Military:
Wepwawet’s imagery appeared on banners carried by the King’s military and on ceremonial tools (like hammers), both most famously under Narmer or related to Narmer. He would have been called upon as a leader to the military, opening the ways toward victory, or as a scout tasked with seeking out advantages from military vantage points.
He acted as a Guardian of the King during warfare, Champion of the King. He has been depicted as a canid at the forefront of the solar-barque, to part the ways and clear the path for the King (to “Open the Way” to Victory). Wepwawet’s standard was also carried in procession of the King. He often appears on this standard with the Uraeus cobra at the forefront, which strikes out at the King’s enemies, and Wepwawet-on-His-standard appears as early as the First Dynasty in conjunction with the King’s victories over his enemies (eg: label of Den, King defeats foreigner with a club, the Wepwawet standard is present).
As one example, on a surviving fragment of inscription from Sinai, Wepwawet’s symbol is shown leading King Semerkhet (3rd Dynasty) as he conquers his enemies. In another relief fragment from Saqqara (Unas complex), a sizeable Wepwawet (including shedshed and uraeus) stands in front of a prisoner who is bound to a was-sceptre.
Wepwawet’s depictions sometimes include association with weaponry, such as maces, bows, and arrows, and the verb wpi is sometimes noted to be that of a separation by force rather than a simple opening.
Funerary:
He was labeled “Lord of the Necropolis” in both Abydos and Asyut cult centers, as well as “Lord of the Cemetery”. As a Psychopomp, Wepwawet is said to guide the souls of the deceased through the Duat, in texts Book of Going Forth by Day (more commonly known as the Book of the Dead) and That Which Is in the Afterworld (or Amduat). Wepwawet is said to open the way to the ‘other world’. Wepwawet has been referred to as a funerary guide in terms of He opens the (beautiful) way for the deceased, or in identifying the deceased with the God himself: The deceased has opened his way as Wepwawet, or The deceased ascends to heaven and becomes Wepwawet.
The symbolism of Wepwawet has shown association both with the Resurrection of the King, and while Anubis is more closely associated today with the Opening of the Mouth ceremony, the metal object used during this ritual was called the adze of Wepwawet and may even indicate that Wepwawet was the original God associated with the practice.
I open your mouth for you with the adze of Wepwawet
with the implement of hematite,
which opened the mouths of the gods
[Pyramid Texts, spell 21]
In some cases a deceased King’s face is compared to that of Wepwawet, and the jackal-divinity imagery is is taken on in other attributes as well, such as the arms of Wepiu, the front and hind legs of a jackal, or the face of a jackal in general:
Your arms are those of Wepiu
Your face is that of Wepwawet
[Pyramid Texts, spell 424]
Wepwawet’s standard can be seen placed before the tomb in funerary situations. He is prominent on funerary monuments in Abydos, a city having been considered the ‘center of the world’; a perfect location for one’s transition from the Seen World to the Unseen World. Offerings (often at night) were made to Wepwawet during the Wag Festival of antiquity, a time where we tend to the Akhu — the Beloved Dead, our ancestors who have passed on — as well as pay homage to the Deities associated with life and death.
One particular funerary domain from Dynasty V cited Wepwawet’s name, though the location of the estate itself is unknown. The reference appears as mr-Wp-w3wt [ꜥnḫ] Wsr-k3.f or ‘Wepwawet desires that Userkaf lives’ [DuQuesne, Jackal Divinities]. Some of the text is worn off on this mastaba, but Wepwawet’s name is clearly spelled.
The idea of jackals as divine intermediaries is reinforced through other areas of texts, such as that of the b3w-Imntt (or Spirits of the West) who tow Ra’s barque across the sky at night [DuQuesne, Anubis and the Spirits of the West].
While Wepwawet is only uncommonly referenced in funerary formulae in the Old Kingdom, these references become more frequently entering into the Middle Kingdom. In one extremely unique instance, both Wepwawet and Anubis are referenced together in an Appeal to the Living: nh.n.tn Wp-w3wt nb-S3wt Inpw nb-r3-qrrt3 (referencing Wepwawet as the Lord of Asyut and Anubis as Lord of the Necropolis (or Ro-qereret) (Duquesne, Jackal Divinities).
Royalty / Kingship:
In various inscriptions, the King is linked with Wepwawet in a variety of ways: he becomes transformed into Wepwawet, he is ‘raised up’ by Wepwawet, he ascends with (or even atop) Wepwawet, he is visualized atop a Standard, atop a shedshed, and he is likened in simile ‘as Wepwawet’.
Aside from representing the King’s victory over his enemies (literal and symbolic), and serving as a protector of the King, Wepwawet is also associated closely with the Heb Sed (Sed Festival). Heb Sed was was an Ancient Egyptian ritual ceremony to celebrate and propagate the continued rule of a King / Pharaoh. One possible meaning of the name hb-sd comes from the word sd for ‘tail’ or in reference to the God Sed, widely speculated to also be that of Wepwawet. (In alternative theories, the hb-sd can instead come from the word sd for ‘cloth’, relating to the ceremonial robes worn by the King.)
During the Sed Festival, the King proves he is still worthy of rule, and is ritually reborn and re-legitimized. In the Pyramid Texts, we can see that the King’s ascension to the throne was viewed as a manifestation of Wepwawet Himself, and Wepwawet carries an association to legitimacy of the King’s throne (inheriting the Kingdom which he will rule) particularly as representing the King as a ‘first-born heir’ (‘eldest son’) to the Kingdom of the Gods. In addition, there is some consideration for Wepwawet’s association with the King during the King’s Run (Königslauf), an event of physical prowess held during the Sed Festival, particularly in relation to a cited ‘jackal of Upper Egypt’.
In the Pyramid Texts, we also see one instance of the King associating himself directly with the God: “My face is that of Upwawet”. The King is later said to ascend to the sky atop or with the shedshed, an object which also adorns the standard of Wepwawet regularly, as well as a sledge which can be related to the sledge-like appearance of that standard: “You will ascend towards towards the sky as Horus, Upon the celestial sledge of the Opener of the Ways” (DuQuesne, Jackal at the Shaman’s Gate, citing the Pyramid Texts [here and above]). This function helps to raise the King from physical death, onward to everlasting spiritual life.
Wepwawet-on-His-standard appears with and accompanies the King on many occasions, appearing in close proximity to the King on seals (such as ivory) as early as the First Dynasty (Djer, Den, Semerkhet, and Qa’a). The uraeus (snake/cobra) symbolism commonly found at the forefront of Wepwawet’s standard is also closely related to royalty. In several instances, Wepwawet’s depictions are flanked by symbols or official seals of royalty.
As mentioned in the ‘funerary’ segment, in some cases, royalty may be referenced as having “the face of Wepwawet”. References to the King wearing the mask of a jackal can also be found, symbolizing Wepwawet’s simultaneous psychopomp, military, and royal associations through protection of the King along with His roles in the other world. And while there is still debate on the for-sure meaning of the šdšd object which joins Wepwawet on His standard, most agree the symbolism in either case represents that of the King, be that in terms of rebirth or ethereal location in what lies beyond.
One reference to Wepwawet in the Pyramid Texts is outlined below (glyphs from Hanan Abass Ahmed’s Votive Stelae from Salakhana Tomb, Asyut):
wp-wAwt pr m isrt
Wepwawet who emerged from the tamarisk-bush
As referenced in From the Pyramid Texts (spell 210):
You who arose from the water-garden,
O Wepwawet, who emerged from the tamarisk-bush.
The tamarisk bush was a shrub that gave excellent protection/cover to jackals and was considered to have magical properties, including an association to the residence of the Gods, and was particularly sacred in Cynopolis. Association to the emergence of Wepwawet from the ‘tamarisk bush’ could be linked to (re)birth of a King and his continued legitimacy on the throne. The tamarisk bush or tree also has association to the birthplace of Heru (Horus), and this phrase is also linked by Le Page Renouf to the rising of the sun.
In addition, Wepwawet was closely linked with rulership over both Upper and Lower Egypt or rulership of the “Two Lands”:
wp-wAwt Smaw abA-tAwy
Wepwawet of Upper Egypt, controller of the Two Lands
Guide
Wepwawet’s title as Opener of the Way places him in the perfect position to guide all who follow him, be that commoners, elite officials, Royalty, military, or even the dead. In mundane terms, Wepwawet’s function can be linked to the guidance through the desert, opening of paths or roads into oases areas, traversing gebels / mountain areas, safe passage on or through waterways, and various other geographically-linked topological difficulties which existed throughout Ancient Egypt.
As mentioned above, Wepwawet is associated with various military, funerary, and royalty processions and scenarios where his role clears or opens the paths forward to achieve success, but also to force open the path by force in terms of removal of obstacles or the creation of paths and ways where none previously existed (DuQuesne in particular mentions how the translation “Opener” is quite benign in comparison with a more true idea of wpi [opening, but also cleaving, dividing, and separating]).
Wepwawet’s role of guiding the deceased, clearing their paths, and opening the way to and through the realms of the Duat or Afterlife / Otherworld, must also be considered with importance.
While there are two separate versions of Wepwawet’s divine family tree hierarchy, one of them describes Wepwawet as the son of Nut. In being born of Nut, Wepwawet would be guiding the way for the emergence of other Gods, including the sun God Ra, both of whom would be known as pr m nwt (Who emerges from Nut). He becomes associated with the rising sun as a result, and with Ra as the “Opener of the Sky” (though the syncretistic Wepwawet-Ra would not appear until the Middle Kingdom).
Some of Wepwawet’s epithets and associations with being a guide include:
- He opens the way
- He opens the way against the enemy
- He opens the mountain for Wesir
- He opens the way in the 13th Upper Egyptian nome
- Who opens the way in Abydos
- He opens the way for the deceased
- Heaven and earth shall open for the deceased, for he is Wepwawet