As Harkhuf, a high official of Pharaoh Pepi II (2246–2152 B.C.), was returning to Egypt from the region of modern Ethiopia, he sent word ahead to the king. Eight-year-old Pepi showed no interest in the treasures of ebony, ivory or incense Harkhuf had for him. But the boy was extremely excited to hear about the “actual dancing dwarf” that Harkhuf was bringing back to perform in a temple. Pepi’s letter, inscribed in Harkhuf’s tomb, cautions his official to be careful not to allow the Pygmy to fall in the Nile and drown.
The ancient Egyptians adored the Pygmies for their dancing, as depicted in this 3-inch-high ivory toy (now in the Cairo Museum), found 30 miles south of Cairo in the tomb of a young girl, named Hapi. Carved in the 20th century B.C., the three performers stand on pedestals that can be rotated by tugging on string wound through holes in the rectangular base—simulating a whirling dance.
Egyptian inscriptions refer to Pygmies as “Dwarfs of the Gods’ Dances” who dwell in the “Land of the Spirits.” To the ancient Egyptians, the Pygmies were semi-divine—but they were also only semi-human. Because of their diminutive size, they were brutally captured, wrenched from their homes and put to use as dancing slaves. This ambivalent attitude toward the Pygmies is apparent in young Pepi’s warnings to Harkhuf: “Get worthy men to lie around him [the captured Pygmy] in his tent! Inspect him ten times a night!” The poor Pygmy, to Pepi, and probably to Egyptians in general, is no more than a strange, cute, wild animal that might try to escape.
As Harkhuf, a high official of Pharaoh Pepi II (2246–2152 B.C.), was returning to Egypt from the region of modern Ethiopia, he sent word ahead to the king. Eight-year-old Pepi showed no interest in the treasures of ebony, ivory or incense Harkhuf had for him. But the boy was extremely excited to hear about the “actual dancing dwarf” that Harkhuf was bringing back to perform in a temple. Pepi’s letter, inscribed in Harkhuf’s tomb, cautions his official to be careful not to allow the Pygmy to fall in the Nile and drown. The ancient Egyptians adored the Pygmies for […]
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