Jiří Janák: Birds, Oars and Jars - Ritual Landscape of Images and Script

A talk at the conference Profane Landscapes, Sacred Spaces, held in Prague in June 2014. egyptologie.ff....
Jiří Janák (Charles University in Prague)
Birds, Oars and Jars - Ritual Landscape of Images and Script
Three mysterious „runs“ (Vogellauf, Ruderlauf and Vasenlauf) are attested among royal cultic scenes depicted on temple walls, or even on private coffins. Their oldest evidence dates back to the Middle Kingdom and the latest comes from the 1st century BC. These ritual scenes usually depict the king as if running towards a deity with an object or objects in his hand(s). The objects in question were identified as the northern bald ibis and sceptres of life, stability and power (Vogellauf), two heset-jars (Vasenlauf) and the so-called navigation tool and an oar (Ruderlauf). The aim of this paper is to envisage these rituals from several different points of view, bridging natural environment, iconography, language and religion in search for their interpretation.