Hall at
Abydos shows the raising of the
Djed pillar. . Curved sides, no hieroglyphic inscriptions. Relief showing arms of
djed holding sun disc. Two adoring baboons. From Gurob,
Faiyum.
Dynasty XIX.
Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London The
djed was an important part of the ceremony called "raising the
djed", which was a part of the celebrations of the
Sed festival, the Egyptian
jubilee celebration. The act of raising the
djed has been explained as representing Osiris's triumph over Seth. Ceremonies in Memphis are described where the pharaoh, with the help of the priests, raised a wooden
djed column using ropes. The ceremony took place during the period when fields were sown and the year's agricultural season would begin, corresponding to the month of
Koiak, the fourth month of the
Season of the Inundation. This ceremony was a part of one of the more popular holidays and celebrations of the time, a larger festival dedicated to Osiris conducted from the 13th to 30th day of the Koiak. Celebrated as it was at that time of the year when the soil and climate were most suitable for agriculture, the festival and its ceremonies can be seen as an appeal to Osiris, who was the God of vegetation, to favor the growth of the seeds sown, paralleling his own resurrection and renewal after his murder by Seth.
Walters Art Museum. There is also a scene depicted in the tomb to the right of the above scene which has not been well preserved. Hodel-Hoenes explains that it once showed the pharaoh, accompanied by his queen, using a rope to raise the
djed pillar. Three men, probably priests of the temple of Memphis, help him in the process. A fourth priest was seen supporting the pillar. Various offerings were presented before the pillar below the ropes. The pharaoh and his queen are each accompanied by four pairs of young women resembling those of the sed-festival. Each of these women is rattling a
Hathor sistrum, a musical instrument for percussion with a U-shaped handle and frame seen as resembling the face and horns of the cow goddess Hathor, while holding a
menat, a protective amulet associated with Hathor, in the other hand. A line of hieroglyphs running just above the girls' heads in each row of women says, "Children of the king praising (or charming) the noble
djed pillar." Hodel-Hoenes interprets this as identifying the girls as the daughters of Amenhotep III. There are three additional reliefs below these two reliefs. They depict further ceremonies that accompany the erection of the
djed pillar, especially games and dances. In one, food-bearers carrying edibles weave between men dancing with heavy steps. A line of singers on the far left seems to sing a short hymn to Ptah, the text of which is written alongside the line. Singing and dancing girls can be seen in the next relief, though Hodel-Hoenes comments on their seeming lack of grace, saying, "only the raised hands and the foot swinging in the air hint at the movements of a dance." The relief also depicts men involved in a
boxing match and a
stick dance, sports and dances which can still be seen in Egypt today. The festival of the raising of the
djed also involved reenactments conducted at
Denderah,
Edfu,
Busiris, Memphis, and
Philae. But the most elaborate and grand celebration occurred at Abydos, the cult center of Osiris. From around the end of the third millennium BC during the beginning of the
Dynasty XII and perhaps as early as the
Dynasty VI three hundred years earlier, reenactments of the Osiris myth – the deception and murder of Osiris by Seth, the search for Osiris by Isis and Osiris' mummification, funeral and his resurrection were performed. From the late fourth century BC, a recitation of the
Lamentations of Isis and Nephthys, a poem describing Isis and Nephthys' search for Osiris, was added to the ceremony on the 25th day of Koiak. At the Osiris Temple in Abydos, these re-enactments are described as involving hundreds of priests and priestesses in the roles of the gods and goddesses, with 34
reed boats carrying the gods, a sculpture of Osiris inside an elaborate chest, 365 ornamental lamps, incense, and dozens of
djed amulets. ==Usage as amulets==