Boats as sacred vessels go to the heart of the
invention of this mode of travel and transport.
It is the use of the boat for the almighty god Ra that
show him traveling on a reed float made of papyrus
that is portrayed on the walls of temples and tombs.
The religious significance of the boat may have been
derived from the transportation of the god.
Molefi Kete AsanteSee alsoBurial of the Dead; Rituals
Further Readings
Arnold, D. (1991).Building in Egypt:Pharaonic Stone
Masonry. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Asante, M. K. (2007).The History of Africa. London:
Routledge.
Bierbrier, M. (1984).Tomb Builders of the Pharaohs.
New York: Scribner’s.
Hobson, C. (1987).The World of the Pharaohs. London:
Thames and Hudson.
Vinson, S. (1999).Egyptian Boats and Ships. London:
Shire Publications.BOBO
The Bobo people are part of the Mande-speaking
people who live in the western part of Burkina
Faso of West Africa north of the Republic of
Ghana and in Mali. They have lived in the west-
ern region of Burkina Faso and Mali for centuries,Bobo 129Alabaster carving of a boat, from the tomb of Tutankhamen, displayed in the Cairo Museum.
Source: Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images.