The Obverse Side of Narmer’s Palette - The Bull Interpretations

From The Alpha and the Omega - Chapter Four
by Jim A. Cornwell, Copyright © 1995, all rights reserved "THE OBVERSE SIDE OF NARMER’S PALETTE
THE BULL INTERPRETATIONS:"

From Egyptian Civilization Its Sumerian origin & Real Chronology And Sumerian origin of Egyptian Hieroglyphs, by Louis A. Waddell, copyright 1933.
Louis Waddell states that the Mesopotamian Naram was called "The Wild Bull Lord."
On his page 84-86, it claims that in Egypt King Narmer’s name is from two hieroglyphic signs: Nar and Mar.

First) Nar (Egyptian "monster fish," "cuttle fish.")
Waddell shows in Fig. 16, top Fig. 15 and 17) the fish sign in Sumerian is "Pish" or "Fish" or defined as "mighty fish," the Babylonian god of war or death is named Ner or Nar in Sumerian. The Egyptian Narh (? Nahr) is also a god of death. (Nergal, nur’-gal, Heb. nare-gal’, of foreign origin, a Cuthite deity, Cuth or Cuthah, a province of Assyria.).
Naram or Narama, both ending in Am or Ama, designating his as "The Wild Bull" as in "strong lord" or "warrior."
- Bull came from the colossal man-headed Bull-gods of Babylonia.
- Narmer uses the Wild Bull seen on the Egyptian victory palette (Plate XII and Fig. 15 and 17) man-faced Bulls and a wild bull destroying the citadel of his foes. The Bull is also figured beside him on his great stone mace-head.
- Since there is no Egyptian word for Am or Ama "Bull" or "Wild Bull" or "strong lord," King Naram changed his name to Nar-mar.
Second) Mar is a pictograph of a drill or borer, if derived from the Sumerian Mar sign for a drill. The Egyptian Mar means "hero," pictured as the hieroglyph, sign of a drill, this same sign in Sumerian means "pierce, throw down, destroy," like a Wild Bull.

Waddell continues on page 92, as the Obverse has the same Bull emblems and name above, shows the king, with the tall Sumerian and Hittite hat, grasping the forelock of his enemy with the left hand, and with uplifted mace in his right hand preparing to strike his foe, and behind him is his body servant.

In front is the Sun-Hawk hooking the captured enemy by the nose;
and the six plants are supposed to represent the hieroglyphs of 6000, as indicating the number of captives.
Behind the captive is the hieroglyph of his name.
And in the bottom compartment are two fleeing foes."

Waddell continues on page 98-99, "The personal name of the captive, Magan chief in a kneeling posture, with his forelock grasped by the king with uplifted mace, is enclosed within a rectangular panel. Above the panel is the Sumerian sign "The Man" (Wulu). The King of Magan is known in Mesopotamia as "Mannu-(?) Dan." This is so minute that a lens is required to see it on the Palette, the name appears to read "Ma-nun-dan." He is pictured as an aboriginal type, with large broad Negroid nose, long matted and woolly hair, naked except for a loin string.

From Egypt’s Making The Origins of Ancient Egypt 5000-2000 B.C., by Michael Rice, copyright 1990.
Michael Rice claims in his book in Chapter 3 page 106-107, "The great votive palette of King Narmer, first King of the First Dynasty who is probably to be identified with the near legendary Menes, the Unifier. Narmer’s Palette found at the temple of Hierakonpolis (Hawk City), was laid up in the Falcon capital as an act of piety by a victorious king. It contains many Mesopotamian design elements of early Susian (Elam), as seen on the long neck serpopards."
Then on page 107-108, "Obverse: (Plate 55a pg. 157 The Crown of Upper Egypt) King as ruler of the southern kingdom, wears the high white crown (Upper Egypt)."

"Behind the king is his sandal-bearer, a high dignitary, possibly his son, who is identified by a rosette (seven petalled) the divine or royal emblem."
The king is in the act of striking a kneeling captive (defeated princes of the north).
Above him Horus (Falcon) himself brings to the King 6000 captive from the Marshes. The representations are surmounted by two Hathor heads (which shows how ancient the worship of the goddess was in that form).

Michael Rice in Chapter 3 page 138 shows that, "Connection with Sinai and Palestine with one detail of Narmer’s Palette, curious object identified as a ‘desert kite,’ an enigmatic category of structure which is found in the Sinai and in the Palestinian deserts, also typical of the northern Arabian desert. The ‘kites,’ long line of stones, interpreted as the remains of corrals or traps for animals, thought to date to the end of the fourth millennium."

Rice continues on page 107-108, "The King’s name, are syllables of crude glyphs for chisel and catfish. The royal name is also contained within the palace facade serekh (the unification princes)." Then on page 114-115 he states, "Narmer is "Catfish-Chisel" or "The Falcon Catfish-Chisel" is more or less what his name and title mean. He was founder of the First Thinite Dynasty and reigned 64 years, the term attributed to him by Manetho."

This limestone head, from Abydos, is a disturbing piece; the King (or god, for it has been suggested that it is from a statue of the Ithyphallic Min) has a distinctly epicene and decadent look about it, not as all like the clear-cut figure who appears on the great palette. However the rather long upper lip and wide-set eyes do strongly recall the portrait of Narmer on his great palette and of the young attendant, perhaps the King’s heir, who is portrayed with him.

Egyptologists agree that Menes must have entered Upper Egypt by the Red Sea, to the east of Koptos (Coptos) and Abydos. At Koptos exists the oldest known statues of a god in Egypt (three gigantic limestone figures of Min).

Min would appear to be the deified Menes (Min or Man, the twin Sun-gods of the Sumerians, Aryans and Phoenicians) and seen as associated with Qadesh and Reseph (Resheph).
Min, (also Minu, Menu) was another form of Amun worshipped at Coptos (trading) and Panopolis (white bull at the games of the Greeks and compared to Pan). He wore the plumed head-dress of Amun and holds a whip-like scepter. He also holds his erect phallus in his left hand. In Egypt he was a Ithyphallic god of sex. His ancient symbol was the thunderbolt and considered as the creator of the world as another form of Horus.
The Greek Pan was an Arcadian god of the wild, herds and male sexuality. He was half man and half goat, some claim that Hermes was his father. He conquered Selene, goddess of the moon, the nymph Pitys, and the nymph Syrinx (her father was Ladon, a river). He was a bearded, horned man with the lower limbs of a goat. Often confused with Satyrs.
To the Romans this was Silvanus also Sylvanus a god of forests (woods), fields, and herding.

The figure below right is the Palette of Narmer in the Cairo Museum. The object under Horus (Hawk) is a symbol indicating Horus is bringing the King (Narmer) 6000 captives from the marshes. There are Hathor heads on the stems representing the captives. Palette of Narmer the Obverse Side

"King Scorpion writes his name in the area between the falcon and the palace facade, and thereby describes himself as ‘Horus Scorpion.’ As a result of this initiative, Scorpion and his successors emerge from prehistoric anonymity, and the god becomes a specific Horus, a Horus X, who in the person of the reigning pharaoh plays a role in the historical world of spatial and temporal particulars. Just as the god Horus will always exist, so too will the ‘Horus in the palace,’ the king. But unlike the god, Horus Scorpion and Horus Narmer are historical entities, who exist only once, as indicated in inscriptions of later pharaohs that speak of a king '‘who in all eternity will not be repeated.' "

One star name of the constellation Scorpius is Greek letter of Theta and Star name Girtab which is a very old Sumerian word for "scorpion" (more rarely it is called Sargas, another Sumerian word). It is definitely the Sumerian word for the constellation Scorpius. Is this a reference to the original Sargon of Akkad (Agade) before 3200-3000 B.C.? Well before Sargon I of 2400 B.C.

Also note the Bull symbols on the Palette of Narmer. Taurus the Bull to opposite Scorpius.

Scorpion was a pre-dynastic King, and some of the symbols associated with it are similar to those seen in Sumerian contexts (a rosette star symbol is one of these, a pear-shaped mace carried by Scorpion on a tablet and by Narmer on the Menes tablet is another).

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go to the next subject The Reverse Side of Narmer’s Palette