Categories
Blog

Ushabtis at the Magic Kingdom?

Leave it to me to find ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช, a papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› replica of a relief from Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“ temple and a Sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ค at the Magic Kingdom! While these are all replica pieces, itโ€™s still such a fun find – you all know just how much me (and Nonno) loved ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช! These can all be found at the โ€œJungle Navigation Skipper Canteenโ€ restaurant!ย 

Ushabtis at the Magic Kingdom
Replica ushabtis at the Magic Kingdom in the Jungle Navigation Skipper Canteenโ€ restaurant with the papyrus which contains an image from Hatshepsut’s temple!

The ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ served as substitutes for the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ and would perform labor or jobs for them in the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. There are two ๐“ป common ways to write ushabti in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช: 

๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ – ลกwbtj – the earlier word that was used in Egypt and derived from the word for โ€œstick ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ฒ๐“˜๐“‡‹๐“†ฑ.โ€ This is where the term โ€œshabtiโ€ most likely came from! 

๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ – wลกbtj – the โ€œnewerโ€ form of the word used from the 21st Dynasty onward. This is where the term โ€œushabtiโ€ most likely originated from! My Nonno always said โ€œUshabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พโ€ so that is what I tend to say as well!

The papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› is a replica of a relief from Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“ temple at Deir el-Bahri ๐“‚ฆ๐“‚‹๐“‚ฆ๐“ฅ๐“‰! This was originally meant to show Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“ famed expedition to Punt ๐“Šช๐“ƒบ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ˆ‰!ย 

Ushabtis at the Magic Kingdom
Me with a sphinx outside the entrance to the Jungle Navigation Skipper Canteenโ€ restaurant at the Magic Kingdom!

This sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ is in a crouching position, which to the Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช meant that it was a guardian of a sacred place, such as a temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ or an important building. In this case, the โ€œimportant buildingโ€ is the entrance to the โ€œJungle Navigation Skipper Canteenโ€ restaurant! 

I hope youโ€™re enjoying my โ€œAncient Egypt in Disneyโ€ series!

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

@ancientegyptblogย