Song of Songs or Song of Solomon

The Oscars aired last night and although I did not watch it I saw many post on Facebook about Lupita Nyong'o.

She had struggled as a child with accepting her dark skin as a form of beauty. She had daily prayed for light skin. While reading her story I thought about the saying "I am black and beautiful." I knew this phrase was very ancient and seen in ancient script so I searched online to find it to post in response to her story. It led me back to the Song of Solomon.

The miraculous icon of 

Our Lady of Czestochowa,

Queen of Poland 

The Blessed Virgin

 Mary Lady of Czestochowa, Poland 

1 Kings 3:1 says, "And Solomon became allied to Pharaoh king of Egypt by marriage, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall of Jerusalem round about."

Song of Songs

American King James Version

The Bride Confesses Her Love
(Ephesians 5:22-33; 1 Peter 3:1-7)

1 The song of songs, which is Solomon's.
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for your love is better than wine.

3 Because of the smell of your good ointments your name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love you.

The Friends
4 Draw me, we will run after you: the king has brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in you, we will remember your love more than wine: the upright love you.

The Bride
5 I am black, but comely, O you daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.

Lupita Nyong'o
12 Years a Slave

6 Look not on me, because I am black, because the sun has looked on me: my mother's children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but my own vineyard have I not kept.

7 Tell me, O you whom my soul loves, where you feed, where you make your flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turns aside by the flocks of your companions?

Solomon Speaks
8 If you know not, O you fairest among women, go your way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed your kids beside the shepherds' tents.

9 I have compared you, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots.

10 Your cheeks are comely, with rows of jewels your neck with chains of gold.

The Friends
11 We will make you borders of gold with studs of silver.

The Bride
12 While the king sits at his table, my spikenard sends forth the smell thereof.
13 A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved to me; he shall lie all night between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi.


Solomon
15 Behold, you are fair, my love; behold, you are fair; you have doves' eyes.

Ka of Osiris
When the grain sprouts forth from the earth
this then is the 'vital spark',
the rebirth taking place.

The Bride
16 Behold, you are fair, my beloved, yes, pleasant: also our bed is green.

Solomon
17 The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir.

Hammer made of cedar from Solomons Temple
Constructed in Egypt and given to the Masonic lodge
By Mark Twain

I imagine The Friends as a group of women like in the play Medea with her chorus of Corinthian women. In ancient theatrical productions the main characters were accompanied by chanters or a chorus that would interject commentary through song. At the beginning of the blog are women in Egypt who are often shown playing music or dancing, in the above photo they are smelling perfume.
I imagine The Bride as a dark skinned women with an African heritage adored much like the this modern Ashanti woman in the photo. Some African tribes were well known in ancient times for their gold and gold jewelry.
Perhaps in this play Solomon was much like Jason, an explorer and someone educated in the schools of Egypt who took his knowledge back to his land to profit himself. There is also another Egyptian theatrical reenactments in the book of Solomon, the Stretching of the Cord ceremony which relates to the science of the Egyptian goddess Seshat and building.

Below are pictures of a modern production of Medea whom I conceive of as also from Africa placed on a foreign land having to deal with her differences among the European culture. In her instance it was mainly the misunderstanding of her medicinal pharmacopoeia knowledge as being magic to the ignorant.

Medea & Chorus

Medea & Jason
Production shots from Northern Broadsides Medea

In the instance of the Song of Solomon we can find a rich tradition of music and theater among people of the African diaspora. Having been contained within both the Tanakh [Ketuvim (or "Writings")] and Holy Bible shows the importance of this work throughout the ages. In the catholic church this song is used during the Passover. This astrologically being a time associated with Seshat and the ancient Egyptian celebrations. This story of love and passion and the proclamation of a black woman coming into finding her beauty is timeless. And apparently the stuff stars are made of. 

Song to Seshat: The Song of Didiu

This song seems to be similar to what is done when beginning meditation. Calling one's body parts to relax, or sleep. Eckart Tolle describes this process as important in meditation. This process can take ones attention away from thinking. Can I feel the energy inside my hands, can I tell they are there without touching them. After a while most people can tell. That is an enormous step, states Tolle. This causes thinking to slow down. Can you incorporate your whole body. There is no anchor for presence. the inner body is a wonderful anchor for the stage of presence but you have to actively go through the process, not just say I am going to stop thinking about an unpleasant experience and it be turned into a pleasant experience. The mind will do little when really in the body there is not much thinking anymore, asserts  Tolle. These states from Tolle are similar to statements you will find from anyone who does meditation in modern times. But what about in Africa? What were the ancients speaking of or doing when they called their body parts during prayer. Seshat was certainly a part of this process. As was her star symbol. Provided are some snippets are of ancient Egyptian text for you to ponder.

From http://www.osirisnet.net/tombes/nobles/antefoqer/e_antefoqer_04.htm
The song of Didiu is a long sequence of dark and obscure references, within which is often found a word translated as "Ninen"

"Heaven is pregnant with the Seshat-star, heaven brings forth the Seshat-star. The Seshat-star is to her mother. Ninen belongs to health, .... belongs to health. The vizier Antefoqer, born of Senet, belongs to health, Ninen belongs to life. The Seshat-star .... 0 Seshat(?), make yourself for Ninen(?) .... Ninen [belongs to] life, the vizier [Antefoqer] belongs to health .... I sleep, I make my own body, these my breasts, these my ...., these my ...., these my fingers, these [vertebrae] of my back. These my .... have not given you to .... Night approaches, it breaks(?), ...., it divides(?) its cup, it pours evil(?) The Seshat-star is to her mother.".

I am interested to know why this piece is called a "song". I have seen this process before in the Book of Coming Forth by Day in which separate body parts are mentioned individually. Taking into consideration that these words are a translation and not exactly what was said the process could have conceivably flowed similar to the meditation process we know of today. For instance, I sleep could mean I am in a relaxed state of rest then proceeding to acknowledge and calling attention to the different parts of the body. Not all are listed here because of the missing parts of the papyrus. Cosmic energy and the Seshat-star concept are very similar in the context of transcendental states. More specifically I am thinking about the Opening of the Mouth Ceremony and its connection between humans and the cosmos.