Shemu

Shemu


 * Other Names:**

//Smw, Shomu, Syumuu// ("Low-water"), Summer Season, Dry Season


 * Hieroglyphics:**



Ancient Egyptian life revolved around three seasons - Akhet (the inundation, from July to October), Peret (the time of plowing and sowing, from November to February), and //Shemu// (the harvest, from March to June.) Nearly one-third of the population was involved in agriculture, which was vitally important to the well-being of Egypt. //Shemu// was when the crops were gathered and irrigation canals for the fields were prepared.

Identifying himself with Osiris, the pharaoh ritually dug or broke open the first canal of the season. This ritual was very ancient - the macehead of the Predynastic "Scorpion King" shows him doing just such a ritual. The god Osiris was thought to have taught humankind the secret of agriculture. During harvest festivals, bread was baked in the shape of Osiris and distributed to worshipers.

A Middle Kingdom royal ritual equates Osiris with barley and Set with the donkeys who thresh the grain by trampling on it. Images on temple walls show grain growing out of the body of the dead Osiris while his soul hovers above the stalks. The ancient Egyptians were said to shed tears at the first cutting of the grain, and workers would chant a dirge, accompanied by a flute. The last sheaf to be cut was a moment of celebration.

Scenes from tombs also show that the queen of Egypt mediated at the blessing of the harvest, identifying herself with the goddess Renenutet. Offerings of the first fruits were made and hymns sung to a statue of Renenutet when grain was brought to the granary or when wine was stored in the cellar. Renenutet was honored in shrines that were located in harvest fields and vineyards, and grain was often stored within her temples.

Other deities honored during //Shemu// were Taweret and Neper. During harvest rituals, the Egyptian people celebrated by exchanging sweet cakes stamped with the image of Taweret. After a particularly good harvest, the pharaoh Amenemhet I called himself "beloved of Neper."


 * Modern Influence:**

The word //Shemu// may well be an ancient root for the English word "summer."

The Seasons of Ancient Egypt