Babywearing is often said to be recorded in history as far back as the Ancient Egyptians. But where? A search of the internet will provide you with many references that state this tibit of history, but rarely is there any documentation to show that this is actually the case. So, the Babes in Arms team decided to scour the vast virtual world to find at least one reference – and we found it at Childbirth and Children in Ancient Egypt By Marie Parsons.
A woman, supporting a child with her left hand, reaches for a fig, from the 25th Dynasty relief in the tomb of Montemhet on the West Bank at Luxor. (Doesn’t it look like an early Peanut Shell Sling??)
Ms Parsons also provides a reference by the scribe Ani who instructed that children repay the devotion of Egyptian mothers:
”Repay your mother for all her care. Give her as much bread as she needs, and carry her as she carried you, for you were a heavy burden to her. When you were finally born, she still carried you on her neck and for three years she suckled you and kept you clean.”
We would like to assume that this reference implied that mothers in Egypt often carried their babies in slings! What do you think?
Do you have any Ancient Egyptian Babywearing references or images? We would love to see them.
