Magyar László szerk.: Orvostörténeti Közlemények 170-173. (Budapest, 2000)
KÖZLEMÉNYEK — COMMUNICATIONS - Győry, Hedvig: "Providing protection to a new-born on the day of his birth ". Extra-and intrauterine complications and abnormalities in ancient Egypt. — „Az újszülött védelméről gondoskodni születése napján ". Méhen kívüli és belüli komplikációk és rendellenességek az ősi Egyiptomban
protection of the dwarf who manifested the Sun god. In another case a beneficent dwarf god was called by name of Bes 26 . But other deities helped as well the parturient mothers. Beside Isis, Hathor or Thoeris e.g. also the personified birth-brick, Meskhenet, 27 could be called for help so that both the birth should be the possible happiest and the new-born should be born safe and sound. The successful delivery was important not only for the child 28 , but also for the mother for even her life was in danger. 29 A tomb inscription made up for a Roman woman, died at age 18 presents such a tragedy: 30 Who died here? — Herois. — How and when? — Heavy-wombed In pained labor she set down her burden, Mother was she for a moment, the child perished also, What was the luckless one's age? — Two times nine Years of flowering youth had Herois. Light may The earth be on her, may Osiris bestow cooling water. (Peek, no. 426) In the Middle Kingdom town of Kahun 31 several foeti and new born babies were found buried in boxes under the floor of houses. At many other places of the ancient world they were buried differently as compared to adults. At some places in Europe e.g. while the grown-ups were burnt and put in urns, children could be dug into the earth until their first tooth would come out. 32 Whereas we have no information from Egypt about differentiation in connection to teething, among Upper Egyptian Coptic fellahin, however, a practice had survived up to the 1920s which resembled to that of ancient Egyptian Kahun. When a child died before he had been baptised he was buried under the floor of one of the rooms in a qadus jar and covered by the mud of the floor 33 . The practice was explained by the belief that this ensured the mother having another child. They thought that the child's spirit was to re-enter the mother's body. Presumably similar beliefs worked also thousands of years earlier. This conception seems to be supported, in connection to ancient Egypt, by such 26 J. F. Borghought: o.e., (1971), OMRO, 51, 1970, P. Leiden I. 348, Sp. 30, cf. Robert K. Ritner: o.e. note, 64. 27 Erman: Zaubersprüche fiir Mutter und Kind. Aus dem Papyrus 3027 des Berliner Museums, Abh. der Kön. Prenss. Akademie der Wiss. Ph-H. Klasse, Berlin, 1901. p. 24—27. Muk F 5,8—6,8. cf. Spiegelberg. Zeitschr. für Assyrologie XIV, p. 269. 28 E. G. Smith —W. R. Dawson: Egyptian Mummies, 1 vol. Allen G et Anwid ed, London, 1924; Erika Feucht: LA III. col. 424-—437, Kind etc. 90—96 j. varázsigék j 88—89, Percy Edward Newberry: The pig and the cult animal ofSeth,J£4 14, 1928, p. 211—225, Erika Feucht: o.e., p. 116, 121—123. 29 W. Benson Harer: Health in Pharaonic Egypt, in: Walker R, ed.: Biological Anthropology and the Study of Ancient Egypt, London, 1993, p. 20; E. Strouhal: Maternity of Ancient Egypt, in: Antonin Dolezal-Jaroslav Gutvirth: Anthropohgy of Maternity, Charles University, Prag, 1977, p. 287—-292. 30 W. Peek: Griechische Grabgedichte, griechisch und deutsch, Berlin, 1960, no. 426, p. 242—243.(= Verz. d. Vorl. Akad. Braunsberg, SS. 1913, 4,3 GV 1842 = Miriam Lichtheim: o.e., p. 7.) 31 W. M. Flinders Pétrie: Illahun, Kahun und Gurob, London, 1891, pl. 6, no. 9—10, p. 11 (Dyn. 12—13.), Erika Feucht: o.e., p. 126. 32 Plinius: Nat. Hist., Lib. VIL, München, 1975, caput 72. Kákosy L: Abdallah Nirqi 1964. Burials. Acta Arch Ilungil, 1975, p. 116. 33 Winifred S. Blackman: The Fellahin of Upper Egypt, Cairo, 2000, p. 101, or see for still-born babies or those died 1—2 days after being born in Bahrija: Ahmed Fakhry: The Oases of Egypt II. Kairo, 1974, p. 52.
