Honey and the Sacred Bee
In Ancient Egypt, honey bees were believed to rise from the Tears of the Egyptian Sun god 'Ra' or 'Re' and that when his tears fell from the sky and touched the earth, they were transformed into bees and blessed the followers of Ra with “liquid gold”. The first actual evidence of beekeeping and of using artificial hives to harvest honey whereby humans captured or lured honey bees to nest inside artificially made cavities comes from Bronze age ancient Egypt during the 1st Dynasty around 3100bc. The bees were often presented with scented offerings which were gently burnt to produce an incense. This was an early form of smoking the bees in order to calm them before opening the hives just as modern day beekeepers do. It’s important to note that bees were not tended to by just anybody. There was a strict hierarchy that extended mainly to temples, with temple beekeepers tending to the bees and a chief beekeeper would be answerable to an overseer who then would report directly to the Pharaoh.
Honey was very precious, not just spiritually, but medicinally as well. It was used by the ancients internally as well as externally. It was put directly on wounds, as an antiseptic as well as for pain relief. Honey was also used to embalm the bodies of the deceased and the beeswax was used to seal their tombs. And just like we do today, back then too honey was added to foods and drinks to sweeten them. Honey was also used like a currency to pay for things like taxes and marriage dowries. Honey was also used in cosmetics, to make wigs and wax figurines, and during childbirth.
Honey lacks moisture and is acidic, which together with the hydrogen peroxide bees produce in their guts mean that honey is inhospitable to bacteria and so a jar of honey can last a very long time without spoiling. In 1922, when King Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered they found a jar of honey buried alongside him. This 3,000 year old jar of honey was still edible at the time of discovery. It was thought by the ancient Egyptians that honey would aid the deceased on their celestial journey to the afterlife. Because of this connection to the afterlife, honey was revered and bees were thought sacred. It was believed that some reincarnated and took the form of a bee after death and that the buzzing of bees was thought to be the voices of souls.
When it comes to today’s local production of honey, we are definitely still keeping up with the Egyptian tradition of making honey a necessary staple in all our homes. You don’t need to be a herbalist to know to add honey to your lemon or/and ginger hot drink. We’ve all been told by our mamas or grandmamas to have a spoonful of this liquid treasure when we feel sick or just as a preventative measure to steer through flu season in the winter. One of my favorite local brands is Bare Honey which you can find at your local Maadi health food store Rdna on Street 233.