JAN ASSMANN
Ancient Egypt and the Materiality of the Sign
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I c o n i c i t y a n d W o r l d R e f e r e n c e
World Reference and Language Reference
If w r i t i n g is l a n g u a g e m a d e visible (Visible Language b e i n g the n a m e o f a related periodical), t h e n h i e r o g l y p h i c w r i t i n g is m o r e than a w r i t i n g s y s t e m . It refers n o t o n l y to t h e E g y p t i a n l a n g u a g e b u t also to t h e " w o r l d , " that is, to o b j e c t s a n d e v e n t s . H i e r o
g l y p h i c s can r e p r e s e n t these i n d e p e n d e n t l y o f a specific articulation o f a single l a n g u a g e . A n y o n e w h o e x p r e s s e d this thesis p r i o r to 1822 w o u l d h a v e received o n l y a tired s h r u g o f the s h o u l d e r s . T h i s w a s t h e communis opinio c o n c e r n i n g t h e f u n c t i o n o f t h e h i e r o g l y p h i c w r i t i n g s y s t e m . It w a s precisely in this that o n e s a w its a d v a n t a g e . Since t h e s y s t e m ' s signs did n o t h a v e a n y s o u n d value, it w a s n o t b o u n d t o a n y specific l a n g u a g e . T h e s e signs did n o t establish t h e reference to reality b y w a y o f a particular l a n g u a g e a n d its " d o u b l e a r t i c u l a t i o n " b u t w e r e able to r e p r e s e n t " t h i n g s " directly a n d a b stract c o n c e p t s via m e t a p h o r i c a n d m e t o n y m i c r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s .
In 1822 J e a n F r a n c o i s C h a m p o l l i o n p u b l i s h e d his d e c i p h e r m e n t of h i e r o g l y p h i c s based o n his d i s c o v e r y o f t h e s o u n d value o f h i e r o g l y p h s . T h i s b r e a k t h r o u g h established that h i e r o g l y p h i c s is n o t p i c t u r e w r i t i n g b u t a "visible l a n g u a g e " like e v e r y o t h e r script.
F r o m this p o i n t o n , a thesis such as t h e o n e a d v a n c e d a b o v e w o u l d h a v e b e e n b r a n d e d a b l a t a n t h e r e s y T h e o n l y d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n h i e r o g l y p h i c s a n d c o m m o n a l p h a b e t s lies in t h e fact that t h e w r i t Originalveröffentlichung in: Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht, K. Ludwig Pfeiffer (Hg.), Materialities of Communication, Stanford 1994, S. 15-31
16 Jan Assmann
R e f e r e n c e
S o u n d M e a n i n g
P h o n o g r a m s Ideograms Determinatives
e.g., the sign of the eye in jrj "to do"
e.g., the sign of the eye in jrt "eye"
e.g., the sign of the eye in m33
"to see"
Fig. i . T h e p r i n c i p l e o f d o u b l e c o d i f i c a t i o n
ing does not operate exclusively on the level of phonological artic
ulation but on the level of semantic articulation as well. In other words, there exist not only "sound signs" but also "sense signs" and
"sound + sense signs." Figure i presents a representation of the principle of "double codification" (see Schenkel 1971, 1981, 1984).
Ideograms refer to words as units made up of sound and mean
ing. Phonograms refer to (a complex o f ) sounds that disregard the meaning. It therefore becomes possible, for example, to transfer the image of the eye with the sound value jr<.t>* to the word
jr<J> "to do," which has the same sound value. One can alsowrite the image of a house with the sound value pr for the word
pr<J> "to go out," that is, for unrepresentable denotations. + Determinatives refer to classes of meaning: for example, the sign of the eye refers to everything that has to do with seeing, the sign of the house to all concepts of space, the sign of the sun to concepts of time.
*The < . t > is a feminine ending that is not included in the sound value of the sign.
t T h e "sound value" of the letters is limited to the consonants and does not include vowels. In this way, the scope of transferability is significantly increased.
T h e practice of writing only the consonants may have appealed to the Egyptians on the basis of the structure of their language. Their language, like other Semi
tohamitic languages, binds lexemic meaning to "roots" with fixed consonants and forms inflections by changing the vowels, so that consonants are constants and vowels are variables. H. G. Fischer has drawn attention to the exceptionality of this practice in the history of writing, which was adapted in later consonantal scripts by the Hebrews and Arabs f r o m hieroglyphic writing (sec Fischer 1986:
2526).
Ancient Egypt 17 Sign
Materiality Iconicity Sound Meaning :
Phonogram Ideogram Determinative Things and events Fig. 2. T h e semanticity vs. the materiality of the sign
T h e s y s t e m can m a n a g e w i t h a b o u t 700 signs b y c o m b i n i n g these t h r e e f u n c t i o n s . C o m p a r e , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , t h e i n c r e d
ible n u m b e r o f signs in scripts such as C h i n e s e , w h e r e the i d e o g r a p h i c e l e m e n t is s t r o n g e r . " W o r l d r e f e r e n c e " is n o t i n c l u d e d in this s c h e m e . All f u n c t i o n s , i n c l u d i n g i d e o g r a m s a n d d e t e r m i n a tives, refer t o the l a n g u a g e . It is a c o m m o n m i s t a k e t o see a direct, cxtralinguistic r e f e r e n c e to reality in these signs (as does, e . g . , te Velde 1985/86). Sense is also a linguistic c a t e g o r y Sense signs refer cither to " s e m e m e s " ( w o r d m e a n i n g s , i d e o g r a m s ) o r t o "class
ernes" ( w o r d c l a s s m e a n i n g s , d e t e r m i n a t i v e s ) . T h e y refer in a n y case t o l a n g u a g e a n d t o t h e level o f its s e m a n t i c articulation o f reality, n o t directly to reality itself. We w o u l d like t o k e e p this basic distinction in m i n d a n d k e e p the s c h e m e f r e e o f a n y l a n g u a g e i n d e p e n d e n t w o r l d reference. W h e r e i n , t h e n , lies t h e a s s u m e d
World r e f e r e n c e " o f E g y p t i a n h i e r o g l y p h i c w r i t i n g ? It lies in the materiality o f t h e sign a n d n o t in w h a t w e call its semanticity. We will a c c o m m o d a t e this r e f e r e n c e n o t w i t h i n b u t o u t s i d e t h e s c h e m e , w h i c h , w i t h its t h r e e f u n c t i o n s , is limited to s e m a n t i c i t y (see Fig.
2). It m a y s e e m s u r p r i s i n g t o i n t e r p r e t t h e iconic r e f e r e n c e o f E g y p t i a n h i e r o g l y p h i c s as m a t e r i a l i t y T h e c o n c e p t o f m a t e r i a l i t y b r i n g s t o m i n d the p u r e l y material, such as s t o n e o r paper, c n g r a v
lr>g o r c o l o r i n g , r a t h e r t h a n a characteristic such as iconicity. W h a t I m e a n is this: e v e r y sign has t w o aspects, t h e aspect o f its f u n c t i o n w i t h i n a sign s y s t e m , b y w h i c h it can refer t o a specific m e a n i n g , and t h e aspect o f its physical m a n i f e s t a t i o n , b y w h i c h it can indicate this m e a n i n g . T h e c o n c e p t o f s e m a n t i c i t y includes e v e r y t h i n g f r o m
Semanticity Symbolism
18 Jan Assmann
the first aspect that is necessary and important for the functioning of the sign as a sign. The concept of materiality includes the second aspect and everything that serves as a physical carrier of meaning.
This carrier can be formed one way or another without necessarily influencing the functionality of the sign. An "R" can be chiseled in stone, written on paper, carved in bark, printed in Gothic, Bodoni, Garamond, or Helvetica type without having its meaning, its refer
ence to the phoneme [r], affected in the least. Its distinctiveness is crucial: it must not be confused with a "P" or a "B." Everything else belongs to the materiality of the sign, which, although neces
sary for the indication of the meaning, does not add anything to the meaning by its specificity. In this sense, the iconicity of hieroglyphs is an aspect of their materiality that can be shed with no change to their languagereferential meaning. Egyptian cursive scripts took this path and developed within the independent laws and paths of graphic systems. Hieroglyphic writing maintained its pictorial re
alism. This shows that this sign system is not a "visible language"
in the complete sense, but is more than just a script, involving more than just language reference. This "more" is based on its pictorial
ness; it is therefore "world reference."
The Origin and Development of Hieroglyphs
It is a mistake to believe that writing was invented to record language. This possibility only gradually presented itself after hun
dreds if not thousands of years of experience with scriptlike record
ing systems. Sumerian writing goes back to "calculi," or counting stones. These were small clay models that had numerical or objec
tive meaning and were used to record not linguistic but rather economic communications and transactions and to register owner
ship and other claims on land, animals, and grain (see Schmandt
Besserat 1982a, 1982b). Iconicity did not play a particularly great role since the signs were very abstract from the beginning.
In contrast to the Sumerian case, Egyptian hieroglyphic writing had its origins in a recording system in which iconicity was impor
tant from the beginning. Its purpose was political rather than economic communication, the recording of acts of special political significance (see Fig. 3). Two goals were of primary importance.
The first was to secure the result of these acts permanently by
A n c i e n t E g y p t 19
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Fig. 3. C e r e m o n i a l slate p a l e t t e o f K i n g N a r m e r (ca. 3000 B.C.) (SOURCE:
H . M i i l l e r - K a r p e , Handbuch der Vorgeschichte II, M u n i c h , 1968, pi. 26)
d e p i c t i n g t h e m in s t o n e a n d d e p o s i t i n g t h e m in a sacred place. T h i s placed the r e c o r d in a physical s i t u a t i o n that w a s b o t h p e r m a n e n t and o p e n to t h e d i v i n e w o r l d . T h e s e c o n d w a s t o create a m e a n s f o r c h r o n o l o g i c a l o r i e n t a t i o n b y r e c o r d i n g t h e m a j o r e v e n t o f a g i v e n year a n d n a m i n g t h e year after that e v e n t . T h i s is t h e o r i g i n o f E g y p t i a n c h r o n o g r a p h y a n d the r e c o r d i n g o f history. T h e first g o a l is also t h e o r i g i n o f all m o n u m e n t a l a r c h i t e c t u r e a n d pictorial art.
T h e o n l y m e a n i n g o f such art w a s t o e x p o s e a n d t o d e v e l o p t h e physical s i t u a t i o n as a " s a c r e d space o f p e r m a n e n c e . " A n d it is also the o r i g i n o f h i e r o g l y p h i c s that r e m a i n s a g e n r e o f pictorial art. It is r e s e r v e d f o r t h e " w r i t i n g o f d i v i n e w o r d s , " as it is called in E g y p tian, f o r r e c o r d i n g s in t h e sacred space o f p e r m a n e n c e .1
P r o t o d y n a s t i c pictorial n a r r a t i v e uses p i c t u r e s i g n s o n t w o distinctly d i f f e r e n t physical scales. T h e large p i c t u r e s p o r t r a y a
" s c e n e , " a n d t h e small p i c t u r e s i d e n t i f y actors a n d places b y i n c l u d ing n a m e s . T h e small pictures t h e r e f o r e refer t o language (names), the large p i c t u r e s refer to the world (acts). It w o u l d b e a m i s t a k e ,
20 Jan Assmann
h o w e v e r , t o c a t e g o r i z e o n l y t h e small p i c t u r e s as " w r i t i n g . " T h e large p i c t u r e s also act as w r i t i n g . A f t e r all, t h e e n t i r e c o m p l e x p i c t u r e " w r i t e s " a n a m e , that is, t h e year n a m e d after that particular e v e n t . T h i s t y p e o f r e c o r d i n g is successful o n l y w h e n b o t h t y p e s o f signs, t h e small o n e s w i t h l a n g u a g e r e f e r e n c e a n d t h e large o n e s w i t h w o r l d reference, w o r k t o g e t h e r . N e i t h e r o f the t w o " m e d i a " is self-sufficient in r e c o r d i n g the i n t e n d e d o r a n y o t h e r m e a n i n g . T h e small signs d o n o t yet m a k e u p a w r i t i n g s y s t e m b u t are s i m p l y a c o n s t i t u e n t o f a c o m p l e x r e c o r d i n g s y s t e m .
A n e w stage is reached w h e n the " l a r g e " signs are i n t e g r a t e d i n t o the i n v e n t o r y o f t h e " s m a l l " ones. T h i s is t h e o r i g i n o f d e t e r m i n a t i v e s . T h e d e t e r m i n a t i v e is originally n o t h i n g m o r e t h a n a
" p i c t u r e " r e d u c e d to script size that j o i n s t h e p r e c e d i n g p h o n o g r a m as a n n o t a t i o n . T h e r e f e r e n c e o f these sense signs o n l y g r a d u a l l y b e c o m e s generalized f r o m s e m e m e s t o classemes. T h e w o r d f o r
" b e e t l e " is originally d e t e r m i n e d b y t h e p i c t u r e o f a beetle. O n l y later is t h e w o r d f o r " b e e t l e " d e t e r m i n e d b y the p i c t u r e o f a b i r d as falling i n t o the sense class " f l y i n g a n i m a l s , " a n d e v e n later b y t h e p i c t u r e o f an a n i m a l skin as falling i n t o the m o r e general sense class
" a n i m a l . "
Picture and Writing: Interdependence and Complementary Multimediality
A typical e x a m p l e s h o u l d suffice t o m a k e clear to w h a t d e g r e e the s p h e r e s o f w o r l d r e p r e s e n t a t i o n a n d l a n g u a g e r e c o r d i n g i n f l u e n c e d each o t h e r . I take this e x a m p l e f r o m the t o m b o f C o u n t Paheri in E l K a b , d a t i n g t o t h e early N e w K i n g d o m ( m i d d l e o f the s e c o n d m i l l e n n i u m B.C.), in o t h e r w o r d s , t o the m i d d l e o f E g y p tian history. F i g u r e 4 s h o w s t h e w e s t wall o f the t o m b ( s o u t h e r n part). F i g u r e 5 replaces the h i e r o g l y p h s w i t h t r a n s l a t i o n s . I m p o r t a n t in F i g u r e 4 are t h e f o l l o w i n g characteristics.
1. T h e c o m p l e t e flexibility o f t h e w r i t i n g . W i t h t h e c h a n g e in w r i t i n g d i r e c t i o n (right to left, h o r i z o n t a l to vertical), t h e w r i t i n g is able t o a d j u s t c o m p l e t e l y to t h e c o m p o s i t i o n o f t h e p i c t u r e a n d t h e d i r e c t i o n o f t h e figures, that is, t o t h e " s e n s e " o f t h e scene (see Fischer 1977a, 1986; V e r n u s 1985).
2. T h e fluid transition b e t w e e n c a p t i o n (the text i n t e g r a t e d i n t o t h e picture) a n d illustration (the p i c t u r e i n t e g r a t e d i n t o t h e text) in t h e f r a m e w o r k o f m u t u a l " d e t e r m i n a t i o n . "
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T h e corn scribe w h o counts the corn, [his n a m e is] Thotnofer.
" Y V V Y V ) i \ \ 1 i~i > V i ^ i . > .~Y\ 1
<\nd it you bring m e 1 1 , 0 0 9 .H a r i n ,n >h a r a,n„ „ ,( m ,.
I will c o m b t h e m all. S „ S f ' ^ i8 0 m a7
words, you bold-head of a p e a s a n t .
Give m e a handlul, otherwise w e will c o m e back tonigt1' Let go of yesterday's grumbling! B e silent today!
s T'
S t a n d still, a n d don't ruffle yourself, you wonderful pair of horses of the prince, you w h o are b e l o v e d by your master, you [horses] in w h o m t h e prince prides
himself in any c o m p a n y !
O h beautiful day! the t e m p e r a t u r e is cool. T h e o x e n are Friend, hurry up with your work1 pulling T h e sky is to our taste. Let us work for the prince. Let us finish in [the right] time!
Hurry up, boss.
Set t h e o x e n into motion! Look, t h e prince is standing tn.-ir ,ihi.l
Ichinrj J <u
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Collection of t a x e s by the governors of this region, under the vigilant leadership of C o u n t Paheri, w h o never gets tired
a n d never forgets anything to do with his charge.
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Fig. 5- Mural f r o m the t o m b of C o u n t Paheri (Fig. 4), with English captions
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for uno r yourse!ves, oxen, thresh the straw
m Sr. d e r'a n d t h r e s h , n e c o r n , o r y °u r
\ f&l! o n 1 g i v e a nvr e s t , o y°u r n e a r t !
"] the weather is cool.
Alt,,
T h e carrying pole d o e s not s p e n d the day on m y shoulder!
H o w strong is m y heart!
T h e sun is hot! Hurry up! T a k e your legs into your H o w g o o d it hands! T h e water has c o m e a n d w o u l d be to will soon r e a c h t h e s h e a v e s , receive the v a l u e
of the corn in fish.
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(In antiphony) This day is beautiful! C o m e out to the field! T h e north wind h a s risen, the sky is to our taste. Let us work a n d get our hearts together.
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I. c o n t i n u e W e d o it! H e r e we are! Don't fear for the field it is very good!
to work mora Ihe expression
lhan e n o u g h Df your mouth,
lor the prince my little one
T h e year is good, free from d a m a g e , all the plants are healthy, a n d the calves too a r e growing magnificently.
D e p a r t u r e of Count Paheri in order to load the boats with the harvest.
Loading of t h e ships with corn. Shall w e carry corn a n d spelt the w h o l e day long? A r e the barns not already overflowing with c o m ? A r e the ships not already so heavily l a d e n that t h e corn runs over? A n d nevertheless they m a k e us s p e e d up D o they think that our hearts a r e m a d e of iron?
Hurry up P v l i H d is ready to
!illt>(i Nile is also very u g h
24 Jan Assmann
3. T h e three functions o f the w r i t i n g . T h e first is t o explain t h e p i c t u r e (scene titles in t h e infinitive, e . g . , " D e p a r t u r e o f C o u n t Paheri to load t h e ships"). T h e s e c o n d is t o identify t h e p e r s o n s ( a n n o t a t i o n s o f n a m e s , e . g . , " t h e g r a i n a c c o u n t a n t , w h o c o u n t s t h e grain, T h o t n o f e r " ) . T h e t h i r d is to s u p p l e m e n t t h e r e n d e r i n g o f speeches, that is t o record sound, in m u l t i p l e m e d i a .
In this way, these c o m p l e x r e a d i n g pictures are p r o d u c e d as a u n i q u e p h e n o m e n o n in art history. T h e y a d d r e s s n o t o n l y t h e i n n e r eye b u t also t h e i n n e r ear2 a n d , in t h e richness o f t h e c o n n e c t i o n b e t w e e n p i c t u r e a n d w r i t i n g , g o far b e y o n d w h a t is possible in t h e area o f m o d e r n p i c t u r e n a r r a t i v e s (comics).3
I n s c r i p t i o n a l i t y : P h y s i c a l P r e s e n c e a n d S i t u a t i o n a l G r o u n d i n g
Semiotic Interference
E v e r y sign has t w o sides: t h e s e m a n t i c side, n a m e l y , its m e a n
ing, a n d t h e m a t e r i a l side, n a m e l y , its physical f o r m . N o t o n l y d o e s a sign sense h a v e t o t a k e physical s h a p e in o r d e r t o m a n i f e s t itself, b u t this physical shape, in w h i c h lies Aleida A s s m a n n ' s dialectic o f p r e s e n c e a n d a b s e n c e (A. A s s m a n n 1988: 2 3 8 3 9 ) , m u s t also b e d i m i n i s h e d in its o w n i m p o r t a n c e ; that is t o say, it m u s t b e seman- tically neutralized. T h e p a r t i c i p a t i o n o f t h e m a t e r i a l can n e v e r b e silenced b u t can o n l y b e m a d e latent. T h e material aspect o f the sign is n e v e r categorically insignificant b u t a l w a y s m o r e o r less latently c o s i g n i f i c a n t (see Fig. 6).
A s Aleida A s s m a n n s h o w s , readability is decreased b y a c t u alized c o m e a n i n g . T h e r e a d i n g gaze, w h i c h n o r m a l l y sees directly t h r o u g h t h e m a t e r i a l i t y o f signs t o the sense that is s h o w n in t h e m , is halted b y t h e e l a b o r a t i o n o f t h e f o r m in a physical m a n i f e s t a t i o n .
" T h e i m p u l s e t o w a r d a coalescing spiritualization c o u n t e r s the m a t e r i a l i z a t i o n o f the t e x t . " " R e a d i n g " b e c o m e s " g a z i n g . " T h e n u m e r o u s e x a m p l e s f r o m all w r i t i n g t r a d i t i o n s s h o w , n e v e r t h e l e s s , t h a t w r i t e r s h a v e b e e n c o n c e r n e d n o t o n l y w i t h the r e a d i n g b u t also w i t h t h e " f a s c i n a t e d " gaze. Generally, the possibilities o f a g r a d u a l actualization o f a latent m a t e r i a l c o s i g n i f i c a t i o n lie w i t h i n t h e n o r m a l w r i t i n g s y s t e m o f a c u l t u r e a n d are n o t d i f f e r e n t i a t e d as a
A n c i e n t E g y p t 25 Sign
Semanticity Signification
Materiality Latent cosignification
minimalized actualized
e.g., cursive script
Fig. 6. T h e c o s i g n i f i c a t i o n o f t h e m a t e r i a l sign
e.g., hieroglyphs, Chinese calligraphy, initials in medieval manuscripts
special script. S u c h d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n is precisely t h e case in E g y p t i a n , h o w e v e r . H e r e , f r o m t h e special script o f h i e r o g l y p h s , a c u r s i v e script w a s d e v e l o p e d f o r e v e r y d a y p u r p o s e s , in w h i c h t h e c o s i g n i fication o f sign f o r m s w a s m i n i m a l i z e d a n d s e m i o t i c i n t e r f e r e n c e m o s t l y nullified. T h i s p r e s e n t s us w i t h a real digraphic s i t u a t i o n , in w h i c h o n e script d e v e l o p e d f r o m t h e o t h e r b u t r e m o v e d itself so far f r o m t h e initial script that it h a d t o b e l e a r n e d separately. T h u s it w a s possible f o r t h e " s a c r e d " script o f h i e r o g l y p h s t o cultivate its d y s f u n c t i o n a l e x t r a v a g a n c e , an e x t r a v a g a n c e in b o t h p r o d u c tion a n d (on a c c o u n t o f t h e h i g h d e g r e e o f s e m i o t i c interference) r e c e p t i o n .
Monumentality and Immortality
U p t o n o w , in dealing w i t h the " e m b o d i m e n t " o f the sense, w e h a v e o n l y s p o k e n a b o u t t h e m a t e r i a l i t y o f the sign. T h e r e are an a d d i t i o n a l t w o e l e m e n t s f o r a total o f t h r e e aspects o f t h e physical.
H e r e w e see that, in v i e w o f t h e m o d a l i t i e s o f t h e e m b o d i m e n t o f c o m m u n i c a t i v e sense, w e m u s t d i s t i n g u i s h oral a n d w r i t t e n c o m m u n i c a t i o n as well as inscriptional c o m m u n i c a t i o n .
F i g u r e 7 i l l u m i n a t e s t h e s u r p r i s i n g fact that, w i t h r e g a r d to physical p r e s e n c e a n d specificity, t h e inscriptional situation is m u c h closer t o t h e oral t h a n to t h e w r i t t e n . T h e aestheticized script,
26 Jan Assmann
Communication
Oral Written Inscriptional
Materiality o f the sign Voice Neutral script Aesthetic script
Sign carrier Body Paper, etc. M o n u m e n t
Physical situation Limited by space-time Unspecified Limited by space
Fig. 7. The modalities of communication
actualized in its cosignification, takes the place of the voice. The monument takes the place of the body, and the monumental physi
cal situation, limited by space, takes the place of the oral physical situation, restricted by both time and space. This monumental context can more or less be specified and limited in spatial terms (e.g., churches, mausoleums, squares). The three aspects of oral communication—voice, body, and limited situation—are neutral
ized and minimized in everyday, utilitarian writing. This is made possible by a legible script, easily transported carrier material, and the situationunspecific, arbitrary receptivity that such material allows. The three aspects of orality are carefully reconstructed by other means in the inscriptional situation.
In considering Egyptian hieroglyphs, we stand before a sensual presence of the greatest imaginable intensity. Hieroglyphic writing is to be found almost exclusively in the context of monumental car
riers and important, limited communicational spaces. The Egyp
tians realized the monumental embodiment of sense through un
precedented expenditure. Behind this is what Paul Eluard has called
"le dur desir de durer," or the stubborn quest for permanence, a desire for eternity that seeks its salvation in the sheer persistence and massiveness of its material. We are also in the land of m u m mification, that is, the inability to imagine the soul without the body, the spirit without the material. By erecting such monuments the Egyptians created, alongside the everyday, a world of stone m which impermanent existence was made permanent and the mate
rial basis for eternal life was prepared. This was the "sacred space of
permanence" that, as a communicational situation, was open to the
divine. In this space one became physically present through m o n u
ments and gained speech and voice through hieroglyphs.
Ancient Egypt 27
S y s t e m i c O p e n n e s s : T h e W o r l d as T e x t
Idolatry and Direct Signification
T h e r e is a r e v e r s e side to t h e idea that spirit c a n n o t be i m a g i n e d w i t h o u t m a t t e r a n d that e v e r y t h i n g m u s t b e d o n e t o p r e s e r v e the b o d y . M a t t e r c a n n o t b e i m a g i n e d w i t h o u t spirit. M a t t e r t h e r e f o r e eo ipso has soul. T h e c o n c e p t o f " m a t t e r " d o e s n o t exist in E g y p tian.* It w o u l d n e v e r h a v e o c c u r r e d to the E g y p t i a n s t o s c o r n a deity b e c a u s e it w a s m a d e o f b r o n z e o r s t o n e . A n E g y p t i a n m a x i m a d m o n i s h e s o n e t o " h o n o r G o d in his way, w h o is m a d e o f b r o n z e a n d s t o n e " ( M c r i k a r e 125, in Volten 1945: 6 7 6 9 ) , that is, " G o d "
a n d n o t t h e " i m a g e o f G o d . " A c c o r d i n g t o E g y p t i a n beliefs, t h e idol d o e s n o t r e p r e s e n t the b o d y o f t h e g o d b u t is t h e b o d y o f t h e g o d . O n e can read in a n o t h e r text that " g o l d is the flesh o f t h e g o d s "
(Schott 1961: 150, 1 6 9 7 0 ) . M a t t e r as a lifeless, m e a n i n g l e s s , a n d a r b i t r a r y s u b s t a n c e , f r o m w h i c h e v e r y t h i n g , i n c l u d i n g e v e n g o d s , can b e m a d e , is an i n v e n t i o n o f t h e Israelites:
He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it.
Then it becomes fuel for a man;
he takes a part of it and warms himself, he kindles a fire and bakes bread;
also he makes a god and worships it,
he makes it a graven image and falls down before it.
Half of it he burns in the fire;
over the half he eats flesh, he roasts meat and is satisfied;
also he warms himself and says,
"Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!"
And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol; and falls down to it and worships it;
he prays to it and says,
"Deliver me, for thou art my god!"
(Isa. 44: 14-17, Revised Standard Version)
In E g y p t w e find o u r s e l v e s in the o p p o s i t e w o r l d . It o c c u r r e d t o n o o n e that m a t t e r w a s i n v o l v e d in t h e use o f i m a g e s . T h e r e a s o n f o r this lies in t h e fact that E g y p t w a s a c u l t u r e o f " d i r e c t significa
*Significant in this context is the practice in inscriptions within the sar- cophogus chamber of avoiding or mutilating certain hieroglyphs that portrayed living beings. Thus they could not threaten or harm the deceased.
28 Jan Assmann
t i o n , " in t h e sense o f Aleida A s s m a n n ' s d i s t i n c t i o n (A. A s s m a n n 1980: 5 7 - 7 8 ) . T h i s m e a n s that the w o r l d reveals t h e g o d l y o r sensual in i n e x h a u s t i b l e f o r m s . T h e s e are t h e n d e c i p h e r e d b y t h e
" f a s c i n a t e d g l a n c e " o f t h e o b s e r v e r . H i e r o g l y p h s refer t o these f o r m s in their iconical " w o r l d r e f e r e n c e " a n d in this w a y o f f e r t h e m s e l v e s n o t o n l y as r e a d i n g m a t e r i a l b u t f o r c o n t e m p l a t i v e o b s e r v a t i o n .4If t h e d i v i n e m a n i f e s t s itself in t h e sensually c o m p r e hensible physical f o r m s o f t h e w o r l d , t h e n t h e w o r l d r e f e r e n c e o f t h e i m a g e s signifies g o d reference. T h e B i b l e t h e r e f o r e hits t h e nail o n the h e a d w h e n , in the m a n y passages w h e r e it f i g h t s against g r a v e n i m a g e s , it e q u a t e s the m a n u f a c t u r e o f i m a g e s a n d t h e w o r ship o f idols. I m a g e s arc in t h e m s e l v e s already idols. D e c o r a t i v e a n d o t h e r h a r m l e s s p u r p o s e s are n o t r e c o g n i z e d :
Therefore take good heed to yourselves. Since you saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, beware lest you act corruptly by making a graven image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. And beware lest you lift up your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and worship them and serve them, things which the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. (Deut. 4: 1519. Cf. Exod. 20: 4; Deut. 4: 23, 25, 5: 8)
T h e Israelites also lived in a n o n d i s e n c h a n t e d w o r l d . T h e y t h e r e f o r e h a d t o p r o t e c t t h e m s e l v e s f r o m i m a g e s . Since J e h o v a h does n o t a p p e a r in this w o r l d in a n y physically c o m p r e h e n s i b l e m a n i f e s t a t i o n s o r f o r m s (fmunah), the w o r l d r e f e r e n c e o f i m a g e s m u s t refer t o o t h e r g o d s . I d o l a t r y is t h e r e f o r e e q u a t e d w i t h t h e w o r s h i p of other g o d s .
Crocodilicity: or, The World as Text
T h e s y s t e m i c o p e n n e s s o f h i e r o g l y p h i c w r i t i n g is related t o its w o r l d r e f e r e n c e as w e l l as t o t h e fact that this is a w o r l d o f direct signification. N e w signs can c o n s t a n t l y be i n t r o d u c e d o n t h e basis o f b o t h t h e m e a n i n g f u l n e s s o f the w o r l d a n d t h e iconicity o r w o r l d referentiality o f t h e sign. T h i s possibility w a s restricted until the Late P e r i o d b y certain valid r e q u i r e m e n t s o f legibility. T h e s e fetters
A n c i e n t E g y p t 29
w e r e b r o k e n in t h e P t o l e m a i c A g e . T h e result w a s an e x p l o s i v e increase in t h e n u m b e r o f signs f r o m a b o u t 700 t o o v e r 7,000 (see Janssen 1974; Catalogue 1983). B u t this is n o t all. M o s t signs t o o k o n v a r i o u s m e a n i n g s , s o m e a d o z e n o r m o r e . T h e p e a k o f s o p h i s t i c a tion w a s r e a c h e d in i n s c r i p t i o n s that u s e o n l y o n e sign, r e p e a t e d again a n d again w i t h d i f f e r e n t m e a n i n g s (see V e r n u s 1977).*
T h e l a n g u a g e r e f e r e n c e o f w r i t i n g is h a r d l y c h a n g e d b y this increase in t h e n u m b e r o f signs a n d sign values. T h e decisive c h a n g e s are to b e f o u n d at the level o f w o r l d r e f e r e n c e .5We are dealing w i t h a k i n d o f literal allegory, w i t h " a l l o g r a p h y " o r "ecri
t u r e f i g u r a t i v e " ( S a u n c r o n 1982). W i t h t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f n e w signs, n e w " t h i n g s " are i n t r o d u c e d i n t o t h e w r i t i n g s y s t e m . T h e w o r l d r e f e r e n c e o f t h e s y s t e m is s t r e n g t h e n e d , n o t b y t h e t r a d i tional m e a n s o f iconical realism, b u t b y t h e n e w m e a n s o f i n c r e a s ing t h e t h i n g s that s e r v e as signs. T h e virtual c o n g r u e n c e b e t w e e n t h e c o r p u s o f t h e signs a n d t h e c o r p u s o f things is i m p o r t a n t . T h r o u g h this, t h e w o r l d is d e f i n a b l e as a c o r p u s o f signs a n d w r i t i n g as a c o r p u s o f t h i n g s . W r i t i n g takes o n c o s m i c traits; the c o s m i c takes o n w r i t t e n traits. B o t h are c o d i f i c a t i o n s o f signs: t h e w o r l d as " t h e h i e r o g l y p h i c s o f t h e g o d s " ( J u n g e 1984: 272), w r i t i n g as a k i n d o f pictorial e n c y c l o p e d i a .
T h e r e is, h o w e v e r , an i m p o r t a n t d i f f e r e n c e in the signification m o d e o f t h i n g s , that is, the w a y t h i n g s are able t o t a k e o n m e a n i n g as s o o n as t h e y are i n t r o d u c e d i n t o t h e f r a m e w o r k o f h i e r o g l y p h i c w r i t i n g . I w o u l d like to call t h e first, n o r m a l m o d e " d i r e c t " a n d t h e s e c o n d a n d m o r e u n u s u a l t h e " m e t a p h o r i c . " In t h e direct m o d e t h e i m a g e o f a t h i n g r e p r e s e n t s either t h e t h i n g itself (as w i t h an i d e o g r a m ) o r its n a m e in its ( c o n s o n a n t a l ) s o u n d v a l u e (as w i t h a
p h o n o g r a m ) . In the m e t a p h o r i c m o d e the i m a g e o f a t h i n g d o e s n o t r e p r e s e n t the t h i n g itself b u t r a t h e r a quality that this t h i n g e m b o d i e s in a p a r a d i g m a t i c o r e m b l e m a t i c way. T h e sign o f t h e crocodile, f o r e x a m p l e , can s i m p l y m e a n " c r o c o d i l e . " T h i s is the direct m o d e . It can also s e r v e as a d e t e r m i n a t i v e in w o r d s that m e a n
" g r e e d , " " t o b e g r e e d y , " " v i o l e n c e , " " t o a t t a c k , " a n d so o n . T h i s , I t h i n k , is a c o m p l e t e l y d i f f e r e n t m o d e o f r e p r e s e n t a t i o n . T h e t h i n g ,
*This intentional encipherment or cryptography of the text is "calligraphy,"
an aesthetic principle. The main concern is not to protect a particularly sacred text from unauthorized reading but to employ an especially artistic inscription in certain important passages. Sec Sauncron 1982.
30 Jan Assmann
h e r e t h e c r o c o d i l e , d o e s n o t s i m p l y r e p r e s e n t t h e w o r d o r t h e c o n c e p t " c r o c o d i l e " b u t a c o n c e p t o f " c r o c o d i l i c i t y " as an a g g r e
gate o f t h e b e h a v i o r a l qualities o f the c r o c o d i l e t r a n s f e r r e d t o h u m a n k i n d . It is i m p o r t a n t h o w t h e m e t a p h o r , applied t o t h e f u n c tions o f w r i t i n g , w o r k s . Instead o f calling a m a n a " c r o c o d i l e " o n t h e basis o f his g r e e d a n d a g g r e s s i o n , o n e w r i t e s t h e w o r d s f o r
" g r e e d " a n d " a g g r e s s i o n " w i t h t h e sign o f t h e crocodile.*
T h e m e t a p h o r i c m o d e plays o n l y a s u p p o r t i n g role in t h e classi
cal w r i t i n g s y s t e m b u t it is n o t entirely u n c o m m o n . T h e r e are, a f t e r all, s o m e t w e n t y signs, all a n i m a l i m a g e s , that are u s e d in t h e m e t a p h o r i c m o d e . T h e nicest e x a m p l e is t h e sign o f t h e c o w that gives s u c k t o its calf a n d licks it l o v i n g l y at t h e s a m e t i m e . T h e w o r d d e t e r m i n e d in this m a n n e r , }ms-jb, m e a n s " t o b e h a p p y . " T h i s
m o t i f also plays an i m p o r t a n t role in t h e b u c o l i c scenes o n t o m b walls (see M a t h i a e 1961; Keel 1980: 5 5 1 1 4 ) . T h e w o r l d f u n c t i o n s n o t o n l y as a r e s e r v o i r o f t y p e s w i t h such signs b u t also as a text that c o n v e y s m e a n i n g .
T h e m e t a p h o r i c m o d e w a s c o n s i d e r a b l y e n l a r g e d in the later p e r i o d . O n l y in late a n t i q u i t y did it achieve its exclusive m o n o p o l y o n t h e m e m o r y that w a s left o f t h e m e a n i n g o f h i e r o g l y p h s . In t h e f i f t h o r sixth c e n t u r y A.D., the E g y p t i a n priest H o r a p o l l o n g a v e a d e s c r i p t i o n o f h i e r o g l y p h s that i n t e r p r e t s all signs in t h e m e t a p h o r i c m o d e .6 M o s t o f t h e socalled signs h a v e n o t h i n g at all t o d o w i t h real h i e r o g l y p h s , b u t e v e n w h e n h e hits t h e m a r k , his e x p l a n a tions are false. F o r e x a m p l e , h e c o n n e c t s the p i c t u r e o f t h e d u c k w i t h t h e m e a n i n g " s o n " b y p o i n t i n g o u t t h e " s e n s e o f f a m i l y " o f t h e d u c k , a n d links the p i c t u r e o f t h e r a b b i t w i t h the m e a n i n g " t o o p e n " b y r e f e r e n c e to t h e fact that rabbits n e v e r close their eyes.*
T h e text o f H o r a p o l l o n is based o n a n d correlates t h r e e catalogues:
(a) a c a t a l o g u e o f c o n c e p t u a l d e n o t a t i o n s like " s o n , " " t o o p e n , "
" t i m e " ; (b) a c a t a l o g u e o f p i c t u r e s (of these, a p p r o x i m a t e l y 10 p e r cent are t r u e h i e r o g l y p h s ) ; a n d (c) a c a t a l o g u e o f u n i v e r s a l k n o w l e d g e that is r o u g h l y e q u i v a l e n t to the bestiary o f P h y s i o l o g u s .
* O f p r i m a r y c o n c e r n are the w o r d s zkn "to be greedy," hnt "to b e g r e e d y , " and zd "to be f u r i o u s , v i o l e n t , a g g r e s s i v e . " T h e sparse r e m a r k s o f G r a p o w 1924: 9 5 - 96, d o n o t in a n y w a y d o j u s t i c e t o the m e a n i n g o f the c r o c o d i l e i m a g e in E g y p t i a n m e t a p h o r i c l a n g u a g e .
t W h a t is actually taking place is the s i m p l e s o u n d transferal f r o m zJ " d u c k " t o zJ " s o n " and f r o m wn "rabbit" t o wn " o p e n . " T h i s m o d e had b e e n c o m p l e t e l y f o r g o t t e n b y the t i m e o f H o r a p o l l o n .
