It’s another sweltering morning in Memphis, Egypt. As the sunlight brightens the Nile, Peseshet checks her supplies. Honey, garlic, cumin, acacia leaves, cedar oil. She’s well stocked with the essentials she needs to treat her patients.
Još jedno vruće jutro u Memphisu, Egipat. Dok sunce obasjava Nil, Peseshet provjerava svoje zalihe. Med, češnjak, kumin, lišće akacije, ulje cedra. Dobro je opremljena s osnovnim stvarima koje su potrebne za liječenje pacijenata.
Peseshet is a swnw, or a doctor. In order to become one, she had to train as a scribe and study the medical papyri stored at the Per Ankh, the House of Life. Now, she teaches her own students there.
Peseshet je swnw, ili liječnik. Kako bi to postala, morala je trenirati za pisara, i proučavati medicinske papiruse pohranjene u Per Ankhu, Kući Života. Sada, tamo podučava svoje učenike.
Before teaching, Peseshet has a patient to see. One of the workers at the temple construction site has injured his arm. When Peseshet arrives, the laborer’s arm is clearly broken, and worse, the fracture is a sed, with multiple bone fragments. Peseshet binds and immobilizes the injury.
Prije podučavanja, Peseshet ima pacijente. Jedan od radnika na izgradnji hrama ozlijedio je ruku. Kada Peseshet stiže, ruka radnika je očito slomljena, i još gore, radi se o kompliciranom prijelomu, sa više komada kosti. Peseshet povezuje i imobilizira ozljedu.
Her next stop is the House of Life. On her way, a woman intercepts Peseshet in the street. The woman’s son has been stung by a scorpion. Peseshet has seen many similar stings and knows exactly what to do. She must say an incantation to cast the poison out. She begins to recite the spell, invoking Serqet, patron of physicians and goddess of venomous creatures. Peseshet recites the spell as if she is Serqet. This commanding approach has the greatest chance at success. After she utters the last line, she tries to cut the poison out with a knife for good measure.
Njena sljedeća postaja je Kuća Života. Na njenom putu, žena zaustavlja Peseshet na ulici. Ženinog sina ubo je škorpion. Peseshet je vidjela puno takvih ugriza i zna točno što učiniti. Mora izreći inkantaciju kako bi istjerala otrov. Počinje recitirati čaroliju, prizivajući Serqet, zaštitnicu liječnika i božicu otrovnih bića. Peseshet recitira čaroliju kao da je ona Serqet. Ovaj pristup ima najveću šansu za uspjeh. Nakon što izgovara zadnju liniju, ona pokušava isjeći otrov s nožem, za dobru mjeru.
Peseshet packs up to leave, but the woman has another question. She wants to find out if she is pregnant. Peseshet explains her fail-safe pregnancy test: plant two seeds: one barley, one emmer. Then, urinate on the seeds every day. If the plants grow, she’s pregnant. A barley seedling predicts a baby boy, while emmer foretells a girl. Peseshet also recommends a prayer to Hathor, goddess of fertility.
Peseshet se pakira, ali žena ima još jedno pitanje. Želi otkriti da li je trudna. Peseshet objašnjava njen provjereni test za trudnoću: zasadi dvije sjemenke, jednu ječma, jednu žita. Onda, neka urinira na sjemenke svaki dan. Ako biljke izrastu, trudna je. Sjemenka ječma predviđa da je dječak, dok žito predviđa djevojčicu. Peseshet također preporuča molitvu Hathor, božici plodnosti.
When Peseshet finally arrives at the House of Life, she runs into the doctor-priest Isesi. She greets Isesi politely, but she thinks priests are very full of themselves. She doesn’t envy Isesi’s role as neru pehut, which directly translates to herdsman of the anus to the royal family, or, guardian of the royal anus.
Kada Peseshet napokon stiže u Kuću Života, sreće doktoricu-svećenicu Isesi. Pristojno pozdravlja Isesi, ali misli kako su svećenici puni sebe. Ne zavidi Isesi na ulozi neru pehut, što se direktno prevodi na pastir anusa kraljevske obitelji, ili čuvar kraljevskog anusa.
Inside, the House of Life is bustling as usual with scribes, priests, doctors, and students. Papyri containing all kinds of records, not just medical information, are stored here. Peseshet’s son Akhethetep is hard at work copying documents as part of his training to become a scribe. He’s a particularly promising student, but he was admitted to study because Peseshet is a scribe, as was her father before her. Without family in the profession, it’s very difficult for boys, and impossible for girls, to pursue this education.
U Kući Života puno je aktivnosti kao i inače sa pisarima, svećenicima, liječnicima i učenicima. Papirusi sa svakakvim zapisima, ne samo zdravstvenim informacijama, pohranjeni su ovdje. Peseshetin sin Akhethetep radi na kopiranju dokumenata kao dio njegovog treninga da postane pisar. On je posebno obećavajuć učenik, ali primljen je na nauk jer je Peseshet bila pisar, kao i njen otac prije nje. Bez obitelji u ovoj profesiji, jako je teško za dječake, a nemoguće za djevojčice, da se bave ovim obrazovanjem.
Peseshet oversees all the female swnws and swnws-in-training in Memphis. The men have their own overseer, as the male doctors won’t answer to a woman. Today, Peseshet teaches anatomy. She quizzes her students on the metu, the body’s vessels that transport blood, air, urine, and even bad spirits.
Peseshet nadgleda sve ženske swnws i swnse-naučnike u Memphisu. Muškarci imaju svoje nadglednike, jer ženski liječnici neće odgovarati ženi. Danas, Peseshet podučava anatomiju. Ispituje učenike o metu, posude tijela koje prenose krv, zrak, urin, i čak zle duhove.
Peseshet is preparing to leave when a pale, thin woman accosts her at the door and begs to be examined. The woman has a huge, sore lump under her arm. Peseshet probes the growth and finds it cool to the touch and hard like an unripe hemat fruit. She has read about ailments like this, but never seen one. For this tumor there is no treatment, medicine or spell. All the texts give the same advice: do nothing.
Peseshet se sprema otići kada je blijeda, mršava žena zaustavlja na vratima i moli za pregled. Žena ima veliku, bolnu kvrgu ispod ruke. Peseshet opipava izraslinu i utvrđuje kako je hladna na dodir i tvrda kao nezrela voćka. Čitala je o ovakvim bolestima, ali nije ju do sada vidjela. Za ovaj tumor nema tretmana, lijeka ili čarolije. Svi tekstovi daju isti savjet: ne čini ništa.
After delivering the bad news, Peseshet goes outside. She lingers on the steps of the House of Life, admiring the city at dusk. In spite of all her hard work, there will always be patients she can’t help, like the woman with the tumor. They linger with her, but Peseshet has no time to dwell. In a few short weeks, the Nile’s annual flooding will begin, bringing life to the soil for the next year’s harvest and a whole new crop of patients.
Nakon što je dala loše vijesti, Peseshet izlazi van. Ostaje na stepenicama Kuće Života, diveći se gradu u suton. Unatoč svom svom radu, uvijek će biti pacijenata kojima neće moći pomoći, kao ova žena s tumorom. Ostaju s njom, ali Peseshet nema vremena za to. Za par tjedana, godišnje poplave Nila će krenuti, donoseći život zemlji za žetvu sljedeće godine i potpuno novi usjev pacijenata.