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H

HAPI

Hap i is the neterof the inundation of the Nile.
Gene rall y speaking,the Nilewas not cons ide re d
a ne te r am ong the peo ple of Kemet,wi th a fe w
exce pti ons in certainar eas. Hapiref ers spec ific ally
to the inundation of the Nile , or to the sp irit or
es senceof the Nile.Hapiwas depict ed as a man
with a protrudingbellyand bre asts who was hold -
ing foodaloft.The protrudingbellyand breasts
and foodsymbolizeth e abu ndanceand nourish-
mentpr ovided by the annualinu ndation of the
Nile.The inundation,or flo oding,is caused by the
tropicalrainshun dredsof milesawayin th e high -
landsof Ethiopiaand Uganda.These rainscau se
the Nil e to ove rflo w its bank s and depositnu tr i-
ent-richsilt on the lan ds alon gsidethe river.
Thisprocesswas esse ntialto the survivaland
de velopment of the civilization of Kemetbec au se
it provideda narrow but fertileband of land
alongside the riveron whichto growcrops.
Withoutit, the NileValle y, whi ch cutsa pat h
through the Sahara,woul d scarcely be abl e to
supporthum an life, let alon e a th rivingci viliza-
tion such as Kemet.Th e dep icti ons of Hapi affirm
this bec ause they showa man hol ding two plants:
the papyrusand lotu s.
The papyrusis the plan t thatthrivesin the
marshes of LowerEgypt,and the Lo tus is found
alongthe banksand floodplai ns of UpperEgypt.
Bothsh owntogether indicatethat it is the flood-
ing Nilethat supportsboth regions.Sometime s
the plantsare shownon the headof man,bu t the
meaning is similar.In add ition,Hapiwas shown

po uringtwo vasesof water,againindicatingpro -

vidi ng sustenanceto the two lands.Hapidid not

have an explicittheology developedby pri ests.

However, he wasidentifi ed wi th the grea t

prim eval dei ties, particularlythe wat ery abyssof

Nun, and was seen as the creatorof everything.

The generalpercepti on of Hapich angedwhen

Akh enatonpro po se d th at the wate rs of the Nile

dep end on light.It was lightthat co ntrolledthe

rh ythmof the inundationwatersand lightcomes

fromAten,he thought.Therefore,it was Aten

who cre atedHa pi. Theconnection be twe en

Akh enatonand Hapiis furthersug gestedwhen

considering Akhena ton is portr ayedwit h a

rounded bellyand prominentbreasts. Symboli-

callyspe aki ng, thesefe aturesare reminiscentof

portrayals of Hapiand perhaps in dica te

Akh enaton’s associationwiththe lightof the sun

disk and the li fe-giving esse nce of the Nil e, hence

Hapi representi ng the sp irit or es senceof the

Nile.

In anotheraspectof Egyptianmythology,Hapi

is one of the four sons of Horus(Heru).The sons

of Heruare seenfrequentlyin the Canopicjars

usedduringmummification.In this context,the

jar of Hapi has the headof a baboonand is said

to be the guardian of the lungs.Like the rest of the

fou r sons, Hapirepresentsone of the four cardi -

nal di rec tions.His nameis sometimesspelled

Hap,Hap i, or Hapyand is also knownas Asar

Hapi,Hapi-Asar,As ar Hap.

DeniseMar tin

Seealso Akhenaten; Ri vers an d Stre ams