Egyptian ADR
By Delilah van Tol
As you might have seen in earlier written blog posts, religion and gods are a returning topic. The impact that gods had and have on cultures and civilizations is significant. Many have heard about the Greek gods or the Buddhist gods, but one country/culture that certainly cannot be missed in this line-up is Egyptian gods. The Egyptian civilization was the preeminent civilization for almost 30 centuries (3.100 B.C. - 332 B.C.). As this is very impressive indeed, it is also essential to establish how they stayed unified for this period of time. Many argue that the Egyptians were more developed than one might think.[1]
The Egyptians knew many gods and other deities they worshipped—for example, Toth. Toth was known as the tongue of Ra. Ra had cursed Toth, which led to Toth often speaking on behalf of Ra. Toth was often worshipped for workings concerning wisdom, magic, and fate. The question is, how could worshipping Toth be helpful in dispute resolution? One of the examples for worshipping Toth is when a person is speaking words of healing, meditation, or mediating a dispute. Then, you could offer a prayer to Toth, praising him for his wisdom and guidance.[2]
Furthermore, there is compelling evidence that Egypt’s rich culture embraced mediation. Cierpicki wrote “Papyri from Ptolemaic Egypt (305–30 BC) show that it was commonplace for the State to deal with disputes by first directing them to be mediated. The royal administrative officer in charge of receiving complaints would often endorse the petition thus: ‘best to mediate; if that is not successful …’ followed by the appropriate legal procedure.”[3] The two primary religions in Egypt are Islam and Christianity. Both religions refer to mediation in their holy books. The prophet Mohammed is known to mediate disputes between various tribes and groups and even encourages mediation to settle disputes. Moreover, it can be seen that in the Egyptian culture, there is a general influence by the family elder culture. This is mainly seen in upper Egyptian villages. Many disputes, including criminal conflicts, are settled by the ‘Agaweed’ or a village elder authoritative mediator.[4]
The ancient Egyptians were indeed a very interesting civilization. The worshipping of gods to resolve disputes, as well as the influence of the elderly, all in an attempt to construct a wiser approach to dispute resolution, show a developed civilization.
[1] history.com Editors ‘Ancient Egypte’ (A&E Television Networks, October 14, 2021) https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/ancient-egypt > Accessed 23.11.2021.
[2] Wigington, Patti. "Thoth, Egyptian Scribe God of Wisdom." Learn Religions, Sep. 24, 2021, learnreligions.com/egyptian-god-thoth-2561975 > Accessed 23.11.2021.
[3] Dr. Sherif Elnegahy, ‘Mediation has been embraced in Egypt throughout history’ (Weinstein International Foundation) <https://weinsteininternational.org/egypt/egypt-bio/> Accessed on 23.11.2021.
[4] Dr. Sherif Elnegahy, ‘Mediation has been embraced in Egypt throughout history’ (Weinstein International Foundation) <https://weinsteininternational.org/egypt/egypt-bio/> Accessed on 23.11.2021.