Samuel Baca-Henry (he/him) is a vegan activist, author, and musician living in Seattle.
Lament of Hathor is his debut book.
Lament of Hathor
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About
Samuel Baca-Henry's debut book, Lament of Hathor, offers a unique perspective on animal rights & liberation, drawing inspiration from ancient Egyptian and adjacent Bronze Age cultural mythologies, archaeology, history, geopolitics, economics, power, oppression, and resistance.
The book centers on Hathor, an Egyptian cow goddess associated with motherhood, love, healing, magic, dance, and music.
She laments the exploitation of animals, particularly cows. She is joined by cow goddesses/gods, sacred cows, and prophets from several other cultures, religions, and literary traditions (e.g. Kamadhenu, Goshorun, Nanshe, Manu, Zechariah, Amos, Zoroaster, Pythagoras, Asoka, and many more).
Baca-Henry's narrative weaves together lamentations, proverbs, historical and literary references, and messages for today and all time. It is a thought-provoking exploration of the interconnectedness of human and animal suffering.
The book challenges readers to see the historical roots of human and non-human oppression and an ancient lineage of resistance.
Lament of Hathor's unique blend of mythology, history, and social justice themes offers a fresh perspective on animal rights.
This book is sold at cost – the lowest amount Amazon allows (no royalties to them or me).
Accolades
"Samuel Baca-Henry's book Lament of Hathor is REALLY FUCKING WEIRD. If you are PETA-level passionate about Animal Rights, if you care about Middle Eastern/African history in general, and/or sacred texts, and/or just ancient history (like over 10,000 years old shit), this book is for you. This is an excellent read. It's really, really compelling. They keep it short and quick. So even if it's like 300 or so pages, they move fast and you're learning a massive amount. What a weirdo...and what a fascinating, strange gift of an artist in this city. So anyway, HIGHLY RECOMMEND."
- Katie Lee Ellison, The Seattle Stranger (alt-weekly newspaper)
"Everyone should know about this book!"
- Cody Dolan, Vegan activist and PETA/peta2 2024 Libby Award winner for Student Action of the Year.
"Animal Rights, mythology, and archaeology...so interesting."
- Kathy Freston, Award-winning vegan author, activist, and plant-based nutritionist. Multi-time guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show (and got Oprah Winfrey and her team to do a one month Vegan challenge).
"A brilliant book on the interconnectedness of animal exploitation and human oppression."
- Davy Divine, Co-founder and Director of Operations at Cloven Heart Farm Sanctuary. Author of two books: Charlie's New Family and One Day I Want to Have a Farm Sanctuary.
"Amazing book. It's such an intriguing book full of interesting facts and photos about Ancient Egypt as well as the story of a goddess who shows empathy toward the plight of animals."
- Vegan Theology
Goals
- Bring more and more people worldwide to an ever-more-just relation with non-human animals (as well as other humans and the rest of the planet and universe).
- Demonstrate and connect the intertwinings of human and non-human animal exploitation (e.g. resource hoarding/exploitation, imperialism, colonialism, evangelism, war, incarceration, of birthing and wombs, patriarchy, genital mutilation, climate change/ecocide, religious institutions and leaders, racism, white supremacy, and more), thereby awakening advocates and practitioners of animal liberation within those who already advocate for other social justice causes.
- Uplift and sustain past writers/pastoralists/jurists/oral/cultural traditions who advocated on behalf of non-human animals, in order to:
- Keep their works alive
- Honor their struggles
- Witness and honor the non-human animals who suffered alongside and under these people
- Demonstrate the millenia-old history of these movements/principles (and so-called prehistory)
- As well as a look back at how we got here.
- Inspire future people.
- Speak not just to the present and near future, but people millenia from now.
- These are durable symbols and stories (many of which existed within traditions in which they were reused for the purposes of their times).
- Even if something like “animal liberation” ever fully happened, it would need sustaining (and resuscitation, probably).
- Create a flywheel of fundraising and activist awakening/activating.
Inspiration
In September 2023, I visited Egypt with my parents and cousin.
On the second day, we visited the Temple of Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahari.
Deir el-Bahari – known to the ancient Egyptians as Djeser-Djeseru (“Holy of Holies”) – is one of many death and rebirth areas to the west of contemporary Luxor.
Neighboring areas include the so-called Valleys of the Kings and Queens, elite tombs, a temple to Hathor, the isolated skilled tomb-artisans’ villages (and its own temple to Hathor), and several pharaohs’ monumental tomb and temple complexes.
Within Deir el-Bahari, there are Temple complexes of pharaohs Mentuhotep II, Hatshepsut, and Menkheperre Djehutimose.
I saw a carved stone relief depicting the pharaoh Hatshepsut nursing from the cow goddess Hathor’s udders (the above left image–behind us).
Hathor is a cow goddess embodying the ideals of motherly love (and other traits, e.g. fertility, daily personal and cosmic resurrection, dance, joy, feminine sexuality, music).
I was struck by this contradiction of seeing cows in nature and appreciating their motherly care for their calves vs the way mother cows and baby calves are treated in reality.
When I returned home, that feeling stayed with me and poured out via this book.
On Distributing this Book
This book is currently self-published.
I don’t know whether in the future I’ll pursue a more traditional publishing route for greater reach and influence. But I don’t like the idea of waiting years for a traditional publishing cycle.
I come from a DIY music background where you don’t wait for others to let you make things happen.
So I have just been printing copies myself and giving them away in Little Free Libraries, vegan cafes, and giving them to sanctuaries to auction off or raffle to raise funds.
If you would like to help distribute copies of this book, I’d be happy to send you some free of charge. Please email me at samuelhenry@gmail.com. You can also download the full book as a PDF or .epub file below.
And if you really want to buy a physical copy of the book, you can purchase one below.
Purchase
Available at cost (no royalties) on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Lament-Hathor-Egyptian-Non-Human-Liberation/dp/B0DF2YV3Y7
In Seattle, you can purchase Lament of Hathor at Third Place Books, Ophelia's Books, Magus Books, Nellis Records, and Edge of the Circle Books.
- Animal Care in Egypt's charity shop (Luxor, Egypt 🇪🇬)
- Gibran's Lebanon Bookstore (Byblos, Lebanon 🇱🇧)
- Red Emma's Bookstore (Baltimore, MD, USA)
- SEVA Table Restaurant (Dubai, UAE 🇦🇪)
- Vegan Mami Restaurant (Henderson, NC, USA)
- Vibe Gastropub (Fayetteville, NC, USA)
- Wishbone Animal Rights Lab (Toronto, Canada 🇨🇦)
More
Samuel has given invited talks at Princeton University, Rutgers University, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Utah (co-keynote alongside David Chalmers).
Social Media
Follow his writing on Instagram here, on Goodreads here, on Tiktok here, on Facebook here, and on Youtube here.
Videos
Email List
