Party Time in Ancient Egypt

By Ilene Springer

Doing the Egyptian Dance in the Tomb of Mehu, Saqqara

There have been many people—experts and amateurs alike—who have said the ancient Egyptians were preoccupied with preparing for death. These were not ancient Egyptians who said this. If you asked them, they would have probably said they spent more time preparing for festivities and a good time…while they were living.
Just a quick glance at tomb paintings—which depicted the best part of an individual’s life—often show the ancient Egyptians fully enjoying themselves in the company of others—at banquets, being beguiled by exotic dancers and acrobats. The ancient Egyptians loved a good time and entertainment, music food and drink were a major part of their lives.

A Dance scene from an Ancient Egyptian tomb

Welcome!

It’s not hard to imagine most of ancient Egyptian society celebrating throughout various parts of the year, for harvesting, marriages, childbirth and even funerals in which they sent off the deceased to the next world. But, of course, the more wealthy Egyptians were able to hold lavish banquets and parties purely for enjoyment. The drawings of these events are where we get our information about what it was like to be a participant in one of these banquets.

From what we can tell, each guest was warmly welcomed by both the male and female hosts of the household, and upon entering the party, the guests were draped in blossoms and fragrant wreaths of flowers. This scent of these mingled with those very intriguing perfumed wax cones the party goers wore on their heads. The heat of their bodies slowly melted the scented wax through the evening until the perfumed wax filtered through the hair or, more likely, the fancy wig of the guest.

The food and drink

Scantily clad servant girls carried trays laden with delicacies, as we see in a banquet scene from the tomb of Nebamun. Imagine the food: rich dishes of butter and cheese, fattened fowl and beef, flavored with rosemary, cumin, garlic, parsley, cinnamon and mustard, and sweetened with honey, figs and other fruits. Meat was a luxury in ancient Egypt, but at a feast , no expenses were spared.

Musicians from a tome scene in Ancient Egypt

In addition to beef, there were duck, geese, goats, fish and pigs. Plates filled with chickpeas and lentils, lettuce, cucumbers and onions were passed around. In the Old Kingdom, about 15 varieties of bread could have been served; by the New Kingdom, there were 40 names for breads, cakes and biscuits. Guests had an amazing number of specialties to select from.

Usually guests dined from their own little tables while sitting on benches, and ate off of attractive implements such as bowls, plates and cups made from blue faience with lotus designs.

There was also wine and beer—and plenty of it. Archaeologists have found jugs with the date and type of wine, the estate where it was stored, the vineyard and the vintner.

Let the music begin

A Musician's scene from the Tomb of Nakht

Without music and dance, no banquet was possible. From what we see on tomb paintings, music and dance played a big part in the lives of the ancient Egyptians—both in secular and religious activities. Male and female dancers and musicians would excite the festivities with harps, lyres and lutes (all string instruments) and the oboe (most often played by women) and drums to keep up beat of the music and the hearts of the guests. At the banquet, guests would be treated to dancing girls wearing jewels and lithe acrobats who twisted, jumped and turned. The musicians encouraged the guests to join in by chanting, clapping or playing tambourines or cymbals.

The Egyptians did prepare for the afterlife, but that’s because they hoped for nothing less than the joy they experienced in their lives on earth. And parties were a big part of that joy of life. A very poignant statement on an unknown Egyptian tomb advises the living, "With a beaming face, celebrate the joyful day and rest not therein. For no one can take away his goods with him. Yea, no one returns again, who has gone hence." Who could say it better than an ancient Egyptian?

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