Der ‚Kopf des Beines‘, der ‚Mund der Arme‘ unddie ‚Zähne‘ des Schöpfers. Zu metonymischen und metaphorischen Verwendungen von Körperteil-Lexemen im Hieroglyphisch-Ägyptischen

Abstract

The article surveys and explores the metonymical and metaphorical meanings of the most frequent body part terms in Earlier Egyptian in the framework of Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT). Among the body parts discussed more prominently are the mouth, the face, the nose, the feet, the back, the hand(s), the heart, and the tongue (excluded are verbalizations of emotions and gestures). An initial section summarizes the theoretical background. In various sections, the topic of “sleeping” and “waking” metonymies/metaphors and their “awakening,” esp. in images, is addressed (3, 4). In accordance with the overarching question of the collective volume, the question discussed how the reference to body parts of gods should be understood. This is discussed on the basis of a prominent part of the Memphite Theology (Denkmal Memphitischer Theologie), which is analyzed and also presented with linguistic word-by-word glossing (DMT 48-59). The article argues for a metaphorical interpretation of this and other verbalizations of the creation of the world in the Pyramid Texts (creation by words, by masturbation, by spitting, by laughing). A concluding section summarizes phenomena that seem to be (rather than common in many languages) specific to Ancient Egyptian.