Anubis is the Greek translation for the Kemetic/Egyptian Anpu. He is the Jackal-headed Kemetic god of the dead. Although fearsome in appearance, Anubis is recognized as being a caring and nurturing god. He holds power over the spirits of the dead on their journeys after death. He is the personification of the Summer Solstice because he is associated with opening the way to the afterworld. Anubis was integral in the conveyance of the dead seeking entrance into the Afterlife.
There is a quality of creation to his activities. He is credited with creating the process of embalming and mummification, and in Kemet/Egypt, he held domain over the cemeteries and protected them against Earthly perils. Anubis was instrumental in the judgment of the Dead and their fate. Satisfactory completion of the judgment trials of Maat permitted the Dead to enter into the Hall of Ausar/Osiris for an eternal joyous afterlife. However, should the Dead fail judgment, they were ushered into Amenti to be ravaged by Ammut. Anubis is an ancient Kemetic God of noble lineage; his origins are traced to the first family of Gods. His mother Nebt-het/Nephthys is twin sister to Auset/Isis. Some say that his sect of worship was older than and rivaled that of Ausar. This entry looks at his functions, characteristics, and lineage.
The God’s Role
Anubis holds dominion over the embalming aspects of mummification and holds sovereignty over decay caused by time and the resistance to decay. He appears numerous times in the Kemetic Book of the Coming Forth/Going by Day or the Egyptian Book of the Dead, as well as in funeral text and tomb and coffin texts. Anubis was the original god of the dead before Ausar’s reign. During the reign of Ausar, he serves as an aid and a helper. The scope and importance of his influence is evidenced by his role in the resurrection of Ausar. It was Anubis who judged Ausar’s worthiness at death. He is depicted in some texts professing to be the protector of Ausar. Anubis used his influence against time and decay when wrapping Ausar’s body in his characteristic linens, which were made by Auset and her twin sister, Nebt-het. In this way, Ausar’s body would never decay.
As aid to Ausar in the underworld, Anubis is often depicted in funerary text assisting with the balancing of the heart of the dead against the feather of Maat. He presides over the questioning of the dead in the affirmations of Maat by a tribunal of 42 Gods in the Hall of Maati or the Hall of Double Truths. Anubis balances the Tongue of Great Balance, depicted as a scale, and received the heart of the Dead. He relays the worthiness of the Dead to Ausar, receives and presents the symbols of the dead’s worthiness, and acts as an intermediary between the Dead and the gods. However, he also protects, prepares, and cares for the Dead on their journey in the afterlife. Anubis is instrumental in the preparation of the body of the dead and preparing the dead for the trial of Maat.
During the embalming process, priests of Anubis completing the funeral rites would wear a Jackal headpiece. In this way, they would become the embodiment of Anubis as he was invoked and his protection sought. The worship of Anubis can be traced back thousands of years; it was long lasting and was introduced to both Greece and Rome from Africa. In Greece, the Kemetic name Anpu was changed to Anubis. Later his name was modified as it was combined with the Greek God Hermes. The center of Anubis’ sect of worship was in Abydos. When Ausar unseated Anubis as god of the Dead and the afterlife, Abydos became the seat of Ausar’s sect of worship.
Characteristics of Nubis
Anubis is depicted with the head of a Jackal and the body of a man. He is shown on ancient papyrus in coffin and tomb texts with a dark blue or black Jackal’s head and brown limbs. However, when Anubis is depicted in gold, he has golden limbs and an onyx Jackal’s head adorned with gold. Anubis is rarely depicted as solely human, but can be found in full Jackal form more often. Later in his worship, he was associated with the Dog deity; this can be attributed to confusion between the Jackal and Dog by foreigners and in foreign lands.
In various times and places, Anubis was known by the names Anpu, Imeut, Am Ut, Khent Sehet, Tep-Tu-f, Yinepu, Khenty Amentiu, and Sekhem Em Pet. He is also called the Lord of the Necropolis, Lord of Passage, Guardian of the Veil, and Opener of Ways. Anubis has been combined with several other gods over time for various reasons. The combination of Anubis and Horas can be found. The Greek association of Anubis with Hermes resulted in Hermanubis/Heru-em-Anpu. Although Anubis is often mistaken for Ap-uat, they are distinct deities. Leading to this confusion could be the fact that both Anubis and Ap-uat have been depicted as Jackals.
Anubis has several patronages where his protection and guidance is invoked. Besides the patron of embalming and mummification, he is also the patron of orphans, the lost, the wandering, and victory over enemies for Pharaohs.
Thus, Anuket took the form of being one of the triad of deities at the great temple of Elephantine. Alongside Khnum, or Khenemu, and Sati, Anuket oversaw the fertility of the lands next to the Nile. Indeed, Anuket was worshipped as the great nourisher of the farms and fields because of the annual inundation of the Nile that deposited the heavy layer of black silt from Upper Egypt and Nubia on the land. The meaning of Anuket is “embrace,” and in many instances one can see that the idea of silt being deposited on the banks of the river was like an embrace of a much-admired friend and benefactor. The people worshipped Anuket as the great giver of the fertile soil because in her natural form as the inundation she surrounded the river and the source of the people’s nourishment.
The main temple of Anuket was in Sahal in Nubia, although she had been worshipped for thousands of years throughout lower Nubia. The temple at Elephantine was important as the most significant temple for Anuket in ancient Egypt. Yet one does read that at the temple of Philae dedicated to Auset (Isis) Anuket was associated with Nebhet and Neith. This is to be understood in the sense that, depending on the nome or region, the people were able to substitute the names of the gods for each other. Thus, it was not uncommon to find that Khnum was seen as a form of Ausar and Sati and Anuket related to Auset and Nebhet.
Clearly, Anuket and Auset may be conflated as when Anuket wears the disk and horned headdress associated with Auset and is called in the temple texts “the lady of heaven, mistress of all the gods, giver of life and power, and granter of all health and joy of the heart.” Thus, this Nubian goddess is the great cosmic embracer of all lands and people affected by the inundation. She represents the comforting waters of the Nile as a mother’s arms are the comforters of a child.
Molefi Kete Asante
