Anubis – Egyptian god of the underworld
(ORDO NEWS) — As a protector of helpless souls, he acts as a guide of the dead to the heavenly regions and helps in their resurrection.
Being the first embalmer, according to the Osiris myth, Anubis is also known as the god of mummification, that is, the one who, according to the ancient Egyptians , makes sure that people receive proper treatment after death.
Worship of Anubis is very ancient, there are images of the god Anubis in the tombs of the 1st dynasty (3200 – 2778 BC). There are also references to it in the Pyramid Texts, the most ancient texts of ancient Egyptian religion.
These texts consist of funerary inscriptions etched over 4,000 years ago inside the first pyramids of ancient Egypt. Anubis and other gods are mentioned in these inscriptions for the purpose of protecting and helping the dead (in this case, the pharaoh) in their transition to eternal life in Aar (paradise).
Like some other Egyptian deities, Anubis is an anthropo zoomorphic creature – that is, half human, half animal. In some images, he appears as a man with the head of a jackal. But there is an image (see below) in which he is depicted simply as an animal, either a jackal or a black dog.
The image of the god of jackals or dogs is probably associated with the behavior of packs that lived in deserts and came to cemeteries to “steal” corpses from shallow graves. The Canid god (dog or jackal) was the answer to these grave robbers, protecting the dead from all evil and guaranteeing them a decent burial.
The name Anubis is derived from anupu, which in turn is derived from the Egyptian word inepe meaning “to rot” or “rot”. The black color of the dog or jackal depicting Anubis is associated with the coloration of the body, which it acquires during mummification through the use of certain substances.
History of Anubis
According to Egyptian mythology, Anubis was responsible for the funeral rituals of the god Osiris, the first pharaoh of the world of the living. Osiris was betrayed and killed by his brother Set, who sought to take the throne of Osiris.
The body placed in the coffin was thrown into the river. Queen Isis, wife of Osiris, found her husband’s body and buried it to hide it from Seth.
But Set found out what Isis had done. He found the body of Osiris and cut it into many pieces, which were scattered in different places around the world.
By this he ensured that Osiris would never return to life.
But Isis did not give up. With the help of the goddess Nephthys, she gathered all of her husband’s parts and asked Anubis to take care of the rest. Anubis sewed up the body of Osiris and embalmed him.
After that, Osiris was resurrected, but not to repopulate the world of the living. He resurrected in the underworld, becoming the ruler of the world of the dead. So Anubis became the first embalmer known in ancient Egypt as a master of mummification.
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