Mother Bast,
smile upon us,
singing for the Udjat!
Lord Heru,
we all praise You,
singing for the Udjat!
Joyful day —
we dance and play,
singing for the Udjat!
As You give,
so we all live,
singing for the Udjat!
Netjer bright,
giving us life
as we sing for the Udjat!
Notes: Written in January 2013 for the Udjat “Procession for Singing,” part of the Rekeh Wer festival for Heru. Bast is called upon here as an Eye of Heru.
Master of the river,
falcon guarding the sky,
great lord Heru-Sobek,
praising You as You go by,
we bow to Your glory,
we bow, kissing the ground!
Your light fiercely blazing,
Your shadow vast and profound!
Your wings like the thunder,
Your tail sweeping the tide —
bring the Inundation!
Crack open the egg of life!
Dua, Heru-Sobek!
Dua, Heru-Sobek!
Dua, Heru-Sobek!
Give us protection and life!
Notes: Written in January 2013. A Sobek festival falls in the middle of the five-day Heru festival, the Rekeh Wer, and I somehow got it into my head to honor a syncretized version of the two Gods. Thus this song.
Hail to You, Temu, at your beautiful return,
radiant, mighty, and keen!
Sail across the sky, rowing with the sunshine,
until You reach the earth in peace.
Gods and humans come to you and bow their heads,
giving you praise and acclaim.
May Your lovely face look on us graciously
as we call out Your name, Temu,
as we call out Your name!
Notes: Completed in January 2013. This song is based on an ancient Kemetic hymn translated in T. George Allen, “Some Egyptian Sun Hymns,” Journal of Near Eastern Studies 8:4 (Oct. 1949), p. 355 (http://www.jstor.org/stable/542900?origin=JSTOR-pdf). The original text reads:
“Hail to thee, Atum, at these thy beautiful returnings, radiant, mighty, keen.
Thou crossest the sky, thou reachest the earth, in peace; thou rowest over the sky with the sunshine.
Gods and men come to thee bowing down; they give thee praise and acclaim.
May thy beautiful face be gracious to N.”
Come, Heru-wer, to the great occasion!
Come, Heru-wer — show Your face to our nation!
Come, Heru-wer! The Heb Wer has started.
Come, Heru-wer! Pour Your strength into our hearts!
Come, Heru-wer, majestic falcon!
Come, Heru-wer, sharp of beak, strong of talon!
Come, Heru-wer! Hear the people sing!
Come, Heru-wer — shelter us under Your wing!
Come, Heru-wer, gold like the sun!
Come, Heru-wer! Like the stars in their millions,
You shine on us, blessing all we do.
Bring us success — life, prosperity, and health too!
Come, Heru-wer! O, Heru-wer, come!
Come, Heru-wer! Heru-wer — be welcome!
Notes: Written in January 2013 for the Heb Wer festival. (If you change “The Heb Wer” to “Rekeh Wer,” you can sing it for that Heru festival instead.)