'Is there no nurse to offer you protection?' : Ammors betydelse gällande beskydd av barn i det antika Egypten

• Main Author: Maleh, Armani
• Format: Others
• Language: Swedish
• Published: Uppsala universitet, Egyptologi 2018
• Subjects: wet nurse; suckling; children; protection; amulets; apotropaic wands; Humanities and the Arts; Humaniora och konst; Archaeology; Arkeologi
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-360539

The study discusses the role of a wet nurse regarding the protection of a child in ancient Egypt. There is evidence of the phenomenon of the wet nurse dating from the Old Kingdom’s Pyramid texts, depictions in tombs from the New kingdom, to contracts between the wet nurse and her employer from the Late Period. They were most frequent in royal and elite families and made it possible for the mother to participate in social activities without worrying about feeding her baby, as well as being a symbol for economic wealth.  Wet nurses have been found depicted in funerary contexts, holding ritual protective objects, and been mentioned in protective spells targeted towards children. This shows that the wet nurse had a part in the protection of a child and the intention behind this study is to discuss her participation in it and what it involves. The sources used in this study are to contain two subjects to be of relevance: wet nurse and the protection of a child, which lead to a restricted amount of material to analyse. The material studied contains of amulets, serpent staffs, three apotropaic wands, depictions from two graves and one protective spell. The analysis resulted in a conclusion claiming that the practice of protection is a part of the wet nurse’s occupation and were practiced with at least an apotropaic wand. Moreover, the depiction of her holding apotropaic wands in funerary contexts representing rebirth shows that the wet nurse is present and offering protection in the events of a child’s birth.