NEFERIRKARE KAKAI
BY JIMMY DUNN.
Documenting kings of ancient Egypt can be daunting,
particularly with those such as Neferirkara Kakai. We
actually know more about one of his officials named Ty, who
was the overseer of the pyramid complexes and sun temples
under both Neferirkara and other kings, then we do about
Neferirkara himself. Much more is known about Neferirkare's
brother, Sahure, who ruled Egypt just prior to Neferirkare,
and to Shepseskare, who ruled just after him. He was
probably the son of Userkaf, the first king of the 5th
Dynasty, and a Queen Khntkawes, who's pyramid is situated
next to Neferirkara's at Abusir. His immediate successors
were also buried at Abusir.
However, Neferirkare's pyramid complex remained unfinished,
and its valley temple and causeway were later incorporated
by Nyuserra into his own pyramid complex. We also know that
he built a Sun Temple, a trend begun by Userkaf. However,
no remains of this temple have so far been discovered.
His throne name was Nefer-ir-ka-re (Beautiful is the Soul of
Re) while his birth name was Kakai. He was the third king
of the Old Kingdom 5th dynasty, ruling from about 2477 until
2467 BC, obviously a very short reign, though Egyptologists
argue both the dates for his reign as well as the length of
his reign. Neferirkara is notable for two very specific
reason. He was the first king to have employed both a
prenomen and nomen (he had two names and two cartouches), a
custom that later kings would follow. Also, papyrus found in
his pyramid complex were written in ink and are the earliest
known documents in hieratic script, a cursive form of
hieroglyphics.
The hieratic papyrus found at his pyramid complex are
probably his most notable contributions to Egyptology. They
were originally discovered in 1893 by local farmers and
consist of 300 papyrus fragments. They remained unpublished
for some seventy-five years, even as the first
archaeologists were excavating Abusir. Only later did a
Czech mission, which explored the site in 1976, take full
advantage of these documents.
The Neferirkara archive reveals a world of detailed and very
professional administration. Elaborate tables provide
monthly rosters of duty: for guarding the temple, for
fetching the daily income (or 'offerings') and for
performing ceremonies including those on the statues, with a
special roster for the important Feast of Seker. Similar
tables list the temple equipment, item by item and grouped
by materials, with details of damage noted at a monthly
inspection. Other records of inspection relate to doors and
rooms in the temple building. The presentation of monthly
income is broken down by substance, source and daily amount.
The commodities are primarily types of bread and beer, meat
and fowl, corn and fruit. They also mention a mortuary
temple of a little-known king, Raneferef, who's tomb was yet
to be discovered but thanks to these papyrus, is now known
and has yielded significant discoveries.
Read More
Neferirkare Kakai was the third Pharaoh of Egypt during the
Fifth dynasty. His prenomen, Neferirkare, means "Beautiful
is the Soul of Ra."[2] His Horus name was Userkhau,[3] his
Golden Horus name Sekhemunebu and his Nebti name
Khaiemnebty.
It is not known with any certainty who Neferirkare's parents
were. Some Egyptologists see him as a son of Userkaf and
Khentkaus I.[4]
Scenes discovered in Sahure's funerary domains may indicate
however that Neferirkare may have the son of pharaoh Sahure
and Queen Neferetnebty.[5] One theory holds that Neferirkare
may have been known as Prince Rahotep when he was young, and
had a (twin?) brother named Netjerirenre, who may have taken
the throne under the name of Shepseskare.[5]
Neferirkare married Queen Khentkaus II and had 2 sons who
both became pharaoh: Ranefer-under the name Neferefre--and
Niuserre.[4]
Reign
Little is known about his reign. Manetho's Kingslist assigns
Neferirkare a reign of 20 years but verso 5 of the damaged
Palermo Stone preserves the Year of his 5th Cattle Count
(Year 9 on a biannual count).[6] His following years were
lost in the missing portion of the document. The Czech
Egyptologist Miroslav Verner maintains, however, that it
cannot have been as long as 20 years due to the unfinished
state of Neferirkare's Abusir pyramid complex. Since the
annals in the Palermo stone terminate around Neferirkare’s
rule, some scholars have suggested that they might have been
compiled during his reign. However, evidence from the other
side of the stela implies that the document covered the
reigns of later Old Kingdom kings. Hence, it is possible
that these Annals were composed during the time of Nyuserre
Ini who had a long reign and was the third successor to
Neferirkare, after the ephemeral Shepseskare Isi and the
short-lived Neferefre.
A decree, exempting personnel belonging to a temple from
undertaking compulsory labour, shows that taxation was
imposed on everybody as a general rule. An important cache
of Old Kingdom administrative papyri, the Abusir Papyri, was
discovered in Neferirkare's mortuary temple between 1893 and
1907. This cache dates primarily from the reigns of Djedkare
Isesi and Unas. One of the documents is a letter from king
Djedkare to the temple priests provisioning Neferirkare's
funerary temple.
Mortuary complex
From the large size of his mortuary complex at Abusir, he
was an important king, but since the Palermo stone fragments
after his rule, little is actually known about his reign.
The Pyramid of Neferirkare Kakai (burial place) of the king
was initially designed as a 6-step pyramid 52 m high, but
later it was extended to the form of a typical pyramid and
it reached a height of 72 m. The mortuary complex is
unfinished, and only part of the lower mortuary temple was
completed before, it is supposed, the abandonment of the
project.
Personality
Neferirkare's reign was unusual for the significant number
of surviving contemporary records which describe him as a
kind and gentle ruler. When Rawer, an elderly nobleman and
royal courtier, was accidentally touched by the king's mace
during a religious ceremony-a dangerous situation which
could have caused this official's death or banishment from
court since the Pharaoh was viewed as a living God in Old
Kingdom mythology-Neferirkare quickly pardoned Rawer and
requested that no harm should occur to the latter for the
incident.[7] As Rawer gratefully states in an inscription
from his Giza tomb:
" Now the priest Rawer in his priestly robes was
following the steps of the king in order to conduct the
royal costume, when the sceptre in the king's hand struck
the priest Rawer's foot. The king said, "You are safe". So
the king said, and then, "It is the king's wish that he be
perfectly safe, since I have not struck at him. For he is
more worthy before the king than any man."[8] "
Similarly, Neferirkare gave the Priest of Ptah Ptahshepses
the unprecedented honor of kissing his feet.[9] Finally,
when the Vizier Weshptah suffered a stroke while attending
court, the king quickly summoned the palace's chief doctors
to treat his dying Vizier. When Weshptah died, Neferirkare
was reportedly inconsolable and retired to his personal
quarters to mourn the loss of his friend.The king then
ordered the purification of Weshptah's body in his presence
and ordered an ebony coffin made for the deceased Vizier.
Weshptah was buried with special endowments and rituals
courtesy of Neferirkare.[10] The records of the king's
actions are inscribed in Weshptah's tomb itself and
emphasize Neferirkare's humanity towards his subjects.
Read More
