Wehau disease

Wehau is the ancient Egyptian name of a skin disease in the lower back. The Papyrus Turin 21 from the New Kingdom names, among other things, the Wehau disease as the cause of death. The seasonal Wehau disease is mentioned in the daily selection calendar and is documented there for the period from late April to early August.

supporting documents

Papyrus Chester Beatty VI

The Chester Beatty VI papyrus also reports in connection with Wehau's disease:

“King Osiris speaks to the vizier Chontamenti . (Sent to a country) ... to drive enemies out of Egypt ... take your left hand. Remedies for driving hurt from the limbs ... And you should put on the cow dung and turn (it) over ... until it is hot. "

- Papyrus Chester Beatty VI, verso, lines 2 to 7

The accompanying vignette shows a human figure lying stretched out on its stomach. A figure stands on its back and is thrusting a spear into its rear. In addition, four crocodiles are busy treating the front parts of the body. The illustration under the vignette is largely destroyed. Among other things, a bearer of the Upper Egyptian crown can still be seen who is blocking the path of a crocodile in a papyrus barge. Wehu disease is considered in the Chester Beatty VI papyrus as a magical- medical induced action.

Naos of the decades

On the naos of the decades , the effect of Wehu disease is dated to the 31st decade (July 28th to August 5th):

“The great God at the beginning. He is the one causing woe all over the country after accounting for the calamity in Heliopolis . He is the one who sends out a bloodbath south, north, west, east among all living and everyone in Iat-nebes who is on earth or in water. "

- Naos of the decades

literature

Peter Eschweiler: Image magic in ancient Egypt: The use of images and objects in magical acts according to the texts of the Middle and New Kingdom . Universitäts-Verlag, Freiburg 1994, ISBN 3-525-53772-7 , p. 36.
Christian Leitz : Ancient Egyptian star clocks . Peeters, Leuven 1995, ISBN 9-0683-1669-9