Koiak

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title: "Koiak" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["months-of-the-coptic-calendar", "egyptian-calendar"] topic_path: "geography/egypt" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koiak" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox month"]

FieldValue
native_name
calendarCoptic calendar
num4
days30
gregorianDecember–January
prev_monthHathor
next_monthTobi
::

| native_name = | calendar = Coptic calendar | num = 4 | days = 30 | season = | gregorian = December–January | holidays = | prev_month = Hathor | next_month = Tobi Koiak (; , []), also known as Choiak (, Khoiák) and Kiyahk (, Kiahk, []; or كيهك), is the fourth month of the ancient Egyptian and Coptic calendars. It lasts between 10 December and 8 January of the Gregorian calendar, or between 11 December and 9 January of the Gregorian calendar in Coptic calendar years immediately following a Coptic calendar leap year (which occur every four years, in Coptic calendar years immediately preceding those that are divisible by 4 to produce an integer; i.e., 1719, 1723, 1727, 1731, etc. are all examples of leap years in the Coptic calendar).

The month of Koiak is also the fourth month of the Season of Akhet (Inundation) in Ancient Egypt, when the Nile floods historically covered the land. They have not done so since the construction of the High Dam at Aswan.

Etymology

Name

The name of the month of Koiak comes from the Egyptian phrase kꜣ ḥr kꜣ "Soul upon Soul", a name of the sacred ancient Egyptian Apis Bull. It is attested in cuneiform with the pronunciation ku-i-iḫ-ku, likely representing /kɔʔ-iḥ-kɔʔ/ with an o-vowel as in later Coptic. It is also attested in Imperial Aramaic in the letters of Ananiah in the Jewish colony of Elephantine, Egypt as כיחך .

Coptic tradition

The month of Koiak holds a special place in the rite of the Coptic Orthodox Church. It is known as the "Mariam Month" ("Month of Mary") because the Nativity according to the Coptic calendar falls on 29 Koiak. The month is characterized by beautiful midnight praises that commemorate the Lord's Incarnation and venerate his mother, the Virgin Mary. The name of the Koiak midnight praise translates into Seven and Four, describing the outline of the praise that consists of 4 Canticles and 7 Theotokias (glorifications of Saint Mary).

It was at the beginning of the month of Koiak in Coptic calendar year 1726 that the Virgin Mary was said to have appeared in churches all over Egypt.

The liturgies and other services are held in the Kiahky tune. Notable seasonal hymns include "O Mary" and "Efemepsha Ghar."

Coptic Synaxarium of the month of Koiak

::data[format=table]

CopticJulianGregorianCommemorations
Koiak 1November 27December 10
Koiak 2November 28December 11
Koiak 3November 29December 12
Koiak 4November 30December 13
Koiak 5December 1December 14
Koiak 6December 2December 15
Koiak 7December 3December 16
Koiak 8December 4December 17
Koiak 9December 5December 18
Koiak 10December 6December 19
Koiak 11December 7December 20
Koiak 12December 8December 21
Koiak 13December 9December 22
Koiak 14December 10December 23
Koiak 15December 11December 24
Koiak 16December 12December 25
Koiak 17December 13December 26
Koiak 18December 14December 27
Koiak 19December 15December 28
Koiak 20December 16December 29
Koiak 21December 17December 30
Koiak 22December 18December 31
Koiak 23December 19January 1
Koiak 24December 20January 2
Koiak 25December 21January 3
Koiak 26December 22January 4
Koiak 27December 23January 5
Koiak 28December 24January 6
Koiak 29December 25January 7
Koiak 30December 26January 8
::

Rituals

During the month of Koiak, many rituals and festivals are performed in Egypt to celebrate Osiris, Isis, and Nephthys. These rites have been prominent as early as the New Kingdom. Two women will take the roles of the goddesses, Isis and Nephthys, to mourn for their dead brother Osiris. The main festival was over a length of ten days, ending at the day of Osiris's resurrection. This day also marked the beginning of the new agricultural season, when the Egyptians began to plant new crops for the year. Each day of the festival also featured a scene of purifications, feasts, and constructions of memorials associated with Osiris's resurrection.

References

Citations

Bibliography

References

  1. Gabra, Gawdat. (2008). "The A to Z of the Coptic Church". The Scarecrow Press.
  2. "PEUST 1999 Egyptian Phonology An Introduction To The Phonology Of A Dead Language OCR".
  3. "The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon: TAD B3.11".
  4. "Apparitions of the Blessed Holy Virgin Mary at El-Warraq Coptic Orthodox Church, Greater Cairo, Egypt, December 2009".
  5. Assmann, Jan (2005) [German edition 2001]. Death and Salvation in Ancient Egypt. Translated by David Lorton. Cornell University Press. {{ISBN. 978-0-8014-4241-4.
  6. Lesko, Barbara S. (1999). The Great Goddesses of Egypt. University of Oklahoma Press. {{ISBN. 978-0-8061-3202-0.
  7. Fairman, H. W.. (July 1934). "Le Temple d'Edfou. ParEmile Chassinat. Tome 7me. Mission Archéologique Française au Caire. 13¾ × 9¾, pp. x + 356. Cairo: L'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, 1932.". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society.

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