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Anubis
by Stephanie Cass
Anubis, who the ancient
Egyptians called Ienpw
(phonetically "Yinepu"), is the
mysterious canid funerary deity
of ancient Egypt. Even the
meaning of his name is
unknown -- speculations range
from "Royal Child" to having
derived from the world for "to
putrefy". Both certainly fit the
deity, who was at various points
in time of Egyptian history
known as the lord of the dead
before Osiris and, later, became
popularly known as the son of
Osiris.

Just what type of animal Anubis
is represented by is unknown
as well; definitely canid and
most likely a jackal or a wild dog
-- or a hybrid of both -- but, as in
the case of Seth, with alterations
that deliberately smudge the
lines of reality. The deep black
color Anubis's animal is not
reflective of its actual coat but is
instead symbolic of his position
as a funerary deity. The reason
for Anubis's animal being canid
is based on what the ancient
Egyptians themselves observed
of the creature -- dogs and
jackals often haunted the edges
of the desert, especially the
cemeteries where the dead were
buried.

Anubis is an extremely ancient
deity. The oldest mastabas of
the Old Kingdom have prayers
to him carved into their walls,
and he is mentioned in the
Pyramid Texts in his most
celebrated role as a guardian
and protector of the dead. A
standard offering formula for the
dead in the Old Kingdom began
thusly:


"An offering which the king
gives and Anubis, who is upon
his mountain and in the place of
embalming, the lord of the
necropolis...."
As mentioned previously,
Anubis began in the position
that Osiris would later
command. In the earliest period
of Egyptian religion Anubis was
clearly the lord of the dead and
Osiris the embalmed god while
Anubis performed the act of
embalming. Titles that were
invested unto Osiris -- such as
Khenty-Imentiu or "Foremost of
Westerners" -- were originally
Anubis's. As the drama of
Osiris's death and vindication
unfolded over the centuries,
Anubis assumed the role of the
guide who holds steady the
scales on which their hearts are
measured against the feather of
ma'at as "He Who Counts the
Hearts". Should the heart be
light as the feather, the soul
would then be lead by Anubis
(or, in some cases, Harseisis) to
be presented to Osiris. Should
the heart be heavy, it is fed to
Ammit and the soul destroyed.

As Imy-ut, or "He Who is In the
Place of Embalming", Anubis is
the embalmer who washes the
entrails of the dead and guards
over their physical bodies as
well as the places that house
them (the tomb and the
necropolis). Priests wearing a
mask of Anubis were
responsible for the Opening of
the Mouth ceremony that
reawakened a dead person's
senses. In a reflection of the
royal seal used on the tombs of
the Valley of the Kings depicting
pharaoh's victory over the "nine
bows" (enemies of Egypt),
Anubis is shown recumbent
over nine bows meant to be
hostile forces of the Underworld
who he -- as "Jackal Ruler of the
Bows" -- has triumphed over.

Anubis's parentage is a mystery
-- in one tradition he is the son
of Nebt-het (Nephthys) and Ra.
In yet another, from the Coffin
Text period, the cow goddess
Hesat is his mother and, from
the same source, Bastet is even
accounted as his mother (most
likely a pun on the ointment jars
that comprise her hieroglyphs --
the same jars that were used
during the embalming process
Anubis was lord of). The
Pyramid Texts even supply
Anubis with a daughter in the
form of the goddess Qeb-hwt
("Cooling Water") -- a celestial
serpent or ostrich Who purifies
and quenches the monarch.

Anubis is depicted most often
as a man with the head of a
black canid with alert, pointed
ears. He is also represented by
a full black canid wearing
ribbons and holding a flagellum
in the crook of its arm. Very
rarely is he ever shown fully
human, though there are some
cases (such as in the temple of
Ramesses II of Abydos) of this.
Perhaps the most famous
representation of Anubis, the
gold-gilded wooden canid
found in the tomb of
Tutankhamen, was doubtlessly
placed there as a protector of
the dead and guardian of the
tomb.

Anubis was worshipped
throughout Egypt, but the
center of his cult was in
Cynopolis (Upper Egypt).


To Learn More About
Anubis
join the yahoo group
GOD-ANUBIS