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VII. Epilogue
Egypt Now Al-Ahram, the largest newspaper in Egypt, had a report in its Jan 29, 1999 edition, of an Egyptian Anthropologist Conference in Cairo, which was attended by Egyptian (Moslem & Christian) academicians. The conference acknowledged that ancient Egyptian religious beliefs in the powers of ancestor spirits, and the need to communicate with/through them, are still strong. The official gathering admitted that there are more than 3,000 regional and national festivities associated with these beliefs, which are attended by more than 50% of the Egyptian population.
Ancient Egyptian traditions endure. In Cairo, Bubastis’ cats are still fed in Cadi’s court at public expense, and behave with singular decorum when the “servant of the cats” serves them their dinner. At Tanta in the Delta, Ausar(Osiris) holds his festivals as enthusiastically as ever, under the name of Sidi el Badawi. The peasant women offer sacrifices to the Nile, and walk around ancient statues in order to have children. The ceremonies at births and burials are not Islamic, but Ancient Egyptian.
Bastet
Ancient practices are concealed under a thin layer of Islam, in order to stay alive. Nothing has changed. The Sufis, as stated earlier, are some of the many secret societies that hold onto the Ancient Egyptian traditions, by maintaining a delicate balance between appeasing Islamists and maintaining the Ancient Egyptian traditions.