The Beautiful Festival of the Valley
Ancient Egyptian YearWhere: Thebes
When: At the New Moon of Month Two in Shemu. A Yearly Celebration from the Middle Kingdom Period onwards
Called: Heb Nefer en Inet
Why: To remember and celebrate the dead
What: It became merged as one with the Opet Festival in later Periods
What happened at the Festival?
The Sacred Barques of the Theban Triad: the God Amun, the Goddess Mut and the God Khonsu (Click here to learn more about the Theban Triad); made a sacred journey from their home inside Karnak Temple on the Eastern Bank of the River Nile and travelled by Boats to visit the “Temples of Million Years of the King” or the Mortuary Temples for each deceased Pharaoh in the Theban Necropolis on the Western Bank of the River Nile.
The Festival began and ended with the Procession of the Deities in their Sacred Barques which also gave the populace the time to see their beloved Gods. The Gods would be honoured with food, drink and flowers. Whilst the Deities Shrines were attending the Mortuary Temples the people would go and spend time with their own ancestors often inside their Tombs.
