During Egypt's New Kingdom period, the Beautiful Feast of the Opet was an elaborate 27-day festival sacred
to the god Amun. It was scheduled during the Nile's inundation, so workers could leave the fields to join a procession from the Temple of Amun at Karnak to the Luxor temple, about a mile and a half away. At Luxor, the priests bathed the image of the god and then brought forth a sacred barque, or ship, that contained a shrine in which the image had been placed. They carried the barque all the way to Karnak on their shoulders or, in later years, carried it to the Nile and towed it along in the water.
At Karnak, the procession met up with Pharaoh, who escorted the barque into the temple.
During the Opet festival, the Egyptian people were permitted to pose questions to Amun's oracle. The priests conveyed his answers either through a concealed window high in the wall or from a hiding place inside a hollow statue. Questioners would receive only "yes" or "no" answers, but our modern edition of the Amun oracle is designed to be a little more forthcoming (and hopefully a lot more fun) than a simple yes or no.
Because in this day and age we are more of an equal opportunity employer, our online version of the Amun oracle is likely to channel any one of the Egyptian deities, not just Amun. You can get to know the ancient gods of Egypt as you pose your questions!
Ready? Type your question into the dark blue strip, and then click the "Ask!" button to hear what the gods of Egypt have to say to you.
For more information about Egyptian festivals, see the feature story Grand Festivals in Ancient Egypt at www.touregypt.net, the Official Site of the Ministry of Tourism of Egypt and the Egypt Tourist Authority. (Note: Clicking this link will open a new window on your web browser).