The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1882-03-11

trCueiN~ lTOuldblcs ouo IN NNE
it as a matter Of course. Also he was careful IN
drawing up his contracts To insure a continuance
of custom to his heirs and successors. Z" My chill
dren shall perform the ~Iiturgies for thy children,
and NV grandchildren for thy grand children.
henceiorth and forever, Is an almost 'nvnriaole
clause in deeds concerning the endowment Of me-
mortal services in perpetuity
OraIl documents relating TO affairs concerning
the dead, the must numerous and by far the most
extraordinary are those regarding the division Of
inheritances and The sale and purchase Of proper
~ between Choachyte and Choachyte These
deeds show an extensive traffic, not only in tombs
but in their occupants who were bought and sold
and wiIled away with as little ceremony as cattle
or dry goods or any other staple OF trade. \ Ger
tain Horus thus shares a portion Of his property
between his four sons, saying, 70 each in tuIn
-" give up to thee one fourth part OF what
comes to me from the catacomb OF Aboono(re, and
the fourth part OF the dead which belong 10 me IN
the above said catacomb,' (then follows an emu
meration of those dead) = total, 10 dead of which
| give thee a fourth part, also the fourth part ci
their sons and their wives also the fourth part
of my half share IN certain other dead hereinafter
named. y etc.
To his eldest son whom he chooses TO enrich
above his brethren, he says
~ give up to thee for myself only. the htur-
Ele5 neTlnaiteT nhu1eu. here Is tue list Ieeh-
asychis, son OF DISORDER, and his sons and their
wives. Pchelkhons, son Of Osoroer and his sons
vino are among the dead as well as their wives
and their children. and also those of their children
who are yet among the men Of Egypt as also their
wives and their places OF repose also the cata-
comb Of Psekhons son of Pauas with those who
repose therein"
That is to FAY he gives away his hereditary
rights in those who are YET living. lie lurther-
more adds
Thou shalt also take the brood ASS rsetoua
and the children she may hereafter bear also
Psenasychis, son of Osoroer, and Pchelkons son
of Osoroer, and their children and their wives, and
the catacomb of Psekhoi,s as heretofore mention
toned. Thsse matters shalt thou take in surplus
age beyond thy brethren rs the share OF the cid
est SON
Hence the children of Pchelkons who are vet
living, and the children that may yet be born TO
them, are disposed Of in the same manner rs the
yet unborn children Of the lady whom Horus del
icately designates as the : brood ass of the
family. A mummy. in short, represented 50 much
per annum to his Choachyte. and the descend
ants of that mummy belonged to the descendants
of that Ch0achyte. There exist fragments relat-
ing to suits at law, showing how the Choachytes
fell out among themselves when their hereditary
rights were infringed. A citizen Of rhebes who
was so inconsiderate as to die at Memphis or
Uice UerSd became OF course a fruitful source of
litigation. The wealthy Egyptian whose anccs-
tors reposed in a family catacomb richly endowed
and periodically ). served, - was naturally an OBJ
ject of lively solicitude to his faithful Choachyte.
Ii he travelled, or went to the wars, If he married
and became the father of numerous progeny, who
so keenly apprehensive so unfeignedly reioiced, as
the holy man whose privilege it was, not only to
take care Of his body and soul. but to hand on
that privilege, at compound interest, to his own
descendants?
From the division of an Inheritance to an actual
sale is but a step, and deeds Of sale are at least
as numerous as those of division, and both may
be counted by hundreds. A famous b%ilingunl
papyrus, also of the Both year of Ptolemy Philo-
: meter is u deed of Sale by which Osoroer con seys
: the half of his third share " in the l~iturgies Of the
dead which Iepose in the catacombs of Naboun-
? en-, = and the half Of his third share in their offer
r ings. The following is a Menphite demotic pap
, yrus. 1t is perhaps not n deed Of sale, but rath-
f er a release OF a mortgage, or conveyance OF trust
e property by a guardian ON hs ward + reaching
, his majority. 1t should be promised that n . d-
: vine minister " was a priest Of higher rank than a
{ Choachyte and was superintendent of the necrop-
oils yet at the same time at Memphis, he united
in his own person the functions OF both Taricheut
and Choncbyte.
{ 1.-The divine minister Ilolankh, son of Timoou.
, whose mother is let lmOuth, saith to the divine
minister TehO, son OF Pasi, whose mother il Che
matt, | reIinquish to thee the whole of the prop-
{ erty which belonged to Pasi, thy ather-houses.
lands barren and cultivated, buildings, enclosures.
y oxen, pigs, live stock Of all kinds, gold. silver.
copper, household furniture, bonds, all liturgies,
all Itinerary revenues, all libations, memorial
chapels, catacombs, tombs, contracts, endow-
ments, all worldly goods whatever, and especially
g the liturgies and chapels which PasI. thy father
n had acquired. Here is the enumeration OF them:
The inhabitants of Pamcnma, the inhabitants
OF Smoun. tho inhabitants of Selep, the prayers
0 Ito be saIdl for Harpoer, the burials of the past
8 ophori OF Thoth, the burials of the priests and
o priestesses of Isis, the burials OF the priests Of
i, Smoun. the family of Ptoou, lord Of Nehi the
family OF Rem-n- paho the families Of Kallunthes,
OF NebnehI, of Nespouto, of the baker PetimoutIr.
G OF the man Sep Ardaki, and with these their
wives, their children, their brothers, their sons
in law, their relations, their servants, their depen-
dants, their representatives, and all persons be-
longing to them also their Itinerary revenues,
d and all that is derived from them and all that can
A be claimed on account Of them, and all that may
. be due for them, and all shat may be given away
IN their names, whether in favour Of the rights OF
u the Taricheut or the rights of the Choachyte.
Thiue shall TIC the iiturgiUs, Ihv iuuses, aud all
before written. From this time forth, If any per
son should come 10 thee (o dispute thy rightsl,
whether IN my name or in the name Of Timoou,
my father, | will send him away before the expi-
ration Of five days. That is the fixed time. Ii
do not remove him from (troubling) thee | will
pay 1000 argenteus, in sekcls 100. 00O-i.e,
r 1000 argenteus, to be paid within TWO days after
the aforesaid five days. If receive the price of
. a burial, though il be only the burial Of a little
child, or if any person receives it either in my
!, name or in the name Of Timoou. my father, | will
pay thee 200 argenteus within FIVE days following,
a without compulsion or delay. | will act conform
ably with all here above written. NV heart is
satisfied. | r~eliDquisb to thee all the foregoing.
and most particularly the memorial chapels and
the ~liturgIes. All are thine
Studied by the light which they throw upon
each other, these demotic 1ocuments-whether re-