An Analysis of the Behavior of Bovine Figures in Ancient Egyptian New Kingdom Afterlife Books

This paper investigates the behavior of bovine figures in four New Kingdom afterlife books: the Amduat, the Book of Gates, the Book of Caverns and the Book of Earth. While prior studies have focused primarily on theology and the roles of deities in the afterlife, the behaviors and symbolic actions of theriomorphic deities have received less attention. To address this gap, this study employs textual and iconographic analyses, examining the epithets, attributes, and actions of these bovine figures. Occasionally, however, examples from private tombs are consulted to provide a comparative iconographic analysis of a certain deity. The findings show that the majority of these figures are concentrated in the Amduat. Also, the findings show that the figures can be grouped into four groups according to their epithets: swallowing, horns-related epithets, kA(bull)-related epithets, and unique epithets. The analysis reveals a further relationship between the bull-horned deities associated with swallowing and the action of burning, while the deities whose epithets are associated with the term kA “bull” are associated with ‘vocalization’. The study also shows that the terms for vocalization were carefully selected to suit the actions of these figures. Further, the analysis of actions associated with these figures reveals a relationship between actions done and bovine attribute gained by representing these figures with bulls’ horns. It was also found that the terms employed for horns vary depending on action done by the figure. Hence, while ab “horn” horn is associated with tackling enemies, wp, also horn, is associated with creation.