The Complaints of Ipuwer

Part 1

[. .] The door [keepers] say: “Let us go and plunder.” The confectioners [. . .]. The washerman refuses to carry his load [. . .] The bird [catchers] have drawn up in line of battle [. . . the inhabitants] of the Delta carry shields. The brewers [. . .] sad. A man regards his son as his enemy. Confusion [. . .] another. Come and conquer; judge [. . .] what was ordained for you in the time of Horus, in the age [of the Ennead . . .]. The virtuous man goes in mourning because of what has happened in the land [. . .] goes [. . .] the tribes of the desert have become Egyptians everywhere. the face is pale; [. . .] what the ancestors foretold has arrived at [fruition . . .] the land is full of confederates, and a man goes to plough with his shield. the meek say: [“He who is . . . of] face is as a well-born man.” [the face] is pale; the bowman is ready, wrongdoing is everywhere, and there is no man of yesterday. the plunderer [. . .] everywhere, and the servant takes what he finds. the Nile overflows, yet none plough for it. Everyone says: “We do not know what will happen throughout the land.” the women are barren and none conceive. Khnum fashions (men) no more because of the condition of the land. -the Nile overflows, yet none plough for it: The collapse of the Old Kingdom civilisation is generally attributed to a repeated failure of the Nile to inundate the flood plain. A few consecutive crop failures can result in many subsequent years of suffering, as all the grain that is grown and which is to serve as seed, will be consumed as food.

Part 2

poor men have become owners of wealth, and he who could not make sandals for himself is now a possessor of riches. men’s slaves, their hearts are sad, and magistrates do not fraternize with their people when they shout. [hearts] are violent, pestilence is throughout the land, blood is everywhere, death is not lacking, and the mummy-cloth speaks even before one comes near it. many dead are buried in the river; the stream is a sepulcher and the place of embalmment has become a stream. noblemen are in distress, while the poor man is full of joy. Every town says: “Let us suppress the powerful among us.” men are like ibises. Squalor is throughout the land, and there are none indeed whose clothes are white in these times. the land turns around as does a potter’s wheel; the robber is a possessor of riches and [the rich man is become] a plunderer. trusty servants are [. . .]; the poor man [complains]: “How terrible! What am I to do?” the river is blood, yet men drink of it. Men shrink from human beings and thirst after water. gates, columns and walls are burnt up, while the hall of the palace stands firm and endures. the ship of [the southerners] has broken up; towns are destroyed and Upper Egypt has become an empty waste. crocodiles [are glutted] with the fish they have taken, for men go to them of their own accord; it is the destruction of the land. Men say: “Do not walk here; behold, it is a net.” Behold, men tread [the water] like fishes, and the frightened man cannot distinguish it because of terror. men are few, and he who places his brother in the ground is everywhere. When the wise man speaks, [he flees without delay]. the well-born man [. . .] through lack of recognition, and the child of his lady has become the son of his maidservant. -sad: Lichtheim: greedy -Let us suppress the powerful among us: John A.Wilson: Let us banish many from us. Lichtheim: Let us expel our rulers.

-the river is blood, yet men drink of it. Men shrink from human beings and thirst after water: Why really, the River is blood. If one drinks of it, one rejects (it) as human and thirsts for water. (Wilson) -gates, columns and walls are burnt up: doors, columns, and floor planks are burned up (Wilson) -crocodiles [are glutted] with the fish they have taken, for men go to them of their own accord: crocodiles [sink] down because of what they have carried off, (for) men go to them of their own accord. (Wilson) -When the wise man speaks, [he flees without delay]: Lichtheim: “The word of the wise has fled without delay”.

Part 3

The desert is throughout the land, the nomes are laid waste, and barbarians from abroad have come to Egypt. men arrive [. . .] and there are no Egyptians anywhere. gold and lapis lazuli, silver and turquoise, carnelian and amethyst, Ibhet-stone and [. . .] are strung on the necks of maidservants. Good things are throughout the land, (yet) housewives say: “Oh that we had something to eat!” [. . .] noblewomen. Their bodies are in sad plight by reason of their rags, and their hearts sink when greeting [one another]. chests of ebony are broken up, and precious ssnDm-wood is cleft asunder in beds [. . .]. the builders [of pyramids have become] cultivators, and those who were in the sacred bark are now yoked [to it]. None shall indeed sail northward to Byblos today; what shall we do for cedar trees for our mummies, and with the produce of which priests are buried and with the oil of which [chiefs] are embalmed as far as Keftiu? They come no more; gold is lacking [. . .] and materials for every kind of craft have come to an end. The [. . .] of the palace is despoiled. How often do people of the oases come with their festival spices, mats, and skins, with fresh rdmt-plants, grease of birds . . . ? Elephantine and Thinis […] of Upper Egypt, (but) without paying taxes owing to civil strife. Lacking are grain, charcoal, irtyw-fruit, m’w-wood, nwt-wood, and brushwood. The work of craftsmen and [. . .] are the profit of the palace. To what purpose is a treasury without its revenues? Happy indeed is the heart of the king when truth comes to him! And every foreign land [comes]! That is our fate and that is our happiness! What can we do about it? All is ruin! laughter is perished and is [no longer] made; it is groaning that is throughout the land, mingled with complaints. -barbarians : Lichtheim: Foreign bowmen. Egyptians saw themselves as the pinnacle of creation: their land was The Land, their people were The People. In this their attitude was similar to that of other ancient (and not so ancient) peoples. -from abroad have come to Egypt: Times of weak central power opened opportunities for foreigners to infiltrate the country in even larger numbers than ordinarily: The Nubian Medjay during the First Intermediate Period, the Hyksos during the Second. Still, they probably numbered in the thousands rather than in the hundred thousands. -Egyptians: people (Wilson) -lapis lazuli: Much coveted blue stone, imported from Asia. -Byblos: This city on the Lebanese coast supplied cedar wood to the Egyptians since the Old Kingdom at least. -Keftiu: Often identified as Crete. -The work of craftsmen and [. . .] are the profit of the palace: Lichtheim: The output of craftsmen is lacking — -truth: Lichtheim: gifts

Part 4

Every dead person is as a well-born man. Those who were Egyptians [have become] foreigners and are thrust aside. hair [has fallen out] for everybody, and the man of rank can no longer be distinguished from him who is nobody. [. . .] because of noise; noise is not [. . .] in years of noise, and there is no end [of] noise. great and small [say]: “I wish I might die.” Little children say: “He should not have caused [me] to live.” the children of princes are dashed against walls, and the children of the neck are laid out on the high ground. those who were in the place of embalmment are laid out on the high ground, and the secrets of the embalmers are thrown down because of it. that has perished which yesterday was seen, and the land is left over to its weakness like the cutting of flax. the Delta in its entirety will not be hidden, and Lower Egypt puts trust in trodden roads. What can one do? No [. . .] exist anywhere, and men say: “Perdition to the secret place!” Behold, it is in the hands of those who do not know it like those who know it. The desert dwellers are skilled in the crafts of the Delta. citizens are put to the corn-rubbers, and those who used to don fine linen are beaten with . . . Those who used never to see the day have gone out unhindered; those who were on their husbands’ beds, let them lie on rafts. I say: “It is too heavy for me,” concerning rafts bearing myrrh. Load them with vessels filled with [. . . Let] them know the palanquin. As for the butler, he is ruined. There are no remedies for it; noblewomen suffer like maidservants, minstrels are at the looms within the weaving-rooms, and what they sing to the Songstress-goddess is mourning. Talkers [. . .] corn-rubbers. all female slaves are free with their tongues, and when their mistress speaks, it is irksome to the maidservants. trees are felled and branches are stripped off. -every dead person is as a well-born man. Those who were Egyptians [have become] foreigners and are thrust aside.: Lichtheim: Those who were people are strangers whom one shows the way. -…the children of the neck (i.e. holding onto the neck of the carrying grown-up): The (once) prayed-for children (Wilson) -on the high ground: burial ground above the flood plain. -were in the place of embalmment: Lichtheim: were entombed -crafts: work (Wilson) -corn-rubbers: Lichtheim: grindstones -rafts: Lichtheim: Boards -Load them with vessels filled with [. . . Let] them know the palanquin.: Lichtheim: She is loaded down with jars filled with —. [No longer] does she know the palanquin, -trees are felled and branches are stripped off: the wholesale destruction of trees causes serious fuel problems, as witnessed nowadays in the Sahel region of sub-saharan Africa

Part 5

I have separated him and his household slaves, and men will say when they hear it: “Cakes are lacking for most children; there is no food [. . .]. What is the taste of it like today?”

magnates are hungry and perishing, followers are followed [. . .] because of complaints. the hot-tempered man says: “If I knew where God is, then I would serve Him.” [Right] pervades the land in name, but what men do in trusting to it is Wrong. runners are fighting over the spoil [of ] the robber, and all his property is carried off. all animals, their hearts weep; cattle moan because of the state of the land. the children of princes are dashed against walls, and the children of the neck are laid out on the high ground. Khnum groans because of his weariness. terror kills; the frightened man opposes what is done against your enemies. Moreover, the few are pleased, while the rest are . . . Is it by following the crocodile and cleaving it asunder? Is it by slaying the lion roasted on the fire? [Is it] by sprinkling for Ptah and taking [. . .]? Why do you give to him? There is no reaching him. It is misery which you give to him. slaves . . . throughout the land, and the strong man sends to everyone; a man strikes his maternal brother. What is it that has been done? I speak to a ruined man. the ways are [. . .], the roads are watched; men sit in the bushes until the benighted traveler comes in order to plunder his burden, and what is upon him is taken away. He is belabored with blows of a stick and murdered. that has perished which yesterday was seen, and the land is left over to its weakness like the cutting of flax, commoners coming and going in dissolution [. . .]. -I have separated him and his household slaves: Lichtheim: And the servant abandons his household -Cakes are lacking for most children: Lichtheim: Gone is the gain of abundance of children. -If I knew where God is, then I would serve Him: implying that he doesn’t do so now. -runners are fighting over the spoil [of ] the robber: Lichtheim: one runs and fights for the goods [of a man]. He is robbed; -the ways are [. . .], the roads are watched: the ways [are not] guarded roads (Wilson)

Part 6

Would that there were an end of men, without conception, without birth! Then would the land be quiet from noise and tumult be no more. [men eat] herbage and wash [it] down with water; neither fruit nor herbage can be found [for] the birds, and [. . .] is taken away from the mouth of the pig. No face is bright which you have [. . .] for me through hunger. everywhere barley has perished and men are stripped of clothes, spice, and oil; everyone says: “There is none.” The storehouse is empty and its keeper is stretched on the ground; a happy state of affairs! . . .

Would that I had raised my voice at that moment, that it might have saved me from the pain in which I am. the private council-chamber, its writings are taken away and the mysteries which were [in it] are laid bare. magic spells are divulged; smw- and shnw-spells are frustrated because they are remembered by men. public offices are opened and their inventories are taken away; the serf has become an owner of serfs. [scribes] are killed and their writings are taken away. Woe is me because of the misery of this time! the writings of the scribes of the cadaster are destroyed, and the corn of Egypt is common property. the laws of the council chamber are thrown out; men walk on them in public places, and poor men break them up in the streets. the poor man has attained to the state of the Nine Gods, and the erstwhile procedure of the House of the Thirty is divulged. the great council-chamber is a popular resort, and poor men come and go to the Great Mansions. the children of magnates are ejected into the streets; the wise man agrees and the fool says “no,” and it is pleasing in the sight of him who knows nothing about it. those who were in the place of embalmment are laid out on the high ground, and the secrets of the embalmers are thrown down because of it. -spice, and oil: Lichtheim:

Unanointed with oil -the private council-chamber, its writings are taken away and the mysteries which were [in it] are laid bare the writings of the augurs enclosure are read. The place of secrets which was (so formerly) is (now) laid bare (Wilson) -magic spells are divulged: Anybody who knew magic spells could use them, though overuse seems to have made them ineffective. (Magic has always shunned the light of day and becomes ineffectual when scrutinized with a critical mind. Strangely, this has never prevented people from believing in it). -smw- and shnw spells: Go-spells and Enfold-spells (Wilson) -because they are remembered: Lichtheim: through being repeated

• the corn of Egypt is common property: Wilson: The grain-sustenance of Egypt is (now) a come-and-get-it. Corn in the ancient Egyptian context refers to wheat and/or barley. The storage of surplus grain and its redistribution was one of the corner stones of the Egyptian economy. Egypt was not a welfare state, distributing free grain. -has attained to the state of: Lichtheim: comes to the place -Nine Gods: The ennead, the totality of the gods of a locality, not necessarily amounting to exactly nine gods. -House of Thirty: Tribunal, cf. Hail Eater of entrails who came forth from the House of Thirty, I have not committed perjury. from the Book of the Dead transl. by Allen and Faulkner -the children of magnates are ejected into the streets: Lichtheim: there is much hatred in the streets