Hab Haker: Haker Feast Of Osiris

Hab Haker: Haker Feast of Osiris

Ka-Hor-Ka 25-30  -  November 10-14

During the Egyptian month of Ka-Hor-Ka the Nile floodwaters finally receded, marking the start of the planting season. Planting was associated with death because seeds, like the dead, had to be buried in order to sprout to new life. Festivals throughout Egypt incorporated the themes of tilling the earth and the journey to the Underworld, such as the Feast of Sokar, which honored the chthonic Lord of Rosetau. But Egypt’s festival of the dead par excellence was the Haker Feast of Osiris, celebrated at his center of worship in Abydos. Each year, pilgrims from all over the country converged to commemorate Osiris’ death and resurrection through processions and re-enactments.

Abydos, or Abju in the Egyptian language, was one of the most sacred cities of ancient Egypt. In the beginnings of their recorded history it was a burial ground for kings; starting about the 5th Dynasty it became the center of worship for Osiris, “Lord of Abju, Foremost of the Westerners [the blessed dead]”. While there is some scholarly debate on the particulars of the Haker Feast, what we do know today comes largely from the memorial monuments of officials who went on pilgrimage to Abydos as envoys of the ruling pharaoh.

The parades were led by a masked priest or standard-bearer representing the jackal god Wepwawet, “Opener of the Ways”. In local Abydos tradition, Wepwawet was a son of Osiris and as part of the Haker Feast he “defended his father” in mock battle with the enemies of Osiris. “The way” thus opened, Osiris could then proceed.

The icon statue of Osiris would then be led out from the temple, along a route through the cemetary of Abydos. Scores of stelae (tablets) and votive statues have been found along this route, where ancient Egyptians hoped to participate spiritually in Osiris’ celebration. Part of the procession also included the “god’s boat-journey” in a portable ceremonial boat, called the Neshmet barque. Osiris’ icon was taken to a tomb shrine, probably the tomb of the First Dynasty King Djer, where priests performed funerary and other secret rites throughout the night culminating in the raising of a ‘Djed’ pillar symbolizing the backbone of Osiris. Meanwhile, citizens participated in a mock trial of Osiris’ enemies, who were then 'executed’ at the riverbank. 

It’s quite possible that celebrants at the Haker Feast stayed up all night to observe Osiris’ vigil, although the rites at Poqer were conducted by only the higher echelons of priests. We do know from some records that Osiris was “transfigured” and given the “crown of justification”; perhaps a variant of the funeral rites were re-enacted on the oracle statue. The next day, the icon statue was returned through the city on his Neshmet barque, back to the main temple of Abydos: Osiris, restored from death to eternal life, making a triumphant return to the temple amidst rejoicing crowds.

Egyptians hoped to participate in the Haker Feast, either by a pilgrimage during their lifetimes or by leaving votive memorials along the parade route, because Osiris’ symbolic defeat of death meant the promise of resurrection for the common person as well. Offerings made to Osiris were placed afterwards in the chapels of Abydos’ cemetary, and scores of inscriptions from noblemen express the wish that they could share in his bounty of offerings. When 19th-Dynasty pharaoh Seti I had another temple built in Abydos, his famous Kings List was actually part of an elaborate offering inscription dedicated to all the kings who had come before. Unfortunately, because Tutankhamun’s name had been usurped from monuments shortly after his death, his name was left out of the Abydos Kings List. Famous as he is today, though, their attempts to exclude Tutankhamun from Osiris’ blessings were ultimately for naught.

Sources:

“Following the Sun: A Practical Guide to Egyptian Religion”, by Sharon LaBord. 

http://kemetic-independent.awardspace.us/Osiris.htm