festivals: Egypt 463 Ethiopian Orthodox priests at festival of Timkat, celebrated since ancient times (© Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System) vals they respect include New Year, Yom Kippur, Sucot, and Passover They also had a special day to celebrate the Torah, which involved bowing and making offerings on hilltops near their homes In southern Africa there is cultural continuity between scenes depicted on ancient rock paintings and the religious traditions of the people known as the Khoisan, or Bushmen Although it is hard to say if their ceremonies fit the category of a festival, rock paintings dating back thousand of years shows their ancestors engaged in what appear to be ritual dances and hunts Some paintings show scenes reminiscent of contemporary rituals One interpretation is that the rock paintings were commemorations of trance states experienced by shamans during particularly important ritual occasions EGYPT BY MARIAM F AYAD Festivals, or periodically occurring religious celebrations, were an integral part of life in ancient Egypt The Egyptian word for festival was heb Text and iconographic (pictorial) evidence provides us with details concerning the nature, timing, and duration of such celebrations While a few were civic in nature, most Egyptian festivals were associated with the cult of a specific deity In ancient Egypt each temple was dedicated to the cult of a specific god, or group of gods, such as the temple of Amun at Karnak, the temple of Hathor at Dendera, and the temple of Horus at Idfu Temple representations indicate that boat processions were an integral component of celebrating some of the major Egyptian festivals Enclosed within a shrine, the cult statue of the deity would be carried out of the temple by priests Because lay people had limited access to the inner halls and sanctuary of the temple, cult festivals became occasions for oracles Supplicants would place their yes-or-no questions to the god Forward motion of the shrine indicated a positive outcome The evidence suggests that nonroyal officials took part in religious festivals both as priests and as festival leaders In an Egyptian temple, texts inscribed on the walls and doorways of the temple describe religious services performed for the benefit of its divine occupant Such texts include not only hymns, prayers, and liturgies but also detailed lists of festivals or feasts associated with the temple Often referred to as festival calendars, these lists provide organized and detailed accounts of the cultic and liturgical activities per-