The similarities between Hapi and Hebo(河伯) Bohai,Xu Address:Suzhou Industrial Park, Suzhou, China Abstract: the pronunciation of Hebo(河伯) is similar to the Nile god- Hapi(Hep), and Hebo( 河 伯 ) resembles Hapi in its functions and character. The combination of and is similar to the Egyptian hieroglyph , which means Hapi. So from hieroglyph, we can conclude that Hebo(河伯) is Hapi in China. Besides, animals as well as humans have been drowned in the river as sacrifices, including young women destined to become the god's wives, so this resembles the bride of the Nile. So from the above, we can get a hypothesis that Hebo(河伯) is probably Hapi with Chinese characteristic. Hapi (Hep, Hap, Hapy) was probably a predynastic name for the Nile - later on, the Egyptians just called the Nile iterw, meaning 'the river' - and so it became the name of the god of the Nile. ('Nile' comes from the Greek corruption-Neilos-of the Egyptian nwy which means 'water'.) He was mentioned in the Pyramid Texts ("who comest forth from Hep") where he was to send the river into the underworld from certain caverns, where he was thought to have lived at the First Cataract. The Nile was thought to have flowed from the primeval waters of Nun, through the land of the dead, the heavens and finally flowing into Egypt where it rose out of the ground between two mountains which lay between the Islands of Abu (Elephantine) and the Island of Iat-Rek (Philae). Hapi was also mentioned in the Pyramid Texts as a destructive power, but one that worked for the pharaoh. Homage to thee, O Hapi, thou appearest in this land, and thou comest in peace to make Egypt to live. Thou art the Hidden One, and the guide of the darkness on the day when it is thy pleasure to lead the same. Thou art the waterer of the fields which Ra has created, thou givest life unto all animals, thou makest all the land to drink unceasingly as thou descendest on thy way from heaven. -- Spence, L. 2008, Myths & Legends of Ancient Egypt, p. 171 Hapi Hapi,the Nile god Hapi, wearing the fish symbol of a local nome Without Hapi, Egypt would have died, and so he was sometimes revered even above Ra, the sun god. According to Donald A. MacKenzie (1922), the "whitish muddy Nile may have been identified with milk". Thus, these white, muddy waters that flowed from the breasts of Hapi were probably linked to nurturing and suckling, and thus also to fertility. At a very early period he absorbed the attributes of Nun, the primeval watery mass from which Ra, the Sun-god, emerged on the first day of the creation; and as a natural result he was held the father of all beings and things, which were believed to be the results of his handiwork and his offspring. When we consider the great importance which the Nile possessed for Egypt and her inhabitants it is easy to understand how the Nile-god Hapi held a unique position among the gods of the country, and how he came to be regarded as a being as great as, if not greater than Ra himself. -- Tour Egypt, Hap, or Hapi, The God of the Nile Hapi was the god of the annual flooding of the Nile in ancient Egyptian religion. Its name in hieroglyph is . The flood deposited rich silt (fertile soil) on the river's banks, allowing the Egyptians to grow crops(Wilkinson, p.106).Hapi was greatly celebrated among the Egyptians. Some of the titles of Hapi were "Lord of the Fish and Birds of the Marshes" and "Lord of the River Bringing Vegetation". Hapi is typically depicted as an androgynous figure with a large belly and pendulous breasts, wearing a loincloth and ceremonial false beard(Wilkinson, p.107). Hapi, bearing offerings The annual flooding of the Nile occasionally was said to be the Arrival of Hapi. Since this flooding provided fertile soil in an area that was otherwise desert, Hapi, as its patron, symbolised fertility. He had large female breasts because he was said to bring a rich and nourishing harvest. Due to his fertile nature he was sometimes considered the "father of the gods"(Wilkinson, p.106), and was considered to be a caring father who helped to maintain the balance of the cosmos, the world or universe regarded as an orderly, harmonious system(Wilkinson, p.106). He was thought to live within a cavern at the supposed source of the Nile near Aswan(Wilkinson, p.108). The cult of Hapi was mainly located at the First Cataract named Elephantine. Its name in hieroglyphs is . Known to the ancient Egyptians as Ibw "Elephant" (Middle Egyptian: /ˈʀuːbaw/ → Medio-Late Egyptian: /ˈjuːbəʔ/ → Copc: /ˈjeβ/), the island of Elephantine stood at the border between Egypt and Nubia. Elephantine Island in the Nile,at Aswan, Upper Egypt. View south (upstream) of Elephantine Island and Nile, from a hotel tower. Hapi’s priests were involved in rituals to ensure the steady levels of flow required from the annual flood. At Elephantine the official nilometer, a measuring device, was carefully monitored to predict the level of the flood, and his priests must have been intimately concerned with its monitoring. A nilometer (lower left) at Elephantine Island Although male and wearing the false beard, Hapi was pictured with pendulous breasts and a large belly, as representations of the fertility of the Nile. He also was usually given blue(Wilkinson, p.107) or green skin, representing water. Hapi was also both god of Upper and Lower Egypt - this duality was shown by having twin Hapi deities, one wearing the papyrus of the north (Lower Egypt) as a headdress, the other wearing the south's (Upper Egypt) water lily (lotus) as a headdress. The Upper Egyptian Hapi was called 'Hap-Meht' while the Lower Egyptian Hapi was known as 'Hap-Reset'. In Lower Egypt, he was adorned with papyrus plants and attended by frogs, present in the region, and symbols of it. Whereas in Upper Egypt, it was the lotus and crocodiles which were more present in the Nile, thus these were the symbols of the region, and those associated with Hapi there. Hapi often was pictured carrying offerings of food or pouring water from an amphora, but also, very rarely, was depicted as a hippopotamus. During the Nineteenth Dynasty Hapi is often depicted as a pair of figures, each holding and tying together the long stem of two plants representing Upper and Lower Egypt, symbolically binding the two halves of the country around a hieroglyph meaning "union"(Wilkinson, p.107). This symbolic representation was often carved at the base of seated statues of the pharaoh(Wilkinson, p.107). ...the Egyptians had no clue how or why the Nile flooded each year. They believed that the gods Khnum, Satet, and Anqet were the guardians of the source of the Nile. Their duty was to make sure that the right amount of silt was released during the yearly inundation. Hapi was in charge of the waters that flowed during the floods. The flood was commonly known as the "arrival of Hapi". -- McDevitt, A., Hapi Hapi was thought to come with the inundation (the 'Arrival of Hapi') with a retinue of crocodile gods and frog goddesses. A great flood was known as a 'large Hapi', whilst a low flood was a 'small Hapy'. During inundation, statues of Hapi were carried about through the towns and villages so that the people could honor and pray to him - it was a solemn occasion. Ramesses III worshipping Hapi, who is wearing a papyrus headdress Even Akhenaten, the 'heretic king', could not banish Hapi completely as he did with the other gods. Instead, he tried to suggest that Hapi was an incarnation of the Akenaten himself: Praises to thee, O Ua-en-Re (Akhenaten). I give adoration to the height of heaven. I propitiate him who lives by truth (Ma'at), the Lord of Diadems, Akhenaten, great in his duration; the Nile-god by whose decrees men are enriched; the food (kau) and fatness of Egypt; the good ruler who forms me, begets me, develops me, makes me to associate with princes; the light by sight of which I live - my Ka day by day. -- Frankfort, H. 1978, Kingship and the Gods, p. 69 Limestone slab showing the Nile flood god Hapi. 12th Dynasty. From the foundations of the temple of Thutmose III, Koptos, Egypt. Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London Hapi, shown as an iconographic pair of genii symbolically tying together upper and lower Egypt Hapi is featured in Egyptian Money. It also notable that before the expansion of Islam, human sacrifices were common in Egypt, Egyptians conducted to sacrifice female to River Nile, every year when it was flooded. The flood would remain until a young female was thrown into it as a sacrifice to become the bride of the Nile god Hapi. During the reign of Caliph Umar bin al-Khattab, Amr bin al-Aas, the governor of Egypt, wrote to Umar askin his direction for such activity. There is a story that Umar answered by writing a note to be thrown into the Nile river instead of sacrificing a female to it. The note enclosed verses from the Qur'an and a command from Umar asking the Nile to flow fluently in the name of Allah without causing any damage to inhabitants. When the note was thrown into the Nile, the flood dissolved. After that they won't sacrifice human(p.