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+ | The '''Sed festival''' (also known as '''Heb Sed''' or '''Feast of the Tail''') was an [[ancient Egypt]]ian ceremony which was held to celebrate the continued rule of a [[pharaoh]]. The name derives from the name of an Egyptian wolf god, one of whose names was ''[[Wepwawet]]'' or ''Sed''.<ref>Shaw, Ian. <cite>Exploring Ancient Egypt</cite>. Oxford University Press. 2003. ISBN 0-19-511678-X. p53</ref> |
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− | {{Cleanup|date=October 2008}} |
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− | '''''Bei Mir Bistu Shein''''' ({{lang-yi|'''בייַ מיר ביסטו שיין'''}}, "To Me You're Beautiful") is a popular [[Yiddish]] song composed by [[Jacob Jacobs]] (lyricist) and [[Sholom Secunda]] (composer) for a [[Yiddish]] [[musical play|musical]], ''I Would if I Could'' (in Yiddish, ''Men Ken Lebn Nor Men Lost Nisht'', "you could live, but they won't let you") in [[1932 in music|1932]] that closed after one season. Secunda sold the publishing rights to the song for a mere [[United States Dollar|US$]]30. |
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+ | The less formal feast name, the ''Feast of the Tail'', is derived from the name of the animal's tail that typically was attached to the back of the pharaoh's garment in the early periods of Egyptian history. This suggests that the tail was the vestige of a previous ceremonial robe made out of a complete animal skin.<ref>Kamil, Jill. ''The Ancient Egyptians: Life in the Old Kingdom''. American University in Cairo, 1996. ISBN 9774243927. Page 47.</ref> |
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− | The original Yiddish version of the song (in C minor) is really a dialogue between two lovers who share lines of the song. |
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+ | Despite the antiquity of the Sed Festival and the hundreds of references to it throughout the history of Ancient Egypt, the most detailed records of the ceremonies—apart from the reign of [[Amenhotep III]]—come mostly from "relief cycles of the Fifth Dynasty king Neuserra... in his sun temple at Abu Ghurab, of [[Akhenaten]] at East Karnak, and of the Twenty-second Dynasty king Osorkon II... at [[Bubastis]]."<ref>David O'Connor & Eric Cline, Amenhotep: Perspectives on his Reign, University of Michigan, 1998, p.16</ref> |
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− | The song became famous with English lyrics but retaining the Yiddish title, '''''Bei Mir Bistu Shein'''''. However, it also appeared with the quasi-German title '''''Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen''''' (in german: Für mich bist Du schön). |
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+ | The ancient festival probably was instituted to replace a ritual of murdering a pharaoh who had reached an age or condition when judged unable to continue to rule.<ref>Cottrell, Leonard. ''The Lost Pharaohs''. Evans, 1950. Page 71.</ref> Eventually, Sed festivals were [[jubilee]]s celebrated after a ruler had held the throne for thirty years and then every three (or four in one case) years after that. They primarily were held to rejuvenate the pharaoh's strength and stamina while still sitting on the throne, celebrating the continued success of the pharaoh. |
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− | In [[1937 in music|1937]], [[Sammy Cahn]] heard a performance of the song, sung in Yiddish by [[African American]] performers Johnnie and George at the [[Apollo Theater]] in [[Harlem]]. On seeing the response, Cahn got his employer to buy the rights so he (together with [[Saul Chaplin]]) could rewrite the song with [[English language]] [[lyrics]] and rhythms more typical of swing music. He then convinced the still unknown [[The Andrews Sisters|Andrews Sisters]] to perform the song (recorded November 24, 1937). It became their first major hit, earning them a [[Gold Record]], the first ever to a female [[vocal group]]. |
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+ | There is clear evidence for early pharaohs celebrating the Heb Sed, such as the first dynasty pharaoh Den<ref>Wilkinson, Toby A. H. ''Early Dynastic Egypt.'' p. 63. Routledge, 1999. ISBN 0-203-20421-2</ref> and the third dynasty Djoser. In the [[Egyptian pyramids|Pyramid]] of Djoser there are two boundary stones in his Heb Sed court, which is within his pyramid complex. He also is shown performing the Heb Sed in a false doorway inside his pyramid. |
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− | A parody of this song, "The Bear Missed the Train", was written by the [[Smith Street Society Jazz Band]] in 1964 and became a favorite on [[Jean Shepherd]]'s radio narratives.<ref>Eugene B. Bergmann, ''Excelsior, You Fathead!: The Art and Enigma of Jean Shepherd'', 2005, ISBN 1557836000, p. 203</ref> |
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+ | Sed Festivals implied elaborate temple rituals and included processions, offerings, and such acts of religious devotion as the ceremonial raising of a djed, the base or sacrum of a [[Cattle in religion|bovine]] spine, a phallic symbol representing the strength, "potency and duration of the pharaoh's rule".<ref>Quoted from: Applegate, Melissa Littlefield. ''The Egyptian Book of Life: Symbolism of Ancient Egyptian Temple and Tomb Art''. HCI, 2001. Page 173.</ref> One of the earliest Sed festivals for which we have substantial evidence is that of the sixth dynasty pharaoh Pepi[[Pepi I| ]]I in the South Saqqara Stone Annal document. The most lavish, judging by surviving inscriptions, were those of [[Ramesses II]] and [[Amenhotep III]]. Sed Festivals still were celebrated by the later Libyan-era kings such as Shoshenq III, Shoshenq V, Osorkon I, who had his second Heb Sed in his year 33, and Osorkon II, who constructed a massive temple at [[Bubastis]] complete with a red granite gateway decorated with scenes of this jubilee to commemorate his own Heb Sed. |
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− | A common [[soramimi]] of the title is "My Dear Mister Shane". |
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+ | Pharaohs who followed the typical tradition, but did not reign so long as thirty years had to be content with promises of "millions of jubilees" in the [[Duat|afterlife]].<ref>William Murnane, The Sed Festival: A Problem in Historical Method, MDAIK 37, pp.369-76</ref> |
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− | ==Recorded versions== |
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− | {{multicol}} |
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− | '''0-9''' |
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− | *[[8 To The Bar]] |
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+ | Several pharaohs seem to have deviated from the traditional 30-year tradition, notably two pharaohs of the [[eighteenth dynasty of Egypt|eighteenth dynasty]], Hatshepsut and Akhenaten, rulers in a dynasty that was recovering from occupation by foreigners, reestablishing itself, and redefining many traditions. |
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− | '''A''' |
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− | *[[Acker Bilk]] |
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− | *[[Adrian Rollini|Adrian Rollini & His Novelty Trio & Quintet]] |
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− | *[[Al Bowlly]] |
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− | *[[The Andrews Sisters]] |
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− | *[[Arthur Murray|Arthur Murray Orchestra]] |
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+ | [[Hatshepsut]], an extremely successful pharaoh, celebrated her Sed jubilee at [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]]—in what some Victorian-era historians insist was only her sixteenth regnal year—but she did this by counting the time she was the strong consort of her weak husband, and some recent research indicates that she did exercise authority usually reserved for pharaohs during his reign, thereby acting as a co-ruler rather than as his Great Royal Wife, the duties of which were assigned to their royal daughter. Upon her husband's death, the only eligible male in the royal family was a stepson and nephew of hers who was a child. He was made a consort and, shortly thereafter, she was crowned pharaoh. Some Egyptologists, such as Von Beckerath, in his book ''Chronology of the Egyptian Pharaohs'', speculate that Hatshepsut may have celebrated her first Sed jubilee to mark the passing of 30 years from the death of her father, [[Thutmose I]], from whom she derived all of her legitimacy to rule Egypt. He had appointed his daughter to the highest administrative office in his government, giving her a co-regent's experience at ruling many aspects of his bureaucracy. This reflects an oracular assertion supported by the priests of Amun-Re that her father named her as heir to the throne.<ref>Breasted, James Henry, ''Ancient Records of Egypt: Historical Documents from the Earliest Times to the Persian Conquest'', The University of Chicago Press, 1906, pp. 116-117.</ref> |
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− | '''B''' |
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− | *[[The Barry Sisters (United States)|The Barry Sisters]] |
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− | *[[Belle Baker]] |
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− | *[[Benny Goodman]] |
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− | *[[Billy Cotton|Billy Cotton & His Band]] |
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− | *[[Bob Wilber]] |
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− | *[[Booker Ervin]] |
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− | *[[Buddy Clark]] |
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+ | [[Akhenaten]] made many changes to [[Ancient Egyptian religion|religious]] practices in order to remove the strong hold on the country by the priests of [[Amun]]-[[Ra]], whom he saw as corrupt. His religious reformation may have begun with his decision to celebrate his first Sed festival in his third regnal year. His purpose may have been to gain an advantage against the powerful temple, since a Sed-festival was a royal jubilee intended to reinforce the pharaoh's divine powers and religious leadership. At the same time he also moved his capital away from the city that these priests controlled. |
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− | '''C''' |
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− | *[[Charlie and his Orchestra]] |
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− | *[[The Clark Sisters]] |
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− | *Cora Green (in the 1938 [[race film]] ''[[Swing! (film)|Swing!]]'') |
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− | *[[The Crew-Cuts]] |
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+ | ==References== |
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− | '''D''' |
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+ | {{reflist}} |
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− | *[[Dan Barrett (musician)|Dan Barrett]] |
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+ | {{wikipedia}} |
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− | *Daniel Kempin |
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+ | [[Category:Ancient Egyptian religion]] |
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− | *[[Dick Hyman]] |
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− | *[[Dukes of Dixieland]] |
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− | |||
− | '''E''' |
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− | *[[Ella Fitzgerald]] |
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− | |||
− | '''F''' |
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− | *[[The Flying Neutrinos]] |
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− | |||
− | '''G''' |
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− | *[[Garland Wilson]] |
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− | *[[Giora Feidman]] |
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− | *[[Glenn Miller]] |
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− | *[[Gordon Jenkins]] |
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− | *[[Greta Keller]] |
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− | *[[Guy Lombardo]] |
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− | |||
− | '''H''' |
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− | *Havana Swing |
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− | |||
− | '''I''' |
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− | *Isabelle Georges with Sirba Octet |
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− | |||
− | '''J''' |
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− | *[[Jack Teagarden]] |
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− | *[[The Jackson Five]] (on the [[Carol Burnett Show]], January 25, 1975) |
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− | *[[Janis Siegel]] |
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− | *[[Jonathan Stout and His Campus Five]] |
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− | *[[Judy Garland]] |
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− | *[[June Christy]] |
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− | |||
− | '''K''' |
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− | *[[Klezmer Conservatory Band]] |
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− | *[[Psoy Korolenko]] |
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− | |||
− | '''L''' |
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− | *[[Larisa Dolina]] |
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− | *[[Lee Press-On and the Nails]] |
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− | *[[Leonid Utesov]] |
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− | *[[Leroy Jones]] |
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− | *[[Lionel Hampton|Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra]] |
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− | *Listen Up! |
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− | *[[Louis Prima]] |
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− | |||
− | {{multicol-break}} |
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− | |||
− | '''M''' |
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− | *[[Martha Tilton]] |
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− | *Mayane Delem |
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− | *[[Moreno]] |
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− | |||
− | '''N''' |
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− | *[[Natasza Urbańska]] |
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− | *[[New Orleans Jazz Vipers]] |
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− | *[[Nicki Jaine]] |
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− | *[[Nina Hagen]] (2006) |
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− | |||
− | '''O''' |
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− | *[[Original Klezmer Jazz Band]] |
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− | |||
− | '''P''' |
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− | *[[The Puppini Sisters]] |
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− | |||
− | '''Q''' |
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− | *[[Quadro Nuevo]] |
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− | |||
− | '''R''' |
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− | *[[Ramsey Lewis]] |
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− | *[[Ray Anthony]] |
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− | *[[The Red Elvises]] with the title "My Darling Lorraine" |
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− | *Rivers |
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− | *[[Robin Mckelle]] |
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− | *[[Ronn Metcalfe]] |
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− | |||
− | '''S''' |
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− | *[[Sammy Cahn]] |
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− | *[[Shelly Manne]] |
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− | *[[Slim Gaillard]] |
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− | *[[Southern Backtones]] (1998/Los Tormentos De Amor) |
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− | *[[Steve Lawrence]] |
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− | |||
− | '''T''' |
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− | *[[Teddy Wilson]] |
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− | *[[Temple Sinai Klezmer Band]] |
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− | *[[Teresa Brewer]] |
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− | *[[Terry Gibbs]] |
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− | *Thomas Nöla et Son Orchestre |
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− | *[[Tom Cunningham]] |
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− | *[[Tin Pan]] ([http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?i=302511363&id=302511355&s=143447 iTunes Store]) |
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− | |||
− | '''V''' |
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− | *[[The Village Stompers]] |
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− | |||
− | '''W''' |
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− | *[[Waldeck]] |
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− | *[[Willie "The Lion" Smith]] |
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− | |||
− | '''Y''' |
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− | *[[Yale's Proof of the Pudding]] |
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− | |||
− | '''Z''' |
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− | *[[Zarah Leander]] |
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− | {{multicol-end}} |
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− | |||
− | ==Notes== |
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− | <references/> |
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− | |||
− | ==External links== |
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− | *[http://yi.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%91%D7%99%D7%99%D6%B7_%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%A8_%D7%91%D7%99%D7%A1%D7%98%D7%95_%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%99%D7%9F Bay Mir Bist Du Sheyn] Original lyrics in Yiddish at Wikisource |
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− | *Page on the song at [http://www.yiddishradioproject.org/exhibits/ymis/ymis.php3?pg=2 Yiddish Radio Project] site |
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− | *[http://www.dvrbs.com/swing/SholomSecunda-BeiMirBistDuSchoen.htm Sholom Secunda - The Story of Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen] |
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− | *[http://www.guntheranderson.com/v/data/beimirbi.htm Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen - Sholem Secunda, Jacob Jacobs, Sammy Cahn and Saul Chaplin (Lyrics and Chords)] |
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− | |||
− | [[Category:1933 songs]] |
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− | [[Category:1937 songs]] |
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− | [[Category:Songs with lyrics by Sammy Cahn]] |
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− | [[Category:Songs written by Saul Chaplin]] |
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− | [[Category:Yiddish theatre]] |
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− | [[Category:Yiddish words and phrases]] |
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− | [[Category:Songs with music by Sholom Secunda]] |
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− | [[Category:Yiddish songs]] |
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− | |||
− | [[bar:Bei Mir Bist Du Shejn]] |
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− | [[de:Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen]] |
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− | [[fr:Bei Mir Bist Du Shein]] |
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− | [[he:ביי מיר ביסטו שיין]] |
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− | [[ru:Бай мир бисту шейн]] |
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− | [[sv:Bei mir bist du schön]] |
Revision as of 13:29, 16 March 2011
The Sed festival (also known as Heb Sed or Feast of the Tail) was an ancient Egyptian ceremony which was held to celebrate the continued rule of a pharaoh. The name derives from the name of an Egyptian wolf god, one of whose names was Wepwawet or Sed.[1]
The less formal feast name, the Feast of the Tail, is derived from the name of the animal's tail that typically was attached to the back of the pharaoh's garment in the early periods of Egyptian history. This suggests that the tail was the vestige of a previous ceremonial robe made out of a complete animal skin.[2]
Despite the antiquity of the Sed Festival and the hundreds of references to it throughout the history of Ancient Egypt, the most detailed records of the ceremonies—apart from the reign of Amenhotep III—come mostly from "relief cycles of the Fifth Dynasty king Neuserra... in his sun temple at Abu Ghurab, of Akhenaten at East Karnak, and of the Twenty-second Dynasty king Osorkon II... at Bubastis."[3]
The ancient festival probably was instituted to replace a ritual of murdering a pharaoh who had reached an age or condition when judged unable to continue to rule.[4] Eventually, Sed festivals were jubilees celebrated after a ruler had held the throne for thirty years and then every three (or four in one case) years after that. They primarily were held to rejuvenate the pharaoh's strength and stamina while still sitting on the throne, celebrating the continued success of the pharaoh.
There is clear evidence for early pharaohs celebrating the Heb Sed, such as the first dynasty pharaoh Den[5] and the third dynasty Djoser. In the Pyramid of Djoser there are two boundary stones in his Heb Sed court, which is within his pyramid complex. He also is shown performing the Heb Sed in a false doorway inside his pyramid.
Sed Festivals implied elaborate temple rituals and included processions, offerings, and such acts of religious devotion as the ceremonial raising of a djed, the base or sacrum of a bovine spine, a phallic symbol representing the strength, "potency and duration of the pharaoh's rule".[6] One of the earliest Sed festivals for which we have substantial evidence is that of the sixth dynasty pharaoh Pepi I in the South Saqqara Stone Annal document. The most lavish, judging by surviving inscriptions, were those of Ramesses II and Amenhotep III. Sed Festivals still were celebrated by the later Libyan-era kings such as Shoshenq III, Shoshenq V, Osorkon I, who had his second Heb Sed in his year 33, and Osorkon II, who constructed a massive temple at Bubastis complete with a red granite gateway decorated with scenes of this jubilee to commemorate his own Heb Sed.
Pharaohs who followed the typical tradition, but did not reign so long as thirty years had to be content with promises of "millions of jubilees" in the afterlife.[7]
Several pharaohs seem to have deviated from the traditional 30-year tradition, notably two pharaohs of the eighteenth dynasty, Hatshepsut and Akhenaten, rulers in a dynasty that was recovering from occupation by foreigners, reestablishing itself, and redefining many traditions.
Hatshepsut, an extremely successful pharaoh, celebrated her Sed jubilee at Thebes—in what some Victorian-era historians insist was only her sixteenth regnal year—but she did this by counting the time she was the strong consort of her weak husband, and some recent research indicates that she did exercise authority usually reserved for pharaohs during his reign, thereby acting as a co-ruler rather than as his Great Royal Wife, the duties of which were assigned to their royal daughter. Upon her husband's death, the only eligible male in the royal family was a stepson and nephew of hers who was a child. He was made a consort and, shortly thereafter, she was crowned pharaoh. Some Egyptologists, such as Von Beckerath, in his book Chronology of the Egyptian Pharaohs, speculate that Hatshepsut may have celebrated her first Sed jubilee to mark the passing of 30 years from the death of her father, Thutmose I, from whom she derived all of her legitimacy to rule Egypt. He had appointed his daughter to the highest administrative office in his government, giving her a co-regent's experience at ruling many aspects of his bureaucracy. This reflects an oracular assertion supported by the priests of Amun-Re that her father named her as heir to the throne.[8]
Akhenaten made many changes to religious practices in order to remove the strong hold on the country by the priests of Amun-Ra, whom he saw as corrupt. His religious reformation may have begun with his decision to celebrate his first Sed festival in his third regnal year. His purpose may have been to gain an advantage against the powerful temple, since a Sed-festival was a royal jubilee intended to reinforce the pharaoh's divine powers and religious leadership. At the same time he also moved his capital away from the city that these priests controlled.
References
- ↑ Shaw, Ian. Exploring Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press. 2003. ISBN 0-19-511678-X. p53
- ↑ Kamil, Jill. The Ancient Egyptians: Life in the Old Kingdom. American University in Cairo, 1996. ISBN 9774243927. Page 47.
- ↑ David O'Connor & Eric Cline, Amenhotep: Perspectives on his Reign, University of Michigan, 1998, p.16
- ↑ Cottrell, Leonard. The Lost Pharaohs. Evans, 1950. Page 71.
- ↑ Wilkinson, Toby A. H. Early Dynastic Egypt. p. 63. Routledge, 1999. ISBN 0-203-20421-2
- ↑ Quoted from: Applegate, Melissa Littlefield. The Egyptian Book of Life: Symbolism of Ancient Egyptian Temple and Tomb Art. HCI, 2001. Page 173.
- ↑ William Murnane, The Sed Festival: A Problem in Historical Method, MDAIK 37, pp.369-76
- ↑ Breasted, James Henry, Ancient Records of Egypt: Historical Documents from the Earliest Times to the Persian Conquest, The University of Chicago Press, 1906, pp. 116-117.
This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original article was at Sed festival. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. |