UNrveRsrr rpcr-r Srupt or Napor-r "L'Orientale"

Dipartimento di Studi e Ricerche su Africa e Paesi Arabi

SERIE EGITTOLOGICA

Egyptological Essays
on

State and Society

edited by

Rosanna Pirelli

Napoli 2002

UNryrNc rsp Macrc oF rHE PuaRaon

Barbara Drieskens and Rita Lucarelli

In this article we want to present a selection of evidence concerning the

magical protection of ancient Egyptian tombs from the point of view of two
different disciplines, anthropology and egyptology. We do not intend ro
give a complete overview of all the existing sources on the topic, but by
comparing ancient sources with present day anthropological evidence we
will try to approach the topic of the magic protection of the ancient grave
from a new angle. Through this interdisciplinary research we want to formulate some new questions on the compatibility between the ancient data
concerning the magic used to protect the deceased and the way these beliefs
are mirrored in the practices of present-day grave robbers.
It is not our aim to draw comparisons between the beliefs of people very
distant in time and with very different world-views, namely the monotheistic religions of the Book (Muslims and Copts today) and the ancient Egyptian beliefs with their multiform manifestations of gods. Ancient texts speak
of the magic performed by the Egyptians to protect tombs from profanation, and grave robbers today still fear and deal with the magic protecting
tombs. In this article we intend to present some of these ancient sources and
compare them with the ideas of grave robbers, which are also more generally shared by suburban and rural Egyptians.'
1

Protecting the tomb

Several times already Mansour called from the village to ask if we could
find him a Moroccan sheikh.2 He thought that we would be his best help

'The anthropological datawere collected over a period oftwo years ofparticipant observation
in the popular quarters of Cairo among lower and middle class Egyptian Muslims; many of those
were of rural origin. Barbara Drieskens is responsible for the anthropological part of this article,
while the egyptological data have been selected and commented by Rita Lucarelli.
2
The term sheikh is a title of respect with a religious connotation but Egyptians use the
word sheikh to refer to all those-who-know (healers, swindlers, witches, saints, . . . ) without
distinction. For the Arabic term, the most simple transcription has been used here, trying to
stay close to the Egyptian pronounciation. The English spelling of the word has been used
whenever it was found in the Concise Oxford Dictionary (ed. Pearsall J.) 1999, Oxford

University Press.

Barbara Drieskens and Rita Lucarelli

80

since I am studying about djinns3 and my husband is working in tourism. It

was only when we visited the village that I understood why they needed
this sheikh. In the area around the village, in the deserl next to the fields,
some people had found some ancient 'treasures'. The story went that a man

from the neighboring village had found a statue of Amon more than six
meters tall and that had sold it for a million dollars. Inspiring stories, but the
desert is wide and the treasures are guarded and this is what the sheikh is
for: to locate the archeological objects and to untie the magical spells that
are protecting them.
1.1 Ancient funerary sources

Ancient Egyptians are famous for their strong beliefs in the existence of
an afterlife. The most well known symbol of their civilization, the pyramid,
was a tomb.
A good preparation to life in the hereafter, for an ancient Egyptian, started
with the preparation of a proper burial place, which could be a safe depository of his morlal remains. Mainly for this reason, spells invoking the protection of the tomb, are widely attested in texts of everyday magic and in

funerary spells.a
According to the funerary texts, but also to many other literary sources
of different origin, the grave was considered the indispensable point of departure for survival in the afterlife. Through the funerary rituals and cult
performed by the living in the tomb, the deceased could regain his or her
physical capabilities and be able to rise from death. The tomb served as

Untyirtg the Magic of titt ?;::

residence sf thg Ssdr :

minative of the housc.

According to manr
Dead, the tomb u as s:er
was the place where th:
was recomposed, on th:
entirety. In this sense. ti
soul ofthe deceased. \e
grave, because this u ill
pabilities, in order to en
'['
tomb, and to "go out
sense, in manY texts th:
opposition to the ce1:s:
This explains whr in tr'
well as for opening ar:;
seem that we are dealir,
in reality these orisinrl.
body and consequenll\
deceased has to be a:.:
wishes, and in the fcc:
well exemplified in Ch.
tomb for the soui anii :
one's feet".6 The u i.th
"SPt
attested in the CT:
see my corPse, for I an
Book of the Dead. as :

some Theban tombs. th

of the tomb, while his

3At the time I was doing research for my doctoral thesis in anthropology about "living
with the djinn". I had not planned to do research specifically on djinns protecting the tombs
of the ancient Egyptians was not directly an aim in itself, but the subject came up at different
rnoments during lieldwork.
a

Here the emphasis will be put mostly on the evidence provided by funerary texts and
not by magical texts stricto sensr. However, there is a general agreement on the fact that
"the whole body of Pyramid Texts and its successors (Coffin Texts, Book of the Dead) may
be called magical in its approach of the world of things unseen" (J.F. Borghouts in Textes et
Iangages de I'Egypte Pharaonique, Paris 1974, p. 9). Many texts that are generally indicated
in the egyptological literature as "funerary" were employed as magical spells in ritual contexts
bv the living; for an updated r6sumd of the studies on the topic see Quack, J.F., "Magie und
Ttrrenbuch-eine Fallstudie (pEbers 2, l-6)" , CdE '14 ( 1999), pp. 5- 17.

5I-ike is (Wbl' 126- ''S'J. Zandee (Deoth as an E'.:

terms indicating the tor-:.
j
funerary texts. most P3j-. .
.

B'
1CT242, lll 317 ;--:
8
See Milde' H . fi;. ' '
o

227

Allen, T.G.. Tlrc

-23\:Ceorge. 8.. Z -, :.

pp. 79-80.

;.

[Jntytg the Magic of tlte Pharaoh

residence of the body; almost all the terms referring to it present the determinative of the house.5
According to many spells of the Coffin Texts and of the Book of the
Dead, the tomb was seen both in a positive as well as in a negative way. It
was the place where the body of the deceased, fallen apart through death,
was recomposed, on the example of the myth of Osiris, and preserved in its
entirety. In this sense, the tomb is the eternal house of the body and of the
soul of the deceased. Yet, the deceased is afraid of remaining locked in the
grave,because this will not allow him to use his reconstituted physical capabilities, in order to enjoy the funerary offerings which are brought to the
tomb, and to "go out by day", namely to rise in the Netherworld. In this
sense, in many texts the grave is spoken of as a dark, subterranean place, in
opposition to the celestial Netherworld that the deceased wants to reach.
This explains why in the funerary literature we find spells for protecting as

well as for opening and leaving the tomb. Though, at first sight, it could
seem that we are dealing with two different conceptions of the burial place,
in reality these originate from the same belief. The tomb is the house of the
body and consequently of the soul that animates it; at the same time, the
deceased has to be able to go in and out from the tomb "according to his
wishes, and in the forms he likes", as recited in many spells. This need is
well exemplified in Ch.92 of the Book of the Dead, a "spell for opening the
tomb for the soul and for the shadow, going forth by day, and controlling
one's feet".6 The wish to open the tomb in order to free the soul is already
attested in the CT: "Spell to open a gate for the B. "Open to me, that I may
see my corpse, for I am a living soul".7 In the illustration of Ch. 92 of the
Book of the Dead, as attested on funerary papyri but also on the walls of
some Theban tombs, the deceased is represented as a black shadow, in front
of the tomb, while his i-soul is hovering over it.8

5
Like ls (Wb1,126, 18-22), h.t (Wb 1,2,10), F.t (Wbl,12, l9), n(h('t (Wb II, 49' 8- 13);
J. Zandee (Death as an Enemy, Leiden, I 960, pp. 102-104) has listed these and some other
terms indicating the tomb, together with some representative passages taken especially fiom
funerary texts, most part of which will be quoted in this article as well.

6
7

Allen, T.G., The Book of the Dead or Going Forth by Day, Chicago 1914' p' 76'
CT 242,lll. 32'l (quoted inZandee, op. cit-, p. 106).

See Milde, H., The \4gneues in the Book of the Dead of Neferrenpet, Leiden 199 1 , p:.
227 -230; George, 8., Zu den gyptischen Vorstellungen vont Schatten als Seele. Bonn 1 9-[r.
pp. 79-80.
s

il'

82

Barbara Drieskens and Rita Lucarelli

In funerary spells and in other magical texts it is shown that ensuring the
protection of the tomb against the harm of the grave robbers was a main
preoccupation of the tomb's owner. One of the most representative spells of
this sort is Ch. 163 of the Book of the Dead,e a "spell for not making a
man's corpse perish in the god's domain, to rescue him from the eater of
souls who imprisons (human beings) in the Netherworld, also for not letting his crimes upon earth be brought up against him, for keeping his flesh
and his bones sound against worrns and any god who may transgress in the
god's domain, for letting him ascend or descend at will, and for doing whatever he desires without being hindered".r0In the same spell it is said: "NN,
place a flame and throw fire against him who will raise his hand against the

gravelr of Osiris NN".12

Many demons and non-human creatures are invoked as protectors of the
tomb. However, the epithets and names of the supernatural beings occurring in such invocations are of a very allusive character, which makes it
difficult to understand their nature. Ch.92 of the Book of the Dead mention
the iry.w (.wt Wsir, "those who belong to the limbs of Osiris", a kind of
demon who seem to have the role of protectors of the body of the deceased.
Yet it is not clear if their was exclusively positive, viz,thatof protecting the
living from the harm, or if their influence was also negatively seen as an
impediment to the freedom of movement of the deceased body, compelled
to remain locked in the tomb: "you shall not confine my soul; you shall not
restrain my shadow", the deceased says to them".13 This sort of evidence
also shows the double nature of funerary magic: the favorable influence of
a spell of the gods or demons, invoked to help the deceased, may be, at the
same time, of malevolent character and harm the one who calls for protection. The evidence given mainly by the "Letters to the Dead" shows that
"much of the magic provided for the dead could equally be regarded as

This is one of the "additional chapters" (162-165) occurring only in later documents;
see Naville, E., Das cigyptische Tbdtenbuch der XVIil. bis XX. Dynasrie, I, Berlin 1886, p.
184. Spells 163-167 are dedicated to the protection of the deceased's body (Barguet, P., I-e
Livre des Morts des anciens Egyptiens, Paris 1979, p.233).
'o

Allen, op. cit., p. 159.

rr Barguet, op. cit.,

(nr)(hc.t, "grave".

p.234, note 7, prefers the reading ch(w, "dur6e de vie", instead of

': Zandee, op.cit., p. 106.

':

See also

Milde, op. cit., p.227.

Uttlying the Magic o.f :i:;

magic against the de:

being transformed in
In funerary texts.
the living but also a
Realm of the Dead ;
passage

ofCh.

14E ot

O mothers of the -ec'a

ye rescue N. for me

cruel snare and knivt

or the dead ma7' tYvt
this year and its sul
Book of Gates, the rir

existence on earth. tf
At the same time
robbers, taking over

djinns and afdrit. tt

being approaching ar
The belief in the dea

ber and even extend t

in the spells used for
bers, the dead are m:
ones, who are on ear

one is afraid"''e "-\'

have eaten what an e
neck like that of a L'ir
it and fear for an er::
There are also sol
the tomb is an ifr. r',

ta

Pinch, G., Maeic :,

t5

Allen, op.cit. p.

16

Zandee,

it

op.cit..p
'7 Pinch, op. cir.. p.

'.
'-

18

See Demarde.

R..

te

[]rk L 260.Il

rc..-.,

ro

Gardiner, A.H. a-6; quoted in Zandee. r;

Pinch, op. cit..

t:

Urt4ting the Magic of tlte Pharaolt

magic against the dead".1a Ancient Egyptians believed that the dead. before
being transformed in 3!, could be a potential source of harm for the livings.
In funerary texts, the owner of the tomb asks protection not only against
the living but also against the ntt.ut, the dangerous dead lingering in the
Realm of the Dead and unable to be assimilated to the gods; in the final
passage of Ch. 148 of the Book of the Dead it is said: "O fathers of the gods.
O mothers of the gods, (ye) who are on earth and in the god's domain, may
ye rescue N. for me from all evil harm, from all evil suffering, from that
cruel snare and knives, from everything evil that (men), gods, the Blessed.
or the dead may threaten this day, this night, this month, this half month,

this year and its subdivisions".ls In the later literature, especially in the
Book of Gates, the mt.h) are the persons who have conducted an unrighteous
existence on ear1h, the sinners, opposed to the n1r.w, the "blessed ones".16
At the same time, the dead can be invoked as punishers of the tombrobbers, taking over a role that appears to be very similar to that of the
djinns and ofdrit, who according to modem Egyptians harm any human
being approaching ancient tombs, as will be shown in the next paragraph.
The belief in the dead as dangerous beings who could harm the grave robber and even extend the damage to the family of the latter is mostly attested
in the spells used for everyday magic.rT In some appeals against grave robrE
bers, the dead are mentioned iu the form of l/t.n': "I shall make all living
ones, who are on earth, fear the spirits (.9!.u;; who are in the West, of which
one is afraid";te "All who will enter my grave in their impurity and rvho
have eaten what an eminent blessed spirit (l! i/er') detests,...I shall seize his
neck like that of a bird, putting fear into him, so that those ones on earlh see
it and fear for an eminent blessed spirit".z0
There are also some tornb inscriptions where it is said that the owner of
the tornb is an ilr, who could kill the robber and ruin his family.lr Manv

'1Pinch, C., Magic irt Artcient Eg,1,pt, London 1994, p. 150.

r5Allen, op.cit.p. lz10; partof tl'rispassageisquotedinZandee, op.cit.,p. 199

ru

Zandee, op.cit.,p. 199

17

Pinch, op. cit.,

rs

See Demar6e,R., The

t' ({rk1.260.

p. 150.
)1.1

ikr n R( Stelae, Leiden 1983, pp. 2061i.

17 (quoted inZandee, op.cit.,

p. 197).

'o Gardiner, A.H. and K. Sethc, Egyptian Letters to tlte Dead, London 192E. X
6; quoted in Zandee, op. cit., p. 197 and in Demarde, op. clr.

I' Pinch. op. cit., pp. 149-150.

81

Barbara Drieske ns and Rita Lucarelli

spells of the Coffin Texts and of the Book of the Dead, bearing the title
"making an )!t", were probably connected to the same belief , according to
which the passage of the deceased in the state of )fineeded to be accelerated, in order to make him capable of self-defense against his enemies.22

Utttyirtg lhe Magic o,

cially in rituals relr:r: '

of temples and Srr'.:, -

f:::

protect the place

these places by the : - ".

the terrible conseq;.r,': These guardins

.:

1.2 Present day conceptions of magic

liels are creture

"The Pharaoh23 is the greatest magician", modern Egyptians often say.
The Pharaoh is the symbol of the unbeliever in Egyptian popular beliefs
and this conception is echoed by the Coran,2a where he and his people are
mentioned several times as an example of the unbelievers and of what will
happen to them. In the eyes of the Egyptians today the Pharaoh is the worshipper of demons -the polytheist- and the expert in magic and witchcraft.25
People say that it was with the help of the djinns that the ancient Egyptians
were capable of building the pyramids. One of the most famous stories
about the Pharaoh is his confrontation with the prophet Mousa.26 The Pharaoh gathers his magicians to fight Mousa and they use all their witchcraft
and magic against him,27 but Mousa throws his stick, which changes in a
snake who eats all the evil appearances called up by the magicians. Then
the magicians turn to the Pharaoh and say: "This is not magic, this is something else".

rr-;,--

humans: male or fer.- .

can see us, we cannc: ::

in different forms "; preler dirty or aban;

Egyptians belier c th'.
This might sugge5t :l'another space-time. . -

r:.-

presence ofdjinns

djinns confronts u: i.
oI spirits as in.m]tc:.-

u:.

be created beings

existing in the sarrr:

pernatural beinc"
understanding".re

..

"::

The idea of the magic of the Pharaohs is still very much alive, especially
in the Egyptian countryside and most people avoid ruins of the past or, on
the contrary, use these vestiges of the Pharaohs for magical purposes, espe-

Beliel in djinn. :.
to the Islamic part -: . ate, Christians and \1-

:r Probably these spells were recited during the mummification process (Pinch, op.cit.,

djinns exist. Muslir::- mentioned in the C--:-.is much more vaqu- .:.
creatures in popular r-'
many modern Eg_r p:.-

15 1).

:r No distinction is made between the Pharaoh as a ruler and the people living in the
Pharaonic period, who might be called as well al-masriyin al-qudam, the ancient Egyptians.
Rendering the stories and conceptions related to the remains ofthe ancient Pharaonic period,
I * 1ll use this term Pharaoh in this unscientific form taken from everyday speech.

:'See for example Coran S 3,11; S 8,44; S 20, 79 etc.

r: Cf. Cha'raoui, H.H: <Quand

Allah - Gloire

lui - envoya, par example, notre seigneur,

:. :: \lasazrne, vo1 73 part VIII, November 2000,p.1270.

times in the Coran with some variations: S 7, 109-120;

' . :.' loquial Egyptian two terms are used: si/rr, witchcraft, and sha'wiz.a, rnagic,
: ::.:.iion rs made neither in the deflnition of the terms nor in their use.

- : -i

. l-

Inhom, M.C

Medicin, : mdmoire fdminine - Lu- .. -

Sciertce and

I'i..:.lasorcellerie6taitunartchezlepeupledePharaonquiI'exerEaitlaperfection>,el

:'T1s .torv is mentioned several

-5-Sl: S 26.38-51.

28Cf.

but

1987, pp. t49-162.

roCf. Concrse Or

..-

lor exampic C --been interpreted r erl ...: soSee

I-- - .-

been very influential

psychological inLerpr.

.:

Untying the Magic of tlte Pharaolt

cially in rituals related to female fertility.28 Many people say that the ruins
of temples and graves from this ancient period are haunted by spirits who
protect the place from intruders and grave robbers. These spirits are tied to
these places by the powerful magic of the Pharaoh and many stories relate
the tenible consequences of violating the graves.
These guarding spirits are equated with the djinns, who in Muslim beliefs are creatures made of fire that live among the humans. Djinns are like
humans: male or female, Muslim, Christian, Jew or unbeliever. Even if they
can see us, we cannot see them, however sometimes they appear to a person

in different forms as humans or animals. They are everywhere but they

prefer dirty or abandoned places. Djinns live in a world parallel to ours.
Egyptians believe that in their world they have cars and houses like we do.
This might suggest that there exists a completely separate realm situated in
another space-time, but paradoxically popular conceptions insist on the copresence of djinns and humans. The post-Pharaonic Egyptian conception of
djinns confronts us with the problematic character of our Western concepts
of spirits as immaterial, supernatural forces. Since djinns are considered to
be created beings with a materiality different from ours (fire versus mud)
existing in the same world, the term spirit only applies in the sense of "supernatural being" and supernatural in the sense

of "beyond scientific

understanding".2e

Belief in djinns is very generally accepted in Egypt and not restricted

to the Islamic part of the population. Young and old, educated and illiterate, Christians and Muslims, most people will subscribe to the fact that
djinns exist. Muslims can hardly deny their existence because djinns are
mentioned in the Coran,30 even though the Coranic conception of djinns
is much more vague in its details than the stories and ideas about these
creatures in popular religion. Practices of magic and healing show us that
many modern Egyptians believe that these creatures can be manipulated

28Cf.

Inhom, M.C., "Kabsa (a.k.a Mushahara) and'Ihreatened Fertility in Egypt", Social

(4), 1994, pp. 487-505; Ejchenrand, J., "Isis contre Iblis: Une
mdmoire fdminine rituelle du sacrd et du.profane", Nouvelle Revue d'ethnopsychiatrie. l.
Science and Medicine 39
1987, pp. 149-162.
2eCf.

Concise Oxford Dictionary, op. cit.

30See

for example Coran S 55, 14 and S 72, l. Over the last 15 years, these verses h.a'.:
been interpreted very literally partly by impulse of the famous sheikh Shaara* i u 1.' - '.
been very influential through the media, while in the sixties and seventies allegon;psychological interpretations prevailed.

":-r

Barbara Drieskens and Rita Lucarclli

86

by humans both for good and evil purposes. A sheikh can convlnce a
spirit to leave a place or a body by using the force of the Coranic word,
and the magician can convince a djinn to harm others by using magical
spells. When a person has no other way of handling a problem, he or she
can be tempted to consult 'somebody-who-knows'.3' The category of the-

one-who-knows covers all kind of healers, diviners, magicians, swindlers

and saints.

When it is the aim of the client to harm his or her enemy, he or she will
secretly look for a magician or witch, shir; secretly because these practices are not only officially forbidden, but appealing to a magician or a
witch harms a person's reputation32 . The sdhir sells recipes to his clients.33
These are mostly spells written on a piece of paper that has to be buried
near the entrance of a house, or magical formulas that have to be written
down with ink or -worse- with blood. The client has to dip the paper with
the text in water so that the words dissolve in the fluid; the water has to be
sprinkled in front of a doorstep or on the road where the potential victim
passes. Text can also be dissolved in tea or other drinks which the victim
has to consume. The function of these words is to mark a spot as an indication for the spirit. This (annl, the material aspect of the magic, can be tangible and persistent, like the bundle of paper and hair buried near the doorstep, the rope with the knots hidden underneath the bed or the amulet carried in a pocket3a, but it can also be as transient as the drops of water sprinkled on the ground.

Llrttf ittg the

Magic:'

The function o .
srilrir knows wher: '
assistance of a cre:: orders of the srilrlr'. \\
her according to th- because sometimes :.

for. The ways of t::

mares, fears, delusi:
These living con.
say that the Pharac:-.,

to the spot by mear .

anybody who enteij
harm the enemies

Some people make a distinction between different kinds of magic (silrr ), white magic
that is only used for good purposes, red magic using illicit means for useful purposes and
black rnagic using evil means for cvil purposes, and in ttris way suggest that there exists a
le,eitimate way to perform magic, opposed to the illegitimate ways of the witch.

:r The readcr might expect these practices to be more widely spread among illiterate
1--6ple . but belief in witchcraft and magic is also very comrnon among actors and actresses
::\abaa 23104/00) as well as fbotball players (enNabaa 14/05/00).

-\lrrstof
-:

'i

theamulets, higb,in Egypttodayconsistof apieceof paperwithsometext

...-: n ith somc other ingredients like seeds, sand and a small piece of tissue that belonged to
':: r rlhomthe magic is destined, tiedupin avery smallpocketmadeof leatherortissue-

,,r-

quences of openin_:
"
Djinns are belier ec :
important differenc:,
fasterthan huntans. '
or more. And so it l .
or Pharaonic spiri:. .,
past, but is forbidc:
for present-day E_:
tected by spirits or:.

2 Dangers of
3rAn article in the Egyptian gutter-press (Hadith eiMcdina 26/04/00) explains that this
is the reason why the clients of these magicians are mostly women, becausc, according to
the author, women have fewer options to solve their problenis in other ways. However, this
statement could not be proved by observation: it is the task of women to solve problems of
illness and ill-being and therefore they are thc ones who ultimately take the aff'licted to
somcbody-who-knows, when all other treatments obtaincd positive results.

profer.:

Ahmed lives sor.=

an:::
sand. He drove ofi .:
When he approach::
and flew right or er :-..
not leave him alon: car, ajeep, and $

meters away, the

:.:-

35
People say thl:
angels, but that thc\

; -;::

control on the [-rum:: . cannot ahvays be

tr....:-

Untyrg the Magic of the Plruraolt

S-

The function of the canml is to mark the spot so that the assistant of the
shirknows where and who to harm. The magician is working through the
assistance of a creature of the invisible world, a djinn, who has to obey the
orders of the shir. When a potential victim appears, the djinn harms him or
her according to the instructions of the magician. I say the potential victim
because sometimes the magic harms someone other than whom it was meant
for. The ways of the djinns in harming humans vary: illness, pains, nightmares, fears, delusions, depression, or mental disorder.
These living conceptions of magic are projected into the past. Egyptians
say that the Pharaohs protected their graves and sanctuaries by tying a djinn
to the spot by means of witchcraft and magic with the instruction to harm
anybody who enters the protected space, just like the scihir does in order to
harm the enemies of his client. Many stories account for the harmful consequences of opening an ancient grave without the right protective measures.
Djinns are believed to be very similar to humans, but there are some very
important differences. They can pass through walls and doors, they are much
faster than humans, as fast as the wind, and they live for ten thousand years
or more. And so it happens that Egyptians today are possessed by a Roman
or Pharaonic spirit, who would be able to tell a lot about the secrets of the
past, but is forbidden to reveal the truth35. It becomes therefore acceptable
for present-day Egyptians to think of ancient tombs and sanctuaries protected by spirits over periods of thousands of years.

2 Dangers of profaning the tombs

Ahmed lives some way from Cairo, near Maydum. He just bought a new
car, a jeep, and wanted to test the possibilities of the vehicle in riding on soft
sand. He drove off into the desert and took the direction of a small hill.
When he approached the top of the hill a huge bird appeared out of nowhere
and flew right over his head screaming like a human in terror. The bird did
not leave him alone until he tumed his car round. As soon as he was ten
meters away, the bird suddenly disappeared. Ahmed thought that he only

35
People say that djinns who reveal the secrets of the hidden world, are punished by the
angels, but that they are tempted even so to give information in exchange for porver and
control on the human. The a-moral character of the djinns means that their inlormation

cannot always be trusted.

Barbara Drieskens and Rita Lucarellr

88

imagined this vision and drove up again, and again the tenifying bird circled around his car and over his head. Ahmed described the bird as much
larger than any known bird and as composed of elements of different species. More than five times Ahmed drove up and back so as to assure that he
did not imagine anything and every time this bird appeared when he approached and disappeared again when he was at a distance. He went to the
guard of the area and asked him about the bird. The man told him that there
was no bird as long as people stayed away from this spot. He said that the
hill was probably an ancient tell that contained a grave or some other archeological remains. He said that different people tried to dig for the treasures in
this spot, but everybody who tried to dig here lost his mind and everybody
who tried to approach the top of this hill was chased by a monstrous bird.
The main pulpose of funerary magic in ancient times was to ensure a
successful journey of the deceased in the Netherworld, where he sought assimilation with the gods. As already mentioned, the protection of the grave,
the house of the body, was then the necessary premise for the rising from
death; without a grave the corpse and the funerary cult and offerings are doomed
to destruction. It is not a coincidence that in many spells the grave robbers are
threatened with an early death, their burial being undone and the desecration
of their grave: "I chase them away from their graves";36 "As concerns anyone
who will damage my statue, he shall not follow the kng of his time. He shall
not be buried in the westem desert. The time of his life on earth will not be
fulfilled".37 The same sort of punishment was reserved not only for grave
robbers, but also for other unrighteous persons considered sinners; special
demons could be in charge of executing the magic and harming the sinners
through the destruction of their grave: "They are the ones who bare the corpses
and who make the mummy bandages into a ball for the enemies, whose punishment is ordered in the Netherworld".38 It seems that such a conception,
where the disturbance of the tomb was seen as major punishment of sinners,
did not only belonged to funerary magic for it is also attested in other literary
texts of later times; in the Demotic cycle of stories of Setne,3e the tribunal of
the Netherworld judges the sinners as not worthy of having a proper burial

ru

Coffin Texts I, 400 c (quoted rnZandee, op.cit., p. 103).

IY,4Ol, 16-402,2 (quoted tnZandee, op.cit., p. 106).

3' LIrk

t.

r'Hornung, 8.,gyptische [Jnteru)eltsbcherZinchundMnchen 1984, p. 166 (Amduat

l-1. quoted inZandee, op. cit., p. 106).
P

&
s

#
r-i'

:rh. op.

cit., pp. 49-50.

Utttying tlte Magic

o.{

ti::

place and mummrt-ic;

able person desen'ed

livings and of the de":

Untying the magic

Thebest way to a1
orsheikhaar for help.
ing to their skills and i

twenty percent of the

alliance with the djim
assistant is a bit probi
the wishes of the djin
an

illicit relation.

aeai

claim to hold pou er i

or the Gospel{. }{ori
specialists for archea,

for this is not reallv

cn

ered to be less cautior

the way they deal witt

according to Egyptian

good Muslims to be n
outsider is needed to
does not necessarilv c

ao

Homung, op. cit..

arln Egypt there exis:

witch, but for this specir:;

a2

Some sheikhs are

r.

a3

Placating the d_iim

diinns often ask for sacni^
djinn means, according iutherefore it is an act of pt'.
#There are Muslim r.

djinns is accepted in bc,::

interpretations only for h.e:
Pharaohs with the help o:
say that a person has to

I
]:,

Urttying tlte Magic of the Pharaolr

S9

place and murnmification.{ On the other hand, the burial place of a respectable person deserved the magical protection against the harmful actions of the

livings and of the dead,

as mentioned above.

3 Untying the magic

The best way to avoid a lot of trouble with grave-robbery is to ask a sheikh
or sheikhaar for help. There are people specialized in "excavations". According to their skills and to the size of the findings, they ask for between five and
twenty percent of the gains. A general characteristic of these sheikhs is their

alliance with the djinnsa2. The kind of relationship between the sheikh and his
assistant is a bit problematic: most sheikhs will not admit that they give in to
the wishes of the djinns or placate them, because people might consider this
an illicit relation, against the prescriptions of religiona3 . Most of the sheikhs
claim to hold power over the djinns only by means of the word of the Coran
or the Gospel4. Moroccan sheikhs are considered to be the most powerful
specialists for archeological missions and for magic in general. The reason
for this is not really clear. In general the people from the Magreb are considered to be less cautious in their interpretation of religious prescriptions and
the way they deal with djinns is not restricted to the dealing that is acceptable
according to Egyptian religious standards. Egyptians consider themselves too
good Muslims to be really specialized in red or black magic and therefore an
outsider is needed to perform this task. This is a very common notion that
does not necessarily coincide with existing practices. There are also Egyp-

ao
Hornung, op. cit., p. 501, note 69.
atln Egypt there exist also many female
sheikhas specialized in divination, healing and
witch, but for this specific task of archeological treasures I knew of only male sheikhs.

ar

Some sheikhs are assisted by more than one djinn and some have up

till

7 assistanrs.

a3

Placating the djinns is considered to be against the Islamic prescriptions, because

djinns often ask for sacrifices or even for acts ofdeliberate ritual pollution. To sacrifice to a
djinn means, according to some Muslims, that the djinns are considered to be a god and
therefore it is an act ofpolytheism (shirk).

{There are Muslim as well as Christian sheikhs and the use

of the word to control the
djinns is accepted in both religions, although not for all means and in more orthodox
interpretations only for healing. Their claim that they are capable of fighting the magic of the
Pharaohs with the help of Allah's words only is also sustained by the story of Mousa. bur some
say that a person has to have the special talents of a prophet to be strong enough for this ta:k

Barbara Drieskens and Rita Lucarelli

Utyittg the Magic of the

tians practicing red and black magic, but still people seem to think that they
can never be as good in these illicit practices as the "other", the stranger from
the west (Morocco) - as opposed to the East where the holy place of Mecca
lies. Another argument in favor of Moroccan sheikhs is the Egyptian saying
that "the far sheikh grants the wishes better".
The task of the sheikh is to call up his assistant spirit and to order him to
descend beneath the surface to see if there is anything hidden. I already
mentioned that djinns can move through walls but they can also move underneath the earth and see what is there. If the djinn sees anything of importance he comes and tells it to the sheikh.
We were on an fallow piece of land owned by the father of Mahmoud
somewhere in the local neighborhood of Imbaba. Sheikh Moustafa kept on
moving around the place until he suddenly starlled and said: "here, here we
have to dig." Silence fell again when he whispered some magical formulas
intermingled with recitations of the coran. Then he looked up and said: "At
the depth of three meter, exactly on this spot, we will find a box with metal
in it, but I can not say what kind of metal. Next to the box we will find a
ceramic pot with two statues of which one is green."
We never found out if the sheikh was speaking the truth because when
the people started digging they dug in a well and the water prevented them
from looking any further. However Mahmoud considered that the words of
sheikh Moustafa were proven by the fact that he had said exactly the same
thing as the sheikh who came one week earlier, and he surely did not know
what this other sheikh had said.
In the village outside of cairo Mansour told me of a sheikh who could
exactly say where to dig and what will be found and from which period the
objects dated. He said that his words had been confirmed several times but
this time he wanted a Moroccan sheikh because the place seemed masktin,
haunted. The phenomenon of the archeological sheikh seems quite well
known and widely spread in Egypt, where many people still live with the
dream of finding a treasure of the Pharaohs.
However the work of the sheikh is not over yet, when he ffinds something
interesting enough to start digging. It is very important as well that he consults
his djinn to find out if the place is not guarded. Especially religious places and
graves often seem to be protected by some magic and it is of vital importance to
untie this magic first, in order to avoid the "revenge of the Pharaohs".4s The

assistant of the sheiktt

a5

Very well known is for example the story of the workers in the tomb of Tutankhamun
u'ho died from strange diseases, according to many popular stories and horror movies.

fililltm

Some places are haur

death, and other tomt
spot forprotection by

craft the task ofthe st

of the magic, and ch
performs this task, ev
however threaten the
is not strong enough t

The untying of tl
sheikhhas to be able
believe- and since t

them prefer to turn th

Moustapha explaine
about the different

stronger than his as

djinns to help him c
djinns are fighting u

Coranic texts and rni

ones until the battle i
The ritual ends with

his friends and only

ence forms a threat I
ing the attention of t

4 Correspondences
Judging fromthe
main point in which

the violator of a tor

eternal house of ttre

ofthe dangers conff

they do not possess

the ancient texts.

From their storie
could find indeed a:
beliefs in the magic
tectors", who are bel

Llrttyittg the Magic of the Pharaoh

assistant of the sheikh informs him of the presence of other spirits in the area.

Some places are haunted by afdrit, the spirit of someone who died a I'iolent
death, and other tombs and sanctuaries are protected by djinns, bound to this
spot for protection by the witchcraft of the ancient Egyptians. In case of u'itchcraft the task of the sheikh is double: untying thecamal, the material element

of the magic, and chasing away the spirit. It is not the sheikh himself $ho
performs this task, everything is done by his assistant. The dangers of the task
however threaten the sheikh personally, because he will be harmed if his djinn
is not strong enough to resist the power of the witch.
The untying of the camalis a difficult task because, to do it well. the
sheikh has to be able to read the scripture of the Pharaohs -as many people
believe- and since this is not a frequent quality among sheikhs, most of
them prefer to turn their efforts directly against the spirits themselves. Sheikh
Moustapha explained that the djinn explores the site first and informs him
about the different kinds and the number of guards present. If the guards are
stronger than his assistant, the sheikh recites some texts to call up more
djinns to help him combat the spirits of the tomb or sanctuary. While the
djinns are fighting underneath the earth the sheikh has to keep on reciting
Coranic texts and magical fotmulas to strengthen his djinns against the evil
ones until the battle is over and the guarding spirits have been chased away.
The ritual ends with some specific formulas to send away the assistant and
his friends and only then it is safe to dig for the treasure: no magical presence forms a threat for the treasure-seeker, now he only has to avoid draw-

ing the attention of the govemment.

4 Correspondences
Judging from the variety of sources presented above, there seems to be a
main point in which ancient sources and present-day conceptions coincide:
the violator of a tomb has to deal with the ancient magic protecting the
eternal house of the body. Modem grave robbers seem to be vividly aware
of the dangers connected to the violation of a Pharaonic tomb, even though
they do not possess academic knowledge of funerary magic as attested in
the ancient texts.
From their stories, and from the way they deal with ancient magic. ri e
could find indeed a few curious conespondences between old and modern
beliefs in the magic protection of the tomb. Firstly, the figures of the "protectors", who are believed to protect the tomb against the harm of the living.

92

Barbala Drieskens and Rita Lucarelli

appear to be characterized, both in modem and ancient beliefs, by a similar

ambiguity of intentions. Especially in the case of creatures populating the
Netherworld, they can be harmful both for the grave robbers and for the
deceased himself. sirnilarly, the djinns can be manipulated by modern Egyptian sheikhs for good or evil purposes, and they can also harm somebody
who is not the intended victim. This sort of evidence accounts for the basic
amorality characterizing the "supematural beings" and attested in popular
beliefs of Egyptians today.
Present-day Egyptians project their beliefs in djinns and magic into the
past as if there is no difference at all between the way magic is done and
undone in the present and the way the ancients dealt with magic. Nevertheless difficulties in interpreting ancient magical texts and methodological
concerls make it problematic to determine whether or not these apparent
resemblances are sustained by the same conception about magic. For instance, the form which the soul of the deceased takes in ancient texts, the bj
bird, as represented in the vignette of ch. 92 of the Book of the Dead, could
strangely remind us of the frightening vision of the huge bird hovering on
the hill in the story of Ahmed. curiously enough, the modern description of
the creature haunting the ancient tomb is very similar to the representation
of one of the forms of the transfigured deceased as shown by the ancient
Egyptian funerary imagery.a6
The main question remains unanswered: what is the reason for these
correspondences? In this article we only want to give some hypothetical
explanations. First of all we could suppose a continuity of these popular
beliefs outside the realm of monotheistic Islam or christianity. These traditions could be part of a traditional folklore, transmitted orally even 3000
years later.aT on the other hand we could imagine just as well that these
ideas are spread by a popularization of science that is certainly not unknown
in Egypt. Through the importance of tourism and the remunerative character of the profession of tourist guide, the academic knowledge of the past
finds some resonance even among the illiterate and uneducated ones. Television also plays an important role in the proliferation of some historic

Untying lhe Maeic

t.,:

information on th: l
regularly broadca-rr
nificance.a8

The fact that th:

even the illiterate c,
ally exists betu een
magic in popular L':
about the dangers o1
exceptional and app

Furthermore fascin:
and the Coran. u hic
tant prophets, as rl:e

All

these elemenr

not be denied but rh;

spondences betn een

cerning the profani:

illegal occuparion. i
long since dead and

say that the ma_sic s:

because more than ni
the revenge of the pr

Cf. C. Dubler, "Altgyptische Miszellen im Islam", AS 16 (1963), g 107_134, at

p 108. Dubler refers to an Arabic publication by one Muharram Kamal, entitled.,Athar
:radat al-fara'ina fi hayatina 'l-haliyya and to winifred Blackman's well-known mono-

;::r:h.
'- This "survival" of ancient Egyptian practices is not that exceptional

--: =:cle olEjchenrand, op.cir.

aE

as sustained by

Yet, television a:c

magical dangers of ope:.::
much earlier.

Untyirtg tlte Magic of the Pharaolt

o:

information on the Pharaonic past of Egypt. The various Egyptian channels

regularly broadcast programs about the ancient monuments and their si-enificance.a8

The fact that these ideas about Pharaonic magic find acceptance among
even the illiterate could also be attributed to the correspondence that actually exists between the world of djinns and the practices of witchcraft and
magic in popular beliefs and the magical conceptions of the Pharaoh. Ideas
about the dangers of the grave and the ambiguity of spirits and souls are not
exceptional and appear among different people in different place and times.
Fufthermore fascination for the magic of the Pharaoh is fostered by Islam
and the Coran, which mention the Pharaoh, more often than many important prophets, as the symbol of the unbeliever.
All these elements mean that the possibility of a continuous tradition can
not be denied but that this is not the only possible explanation of the correspondences between ancient Egyptian and actual beliefs and practices con-

cerning the profaning of the ancient tombs. Even if grave robbery is an

illegal occupation, it still continues to exist and even if the pharaohs are
long since dead and buried, their magic is still feared. Therefore we could
say that the magic spells for protecting the grave still work in some sense,
because more than the fear of official punishment, Egyptians seem to fear
the revenge

'!

Yet, television and mass tourism are fairly recent phenomena, and beliefs about the
dangers of opening tombs are dating back to the time of carter and probablv also
earlier.

- -::cal

-,;:

ofthe protectors ofthe grave.