ABSTRACT
In Kemet, writing was done on almost any type of surface, but the favorite was papyrus, a reed that grew in the Nile, found far south of Egypt in Sudan. Writing served three purposes: recording of historical events; communication between the king, priests, and scribes; literary and instructional writings. The mythical traditions of Kemet say that Tehuti was the father of writing. The ancient people of Kemet attributed writing to the god Tehuti, who was the scribe and historian of the gods as well as the keeper of the calendar and the inventor of mathematics, art, and science. The early African theologian Clement of Alexandria may have been the first to apply the Greek hieros and glypho to make the term hieroglyphics meaning “sacred inscriptions.” The language of Kemet slowly lost its grip on the population and retreated into the liturgy of the Coptic Christian Church, the force that had created its decline in the first place.
