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THE ‘BARBARIAN’ NAMES ON THE THIRD-CENTURY OSTRAKA FROM XERON

Helmut Satzinger

Abstract

The ‘barbarian’ names found in the third-century ostraka from Xeron, in the Eastern Desert, could be of Blemmyes, a people known to be roaming this area. Blemmyan names are mainly known from inscriptions and papyri of the fifth century found in the Talmis (Kalabsha) area, and from the sixth-century Greek and Coptic leather documents from Gebelein. To date, no name on the ostraka could be identified with any known Blemmyan name, although some elements in the names look similar. In order to identify the language of the ostraka, the names are subjected to a phonetical and statistical analysis which can be compared with that of the later Blemmyan onomastic material.

Introduction

In recent excavations of the Roman praesidium of Xeron in the Eastern Desert of Egypt, the archaeological team headed by H. Cuvigny discovered, among other ostraka, numerous orders for the delivery of wheat, written in 232 or 264, that mention persons with ‘barbarian’ sounding names.1 These texts raise the question of the ethnic background and language of these persons. Given the date and the area in question, the people that first comes to mind is the Blemmyes. In this paper, I shall compare the names from the third-century ostraka with the Blemmyan names that are known from several later ‘inside sources’ in order to explore whether a relationship can be inferred from the names.

Blemmyan Personal Names from the Fifth- and Sixth-Century Sources  There is Blemmyan onomastic material extant from mainly two sources: inscriptions and papyri from Lower Nubia, dating to the fifth century, and papyrological material from Gebelein (ancient Pathyris), Upper Egypt, dating to the late sixth century. 2 When the Blemmyes occupied northern Lower Nubia,  with Talmis as an urban and cultic centre, they left a number of inscriptions in the area in Greek script.3 The Greek papyrus letter which the Blemmyan King Phonen addressed to the Noubadian King Abourni  may be of slightly later date.4 In the sixth century, Blemmyan tribes seem to have controlled an area at or near Gebelein, south of Luxor (Thebes), over which they exerted curatoria, and from whose population the συνηθεία (‘customary dues’, that is, taxes) were to be extracted, if needs be, with the aid of a φύλαρχος or ὑποτύραννος.5  In or before 1887, local people found a number of these leather documents (presumably pieces of worn nomad kilts, with the pinpricks still visible), and again one in or before 1970.6  All of them are legal documents: nine acknowledgments of debt, three of them with pledges; two are manumissions; and two are royal dispositions bestowing curatoria over ‘the island called Tanare’, or ‘the island Temsir called Tanare’, inhabited by Ῥωµεῖς (that is, Roman citizens).7 At Duke University Library there is another leather document of like appearance, an unpublished business letter in Coptic, that may belong to the same group of texts.8 The number of personal names gained from these sources is about ninety. It had long been surmised that the majority of them, namely those that are not obviously Egyptian, Greek, or Latin, are based on a language that is closely related to modern Bedauye, or the language of the Beja.9 In the following list, Greek and Coptic φ, θ, and χ are rendered as ph, th, kh, respectively. F, h and š render the respective Coptic signs f, h, and ϣ. Y is the [j] sound, whereas υ is consequently rendered by u. W is put where ο + υ are obviously consonantal. Dots under letters signal that a reading is uncertain. Hypothetical elements of compositions are separated by hyphens, whereas surmised grammatical elements (feminine endings ·t, ·s (a rendering of [θ]?); genitival endings ·i, ·e) are separated by a raised dot. On the right hand side, the provenance of the text in which the name occurs is indicated. The area of Talmis in Lower Nubia is the origin of the inscriptions of the fifth century. It must also be

                                                                                                               1 See paper Cuvigny, this volume, for an overview of ‘barbarians’ in the ostraka from the Eastern Desert, in particular pp. 000-000 on the 2 On these sources see, most recently, J.H.F. Dijkstra, Philae and the End of Ancient Egyptian Religion. A Regional Study of Religious Transformation (298-642 CE) (OLA 173; Leuven, 2008), pp. 138–73, ‘Blemmyes, Noubades and the Eastern Desert in Late Antiquity: Reassessing the Written Sources’, in H. Barnard, K. Duistermaat (eds), The History of the Peoples of the Eastern Desert (Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press Monographs 73; Los Angeles, 2012), pp. 238–47, and paper Dijkstra, this volume. 3 SB I 1521–24 = FHN III 310–11; SB V 8697 = FHN III 313. SB I 5099 = FHN III 312 is from Tafa and dates to the end of the fourth century, but is probably also Blemmyan. 4 SB XIV 11957 = FHN III 319. For the first edition see T.C. Skeat, ‘A Letter from the King of the Blemmyes to the King of the Noubades’, JEA 63 (1977), pp. 159–70, revised by J. Rea, ‘The Letter of Phonen to Aburni’, ZPE 34 (1979), pp. 147–62. 5 BGU III 795–97; BKU III 350, 359–61; P.KölnÄgypt. 13; SB III 6257–59, X 10552–53 = FHN III 331–43. See for these texts H. Satzinger, ‘Anmerkungen zu einigen Blemmyer-Texten’, in E. Plöckinger et al. (eds), Lebendige Altertumswissenschaft. Festgabe zur Vollendung des 70. Lebensjahres von Hermann Vetters (Vienna, 1985), pp. 327–32. Cf. FHN III, pp. 1196–1202.    6 Satzinger, ‘Anmerkungen’, p. 328. 7 Satzinger, ‘Anmerkungen’, p. 329. Cf. FHN III, p. 1201. 8 P.Duke inv. 283. For an image of this text, see http://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/scriptorium/papyrus/records/283.html. 9 Most recent account by G.M. Browne, Textus blemmyicus aetatis christianae (Champaign, IL, 2003).

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the place where Phonen wrote his letter to Abourni, although it was found at Qasr Ibrim in southern Lower Nubia. A similar situation exists for a letter written by Yahatek, a person with a seemingly Blemmyan name, probably from the Talmis area, to the Noubadian φύλαρχος Tantani that was discovered with the Phonen letter.10 Gebelein is where most probably all of the leather documents of the sixth century were found, perhaps even including the piece at Duke University Library. The figure behind the place of origin in the column to the utmost right, ref(erence), refers to the pages in Browne, Textus blemmyicus where the name is discussed.11 Blemmyan Names, Presumably Autochthonous Origin Ref. Abene (a god) Talmis 12 Aynēm Talmis 13 Al·ti-k[na] (-kna: compare Bedauye kena ʻownerʼ) 12 Talmis 13 Ama·t, Ama·t·i (goddess) Talmis 13 Ama·t·(i)-isis (Greek Ἶσις < Egyptian 3s·t) Talmis 14 Ama·t·e-pšoi ‚ (Egyptian p3-š3j ʻthe fateʼ, also a deity ) Gebelein 13 Amnạ·ṣ (fem.) (compare Bedauye amna, fem., ʻwoman in childbedʼ) Gebelein 14 Apehsē·t (fem.) Gebelein 14 Argōn Gebelein 14 Bara-khia Gebelein 15 Brey-tek (-tek: compare Bedauye tak ʻmanʼ)13 Talmis 15 Gama·t·i-p·hant (Egyptian p3-ḥmntr [phant] ʻthe priestʼ) Talmis 15 Dēgou Talmis 15 Ewtiy(i?)·ka Gebelein 16 Enbiek (enb·i-ek?) Gebelein 16 Enkot Gebelein?14 Hade-tak[. (?)](-tak: compare Bedauye tak ʻmanʼ)15 Gebelein 13 Hatikạ (ha·t·i-ka?) Gebelein 14 Inšikpour Gebelein 16 Ïs·e-mne Talmis 16 Isōit Gebelein 15 Kaet Gebelein 16 Katir-ō (Egyptian ʕ3 [ʕa] ‘big, old’) (perhaps a title) Talmis 16 Kirbe·y-tak (-tak: compare Bedauye tak ʻmanʼ)16 Gebelein 17 Kola Talmis 17 Kōy (indeed Blemmyan?) Talmis 17 Krouahe (*kror -ahe?) Gebelein 17 Kouta Gebelein 17 Laize [lɛze] (or la·i-ze?) Gebelein 17 Louk-ani (Greek?) Talmis 17 Mahana·t (fem.) Gebelein 17 Mandēr (deity) Talmis 17 Mararouk (or Marouk) Talmis 17 Menrou-khēm (i.e., xēm; Demotic ḫm, Coptic ϣⲏⲙ, ⳉⲏⲙ ʻsmall, young’) Talmis 18 Menrou-kalau Talmis 18 Mounkōk-həәnhiou (fem.) Gebelein 18 Namous Talmis 18 Noay-mēk Gebelein 18 Noubal Gebelein 18 Noup·i-ka Gebelein 19 Ōse Gebelein 24 Ōṣịan, ōsiēn (ōs·i-?) Gebelein 24

                                                                                                               10 Cairo, Coptic Museum inv. 76/50B = FHN III 321. Note that the two other Tantani letters, Cairo, Coptic Museum inv. 76/50A = FHN III 320 and Cairo, Coptic Museum inv. 76/50Bbis = FHN III 322, are listed as sources for Blemmyan onomastics by Brown, Textus Blemmyicus, p. 12 (nos 21 and 23), even though they were written by the tribune Viventius, commander of the frontier troops, and Mouses, probably a monk from Philae, respectively, and thus both originate from the Egyptian side of the frontier. As a result, the name Asḷḷi, mentioned in the letter by Viventius, and included as Blemmyan by Brown (p. 14) has been left out of consideration here. 11 See also the useful overview of texts with Blemmyan names in Brown, Textus Blemmyicus, pp. 11–12 (nos 1–23). 12 H. Satzinger, ‘Some More Remarks on Old Bedauye’, in S.M. Bay (ed.), Studia palaeophilologica professoris G.M. Browne in honorem oblata (Champaign, IL, 2004), pp. 1–5 at 2.   13 Browne, Textus blemmyicus, p. 13. 14 P.Duk. inv. 283. 15 Browne, Textus blemmyicus, p. 13. 16 Browne, Textus blemmyicus, p. 13.

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Phonoin, Phōnēn (i.e. fo/ōnɛn? )17 Talmis 23 Plōkh-karour (Meroitic (a)kror [(a)karor]) Talmis 20 Plou Talmis 20 Plou-lan (fem.) Talmis 20 ?Pokạ·t·i-mne / Pokụ- / Pạkạ- / Pạkụ- Gebelein 21 Pōae Gebelein 20 Pre-kna (-kna: compare Bedauye kena ʻownerʼ)18 Gebelein 20 Saltik Gebelein?19 Sebata·t-amati (?) Talmis 21 Sentas-aō (Egyptian ʕ3 [ʕa] ʻbig, oldʼ) Gebelein 21 Sentekhayni·s (fem.) Gebelein 21 Silbani-khēm (i.e., xēm; Demotic ḫm, Coptic ϣⲏⲙ, ⳉⲏⲙ ʻsmall, youngʼ) Talmis 21 Skarōou20 Talmis 21 Sle Gebelein 21 Souliēn (soul·i-ēn?) Gebelein 21 Tamalas21 Talmis 21 Tata Gebelein 22 Tesemay-khēm (i.e., xēm; Demotic ḫm, Coptic ϣⲏⲙ, ⳉⲏⲙ ʻsmall, young’) Talmis 22 Tiou·t·i-kna (-kna: compare Bedauye kena ʻownerʼ22) Gebelein 22 Tōdete·s (fem.) Gebelein 22 Tous·i-kṇa (-kna: compare Bedauye kena ʻownerʼ)23 Gebelein 22 Wanak·t·i-kouta Gebelein 19 Khaias Gebelein 23 Khara-ftik Gebelein 24 Khara-hie·t Gebelein 23 Khara-patkhour Gebelein 23 Khara-khēn Gebelein 23 Khopan (a deity) Talmis 24 Ousenen-ō (Egyptian ʕ3 [ʕa] ‘big, old’) Gebelein 22 Yaha-tek (-tek: compare Bedauye tak ʻmanʼ)24 Talmis 15 Yasa-tek (-tek: compare Bedauye tak ʻmanʼ)25 Talmis 16 Yawi-ze Gebelein 16 Yeni Talmis 15 Blemmyan Names, Obviously Egyptian Atre (i.e., hatré) (= Egyptian ḥtrj ʻtwinʼ) Talmis 14 Hapi (= Egyptian ḥʕpj, name of the Nile) Tantani 14 P·ades (= Egyptian p3-ʾ·dj-sw ʻHe who has given himʼ?) Talmis 19 Pa·sa·pip (= Egyptian p3-s3-ʾpjp ʻthe son of Apipʼ?) Gebelein 19 P·ate-bor( ) (= Egyptian p3-ʾ·dj-… ʻHe whom … has givenʼ?) Talmis 19 P·hant (= Egyptian p3-ḥmntr [phant] ʻthe priest”) Gebelein 23 Pi-say (i.e., pi-šay) (= Egyptian p3-š3j ʻthe fateʼ, also a deity)26 Talmis 19 Pi·son (= Egyptian p3-sn [pisón, -sán] ʻthe brotherʼ) Talmis 19 P·rēt (= Egyptian p3-rwḏw ʻthe controllerʼ) Talmis 20 P·se·n·tha-ēse, p·se·n·tha-ēsi[s] (read pšenta-?) (= Egyptian p3-šrj-n-t3-(n.t)-3s.t, ʻthe son of her who belongs to Isisʼ; a name) Talmis 24 T·rəәm-p·yōh (fem.) (= Egyptian t3-rmṯ·t-p3-ʾʕḥ [trəәmp(y)óʕḥ] ʻthe woman [= adorer] of the moonʼ) Gebelein 22

                                                                                                               17 For the interchange of οι and η in the spelling of this name see Dijkstra, Philae and the End, p. 159 (n. 127). Cf. also H. Satzinger, ‘Die Personennamen von Blemmyern in koptischen und griechischen Texten: Orthographische und phonetische Analyse’, in E. Ebermann, E.R. Sommerauer, K.E. Thomanek (eds), Komparative Afrikanistik. Sprach-, geschichts- und literaturwissenschaftliche Aufsätze zu Ehren von Hans G. Mukarovsky anlässlich seines 70. Geburtstags (Beiträge zur Afrikanistik 44; Vienna, 1992), pp. 313–24 at 318. 18 Browne, Textus blemmyicus, p. 13. 19 P.Duk. inv. 283. 20 Greek sigma may also render š. 21 Greek sigma may also render š.  22 Satzinger, ‘Old Bedauye’, p. 2. 23 Satzinger, ‘Old Bedauye’, p. 2. 24 Browne, Textus blemmyicus, p. 13. 25 Browne, Textus blemmyicus, p. 13. 26 Greek sigma may also render š.

 

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The Personal Names in the Third-Century Ostraka from Xeron

The names that could be read on the ostraka from Xeron are cited in the following, in a transcription of the Greek original as I received it from H. Cuvigny. Note that a dot under a letter signals that the reading is uncertain. The letters g and t can hardly be distinguished, as can be noticed. These are the conventions of the transcription: ph, th, kh, ks, ps for φ, θ, χ, ξ, ψ; υ is rendered by u in all cases. ‘Barbarian Names’, Presumably Autochthonous . . . . basok . . g ei . gkesiṃa . . khοrei (Sạkhοrei ?) Αbait Αber . . ḷi Aḅṃạ / Aẹịṃạ / Aẹị Αbοu Agien / Aṭien (three times) Αg ō / Αṭō (twice) Αdap Αdei Αdinnοοu (three times) Αei Αi 2–3 Αkasa Αkοria Αḷẹ . ḍοu (Αḷẹḳḍοu, Αḷẹo ḍοu ?) Αmοkοurta Αmοu Anapsa (with probable alternative spelling Aṇṇạpṣa) Αṇēs Αnēt Αnnaki (seven times) Αnṇuẹneṭ / -neg Αnοuk Αrmit Αṣụṃο Ạṭep (?; see below, under Gamokeruạṭep) Aụdien / Agdien Auṣenkọụṣ / Auṭenkọụṣ Αkhοuaṃ Bạ . . . . . ou (?)27 Βadit Βamaṣ / Βamaṭ Βaratit Βdei (twice) Βekṛạbie Bergōdit / Berṣōdit Beteṭ / Beteg Βia Bipaou Βοeit Gamokerụạtep / Ṣamokerụạtep / Gamoker / Ṣamoker (perhaps Σαµοκερ ὑ(πὲρ) or υ(ἱοῦ) Ατεπ) Gaṛap / Garaṇ Genkomros / Ṣen- Godenạt / Godenẹt   Gοdōs Dοukainοs, Dοukaịṇōs Dοukake

                                                                                                               27  Unless one should read Bạṃạ followed by a superfluous mention of πυροῦ.  

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Ḍuei / Ḍοuei Dō Εmpοreṭ / -reṣ Εngοserek /Εngοsarek Εnḳo ṣō / Εnḳo ṭō / Εnkōgō Εnṭọuaṣ / Εnṭọuaṭ Εntοuṭ / Εntοug Zeṣtou Thageṭ / -ṭeṭ / -ṭeg / -geg Thēplōkh Ιaknēt Ιanen Ιantatōs (three times) Ιanōs Ιarim Ιemar Ιerabοk, Ιerabōk Ϊerοba Ιktōeị Ιnkenet, Ιnknet (sic; four times) Ιnkοuik Ịnkh 5–7 Κ . niō (maybe Κeniō, variant of Κniō?) Κestek Κiai (or Κiar) Kintob, Kintub Κniō Κοbṣạṭ Κōkō (woman) Κōṭō or Κōg ō Laba Μakak Μaṃοu / Μaḳοu Μaοuerti, Μaοueti Μasad Masakin, Μasaki Masalit Μakh Menạreṭ / Menẹ- /-reg Μenenaṭi Μοunkha . (woman) Νaeiḷa Νekhοla Νibit Nouạt / Nouẹt Ksοmbil Ouạṃṣaei / -ṭaei Palila (twice) Pareịṛa (same person as Palila?) Sabaṭan . . . / Sabag an . . . Sagkheit or Saṭkheit Sakka Ṣạḷēm / Sagēm  / Ṣạṭēm Ṣamokerụạtep / Gamokerụạtep / Ṣamoker (compare above, under Gamokerụạtep) Ṣạkhoreị Sạigōṇ / Sẹi- / -ṭōṇ / - ōṭị   Ṣerekhem (rather than Gerekhem) Singen Sḳạp iẹn Skerien Sοgοd (three times; compare below, Sοugōt)

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Sọtorba / Sạtorba   Sοug ōt (compare above, Sοgοd) Sọudit Sοuptaοu (four times) Surοba Sōg . [ Ṭạịk( ) / Gạịk( ) / Ṭẹịk( ) / Gẹịk( ) Tạịṃiṃạṣ / Tẹị- / -ṃạṭ / -ṃẹṭ / -ṃẹṣ Τamοdοra (twice) Τanοuk Τemnοuk (five times) Τerpοu (four times) Τlakhar Phada (twice) Khaïei / Khaïei . . ṭ Khansaïa Khẹṇsẹt( ) / -sạt( ) Khοbēr Khοbsati Khοïap ‘Barbarian Names’, Seemingly Greek/Roman Aprianō, Aprianοu Atiou (three times, probably genitive of Latin Atius) Αurēliοu Βer<e>nikianos Diοskorοu Epagathοu Ēraklei (probably Ēraklei<a>) Ērakleia (several times) Κlaudis Komarou Κοrnēlis Lēda Μegalōs / Μetalōs Μōrοus (misspelling for the Greek name Μῶρος) Petrōniοu Ṣurọs Τuranni ‘Barbarian Names’, Seemingly Eg yptian Κοuei (Coptic ⲕⲟⲩⲓ ʻlittleʼ) Pạteṃοuk (P3-ʾ·dj-… [paṭe-] ʻHe whom ... (god) has g ivenʼ?) Pateụụrοu / Peteụụrοu (P3-ʾ·dj-wr-ʕ3 [paṭewró] ʻHe whom the king has g ivenʼ)28 Pebō (?) Τamenrοu (T3-(n.t-)mrwr [tamenrú] ʻShe who belong s to Menrou = Mandulisʼ) Τaphtaph (read Taphta?) (T3-(n.t-)ptḥ [taptáḥ] ʻShe who belong s to Ptahʼ?) Τakhοuṃ or Τakhοuṣạ (read Takhnoum?) (T3-(n.t-)hnmw [-taxnûm] ʻShe who belong s to Khnumʼ?) Τbοkhini (T3-b3k.t-n-… [tbakəәn…] ʻThe (female) servant of (a god) ʼ?) Khemmin (probably composed with the divine name Mnw = Min, like (T3-)šr(t)-n-Mnw [(t)šemmîn] ‘(The) daughter of Min’)29 Pseṇmenrou (P3-s3-n-mrwr [psimmenrú] ʻThe son of Menrou = Mandulisʼ)

A Comparative Analysis of Both Corpora An attempt at a phonetic analysis of the ‘barbarian’ material is challenging for two reasons. The first is that many letters cannot be read with certainty. Another is the presumable discrepancy between Greek and

                                                                                                               28 Unless one should read  Πατετ υἱοῦ. In that case Patet would be the son of Ιerabōk.  29 As suggested by G. Vittmann (personal communication).

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‘barbarian’ phonetics and phonemics. The few texts in Coptic script from Gebelein prove the existence of the sounds h and š in the Blemmyan language. Greek script, however, is unable to distinguish these sounds from zero and s, respectively. Both the Cushitic and the Eastern Sudanic languages display yet other sounds and phonemes that are alien to Greek (such as retroflex and palatal occlusives).30 Still, one can gain the impression that the two corpora of ‘barbarian’ names, of the third, and fifth–sixth centuries respectively, are by and large congruent in respect of their phoneme or sound inventories. Moreover, there is a certain resemblance in the syllable structure of the names in both corpora. In order to achieve concrete results, however, a statistical analysis was undertaken, considering the discernible consonantal phonemes in respect to their employment in initial, medial, and final position. The number of uncertain readings is added after a +. Given the uncertainties of the readings and the difficulties resulting from divergent phonetics and writing, there does not seem to be much sense in exact numbers: the percentages shall merely give an impression of the relative frequencies.

Table 1. Consonant Frequencies in the Ostraka from Xeron Consonants Initial Internal Final Total β 9+2 17+1 1? (Κιντοβ) 30 γ 6+0 4+1 0 11 γ or τ 1 5+4 3 13 δ 3+1 11+1 4+0 (... αδ, Μασαδ,

Σογοδ, Φαδ) 20

ζ 1 (Ζεστου) 0 0 1 θ 2 0 0 2 κ 8+0

ξ: 1+0 20+4 12+0 45

λ 1+0 5+2 3+1 12 µ 10+0 14+3 2+3 32 ν 4+1 37+4 10+2 58 ξ: see κ, σ π 2+0 7+1

ψ: 1+0 3+1 13

ρ 0 26+2 5+2 35 σ 14+3 12+6

ξ: 1+0 10+4 ψ: 1+0

49

τ See also ‘γ or τ’

7+3 22+9 16+11 68

φ 1 1 1+0 3 χ 6 9+0 3+0 18 ψ: see π, σ 0 1 0 1

Table 2. Comparison of Consonant Frequencies between the Third and Fifth–Sixth Century Texts

Ostraka third century Texts fifth and sixth centuries Initial Medial Final Total ~ % Initial Medial Final Total % b- 9-11 p- 2 ph- 1 d- 3-4 t- 7-10 th- 2 z- 1 s- 14-17

-b- 17-18 -p- 9 -d- 11-12 -t- 22-31 -s- 13-19

-b 1 -p 3-4 -d 4 -t 16-27 -s 11-15

27-30 14-15 1 18-20 45-68 2 1 38-51

~ 7% ~ 4% ~ 0% ~ 5% ~ 15% ~ 1% ~ 0% ~ 12%

b- 2 p- 8 ph- 1 d- 1 t- 6 s- 6

-b- 5 -p- 5 -f- 1 -d- 4 -t- 21 z 2 -s- 10

-p 1 t 7 -s 7

7 14 2 5 34 2 23

3% 6% 1% 2% 14% 1% 10%

                                                                                                               30 In Cushitic, examples include a voiced retroflex plosive ɖ, spelled dh (e.g. in Somali, Saho, Beja); palato-alveolar occlusives, voiced ʤ, spelled j (e.g. in Somali, Saho, Beja); a voiceless c, spelled ç (e.g. in Saho); an ejective c’, spelled ch (e.g. in Saho). In Nilo-Saharan: inter alia a voiced retroflex implosive ɗ (e.g. in Majang, Didinga, Logo); an implosive ʄ, usually spelled ’j (e.g. in Majang, Didinga); palato-alveolar occlusives, voiced ʤ, spelled j, and a voiceless c, also spelled ch (virtually omnipresent). See M.L. Bender, ‘Majang Phonology and Morphology’, in M.L. Bender (ed.), Nilo-Saharan Language Studies (Committee on Northeast African Studies Monographs 13; East Lansing, MI, 1983), pp. 114–47; D. Odden, ‘Aspects of Didinga Phonology and Morphology’, in Bender, Nilo-Saharan Language Studies, pp. 148–76; D.L. Goyvaerts, ‘Some Aspects of Logo Phonology and Morphology’, in Bender, Nilo-Saharan Language Studies, pp. 272–79; A. Puglielli, ‘Somali Phonology’, in A.S. Kaye (ed.), Phonologies of Asia and Africa 1 (Winona Lake, 1997), pp. 521–35; M. Vergari and R. Vergari, A Basic Saho-English-Italian Dictionary (Asmara, 2003), p. 7; K. Wedekind, C. Wedekind, A. Musa, ‘Beja Pedagogical Grammar’, Afrikanistik Online (2008), available online at http://www.afrikanistik-online.de/archiv/2008/1283/.  

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g- 6-7 k- 9 kh- 6 m- 10 n- 4-5 l- 1 y- 8 w- 1

-g- 4-14 -k- 20-24 -kh- 9 -m- 14-17 -n- 37-41 -r- 26-28 -l- 5-7 -yV- 9 (ï) -wV- 4

-g 0-3 -k 12 -kh 3 -m 2-5 -n 10-12 -r 5-7 -l 3-4 Cf. -ei 4 Cf. -ou 1

10-24 41-45 18 26-32 51-58 31-35 8-11 17 5

~ 4% ~11% ~ 4% ~ 8% ~14% ~8% ~2% ~4% ~1%

k- 7 kh- 6 h- 2 m- 5 n- 4 l- 2 y- 3 w- 1

-š- 2 -g- 2 -k- 16 -kh- 6 -h- 5 -m- 9 -n- 22 -r- 15 -l- 8 -y- 7 -w- 1

-k 9 -m 2 -n 7 -r 3 -l 1 -y 3 -w 1

2 2 32 12 7 16 33 18 11 13 3

1% 1% 13% 5% 3% 7% 14% 8% 5% 5% 1%

~393 ~100% 236 100% The most conspicuous result of the statistical analysis is in the Auslaut restrictions which are similar, in fact an important feature in both corpora: otherwise, the evidence is not really compelling.

As was mentioned above, the language reflected in the Blemmyan names of the fifth and sixth centuries may be regarded as some kind of Old Beja, an ancestor language of modern Bedauye, or at least as one closely related to it. Although already described by Almkvist and Reinisch as early as the 1880s and 1890s,31 the language of these nomads, roaming in large areas of Egypt, the Sudan, and Eritrea, is as yet imperfectly documented. Nonetheless, a scrupulous analysis of the onomastic material from the fifth and sixth centuries, on the basis of our knowledge of Beja rules and elements, has yielded some results. Women’s names often end in -t or -s.32 The genitival noun (which precedes its referent) ends in -i or -y. Several names have a second component -tak or -tek, interpreted as the Beja word tak ‘man’; some end in -kna, which can be compared with Bedauye kena ‘owner’. Other recurring elements are: -mne, the presumably Egyptian elements -khēm ‘junior’ and -ō, ‘senior’, and endings like -ka, -ek/-ak, -ze, and -(i)en.

However, these features are only rarely found in the names from the third-century ostraka. For example, names ending in -ka are: Aut/genka, Sakka; in -ek, -ak: Engose/arek, Kestek; and in -(i)en: Ag/tien or Anen, Au/gdien, S/Samokheruaten/p, Ianen, Singen, Skapien, and Skerien. In the substance of the names we can also find little that reminds of the Blemmyan names:

Amokourta: compare Blemmyan Kouta/-kouta? Baratit: compare Blemmyan Barakhia? Kοuei (if Coptic, meaning ‘little’): may be identical with Blemmyan Kōy Kestek: compare the Blemmyan names with a second element -tek or -tak Theplōkh: compare Blemmyan Plōkh-karour? Mounkha: compare Blemmyan Mounkōk-hǝnhiou? Ṣerekhem (Gerekhem ?): compare the extension -khēm of several Blemmyan names

Conclusion The results may be somewhat surprising. Although the names from the third-century ostraka have a similar phoneme inventory as the later Blemmyan names, they have almost identical restrictions in respect of the final consonant, and have a comparable syllable structure, the material substance does not show a significant correlation. Moreover, while specialists of Bedauye have been confronted with this material, none of them could recognise any plausible resemblance with the vocabulary of that language.33 On account of all this, the language reflected in the names of the third-century ostraka cannot be claimed with certainty to be identical to the one of the texts of the fifth and sixth centuries—unless further elucidation yields more positive results. Thus, as it seems now, the names from the ostraka may originate in a language related to that of the Blemmyes, which is similar in structure, but apparently not identical to it.  

                                                                                                               31 H. Almkvist, Die Bischari-Sprache Tū-Bedāwie in Nordost Afrika (2 vols; Uppsala, 1881–85); L. Reinisch, Wörterbuch der Bedauye-Sprache (Vienna, 1895). 32 Satzinger, ‘Personennamen’, pp. 321–22 and ‘Some More Remarks’, pp. 3–4 has suggested that the feminines originally terminated in -t, a grammatical element that is familiar from Ancient Egyptian, Semitic, and Berber, and that this ending was realised as [θ] under certain conditions, here rendered by σ in the Greek script. 33 I would like to thank Klaus Wedekind for his valuable help; thanks also go to Martine Vanhove and Václav Blažek.