Wellerman in Ancient Egyptian! 🐍 Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor (lyrics by Stefano Vittori)
The WELLERMAN sung a cappella in ANCIENT EGYPTIAN. 🐍
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Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor - Classical Egyptian story from papyrus “Leningrad 1115“ set to the melody of
Wellerman
Lyrics by Stefano Vittori @RVMAK ⬅️ subscribe!
Original a cappella vocals and performance by Luke Amadeus Ranieri
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THE TALE OF THE SHIPWRECKED SAILOR
A Middle Kingdom tale in Middle Egyptian from the Hieratic papyrus of Leningrad 1115, with Middle Egyptian text in reconstructed pronunciation adapted by Stefano Vittori to the melody of “The Wellerman,” dedicated to @MusaPedestris ⲛⲧⲁⲣⲉϩⲛⲁⲩ “to her who knows how to see.“
Pronunciation rules (according to the classical school) for the signs which differ from IPA: { ʾ }: unvoiced glottal stop: [ʔ]
{ ʿ }: voiced pharyngeal fricative: [ʕ]
{ ḥ }: unvoiced pharyngeal fricative: [ħ]
{ ḫ }: unvoiced velar fricative: [x]
{ ẖ }: unvoiced palatal fricative: [ç]
{ š }: unvoiced postalveolar fricative: [ʃ]
{ ḏ }: voiced postalveolar affricate: [d͡ʒ]
{ ṯ }: unvoiced postalveolar affricate: [t͡ʃ]
Final { t } in pause (comma, period, etc.) should be pronounced as a [h].
I. Description of the ship
Dáppát-tiwa wá; jin mā́ḥjū
niji wísḫati dáppati, súnu ḥā́mū;
mā́ḥjū ʾāwū́.s, ḫit-ḏubʿā́tī.
háʾ ra waʾiḏ̄́ -wur.
There was a ship; as for the cubits
Of the width of the ship, they were forty.
The cubits of its length, one hundred and twenty.
It came down to the sea.
REFRAIN
ʾáṯ ma šúpisū nīb:
sídū nū múmu, naḏḥā́ wat ʾib,
masdū́ mati kúmat, júdnib
sā́ntir, ḥakkī́n, ʿíntū.
It was loaded with all precious things:
tails of giraffe, fangs of elephant,
black pigment for eye-liner, laudanum,
incense, ointment, and myrrh.
II. Description of the crew
sā́qdū jimijū́.s satpū́ Kúmmat:
maʾʾā́.sunu pit, maʾʾā́.sunu taʾ,
ḏáʿu párj.ū, sā́qdū nib̄́ sawḏā́ʾ,
radi-nā́-juwa wā́ʾu ma jiw.
The sailors on it were the choice of Egypt,
they could observe the sky, they could observe the earth
but a storm arose, all the sailors died
and I was put on an island by a wave of the sea.
III. Snake’s arrival
jáwi-nā́ ḥā́fʾū, súwa dawwā́n,
ḫítu ḥar gímgim, táʾu ḥar mánman
nā́bū puwa ḥāʿ, ḫásbaḏ puwa jan,
mā́ḥjū ʾāwū́.f máʿbaʾ.
A snake came to me; he raised himself up.
The forest creaked, the ground quaked.
His limbs were gold, his eyebrow was lapis lazuli,
the cubits of his length were thirty.
IV. The snake’s story
ḏíd-nā.f: «saḏdā́. ḫā́prat ní.j:
wannā́.j maʿa ḥā́fʾū sáfaḫū dī;
sib̄́ aʾ háʾj.ū, nuj wuj ma-ḥarij̄́;
gami-nā́.j-sita, sítu ʾam-nā́.w».
He said: «I will tell you what happened to me:
I had seventy-five sons;
an asteroid fell while I was not with them;
I found them, they were burnt.
V. Sailor’s gratitude
ḏíd-nā.j: «jura jarjā́.k nā́fir,
dawʾā́ qánbat táʾi nā́ṯir,
radjā.tū́ ʿíntū, sā́ntir,
da.j jawwā́ dáppat...
I said to him: «If you benefit me,
The council of the Land will pray the God for you,
Myrrh and incense will be offered to you,
and I will make so that a ship comes to you...»
VI. Snake’s refusal
zabíṯ-nā.f: «nuj wú ʿíntū:
ḥaqʾ.ā́ku Pawā́nata, ní-jimī sū;
ḥakkin̄́ -pufa ḏíd-nā.k, báwu sít-tū.
anā́k puwa dā́ sun»
He laughed: «You do not have that much myrrh:
I am the lord of Punt, it comes therefrom,
the ointment you speak about is a product of this place.
It is me who gives them to you.
VII. Snake’s admonitions
«jura rawḏā́ jú, jura qanjā́.k,
ḥaptā́.ka ẖaradjū́.k, sána ḥim̄́ ta.k,
saḏmā́, nā́ḏis, maʾʾā́.ka pára.k:
sítu ná jura ḫit nīb»
If your heart is firm, if you are strong,
hug your kids, kiss your wife,
listen, little man, preserve your family:
it is the best of all things».
VIII. Arrival of the ship from Egypt
Dáppat já; ḫíd-nā.j ra ẖániw
rádi-nā́. ʿašʾit̄́ nit̄́ a janiw̄́
ḫapr.ū jīs jawdā́.jū jura jiw
jíwu ḫápr.ū jima nā́wī.
A ship arrived; I moved North to the Capital.
The snake gave me a lot of riches,
and when I departed from the island,
the island was transformed into a wave of the sea.