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nai nai: ⲧϩⲓⲥⲧⲟⲣⲓⲁ ⲛⲧⲉ ⲡⲓⲗⲉⲝⲓⲥ ⲛⲁⲓ ⲛⲏⲓ
nn:
Dear all!
I am interested in late antique jewellery and came across a late antique pendant found in Egypt with the inscription Nai Nai. Nai Nai, of course, means yes yes in Greek, but this did not help me finding out the exact meaning of this inscription. I do not speak any Coptic, but found on your page a wallpaper saying
"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to the greatness of your mercy
ارحمني يا الله كعظيم رحمتك
and it is pronounced like that
**nai nai** ebnoode kada bak-ne-shde ennai"
Do you maybe know when this saying was first used, in which context, and by whom? Is there anything I can cite? Or do you have any other idea what nai nai could mean? I checked the Greek bible, and there were some references, but none of which I would have considered so vital that someone would want to engraved it onto a pendant.
Sorry for so many questions and for my ignorance, but I hope that you can help me,
Kind regards,
nn
Admin:
Nai Means "Mercy" (the letter a here is pronounced like far, war, amin)
The second Nai means "me" (the letter a here is pronounced like man, sad, say)
So Nai Nai means Mercy me (Mercy upon me)
And it is the beginning verse of the 51th (or 50th) psalm of David
You wouldn't find this in the Greek bible, because this is Coptic Language
nn:
Thank you very much for all these explanations. I was so confused as I first thought the inscription was Greek. Again, I would like to apologise for my ignorance and wish you a very nice weekend,
nn
Admin:
if you have a digital camera then, it will be very nice from you if you could send us a photo of this jewelery
and you are alway welcome to ask and participate here
nn:
Thanks!
Well, this is the pendant. It has been excavated in Abuqir Bay and has recently been published in the catalogue of an exhibition in Berlin (Egypt's Sunken Treasures). As you can see, the pendant has the shape of a tabula ansata and the second nai is turned upside down. The suspension rings are on the back of the pendant.
All the best,
nn
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