|
SHORT DOCUMENTARY CHRONICLES
The Best Age of Man.
An American magazine has just come up with the idea of conducting a very interesting survey: "At what age does a man have, from an intellectual point of view, the most complete possession of himself?"
The result of this survey is that age varies according to a man's intellectual pursuits. Thus, it is generally between the ages of twenty and thirty that an artist, painter, sculptor, or musician creates his masterpiece. An inventor generally makes his great discovery between the ages of thirty and forty. A writer, on the other hand, only acquires true mastery from the age of forty. As for a businessman, it is between the ages of fifty and fifty-five that he reaches the peak of foresight, composure, and precision. Finally, a statesman only fully reveals himself after passing the age of sixty.
Of course, there are exceptions, this is said so as not to discourage anyone.
The Bride of the Nile.
It could be, but it is neither the title of a film nor that of a novel. These four words recall a festival thousands of years old that once took place near the banks of the sacred river, at the time of flooding, and which has just been celebrated again these days, although with a different character.
In centuries past, each year, the Egyptians offered to the fertilizing Nile, worshipped under the name of the god Hapi, a young girl from among the most beautiful in the noble families of the pharaonic land.
On the appointed day, the chosen one, adorned in magnificent finery, would go, accompanied by the crowd, first to the great temple and then to the riverbank. There, she would board an elegantly decorated boat with an open bottom. Little by little, the water would enter the boat, which would eventually sink into the waves, carrying with it the aroussa, or bride of the river. Over time, this custom, both grandiose and cruel, changed.
Towards the end of the eighteenth century, it was already customary to replace the living bride with a life-size statue made of sugar, which was sacrificed with the same ceremony.
Today, while authorities and notables gather to pay their respects to the river, fellahin and children continue to throw their small aroussa of sugar into it, thus perpetuating the memory of this ancient gesture.
|
