FESTIVAL AT ABU SIMBEL OCTOBER 2018
Udja. Uben Un Nefer. Nehast. Beautiful Existence Rising. Great Awakening.
Welcome to one of the MOST Magical Moments of My First Musical Initiatic Journey. Only fragments were captured, so I will do my very best to convey the event.
Here in the West, when I hear the word festival, I imagine a large stage, with live music, vendors selling wares, lots of delicious food, and a fantastic turnout, which means the organizers, producers and sponsors will be happy…..in fact, producing, participating, organizing, volunteering, vending, healing, working, touring, and especially performing: the festival life is for me. Festivals in alignment with Celestial Events are considered to be Sacred Events amongst First Nations and Original Peoples. The Abu Simbel Festival has opened my eyes and expanded my heart in so many ways.
You might be wondering, what is sacred about October 22? The Fall Equinox is on or around September 21, and the Winter Solstice is on or around December 21. What is going on Celestial on October 22???? Let me interrupt here: as you may well know, one of my passions in life is Cultural Astronomy, similar to Astrology in many ways, but in many ways very different.
When I was able to travel to Machu Picchu, one of the Temple Guardians told me that the Equinox does not actually occur in March or September. There is an equinoctial marker there that has been “doing its thing” for thousands of years. This should be obvious, because due to the Precession OF the Equinox, the Zodiac Constellations are different than they were 4,000 years ago when the calendar was fixed in time by religious authorities. So, it makes since that the Equinox is not where we have been told it to be. I now wonder if the Equinox occurred at this time of year when the Temple was built…
What is the Festival at Abu Simbel? On October 22 and also February 22, the Temple of Abu Simbel is the location for a celebration of longevity, royalty, precision, wonder. It is a festival of the Sun. And, the most fun I had had in along time…On these days, at sunrise, the light from the Sun enters into the Temple, and lights 3 out of 4 seated statues in the inner sanctuary. The 4 statutes are Ramses II, Amun, Ra, and Ptah. On these days, only the statues of the gods are illuminated, leaving Ramses in the dark. I have read elsewhere where they describe Ramses and his architecture as egotistical, and that Ptah is left in the darkness. But they are totally incorrect, as this Temple was to HONOR Amun Ra Ptah, not idolize Ramses II. It is said that these days were chosen to observe the time of his birth, and the time of his coronation.
Back to the festival part: I tried writing to someone at the webpage for the festival ahead of time, to see if they were still accepting bands. HA! Not that kind of festival! There were a few music groups playing music, and there were a few traditional dancing groups present. But there is no stage, in fact, there is no organization except for natural Order! EVERYONE present wants to get inside the temple to see the Sunlight illuminating 3 out of 4 statues. We are all wondering how was this achieved? AND, it only lasts for 22 minutes!!! EXACTLY!! There are screens outside so you can watch it in case you do not make it in.
I remember trying to hold onto my companion’s hand, and almost getting crushed by the weight of the people around me. I remember singing and playing my instruments outside, and wondering what would happen if I sang once inside! LOL!! And my friend asking me if I am SURE that I have the headdress/veil on correctly. I responded that this is the way I want to wear it. Of course, some would say that I have it on backwards… anyway, I remember the moment the sun started to break over the horizon, and wondering how would ALL of these people get inside? The entire event was mind blowing, because think about HOW LONG HAS THIS FESTIVAL BEEN TAKING PLACE?????? with no commercialization, nothing outside of security, busses, ticket collection just like any other temple site. Nothing out of the ordinary or special no t-shirts, no trash! No vendors. Everyone present came to witness this amazing event. And now, I am determined to join them at least once a year! BUT THIS IS ONLY THE INTRODUCTION!!
Okay, so it is time to go in. the line is moving. I immediately begin chanting Om Amun Ra Ptah at the top of my lungs, playing my little hand drum as loud as I can. Ae we are walking past police officers and security guards, they are all smiling and laughing with me, giving me the thumbs up. Clapping! I am in shock because usually, we are not allowed to sing or chant inside of the temples. Nothing that resembles prayer or meditation is allowed unless you give the guards some money….So, I just keep chanting. And each time we pass a security guard or police or any official, they just keep encouraging me to continue. People around e also let me know that they enjoy it. People want to know my name or where I am from: I TELL THEM THAT I AM FROM KEMT AND ASKL THEM IF THEY KNOW WHERE IT IS !!! LOL!!! Jamaica, the Caribbeans, the Islands, someplace in Americas, some place in Africa. I get amazing answers btw whenever I ask this question in Aswan!!!)
Now it is time to go inside. I keep chanting, expecting to be reprimanded or thrown out. I am the only person dressed in white, with a veil, with locks, with a drum and sistrum. The only person chanting Om Amun Ra Ptah as loudly as possible. I am getting a rush, my adrenaline is pumping. Then it happens: BAM! We are attacked by a white supremaciist, right there in Kemet, in the temple at the festival at Abu Simbal on October 22, 20187. Although, if you ask her, she would probably say that she hates ALL Americans, not just Black ones.,…how I wish we had footage of this…..sigh.
Out of nowhere, this short, pink porky pig looking woman with a thick Australian accent jumps out in front of us, we are inside the temple, but not yet to the inner shrine, there are people everywhere, the place is packed. And as she starts yelling things like at us: “did it occur to you that nobody wants to hear that! Go back to America where you came from. You don’t belong here.” stuff like that. Every time she says to go back where we came from, Raquel and I start cracking up uncontrollably because we KNOW that we came from Kemet!!!! LOL!!! Everyone there told us that we look like Nubians, that we are same color as them and look like we are family. They said they liked my singing and my music. But she hated it! She was saying all kinds of dreadful things. Raquel had had enough and turned to her and said that because of the way she was treating us and behaving, that she and her family would be cursed for 100 years! Oh dear, I asked her to stop, because we don’t need to attract negative energy to ourselves by sending it to this demonic entity. But it was getting very heated and this woman would not stop.
So, we had each just recently purchased a sistrum in Abydos, so we pulled them lout and kept chanting LOUDLY! The Patty Porky Pig GRABBED Raquels sistrum and bent it! We were furious. Our tour guide Adam had to keep intervening to protect us from getting hurt and also from hurting this entity. Finally, we were separated and it was our turn to go inside the inner shrine. I am still chanting Om Amun Ra Ptah and NO ONE ELSE asked me st stop or told me to leave. The security guards kept giving me smiles, laughing, dancing, taking photos with us, clapping. It Was incredible. and thrilling.
You only get a few seconds to see the Illumination, and you know what? It is worth it! It is actually unbelievable while you are standing there, and then the next person nudges you to remind you that this is actually happening and your time is up and you must move on….Next time, I will be mentally ready for the viewing.
So, as soon as we leave the inner shrine, our Australian friend reemerges, still spewing negativity and hatred. This time, many Nubian people stop us to take photo with us as we admire the artwork and iconography in both temples. She is like following us around telling us to go back where we came from while the locals are telling us that we are Nubian. Talk about union of the opposites! LOL!! Reality and illusion. When she realizes that Adam is with us, she says, “What, you are with them? I feel sorry for you”. We are all laughing and chanting Om Amun Ra Ptah…..of course, every now and them Sekhmet appears and flames come out of our mouths in response and reaction to poison from our attacker
Once we get back outside, Adam is all smiles! While this was going on inside, he looked really serious and concerned. He told us that he had to look that way, because of his job, but that on the inside, he was very happy. That we went inside and helped to reveal a very dark energy and we cast it out with the chanting and drumming. I am not sure why the security guards did not stop us, no one else was singing inside. None of the musicians or dancers from outside could be seen inside. I wonder how long it has been since people were allowed to worship inside the temple at the festival or anytime for that matter. I wonder what will happen when I return there and start chanting again???? I will let you know.
Of course, once we were leaving the festival, porky patty found us again. I got some of the altercation in audio. I also recorded our experiences right after the incident if you care to listen.
Here is the audio where you can hear her voice. But no video….
Australian Dog Attack in Kemet
Abu Simbel Experience Tchiya aka Arit
Perhaps one day, you will join make on this adventure…..HOTEP.
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