From Deir el-Medina there is evidence of literate women in the form of notes between villagers written by women. They are often regarding mundane items that would have been easier to communicate verbally rather than the expensive and time-consuming effort required to employ a scribe to write the note, and then another to read it. If we take the example of Ese (see chapter two) writing to her dressmaker to hurry along her order for a shawl, we can see the banality of some notes, which supports the idea of female literacy. Furthermore, in some New Kingdom tomb images scribal equipment is depicted under the chairs of the women rather than their husbands. These women were obviously educated at home by their parents rather than partaking in the same system offered to the boys.
There were a number of official scribal schools during the New Kingdom, situated at the Mut complex and the Amun temple at Karnak, the Ramesseum, Deir el-Medina (although only during the twentieth dynasty when the inhabitants were staying at Medinet Habu), Memphis and Sais. These official schools were primarily for the children of the upper elite, although the Middle Kingdom ‘Instruction of Khety’ for his son Pepi (also known as the ‘Satire of the Trades’) tells of their journey from Sile in the Delta to ‘the school for scribes, among the children of the magistrates, with the elite of the Residence’.17 This suggests children of non-elite families could be admitted to central schools. This particular Theban school appears to have been for those expecting a future career in central government, whereas other schools specialised in the priesthood, medical profession or the army. In the New Kingdom literary text ‘The Story of Truth and Falsehood’, a boy was ‘sent to school and learnt to write well and practised the arts of war, surpassing his older companions who were at school with him’.18
Boys not fortunate enough to be admitted to one of these institutions were educated by their fathers, or were adopted by a local scribe in order to inherit the position after him. Although the young protégé was given the title ‘son’ or ‘staff of old age’, they were adopted as an apprentice rather than a biological son. It is thought that once adopted, even in this work relationship, the child may have resided at the house of their adopted father in order to fully absorb the career path they had chosen.
Most of the identified teachers from Deir el-Medina were draftsmen, scribes or chief workmen. They were more than likely the most educated in the village and were also able to employ assistants.19 These assistants were probably also students of a high-ranking official.
Although it is not specified in any way how long the education system was, through a study of tomb biographies it is possible to put a suggested time frame in place. Boys started their education at five years old. They were beaten regularly, as it was believed ‘a boy’s ear is on his back; he hears when he is beaten’.20 In the ‘Miscellanies’ (a collective book of teaching materials) a pupil praised his teacher for such methods: ‘You smote my back and so your teaching entered my ear.’21
Children were taught reading, writing and arithmetic. The writing material used in school was limited, comprising ostraca (limestone or pottery sherds), a gesso-coated wooden or stone tablet, which could be wiped clean after use, and a reed pen. For arithmetic a wooden counting stick was discovered at El-Lahun, formed using a broken piece of furniture, and was used to teach children to count up to 100. While reading was an exercise to be spoken aloud, arithmetic was a silent subject, as the Miscellanies explains: ‘On another happy occasion you grasp the meaning of a papyrus roll … you begin to read a book, you quickly make calculations. Let no sound of your mouth be heard; write with your hand, read with your mouth. Ask from those who know more than you, and don’t be weary.’22
Contrary to modern practice, ancient Egyptian pupils were taught hieratic (cursive writing) first and then, should they excel at this shorthand form of the language, they progressed to hieroglyphs. In the modern world we learn hieroglyphs first and then progress to hieratic. Initially they started on hieratic phrases before progressing onto famous Middle Kingdom texts. These were written in an archaic form of the language, almost indecipherable to New Kingdom children and perhaps equivalent to modern children reading Chaucer. These texts included model letters which helped to improve writing, spelling, ability and accuracy. They consisted of advice for moral behaviour and it was hoped the students would learn from them. Their studies therefore had an emphasis on honesty, humility, self-control, good manners and respect for parents. One such instruction, that of Ptahhotep, emphasised the importance of moderation in speech. ‘Be prudent whenever you open your mouth. Your every utterance should be outstanding so that the mighty men who listen to you will say, “How beautiful are the words that fly from his lips.”’23 Such ideals were difficult to live up to but were instilled in children from a young age. Texts were chanted aloud and a ‘Miscellanies’ text indicates they were accompanied by instruments: ‘You have been taught to sing to the reed pipe, to chant to the flute, to recite to the lyre.’24
Once they had learnt the texts they wrote them down on gesso-coated wooden or stone tablets. It is often possible to see the corrections to the composition in red ink, and despite the common misconception that they wrote from dictation the mistakes are rarely a result of mishearing. The corrections were often thought to be the work of the teacher but closer inspection has identified that the corrections are often in the same hand, indicating self-correction or the teacher discussing the text at the end of the exercise and the students checking their own work.
Other common aspects of the school literary curriculum was the production of lists, such as grammatical structures, royal names ordered in chronological sequence or, more arbitrarily, a list of names which held no relevance to people resident in the village at the time (the significance of this list will remain speculative). Such lists obviously held some significance to the students and perhaps aided them in spelling or recording techniques.
Students of a higher level were also given homework to do and a text from the scribe Piay to his student Amenmose states, ‘A third chapter is ready for you,’ to which Amenmose responds, ‘I will do it! See I will do it!’ Piay encourages him, ‘Bring your chapter and come.’25
At approximately nine years old the child, if a talented scribe, considered pursuing a career in the temple, central government or military. They then entered an apprenticeship to train on the job in preparation for taking the role at the death or retirement of their father or mentor. This apprenticeship lasted for ten or twelve years, depending on the complexity of the role or the apprentice’s personal ability.
At this important time of their life ‘The Satire of the Trades’ encouraged the child to choose the role of a scribe over all others: ‘... the greatest of all callings, there’s none like it in the land. Barely grown, still a child, he is greeted, sent on errands, hardly returned he wears a gown. I never saw a sculptor as envoy, nor is the goldsmith ever sent.’26 This description makes it clear that even a young scribal apprentice received wealth and respect and was sent on errands others were not to be trusted with. This idea of education bringing respect and wealth is emphasised in the ‘Instruction of Hori’ which states,
Set your heart to writing very, very greatly; it is an excellent office for the one who executes it.
Your father possesses the hieroglyphs, and he is shown respect in the street.
He does well possessing it, his years are plentiful like sand;
He is well-provided during his day on earth, until he reaches the Other side.
Be a scribe that you might become like him, so that the strength of your wealth may be plentiful for you.27
Papyrus Lansing appealed to the weaker, non-sporty boys who were considering joining the army, encouraging them to enter the less glamorous but stable scribal career:
Be a scribe! Your body will be sleek, your hand will be soft. You will not flicker like a flame, like those whose body is feeble. For there is no bone of a man in you. You are tall and thin. If you lifted a load to carry it, you would stagger. Your feet woul
d drag terribly, you are lacking in strength. You are weak in all of your limbs, poor in body. Set your sights on being a scribe, a fine profession that suits you.28
These documents appear to have been part of a wide-scale recruitment campaign to boost the number of scribes, who were an anonymous but essential element of the administration of the state.
Archaeologically, no school buildings have been identified from the dynastic period, so it is unknown whether there was a designated place for learning or if classes took place in private homes or public areas. We also do not know how many students were in a class at any one time, but from ‘The Satire of the Trades’ we know school either had a break for lunch or finished at lunch time, as the text warns the boys to use their afternoon wisely: ‘If you leave the school when midday is called and go roaming in the streets …’29 Unfortunately the end of the sentence is missing so we will never know what happened to young boys who wasted their afternoons. However, the lazy school boy was to live a life of hard work and manual labour:
Come, let me tell you the miserable occupations of the maladroit fool who does not listen to the instruction of his father to become an excellent scribe. He is in the boat and he is handed over to the cable on his head and to the water. He has become one with the crocodiles and the hippopotami. Every man is dragging for himself.30
As children were pushed to use their time wisely and were involved in working in the home or farm from a very early age there was limited time to enjoy games or play with toys, but that is not to say they did not indulge when they were able. El-Lahun has been a great source of children’s toys, especially clay examples made by the children themselves. Examples of these clay models are hippopotami, pigs, a pack donkey complete with bags, crocodiles, an ape with beads inserted for eyes and a boat with two seats, one of which was pierced for a mast and has the remains of a rudder. The hippopotami toys were the most popular, although it is clear that some children were more talented with modelling clay than others. These toys were easy to make as they were modelled for the mud available from around the house, and once the toy was broken or no longer needed it could be remodelled by adding water.
More complex figures can be seen in the British Museum in the form of a wooden cat and a mouse with a moveable jaw, or in the Cairo Museum in the form of ivory dancing dwarfs. This particular toy was discovered in the tomb of a little girl call Hapy, from el-Lisht. The dwarfs were attached to a wooden block with lengths of cord, which when pulled made them dance; one puts his hands together as if clapping, the others have their arms out at shoulder level.31 As this item is of such high quality it is possible it was not intended as a toy.
A number of jointed dolls were discovered in a house at El-Lahun, which Petrie named the ‘doll factory’, although some of them were decorated with small lines of tattoos indicating they were fertility figurines. This factory also included a number of wigs made with flax of about fifteen centimetres long, threaded with clay beads and inserted into holes in the dolls’ heads. A doll found in the tomb of Sitrennut at Hawara was complete with both jointed limbs and a wig, similar to those found in the doll shop.32 The Petrie Museum has two rag dolls from El-Lahun, both made from linen. Neither doll has removable clothing and the limited detailing indicates they were real toys rather than symbolic or ritual items.
Both sexes liked to play ball games and a number of wooden and leather balls have been found. Balls were made of as many as twelve leather strips sewn together and stuffed with straw, reeds, hair, yarn or chaff.33 Some are so well played with they were repaired in the past. Normally ball games were played by girls and there are tomb scenes showing girls juggling with three balls, sometimes with crossed arms to demonstrate their skill. There is also a game of catch, depicted in the Beni Hasan tomb of Kheti, played while riding on the back of another child. It is possible that a dropped ball meant the riders became the carriers. Another scene shows two groups of three girls standing opposite each other. The girls in the centre throw the ball to each other, while their companions clap to keep rhythm.34 The objective of the game is not clear. An Old Kingdom child at Naqada (Tomb 100) was buried with a skittle set comprising nine calcite and breccia skittles with four porphyry balls, a portable game that could be played inside or outside.
Children played a number of games outside, including what is believed to be a version of the British game ‘piggy’; this involved wooden tip-cats of approximately 16 centimetres, which were thrown into the air. The child who hit the tip-cat the furthest using a stick before it hit the ground was the winner. Szpakowska makes an interesting point that had Petrie not been the archaeologist who discovered these toys at El-Lahun the games may have been interpreted differently.35 As was common at the time, archaeological interpretations were made based on the archaeologist’s culture, in this instance British, and the childhood games they were familiar with.
Other games did not require equipment and therefore could be played by all and could be considered a form of acrobatics. For example, in the tomb of Mereruka at Saqqara there is an image of a boy balancing on the shoulders of his friends. Another such game was the ‘donkey game’. An Old Kingdom tomb scene shows an older boy on all fours carrying two younger children on each side like saddle bags. The young children had to hold onto each other to remain on board. Another fun outdoors game was ‘erecting the wine arbour’ in which two boys stood in the middle holding onto two or four other children (girls or boys). They spun them around as they leant back on their heels, inducing a feeling of dizziness that perhaps resembled the feeling of overindulging in the produce of the wine press. The text above the game states, ‘Whirl, four times,’ presumably after which they would wander around as if drunk. This is one of the few games that were played by both sexes together.
Another game played by the children of ancient Egypt (and children today) was ‘the kid in the field’, in which two children sat opposite each other with the soles of their feet touching. They lifted their arms up, creating a hurdle over which other children could jump. To make it more difficult the children creating the hurdle would raise their arms higher and spread their feet wider, creating a longer space over which the others were required to jump.36 The boy waiting to jump would call, ‘Hold tight, look, I’m coming comrade.’37
Another simple game was a type of ‘blind man’s bluff’ in which one boy sitting in the middle of a group of other boys with his eyes closed guessed who had hit him. In the tomb of Baqt III the scene is accompanied by the words, ‘Give one blow on the hand. Give one blow to the head.’38
A particularly interesting game, which some Egyptologists believe was also a rite of passage, is the ‘hut game’, in which four young boys stand inside a hut or arbour. Two stand with their right hand in the air and another pins the fourth boy to the floor. This boy reaches his hand out of the enclosure to a fifth boy, who is leaning down towards him. The caption above indicates he needs to escape by himself: ‘Rescue you alone from it, my friend.’39 This game is represented in a number of tombs and only ever involves boys. The second aspect of this game is what appears to be a ritual dance around a fertility figure, showing there were deeper levels to the game; what the significance is will remain a mystery.
Other games and ways of passing the time may have derived from the training young boys received in the military. On the tomb walls at Beni Hasan there are elaborate scenes of young men wrestling using a number of holds and positions. While this formed part of the military training it is likely the boys practised in the streets, or demonstrated their skills to their friends and family when they were not training.
Many children also had small pets, such as a monkey, a chick or a bird. The most common pet after the dog and the cat (see chapter one) was the monkey, and there were two popular types: the Green Monkey and the Hamadryas Baboon. They first appear prior to the first dynasty and remain prominent until the Roman Period. They were kept as pets due to their comical appeal, as they emulated human behaviour and were often depicted in odd st
ances. For example, in the tomb of Rekhmire (TT100) one is depicted riding on the neck of a giraffe, and another shows a monkey riding a dog like a horse, as well as others grasping the tails of birds or dressed in women’s clothes.40 They were also trained as performers and could dance and, some say, play musical instruments, although the latter is rather unlikely.41 One baboon is shown carrying a stick as part of its dance routines and the caption states, ‘The monkey carries the stick, though its mother did not carry it,’ in reference to its ability to learn new tricks.42 Children would have enjoyed hours of fun playing with these active and amusing pets.
However, monkeys could be aggressive and were therefore also used as guards; in one Old Kingdom marketplace scene from the mastaba of Tepermank (fifth dynasty) a baboon is shown clinging onto the leg of a thief who has attempted to steal some fruit from a basket. A similar scene is also depicted in the tomb of Khnumnakht and Niankhkhnum, although the baboon has actually sunk his teeth into the leg of the thief in this image. Other suggestions for a working role of baboons is that of fruit gatherers, based on the images of the baboons scaling tall trees to get the fruit at the top, although whether they are helping or hindering the fruit gatherers really is left up to interpretation.
However, the fact that they were beloved pets is demonstrated by the names that have survived which were given to these pet baboons: ‘His Father Awaits Him’, ‘When the Foreign Land is Pacified, the Land is Happy’; powerful names for entertaining animals.43
Lost Voices of the Nile: Everyday Life in Ancient Egypt Page 13