The Tilapia represents a very common fish in Egypt. It lives in the shallow waters of the banks of streams or the basins left after the flooding. It is different to the Lates or Nile Perch. The Lates lives in much deeper and very oxygenated water at the bed of the stream. It is therefore potentially impossible to harpoon a Lates and a Tilapia at the same time. This is nevertheless seen often and a great example is in the tomb of Nakht. By the association of these two fish, the Egyptians wanted to combine two complementary surroundings and two situations which relate to each other. The two fish are associated with the journey of the solar barque. The Lates, of dark colour in its deep water relates to the night, and it is assimilated with lapis lazuli; the Tilapia can change its hue, and can exist in beautiful brilliant colours, in yellow, red and blue. Because of this fact it has been associated with the rising of the sun and to the light-blue of turquoise. Harpooning a Tilapia and a Lates, thus creates the mastery of day and night, of yesterday and tomorrow. The Tilapia has another characteristic: the female retains the eggs in part of the mouth called the buccopharynx until they hatch. Subsequently, the young alevins can return in their mother's mouth in case of danger. The Egyptians, fine observers, didn't fail to notice that, without obvious reason, they saw 'day' coming out of the adult fish! Naturally, they didn't remain insensible to such an image which reminded them of the auto engenderment of the primordial god. And further: fish eat algae and small organisms fixed on the stems of the lotus; it therefore also seems as though the stem of the flower comes out of its mouth. However, according to numerous traditions, the lotus is the primordial plant, support for the creator sun at the beginning of time, like a child in the first dawn. The image of the lotus flower coming out of the mouth of a Tilapia is very often represented, notably on ceramics, and amulets of fish made of turquoise, red jasper or cornelian are numerous, like the magnificent example, opposite, coming from the tomb of Aper-El, currently in the Imhotep museum, in Saqqara. The red is inspired by one of the colours which the Tilapia can take, and which also brings with it the connection with the heart, which is sung about in some poems. BENDERITTER

Provenance: Gustave Jequier (1868-1946)

Authentication: Gayle Gibson, Egyptologist.