A recent question posted to another group I follow asks:
"Does anybody know if there's a direct link from New Zealand to Egypt?" There is no credible evidence of a direct link to Egypt in the archaeological record. That said, there are curious things happening when comparing certain base vocabularies in the broader Austronesian / Polynesian language families with Middle Egyptian. One of the most touted is "Rā" our word for "sun", "day", as well as "sail of a ship", "branch of a tree". RA : 𓂋𓂝𓇳𓏤 /rʕ/ "sun" RA : 𓂋𓂝𓇳𓀭 /rʕ/ "Re" the sun god RA : 𓇳𓏤𓀭 /rʕ/ "Re" the sun god RA : 𓇴𓏤 /rʕ/ "Re" the sun god In Hawaiian, Tongan, and Sāmoan we have "Lā", "La", "La'ā". Tongan has an interesting reflex for "branch", which is "Va'a", used in Sāmoan "Va'a" means "ship, boat, canoe; priest" whereas Tongan "Vaka" serves the same purpose. Taken as a whole, "ship" and "branch" appear to be related, which is quite fascinating as a similar metaphor appears in Biblical Hebrew on the word "mateh" (מַטֶּה), although as a Semitic relative of Akkadian, a cognate of that morphology [m-t] is not found. Instead, we find Akkadian larû (𒇷) written: [1] 𒇷 li in Old Akkadian (c. 2500–1950 BCE)
[2] 𒇷𒂊 le-e in Old Babylonian (c. 1950–1530 BCE) This is really close to Egyptian RE / RI. Sanskrit SURYA (सूर्य) "sun" could be a phonological cognate of ZI-UD-SUŘ-RA (ZI-U₄-SU₃-RA₂ / 𒍣𒌓𒋤𒁺 "pure life, long-life") the Mesopotamian flood hero referred to in numerous places by an abbreviated form SUŘ-RA.
ZI (𒍣) means "trusty, faithful, good; life"
U₄ (𒌓) means "sun, day; white, shine, bright, pure"
SUŘ (𒋤) means "long-lived"
RA₂ (𒁺) means "to bring, to come, go, move about"
Incidentally RA₂ (𒁺) has a reduplicated form of LAḪ₄ (𒁻) meaning "to carry", suggesting that the meaning of "to carry" is the one intended in the name of Ziusudra. Furthermore, LAḪ₄ (𒁻) is also read as RE₇ (𒁻) "to go, to come". Ziudsudra / Ziusudra / Ziudsura are variants of this hero's name who was closely associated with the Sun god UTU (𒀭𒌓) who in lines 1 through 11 of Segment D of the Flood story tablet is described as follows:
"All the windstorms and gales arose together, and the flood swept over the ……. After the flood had swept over the land, and waves and windstorms had rocked the huge boat for seven days and seven nights, Utu the sun god came out, illuminating heaven and earth. Zi-ud-sura could drill an opening in the huge boat and the hero Utu entered the huge boat with his rays. Zi-ud-sura the king prostrated himself before Utu. The king sacrificed oxen and offered innumerable sheep." (https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi#...)
1. im-hul-im-hul [tum₉]si-si-ig du₃-a-bi tec₂-bi i₃-sug₂-ge-ec 2. a-ma-ru ugu kab dug₄-ga ba-an-da-ab-ur₃-e 3. ud 7-am₃ ji6 7-am₃ 4. a-ma-ru kalam-ma ba-ur₃-ra-ta 5. [jic]ma₂ gur₄-gur₄ a gal-la im-hul tuku₄-tuku₄-a-ta 6. [d]utu i-im-ma-ra-e₃ an ki-a ud ja₂-ja₂ 7. zi-ud-su₃-ra₂ [jic]ma₂ gur₄-gur₄ ab-BUR₂ mu-un-da-buru₃ 8. cul dutu jic-nu₁₁-ni-da [jic]ma₂ gur₄-gur₄-ce₃ ba-an-kur₉-re-en 9. zi-ud-su₃-ra₂ lugal-am₃ 10. igi [d]utu-ce₃ giri₁₇ ki su-ub ba-gub 11. lugal-e gud im-ma-ab-gaz-e udu im-ma-ab-car₂-re (https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=c.1.7.4&display=Crit&charenc=&lineid=c174.D.1#c174.D.1)
In this scenario, Sura is functioning as a high priest aboard his ship. As a high priest he functions as an intermediary for whichever god he makes sacrifices to. The high priest of many ancient religions in essence acted as the vessel of the god. This remained the same case in Austronesian and Polynesian pre-contact religions. The word for such priests was the same word as the word for ships, boats, canoes alluding to the physical embodiment of a god within the person of the priest. This word is VA'A / VAKA / WA'A / WAKA. In other words, Ziudsura through his role of high priest has in the above passage temporarily become UTU, the sun god, and perhaps because he was subsequently deified after the flood and granted eternal life by the gods, he was thusly a new sun god Sura. Furthermore, be aware that here we have an explicit description of the Sun god descending upon a ship. This is precisely the theme of the Egyptian sun god Rā aboard his solar barque traveling into the night and through the underworld. Perhaps it is through this mechanism that the word "Surya" became another word in a long list of words in Sanskrit for "sun", including Savitra (सवितृ) whose name means "vivifier", "life-giver", which is similar semantically with that of the translated form of Ziudsura, "He of long life".
Granted, these are inconclusive and isolated examples and without a weightier and more comprehensive body of clear comparisons that can adhere to a regularity of phonological shift will remain isolated examples. So, more examples following... [Ax] (pronounced like "Ach-" in German "Achtung!" In Middle Egyptian this means "spirit". AKH : 𓄿𓐍 /ɑḫ/ "spirit" AKH : 𓄿𓐍𓏛 /ɑḫ/ "spirit-state" AKH : 𓅜 /ɑḫ/ "to be a spirit, to become a spirit, beneficial, useful, profitable" AKH : 𓅜 /ɑḫ/ "spirit" AKH : 𓅜𓐍 /ɑḫ/ "spirit" AKH : 𓅜𓐍𓀼 /ɑḫ/ "spirit" AKH : 𓅜𓏤 /ɑḫ/ "spirit-state" AKH : 𓅜𓏤𓀽 /ɑḫ/ "spirit-state" Compare to AKA / ATA - reflection, image, shadow, spirit! There are many more words surfacing in this research - BAN / BANA / PAN / PANA (𒉼) - for "archery, arrow, bow, reed shaft". In the Pacific, this word remained largely unchanged as PANA in Hawaiian means "archery, arrow, bow, reed shaft". In Central Polynesia, it took the forms of FANA, VANA, as well as PANA and appears to be related to HANA, FAGA, FANGA, WHANGA for "bay", "shelter away from the sea" as well as 'OHANA the word for "family" in Hawai'i, those who are in the presence of the patriarchal or matriarchal circle. Doubtful? Compare Sumerian U₂ (𒌑) for "reed, grass, plant" with Sāmoan U for "reed", "arrow", "shaft" It begs the question of whether Austronesian / Polynesian sun god LĀ / RĀ was somehow connected to the ancient near east and Egypt.
Commentaires