King Osiris and Queen Isis of Ancient Memphis
Osiris was a wise and powerful Egyptian god of high moral character who reclaimed the Egyptians from savagery, gave them laws, and taught them handicrafts. Osiris’ wicked brother lured him into a coffin and cast it into the Nile. The goddess Isis recovered the coffin and resurrected Osiris.
The crook and flail, the emblems of Osiris, symbolized his guidance and authority.
Isis was the most famous of the Egyptian goddesses. She had great magical skill and was the goddess of love and celebration. Many temples were dedicated to her worship. Isis carried a Staff and an Ankh, the symbol of eternal life.
The Throne is the hieroglyphic symbol for Isis. Her Scarab is the symbol of renewal and rebirth.
Thout was an Egyptian god and primary protector of Isis. He was associated with speech, literature, arts, and learning. Thout’s wisdom, compassion, advice and intervention are mentioned in a number of myths. It was Thout who gave the goddess Isis the words of the spell to revive her dead husband Osiris.
An ibis perched on a standard is his hieroglyphic symbol.
The most ancient known Carnival was the festival of Osiris in Memphis, the capital of early Egypt. This Carnival celebrated the regeneration of farmland by the flooding of the Nile River.
The Grand Krewe of Osiris of Modern Memphis
The year Two Thousand Twenty Three marks the eighty-ninth anniversary of the second oldest Grand Krewe. Osiris was founded in 1934 as a Mystic Secret Society. Osiris membership has always consisted of top professional and business leaders.
Our krewe is a direct descendant of the Mystick Krewe of Comus, the oldest New Orleans Carnival Krewe. It is rumored that one or more of the founders of Osiris were also members of the Pickwick Club in New Orleans and the Mystic Order of the Veiled Prophet in St. Louis.
Osiris XVI Robert Heard, Jr. and Isis XVI Marion Canale King Woodall in 1954
The charter members were Judge W. Preston Battle Jr., Irvin Clement, Emmet E. Joyner Jr.; John Donelson Martin Jr.; Hugh Wynne, and John Crump. Sadly, founder and second Osiris King John Crump, the son of Mayor E.H. Crump, died in an airplane crash in 1938 while touring the South promoting the Memphis Cotton Carnival.
Our Queen Isis has always been known for her beauty and membership in a prominent family. She wears the Ring of Isis, engraved with her hieroglyphic symbol.
The identity of King Osiris is revealed at the Banquet of Past Kings. He and all Past Osiris Kings wear the King’s Medallion on a scarlet and white ribbon at all Osiris and Carnival events.
Top Row, L to R: Arnold Klyce (Osiris XII – 1950), E. J. Johnson, Jr. (Osiris V – 1939), J. Burke Riddich, Jr. (Osiris III – 1937), Milton Schmith (Osiris VI – 1940), Francis C. Hudson (Osiris IX – 1947), Isis XIX – Miss Alice Berry Condon, Emmet E. Joyner, Jr. (a founder, Osiris X – 1948), Dick Leatherman, Unidentified, Unidentified. Bottom Row, L to R: Robert Heard, Jr. (Osiris XVI – 1954), James W. Moore (Osiris XIII – 1951), Clarence Clifton (Osiris IV – 1938), Sam Rembert, Jr. (Osiris XIV -1952), Unidentified, Frank M. Norfleet.
The Krewe colors are bright red and white, and its symbol is the Great Eye. Since its inception in 1931, Carnival Memphis has regularly tapped the Grand Krewe of Osiris for its leadership. As a Secret Society, the men of Osiris were required to wear masks outside the clubrooms.
Over thirty Kings and Presidents of Carnival have been members of our Krewe. Eighteen of our Kings have been King or President of Carnival. Osiris continues to play an important civic and social role in Memphis.
The Great Eye, the hieroglyphic symbol of Osiris for thousands of years, continues looking intently forward to the future of great city of Memphis, on the American Nile.
Queen Isis LXVIII Eliza Wellford & Past Kings Osiris & Queens Isis (2008).