« Jeux de mots » et actes rituels. Sur la relation entre Textes des Pyramides, listes d’offrandes et iconographie funéraire

Abstract

“‘Wordplays’ and ritual acts. About relationship between Pyramid Texts, Offering lists and tombs’ iconography” - Whatever the name they bear, the so-called “Wordplays” in Pyramid Texts (PT) have been commented and interpreted as epigraphic peculiarities with literary and ritual significance. In fact, their performativity is indubitable, as is their relationship with Offering lists that first appear in private tombs. But the depth of this puns – mostly phonetic – has not been enough underlined, their phonological analysis being usually superficial. Moreover, if the connection between PT and private iconography is sometimes noticed, a systematic study of the royal formulas can shed new lights on their relation with the depicted rites. This paper aims at expose the variety of phonetic and semantic wordplays attested in the offering formulas of the PT, chapters that take the items of traditional offering lists and tables. Then I will submit new hypotheses about their link with the iconography that usually accompany these lists. Keywords: Pyramids Texts; Iconography; Offering lists; Funerary rituals; Wordplays; Phonology