Beta
202147

The Serpent God Nhb-Kaw

Article

Last updated: 26 Dec 2024

Subjects

-

Tags

-

Abstract

The serpent god Nhb-Kaw whose name means "He-who Harnesses-the Spirits", was first attested in the Pyramid Texts and was regarded as a benign and helpful deity. He assisted the deceased king in various ways and seems to act as an intercessory on his behalf.The god was believed to be the son of the scorpion goddess Serket, though an alternative tradition claimed that he was the son of earth god Geb and the serpent Harvest goddess Renenutet. His chthonic origins and serpentine nature-coupled with "seven cobras" he is said to have swallowed- are the source of Nhb-Kaw's considerable power. This is seen in later texts which assert that Nhbu-Kaw is not subject to any harmful magic and cannot be harmed by water or fire. The god's consort was thought to be Nehemtawy([1]). He was at one point a rather fierce and aggressive deity, and so the god Atum had to press his nail into Nhb-Kaw's spine, so he could control the serpent god. The ancient Egyptians believed that he could not be overcome with magic, fire or water([2]).
([1])Ch.  Leitz, Lexikon der Ägyptischen Götter und Götterbezeichnungen VI (Germany, 2002), 283; R.H.  Wilkinson, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt (Cairo, 2003), 224.. ([2])A.W.  Shorter, The God Nḥb-Kɜw, Journal of Egyptian Archeaology 21 (Cairo, 1935), 41-48.

DOI

10.21608/mkaf.2021.202147

Keywords

Nhb-Kaw, Serpent deity, Deity of Protection and Magic

Authors

First Name

Mariana

Last Name

Abd Elsayed Asham

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Ass. Prof of Tourism Guidance- Faculty of Tourism and Hotels – Minia University

Email

-

City

-

Orcid

-

Volume

9

Article Issue

9

Related Issue

28485

Issue Date

2021-06-01

Receive Date

2021-10-30

Publish Date

2021-06-01

Page Start

2

Page End

21

Print ISSN

2537-0510

Online ISSN

2537-0545

Link

https://mkaf.journals.ekb.eg/article_202147.html

Detail API

https://mkaf.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=202147

Order

13

Type

المقالة الأصلية

Type Code

1,446

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

مجلة کلية السياحة والفنادق. جامعة المنصورة

Publication Link

https://mkaf.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

The Serpent God Nhb-Kaw

Details

Type

Article

Created At

23 Jan 2023