ANUBIS and The Golden Hunting Hounds of Ancient Egypt

Here is a special article by Brian Playfair. If anybody else has anything they would like to publish here, please get in touch with me.

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We all know the image of Anubis, we see it in every tomb but how many of these images are wrongly interpreted ? Listed as Anubis the jackal headed god but are we sure that is correct ?

In many Old and Middle Kingdom tombs at Saqqara and Beni Hassan especially those of Nobles, we see practically the same image in both hunting and domesticated form which cannot be a jackal. These are clearly hounds – canines of a very particular breed type depicted as hunters and companions. This middle-sized hound with prick ears and noble presence was the tjesm. Early settlers in the Nile valley in pre dynastic time showed prick eared canines hunting in their art and as the quality of art developed we see this hound in a clearer form, which is no trained or domesticated jackal.

The tjesm was such an important asset to the ancient Egyptian especially when he became a companion as well as a great hunter that it is inconceivable he was not represented as one of the major deities.

The gods were “associated” with things that the ancient Egyptian saw every day – the sun, the land and very specifically The Nile without which there would be no Egypt. The Nile brought fertility to the land which allowed a civilisation to evolve. It brought animals to live and people to farm. The fact that the sun rose each day and the Nile flooded each year was the “miracle” on which the Egyptian existed and so it is natural that he associated these events with the unseen gods which allowed him to prosper. I use “unseen” in a modern sense for it was difficult to grasp this concept in early times that what could not be explained I will associate with the gods and with that which I see every day – the animals, flora and fauna.

CHAMPION ANHARBN AKHENATEN AT SAQQARA

The following is a list of the major Egyptian Gods associated with animals…
Bastet – cat
Khnum – ram
Apis / Mnevis – bull
Renenutet – snake
Sekhmet – lioness
Selket – scorpion
Sobek – crocodile
Taweret – hippopotamus
Thoth – ibis
Wadjet – cobra
Aker – lion
Geb – goose
Hapi – baboon
Horus / Harakhte – falcon
Hathor – cow
Heqet – frog
Khephri – scarab beetle

There are no major associations for animals that were primary food sources like the fish of the river and the gazelle that they hunted so that apart, ask yourself which of the everyday animals is missing from this list, remember they did not have the horse until the New Kingdom by which time the gods were established. Also ask what it is about these animals that would engender the sort of feelings as to sustain a religion and I believe it has to be respect.

The four “sons” of Horus were used to guard the contents of the canopic jars used in the mummification process. Each of the four jars had a different top or stopper depicting who was the guardian…

Qebehsenuf with the falcon head had the intestines of the deceased, Imsety with the human head had the liver, Hapi the baboon had the lungs and finally Duamutef with the head of a prick-eared hound (I use this description deliberately**) had the stomach.

**(Such was the reverence bestowed on the canopic jars, also guarded by the four tutelary goddesses, it is not conceivable that one of the vital organs would be given to the care of a scavenger like the jackal.)

I believe you will have come to the same conclusion that our missing animal is the dog and before you ask “what about Anubis” remember that he is traditionally associated with the jackal by the early Egyptologists. Without Anubis we don’t have a major canine-headed deity and do we think that is “reasonable” given the place that the domesticated dog had in the everyday household – I think not !

The tjesm was not the only dog in Egypt but our hunter/companion is likely to have earned the same sort of respect that we have for our dogs today at all levels. We know the Pharaohs kept teams of these hunters and even special keepers to look after them. Nobles and farmers alike hunted with them. Such was their standing I cannot believe they were not associated with one of the gods when so many of the other everyday animals were. It’s unlikely and unnatural…and jackals didn’t wear collars !
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Even though the representations of the hunter is clearly canine how often does this become translated as Anubis the jackal or more to the point how often should it be the other way round – that Anubis is a canine ? So often many follow the well-trodden path and say jackal when they don’t really know – the image is the same as that age-old figure which was called jackal. Everything with prick ears is called jackal but this is wrong! Happily this now appears to be changing and gradually being accepted as Anubis the dog headed god.

Should anyone wish to read further about the tjesm the great hunter and companion of Kings I can recommend the study by Michael Rice under the title “SWIFTER THAN THE ARROW” – The Golden Hunting Hounds of Ancient Egypt. This book explores the origins and associations of the Egyptian hound and is published by I.R.Tauris.

Now to get a little controversial, lets ask ourselves do we still have the tjesm today? …

Many think we do or at least direct descendents scattered around The Mediterranean. The leading candidate is the Kelb tal Fenek on Malta also known as The Pharaoh Hound, He is the virtual image of the tjesm in type, features, colour, character and size. It is therefore not surprising that given the proximity to Egypt, a strong link probably existed. We also have the Cirneco dell’Etna from Sicily, the Pondenco and the Ibizan Hound all having similar characteristics, all within trading distances with really just size differences that have probably evolved from living in different terrains.

SERAFIN PRINCE ATEN OF SAQQARA

When a direct line is suggested to the hounds of Egypt some cry “fanciful” and “unproven”. Perhaps they are right, BUT consider this…we find Egyptian traces, hieroglyphs and artefacts around The Med from early traders, probably The Phoenicians and never doubt their origin – so why not a breed link to those special hounds in Egypt since they must have been traded too ! These breeds, in particular the Kelb tal Fenek so closely resemble the hounds in the tomb reliefs that there must have been a strong link. It is unlikely that this will ever get the categorical “proven” tag because we only have the drawings from the tombs but given the proximity to Egypt and the remarkable resemblance, make up your own mind.

Brian Playfair