di sconf i r med, t o f al si f y t he Kushana Hypot hesi s.
Hypot hesi s 1: I f t he mer oi t es used a wr i t i ng syst emof non-
Af r i can or i gi n a t r adi t i on ment i oni ng t hi s f act wi l l exi st .
( Hypot hesi s conf i r med. Cl assi cal l i t er at ur e ment i ons I ndi an
schol ar s i n anci ent Mer oe. )



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Hypot hesi s: 2. I f t he cl assi cal l i t er at ur e ment i ons I ndi ans who
l i ved i n Egypt i nf l uenci ng t he Mer oi t es t hei r shoul d be
hi st or i cal evi dence r el at i ng t o t hi s t r adi t i on. ( Hypot hesi s
conf i r med . Cl assi cal l i t er at ur e ment i ons a Ki ng who l ef t hi s
count r y i s ment i oned i n t he J ai na t ext cal l ed t he Kalakeharya-
Kathanaka. )
Hypot hesi s: 3. I f Cl assi cal l i t er at ur e i s t r ue about t he I ndi an
or i gi n of t he Gymnosophi st s I ndi ans wi l l be f ound l i vi ng near
t he Mer oi t es ar ound t he t i me t he Mer oi t i c i nscr i pt i ons appear .
( Hypot hesi s conf i r med. Ar t i f act s and coi ns wi t h I ndi an
i nscr i pt i ons have been f ound i n Egypt and Et hi opi a. ) Fai l ur e t o
di sconf i r mt hi s t heor em, i mpl i es val i di t y of my pr edi ct i on.
My confirmation of the above , and 1) the presence of Kushites
in Africa and Asia; 2) Asoka sent many Buddhist missionaries to
Egypt who wrote their scriptures in Kharosthi and Tocharian; 3)
a Blemmya--native to the Meroitic empire, is mentioned in
numerous Buddhist Pali text; 4)the presence of Kushana sages in
India who may have migrated to Meroe;5) cognate lexical items;
6)cognate verbs and 7) cognate grammatical features; indicates
systematic controlled, critical and empirical investigation of
the question of Kushana representing the Meroitic cognate
language. As a result of these facts we can now use Tocharian or


21
21

Kushana to read the Meroitic text. The historical evidence make
it clear that the Meroites were probably not strangers to
Kharosthi literacy since the Gymnosophists had been in Upper
Egypt and Meroitic Empires hundreds of years.

The evi dence i s cl ear Tochar i an and Khar ost hi was a popul ar
medi a among Upper Egypt i ans and Mer oi t es. As a r esul t , i t was a
nat i vi zed Mer oi t i c l anguage spoken by a maj or gr oup of Mer oi t es.

Eust at hi us al so sai d t hat t he Kushi t es ( Mer oi t es) came f r om
I ndi a. We can al so be sur e t hat t he Kushan wer e known i n
nor t heast Af r i ca because a hor de of Kushan coi ns wer e f ound i n
t he f l oor of a cave at t he pr esent monast er y- shr i ne at Debr a
Demo i n moder n Et hi opi a i n 1940.
The hi st or i cal evi dence suppor t ed t he vi ew t hat t he Kushi t es
of Mer oe may be r el at ed t o t he Kushana of Asi a. Thi s was a f i ne
hypot hesi s but i t had t o be t est ed.
To t est t hi s hypot hesi s and f i nd mor e i nf or mat i on on how t he
Kushi t es i n Af r i ca may have obt ai ned an Asi an l anguage t o wr i t e
t hei r r el i gi ous and admi ni st r at i ve r ecor ds f or ced us t o r et ur n
t o t he Cl assi cal l i t er at ur e. I n t he Cl assi cal l i t er at ur e



22
22
Her odot us and St r abo cl ai med t hat t he Egypt i ans had set t l ed
Et hi opi ans i n Asi a.
The Roman St r abo, i n hi s Geogr aphy, sai d, " Egypt i ans set t l ed
i n Et hi opi a and i n Col choi " . Ammi anus Mar cel l i nus, who l i ved i n
t he f i r st cent ur y AD, wr ot e t hat " Beyond t hese l ands ar e t he
hear t l ands of t he Camar i t ae and t he Phasi s wi t h i t s swi f t er
st r eams bor der s t he count r y of t he Col choi , an anci ent r ace of
Egypt i an or i gi n" .
Mar t i n Ber nal , i n Bl ack At hena ( 1991) made i t evi dent
t hat t he Col chi s wer e bl acks ( pp. 251- 255) . He makes i t cl ear
t hat t he name Col chi s < Kol chi s may have come f r omt he Egypt i an
name f or Upper Nubi a dur i ng t he Mi ddl e Ki ngdom( p. 253) .
I f t he Col chi s came f r omKush, we woul d t hen be abl e t o
expl ai n why t he anci ent schol ar s cal l ed much of Asi a Kush, and
t he peopl e l i vi ng t her e cal l ed t hemsel ves Kushi t es. Thi s al so
gave us t he pr oper t heor et i cal st r uct ur e t o deci pher / t r ansl at e
Mer oi t i c, i . e. , t he Kushana l anguage was possi bl y r el at ed t o
Mer oi t i c.
LI NGUI STI C SUPPORT
Once we had est abl i shed a possi bl e hi st or i cal r el at i onshi p
bet ween t he Kushana who pr obabl y used Tokhar i an t o wr i t e t hei r
l anguage i n Kar ost hi and Br ahmi si gns, and t he Kushi t es of



23
23
Mer oe. We next had t o det er mi ne i f a l i ngui st i c r el at i onshi p
exi st ed bet ween Tokhar i an and Mer oi t i c.
Usi ng t he compar at i ve met hod r ecommended by Dr . Ant a Di op,
I was abl e t o di scover t hat Tokhar i an i s cognat e t o Mer oi t i c.
Thi s l ed t o t he f ul l deci pher ment of t he Mer oi t i c scr i pt . We can
now r ead Mer oi t i c usi ng Tokhar i an ( Wi ndekens 1941, 1979) .
Maur i ce Pope i n THE STORY OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL
DECIPHERMENT, has made i t cl ear t hat bef or e an unknown l anguage
can be deci pher ed you must have t he r i ght t heor et i cal st r uct ur e
t o base your i nqui r y upon ( p. 191) . Pope ( 1975) f ound t hat i n
t he hi st or i cal deci pher ment s of anci ent l anguages t hr ee
pr el i mi nar y condi t i ons must be met :
1) conf i dence t hat a scr i pt can be deci pher ed;
2) l ocat i on of pr oper names must be det er mi ned;
3) t he gr ammat i cal r ul es of t he t ar get l anguage/
scr i pt must be f ound ( pp. 186- 187) .
We wer e abl e t o f ul l y deci pher and r ead Mer oi t i c because
t hese pr el i mi nar y condi t i ons wer e met , and we wer e abl e t o
devel op new hypot hesi s based on hi st or i cal evi dence t o det er mi ne
t he cognat e l anguage of Mer oi t i c. Gr i f f i t h when he deci pher ed
t he Mer oi t i c scr i pt i n 1910, and hi s di scover y of t he pr oper
names of t he Mer oi t i c gods and i ndi vi dual s i n Mer oi t i c t ext met



24
24
Pope s ( 1975) condi t i ons number one and t wo. Gr i f f i t h al so
di scover ed t he di r ect i on t he Mer oi t i c wr i t i ng was wr i t t en.
Recogni t i on by Gr i f f i t h of t he sol ubi l i t y of t he Mer oi t i c
t ext was r ei nf or ced i n 1978, wi t h publ i cat i on of UNESCO' s The
Peopl i ng of Anci ent Egypt and t he Deci pher ment of t he Mer oi t i c
Scr i pt . Thi s was an i mpor t ant publ i cat i on because i t pr ovi ded
r esear cher s wi t h up- t o- dat e i nf or mat i on on t he st at us of
Mer oi t i c.
Condi t i on number t hr ee f or t he deci pher ment of Mer oi t i c was
met i n 1979 when Fr i t z Hi nt ze publ i shed hi s Bei t r age zur
mer oi t i schen Gr ammat i k . The r esear ch of F. Hi nt ze ( 1979) and
I . Hof f mann ( 1981) have made i t possi bl e f or us t o f i nd t he
cognat e l anguage of Mer oi t i c: Tokhar i an ( Wi nt er s 1984 , 1989) .
The wor k of Gr i f f i t h and Hi nt ze f ul f i l l ed al l t he r equi r ement s
f or t he deci pher ment of t he Mer oi t i c wr i t i ng.
The cl assi cal l i t er at ur e suppor t ed t he vi ew t hat we mi ght
be abl e t o f i nd t he Mer oi t i c cognat e l anguage t hr ough a
compar i son of t he Mer oi t i c t er ms and Kushan l exi cal i t ems. To
t est t he Kushana hypot hesi s we had t o t hen:
1) f i nd agr eement bet ween Kushana and Mer oi t i c t er ms;
2) compar e Cent r al Asi an and Egypt o- Sudanese
t oponomi es;



25
25
3) compar e Kushana and Mer oi t i c gr ammat i cal f or ms.
I n r ecent year s r esear cher s wer e abl e t o devel op a gr ammar
of Mer oi t i c, wi t hout bei ng abl e t o r ead Mer oi t i c. The r esear ch
of Hi nt ze ( 1979) and Hof f man ( 1981) made i t possi bl e f or us t o
f i nd t he cognat e l anguage of Mer oi t i c: Tokhar i an ( Wi nt er s 1984
, 1989) .
Hi nt ze ( 1979) gr ammar of Mer oi t i c pr ovi ded t he necessar y
mat er i al t o compar e Mer oi t i c wi t h ot her l anguages t o f i nd i t s
cognat e l anguage. Hi nt ze ( 1979) r ecogni zed t hr ee appr oaches t o
t he st udy of Mer oi t i c: 1) phi l ol ogi cal , 2) compar at i ve, and 3)
st r uct ur al ( i . e. , t he mor phol ogi cal - synt act i cal ) . The
phi l ol ogi cal met hods of Hi nt ze ( 1979) wer e i nf or med guesses
based upon cont ext .

I n t he compar at i ve met hod t he st r uct ur es of t wo or mor e
l anguages ar e compar ed t o det er mi ne t he r el at i onshi p bet ween
l anguages. Hi nt ze' s ( 1979) di scussi on of t he Mer oi t i c af f i xes
pr ovi ded us wi t h t he l i ngui st i c mat er i al t o compar e Mer oi t i c
successf ul l y wi t h Tochar i an. Li ngui st t o det er mi ne t he
r el at edness of l anguages, and t o r econst r uct ear l i er l anguage
st at es uses t he compar at i ve met hod.



26
26
The compar at i ve l i ngui st l ooks f or pat t er ns of
cor r espondence, i . e. , t he i sol at i on of wor ds wi t h common or
si mi l ar meani ngs t hat have syst emat i c consonant al agr eement wi t h
l i t t l e r egar d f or l ocat i on and/ or t ype of vowel . Consonant al
agr eement i s t he r egul ar appear ance of consonant s at cer t ai n
l ocat i ons i n wor ds havi ng anal ogous meani ngs.
Usi ng t he compar at i ve met hods pr oposed by Hi nt ze we have
f ound t hat t he Mer oi t i c i nscr i pt i ons ar e wr i t t en i n Tochar i an, a
l anguage used as a l i ngua f r anca i n Cent r al Asi a by t he Kushana
or Kush peopl e. The Kushana peopl e r ul ed Cent r al Asi a and
I ndi a. Li ngui st pr ef er s t o cal l t he Kushana l anguage Tochar i an,
af t er t he Sanskr i t t er mf or Kushana: Tu- kar a. ( Wi nt er s 1984,
1989, 1996a, 1996b) .
Ther e i s st r uct ur al , mor phol ogi cal and t oponymi c evi dence
whi ch suppor t t he vi ew t hat Tokhar i an i s cognat e t o Mer oi t i c
( Wi nt er s 1984, 1989) . Ther e ar e many Cent r al Asi an pl ace names
t hat agr ee wi t h t oponomi es i n Nubi a/ Sudan. Bel ow we l i st a f ew
of t hese common t oponomi es:
Cent r al Asi a Sudan
Pap Pap
Kar nak Kar nak
Kukushka Kur ush



27
27
Shaur Sar ur
Kandi Kandi
Ur ban Bor gan
Khar a Kar a-
Kupur i Gabur , Capur
These pl ace names can be compar ed wi t h t he maps of Cent r al Asi a
and t he Sudan suppl i ed publ i shed by Dr . Vamos- Tot h Bat or i n hi s
Tamana st udi es .
My deci pher ment of Mer oi t i c i ndi cat es t hat many t er ms
al l eged t o be Mer oi t i c by Gr i f f i t h and ot her s must be di scar ded.
I amf or ced t o i gnor e t he pr oposed meani ng f or some pr oposed
Mer oi t i c l exi cal i t ems because t hey do not agr ee wi t h my
r esear ch i nt o Mer oi t i c. But I accept some of t he al l eged
Mer oi t i c t er ms as bei ng ver i f i ed by my deci pher ment bot h due t o
t hei r Egypt i an or i gi n, or af f i ni t y t o Tokhar i an t er ms.
I t must be r emember ed t hat most of t he al l eged Mer oi t i c
l exi cal i t ems wer e si mpl y guesses by t he r esear cher s. These
t er ms become val i d onl y when t hey can be r ead i n al l t he
Mer oi t i c t ext and have consi st ent meani ng. I f ound t hat some of
t hese t er ms ar e homonyms, whi l e ot her t er ms " di scover ed " by
Gr i f f i t h and ot her s wer e good guesses t hat do not pr ove val i d
gi ven our di scover y of t he cognat e l anguage of Mer oi t i c.



28
28
Ther e ar e sever al r ecogni zed Mer oi t i c wor ds ( Hi nt ze 1979) .
The f ol l owi ng wor ds cor r espond t o Tokhar i an wor ds:
Mer oi t i c Tokhar i an
0 kadke / ktke # queen 0 katak # mast er of t he house
0 ato # wat er 0 ap #
0 s # ' r ace' 0 sah # ' man'
0 wide # yout h 0 wir #
0 qor # monar ch 0 oroce # ' t he gr and ki ng'
0 parite # agent 0 parwe # ' f i r st '
0 apote # ' envoy' 0 ap # ' f at her '
I t i s obvi ous t hat apote and parite do not r el at e t o Tokhar i an
because t hese ar e Egypt i an l oan wor ds adopt ed by t he Mer oi t es.
But ar ound 57%of t hese t er ms show agr eement . Thi s made i t
hi ghl y pr obabl e t hat Mer oi t i c and Tokhar i an wer e cognat e
l anguages.
The gr ammar of Mer oi t i c det er mi ned by Hi nt ze ( 1979) al l owed
us t o al so make compar i sons wi t h Tochar i an t o t est t he Kushana
hypot hesi s f or r eadi ng Mer oi t i c. Thi s compar i son of gr ammat i cal
st r uct ur es showed cogni t i on bet ween t hi s l anguage and Mer oi t i c.
Hi nt ze was sur e t hat t her e wer e a number of Mer oi t i c af f i xes
i ncl udi ng:
p


29
ye
-te
-to
-o
B. G. Tr i gger i n hi s " Comment ar y" ( Hi nt ze 1979)
ment i oned sever al ot her possi bl e Mer oi t i c af f i xes
i ncl udi ng:
-n
-te
-b
I n addi t i on , A. M. Abdal l a i n hi s " Comment ar y" ( Hi nt ze
1979) ment i oned t hr ee possi bl e ver bal suf f i xes , i ncl udi ng:
-
-t
-y
These al l eged Mer oi t i c gr ammat i cal el ement s encour aged me
t o seek out a l anguage t hat cont ai ned t hese t ypol ogi cal
f eat ur es as t he possi bl e cognat e l anguage f or Mer oi t i c. The
Kushana l anguage i ncl udes al l of t hese af f i xes.

Resear cher s wor ki ng on Mer oi t i c det er mi ned sever al
possi bl e pr ef i xes: p, p- s and y. I n Tokhar i an we f i nd t hese
pr ef i xes: p( ) , t he i mper f ect pr ef i x and i mper at i ve, y- t he
29


30
Tokhar i an el ement j oi ned t o demonst r at i ves, and yopsa i n
bet ween .
Ther e ar e ot her af f i xes t hat r el at e t o t he Mer oi t i c
suf f i xes i ncl udi ng t e, t he demonst r at i ve t hi s, et c. ; - o,
t he suf f i x used t o change nouns i nt o adj ect i ves. For
exampl e: aiame knowl edge , asimo knowi ng; klyom
nobi l i t y , klyomo nobl e .
Ot her Tokhar i an af f i xes, whi ch agr ee wi t h Mer oi t i c,
i ncl ude t e and - l . The Tokhar i an l ocat i ve suf f i x i s t e.
The endi ng par t i cl e i n Tokhar i an i s l .
The Mer oi t i c t , cor r esponds t o t he t you . I n
Tokhar i an t he pr onouns ar e pl aced at t he end of wor ds: nas-
a- m I am , t r k- s he says , t r k- t you say . The t
el ement i n Tokhar i an can al so be used t o r epr esent t he
t hi r d per son si ngul ar e. g. , kl pa- t he f ound .
The p- , el ement used t o f or mt he i mper at i ve i n
Tokhar i an and i mper f ect
i
. Thi s af f i x i s used i n bot h
Tokhar i an A and B. For exampl e,
Tokh. A kl yos " t o hear , t o l i st en"
p( a) kl yos " You l i st en"
p( a) kl yossu " s/ he l i st ens"
Tokh. B kl yaus
p( a) kl yaus ' you l i st en"
30


31
A. t a, t as, " t o l ay, t o put "
pt as ' you l ay'
B. t es, t as ' t o put , t o l ay'
pt es ' you put '
The Tokhar i an - n- , has many uses i n Tokhar i an. I t can be
used t o f or mt he subj unct i ve, e. g. , yam' t o do' , yaman
' s/ he do( es) . I t i s al so used t o f or mt he pl ur al
se ' son' , pl . sewan ' sons;
ri ' ci t y' , pl . r i n ' ci t i es' .
The pl ur al i n Tokhar i an i s f or med by t he . For exampl e,
ar e pl ough , pl . ar e pl oughs
r i ci t y , pl . r i ci t i es.
Recogni t i on of anal ogous st r uct ur al el ement s i n
r el at i on t o Kushana and Mer oi t i c al l owed us t o di vi de t he
Mer oi t i c phonemes i nt o wor ds.
Gr i f f i t h pr ovi ded us wi t h evi dence f or sel ect ed
Mer oi t i c nouns. Abdal l a ( Hi nt ze 1979, 149) was sur e t hat he
det ect ed sever al common ver bs i n Mer oi t i c i ncl udi ng: hr,
the, tk, we, pl, do, mde and yi mde.
Fol l owi ng t hi s l ead we sear ched t he Kushan l anguage t o
det er mi ne i f i t possessed any ver bs t hat mi ght mat ch t he
pr oposed hypot het i cal ver bs of Abdal l a. A compar i son of
Kushan and Mer oi t i c pr oved t o be successf ul . We now know
t hat he was absol ut el y r i ght about hi s i nt er pr et at i on of
31


32
possi bl e Mer oi t i c ver bs. Bel ow i s t he i nt er pr et at i on of
t hese Mer oi t i c ver bs:
hr t o have di gni t y
the t o move
tk t o set i n mot i on, t o i nvest i gat e
w-e t o gi ve escor t
pl t o boast , t o pr ai se
m-de measur e t he of f er i ng
y i m-de go make ( f ul l ) measur e of t he of f er i ng
Recogni t i on of t hese Mer oi t i c t er ms as ver bs gave us even
mor e conf i r mat i on t hat Kushana was pr obabl y t he Mer oi t i c
cognat e l anguage. Thi s di scover y of Mer oi t i c ver bs and
nouns, and cognat e t oponomi es i n Cent r al Asi a and Upper -
Nubi a- Sudan pr oved t hat Mer oi t i c coul d pr obabl y be r ead
usi ng Kushana l exi cal i t ems.
The di scover y t hat Tokhar i an i s cognat e t o Mer oi t i c has
l ed t o t he f ul l deci pher ment of t he Mer oi t i c scr i pt . We can
now t r ansl at e Mer oi t i c usi ng Tokhar i an. Thi s al l ows us t o
obt ai n new i nf or mat i on about t he Mer oi t i c ci vi l i zat i on.
My r esear ch i nt o Kushana or Tokhar i an has l ed me t o
r ecogni ze t hat t hi s l anguage was pr obabl y used as a l i ngua
f r anca or t r ade l anguage i n Cent r al Asi a by t he di ver se
peopl es l i vi ng t her e i n an i nt ense bi l i ngual envi r onment
( Wi nt er s 1996a, 1996b) .
32


33
C. A. Wi nt er s ( 1991) has i l l ust r at ed how t he Gr eek and
Sl avi c t er ms i n Tokhar i an wer e l oanwor ds, absor bed by
Tokhar i an af t er t he Gr eek conquest of Bact r i a. Thi s
bor r owi ng pat t er n was consi st ent wi t h t he spr ead of t he
Gr eek l anguage i nt o Bact r i a by a smal l el i t e gr oup of
war r i or s.
I n summar y t he Cl assi cal and Egypt i an sour ces make i t
cl ear t hat Upper Nubi a and numer ous t r i bes i nhabi t ed t he
Sudan. The possi bl e ear l y use of Kushan\ Tokhar i an as a
t r ade l anguage, made i t an i deal candi dat e f or use by t he
Mer oi t i c el i t es who r ul ed an empi r e t hat was made up of
many di ver se et hni c gr oups as t he l anguage f or l i t er at e
Mer oi t es.
I t i s no secr et t hat t he Mer oi t i c Empi r e was a
mul t i et hni c, mul t i l i ngual and mul t i cul t ur al soci et y. I n
t hi s het er ogeneous soci et y each communi t y of Mer oi t es i n
t he Mer oi t i c Empi r e woul d have spoken t hei r own nat i ve
l anguage i n t hei r own communal set t i ng. The exi st ence of
ver nacul ar l anguages i n di f f er ent communal set t i ngs wi t hi n
Mer oi t i c Empi r e, pr obabl y not onl y gave each l anguage
spoken by t he mul t i cul t ur al and mul t i et hni c Mer oi t es equal
pr est i ge, i t al so al l owed t he ver nacul ar l anguage t o mar k
t he separ at e i dent i t y of each Mer oi t e gr oup.
33


34
Gi ven t he pr obabl e f ear of t he mul t i cul t ur al and
mul t i l i ngual Mer oi t es of cul t ur al hegemony of one gr oup
over t he ot her s made t he i nt r oduct i on of t he Mer oi t i c/
Tokhar i an as a r egi onal l anguage f or admi ni st r at i ve,
school i ng and r el i gi ous pur poses an i deal l anguage f or t he
Mer oi t i c r egi me si nce i t mai nt ai ned r egi onal neut r al i t y.
Egypt i an may have l oss i t s use as a neut r al
super egi onal l anguage f or t he Mer oi t es af t er t he Egypt i an
r ebel l i on, whi ch I bel i eve you ment i oned i n an ear l i er post
t hat l ed t o t housands of Egypt i ans set t l i ng i n Kush. Thi s
mi gr at i on of Egypt i ans woul d have gi ven t he Egypt i an
pol i t i cal and cul t ur al hegemony over t he non- Egypt i an
speaki ng Mer oi t es.
After the Assyrians conquered the Egyptians there has
been a slow replacement of ancient Egyptians by Middle
Eastern and Western European peoples.
Begi nni ng wi t h t he Assyr i an def eat of t he Twent y- Fi f t h
Dynast y l ar ge number of nomadi c peopl e f r omt he Mi ddl e
East began t o mi gr at e i nt o Egypt . These peopl e began t o
t ake over many Egypt i an set t l ement s, whi l e ot her Egypt i ans
f l ed t o Nubi a and Kush t o avoi d non- Egypt i an r ul e.
Ot her anci ent Egypt i an caused pol i t i cal and mi l i t ar y
conf l i ct s t hat l ed many Egypt i ans t o mi gr at e out of Egypt
i nt o Nubi a and Kush. Her odot us ment i ons t he mut i ny of
34


35
Psamt i k I s f r ont i er gar r i son at El ephant i net hese
deer t er s moved i nt o Kush. Mor eover , t he ar chai zi ng t r end i n
Kush among t he post Twent y- Fi f t h Dynast y Ki ngs t est f y t o a
possi bl e l ar ge mi gr at i on of Egypt i ans i nt o Kush.
I n 343 BC Nect anebos I I , f l ed t o Upper Egypt . Lat er
accor di ng t o t he Nat asen per i od st el a we evi dence of ot her
Egypt i ans mi gr at i ng i nt o Kush f r omEgypt ( Tor ok, 1997,
p. 391) .
Bet ween t he 260 s- 270 s BC Upper Egypt i an Nat i onal i st s
wer e f i ght i ng t he Pt ol emy ( Gr eek) r ul er s of Egypt . The
r ebel l i on was put down by Pt ol emy I I . Thi s mi l i t ar y act i on
l ed t o Egypt i ans mi gr at i ng out of Egypt i nt o Kush ( Tor ok,
pp. 395- 396) . These r ebel l i ons cont i nued i n Egypt i nt o t he
2
nd
Cent ur y BC ( Tor ok, p. 426) .
Bet ween Pt ol omy I I and Pt ol emy V, t he Gr eeks began t o
set t l e Egypt . Thi s was especi al l y t r ue i n t he 150 sBC and
l ed t o many Egypt i ans mi gr at i ng back i nt o Egypt .
By t he t i me t he Romans ent er ed Egypt , many Egypt i ans
had al r eady l ef t Egypt and set t l ed. Roman pol i t i cs al so
f or ced many Egypt i ans t o mi gr at e i nt o Kush. Thi s was
compounded by t he i nt r oduct i on of t he Pax Agust a pol i cy of
t he Romans whi ch sought t he est abl i shment of Roman
hegemony wi t hi n t er r i t or i es under Roman r ul e ( Tor ok, 454-
456) . Thi s l ed t o t he emi gr at i on of many Romans i nt o Egypt .
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36
The Kush was a mul t i - et hni c soci et y. I t i ncl uded
speaker s of many l anguages wi t hi n t he empi r e. Dur i ng most
of Kushi t e hi st or y t he el i t es used Egypt i an f or r ecor d
keepi ng si nce i t was r ecogni zed as a neut r al l anguage.
As mor e and mor e Egypt i ans, l ed by Egypt i an
nat i onal i st s, f l ed t o Kush as i t became under f or ei gn
domi nant i on t he Egypt i ans f or med a l ar ge mi nor i t y i n t he
Empi r e. Because of Egypt i an mi gr at i ons t o Kush, by t he
r ul e of t he Mer oi t i c Queen Shanakdakhet o, we f i nd t he
Egypt i an l anguage abandoned as a medi umof exchange i n
of f i ci al r ecor ds, and t he Mer oi t i c scr i pt t akes i t s pl ace.
By t he r i se of Gr eeks i n Egypt , t he cul t ur al i deol ogy ,
l i ke t he peopl e wer e changi ng. Thi s i s suppor t ed by t he
t r ansi t i on f r omDemot i c wr i t i ng ( 7
t h
5
t h
Cent ur i es BC) t o
Copt i c ( 4
t h
BC- AD 1400) . The Copt i c peopl e ar e t he best
evi dence f or t he change i n t he Egypt i an popul at i on.
The set t l i ng of l ar ge number s of Egypt i an speaker s i n
Kush pr obabl y had a si mi l ar ef f ect on t he choi ce of
Tokhar i an as a r egi onal l anguage i n t he Mer oi t i c Empi r e, as
t he choi ce of Engl i sh i n cont empor ar y I ndi a. Dur i ng
col oni al i sm, I ndi ans i n al l par t s of I ndi a l ear ned Hi ndi ,
as a way of demonst r at i ng t hei r ant i - col oni al i sm. Af t er
i ndependence, t he Dr avi di ans f el t t hat t he mor e numer ous
Hi ndi speaker s i n t he nor t h mi ght gai n pol i t i cal and
36


37
cul t ur al hegemony over t he ot her I ndi an gr oups, so t hey
deci ded on Engl i sh as a neut r al l anguage.
A si mi l ar si t uat i on occur r ed i n anci ent I ndi a. Due t o
r el i gi ous di ver si t y i n I ndi a t he member s of var i ous
r el i gi ous gr oups i n I ndi a, e. g. , Buddhi smand J ai ni st wr ot e
i n di f f er ent f or ms of Pr akr i t t o show t hei r r el i gi ous
l oyal t y. As a r esul t , t o uni f y t he i nt el l i gent si a, I ndi ans
began t o wr i t e i n Sanskr i t as an i deal al t er nat i ve t o t he
var i ous Pr akr i t s.
Some of t he Kushana Gymnosophi st s/ Buddhi st s pr obabl y
had set t l ed i n Kush pr i or t o t he mur der of t hei r Ki ng. Thi s
woul d have gi ven t he Kushana- Gymnosophi st s t he necessar y
t i me t o gar ner pr est i ge and r espect among t he Mer oi t es t o
have encour aged t he But ana r ul er s t o ask t hemt o t each t he
Mer oi t es Tokhar i ans, as t hei r nat i onal l anguage.
I n concl usi on, Soci ol i ngui st i c condi t i ons i n t he
Mer oi t i c Empi r e af t er t he set t l ement of l ar ge number s of
Egypt i ans i n t he Mer oi t i c Empi r e pr obabl y encour aged t he
r i se of Tokhar i an as t he nat i onal l anguage of t he
mul t i l i ngual and mul t i cul t ur al Empi r e. Use of Tokhar i an as
a nat i onal l anguage was pr obabl y an i deal al t er nat i ve t o
Egypt i an, af t er l ar ge number s of Egypt i an speaker s set t l ed
Kush dur i ng Napa t an t i mes. Adopt i on of Tokhar i an as t he
nat i onal l anguage of t he Mer oi t i c Empi r e pr obabl y hel ped
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38
pr event pol i t i cal and cul t ur al hegemony of t he Egypt i an
speaki ng Mer oi t es over t he non- Egypt i an speaki ng Mer oi t es.
The Mer oi t es spoke di f f er ent l anguages. As a r esul t ,
any l anguage t hat was used as t he nat i onal l anguage woul d
have had t o have been l ear nt by speaker s of t he var i ous
ver nacul ar speech communi t i es.



































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39




Chapter 2 : Meroitic Writing
Mer oi t i c was a l i ngua f r anca. Mer oi t i c wr i t i ng i s a
common f eat ur e of Mer oi t i c gr aves and Templ es. Thi s wr i t i ng
i s wr i t t en on of f er i ng t abl es and st el ea associ at ed wi t h
t he gr aves of Mer oi t e el i t es and Templ es.

(ch)
ne

Exercise. Wr i t e each l et t er of t he Mer oi t i c cur si ve scr i pt
on a sheet of paper as many t i mes as i t t akes t o l ear n how
t o wr i t e each l et t er of t he Mer oi t i c scr i pt
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40
The Kushi t es used t he Egypt i an l anguage as t he of f i ci al
and r el i gi ous l anguage of t he Empi r e f r omt he 8
t h
t o t he 2
nd

cent ur y BC. Dur i ng t he mi d- 1
st
cent ur y AD, Queen Amani t or e
and pr i nce Ar i kankhar or shor t l y r evi ved t he use of
Egypt i an i n Mer oi t i c i nscr i pt i ons.
Some researchers argue that the Meroites did not adopt the writing system of the
Kushana/Tokharian people which was Kharosthi. Although this is their opinion a comparison of
the Meroitic and Kharosthi symbols make it clear that both writing systems share many cognate
signs.


Meroitic Script

Comparison Kharosthi and Meroitic Writing
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41

Kharosthi Script


41


42

Any student of Egyptian writing knows that whereas hieratic is based on Egyptian hieroglyphics,
demotic has no relationship to Egyptian hieroglyphics. Let's look at what Antonio Loprieno, says
about demotic in his book Ancient Egyptian: A linguistic introduction:

"Demotic (seventh century BCE, to fifth century CE), the language of administration and
literature during the Late Period. While grammatically closely akin to Late Egyptian, it differs
from it radically in its graphic system" (p.7)."Hieratic (2600BEC to third century CE) represents
a direct cursive rendering....Demotic (seventh century BCE to fifth century CE) modifies
radically the writing conventions by introducing a shorthand-like simplification of Hieratic
signs....It should be noted that the concersion from Demotic into hieroglyphs is a purely
artificial exercise of modern scholars and was never practiced in antiquity" (p.18)."Unlike
Hieratic, whose sign groups mirror the shape of the original hieroglyphs rather closely, Demotic
signs break away from this tradition and adopt a relatively small set and stylied, conventional
forms, in which the connection to the hierglyphic counterpart is hardly perceivable and which
therefore more likely to be used in purely phonetic function....While the demotic system was
neither syllabic nor alphabetical, and precisely because the limited number of shapes it used to
represent the language required a high degree of professional training on the part of the Late
Period scribes...." (pp.22-23).

These quotes make it clear that if the Meroites could learn to write demotic which was different
from hiractic and hieroglyphics, it would not have been hard for them to learn to use Kharosthi to
write Kushana/Tokharian.


42


43
Let's not forget that Welsby in The Kingdom of Kush, notes that "only four of the letters
resemble the equivalent Egyptian demotic signs" (p.193) But as you can see from the above there
are more than four demotic signs that match Meroitic, and even more of these signs match
Kharosthi.
The Tokharian language was written in Kharosthi script. This script was used to write the
Gandhararan Buddist Text. According to Glass (2000) the Kharosthi script appears fully
developed in the Asokan inscriptions of Shahbazgarhi and Mansehra. These inscriptions date
back to 3rd Century BC (Glass, 2000 p.20). It continued to be used in Gandhara, Kushan and
Sogdian.

Glass provides evidence that Kharosthi writing dates back to the first Brahmi inscriptions of India
(Glass, 2000 pp.20-21). The fact the writing was used in India by Asoka to produce the rock edicts
(Glass, 2000) , demonstrates that Khasrothi was in use long before the introduction of the
Meroitic script to Kush.

The Meroitic script resembles many Khaorsthi signs. Some researchers argue that the Meroites
did not adopt the writing system of the Kushana/Tokharian people which was Kharosthi.
Although this is their opinion a comparison of the Meroitic and Kharosthi symbols make it clear
that both writing systems share many cognate signs.

Aubin (2003) did a comparison of Meroitic and Kharothi and discovered that 34 out of 42 signs
or 81% matched.



Figure 1 : Aubin (2003) Comparison of Meroitic and Kharosthi Signs

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44


Since Tokharian was written is Kharosthi the cognition between Kharosthi and Meroitic is quite
interesting and shows some connection between these scripts. It also offers additional support to
the Tocharian origin of Meroitic writing given the analogy between the signs.

Let's not forget that Welsby in The Kingdom of Kush, notes that "only four of the [Meroitic]
letters resemble the equivalent Egyptian demotic signs" (p.193) But as you can see from the above
there are more than four Kharosthi signs that match Meroitic, and even more of these signs match
Kharosthi.

The summary , Kharosthi script dates back to the 3rd Century BC. It was used to write Tokharian
inscriptions. This makes it clear that Kharosthi was in use long before the Meroitic script was
created.

Meroitic was a li ngua franca that allowed the diverse people of the Meroitic Empire to
communicate in a common language. I have never argued that the Kushites abandoned their
native language or that Meroitic was spoken anywhere except in the Meroitic Sudan.
The Kushites. never wrote their inscriptions in a Kushite language. They used li ngua francas to
unite the diverse speakers in the Napatan and Meroitic civilizations first Egyptian and later
Meroitic.

This is supported by the abundance of Kushite documents written in Egyptian before the
introduction of Meroitic.The Napatans and Meroites wrote their inscriptions in Egyptian until the
Egyptians became a sizable minority in the Meroitic Empire.

The Kushites had a tradition of using a non-Kushite language to record their administrative and
political religious activities due to the numerous and diverse subjects from different tribes they
ruled. Since the Meroitic and Napatan documents were written in Egyptian there is no lexical
evidence of the languages spoken by the Kushites and other groups in the inscriptions left by
these people.

In conclusion, it is clear from this review that Tokharian is the cognate language to Meroitic. It
has been explained that Tokharian was probably a trade language and it was adopted by the
Meroites to serve as a means of communicationa lingua franca-- for the diverse populations
living in the Meroitic empire.
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45

The ability to reliably predict a linguistic relationship between Kushana and Meroitic, was further
confirmation of the Kushana Hypothesis, because the linguistic connections were deducible from
prediction. I controlled the Kushana Hypothesis by comparing the statements of the classical
writers, with historical, linguistic anthropological and toponymic evidence found not only in
Africa, but also India and Central Asia
The peopl e of Mer oe, t he Kushi t es had t hei r own al phabet
of 23 si gns. Thi s was a wonder f ul i mpr ovement over
hi er ogl yphi c wr i t i ng t hat was made up of numer ous i deogr aphi c
and phonet i c si gns. Gr i f f i t h ( 1911) and Pr i ese ( 1973) bel i eve
t hat Mer oi t i c wr i t i ng bel ongs t he Egypt i an abnor mal
hi er at i c wr i t i ng syst em. Thi s syst emof wr i t i ng evol ved i nt o
Demot i c.
The ear l i est hi er ogl yphi c Mer oi t i c t ext dat e back t o t he
r ei gn of Queen Shanakdakhet o dur i ng t he 2
nd
cent ur y BC. The
f i r st evi dence of cur si ve Mer oi t i c al so dat es t o t hi s per i od.
I t i s a f r agment ed t ext on a Mer oi t i c of f er i ng t abl e, whi ch
r ecor ds t he Mer oi t i c wor ds: -iwal. Some r esear cher s bel i eve
t hat t hi s may be t he f i nal el ement i n t he name of a Mer oi t e
r oyal per sonage.
Mer oi t i c i nscr i pt i ons dat e f r om t he 2
nd
cent ur y BC, t o
t he end of t he Mer oi t i c Empi r e. Mer oi t i c t ext ar e car ved on
of f er i ng t abl et s, ost r aca, papyr i and wood.
Mer oi t i c wr i t i ng i s usual l y associ at ed wi t h t he
emer gence of a new r oyal house i n t he Mer oi t i c Empi r e ( Tor ok,
1997, p. 64) . Tor ok ( 1997) bel i eves t hat t he scr i pt was used
by t he Mer oi t es f or a new t ype of admi ni st r at i on.
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46
Mer oi t i c was pr obabl y or i gi nal l y used i n t he But ana. I t
was t he of f i ci al l anguage of t he Mer oi t i c Empi r e af t er t he
2
nd
cent ur y BC.
The hi er ogl yphi c Mer oi t i c scr i pt was used onl y t o wr i t e
r oyal f uner ar y i nscr i pt i ons. The cur si ve wr i t i ng was used t o
wr i t e admi ni st r at i ve and non- r oyal t ext .

Fr anci s Ll ewel l yn Gr i f f i t h, an Egypt ol ogi st was abl e t o
deci pher t he Mer oi t i c scr i pt . Al t hough Gr i f f i t h deci pher ed
Mer oi t i c, we wer e unabl e t o r ead t hi s wr i t i ng because we
di d not know t he cognat e l anguage unt i l now.
Mer oi t i c i s an aggl ut i nat i ve l anguage. The l anguage
i ncl udes bot h pr ef i xes and suf f i xes- - but suf f i xes ar e used
ext ensi vel y i n t he wr i t i ng. The basi c const i t uent s of
Mer oi t i c i s subj ect ( S) , ver b ( V) and obj ect ( O) i n a si mpl e
decl ar at i ve sent ence. Thi s aggl ut i nat i on and SVO or der agr ee
wi t h ot her Af r i can l anguages.
The cur si ve Mer oi t i c scr i pt i s a syl l abi c wr i t i ng
syst em. Each Mer oi t i c consonant , except when f ol l owed by t he
vowel si gn / i / , / o/ and / e/ r epr esent s t he consonant sound
pl us t he vowel / a/ . Ther e ar e f our syl l abl es i n Mer oi t i c ne,
se, te, and to ar e r epr esent ed by separ at e sounds.
Mer oi t i c wr i t i ng shows l i t t l e r esembl ance t o Gr eek
wr i t i ng. F. Hi nt ze ( 1979) has not ed t hat Mer oi t i c wr i t i ng i s
"st r i ki ngl y si mi l ar " t o Per si an cunei f or m i n not at i ng vowel s
and separ at i on of wor ds.
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47
The Mer oi t i c scr i pt i s al most i dent i cal t o many of t he
Khar ost hi si gns used t o wr i t e Tochar i an/ Tokhar i an. I t i s
i nt er est i ng t o not e t hat over seven of t he Khar ost hi and
Mer oi t i c si gns have not onl y si mi l ar shape, but al so t he same
sound.
Gr i f f i t h ( 1911a) has di vi ded t he Mer oi t i c wr i t i ng i nt o t wo
di f f er ent f or ms accor di ng t o t he shape of Mer oi t i c si gns at
var i ous poi nt s i n hi st or y. The t wo st ages of Mer oi t i c wr i t i ng
wer e cal l ed Ar chai c and l at e. I n deci pher i ng Mer oi t i c
i nscr i pt i ons i t i s i mpor t ant t hat you r ef er t o Gi f f i t h
( 1911a) so you can l ear n how each Mer oi t i c symbol appear ed at
var i ous st ages i n t he evol ut i on of t he Mer oi t i c wr i t i ng.
Ar chai c Mer oi t i c dat es f r om t he 2
nd
cent ur y BC t o t he 1
st

cent ur y AD. The Mer oi t i c wr i t i ng f r om t he 1
st
cent ur y AD t o
t he end of t he Mer oi t i c Empi r e i s cal l ed l at e Mer oi t i c.












47


48
Chapter 3: The Pronunciation of Meroitic

It is clear that we need to look seriously at the
Meroitic sound system. The Meroitic script is a
syllabary. It would appear that each Meroitic sign has a
neutral / a/ sound or // as in sofa. The long /a/
sound as in father has its own sign in Meroitic.
Below we list the phonemes of Meroitic
Plosive p,b t,d kh k,q ch
Nasal m n ()
Lateral l
Rolled r
Fricative s (sh) ch
Semi-vowel w y

Pronunciation
Kh like rasping ch: loch, Bach in German
Ch ich, breathy ch //
A like /a/ in father
B as in English
D as in English
I pronounced like /i/ in machine
K like the /k/ in King
L as in English
M
P
R
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49
S pronounced like /z/ in zoo or the /s/ in rose
pronounced like the sh in share
T as in English
T
o
pronounced like the /to/ in stole
T
e
pronounced like /te/ in tea
W as in water
/ pronounced like // in sing
Meroitic probably has seven vowels. This vowel system
is common to many other African language systems.
Whereas the vowels are not distinguished in Egyptian,
Meroitic has individual signs to represent the vowels /i/,
/a/, /e/, and /o/. Meroitic also has the schwa // sound
attached to each Meroitic consonant, except for the /t
e
/ and
/t
o
/ signs.
Meroitic Vowel System
Close i (y) (w)
Close mid e o

Open a
A long /a/ sound as in make
E long /e/ sound as in father
stands for the /a/ sound in asleep, announce (nowns)
I long /i/ sound as in see
O long /o/ sound as in sock
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50
I believe that Meroitic may have 2 additional vowel
sounds. These sounds may be the open and mid vowels // and
//. In other African languages we find these founds.
In Meroitic, we have three signs associated with the
letter /t+[V]/. I believe that the /H/ sound is associated
with the sign for /t
e
/; the /</ is associated with the /t
o
/
sign. This suggest that the sign for /t
o
/ should be
pronounced t #; and /t
e
/ should probably be pronounced
t #.















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51


Chapter 4 : Meroitic Nouns
Meroitic is an agglutinative or flectional/fusional
type of language. An agglutinative language adds affixes to
grammatical elements, words and roots to denote syntactical
function, and grammatical categories.
We will now begin a discussion of Meroitic grammar. To
read Meroitic you read the writing from right to left.
Meroitic morphological forms correspond to word
formation patterns and flection found in Egyptian and other
African languages. The basic morphological structure of
Meroitic is a lexical root consisting of consonants and
vowels.
The word forms vary from one consonant (s, man) to
numerous monosyllabic forms (lo, solitary; qo royal).
In general Meroitic morphemes are monosyllabic and consist
of mainly consonant-vowel lexical items and a few one
consonant , biconsonantal (khr, dignity) and
triconsonantal (pqr crown prince, monarch) lexemes.
There are many homophones in Meroitic. As a result of
the Meroitic homophones we find some very interesting
phonological contrast. In Meroitic there is occasional b
=/= p, e.g., tb / tp 'announce in a lofty voice'. In
addition we find that other letters are interchangeable
including: t =/= d; k =/= q ; s =/= ; and n =/= .
Although we have been able to discover much more about
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52
the Meroitic language than we knew a decade ago, we have
yet to find inscriptions that provided historical themes.
It appears that the Meroites were mostly concerned with
offerings made to the gods, rather than military victories.
This suggest that official Meroitic documents were written
on perishable materials, like wood or papyrus .
Agent Nouns
4.1.In Meroitic there are many agent nouns. The
Meroitic agent nouns are formed by affixing -i , to verbs
e.g., o # 'open', o-i 'Opener'
s # 'to atone', s-i 'Atonement'.
Other Meroitic agent nouns include :
wi # 'honor';
ak # 'to teach, to learn', aki 'Learned'.
Nominal Abstract Nouns
d- ne, i nher i t ance
H' e- ne, gener osi t y
HW' kes- ne, j ust i ce
l - ne, l i vi ng, vi t al
h- ne, abst r act per sonal i t y of man
o- ne, t r ansmi gr at i on
l qo- ne, r enewer
W s- ne, new vi vi f i cat i on
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53
1: i - ne, at onement
IH t eb- ne, announce i n a l of t y voi ce
H t e- ne, r ebi r t h
< t o- ne, dynami ci sm, l i ght
1v wi - ne, Obj ect of Respect
1v wi - ne, Commander ; Ever l ast i ng

4.2. A large number of Meroitic morphemes are acquired
by joining together Meroitic root forms with inflectional
affixes (usually suffixes). As a result, we see a large
number of Meroitic verbs made into nouns by the addition of
an affixial elements to the verb stem. The so-called
separator sign ( : ) made up of two or three dots above one
another, is the Meroitic suffix -ne / -une . The -ne suffix
is useful in the formation of nominal abstract nouns from
verbs e.g.,
s # 'to prop up', s-ne "Supporter, Patron",
si # 'to be content', si-ne "Atonement',
en # 'to command',en-ne "Teacher, Commander';
i # 'to go', i-ne 'the Way';
li # 'to convey, to dispatch', li-ne 'Conveyance'.
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54

I. Meroitic Kinship Terms
`- Ap, f at her
uI- Abr , man
1 Kdi , l ady
W S, per son, son
H: t e, mot her
1v Wi, brother

II. Meroitic VC and CV Nouns
- Ak, teach
1- Am, soul

?- A, spirit

`- Ap, ancest or , f at her
- Ah, l ear n
7- At , down t he pat h
- Bl , pr ai se, l aw, r i ght eous
W1 Bs, pr ot ect i on
' El , gi f t
''Eke, nour i sh( ment )
?' e- ne, t eacher
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55
1' em, t each
W' Es, mani f est at i on
m' Ey, f avor of exi st ence
11 I m, memor y
u Kr , di gni t y
u Khr , di gni t y
' He, ext er nal body
< Lo, , offering
11 Mi, rain
1 Mk, l or d
1 Ml , soul
7? t , vener at i on
1` Pi , l i f e
1` Pi , t o pr ay
7` pt , pr ai se
u Or , monar ch
7< Ot , admi r at i on
Od, admi r at i on
l Qo, honor
1u Ri , ci t y
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56
1u Rm, wi t ness
IW Sb, anoi nt
1W Sm, wi f e
W Sl , ki ng
7: St , exal t at i on
<W o, l i f e
f7 t n, r ebi r t h
1v wi , honor , honor ( abl e)
v Wk, voi ce
v Wl , pr i nce, chi ef t ai n
'm ye, t r avel , j our ney
I n Mer oi t i c we see a number of monosyl l abi c
nouns. These nouns wer e f r equent l y used i n
Mer oi t i c. For exampl e:
1v<''uH
1v < ' 'uH
wi l o eke t er
honor abl e of f er i ng nour i shment er ect
Ter eke lo wi
Erect nourishment (for) the honorable offering.
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57
1v<1f1
1v < 1f1
ne wi t o mni
Good honor i gni t e Amani
Amani t o wi ne
Amani ignites Good and Honor.
'?'7?
'? ' 7?
l - e ke t o
l i vi ng ask per mi ssi on vener at i on open
o t ke l - e
Ask permission to open veneration for the living.

III. Single consonant Meroitic Nouns
B, t he Ba spi r i t
E, r egi st er , command
D, bequest, donation, bequeathal
D, l eave a l egacy

, good

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58
P, pray
, spi r i t body
, ki ng; pat r on
S, pat r on
W, gui de
Y, exi st ence
Ther e ar e a number of si ngl e consonant nouns t hat
appear i n Mer oi t i c. For exampl e,
1v'
1v
honor of f er i ng ext er nal spi r i t / body bequeat hal
d he l o wi
The external spirit/body bequeathal (is a)
honor(able) offering.
H'v
H ' v
ol t ene ke d w
gr and r ebi r t h ask per mi ssi on bequest gui de
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59
W d ke tene ol
Guide the bequest to ask permission for the grand
rebirth.
?u'`-
? u ' `-
r e ap
Good i ndeed r egi st er ancest or
ap r e
Indeed register the ancestors Good.
`m
` m
p y o
pr ay make open, begi n
o y p
Begin to make prayer.

H'mH'1-
H 'm H ' 1-
t e ye t e e am
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may i t go f or t h j our ney you command soul
Am ete ye te
You command the soul (to make the) journey, may it
go forth.
H'v`
H' v `
ket e d w p
ascent bequest gui de pr ay
p w d ket e
Pr ay t o gui de t he ascent ( of t he) bequest .
IV. Meroitic terms Associated with Royalty
- al , nobl e
uu kr or o, f i r st one of di gni t y
'7 kt ke ( kat ake) , queen mot her
'1''` pedeme, pr i est ess
ul` pqr , pr i nce, cr own pr i nce
<:'` pet o, vi cer oy
ul qor , r oyal : qor i f emal e r oyal ; qor e mal e
r oyal
v wl , chi ef t ai n, pet t y r ul er
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l qo, honor abl e
: , ki ng, pat r on
u7 t r l o ( t ar al o) , hei r , successor
1v wi ne, Awe, Obj ect of Respect
Many t er ms f or Mer oi t e el i t es come f r omt he
Egypt i an l anguage. For exampl e, <:'` Pet o means
( he who) vouchsaf es t he ki ngs l i ght , comes f r om
an Egypt i an t er mt hat means ki ng s son. I n many
Mer oi t i c i nscr i pt i ons you wi l l f i nd t he t er ms qor
monar ch, r oyal and qo honor abl e .
I n many Mer oi t i c t ext t he deceased per sonage i s
r ef er r ed t o as an obj ect of r espect . For exampl e,
?'l'7
? ' l '7
Good vouchsaf e l eave a l egacy honor abl e queen mot her
Ktke qo d e
The honor abl e Queen mot her t o l eave a l egacy t hat
vouchsaf e Good.

1v'17'm<:'`
1v '1 7'm <:'`
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Obj ect of Respect of f er i ng openi ng wi t h f or ce capabl e l i vi ng Pet o
Peto l-ne yet mde lo wi-ne
The l i vi ng Pesht o ( i s) capabl e of openi ng wi t h f or ce t he
( power of t hi s) Obj ect of Respect .
u1v<1'<:'`
u 1v < 1 1 <:'`
khr wi - ne t o kdi l i ne Pet o
di gni t y Awe she t ake ai m exal t ed Pet o
Pet o l i ne kdi - t o wi ne khr
The exalted Peto, she takes aim at Awe and dignity.
1v-ul`
1v - ul`
wi ne l o l - ne- a pqr
Obj ect of Respect sol i t ar y wi l l exi st pr i nce
The pr i nce wi l l exi st ( as) a sol i t ar y Obj ect of Respect .
H`f1''1''`
H`f 1 ' '1''`
Npt e l i ne l e pedeme
Napate exalted is priestess
The exalted Priestess (of) Napata.
Exer ci ses
Wr i t e i n t he f ol l owi ng Mer oi t i c:
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1. The exal t ed monar ch.
2. The gr and pr i est ess.
3. The honor abl e monar ch.
4. The l i vi ng cr own pr i nce i s capabl e of openi ng
wi t h f or ce t he ( power of t hi s) Obj ect of
Respect .
5. Er ect honor ( f or ) t he l or d s gr and soul .
6. The Queen mot her t o i gni t e di gni t y.
7. Gui de t he l ady t o ask per mi ssi on ( f or a) gr and
j our ney.
8. Er ect honor f or t he l ady s gr and soul , pl ace
( i t ) her e.
Tr ansl i t er at e t he f ol l owi ng and t r ansl at e i nt o
Engl i sh.
1. l<:'`
2. 1vvl`
3. lu7
4. 1v'7
5. 'm'1v
6. v''u'7
7. u<'7
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8. W'7?<
9. ?'v
10. f1-<l'1''`

V. Religious Terms
?- ahl , t he t r ansf i gur ed spi r i t
1- am, soul
1f1 Amani , t he god Amon
f- an, spi r i t
7f- ant , pr ophet
1u- ar i , mani f est at i on
'I bel , pr ai se
d, bequest , donat i on; l eave a l egacy
' el , gi f t
? h, gr and
? hol , soul
u? hr , est eem, mer i t
' kene, r evi t al i zat i on
u khr , di gni t y
1 khi , ext er nal body
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H kht e, hol y pl ace
HI bkht e, t empl e
HI l bkht e, opul ent hol y pl aces
l - ne, l i vi ng, vi t al
l o, of f er i ng
1v l wi , gl or y
1( ) ml ( o) , soul ; i nner hear t
7f nt , honor , wor shi p
7f nt k, l or d
'f nek, god
ne, Good
Wf ns, mi st r ess
` p, pr ay
l` pq, gr ant my pr ayer s
7` pt , pr ai se
f nk, god
: , pat r on
W s- ne, new vi vi f i cat i on
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66
A maj or concer n of t he Mer oi t es was r el i gi ous
and f uner ar y mat t er s. As a r esul t , we f i nd t he
Mer oi t es f r equent l y di scussed many i ssues i n t hei r
f uner ar y t abl et s and st el as r el at ed t o l i vi ng a
r i ght eous l i f e. For exampl e
1f17f-l'm1:
1f1 7f- l 'm1:
mni ne ant qo shi ye
Amani good pr ophet honor abl e Shi ye
Shiye qo ant ne mni
The honorable Shiye, the good prophet (of) Amani.

H'mH'1-
H 'm H' 1-
t e yi et e am
you go on a j our ney command soul
Amet e yi t e
You command t he soul ( t o make) a j our ney. May ( i t
go f or t h) .
H1Hu:`'?17-
H 1
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t ene l k ho l - ne ml o kh
r ebi r t h behol d soul l i vi ng i nner hear t gr eat
H u :` '
t ene k khr p hene
r ebi r t h ask per mi ssi on di gni t y guar d t o r eal i ze
7- 1
at - m
down t he pat h s/ he
At - mhene p khr k t ene kh ml o l - ne ho l k t ene
S/he go(es) down the path to realize protec(tion) and
dignity. Give permission (for) the rebirth. The great
living inner heart (and) soul to behold rebirth.
'<Wf
' Wf
ke do ns
act t o l ead mi st r ess
ns do ke
The mistress to lead (this) act.
u'l-
u ' l-
ne khr o el aq
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Good dignity open gift replenish
Aq el o khr ne
Replenish the gift to open up dignity and Good.













































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Chapter 5: Pronouns
5.1 The Meroitic funerary tablets are written in the
third or second person. Meroitic words are usually formed
by the addition of post-positions or suffixes . The
Meroitic pronouns are suffixed to Meroitic words. They
include, H -te 'you, thou'; 7 -t 'her, he'; 'f-ne 'his';
< -to 'your'; and the f -n and - -a third person
singular suffixes. For example:
f -n 's/he, it, her, his'
1 i 'go' ; f1 i-n 'he go(es)
' de 'bequeathal'; f' de-n 'his bequeathal'
'l qe 'make' ; f'l qe-n 'he make(s)
< -to 'you, your, thou'
7 ot 'prestige' <7 ot-to 'your prestige'
lh ne 'to see Good'
< lh ne-to ' thou to see Good.
7 -t 'you, your, thou'
u kr 'dignity 7u kr-t 'your dignity'
v w 'guide' 7v w-t 'you guide'
5.2.In the inscription we find both masculine and
feminine pronoun forms. For example below we illustrate
some of the masculine Meroitic pronouns:
lh 'behold lh-to 'thou behold'
ntk 'bows in reverence ntk-te 'he bows in reverence'
e qe 'give renewal e qe-t 'he gives renewal'
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ne 'good' n-ne 'his good'
ap 'ancestor' ap-n 'his ancestor'
tak 'reflection' tak-te 'your reflection'
i 'go' i-n 'he go(es)
e s-ne 'give the new e s-ne-a 'give him
vivifications the new vivification
w 'guide' w-t 'you guide'
e 'give' e-t 'you give'
r o q 'indeed begin to r o q-t 'indeed you
desire to leave' to leave'
es protect(ion) es-m protect him
5.3. The Meroitic feminine pronouns including the
suffixes 1 -i and < -to. For example -to 'your, she': s-ne
q lo-te, "The patron is present in the grave"; s-ne q lo
te-to, "The patron she is present in the grave".
5.4.The most common feminine sign in Meroitic is the -i
particle. This Meroitic feminine suffix -i is joined to
nouns and verbs e.g.,
(1) Wos 'Isis', Wos-i-ne 'Isis she (is) the Good';
(2) m 'measure', m-i 'she measures',
(3) Wos-i-ne Sore yi-ne t p o m-i d
'Isis the good, Osiris the Eternal (are)
Commanding the measure of her bequeathal'.

5.5.We also find the Meroitic second person suffix
H -te 'you, thou', e.g., ene 'command', H'f' ene-te
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'thou command'; ene-te od khe " command thou the beginning
of the khe's bequeathal".
5.6.In addition to the use of -n , to denote the third
person singular in Meroitic we also have -t 'him, her, he ,
she' , e.g., li-ne ' to transmit', 71 li-ne-t 'transmit
her....'
5.7.The -a suffix is also used to denote the third
person singular suffix. For example:
kh 'spirit body'; a kh 'his spirit body'
s-ne 'new vivification'; a s-ne 'his new
vivification'
tom 'to bear'; a tom 'he bears
r h i de-b 'indeed go boon (to seek) much
almsgiving'
r-a h i de-b 'His boon indeed go(es) (to seek) much
almsgiving.'
5.8. Sometimes the pronoun can be used as a prefix.
This is especially true of the third person singular
suffixes when joined to verbs. For example:
i 'go' t-i 'he go(es)'
be to encounter a-be 'he encounters'
5.9.The particle -n, has multiple uses in Meroitic. In
Meroitic the third person singular suffix -n-, is usually
joined to verbs e.g., qo 'to make', qo-n 'she makes'. The
n- particle when used as a prefix is used to form the
subjunctive mood, it is also joined to nouns e.g., Qo-n n-
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ye-ne te dh lo wi-ne "She is to make the voyage, here
accept the solitary Object of Respect".
In conclusion, Meroitic verbs are either monosyllabic
or uniconsonantal. There are usually three tenses of the
Meroitc verb found most Meroitic inscriptions:
Present: qe-n ye-ne he makes the voyage.
Past: qe-n-a ye-ne he made the voyage.
Future: qe-n-n ye-ne he will make the voyage.
'<'l
Present: qe-to de she makes the donation.
'-<'l
Past: qe-to-a de she made the donation.
'f<'l
Future: qe-to-n de she will make the donation.

The Meroitic verb can begin a sentence or be placed in
themedial position of Meroitic phrases. In most cases the
pronouns are suffixed to the verb.

Exercise
I. Write the following in Meroitic.
1. his Good
2. your dignity
3. her honor
4. her new vivification
5. The king he bows in reverence to Aman
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II. Translate and transliterate the following Meroitic
sentences. Use the terms you learned in this chapter and
Chapter 4.
1. 7'l'f1-
2. HIf1-f'ul`v
3. -<uf1-7f-
4. f1-<7f'1'''`




















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Chapter 6: MEROITIC SYNTAX
The Meroitic sentences is made up of several
constituent parts. This has led to Meroitic sentences
showing either a subject (S), verb (V) , object (O)
pattern, or the SOV sentence pattern.
The immediate constituent parts or pattern of
Meroitic sentence vary from one period of the language to
the next.
In the archaic Meroitic sentences the constituent
parts are S---> NP VP Aux NP , as illustrated below by the
sentence found on a bronze plaque made in the form of a
trussed prisoner from Gebel Barkal, Great Temple of Aman:
No b lo e Neqe
lit. Now captured alone completely at the
present time".
"Now (he is captured and completely alone at the
present time."
The popular sentence pattern in late Meroitic inscriptions
on the other hand is S---> VP NP or S---> VP NP VP.
The favorite Meroitic sentence pattern in archaic
Meroitic is the SVO type. In the SVO sentence the subject
proceeds the verb. For example:
Transliteration
1. Tyidmni w-t el h-t e.
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2. N e hi.
Translation
1."Tayidamani , you guide the gift of your almsgiving.
Give (alms now!).
2. "Give Good (to) the body".
In archaic Meroitic the addition of the Meroitic
pronoun, gives the Meroitic sentence a VSO pattern. For
example:
Transliteration
1. tel-n e k-i.
2. aki-n e-a.
3. Leb-ne-a h d o s ne te.
Translation
1."He sustains completely new vigor". (lit. Supports he
completely revitalization".)
2."He is completely learned". (lit. "Learned he
completely".)
3. "His restoration of the bequeathal of the spirit body,
commences to prop up good--May (it go forth).
The favorite sentence pattern in late Meroitic is VSO.
In Meroitic we also find a VSO sentence pattern. For
example:
w to i
lit. to guide you satisfaction
"You guide (me) to satisfaction".
Terike lo wi-ne s
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lit. Fashion dispatch the Awe patron.
"Fashion (and) dispatch the Awe of the Patron".
Ar o b e l-ne
lit. Produce commence Ba give life.
"Commence to produce the Ba (and) give (it) life".

K b h ine qo l-ne
lit. Give permission Ba Kha the Way renewal
living.
"Give permission for the Ba and Kha (to form) the
living renewal".
Tm de lo wite me-y

lit. "To bare indeed solitary delight without
measure".
In the Meroitic sentence the article is usually
suffixed to nouns and verbs. For example -n, -ne 'he,
his':
1. tel -n
support he , "he supports".
2. eb- ne
restoration his, "his restoration".
We can also discuss the Meroitic sentence pattern based
on its case grammar. The case grammar includes the
following categories: Agentive (A; animate objects)
,Instrumental (I, inanimate actor involved in action),
Dative (D, animate being influenced by action) , Locative
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(L, location of action) and Objective (O, items influenced
by the action). For example:
VALO Type: Qe-n-n ye-ne
lit. "Make she will the voyage"
"She will make the Voyage".
AIOD Type: Paqar l-ne e d lo wi-ne
lit. Crown prince living give bequest lonely
object of Respect'.
"The Living Crown Prince gives the bequest
of the lonely Object of Respect (i.e., the
deceased)".
The examples of Meroitic sentences above, indicates the
VALO and AIOD patterns .























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78




Chapter 7: Meroitic Adverbs and Adjectives

I. Adverbs
1I bi , t oday
I bo, al l
l , now
' l e, i ndeed
-'f nea, no
f no, now

1u'` per i , f aul t

k, obl i gat or y

u r, indeed
'u r e, i ndeed

H t e, her e, t hi d pl ace

7 - t , f or


7.1.In Meroitic there are several adverbs including:
nea 'now', no 'now', a 'to, it', te 'here, this place',
r/re 'indeed', bi 'today, this moment' and -t , te 'here'.
In many Meroitic inscriptions we also find l/le 'indeed'.
For example:
Sl-ne mk-t.
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"Much merit here".
Tene sb ne-te.
" The rebirth piles (up) much Good here".
Qe-ne sb ne h te y.
"The Creator piles (up) grand Good existing (at) this
place".
A be-n bi d pet e wi-ne.
"He is to encounter today the bequeathal of reverence,
register (his) Awe.

7.2. The Meroitic adverbs are placed behind the noun.
For example:
pt praise pt es manifest praise
s patron s li feeble patron
t-ne rebirth t-ne-e complete rebirth
II. Adjectives
< Ol , gr and
1: i , sat i sf yi ng
H, gr and
u1 mr , l ucky
I bk, mat ur e
1 l i , exal t ed
1f ni , shi nni ng
1 mkh, gr eat
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ko, gl amor ous
IH t eb, l of t i ness
W skh, happi ness
? , good
:, ne, good
< t o, l i ght , ki ndl e, i gni t e

7.3.The adjective in Meroitic, like the adverbs are
placed behind the noun. For example: e 'complete'
S on tene 'The King commence(s) the
rebirth'
S on tene-e 'The King commence(s) the
complete rebirth'.
7.4. Other Meroitic adjectives are usually formed by
the -o suffix . The -o suffix is used to change a noun
into a adjective. For example,
qo # 'to act', qo-o 'acting';
khs # 'know, understand', khs-o 'understanding';
w # 'to guide', w-o 'guiding'
hr # 'dignity' , hr 'reputable'
od # 'admiration' od-o 'admirable'.




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Chapter 8: Common Meroitic Verbs and Affixes

Mer oi t i c i s an aggl ut i nat i ng l anguage. Mer oi t i c wor ds
and gr ammat i cal f eat ur es ar e f or med by pr ef i xes and
suf f i xes.
l- aq, to replenish
7- at, down the path
1<- atom, s/he is to be
d, give
do, to lead
' e, give
`'f', `' enep, bestowal
u' er, to produce
H' ete, you command
W' es, to manifest
1 i, go
`- lap, to remain, to stay
' le, here
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lk, to behold
lo, to dispatch
l lq, to witness
' ke, to realize; to give permission
W' kes, to emigrate
kl, to tolerate
H kte, to begin
H' kete, to ascend, to spread
khne, to realize
' hene (chene), to realize
' hle, to resound, to reverberate
1 m, to measure
'u-1 mar-e, do not
'1 mde, opening with force
H1 mte, to unlock, to open
f n, will
7'f net, to bow in reverence
o, to open, to commence
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'` pe, to vouchsafe, to bestow,
1` pi, to pray
l` pq, to make
:` p, to guard
l q, to form, act, to make
l q, to desire, to be present
l qo, to live, to renew, renewal
u ro, to dispatch
W s, to support, to protect, to prop up, to endorce
-': ea, favour
7 t, to put, to lay, to arrange
I7 tb, announce in a lofty voice
H te, may it go forth
'1uH terike, fashion
HH tete, place here
17 ti, to go, to arrange
7 tk, to reflect, to set in motion
17 tm, to produce
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l7 tq, to be, to move, to set in motion
< to, beginning; to ignite, to arouse, to light
m7 ty, that lives
v w, to guide
v w-o, steering
7'm yet, to be capable
7'm yet, is
The Meroitic verb is usually placed before the
subject. For example:
`7 lo otp, dispatch esteem
-':u' er ea, produce favour
:u'-': er ea, The patron to produce favour.
1vW s-ne wi, prop up honor
WH'7W st le tene s-ne
Endorse the embarkation of the good supporter.
1vl7 Tq lo wine
Set in motion the dispatch of the Object of Respect.
u1' H le mr
Reveberate luck
-'W1W`'11v'uI7
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Tb re lo wi-ne mh enep si se-a

Announce in a lofty voice indeed the dispatch of this
dignitary/Object of Respect (on the) Path the grand
bestowal (of) atonement (and )favour.

Sometimes the verb is placed behind the nouns.
For example,
'`W'H11v<HlW
s-ne q lote-to lo wi-ne mte h de s-ne pe
The patron is present (in) her grave. Send this
dignitary to unlock the h (cha) goodness, the patron
implores (you).
8. 1 I n Mer oi t i c - l , r epr esent s t he ver b t o be , and
a t er mi nal par t i cl e l . The t er mi nal r el at i ve
par t i cl e i n Mer oi t i c i s l . The t er mi nal par t i cl e i s
usual l y j oi ned t o ver bs.
Ther e i s a l i , i n Mer oi t i c. The wor d l i , means
exal t ed, t r ansmi t t al , conveyance .
8. 2. The t er mi nal l , cor r esponds t o Abdul l a s
r ecogni t i on of t he ar t i cl e t he . For exampl e, ( ho)
cho soul , cho- l t he soul , e. g. , ro-ne sh(a)kh
kh(a) s li-ne cho-l no, Unl ock t he spi r i t body,
( and) t he Kha. Pr ot ect t he t r ansmi t t al ( of ) t he soul
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Now! Anot her exampl e i s, K-ne i lo-l tone d qe ni,
Revi t al i zed, go di spat ch vi gor ousness. Gi ve t he
r enewal ( of t he deceased) vi vi dness.
The Mer oi t i c l , al so r epr esent s t he ver b t o
be and her e , e. g. , d d-ne qo-l e b-ne-a, Her e
command hi s good B( a) ( and) spi r i t body of f er i ng( s)
t o begi n t o pr op up your Good; w i ne-l go gui de
Good her e.
8. 3. The Mer oi t i c l par t i cl e, al so means at ,
now . For exampl e, sl w-nesch r tene-l, Consecr at e
t he chi ef [ gi ve] t r ansf i gur at i on i ndeed at [ hi s/ her ]
r ebi r t h; r ne- l , Cer t ai nl y Good, Now!
8. 4. The :, so- cal l ed t wo or t hr ee dot wor d
separ at or si gn, i s r eal l y t he suf f i x ne. The
par t i cl e ne, i s used t o make ver bs i nt o nomi nal
abst r act nouns. For exampl e:
Leb r est or e l eb- ne Rest or at i on
e gi ve ene al msgi vi ng
good - ne Goodness
e t o command Ene Commander
8. 5. The past t ense i n Mer oi t i c i s t he a par t i cl e. I t
i s al so used t o expr ess t he past - compl et ed act i on. For
exampl e:
1. pe r ne-a " i mpl or e i ndeed good( ness) " .
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2. aki l ear ned
(2a.) aki-n he i s l ear ned
(2b.) aki-n e he i s compl et el y l ear ned
(2c.) aki-n e-a he has become compl et el y l ear ned.
Preterit
8. 6. I n Mer oi t i c t he pr et er i t i s f or med by t he addi t i on
of t he par t i cl e -a . Thi s par t i cl e i s suf f i xed t o Mer oi t i c
wor ds. For exampl e,
lo # ' t o di spat ch, t o depar t ' , lo-a di spat ched' .
Na do 'In truth the patron go(es) away';
Na do-a ' In truth the patron (has) gone away'.

Subjunctive
8. 7. The subj unct i ve i n Mer oi t i c can be f or med by t he -a
and -n and .The Mer oi t i c subj unct i ve makes t he f ut ur e
t ense. For exampl e:
( 1) s-ne yo Amn ' The pat r on bows i n r ever ence t o Aman
( 2) s-ne yo-n Amn ' The pat r on wi l l bow i n r ever ence t o
Aman.
( 1) qe-n ye-ne ' he makes t he voyage'
( 2) qe-n-n ye-ne ' he wi l l make t he voyage' .
( 1) bo ' swel l up'
( 2) bo- ' wi l l swel l up'
( 1) m-y ' t o l i ve on' m-y- ' he ( i s) t o l i ve on' .
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8. 8. Anot her common Mer oi t i c f emi ni ne suf f i x -i , and -
ine . Thi s -ine , i s usual l y f or med by t he Mer oi t i c /i/
separ at or si gn ( : ) , whi ch shoul d be r ead -ne . For
exampl e, ene-i o d khe ' she commands t he begi nni ng of t he
bequeat hal ' . The -ine suf f i x i s j oi ned t o Mer oi t i c wor ds t o
i ndi cat e f emi ni ne i n t he case of ver bs, j ust l i ke -i, e. g. ,
yerk ' gi ve vener at i on' , yerk-ine ' gi ve her vener at i on' .


Prefixes
8.9. Prefixes are rarely used in Meroitic. The most
common prefixes include the prefix of reinforcement -p, the
intensive prefix -a and the imperfect prefix -b. The p-,
can be either the prefix of reinforcement e.g.,
'patron', p- 'the patron' ;
or the imperfect prefix e.g.,
i 'satisfaction', p-i "continuous
satisfaction'.
The Meroitic p- affix, corresponds to the Egyptian
demonstrative pi 'the'.
8.10.The -i- particle is also used as a prefix or
suffix. The -i sign can be sued to form the intensive
prefix, e.g., i-d-i 'gives its leave',; and i-de 'the
bequeathal'.
88


89
8.11. The affix a- is also used as a prefix. The a-
particle can also serve as the intensive prefix 'to, it,
and he'.

8.12. The Meroitic articles are also prefixed to Meroitic
words in the Late Meroitic inscriptions. These Meroitic
articles include a 'the', t 'this', pe 'therefore'. For
example:
A tkh Enep i kr kes
"The glowing Commander is content and Just".
T r tek e i-ne pedemk.
"This indeed to be given (by) the patron of Apedemek".
Pe d h r e lo wi-ne Woi ore yi-ne.
"Therefore donate the Kha. Give indeed the solitary
patron Awe, (Oh) Isis (the Good) (and) Osiris
progressively.
Suffix of Intensity
8.13. Meroitic's most interesting affix is the -y-. The -
y- , is a prefix often joined to the vowels /i/ and /e/. As
a suffix it is used to denote intensity e.g.,
m / ma # 'to measure', me-y 'considerable measure'.
Plural
8.14. In Meroitic the plural case was made by the
suffix -b, or reduplication. Reduplication was also used as
a plural effect in Meroitic, e.g.,
d 'donations', d-d 'considerable donations'.
89


90
8.15.Researchers have long theorized that the
Meroitic plural suffix was -b.
ii
Our decipherment of
Meroitic supports this view for example:
m measure m-b considerable measure (of)
qo renewal qo-b considerable renewal
o open(s) o-b opens much
wide delight wide-b much delight
de donations de-b abundant donations
8.16. The Meroitic use of the -b suffix to make the
plural number, corresponds to the use of the -ba- affix in
African languages. In the Bantu languages the plural is
formed by the ba- affix. In the Manding group of languages
we see use of the -ba suffix. In Manding, the -ba affix is
joined to nouns to denote the idea of physical or moral
greatness. For example:
(1) na-folo 'good, rich'
na-folo-ba 'great fortune'
(2) so-kalo 'piece'
so-kalo-ba 'considerable quarter of a village'.
8.17.The -m affix, is also used to form the plural
number in some cases. For example:
(1) Y e n m-de 'Give form to Good (and) measure
the donation
(2) Y e n m-de-m 'Give form to Good (and ) measure
the large donation".
8.18.The particle -a has many uses in Meroitic. The -a
particle is often used to make the plural element, e.g.,
90


91
Qoshne 'Kushite' , Qoshne-a 'Kushites'.
It is also used to express the past-completed action. For
example:
1. pe r ne-a "implore indeed good(ness)".
2. aki learned
(2a.) aki-n he is learned
(2b.) aki-n e he is completely learned
(2c.) aki-n e-a he has become completely
learned.
Negative
8.19.The -m suffix was used in Meroitic to denote the
negative effect. The negative particle -m is often joined
to verbs along with the pronoun. For example,mi-n 'injure
him', mi-m-n 'injure him not'. In Meroitic tablets the
negative suffix rarely appears.
Nominative
8.20. The Meroitic singular nominative is -e . For
Example: el-e 'a gift';
mar-e don't;
o-e 'now';
pl-e 'order, boast'.
Consonant Particles
8.21. Another Meroitic particle is -t. The -t particle
is used as a final element in many verbs net 'bow in
reverence', yet 'to adorn, to be capable'.

91


92
8.22. The Meroitic preposition is b 'in,at,from'. The
preposition is usually placed after the noun, in front of
as verb e.g., er ine si b lo 'Produce satisfaction within,
from a distance'.

Locative
8.23. The locative affix was -t-, and -t
e
. The locative
affix can be placed at the beginning or end of a Meroitic
phrase. For example:
(1) sb ne 'pile up good'
(2) sb ne-t
e
'Here pile up Good'
(1) ni 'shinning'
(2) ni-t
e
'here shinning'
(1) sl-ne mk 'much merit'
(2) sl-ne mk-t 'much merit here'.

Exer ci ses
Use t he Mer oi t i c exampl es i n t hi s l esson t o
t r ansl i t er at e and t r ansl at e t he f ol l owi ng Mer oi t i c phr ases
i nt o Engl i sh.
1. '`W'H11v<HlW
2. -'f1-
3. '1'
4. 1u'm
92


93
5. ?m1
6. 'f1v
7. f1-f<m:
I I . Use what you have l ear ned i n t hi s and ear l i er chapt er s
t o wr i t e t he f ol l owi ng sent ences i n Mer oi t i c.
1. Pr op up hi s honor
2. Di spat ch her est eem
3. Go gui de honor her e.
4. She commanded t he begi nni ng of t he bequeat hal .
5. The cr own pr i nce he wi l l command t he begi nni ng of t he
bequeat hal .












93


94


Chapter 9: MEROITIC MORTUARY PRACTICES AND TEMPLE
ARCHITECTURE
At t he t ur n of t he 20t h cent ur y ar chaeol ogi st s began t o
sci ent i f i cal l y document t he Mer oi t i c ci vi l i zat i on. Gar st ang
( 1911) made si gni f i cant di scover i es at Mer oe. Bet ween 1913-
1932 Rei sner conduct ed excavat i ons at Gebel Bar kal , Mer oe
and ot her Mer oi t i c si t es. The excavat i on of t hese r i ch
cemet er i es has pr ovi ded t he Bost on Museum wi t h a l ar ge
col l ect i on of Mer oi t i c ar t i f act s.
Mer oi t i c wr i t i ng i s a common f eat ur e of Mer oi t i c
gr aves and Templ es. Thi s wr i t i ng i s wr i t t en on of f er i ng
t abl es and st el ea associ at ed wi t h t he gr aves of Mer oi t e
el i t es and Templ es.
I n Upper and Lower Kush t he super st r uct ur e of t he
Mer oi t e gr aves consi st ed of pyr ami ds and mast abas. The
bur i al chamber was a nar r ow shaf t . The Mer oi t e t ombs ar e
or i ent ed east west ( Adams 1977, 376) .
On t he east si de of al l t ombs a smal l mor t uar y chamber
exi st ed. Her e post f uner ar y l i bat i ons coul d be made
( Wool l ey and MacI ver , 14) . These l i bat i ons wer e made on
of f er i ng t abl es t hat wer e of t en f ound i n t he f oundat i ons of
t he mast aba ( Adams 1977) .
94


95
Mer oi t i c pyr ami ds wer e const r uct ed f or r oyal and non-
r oyal bur i al s. The pyr ami ds wer e made of br i ck. I nsi de of
t he br i ck pyr ami d was deposi t ed st one and di r t .
The dead wer e pl aced i n a vaul t ed br i ck bur i al chamber .
A chapel was bui l t sl i ght l y l ef t of t he pyr ami d.
Some of t he ol dest Mer oi t i c pyr ami ds ar e l ocat ed at
Mer oe. The el i t e cemet er i es of Mer oe ar e sever al mi l es away
f r omt he ci t y. Her e t he Mer oi t es bui l t t hei r pyr ami ds among
t he f oot hi l l s of t he deser t .
I n t hese cemet er i es Kushi t e Ki ngs had been bur i ed si nce t he
days of Pi ankhi ( 747- 716 B. C. ) . Ther e ar e t hr ee cemet er i es near
Mer oe. The Nor t h and Sout h cemet er i es wer e r eser ved f or Mer oi t e
r oyal s. The West cemet er y bel ow t he r oyal pyr ami ds on t he gr avel
pl ai ns was r eser ved f or Mer oi t e nobl es ( Adams 1977, 299) .
The pyr ami ds of Mer oe ar e anal ogous t o t hose at El Kur r u
and Nur i . For mer l y , t hey wer e cover ed wi t h r ed or whi t e pl ast er
( Adams 1977, 374) .
Mer oi t i c pyr ami ds ar e di st i ngui shed by t hei r el abor at el y
decor at ed chapel s si t uat ed on t he east si de of t he pyr ami ds. I n
t hese chapel s t her e wer e scenes on t he wal l s f r omt he Book of
t he Dead ( Yel l i n 1982; Chapman and Dunham1952) .
Bi r d l i ke f i gur es ar e al so associ at ed wi t h many Mer oi t e
t ombs. These st at ues ar e usual l y cal l ed Ba f i gur es ( Wool l ey
1909
95

96
I n t he Mer oi t e t empl es r esear cher s have f ound many
i nscr i pt i ons on st el eas and t empl e wal l s. The gr eat bui l der s of
t he Mer oi t i c per i od wer e Ki ng Nat akamani ( 20- 0 B. C. ) and Queen
Amani t or e ( A. D. 0- 10) . They ar e r esponsi bl e f or r enovat i on of
t he Gr eat Amun Templ es of Mer oe and Napat a. They pr obabl y al so
bui l t new t empl es at Naqa.
, 29) .
The ar t i f act s f ound near t he t ombs of r i ch Mer oi t es i ncl ude
ba st at uet t es. The Ba st at uet t es of t en made i n t he shape of
humans wi t h f ol ded wi ngs, wer e usual l y pl aced i n f r ont of t he
t omb ( O' Connor 1993) . The Ba st at uet t e was made i n t hi s way t o
r epr esent t he f r ee and mobi l e nat ur e of t he Ba, whi ch was
suppose t o f l y i nt o t he sky.
Thi s Ba st at ue was suppose t o r epr esent t he soul of t he
deceased. These st at ues wer e pl aced above t he ent r yway i nt o t he
t omb of t he chapel ( Tayl or 1991, 54) .
The Ba was r ecogni zed as a soul t hat possessed mobi l i t y.
The t er mBa r epr esent ed t he abi l i t y of t he deceased per son' s
spi r i t t o move f r omt he gr ave and i mpl or e t he gods f or passage
and pr ot ect i on of t he Kha t o t he under wor l d.
The st el ea of t he deceased was usual l y pl aced near t he
chapel ent r ance of t he t omb. A st el ea r ecor ded t he obi t uar y and
r i ght doi ngs of t he deceased.

97
The uni que f eat ur es of M. 600 B ar e t wo st one st at ues
or i gi nal l y j oi ned t o hal f - col umns near t he ent r ance t o t he
Many t empl es ar e f ound at t he ci t y of Mer oe. Her e we f i nd
t he Gr eat Amun Templ e and M. 600.
The l ar gest t empl e at Mer oe i s t he Gr eat Templ e of Amun-
net e or M. 260. Thi s t empl e i s 500 f eet l ong.
Near M. 260 t her e i s an avenue of si x r ams made of bl ack
f er r i cr et e sandst one. The t empl e was made of r ed br i ck wi t h a
mud- br i ck cor e.
Templ e M. 600 i s di vi ded i nt o t hr ee pr i nci pal ar eas: M. 600 A
, M. 600 B and M. 600 C ( Hakem1988) . Amun Templ e i s t he popul ar
name f or M. 600 A. Thi s st r uct ur e i s made of r ed br i ck f aci ng
and a mud- br i ck cor e. The ent r ance t o M. 600 A was made of st one.
I t consi st s of a pyl on i n f r ont of a col onnaded cour t . The
col onnaded cour t has ei ght col umns separ at ed i nt o t wo r ows.
For mer l y t her e was an al t ar wi t hi n M. 600 A wi t h a t r i pl e
sanct uar y behi nd a f our col umn pr onaos. The f l oor of t hi s t empl e
has gl azed f r i t t i l es wi t h squar e desi gns.
Templ e M. 600 B or t he Li on Templ e, i s si t uat ed on t he sout h
wal l of M. 600 A. Thi s t empl e has t hr ee l evel s. I t i s 11 ml ong
and 4. 40 mwi de.
The Li on Templ e at Mer oe has t wo chamber s. Thi s t empl e l acks
pyl ons.

98
I n t he vi ci ni t y of Mer oe, near t he vi l l age of Hamadab, we
f i nd M. 1000. The Templ e of Hamadab i s made of r edbr i ck f aci ng,
t empl e. These t empl es appear t o have ser ved as pedest al s, or
r epr esent ed Mer oi t e r oyal s or dei t i es ( Hakem1988, 37; Gar st ang
1911, 17; Shi nni e 1967, 84, pl at e 24) .
Sout h of Templ e M. 600 A and M. 600 B, we f i nd Templ e M. 600
C. Templ e M. 600 C was al so made of r ed br i ck. I t had a pyl on
f ace and ent r ance of dr essed sandst one.
The st el ea of Ter i t eqas ( 40- 10 B. C. ) i s f ound i n M. 600 C.
Gi ven t he f act t hat M. 600 C has a di f f er ent axi s t o ei t her
M. 600 A and M. 600 B has l ed Hakem( 1988, 38) t o suggest t hat i t
may have been const r uct ed by Ki ng Ter i t eqas.
Templ e M. 600 C i s not t he onl y Li on Templ e near Mer oe. Li on
Templ e M. 6 i s al so near Mer oe. Thi s t empl e has numer ous Mer oi t i c
i nscr i pt i ons ( Gar st ang 1911) .
Templ e M. 6 i s bui l t over an i r on sl ag mound hel d by a wal l
of r eused bl ocks. The t empl e i s 14. 70 mby 7. 8 m.
The Li on Templ e M. 6 i s bui l t of r ed br i cks. Two l i on
st at ues guar d t he pyl on ent r ance t o Li on Templ e M. 6.
Ther e ar e many i nscr i pt i ons f r omLi on Templ e M. 6 ( Gar st ang
1911, 62) . These i nscr i pt i ons i ncl ude ment i on of t he l i on god
Apedemak/ Apedemek; and t he names of Ki ng Tayidamani and
Taqer i deamani ( 246- 266 A. D. ) .


99
and st one door ways and col umns. The Templ e of Hamadab i s 23 m.
I t has pyl ons wi t h mol ded cor ner s and doubl e chamber s.
Ter i t eqas pr obabl y bui l t t he Templ e of Hamadab. The east er n
ent r ance t hr ough t he pyl on i s f l anked by t wo l ar ge st el eas.
These st el eas cont ai n t he name of Queen Amani r enas ( 60- 50 B. C. )
and her son Aki ni dad.
Mer oe i s cl ear l y t he l ar gest ur ban cent er of Mer oi t i c
ci vi l i zat i on. Ot her i mpor t ant Mer oi t i c cent er s wher e
i nscr i pt i ons have been f ound i ncl ude Kawa, Musawwar at es- Suf r a
and Naqa.
The l ast t wo maj or Mer oi t i c ci t i es ar e si t uat ed away f r om
t he deser t , i n t he wadi s of t he west er n But ana St eppe. They ar e
ar ound f or t y t o f i f t y mi l es away f r omMer oe.
Naqa i s al most as l ar ge as Mer oe. The ear l i est Mer oi t i c
hi er ogl yphi c i nscr i pt i on t he edi f i ce of Queen Shanakdakhet e
( 170- 160 B. C. ) comes f r omNaqa ( Lecl ant 1981) .
Naqa has ei ght t empl es ( Hakem1981) . Numer ous i nscr i pt i ons
have come f r omNaqa ( Ar kel l 1961) . The t empl es at Naqa ar e made
of st one and wel l pr eser ved.
Naqa has beaut i f ul Ki osk t empl es, whi ch hi ghl i ght t he
" Mer oi t i c- Egypt i an st yl e" of car ved decor at i on ( Adams 1977,
318) . The Li on Templ e of Naqa i s f amous f or i t s r el i ef s of Ki ng

100
Anot her i mpor t ant Mer oi t i c cent er was Kawa. Kawa has a
smal l " pal ace" and t empl es. Numer ous Mer oi t i c i nscr i pt i ons have
been f ound i n t wo l ocat i ons of t he Templ e of Tahar qa ( 690- 663
Nat akamani and Amani t or e wor shi ppi ng Apedemak/ Apedemek t he l i on
god of t he Mer oi t es.
The r i ver por t of Naqa, was Wad ben Naqa. Thi s si t e has t wo
t empl es and a pal ace.
Locat ed at t he mout h of a wadi l eadi ng t o Naqa, Wad ben
Naqa possessed a r oyal t empl e 200 f eet l ong. Thi s bui l di ng was
bui l t of br i ck, and was at l east t wo st or i es hi gh.
The si t e Mussawwar at es- Suf r a i s t en mi l es nor t h of Naqa.
Mussawwar at es- Suf r a t her e ar e numer ous depi ct i ons of el ephant s
and t he l i on- god Apedemak/ Apedemek ( Hi nt ze 1962, 1971; Adams
1977; Hakem1981) .
Mussawwar at es- Suf r a i s a monument al cent er , of st one
st r uct ur e. Ther e wer e si x t empl es at Mussawwar at ( Hakem1981) .
The l ar gest st r uct ur e at Mussawwar at i s t he Gr eat
Encl osur e. The Gr eat Encl osur e i ncl udes a number of bui l di ngs
and open pl azas sur r oundi ng a pl at f or mt empl e.
A col onnade sur r ounds t he t empl e. Many of t he col umns depi ct
i nt er est i ng r el i ef s and abundant gr af f i t i . I t was gr af f i t i f r om
Mussawwar at es- Suf r a, whi ch pr oved t o Wi nt er s ( 1984, 1989) t hat
Mer oi t i c was cognat e t o Kushana.


101
B. C. ) : t he i nt er i or of t he 1st Cour t and i n t he dai s- r oom( D-
E) . Ot her i nscr i pt i ons have been f ound i n t he i nt er i or of t he
west er n Ki osk ( MacAdams 1949, 93)

The Mer oi t i c peopl e wer e ver y i nt er est ed i n t he af t er l i f e.
As a r esul t , t hey st ocked t hei r t ombs wi t h bur i al goods used by
t he l i vi ng, t o l at er be empl oyed by t he depar t ed i n t he
af t er l i f e.
The deceased Mer oi t e made of f er i ngs t o t he gods t o pr eser ve
t hei r pl ace i n t he af t er wor l d. I n t hei r t ombs we f i nd of f er i ng
t abl es cover ed wi t h f uner ar y manuscr i pt s. The t ext s wer e wr i t t en
t o r emi nd t he gods of t he good deeds t he deceased had done
dur i ng hi s l i f et i me.
The f uner ar y l i t er at ur e f r omMer oi t i c st el eas and of f er i ng
t abl es can t el l us much about t he ci vi l i zat i on of t he Mer oi t es.
The f uner ar y i nscr i pt i ons have t he f ol l owi ng or der : 1)
I nvocat i on t o I si s and Osi r i s t he Mer oi t es gods of t he dead ; 2)
Name of t he deceased; and 3) obi t uar y.
TEDEQEN

One of t he most f amous t ext i n t he Bost on Museum
Col l ect i on i s t he f uner ar y st el ea and of f er i ng t abl e of
Tedeqen. The Tedeqen i nscr i pt i ons have been wi del y
publ i shed. ( Weni g 1978; Dunham1962; Vi l l ar d 1959)
The f uner ar y st el ea of Tedeqen ( Cat . #23. 870) i s made of
gr ani t e. The cent r al scene i ncl udes a Mer oi t i c pr i nce
wear i ng
a l ong r obe common f or Mer oi t i c pr i nces and hol di ng a smal l
censer and l i bat i on vessel f aci ng t he god Osi r i s who si t s
on a t hr one. Behi nd Osi r i s st ands t he goddess I si s.
Under neat h t hi s scene we f i nd a cur si ve Mer oi t i c
i nscr i pt i on. Above t he scene of Pr i nce Tedeqen, Osi r i s and
I si s we f i nd a wi nged sun di sk r est i ng on papyr us col umns.
The t r ansl i t er at i on and t r ansl at i on of t he Mer oi t i c
t ext i s :
1. Wo ne Tedeqe ne h ml ol .
2. Ho lk t
e
ne at ml o ne p r eme.
3. D o t l wi ne el h t
e
ne et
e
d ot .
4. El h t
e
ne he r ke- ne- l d t
e
ne.
Tr ansl at i on
" Good I si s ( gi ve) t he Good Tedeqe' s Kha , good i nner
hear t ( and) soul ( t he abi l i t y t o) behol d t he pat h of
r ebi r t h. The good i nner hear t pr ays t o wi t ness ( i t s
good mani f est at i on. ( Thi s) bequeat hal t o open ( and
102




el evat e) t he Obj ect of Respect ( Tedeqe' s) gi f t ( of t he
Kha' s) r ebi r t h. You gi ve t he mani f est at i on of t he
bequeat hal of pr est i ge. The gi f t ( of ) t he Kha' s r ebi r t h ( and
t he) ext er nal body( ' s r ebi r t h) i ndeed( i s) r evi t al i zat i on
( of ) t he bequeat hal ' s r ebi r t h" .
We al so have t he of f er i ng t abl e of Tedeqe i n t he
Bost on Museumof Fi ne Ar t s ( 23. 873) . The Tedeqe of f er i ng
t abl e i s al so made of gr ani t e.

Thi s r ect angul ar t abl et has a cur si ve Mer oi t i c t ext
sur r oundi ng t he cent r al scene. I n t he cent r al scene we f i nd
goddesses Nepht ys and Anubi s ar ound an of f er i ng t abl e
suppor t ed by a l ot us f l ower . Bot h goddesses pour l i qui d
f r oml i bat i on vessel s. Above t he cent r al f i gur es we f i nd a
f r i eze of of f er i ng l oaves of br ead. Bel ow i s t he
t r ansl i t er at i on and t r ansl at i on of t he of f er i ng t abl e of
Tedeqe.
1. Woi ne a 2. or e y.
3. i ne Tedeqe qo nea
4. h d o s- ne e d h l o- ne i ma e t ne e.
5. R ke l i ne Er - i ke l o- ne at
6. Ml o ne el h n- ne- a
7. t ml ol wi - ne t
e
l .
" I si s t he Good, ( 2) Osi r i s t he et er nal .
103




( 3) Go Good Tedeqe f or r enewal now. ( 4) The
Kha bequeat hal ( i s) t o open ( up) a new vi vi f i cat i on.
Regi st er t he bequeat hal of t he Kha' s t r ansmi gr at i on.
Measur e ( and) command t he embar kat i on ( of ) Good t o gr ant
( Tedeqe) a boon. ( 5) I ndeed ( r evi t al i ze) exal t ed Good. Go
f avor i ndeed as i s obl i gat or y t he advance of t he
t r ansmi gr at i on. The i nner hear t opens Good. The gi f t ( of )
t he Kha i s much Goodness. The gr and i nner hear t t o el evat e
t he Obj ect of Respect " .
TEQORI DE
Anot her of f er i ng t abl e f or a Mer oi t i c el i t e f ound i n
t he Bost on Museumi s t hat of Teqor i de ( 23. 872) . Teqor i de
was bur i ed i n pyr ami d 28, at Mer oe. t he Teqor i de gr ani t e
of f er i ng t abl e has a cur si ve Mer oi t i c i nscr i pt i on bor der i ng
a scene of Nepht ys and Anubi s pour i ng l i qui ds f r oml i bat i on
vessel s. Bel ow i s t he t r ansl i t er at i on and t r ansl at i on:
1. Woi ne or e yi
2. Tqor i de ( 3. ) i r qo wi - ne ar q t k. . . .
4. t
e
d h e l o wi - ne ar ot . . . at
e
.
5. R. . . ke l o wi - ne at he mel
6. . . ke t
e
ne ( 7. ) Ye r ml ol - l . . .
8. t w d. . . e
9. Ml . . . w. . . ol ket e.
" 1. I si s t he Good. Osi r i s t he et er nal . 2. Teqor i de. 3.
104




i ndeed l eaves. Renew ( t hi s) Obj ect of Respect [ I si s and
Osi r i s] t o br i ng out ( hi s) desi r e ( f or ) r ebi r t h ( as
i s) obl i gat or y. . . 4. The donat i on ( of ) t he compl et e Kha
of f er i ng ( of ) kht e Obj ect of Respect t o br i ng out
pr est i ge. . . advance. 5. I ndeed. . . ask per mi ssi on ( f or )
t he of f er i ng ( of ) t he Obj ect of Respect ( t o) advance,
gi vi ng gr eat ness t o spi r i t ual i t y. . . . 6. . . . Gi ve f or m
i ndeed ( t o) t he gr and i nner hear t t o be. . . 8. You [ I si s
and Osi r i s] gui de t he compl et e bequeat hal t o r ebi r t h
( of t he ) Kha. 9. The i nner hear t . . . t o
gui de. . . ( i t s) . . gr and r ai se" .

CONCLUSION

The Mer oi t i c f uner ar y t abl es and st el ea make i t cl ear
t hat t he Mer oi t es bel i eved t hat t he dead had f r eedomt o
move. Thei r movement was depended on how t hey l i ved t hei r
l i f e. I n t he f uner ar y t ext t he deceased decl ar ed t he
of f er i ng of hi s Good ( act s and behavi or ) t o pur chase t he
lo-ne ' t r ansmi gr at i on' of t he Kha , t o t he Mer oi t e
par adi se.
I f t he deceased Mer oi t e was good enough, hi s Kha woul d
be pr ovi ded passage t o par adi se pr ot ect ed by I si s. The Kha
105




i s t he sust ai ni ng spi r i t of t he Mer oi t es. I t was t he l i f e-
f or ce of t he deceased.
I t i s appar ent t hat t he pl acement of t he Mer oi t i c
of f er i ng t abl es out si de t he t omb of t he depar t ed was meant
t o benef i t spi r i t ual l y bot h t he deceased and t he devot ee.
I n Mer oi t i c cul t ur e i t appear s t hat t he devot ee and or
pi l gr i mt o t he t ombs of Mer oi t e monar chs and el i t es wer e
suppose t o of f er al ms\ l i bat i ons t o t he Mer oi t e gods . I n
t hi s way bot h t he l i vi ng and t he dead gai ned i ncr eased
r i ght eousness .














106






Chapter 10 : Meroitic Religion
Although archaeology has provided us with many interesting details of Meroitic
civilization, we know very little about the Meroitic people and their religious beliefs,
because of our former inability to read the Meroitic script(Taylor 1991: 51).
We have had to make inferences about the religion of the Meroites because of our
inability to read Meroitic text. Millet (1984:111) noted that:
"....[W]ithout the evidence of the still
unintelligible written documents, we find ourselves in the
awkward position of making inferences about Meroitic religion
from cultural behavior, rather than, as most historians can,
drawing conclusions about cultural values from religion".

But now that we know the cognate language for Meroitic:
Tokharian,we can now illuminate the interesting religion of
the Meroites.
The Meroitic text help us to understand the social values of the Meroites. These text
make it apparent that the Meroites wanted to be known by their piety and generosity to the
gods.
As a result the Meroites left many monuments and offering tables\tablets expressing their
devotion to their gods. The Meroitic inscriptions on the stela and offering tablets were
written to indicate that the departed Meroite wanted to secure a blessed life in the
afterworld.
The Meroites were very concerned about the afterlife. They left in their tombs funerary
literature and grave goods to assure for themselves everlasting life.
107




The Meroite elites and royals were buried under pyramids. The walls of chapels
associated with the pyramids include reliefs reflecting Egyptian scenes and vignettes from
the Book of the Dead, at Begrawiyah North and Jebel Barkal (Yellin 1990).
Other well-to-do Meroites were buried in small brick superstructures. In the attached
small chapel the offering table and funerary stela was sometimes housed (Taylor 1991:53).
The Meroitic mortuary offerings reflect many objects the Meroite would use in the
afterworld. They inscribed or painted ba statues, stela and offering tables with cursive
Meroitic . The utilitarian items of every-day use by the Meroites were placed in the tomb.,
while the ba statuettes and stela were often placed outside the tombs.
The offering tables were used to make libations in behalf of the deceased after his
interment. They were made of sandstone and shaped either rectangular or square. The tables
measured anywhere between ten and fourteen inches in length, with a recessed center
surrounded by a raised border.
The offering tablets and funerary stela often include carved designs and inscriptions. The
inscriptions were in Meroitic. The most popular designs on the tables include loaves of
bread, and the mortuary gods Anubis and Nephthys.
The artifacts found near the tombs of rich Meroites include ba statuettes. The ba
statuettes often made in the shape of humans with folded wings, were usually placed in front
of the tomb (O'Connor 1993). It was made in this way to represent the free and mobile
nature of Ba, which was suppose to sore into the sky. The Ba was recognized as a soul,
which possessed mobility.
The term Ba represented the ability of the deceased person's spirit to move from the grave
and implore the gods for passage and protection of the Kha to the underworld.
The Meroitic funerary imagery indicates that the Meroite sovereigns identified with many
Egyptian deities including Amon, Osiris and Isis. Four gods dominated the Meroite religion:
108




Osiris, Isis, Aman and Apedemak. Osiris and Isis command the Meroitic funerary universe.
The Meroitic temple cult was centered on Aman, Apedemak and Isis.
We learn from the Tayidamani stela that Aman ( Amon/Amun of the Egyptians) was
recognized as the supreme creator god and progenitor of the king (Winters, 1999). It appears
that Isis, was responsible for giving the dead person's Kha or abstract personality of
man , permission to leave the tomb for paradise. Osiris, was the god who guides the
deceased person's Kha, to one of the many afterworlds mentioned in the Meroitic funerary
tablets.
The Meroitic funerary inscriptions have the following order: 1) the Invocation to Isis and
Osiris the Meroites gods of the dead ; 2) the Name of the deceased; and 3) the obituary.
THE MEROITIC SPIRITUAL FORMS
Obviously the Meroitic language in the funerary texts include many Egyptian cognates.
For example:
Meroitic Egyptian
1 Khi khat 'body, external body, spirit'
Kha ka 'the abstract personality of man'
Kho,Khe khu 'a shinning or translucent spirit soul. The Khu, was suppose to reside
in heaven when a man dies. In the Meroitic inscriptions there is constant mention of the khi
; kha ; kho and the Ba "soul" .
The Kha was seen as the supreme offering of the deceased. It was to be taken along the
H- ate (path), to be judged by Isis and Osiris as eligible for rebirth. The ate was the
path taken by the Kha's ascent to rebirth.
In the archaic Meroitic text we find mention of the 1mlo ,'inner heart' . The mlo is
often referred to as the mlo ol 'grand inner heart'. The heart of the departed Meroite was
therefore weighed for goodness.
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The Meroitic texts indicate that the mlo was suppose to determine if the Meroites piety
was great enough to guarantee his Kha's transmigration. It would appear from the
Tayidamani text that the Good of a man was believed to be contained in the inner heart.
The migration of the inner heart from the tomb full of the deceased person's Kha, was
meant to elevate the Good Meroite to a high status. This indicates that the deceased Meroite
was suppose to be free of wrong doing and a full supporter of the divine order, if s/he was to
enter the afterworld kingdom of Osiris.
Thusly the 1 mlo ol, was recognized as a guide down the grand path (ate) to a
new vivification of the deceased. The mlo ol, was the guide , sent ahead of the Kha, to
insure the departed person's rebirth. This was necessary because if the deceased person's
Kha and mlo ol were found to be full of n(a)ne (Goodness), s/he was granted a revitalized
soul and rebirth.
It would appear that a major function of the : kh was to also prop up Good. The
kh was therefore often made an offering to the Meroite gods.
It appears from the Meroitic funerary text that the (Kho) , would remain with the
body until its flesh decayed, then it would wither away, leave the tomb or hunt it. The
deceased person usually requested that Isis and Osiris escort this Kho, safely to one of the
Meroite afterworlds.
In the funerary inscriptions we also find much mention of the I Ba or Be . I have
interpreted the term ba #, as "soul'. The ba, united the conception of the Kha, and the
Khe / Kho . The best place to find this term in the Meroitic funerary literature include the
Tayidamani , Armina West and Karanog steleas.
In the Tayidamani stela, for example , the Ba, Am and Kha , had to play specific roles .
In the ancient Meroitic text the term am meant 'spirit soul' (Winters, 1999).
In the late and transitional Meroitic text there is very little mention of the am. The Kho
replaced it.
110




In the Tayidamani stela , line 146, we discover that the kh (spirit body) and the kha ,
were to be released from the body to protect his soul . Upon release the kh was to prop up
Goodness. It was also suppose to be an offering to the Meroitic gods.
The spirit body of the King was to sustain Good at the burial site. For example the Ba of
Tayidamani was to remain at Jebel Barkal (Tayidamani stela, lines 33-34) for a period of
time continuing to serve Aman, while it represented a talisman of blessing for the pilgrims
that visited his tomb.
According to the Tayidamani stela ,line 139, the Ba was a gift to Aman (Winters, 1999).
This may explain the placement of the Meroitic carved items such as the ba statues and
funerary tablets outside the Meroite tombs. (Adams 1977: 377-378) Placement outside the
tomb probably tolerated the ba's effortless access to flight.
In the late Meroitic text. The Ba , was no longer forced to stay at the tomb. In these
inscriptions it is made clear that the Ba, retired in B(a)ne.

THE GODS
Many Meroitic gods were formerly worshipped in Egypt. These gods include Isis, Osiris,
Mash, Bes, Nephthys and Anubis.
Other Meroitic gods were of Meroitic origin. These gods include Apedemak and
Sebewyemeker (Sbomeker). Sebewyemeker is believed to have been recognized as the
creator god by some southern Meroites . The Lion-god Apedemak was the warrior god.
In the steleas and offering tables of the Meroites we find mention of the various
characteristics of their gods. But there are two sacral inscriptions, which provide us with
important information about the Meroitic gods, which we will discuss in detail below.
AMAN
The principal god of the Meroites was Amun or Aman. Aman had been worshipped by
the Kushites since the Kerma dynasty. The long worship of Aman by the Kushites may
111




explain his high standing throughout the Meroitic Empire (O'Connor 1993:79). This would
explain the establishment of large Aman temples at Jebel Barkal and Meroe.
The center of Aman worship was Napata. Aman, the hidden god was closely connected
to Meroitic kingship. as a result there are Aman temples in Meroe City, Napata and Kawa.
Millet (1984:116-117) believes that the Meroitic king was probably recognized as a
"trusted and privileged paramount agent of the gods than either their brother or their
servant". The Meroitic inscription on the other hand make it clear that both the Meroite king
and commoners all recognized themselves as the 'servant, patron' of the gods.
Napata was the main religious center of the Kushites. Jebel Barkal was both the
companion site of Napata , and the sacred mountain of the city of Napata. It was identified
as the holy southern abode of the god Amon.
iii
Jebel Barkal, was considered the southern most center for Amun\ Amon worship in north
Africa. Reisner excavated this rock outcrop between 1913 and 1916.
Aman had long been worshiped by the Kushites. The Kushites/ C-Group people of Kerma
first worshiped Amun long before the founding of the temple of Aman at Jebel Barkal.
iv
Many of the Meroitic kings were buried at Jebel Barkal after 300 B.C.
v
The Egyptians
called Jebel Barkal, dw w b "holy mountain". At the foot of Jebel Barkal, the Egyptians
erected the great temple of Amon in the 15th century B.C.
Aman was recognized by the Kushites as a supreme creator god, the god of the Sun, and
progenitor of the king. In addition to Aman, the Kushites also worshipped the Egyptian gods
Isis and Osiris. The goddess Isis watched over the rites of metamorphosis, while Osiris was
suppose to lead the dead to paradise.
vi
Aman was also referred to as Amani and Amnpe or Amanape. The term Amanape
probably should be interpreted as Amn p-ne or "Aman the foundation (of Good)".
112




The Meroites often called the god Aman, Amani. Amani was recognized as the creator
of the Kushites and supporter of all existence in the inscriptions from Armina West (Trigger
1970).
The Meroites recognized Aman as a god that "inclined" man towards good. Aman was
also considered a guide to the rebirth.
The Meroites believed that Aman had the ability to make his
s 'patron, supporter', a sign of honor. In the Armina West inscription (Trigger 1970), we see
the following passage:
Si ye qo wi-ne nt-ne Amni se-ne-a bo y
or
"Content to live everlasting bowing in reverence to Amani,
(who is) supporting (now) all existence".

ISIS AND OSIRIS
The most popular gods in the Meroitic texts were Isis and Osiris. On the offering tables
we also find the goddess Nephthys and the god Anubis depicted pouring libations for the
departed.
Among the Meroites Osiris was recognized as the maker of merit. He was also the guide
to the Meroitic afterworld.
It would appear that Wos-i (Isis) was responsible for giving the dead person's Kha , the
right to leave for paradise while she watched over other aspects of the metamorphosis of the
Meroitic King into the Kha, Ba, Khi , and Am.
Wos was responsible for the deceased person's transmigration. It was Isis who
authorized a new vivification for the departed. In Armina West stela no. 1, Side B, lines 14-
15 (Trigger 1970), we discover that:
(14) Te s-ne Wos p e y ke.
113




or
"Bring the new vivification Isis, give (its) foundation
, make (its) authorization."
(15) S-ne-l qe te h no ne-i hre.
"The new vivification to give birth to the Kha anew ,
in truth and dignity."
The Napata inscription-statue no.75, gives us some very interesting information about
Isis. Napata statue no.75 is made of black granite. This statue depicts Isis on a throne
nursing Horus.
vii
This Meroitic piece is found in the Berlin Museum (Inv. no.2258).
TRANSLITERATION OF NAPATA STATUE NO.75
1. ALE E QE S-NE E QE E TER.
2. TK W-NE SOH-NE ATe RE.
3. KE-B E-NE TeNE KEL HENEL.
4. TeM WI-NE S E Y-S-NE-I D I.
5. PQ ODE NE-I PL-E-TO NENO-B.
6.TeNE KL NE I PL MK L-TONE.
7. ATER LK-E BO KE TEM OTE.
8. TO E W-NE EK-TE R L-TE E TE.
9. D TeM OTE NE WO NE-TE W-NE.
10. W E O I TE LO-NE-TE NEK EL.
11. S S N S LI-NE-L NO.
12. KED D-NE ATeR-E B.
13. TeL-NE Te W WI-NE PL-E.
14. Te S-NE WO PE Y KE.
15. S-NE-L QE Te H NEI HRE.
16. S-NE KE K-NE...WO QO.
114




17. -NE AB ENE...TO.
TRANSLATION OF NAPATA STATUE NO.75
"(1) Give noble renewal (Oh Isis) to the new vivification. Give renewal--give (its)
erection. (2) Reflect (on) the patron (and) guide good prosperity (on the) good path indeed.
(3) Desire (patron) the bestowal of a rebirth to resound in Henel.
viii
(4) (Goodness) come(s)
into being as an Object of Respect (for) the patron. Give existence to the new vivification.
Go (now) and give (it) leave. (5) Fashion wonderment (and) order (Oh Isis)--you will
commence (to make wonderment) in abundance. (6) The good Supporter even go(es) to
wipe out much non-existence. (7) The hero to behold all. Act (now) to bear approbation.
ix

(8) You give guidance and nourishment. This (is done) by transmigration--give (its)
existence. (9) The disciple indeed to reflect (on) Isis the good,(she) puts ( on you guidance).
(10) (Isis) lead(s). She commences to arrange your transmigration. Arrange now the gifts.
(11) The patron (of Isis) s/he (is) to be exalted, like new. (12) Spread the bequeathal of the
hero in a pile. (13) Rise to arrange and guide (us to) honor (Oh Isis). Much praise go(es)
forth, (14) Isis (is) to also bring authorization for the new vivification. (15) The new
vivification to give birth to the Kha anew in truth and dignity. (16) The Patron has
permission to realize (it)...Isis (is) to make it (happen) (17) (For) the good patron, the
ancestor, (and) the Commander...."
APEDEMAK
The second most popular god in Meroe was Apedemak. He is associated with the
Apedemak temple at Musawwarat-es-Sufra. Arnekhamani built this temple. (Millet 1984;
Torok 1984) At Musawwarat we find the first references to Arensnuphis and
Sebewyemeker, two other gods worshipped by the Meroites.
The most interesting Meroitic text concerning Apedemak is found on the votive tablet of
Tayidamani which is now found in the Paris Museum. On this votive tablet Tayidamani
is depicted on the obverse side , and the god Apedemak on the reverse side.
115



116





116
On the reverse side of the Tayidamani votive tablet the god Apedemak is depicted wearing a
short apron and hemhem crown. On this votive tablet Apedemak also wears armlets, bracelets, a
collar and pectoral. Inside a panel in front of Apedemak we find a cursive Meroitic inscription.
The inscriptions in the panel on the reverse side of the votive tablet of King Tayidamani make it
clear that the king acknowledged the important role the god Apedemak played in his life. These
inscriptions can be read either from right to left or top to bottom. Reading from right to left we
read:
TRANSLITERATION OF REVERSE SIDE
OF VOTIVE TABLET OF KING TAYIDAMANI

1. w e to
2. q tel
3. w to si
4.tone m-k
5. d .[l]..r-i
6.te i
TRANSLATION
1. You (it is Apedemak who) gives guidance.
2. Revitalize support (for me King Tayidamani).
3. You guide (me) to satisfaction.
4. (And ) much reverence (for your patron).
5. Give (it) amicably (to me).
6. May (it go forth).
Reading this same inscription top to bottom we find the following:
117





117
TRANSLITERATION OF THE REVERSE SIDE
OF THE VOTIVE TABLET OF KING TAYIDAMANI
1. w q b-to d-te.
2. e te to m ne l.
3. toe i skr-i.
TRANSLATION
1. (Oh Apedemak) Guide and Make Honor (for your patron).
2. Give here your (full) measure of Good indeed.
3. (It is) thou (Apedemak who) give(s) leave to eminence
(for your patron).
MASH
Mash or M was a local Meroitic god. The Meroites believed that Mash was able to bestow on
his (patron) honor, atonement, rebirth and dignity. In the Armina West stela 1, Side B, lines 11-12
(Trigger 1970), we discover that:
(11) M e-ne
x
p-si se kes-ne-a.
"Mash give(s) him contentment and (he) will support
justice (for the patron)".
(12) Te M e-ne p-ik r kes-ne ye.
" This Mash (is) to give him gladness, certainly justice
go(es) forth".
In the Tayidamani stela I have translated ms, as Mash , the name of the Meroitic sun god.
Mash is often referred to as:
M li-ne "The exalted Mash";
or
118





118
M ne "Mash the Good" ,
in the Tayidamani stela.
MEROITIC AFTERWORLDS
The Meroites were very interested in the migration of his spiritual forms to everlasting life in the
afterworld. In the Meroitic text we find mention of numerous afterworlds where the Meroite hoped
to perpetuate his continual existence . These afterworlds were sought by the righteous Meroite as a
reward for the good deeds he had done on earth.
It appears that each spiritual entity had its own afterworld in which it hoped rebirth and or a new
vivification. In the Meroitic inscriptions the dead often requested that the Kho, be sent to Khenepi
or Khrph.
Khrph (Kharapakha), is frequently mentioned in the archaic Meroitic inscriptions. According
to the Tayidamani stela, line 55, the Am was to unlock rebirth in Khrph-n (Good Kharapakha).
The new vivification of the deceased was to take place in Khrphn, where he would be protected
from harm (Tayidamani stela, line 138 ) (Winters, 1999).
Khenepi is often found in late Meroitic text. A reading of Meroitic texts indicate that Khenepi,
may have been a stop-over point for the Ba or Be 'the soul' and Kho on their way to their final
resting place.
There is also mention of an afterworld called Khenel The Ba, would usually remain near the
tomb while the Kho , immigrated to a place called Henel.
In stela #2 from Armina West, line number 12 (Trigger 1970) ,we read the following:
Te po ke-ne do tl khenepi pi sit k b Khe kes.
"To announce in a lofty voice the acquisition of the extreme limits of Khenepi, be content to
reflect on the Ba, the Khe emigrates."
In stela #1 from Armina West, side B, line number 13 we also find a similar phrase:
119





119
Tepo ke-ne do te Khenepi.
"Announce in a lofty the acquisition of the extreme limit of Khenepi ".
There is also mention in the Meroitic inscriptions of a place called Bane . It would appear that
Bane , was probably the place where the Ba spirit of the deceased person dwelled after death if it
left the grave. The object of the Meroitic obituaries were probably aimed at getting the Ba of the
dead to migrate to Bane rather than hunt the grave.
In conclusion the Meroitic text help us understand the social values of the Meroites. They aid us
in understanding the popular and elitist views of the Meroitic religion and deities.
The funerary manuscripts of the Meroites explain the legacy of Meroitic religion on succeeding
cultures in Nubia . They manifest a religion that although modeled after many Egyptian religious
ideas , include many elements that were of Meroitic origin.
The Meroites establish a major emphasis on the afterlife. They believed that the spirit forms of
the departed should be provided sustenance and mobility. The deposit of libations and articles used
by the deceased while he was alive in the tomb illustrate that the Meroite believed the spirit entities
should be provided sustenance in the afterlife.
The spirit entities of the Meroite requested passage to everlasting life in one of the afterworlds in
the Meroitic funerary literature. This desire for the Kho , Ba, and other spirit forms to find rebirth in
the afterworld, explains the Meroitic social emphasis on the mobility of a person's spirit forms in the
Meroite's quest for continual existence.
Meroitic funerary texts make it clear that the Meroitic people did not want the dead to hunt their
tombs . On the other hand, the Meroites believed that the Good done by the deceased person during
his lifetime should remain in the tomb and provide blessings to the devotee that offered libations at
the grave of the departed. In this way every Meroite tomb was a holy interment.
120





120
This would explain the placement of the Meroitic offering tables outside the tomb. It is apparent
that the placement of the Meroitic offering tables outside the tomb of the departed was meant to
benefit spiritually both the deceased and the devotee. In Meroitic culture it appears that devotee and
or pilgrim to the tombs of Meroite monarchs and elites were suppose to offer alms\ libations to the
Meroite gods . In this way both the living and the dead gained increased righteousness .















121





121


Chapter 11: EGYPTIAN INFLUENCE ON MEROITIC

The Kushi t es and Egypt i ans had a cl ose r el at i onshi p f or
mi l l enni a. As a r esul t t he Egypt i ans had a t r emendous i nf l uence
on t he cul t ur e of t he Kushi t es, especi al l y i n t he ar ea of
r el i gi on
xi
.
As ear l y as t he 12t h dynast y t he Egypt i ans cont r ol l ed
Nubi a. Af t er 1674 BC, t he Ker ma r ul er s r egai ned cont r ol of Nubi a
unt i l t he r ai se of t he New Ki ngdom. Phar aohs of t he New Ki ngdom
r ul ed Egypt f or 500 year s.
Nubi a gai ned i ndependence af t er t he decl i ne of Egypt i n 1085
B. C. Dur i ng t hi s per i od t he Kushi t es devel oped a hi ghl y
devel oped ci vi l i zat i on at Napat a and Mer oe ( 880 B. C. - A. D. 350) .
Over t i me t he Kushi t es became st r ong enough t o conquer or Egypt
and f ound t he 25t h Dynast y.
The l ong associ at i on of Egypt and Nubi a suggest t hat t he
Egypt i ans may have i nf l uenced mor e t han t he cul t ur e of t he
Kushi t es. I n t hi s paper we wi l l r evi ew t he af f i ni t i es bet ween
t he Egypt i an and Mer oi t i c l anguages.
122





122
Ll . Gr i f f i t h dur i ng hi s deci pher ment of Mer oi t i c ( M. )
f ound many Egypt i an ( E. ) t er ms . These t er ms wer e especi al l y
used i n t he pol i t i cal cul t ur e ar ea e. g. , E. p-sy-n-nsw ' son of
ki ng' >
M. pesto 'ki ng' s f oot hol d/ f oundat i on of l i ght ' .
Now t hat we have mor e evi dence about t he Mer oi t i c l anguage
we can now compar e Egypt i an and Mer oi t i c t o det er mi ne i f t her e
ar e any ot her si mi l ar i t i es bet ween t hese l anguages. Bel ow ar e
some Mer oi t i c t er ms t hat i l l ust r at e t he i nf l uence of Egypt i an on
Mer oi t i c.
Egypt i an Mer oi t i c
m' do not ' ma not , no
nd ' homage' net ' bow i n r ever ence'
r ' t o, i nt o' r i d.
se ' son' s i d.
s y ' sat i sf act i on' se- ne ' t o be sat i sf i ed'
ss ' wr i t i ng, scr i be' ssor ' scr i be'
s w ' t o pr ot ect ' s ' t o pr ot ect '
di ' gi ve' d i d.
t ' t hou' t i d.
t ' ear t h' t e ' l and'
123





123
k i ' hi gh' kha ' gr eat '
h
c
' w ' body' khe ' spi r i t , body'
r
c
' l i kewi se' r ' l i ke'
bi ' good deed' bl i ' r i ght , or der '
b ' soul ' b, be i d.
ssmt ' st ewar t ' ssi mt e i d.
p- mr - ms
c
' gener al , st at egus' pel mos i d.
p- sy- n- nsw ' son of t he ki ng' pest o
st " I si s' Wos i d.
Wsi r ' Osi r i s Sor e i d.
nf r ' good' na, n
t i ' her e' t
Sever al aspect s of Demot i c gr ammar agr ee wi t h Mer oi t i c
st r uct ur e. Thi s i s especi al l y t r ue i n r el at i on t o t he f or mat i on
of t he adj ect i ve case and t he use of pr onouns.
The Mer oi t i c f uner ar y t abl et s ar e wr i t t en i n t he t hi r d or
second per son. Mer oi t i c wor ds ar e usual l y f or med by t he addi t i on
of post - posi t i ons or suf f i xes. The Mer oi t i c pr onouns ar e
suf f i xed t o Mer oi t i c wor ds. They i ncl ude, -te ' you, t hou' ; -t
' her , he' ; ne ' hi s' ; -to ' your ' ; and t he -n and a t hi r d per son
si ngul ar suf f i xes. For exampl e:
124





124
- n s/ he, i t , her , hi s
i " go" , i - n ' he goes'
de ' bequeat hal ' , de- n ' hi s bequeat hal '
qe ' make' , qe- n ' he makes'
I n Demot i c we see use of suf f i xi al pr onouns. For exampl e:
sdm ' hear '
sdmy ' I hear '
sdm. f ' he hear '
sdmhr - f ' he wi l l hear '
I n Mer oi t i c t he adj ect i ve i s pl aced behi nd t he noun. For
exampl e,
e ' compl et e'
on t ene ' The ki ng commence( s) t he r ebi r t h' .
on t ene- e ' The ki ng commence( s) t he compl et e r ebi r t h' .
Adj ect i ves i n Demot i c ar e al so pl aced behi nd t he noun. For
exampl e:
r mt hm ' smal l man'
y nf r ' good f at e'
ssw sbk ' f ew days'
125





125
The - msuf f i x was used i n Mer oi t i c t o denot e t he negat i ve
ef f ect . The negat i ve par t i cl e - m, i s of t en j oi ned t o ver bs al ong
wi t h t he pr onoun. For exampl e:
mi-n ' i nj ur e hi m' , mi-m-n ' i nj ur e hi mnot ' .
I n Mer oi t i c t abl et s t he negat i ve suf f i x r ar el y appear s.
The Egypt i an negat i ve par t i cl e m, agr ees wi t h Mer oi t i c. I n
Demot i c t he negat i ve par t i cl e mn-, i s pr ef i xed, e. g. ,
mn lh gm hw ' no f ool f i nds pr of i t ' .
I n t he shor t r evi ew above of Egypt i an and Mer oi t i c cognat es
we can see t he obvi ous i nf l uence of Egypt i an, especi al l y Demot i c
on Mer oi t i c. Thi s i nf l uence was shown not onl y i n vocabul ar y but
al so gr ammat i cal f eat ur es.
Thi s l i ngui st i c mat er i al di scussed above cl ear l y suggest
some Egypt i an subst r at a i nf l uence on Mer oi t i c. I t i ndi cat es
Egypt i an i nf l uence on bot h t he st r uct ur e and vocabul ar y of
Mer oi t i c.
I t i s ver y i nt er est i ng t o not e t hat much of t he af f i ni t y
bet ween Mer oi t i c and Egypt i an i s based on Demot i c exampl es. Thi s
may be expl ai ned by t he f act t hat Demot i c was used by t he
Kushi t es dur i ng t he 25t h Dynast y, and f or ms t he f oundat i on f or
t he Mer oi t i c wr i t i ng.
126





126



Chapter 12: Meroitic Relationships to African Languages

The gr eat savant Chei kh Ant a Di op ( 1974, 1981) was convi nced
t hat many West Af r i can gr oups had f or mer l y l i ved i n t he Egypt o-
Nubi an r egi on bef or e t hey mi gr at ed t o West Af r i ca( Di op, 1974) . He
suppor t ed t hi s hypot hesi s wi t h a di scussi on of t he cognat i on
bet ween t he names f or gods i n Egypt - Nubi a and West Af r i ca
( Di op, 1974) , Egypt o- Nubi an and West Af r i can et hnomyns and
t oponyms common t o bot h r egi ons ( Di op, 1981) 1 and West Af r i can
and Egypt i an l anguages.
Ther e ar e many r el at i onshi ps bet ween Mer oi t i c and ot her
Af r i can l anguages. For exampl e, I n Or omo/ Gal l a, t he t er mf or
queen i s ' gifti'; and bot h 'naaga-ta" i n Somal i and Wol of we
f i nd ' j i gen' mean woman. These t er ms appear t o be r el at ed t o Kdi
> gti/e.
Yet even t hough we f i nd cogni t i on bet ween some Cushi t i c and
Nubi an we can not use t hese l anguages t o compl et el y deci pher
Mer oi t i c as pr oven by many past r esear cher s. The Tochar i an


127





127
l anguage on t he ot her hand, does al l ow us t o r ead Mer oi t i c and
show i t s r el at i onshi p wi t h ot her Af r i can l anguages.
A compar i son of Mer oi t i c t o Af r i can l angauges i ndi cat e t hat
Mer oi t i c i s cl osel y r el at ed t o l angauges spoken i n West Af r i ca.
Li ke Mer oi t i c, t he pr onoun i s of t en a suf f i x i n ot her Af r i can
l anguages. Thi s suf f i x of t he t hi r d per son si ngul ar i s usual l y n-,
i n ot her Af r i can l anguages. For exampl e:
Bambar a: no p r i ' hi s house'
Kpel l e: nyin 'his tooth'
Akan: ni dan ' hi s house'
The Mer oi t i c a- t hi r d per son si ngul ar af f i x i s al so f ound i n
ot her Af r i can l anguages. For exampl e:
Swahi l i : ( 1) a-ta kwenda ' he' s goi ng t o go'
( 2) a-li-kwenda ' he i s her e'
Mandi ng: ( 1) ya zo ' he has come'
( 2) ya shirya mana ' he pr epar ed ( i t ) f or us' .
The use of -i par t i cl e t o f or m nouns i n Mer oi t i c my
cor r espond t o t he use of t he -it and -ayy suf f i xes t o f or m nouns
i n Wol of . The Wol of abst r act noun f or mat i ve suf f i x i s -it, -itt,
e. g. , dog ' t o cut ' , dogit ' shar pness' .
128





128
I n Wol of abst r act nouns ar e al so f or med by t he addi t i on of t he
suf f i x -ayy, and i n Dyol o -ay, e. g. ,
baax ' good' , baaxaay ' goodness' .
Pr ef i xes ar e r ar el y used i n Mer oi t i c. The most common
pr ef i xes i ncl ude t he pr ef i x of r ei nf or cement -p, t he i nt ensi ve
pr ef i x -a and t he i mper f ect pr ef i x -b. The p-, can be ei t her t he
pr ef i x of r ei nf or cement e. g. , ' pat r on' , p- ' t he pat r on' ;
or t he i mper f ect pr ef i x e. g. , i'satisfaction', p-i "continuous
satisfaction'.
The Mer oi t i c p- af f i x, means t he . Thi s Mer oi t i c
gr ammat i cal l el ement cor r esponds t o t he Egypt i an demonst r at i ve pi
' t he' .
I n Mer oi t i c, t he o el ement i s used t o change a noun i nt o an
adj ect i ve. The Mer oi t i c o suf f i x, agr ees wi t h t he use af f i x u,
j oi ned t o a vowel , i n ot her Af r i can l anguages t o f or m adj ect i ves.
I n Swahi l i , many adj ect i ves ar e f or med by t he k- consonant pl us
t he vowel -u : Ku. For exampl e:
( 1) imba ' si ng' ; zuri ' f i ne'
Kui mba kuzur i ' Fi ne si ngi ng'
( 2) -bivu ' r i pe' Kui va ' t o r i pen'
( 3) -bovu ' r ot t en' Kuoza ' t o r ot ' .
129





129
I n Mer oi t i c t he pl ur al case was made by t he suf f i x -b, or
r edupl i cat i on. Redupl i cat i on was al so used as a pl ur al ef f ect i n
Mer oi t i c, e. g. , d' donat i ons' , d-d ' consi der abl e donat i ons' .
Redupl i cat i on i s al so used i n ot her Af r i can l anguages t o expr ess
t he i dea of abundance and di ver si t y. For exampl e,
Swahi l i : Chungu kikavunjika vipande vipnade.
"The cooki ng pot br oke i nt o pi eces".
The Mer oi t i c use of t he -b suf f i x t o make t he pl ur al number ,
cor r esponds t o t he use of t he -ba- af f i x i n Af r i can l anguages. I n
t he Bant u l anguages t he pl ur al i s f or med by t he ba- af f i x. I n t he
Mandi ng gr oup of l anguages we see use of t he -ba suf f i x. I n
Mandi ng, t he -ba af f i x i s j oi ned t o nouns t o denot e t he i dea of
physi cal or mor al gr eat ness. For exampl e:
( 1) na-folo ' good, r i ch'
na-folo-ba ' gr eat f or t une'
( 2) so-kalo 'piece'
so-kalo-ba ' consi der abl e quar t er of a vi l l age' .

I n t he Mer oi t i c i nscr i pt i ons t her e i s const ant ment i on of t he
khi ' body, spi r i t ' , t he kha ' t he abst r act per sonal i t y' , t he kho ' a
shi nni ng or t r ansl ucent spi r i t soul ' ; and t he Ba ' soul ' . I n many
130





130
Af r i can l anguages t he t er mBa, i s used t o denot e t he t er ms ' soul
or t o be' . For exampl e:
Egypt i an: Ba
Mbachi : Ba
Copt i c : Bai
Bambar a : Be
Fang : Be.

The kha, exi st ed wi t hi n and wi t hout t he human body. I t woul d
r emai n wi t h t he body unt i l i t s f l esh decayed, t hen i t woul d ei t her
l eave t he t omb or hunt i t . The Mer oi t i c i dea of Kha, as a spi r i t
cor r esponds t o Ka, i n many Af r i can l anguages. For exampl e:

Egypt i an : Ka
Mandi ng : Ka
Banda : Ka.

The l i ngui st i c evi dence makes i t cl ear t hat some of t he
Mer oi t es may have spoken l anguages t hat bel onged t o t he Ni ger -
Congo- Mande f ami l y of l anguages. Thi s i s suppor t ed by t he
131





131
l i ngui st i c evi dence of shar ed gr ammat i cal f or ms and l exi cal i t ems
bet ween Mer oi t i c and Ni ger - Congo- Mande di scussed i n t hi s chapt er .























132





132


Chapter 13: Meroitic Inscriptions

Bel ow ar e a number of Mer oi t i c i nscr i pt i ons.
Tr ansl i t er at e and t r ansl at e t he f ol l owi ng Mer oi t i c
i nscr i pt i ons. I n Chapt er 14, you wi l l f i nd t he
t r ansl at i on and t r ansl i t er at i on of t hese document s. Use
t hese t r ansl at i ons t o check your t r ansl at i on of t he
document s bel ow.
Armina West Stela 2
(First 8 Lines)
7l1vl'm1:l1m'v:1v
muI-W1--7f-1vl'm1
''7'm171m'm1vI''1uH
71v'u1v<1u?71vI
'muf1-<W'`1vHuW
''7'm1l'1<W`1v''
l`1vI''17'm1vW<W'`Iv
133





133
Hu71vI''7'mI'7'mI'

Sinesara Stela
1m'ul 1:v
11uW'f1:
1v <''u

Karanog altar #46
1vl'1'I7'1m1m'u:1:v
H''1-1v1f1-''I

Qokadiye Offering Table
1m'u:1:v
1vl'm1l
1v'H'mH'1-





134





134


Chapter 14: MEROITIC TEXT
The Mer oi t i c i nscr i pt i ons ar e f ound on st el eas and of f er i ng
t abl es. These t ext pr ovi de us wi t h i mpor t ant i nf or mat i on about
t he Mer oi t i c peopl e, t hei r r el i gi on and cul t ur e. Bel ow i s t he
deci pher ment of a number of Mer oi t i c i nscr i pt i ons f r omQust ul ,
Mer oe, Kar anog, Abu Si mbul and Ar mi na West .
The Mer oi t i c i nscr i pt i ons ar e r ead f r omr i ght t o l ef t . I n
r eadi ng t hese i nscr i pt i ons t he doubl e dot or t r i pl e dot
pat t er n( : ) shoul d be r ead as ' ne' . The t er m/ ne/ i n Mer oi t i c was
used t o f or mnouns and al so shoul d be r ead as " Good" .
I n t hese deci pher ment s we use par ent hesi s ( ) t o denot e
wor ds added t o t he t r ansl at i on, t o make t he t r ansl at i on of t he
Mer oi t i c t ext i nt el l i gi bl e f or Engl i sh speaker s. We have used
br acket s [ ] t o denot e wor ds t hat we specul at e wer e i n t he t ext
but have been dest r oyed si nce t he Mer oi t i c r el i c was f i r st
pr oduced cent ur i es ago.
U. Monner et de Vi l l l ar d publ i shed a number of Mer oi t i c
i nscr i pt i ons i n t he per i odi cal KUSH, i n t he 1950s. An
i nt er est i ng st el a publ i shed by Vi l l ar d ( 1959) came f r omAbu
135


Si mbel . The st el a deci pher ed bel ow came f r omcemet er y 214 near
Abu Si mbel , gr ave 121. Emer y and Ki r wan f i r st publ i shed t hi s
st el a
xi i
. Thi s i nscr i pt i on i s #2, page 92 ( Vi l l ar d 1959) .
Tr ansl i t er at i on
Woi ne or a yi - ne
I si s t he Good Osi r i s t he Et er nal

2. hi ya qo wi - ne
Shi ya l i ves ever l ast i ng
3. Yi d o y- a
xi i i
t ed h
l ead bequeat hal t o r each exi st ence- he t he donat i on kha - a
4. Lo wi - ne m es- l
xi v
hi s Sol i t ar y Obj ect of Respect t o measur e mani f est at i on
h b l o. 5. Tr i ke l o wi
Kha Ba of f er i ng. Fashi on of f er i ng honor .
6. at o m h- ne pi
down t he pat h t o measur e abst r act per sonal i t y of man f oundat i on
7. Si he ke t ene
at onement gi ve gr eat ness gi ve per mi ssi on r ebi r t h
at 8. mh enep- i
xv
si
down t he r oad. gr and best owal at onement
hr ke 9. t ene at t
di gni t y gi ve per mi ssi on. r ebi r t h down t he r oad t he/ t hi s
h ml o l h e 10. pi
136


down t he r oad soul t o behol d compl et e. f oundat i on
s - t h ket o. 11. r e t k
pr ops up he kha t o ar i se. mai nt ai ni ng her e gr eat
l o- ne. 12. mt o qe t one
t r ansmi gr at i on. unl ock r enewal dynami c/ vi gor ous.

Translation
" 1. I si s t he good Osi r i s t he Et er nal . 2. Shakhaya l i ves
ever l ast i ng. 3. Lead he bequeat hal t o r each i t s exi st ence, her e
t he bequeat hal of hi s Kha. 4. The sol i t ar y Obj ect of Respect
( Shakhaya) t o measur e t he mani f est at i on of t he Kha and Ba
of f er i ng( s' ) honor . 5. Fashi on t he of f er i ng of honor ( now) . 6.
( Send i t ) down t he pat h t o measur e h- ne t he f oundat i on. 7.
At onement gi ve( s) gr eat ness. Gi ve per mi ssi on ( f or ) t he r ebi r t h.
8. ( of ) t he gr and best owal of at onement ( and) di gni t y. Gi ve
per mi ssi on 9. ( f or ) t he r ebi r t h down t he pat h ( of r i ght eousness)
t he Kha ( and) t he soul ( ar e) t o behol d t he compl et e f oundat i on
of hi s at onement 11. sust ai ni ng her e t he gr eat t r ansmi gr at i on
12. t o unl ock t he dynami c r enewal . "
Ther e was a l ar ge Mer oi t i c si t e at Ar mi na West . One of t he
f amous st el eas f r omAr mi na West i s st eal #2, pl at e I I ( Tr i gger
1970) .
137


Ar mi na West #2, has 13 l i nes. Thi s st el a concer ns a Mer oi t e
named Shi ye. Bel ow i s t he t r ansl i t er at i on and t r ansl at i on of
st el a #2 of Ar mi na West .
Tr ansl i t er at i on
1. Woi ne or e yi - ne qo- ne i ye
I si s t he good Osi r i s t he Et er nal r enewer . Shi ye
qo wi - ne qo- ne t y . i ye
honor ever l ast i ng Renewer t hat l i ves. Shi ye
qo wi - ne ant - ne amni s
t o l i ve ever l ast i ng pr ophet good Amani suppor t ( i ng)
nea bo y 3. Ter i kel - e
xvi
bk
now al l exi st ence . Fashi on Suppor t er mat ur e
wi - ne ye yi t i d ye- ne
good honor gi ve f or m et er nal you go t o gi ve embar kat i on

t d h el - e 4. Bk wi - ne t
you t o gi ve Kha gi f t . mat ur e honor / Awe f or
t ne qor i - t o
xvi i
wi - ne mar - e per i
t hy good ( f emal e) r ul er honor / Awe do not f aul t
kt ke 5. s ne d e r
Queen Mot her . pat r on good l eave a l egacy t o vouchsaf e i ndeed
t el - o
xvi i i
p es t one aki - n
upl i f t ed pr ay t o mani f est dynami ci sm l ear ni ng her
r ne ye mde l eb
138


i ndeed good t r avel / voyage openi ng wi t h f or ce bal ance
k wi - ne p es t one
obl i gat or y Obj ect of r espect pr ay t o mani f est vi gor ousness
ml e qo l i yet
hear t t o vouchsaf e r enew exal t ed capabl e
mde l eb . 7. Wi - ne p
open wi t h f or ce equal i t y. Obj ect of Respect pr ay
es t one s d e
t o mani f est dynami ci sm t o suppor t t he donat i on. vouchsaf e
w l i - ne yet mde l eb
gui de t he conveyance capabl e t o open wi t h f or ce bal ance
k wi - ne pq .

( as i s necessar y) Obj ect of Respect gr ant my pr ayer .
8. Leb- ne yet mde l eb ne
Rest or at i on capabl e openi ng wi t h f or ce bal ance good
yet mde wi - ne t er t e
you ador n Obj ect of Respect you vouchsaf e ( i t s) er ect i on

9. s- ne pedemk t eb- ne yet
pr op up Apedemak announce i n a l of t y voi ce capabl e
mde l e wi - ne bel o.
open wi t h f or ce her e Commander r ai se agai n.
10. t ep t e b ne yet
announce i n a l of t y voi ce t hat Ba good capabl e
139


mde bk wi - ne
open wi t h f or ce mat ur e Obj ect of r espect / Commander
at om khne pi i
she i s t o be ( r e) bor n t o r eal i ze l i f e cont ent ( ment )
11. h e kes- ne a t m
Kha t o vouchsaf e J ust i ce i t t o pr oduce
e- ne p i i kr b
sust enance pr ay go sat i sf yi ng di gni t y Ba
h e kes 12. t ep
Kha t o gr ant a boon t o be j ust . announce i n a l of t y voi ce ok- ne
dot e- l henepi
t he acqui si t i on ( of ) t he ext r eme l i mi t s of Khenepi
i t k b he kes
cont ent t o r ef l ect ( on) Ba Khe emi gr at es.
13. i - ne or e yi - ne
At onement Osi r i s Et er nal .
Translation
" 1. I si s t he Good. Osi r i s t he Et er nal . 2. Shi ye t o l i ve
ever l ast i ng. The Good pr ophet ( of ) Amani suppor t s now al l
exi st ence. 3. Fashi on ( f or ) t he mat ur e Suppor t er ( of Amani ) Awe,
gi ve ( i t ) et er nal f or m. You go t o gi ve embar kat i on t o your
donat i on. Gi ve ( now) t he Kha gi f t . 4. Mat ur e honor f or t hy good
( f emal e) Rul er . Honor ( her ) do not f aul t t he Queen Mot her . 5. The
Pat r on t o l eave a l egacy t o vouchsaf e i ndeed t he upl i f t ed Obj ect
140


of Respect . Pr ay t o mani f est dynami ci sm( and) her l ear ni ng. Good
i ndeed i s ( t hi s) j our ney/ voyage. 6. Openi ng wi t h f or ce bal ance
i s obl i gat or y. The Obj ect of Respect pr ays t o mani f est
vi gor ousness. Vouchsaf e t he hear t ' s exal t ed r enew( al ) . I t i s
capabl e ( of ) openi ng wi t h f or ce equal i t y. 7. The Obj ect of
Respect pr ays t o mani f est dynami ci smt o suppor t t he donat i on.
Vouchsaf e ( and) gui de t he conveyance ( of t he donat i on) . ( I t i s)
capabl e of openi ng wi t h f or ce bal ance ( as i s) necessar y ( f or )
t he Obj ect of Respect . Gr ant ( t hi s) pr ayer . 8. t he Rest or at i on
i s capabl e of openi ng wi t h f or ce a good bal ance. ( I t i s) capabl e
of openi ng wi t h f or ce bal ance ( f or ) t he Obj ect of Respect as i s
obl i gat or y. You ( ar e) t o vouchsaf e ( i t s) er ect i on. 9. Pr op up
Apedemak , announce i n a l of t y voi ce ( he i s) capabl e ( of )
openi ng her e wi t h f or ce t he Commander ' s r i se agai n. 10. Announce
i n a l of t y voi ce t hat t he Good Ba i s capabl e of openi ng wi t h
f or ce mat ur e Awe. She i s t o be ( r e) bor n t o r eal i ze l i f e ( and)
cont ent ( ment ) . 11. The Kha t o vouchsaf e j ust i ce. I t i s t o
pr oduce sust enance. Go pr ay ( f or ) sat i sf yi ng di gni t y. The Ba
( and) Kha t o gr ant a j ust boon. 12. Announce i n a l of t y voi ce
t he acqui si t i on ( of ) t he ext r eme l i mi t s of Khenepi cont ent t o
141


r ef l ect ( on l i f e) . The Ba ( and) Kha emi gr at es. 13. At onement
( comes f r om) Osi r i s t he Et er nal . "
Anot her i mpor t ant Mer oi t i c t ext i s t he Ter i qa st el a f r om
Mer oe. The Ter i qa st el a was publ i shed by Gar st ang, Sayce &
Gr i f f i t h ( 1911, 17) . Thi s i s pl at e XI X, #4 on page 17.
The Tar i qa st el a i s made of gr ani t e. On t hi s st el a we see
I si s and t he Ki ng Ter i qa engr aved on t he t op por t i on of t he
st el a.
The i nscr i pt i ons on t he st el a ar e di vi ded i nt o t hr ee
gr oups; A, B, and C. I nscr i pt i ons A, ar e pl aced i n f r ont of a
depi ct i on of t he goddess I si s. Af t er t he f i gur e of Tar i qa we
f i nd a gr oup of i nscr i pt i ons l abel ed gr oup B. The gr oup C,
i nscr i pt i ons ar e l ocat ed under t he f i gur es of I si s and Tar i qa.
Tr ansl i t er at i on
A.
ek l t ene n h- ne
t o nour i sh now r ebi r t h good abst r act per sonal i t y of man
wi al ne e t k t et e
honor nobl e good vouchsaf e set i n mot i on pl ace her e
wi ne - m s q ni
Awe/ Obj ect of r espect hi s t o pr ot ect f or m shi nni ng
[ d] yi
142


[ of f er i ng] voyage.
B.
l k l t ene w- o s wk e
behol d now t he r ebi r t h st eer i ng ki ng voi ce t ot al
ne l t k t o
good now set i n mot i on begi nni ng.

C.
t er i q q d r ne qo
Ter i qa f or m t o l eave a l egacy i ndeed good l i vi ng
wi - ne ah- l d
obj ect of r espect t r ansf i gur ed spi r i t l eave a l egacy
l e w e - n o
her e gui de gi ve wi l l t o open/ commence
w- ne k d kl
Commander as i s obl i gat or y t o l eave a l egacy t o t ol er at e
[ t e] ne pi d - t d- ne
[ r ebi r t h] go pr ay t o l eave a l egacy t he i nher i t ance
w h- ne l o l o- ne
t o gui de abst r act per sonal i t y of man sol i t ar y t r ansmi gr at i on
Translation
" A. ( I si s) now nour i sh t he good r ebi r t h of t he honor ( ed)
abst r act per sonal i t y of man' s nobl e good. Vouchsaf e ( t hi s h- ne
143


Oh I si s) set ( i t ) i n mot i on ( now) . Pl ace her e hi s Awe t o pr ot ect
( and) f or ma gl eam. Go br i ng ( t he bl essi ngs now) .
B. ( Ter i qa) now behol d t he r ebi r t h ( of Tar i qa) st eer i ng t he
Ki ng, ' t r ue of voi ce' , t o now set i n mot i on t he begi nni ng ( of
t he Rebi r t h) .
C. Ter i qa t o f or ma l ast i ng l egacy ( of ) good. The l i vi ng
Obj ect of Respect , t he t r ansf i gur ed spi r i t l eaves a l egacy her e
( t hat ) wi l l gi ve gui de ( t o i t s) openi ng. The Commander as i s
obl i gat or y l eaves a l egacy t hat t ol er at es [ t he r ebi r t h] . Go pr ay
t he l egacy ( of Ter i qa) l eaves an i nher i t ance t o gui de t he
sol i t ar y h- ne' s Tr ansmi gr at i on. "
The some of t he of f er i ng t abl es I wi l l di scuss i n t hi s post i ng
ar e about Bl ekewi t eke, t he " pedeme" or hi gh pr i est ess of Kar anog.
These i nscr i pt i ons come f r omKar anog ( see F. L. Gr i f f i t h,
<Kar anog: The Mer oi t i c i nscr i pt i ons of Shabl ul and Kar anog>,
Phi l adel phi a, 1911) , and Ani ba ( see Mohammed Bakr , Mer oi t i sche
i nschr i f t en aus der umgebung von Ani ba" , <Kush>, 14 ( 1966) ,
pp. 336- 346) . Al l of t hese i nscr i pt i ons ar e wr i t t en i n Lat e
Mer oi t i c.
144


Bakr ( 1964) publ i shed a number of i nscr i pt i ons f r omQust ul . The
Qokadi ye of f er i ng t abl e i s a good exampl e of an ar chai c Mer oi t i c
i nscr i pt i on.
Tr ansl i t er at i on
Woi or e yi - ne
I si s Osi r i s Et er nal
Qokdi ye qo wi
Qokadi ye r enewed honor
Am et e ye t e
soul you command t o j our ney may ( i t go f or t h)
d he l o wi
bequeat hal ext er nal spi r i t / body of f er i ng honor
Translation
" I si s ( and) Osi r i s t he et er nal , Qokadi ye t o be r enewed ( wi t h)
honor . You command t he soul ( t o make) t he j our ney. May ( i t go
f or t h) . The ext er nal spi r i t / body bequeat hal ( i s a) honor ( abl e)
of f er i ng. "

The Ani ba Of f er i ng Tabl e

Woshi - ne Shor e i - ne. Yepn^ye qo wi - ne.
I si s t he Good. Osi r i s t he et er nal . Yepan^aye t o l i ve f or ever

Bl ewi t eke ne t ed khe l o wi . Aq
Bl ewi t eke good t he donat i on spi r i t body of f er i ng honor . Repl eni sh

el o khr ne . t er i ke l o wi
gi f t open di gni t y good. cust om r evi t al i ze of f er i ng honor

145


[ w o m ni s- ne] kr o
[ gui de open measur e shi nni ng new vi vi f i cat i on] di gni t y opens

r o l o wi - ne. bel ol o kene
wi t hdr awal of f er i ng Obj ect of Respect . pr ai se gr and open( i ng)
r evi t al i zat i on

Npt e l o wi [ ne] pqr l - ne yet
Napat a of f er i ng Obj ect of Respect cr own pr i nce l i vi ng i s capabl e

mde l o wi - ne sha ml o l - ne
openi ng wi t h f or ce of f er i ng Obj ect of Respect pat r on i nner hear t l i vi ng

de kt e l o wi - ne pesht o l - ne yet
donat i on begi ns di spat ch Obj ect of Respect . Pesht o l i vi ng i s capabl e

mde l o wi - ne ml o wi
openi ng wi t h f or ce of f er i ng Obj ect of r espect i nner hear t honor

ne ml [ o mr ] t o wi - ne at om
good i nner hear t [ l ucky] i gni t es Obj ect of r espect s/ he t o be ( r e) bor n

h_ene p shi h_ t ene At - m
t o r eal i ze pr ayer sat i sf yi ng gr and r ebi r t h. down t he pat h she

h_ene psh khr k t ene
t o r eal i ze guar d/ pr ot ect ( i on) di gni t y gi ve per mi ssi on r ebi r t h

kha ml o l - ne h_o l k t ene ns
Gr eat i nner hear t l i vi ng soul t o behol d r ebi r t h. mi st r ess

do ke. l - ne d ol ene i
t o l ead act l i vi ng donat i on gr and gener osi t y her

do t ed i kt e ne Woshi ne
t o l ead t he donat i on go begi n Good I si s good.
Tr ansl at i on

" ( Oh) I si s t he Good ( and) Osi r i s t he et er nal . Yepan^aye ( i s)
t o l i ve f or ever . The Good Bl ekewi t eke ( gi ves) t he donat i on ( of )
t he spi r i t body of f er i ng honor . Repl eni sh ( Yepan^aye' s) gi f t ( of
t he spi r i t body or Khe) t o open ( up) Good and di gni t y. Revi t al i ze
( as i s) t he cust omt he of f er i ng
146


of honor [ t o gui de and open ( up f or hi m) a measur e ( of t he)
shi nni ng new vi vi f i cat i on] . Di gni t y opens ( up t he) wi t hdr awal ( of
t he) of f er i ng ( of t hi s) Obj ect of Respect ( i . e. , Yepan^aye) .
pr ai se t he gr and open( i ng) ( of t he) r evi t al i zat i on of ( t he ci t y
of ) Napat a ( by) t he of f er i ng ( of t hi s ) Obj ect of Respect . The
l i vi ng cr own pr i nce i s capabl e of openi ng wi t h f or ce t he ( power
of t hi s) Obj cet of Respect . The pat r on' s i nner hear t
exi st ( / l i vi ng) . The donat i on begi ns t hwe di spat ch ( of ) t he Obj ect
of Respect ( on hi s j our ney t o par adai se) . The Pesht o exi st ( and)
i s capabl e of openi ng wi t h f or ce ( t he power of t he) of f er i ng ( of
t he) Obj ect of Respect . The i nner hear t of f er i ng ( i s) honor and
Good. The [ l ucky] i nner hear t i gni t es honor ( and) good. She
( Yepan^aye) i s t o be ( r e) bor n t o r eal i ze ( a) pr ayer f or ( a)
sat i sf yi ng and gr and r ebi r t h . She go( es) down t he pat h t o
r eal i ze pr ot ect ( i on) and di gni t y. Gi ve per mi ssi on ( f or ) t he
r ebi r t h. The gr eat l i vi ng i nner hear t ( and) t he soul t o behol d t he
r ebi r t h. The Mi st r ess ( I si s/ Bl ekewi t eke??) t o l ead ( t hi s) act .
The vi t al ( / l i vi ng) gr and donat i on ( and) her gener osi t y t o l ead
t he donat i on. Go ( of f er i ng) t o begi n Good ( wi t h) I si s t he Good. "
I n al t ar #90 f r omKar anog we f i nd t he f ol l owi ng t ext .

147


[ W] oshi ne Shor e yi ne . Aqmks qo wi - ne.
I si s t he Good Osi r i s t he et er nal . Aqamakasa t o l i ve f or ever .

Bl ekewi t eke ne t ed kha l o wi - ne
Bl ekewi t eke good donat es Kha of f er i ng Obj ect of Respect

qe l o mr . . . . t er i ke l o wi - ne
make of f er i ng l ucky. . . cust om r evi t al i ze of f er i ng Obj ect of Respect

Pe s kha ene yet mde
vouchsaf e pat r on Kha donat i on i s capabl e openi ng wi t h f or ce

l o wi - ne. a t ep de
of f er i ng Obj ect of Respect . he annouce i n a l of t y voi ce donat i on

q- ne s ml o wi - ne. At o
t o pr oduce ascent i nner hear t Obj ect of r espect . down t he pat h

ne mh_ ene p shi - m t ene
good gr eat t eacher / al msgi vi ng sol i ci t at onement much r ebi r t h.

at ne mh_ ene p shi
down t he pat h good gr eat t eacher / al msgi vi ng pr ays sat i sf yi ng

khr kt e
di gni t y or i gi nat i on/ begi n( ni ng) .

Tr ansl at i on

" I si s t he Good, ( and) Osi r i s t he et er nal . Aqamakasa t o l i ve
f or ever . Good Bl ekewi t eke donat es t he Kha of f er i ng ( of t hi s)
Obj ect of Respect . Make t he of f er i ng l ucky. . . . r evi t al i ze ( as i s
t he) cust om( t hi s) of f er i ng ( of t he) Obj ect of Respect . S/ he
announce( s) i n a l of t y voi ce ( t hat ) t he donat i ons ( ar e) t o
pr oduce t he ascent of t he i nner hear t of ( t hi s) Obj ect of Respect
( t o a hi gher pl ane) . Down t he good pat h t he gr eat Teacher
sol i ci t s much at onement and r ebi r t h. Down t he good pat h t he Gr eat
148


t eacher pr ays ( al so) ( f or a) sat i sf yi ng or i gi nat ( i on) ( of )
di gni t y" .

Kar anog al t ar #33

Woshi Shor e yi - ne t bi ye qo wi - ne
( 1) I si s Osi r i s t he et er nal . Tabi ye t o l i ve f or ever
( 2) I si s Osi r i s t he et er nal . Tabi ye r enew Obj ect of Respect .

at o ne sh h_ el p sho
down t he pat h good pat r on gr and gi f t pr ays l i f e

h t ene al neh_ h_ ene p
gr eat r ebi r t h. nobl e passed away gr eat Teacher pr ays

sh kha r - a t ene . b ml ol
pat r on Kha i ndeed wi l l be r ebor n Ba i nner hear t gr and

qo e at e s
r est or e gi ve down t he pat h pat r on.
Tr ansal at i on

" I si s and Osi r i s t he et er nal . Tabi ye t o l i ve f or ever . Down t he
good pat h t he pat r on' s gr and gi f t pr ays ( f or a new) l i f e ( and) a
gr eat r ebi r t h. The nobl e ( has) passed away. The gr eat t eacher
pr ays ( t hat ) t he pat r on' s Kha wi l l i ndeed be r ebor n. Gi ve
r est or at ( i on) of t he Ba ( and t he) gr and
i nner hear t down t he pat h ( of r i ght eousness f or ) t he pat r on" .



149



Kar anog al t ar #46

Woshi Shor e yi - ne. Yi det bel i l e qo wi - ne
I si s ( and) Osi r i s t he et er nal . Yi det abel i l e r enew Obj ect of Respect .

b e l o l o kene . amni t o
Ba gi ve of f er i ng di spat ch r evi t al i zat i on . Amani i gni t es

wi ne kha ml o ene h_ol ket e
honor good Kka i nner hear t al msgi vi ng soul t o r i se ( agai n)
Tr ansl at i on

I si s and Osi r i s t he et er nal . Renew Yi det abel i l e ( t he) Obj ect of
Respect . Gi ve t he Ba of f er i ng di spat ch t o r evi t al i zat i on. Amani
i gni t es honor and Good, ( f or ) t he Kha and t he i nner hear t
al msgi vi ng. The soul t o r i se ( agai n) .

Mohammed Bakr al so publ i shed t he Shi nesr i st el a of Ani ba.

Woshi ne Shor e yi - ne Shi nesr i m
I si s t he Good Osi r i s t he et er nal . Shi nesar a go( es) t o measur e

r ek e t o wi
i ndeed l i bat i on gi ve i gni t e/ ar ousal honor

Tr ansl at i on

" ( Oh) I si s t he Good, Osi r i s t he et er nal Shi nesar a go( es) t o
measur e i ndeed t he l i bat i on and gi ve ar ousal t o honor " .
These Mer oi t i c t ext can t el l us much about t he r el i gi on of
t he Mer oi t es. The Mer oi t i c f uner ar y t abl es and st el as make i t
150


cl ear t hat t he Mer oi t es bel i eved t hat t he dead had f r eedomt o
move. Thei r movement was depended on how t hey l i ved t hei r l i f e.
One of t he obj ect i ves of t he Mer oi t e was t o become an ah-l
or t r ansf i gur ed spi r i t . To become - ah-l was t o be bl essed.
The Mer oi t e who had not l i ed about hi s si ns, was decl ar ed
'v wk e ne ' t r ue of voi ce' , and el i gi bl e f or a r i ght eous
l i f e i n t he af t er wor l d. The t er m wk e ne: ' t r ue of voi ce' , i n
Mer oi t i c i s l i t . " voi ce ( of ) t ot al t r ut h" . To be ' t r ue of voi ce'
meant t hat you had not commi t t ed any gr i evous si ns agai nst
soci et y or t he gods.


151
Endnotes

1.
Wol f gang Kr ause, West t ochar i sche Gr ammat i k 1, Das Ver bun. Hei del ber g,
1952
.


3
. Timothy Kendall, "Kingdom of Kush", National Geographic, (November 1992) pp.96-
125.
4.
. Charles Bonnet, Kerma:Territoire et Metropole. (Paris: Quartre lecons au College de
France,1986) pp.45-46.
5.
. A.M. Hakim, "Napatan-Meroitic Continuity", Meroitica 10,
(1984).
6.
. P. Lenobl e and N. D. M. Shar i f , " Bar bar i ans at t he gat e?
t he r oyal mounds of El Hobagi and t he end of Mer oe" ,
Ant i qui t y 66, pp. 626- 635.
7.
. F. Ll . Gr i f f i t h, Mer oi t i c I nscr i pt i ons Par t I I : Napat a t o
Phi l ae and Mi scel l aneous. ( London: Of f i ces of t he Egypt
Expl or at i on Fund, 1912) pl at e I I I .
8.
. Thi s passage coul d al so r ead: " To desi r e t he best owal of
a r ebi r t h t o wear t he h and gi ve ( i t ) goodness".
9.
. Thi s passage coul d al so r ead: " The her o t o behol d al l .
Gi ve per mi ssi on t o bear admi r at i on".
10.
. I n t hi s passage we have t wo wor ds e ' gi ve' and ne ' hi m' .
The t er mne can al so mean ' good' .
xi.J.H. Taylor, Egypt and Nubia, Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press,1991 and
D. O'Connor, Ancient Nubia, Philadelphia: The University Museum, 1993)


152

11. Emery and Kirwan, The Excavations and Survey between Wadi es Sebua and
Adindan, (Cairo, 1935) p.532, pl. 29, I (see over pl.xxix, a).
12. This is the third person suffix -a.
13. This is the termination particle -l.
14. This element -i, is used to form agent nouns.
15.Here we see use of the -e , element used to form the singular nominative suffix.
16. This -to, is the suffix used to denote females.
17.This suffix -o, used to form nouns.



















153

I ndex
Akan, 122
Aki ni dad, 94
Aman, 107- 108
Amani t or e, 91, 95
Amun Templ e, 93
Anubi s, 98, 103
Apedemak, 93, 95, 110
Ar mi na West , 130- 131
Asoka, 14
Ba (soul) 91,103
Ba statuette, 91
Bactria, 9
Blemmya, 13
Book of the Dead, 103
Buddhists, 10-15
Colchis, 22
Coptic, 115
Cushitic, 125
Cheikh Anta Diop, 121
El Kurru, 90
Ethiopias, 9
Galla, 121


154

Gymnosophists, 10-15
Herodutus, 22
Homer, 9
Isis (Wo), 108
Jebel Barkal, 107
Kawa, 94,95
Kha (the abstract personality of man), 91
Kharosthi, 12, 21
Kushites, 7
Manding, 122, 125
Meroe, 91,93
Musawwarat es-Sufra, 94-95
Napata, 91
Naqa, 94,95
Natakamani, 91,95
Niger-Congo, 125
Nubia, 7
Nuri, 90
Osiris (ore), 97,98
Flavius Philostratus, 9-46
Piankhi, 90
Qokadiye, 127,138
Shanakdakhete, 94
Sebewyemeker (Sbomeker), 106


155

Swahili, 122,124
Tadeqen, 94, 97,98
Taqerideamani, 93, 104, 111
Tariqa, 135-137
Temple of Amunete, 82
Teqoride, 99
Wolof, 122














156