17

IT is quite usual to find, in books and articlesabout Ancient Egypt, mentions of differenttypes of spotted skins used in priests attire. Inmany cases, the animal in question is a leopardand in others, a cheetah, which is an evenbigger mistake of identification. Perhaps theconfusion in naming a specific animal has itsorigin in a melanic variety of the leopardfrequent in Asia and the jungle whosecommon name was the Black Panther.

A modest research in specialized publi-cations demonstrates that apparently thefollowing fact was not considered: under thename panther not only can the leopard be

found, but also another feline, the lion. In thesecond volume of PM1 (Theban Temples), wefind entries for leopards and panthers; we mustunderstand that, when speaking aboutpanthers, the reference usually refers tocheetahs. These felines do not belong topantherae, since they are clearly recognisable,mainly in the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. Inthis volume, the entry for cheetah does notexist, despite its appearance in other volumes.

Some authors seem to add to this confusionwhen explaining the clothing of the sem priest2and they attribute to a panther what isundoubtedly a leopard skin.3

Panthers, leopards and cheetahs. Notes on identification

One of the most extended inaccuracies in the Egyptological publications, consists on attributing the pantherexclusive characteristics and features, in the assumption that the panther is a specific animal and not a genus.Besides, there is a certain tendency to include in this term another feline, the cheetah, animal that belongs to anothercompletely independent genus. This work tries to analyse both groups of animals, focusing on their differences andplacing them in the context of the Ancient Egypt, where they had a particular importance and meaning.

Una inexactitud presente en buen nmero de publicaciones egiptolgicas, consiste en atribuir a la panteracaractersticas y rasgos exclusivos, en la creencia de que "pantera" es un animal especfico y no un gnero de animales.Adems existe cierta tendencia a incluir dentro de este trmino a otro felino, el guepardo, animal que pertenece a otrognero completamente independiente. En este trabajo se pretende analizar a ambos grupos de animales, marcando susdiferencias y encuadrndolos dentro del contexto del Egipto Faranico, donde gozaron de una particular importanciay significado.

TdE 1 (2002)

Elisa CASTEL

* I would like to express my acknowledgements to: A.Barahona, J. Cervell, A. Eyma, A. Hernndez, M.Jaramago, G.E. Kadish and M. Tilgner. I express mythanks to R. Pujol and F. Jourdan, who translated theSpanish text of this paper into English. At the sametime, I would especially thank M. . Molinero Polo,whose idea led to the publication of this paper.

1. Porter, B.; Moss, R.L.B.: Topographical Bibliographyof Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic, Texts, Reliefs

and Paintings. 7 vols. Oxford 1934-1991.2. For instance, Goyon, J-C.: Rituels funraires de lan-

ciennne gypte. Paris 1997, 117, 120 (scenes XII,XIX-XXI of the Ceremony of Opening the Mouth).

3. Quirke, S.: Ancient Egyptian Religion. London 1992,102-103; Hornung, E.: The Valley of the Kings.Horizon of Eternity. New York, 1990, 61; Lpez, J.:Mitologa y Religin del Oriente Antiguo. Sabadell1993, 148.

Other scholars have implemented anintermediate solution: the word feline.4 Butthis general word refers to an ample quantityof big cats, and does not make the specificclassification of the animal clear.

All the examples mentioned demonstrate thedifficulties found by some Egyptologists inidentifying the leopard skin, somethingperfectly understandable since the Egyp-tological tradition has never, until recentyears, approached these questions under ataxonomic point of view. The problem ariseswhen we run into the spotted skin of a cheetah,an animal that does not belong to the samegroup.

TTAAXXOONNOOMMIICC CCLLAASSSSIIFFIICCAATTIIOONN

In this preliminary research we will attemptto analyse the correct identification ofleopards, lions and cheetahs, attempt to defineit as clearly as possible and propose aterminology better adapted to reality. We willbegin by taxonomically locating theseanimals, provided their habitat includes theAfrican continent.

The felinae5 family, belonging to carnivores,has three groups or subfamilies: Felis orFelinae (cats), Acinonyx or Acinonychinae(cheetahs) and Panthera o Pantherinae (lionsand leopards).

Within the first group (Felinae) are includedthose commonly called cats, that is to say, theminor sized felines. Limiting ourselves to theAfrican continent we should mention thedomestic cat (Felis catus), the Sahara cat (Felismargarita), the swamp cat (Felis chaus), and,within other subgroups, the African wild cat

(Felis [silvestris] libyca), the black paw cat(Felis [Microfelis] nigripes), the Serval (Felis[Leptailurus] serval), the golden cat (Felis[Profelis] aurata) and the Caracal or AfricanLynx (Felis [Lynx] caracal).

The second group (Pantherinae) consists ofbigger animals, such as the lion (Panthera Leo)and the leopard (Panthera pardus).6

Finally the third group (Acinonychinae)includes a very specific animal: the cheetah.

We cannot take the first group (felinae) assuppliers of skins for priests attire, since theirheight in the cross7 is too small. Regarding thesecond group (pantherinae), the question iseasier. As we have seen, we only have twoanimals, the leopard and the lion. Identi-fication in both cases would be possible, dueto their size (lions have a cross height of 1mand a leopard, about 0,70 cm tall), but theleopard seems to be that which the authorsrecognise in some paintings and reliefs,because of its spotted skin. Nevertheless, inthis article we want to propose the hypothesisthat the leopard was not the only animal whoseskin was used as priests attire, and that manyof those skins most likely belong to the thirdgroup (Acinonychinae); and therefore asclothing originating from cheetahs or Africanounces (Acinonyx jabatus).

DDIIFFFFEERREENNCCEESS BBEETTWWEEEENN LLEEOOPPAARRDDSS AANNDDCCHHEEEETTAAHHSS

Both animals do not belong to the samegroup, since there are substantial differencesbetween them; some are shown in Chart 1.

Although their behaviour characteristics arenot relevant for iconographic representations,

18

4. Siliotti, A. & Leblanc, Ch.: Nefertari e la Valle delleRegine. Firenze, 1993, 115.

5. All technical data was found in: Grass, P.P.: Zoo-loga. Vol. 4: Vertebrados. Barcelona, 1980. Dorst,J., & Dandelot, P: Gua de campo de los mamferossalvajes de frica. Barcelona, 1973, 136-148.

6. Are not included here the Snow Panther (Panthera

uncia) (Himalaya and Tibet), the Tiger (Pantheratrigris), the Puma (Panthera puma) or the Jaguar(Panthera onca) since, although belonging to thesame family, they never lived in the Nile Valley.

7. When speaking about animals, the word crossrefers to the upper part of their back, where thebones of their arms meet the backbone.

CCHHEEEETTAAHHSS

45 to 60 Kg average weight. Slim constitution.210 cm long head and back. Tail measuring 75cm height: 70-80 cm.

Smaller and rounder head than the leopard. quiteshort and fragile jaws and longer neck. Shortvibrisa.

Black nose.

Shorter ears than leopards with a black stripe inthe reverse.

Tall and slender legs with less muscular powerthan leopard. Adapted for running.

Rather blunt nails (except for of front legsthumbnails). Not retractile; this feature servesthem to remain firmly stuck to the ground whilerace hunting. They can reach a speed of 90-120Km an hour in short distances (200-400 mapprox.).

Rough coat long hair in the neck. The spots arein the shape of black dots. They are uniform andwell organised over a background, which goesfrom yellowish brown to pale yellow, almostwhite. Darker than those of the leopard, they areequally distributed over the body.

In the lower internal parts of the legs, highdensity of spots, over an almost white coat.

Spots all over the body.

The cheetah has a characteristic dark spot undertheir eyes in the shape of a teardrop; it goes fromthe inner angle of the eye to the corner of themouth. Due to its habit of hunting during theday, these spots protect them against sun.

Long dotted tail; thinner and thicker at the endwhere these dots form bands or rings.

LLEEOOPPAARRDDSS

Stronger than cheetahs. 50 to 82 Kg of averageweight and 150 cm long head and back. Tailmeasuring 90 cm Cross height: 70 cm.Animal size may vary from small to bigdepending on its habitat, sabana, desert orjungle.

Powerful head and neck, stronger jaws thancheetahs. Long vibrissae (sensorial hairs inwhiskers of felines).

Rosy nose.

Longer ears than cheetahs. Ear reverse in black,with a characteristic white spot.

Stronger and shorter legs than cheetahs. Adaptedto jumping with a great muscular power.

Very hard nails, totally retractile, sharpand hook shaped, adapted to retain the preywhile hunting.

Soft and thick coat, short hair, spotted withuneven marks in the shape of dark brown orblack rosettes, over a pale yellow or palebrownish background. On the lower part of thelegs and on the head and in the abdomen thespots are similar to those of the cheetah.

In the lower internal parts of the legs, low densityof spots, over an almost white coat.

Spots all over the body, except on the stomach,where it has stripped lines.

No spot under the eyes.

Uniform spots along the tail, longer than thechettahs.

19

Chart 1

PPHHYYSSIICCAALL FFEEAATTUURREESS

we are presenting them since they may bedeterminant while searching for a relationshipbetween the personality and the habits of theanimal and the use of their skins by priests.Through sympathetic magics, present daynative Africans believe that the use of bigfelines spotted skins may transmit to its ownera series of the inherent qualities of the animal:

strength, speed, beauty, grace or shrewdness.We can compare these characteristics in chart 2.

Through texts8, we can gather that thecheetah did not exist in Egypt, and that it wascaptured beyond the second cataract orperhaps it was imported from Nubia9 wherehunters were in charge of supplying both the

20

BBEEHHAAVVIIOOUURR AASSPPEECCTTSS

LLEEOOPPAARRDDSS They roar.

They hunt by watching and stalking.

Night predators. Their vision is equally good inthe daytime and at night.

They are not easily domesticated due to theirferocity. They eat any prey they hunt, carrion,fish, grass, fruits and even eggs. They are notselective with their food.

They usually live alone in their marked territory(except when mating and nursing).

They prefer to hunt on thick forests dry and openareas. They even hunt in the edge of the Saharaand also in great heights such as the mountains ineastern Africa. They climb in trees, where theyusually devour their preys.

They are more frequent in areas of thick bushesand rocky surroundings. They are also found innorthern Africa and in Asia.

CCHHEEEETTAAHHSS They cannot roar. They perform a sound similar

to cats when they want to appear aggressive.

They hunt by watching and running.

Generally day hunters. Excellent day vision; poornight vision.

They are easily domesticated since they are notferocious. They seem to have been controlledsince ancient times. It is highly probable thatthey were used, and they still are, to huntgazelles which they eat. They are selective withfood.

They live in pairs or reduced groups. They do notmark their territory. Their habits are quitenomad.

They prefer to hunt in open, grassy ordesertic plains, savannas and African deserts.Because of their their blunt nails they do notusually climb to trees: they do not feel at homeon them. They devour their preys in the ground.

Their habitat is the savanna and the grassyextensions.

Chart 2

8. There are many texts referring to expeditions madeto bring what we call exotic products, objects that,due to context, we may suppose that were alsoexotic to Egyptians. Among them, we will give asexample the Autobiography of Herkhuf, anindividual that in the VI Dynasty travelled to theland of Yam to get some of them... I came dawnwith three hundred donkeys loaded with incense,ivory hekenu-oil, sat, panther skins, elephants tusks

throw sticks, and all sort of good products.Lichtheim, M.: Ancient Egyptian Literature. Vol. 1,26. Berkeley 1975.

9. Houlihan, P.F.: The Animal World of the Pharaohs.London, 1996, 93, 199. The author states that bothcheetahs and leopards were imported from Nubia orPunt. Strk, L: s.v. Gepard. L II, 1976, 530. Henotes the fact that recent fauna lists mention theisolated existence of cheetah to the west ofAlexandria.

crown and the priests. Nevertheless, due to itshigh symbolic meaning, the use of spottedfeline skins was probably regulated; hence thehunting of these animals was never a massiveactivity. Such presents were given to the kingand exclusively used for the clothing of amuch-defined group among priests, and alsoas a sign of power, by covering the seat ofcertain chairs, as we will see later. Despite thisfact, we know of some cases in which theskins of leopards or cheetahs worn by priestswere not genuine, and that Egyptians madeimitations.10 An important example is the skin,adorned with gold stars and silver paws, whichwas found in the tomb of Tutankhamun.

SSKKIINNSS WWIITTHH MMAAGGIICCAALL PPOOWWEERR

In the oldest religious texts, there is a greatamount of references to these felines, callingthem sometimes leopards and sometimespanthers,11 but always emphasising theirmagical power.

The use of skins as an element transmittingpower is widely documented in all cultures,mainly in Africa, from ancient to presenttimes.12 The skin gave a special protection tothe person who wore it. This is perfectly

logical in Egypt, mainly when used by the sempriest. Upon the death of an individual, one ofhis duties was to go into a trance,13 to searchfor the ka of the deceased and bring it back.The deceased then could participate in ritescelebrated during the funerals, as shown in theritual of the Opening of the Mouth. This ritualis very similar to actions performed byshamans.

Another priest who used skins as attire wasthe iwnmutef. He represented the eldest son,who personalised the child Horus in funeraryceremonies and who, due to his condition ofyoung heir, was adorned with a sidelock ofhair. The feline skin, which covered him, wasusually used as a dress, quite differently fromthe sem priest who wore it as a cloak. It seemsthat in reliefs and paintings, the iwnmuteffrequently used skins with cheetahcharacteristics (dot shape spots and notretractile nails), while the sem priest used towear leopard skins.

CCHHEEEETTAAHHSS AANNDD LLEEOOPPAARRDDSS IINN IICCOONNOOGGRRAAPPHHYY

From the Old Kingdom14 to the PtolemaicPeriod, leopards were more or less representedclearly and their presence in reliefs and

10. A fake leopard skin of the XII Dynasty can be seenin Osborn, D.J. and Osbornov, J.: The Mammals ofAncient Egypt. Warminster, 1998, pl. 7-225.

11. Faulkner, R.O.: The ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts.Oxford 1969. As an example: Your garment is theleopard-skin, your garment is the kilt (223); myleopard skin is on me, my sceptre is in my hand(907-908); he shall not possess a leopard skin(1027); I live with my double, my panther skin ison me, my sceptre is in my arm (338). Faulkner,R.O.: The ancient Egyptian Coffin Texts. Vol. 1-3.Warminster, 1977: the Great Ones have receivedtheir leopard skins (Spell 49); see me in your sightas a panther (Spell 379).

12. For this argument see Cervell Autuori, J.: Egipto yAfrica. Origen de la civilizacin y la monarquafaranicas en su contexto africano. Sabadell, 1996,55, 69, 72-73. Among African cultures usingspotted skins, we could mention the Karamocho,who lived between Kenya and Northwest ofUganda. They are warriors speaking an Africanlanguage of nilotic type. We can also mention theNuer, who live in Sudan. Among them there is achief named Leopard Skin. See Evans-Pritchard:The Nuer. Barcelona 1992, Pl. XIV.

13. Goyon, J-C.: op. cit. 114. This event seems quiteclear in the text of the Book of the Opening of the

Mouth: Disposition dans le Chteau de lOr.Dormition du prtre-Sem. Dormir (indicationscnique).Disposition dans le Chteau de lOr. Dormition duprtre-Sem recouvert du camail. Il dort. Le sommeilest venu lui trs vite, il est venu lui trs vite-.Le prtre-Sem: sasseoir devant lui.Paroles prononces: Il ma brise. (Indicationscnique) Dormir. Le prtre Imy-is: se dresser derrire lui.[Le prtre-Sem]; paroles prononces: Il ma frapp!(indication scnique) Dormir profondment.Le prtre Imy-is: parler quatre fois. A dire parle prtre Imy-is: Mon pre, mon pre! -quatre fois-veil du dormeur: le prtre Sem; accueillir lesprtres Imy-khent.

14. Leopards appear before this period in somePredynastic palettes. Although they are usuallyshown modifying their physical characteristics,especially in their necks which are represented insnake shape. See the Palette of the Two Dogs(Ashmolean M. E. 3924) or the Louvre palette whereone of these animals is shown (Cervell Autuori, J.:op. cit., pl. 28) Later on, the Narmer palette will alsopresent the same animal (Cairo M. JE 32169).

21

paintings is constant, while cheetahs do notappear until the Middle Kingdom, in thedecoration of Beni Hassan tombs, and later inthe tomb of Rekhmire (TT 100, entrance,north wall) or of Amenmose (TT89, entrance,east wall) among others.

A distinction between both animals can beperceived in all periods: the leopard isrepresented with its neck slightly down andforward (figure 1), while the cheetah has anarrogant air, with a high head and a neckperpendicular to the body. Moreover, thephysical characteristics of both animals can bedistinguished without any difficulty.

When describing the contents of thesouthern area of the second terrace15 in QueenHatshepsuts Temple at Deir el-Bahari, andmore specifically the expedition to the land ofPunt, douard Naville16 mentions the presencein reliefs of two types of panthers: one fromthe south17 and another from the north,specifying that the latter is of smaller size. Inthe first case, we would clearly have therepresentation of a leopard and that of acheetah in the second case (figure 2). Evenmore, plate LXXX clearly depicts two

cheetahs and a leopard, while on plate LXXVIthere is a leopard. There is no doubt in otherreliefs; for instance, in the wall fragment fromthe tomb-chapel of Sobekhotep, now in theBritish Museum, we can clearly recognise aNubian transporting a leopard skin to Egypt,among other exotic products.18

During the New Kingdom, leopards andcheetahs are frequently included in pro-cessions where Nubians present gifts to theking; the priests who use these garments areusually found in funerary contexts.

CChheeeettaahhss::Cheetahs were also used for security and

hunting purposes. They were domesticatedand could be kept in captivity,19 even as pets.

In the papyrus of Ani (vignette 12) we findtwo priests clad in feline spotted skins. This isa good opportunity to identify them, since theyare apparently not alike. The priest in the

22

Figure 2: Cheetah from the funerary temple ofHatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari

Figure 1: Leopard from the tomb of Rekhmire atThebes

15. Naville, E.: The Temple of Deir el-Bahari. Vol.III. London, 1898, 17.

16. In this temple we find again the image of cheetahsand leopards distinctly recognisable, both in thesouth half of middle columns and in upper columns.

17. Skins of the south panther are also men-tioned in Urk. IV, 329, 10.

18. Strk, L.: s.v. Leopard, L III, 1979, 1006-1007. ist die weitest verbreitete Katze Afrikas.Noch in diesem Jh. soll er im sdl. Sinai sowie

westl. von Alexandrien zwischen der Mareotis undder Oase Siwa vorgekommen sein. Danach wird erin altg. Zeit auch in der brigen Landesteileneinigermaen verbreitet gewesen sein.

19. Houlihan, P.F.: op. cit. 69, 200 and chapters 4 and 8.There is a curious scene which can be seen in thetomb of Ptahotep II in Sakkara (V Dynasty). In therelief we see a leopard and a lion locked in cages, tobe transported.

lower register wears a feline skin of uniformdots and striped tail with a crest at its end. Thenails are not retractile, so it could probably bea cheetah (figure 4). In the skin worn by thepriest in the upper register, we observe that,although it keeps the order and shape of thedots, its paws have retractile nails, its tail hasno stripes, and its end does not seem to haveany crest, one can easily be mistaken; yet itseems to represent a leopard. In the samepapyrus we find sem priests with thecharacteristic leopard skins; there is nopossible confusion if we observe the layout ofthe rosette shaped spots (vignettes 5, 6 and 15).

The cheetah can also be clearly identified inthe tomb of Ramesses IX: both on the left andright of the door, at the antechambersentrance, are two representations of iwnmutefpriests, making libations, clad in a skin whosespots are distinct black dots, having norosettes. The paws show non-retractile nails.

The same can be seen in the tomb ofAmenemhat (TT44): on the north wall of thefirst chamber is a priest dressed in a skin withdark dots, even distributed. He is wearing theskin over a typically Ramesside white dress,and his head is shaven. Another similar case isthat of Amenemopet, a priest of Amun fromXXII dynasty. On the inner part of his coffin(British M. EA 22941) he seems to wear a skinthat could be a cheetahs. Although theanimals head is not clearly seen, the spots aredark, dot-shaped, the paw nails are notretractile and the tail is very long, with a lightcrest at its end.

The cheetah skin was also used to covercertain shields. Two examples of this use werefound in the tomb of Tutankhamun. In thiscase, it is possible that the use of this skin gavethe king a special power against his enemies.

LLeeooppaarrddss::The stela of Nefertiabet (Louvre M. E22745,

figure 3) is a clear example of a well-designedleopard, with asymmetrical irregular rosettes;on which the deceased wears the skin as adress. Some Dynasty IV sarcophagi have aleopard skin carved on their lids.20 The sameoccurs on two representations of a sem priestin the tomb of Sennefer (TT96, S and SEwalls). In both scenes not only are the leopardskin rosettes perfectly drawn, but also the pawnails are retractile, hence not shown in thepaintings (figure 5).

There are also some other examples wherethe leopard skin is used as garments for priestsof specific deities. Indeed, the goddess Seshatappears with this skin covering her own dress,as we can see in a beautiful polychrome relief

23

Figure 3: Fragment of the stela of Nefertiabet,(Louvre Museum)

20. Donadoni Roveri, A.M.: I Sarcofaghi egizi delleorigini alla fine dellAntico Regno. Roma 1969,122-123. The author does not seem to make anydifference between leopard as specific animal andpanther as a group. Therefore, in the text she

speaks about the representation of the skinidentifying it as pelle di felino, pantera oleopardo (Cairo M. CGC 6170 and 6007). Thefirst one is anonymous and the second one belongsto someone named Iry-n-wr.

of her, that is located inside the temple ofRamesses II in Derr.21 And during the LatePeriod is the god Bes who frequently wears aleopard skin.22

Similarly the figure of these felines is usedin garments when persons ornate themselvesjust with the animals head. It frequentlyappears this way on belts of New Kingdomkings.23

Some small golden feline heads24 found inthe tomb of the famous Tutankhamun werepart of his priest attire and are highly revealingsince they clearly distinguish the taxonomicdifferences between cheetah and leopard.What is today displayed in the Egyptian

Museum of Cairo as number 914 perfectlyshows the teardrop of the cheetah, whilenumber 746 only shows the stripes identifyingthe leopard. This animal is equally depicted inthe same tomb, in some golden figures ofwood,25 which undoubtedly represents aleopard.

Another very ancient object in Egyptianiconography is the Imiut fetish. It consists of askin hanging from a vertical stick; the base ofthis stick is held in an open container. Themention of this object arouses problems, sincespecialists do not seem to agree on defining ifthe skin hanging from the stick is that of aleopard or of a bull; in any case, it is usuallyassociated with the god Nemty and much laterto Anubis. Nevertheless, it seems that at theend of XVIII Dynasty, these representationswere more similar to that of a feline and

24

Figure 4: Priest wearing a cheetah skin from thepapyrus of Ani (British Museum).

Figure 5: Priest wearing a leopard skin from thetomb of Sennefer (Thebes West).

21. Bonnet, H.: Reallexikon der gyptischen Religions-geschichte. Berlin 1971. He mentions this skinsimply as panthers.

22. See, as an example, the small faience jar1.989.281.94 of the Metropolitan M. of New York.

23. Strk, L. op. cit, 1006-1007. He states therelationship between heads and leopard skins withfertility.

24. These heads were found inside box 21, according tonumbers given by Carter. The priest skins were inthe same box.

25. Cairo M. 289a, 289b. Both were found in theTreasure Chamber. If we identify them as leopards,we will have to do the same in the tomb ofAmenhotep II and with the one painted over thewalls of Sethy II burial, since they are very similar.

indeed, in the papyrus of the lady Sherit-webeshet from XXI Dynasty (Cairo M. 133),the complete skin of a feline (including itshead) is clearly recognisable.

Finally we will only mention the existenceof leopard skins in the seats of folding chairs,used exclusively by kings and high rank menas a sign of power; perhaps the pharaoh couldoffer these chairs to important dignitaries inspecific occasions. These seats were neverused by gods or by women.26

FFiigguurreess pprreesseennttiinngg ccoonnffuussiioonnIt is significant that the Egyptians were able

to perfectly distinguish between cheetahs andleopards in reliefs and paintings where theanimal is represented alive, while there existsa certain confusion when their skins arerepresented as priest attire. In some occasionswe can accurately identify a cheetah skin, insome others a leopards, and finally there is athird group with the characteristics of both.The fact becomes even more complicatedwhen we observe, for instance, a leopard withall its characteristics, but referred erroneouslyas a cheetah, as it occurs in the tomb of BaqtIII in Beni Hassan.27

There are many misleading representations.Among them, we can mention the tomb ofTutankhamun, the chapel of Maia (now in theEgyptian Museum of Turin) and the tomb ofSennedjem (TT1). In these cases, the spots areclearly (leopard) rosettes and the heads areapparently bigger. The lines under the eyes donot show a teardrop shape, but rather they arelines, which give an aspect and the perspectiveof a feline. Apart from these details, almost allthe characteristics of the cheetah are kept sincein all examples, their non-retractile nails canbe identified.

In the papyrus of Hunnefer (vignette 5) wecan perfectly see that the animal representedhas almost all the features of a cheetah. Skinspots are even, dark, dot-shaped (not rosettes,like leopards) and symmetrically laid out; thehead of the feline is of a small size; the linesunder its eyes are teardrop shaped; there is adark stripe along its back; its tail ends with apattern of rings over an almost whitebackground, and has a kind of crest at its end.Moreover, the white colour of the thorax andabdomen, as well as the retractile paw nails,can clearly be distinguished; these are bothcharacteristics of the leopard.

The difficulty is even bigger when twodifferent species of the Pantherinae familythe lion and the leopard are involved: as anexample, we could mention the representationof Yesterday and Tomorrow (sf dwAw) in thepapyrus of Ani (vignette 7).28

TTEERRMMIINNOOLLOOGGYY AANNDD TTEEXXTTSS

There is some difficulty in identifying theleopard in hieroglyphic texts. Looking upentries in dictionaries, we find that the wordused to name panthers/leopards/cheetahs issomehow confusing; yet it seems that thisconfusion did not originate with the ancientEgyptians, but with modern translations(chart 3).

The group panthera in its entirety is oftenmentioned as the only specific animal, and, asits only identification, it is located in onegeographical area. Therefore we could statethat Aby and bA have been translated as panther(erroneously relating it to the specific animal,and not to a group). It is fairly probable thatEgyptians used these words to commonlyname this group of carnivorous mammals as

25

26. Sweeney, D.: The man on the folding chair: AnEgyptian relief from Beth Shean, IEJ 48, 51.

27. Osborn, D.J. and Osbornov, J.: op. cit., pl. 7-222.

28. About these complex shapes see: Westendorf, W.:s.v. Panther, L IV 1982, 664-665.

we do nowadays when we speak ofpanthers.

We also find that Aby, knmwt, bA, Aby Sma andbA Sma have been translated as leopard;34 wemust emphasize that the last word (bA Sma)places the animal in a geographic area whichrefers to it as the southern panther (weunderstand that once again the confusionbetween family and species is evident); thismeans that the panther is included within theFelidae family, but is placed in a concrete areaas a method of identification. For the cheetahwe have the words Aby mH35 and bA mH36

which, following the same system, meansnorthern panther. We conclude that theEgyptians added to the word that couldidentify panther (or perhaps spotted skinfeline) another meaning, which sets itsubication and therefore clearly defines theanimal to which they refer.

It is quite frequent to find texts where theking is identified with a leopard to acquire anddemonstrate some of its ferocious strength.Thus, in the XVIII Dynasty we find that theking is referred to as the one who appears asa leopard by only using the ideogram of this

26

ppaanntthheerr lleeooppaarrdd cchheeeettaahh

GGaarrddiinneerr29 Aby Aby, bA --

FFaauullkknneerr30 Aby bA --

WWbb31 -- Aby, Aby mHAby Sma bA mHbA Sma

AAnnnnee LLeexxiiccooggrraapphhiiqquuee32 Aby, bA bA, mH Aby mH

LL33 -- Aby nT(y)tAby Sma, bA AbybA Sma Aby mHknmwt mAfdt (?)

Chart 3

29. Gardiner, A.: Egyptian Grammar. Oxford 1988, 460,462, 620, 617.

30. Faulkner, R.O.: A Concise Dictionary of MiddleEgyptian. Oxford, 1988, 2, 77.

31. Erman, E. y Grapow, H.: Wrterbuch der gyptischenSprache. Vol I. (7, 11-14), 415. Leipzig-Berln,1982.

32. Meeks, D.: Anne Lexicographique. Tome I, (1977),Paris, 1980, entries 77.9927, 77.1160. pg. 3, 109.

33. L II, 1976, 530, III, 1979, 1006, IV, 1982, 664-665.34 Strk, Leopard, 1006.35. Mr. Agustin Barahona pointed to me that the root mH

has many other meanings that could also be related

to this subject: fill (with), or be stuffed (with)could refer to the animalss skin; be complete ortotally be could mean, in this case, that it is not anhybrid; (to hold) captive, held, grasped, supportedcould make reference to the far origin of the cheetahand its domestication. This simply opens new studyfields, which obviously require a revision of originaltexts, since it only refers to the biconsonantic root,and not to the derived forms. A conscious revision ofdeter-minatives accompanying this root would alsobe needed. See: Faulkner: op. cit. 113.

36. Strk, L. op. cit. 1006.

animal.37 This statement has been interpretedas a declaration of war. It seems that for theking, the leopard has a more important rolethan the cheetah. The leopard roars, while acheetah cannot. We cannot affirm that thelatter was not used for the same liturgicalpurposes, since the features of its skin aresimilar to leopards.

Egyptian literature also informs us of theimportance of those skins and, for instance, inthe Tale of the Eloquent Peasant, the peasantfrom Wadi Natrun loads on his donkeysseveral commodities to exchange in themarketplace; among there are panther skins(bAw);38 there is no doubt that in this case theseare leopards.

The Egyptians used the same word toindicate some felines with spots over theirskin. This does not mean that they did notknow the differences between one and theother; even though it has been clearlydemonstrated that they were meticulous intheir representations; in this case what reallymatters is the spotted skin and not really thespecies itself.

TTHHEE LLEEOOPPAARRDD AANNDD TTHHEE SSTTAARRSS

The origin of the use of spotted skin,whether of a leopard or a cheetah, is veryancient. Perhaps it dates to prehistoric times

and was related to cults of the African-Niloticsubstrate. Feline spotted skins (cheetah orleopard) always appear in relation to magical-priestly uses and I do not know of anyrepresentation where they perform anotherfunction, since their use has always beenreferred to as a dress or cloak.

Although spotted skin has been put inrelation with the goddess Mafdet, the animal,which represents her, has not been accuratelydetermined yet and writers have differentinterpretations for its identification. Someidentify it with a feline (perhaps the leopard,39the lynx, the wild cat or the lion), others believethat it represents a genet and finally, a thirdgroup argues it could have been a mongoose.40

Yet according to an hypothesis ofWestendorf,41 the sky could have beenrepresented, in some local theology, as a bigfemale cat (possibly a female leopard) who atethe sun when the night arrived and gave birthto it in the morning (as did the goddess Nut).Its womb was full of stars (the spots of its skin)and its legs were the pillars supporting the sky.

The relation between the leopard and thestars could have appeared from the identifica-tion of the spots of the skin of this animal andthe starts that fill the firmament. The priests ofHeliopolis used to wear the skin of this feline,adorned with stars. There are many occasionswhere they can clearly be observed: forinstance, in a statue belonging to Aanen (Turin

27

37. Urk IV, 139, lines 9-10. His Majesty appeared as apanther after having heard it (Translation A.Hernndez). The text belongs to the reign ofThutmose II and speaks of a rebellion in Nubia. Itrefers to the moment in which the king realises whathappened. The text reflects this phrase. It may wishto emphasise the fact that the king appears beforethe Nubians without their being aware of his arrival,but absolutely furious.

38. Wente, E.F y Simpson W.K.: The Literature ofAncient Egypt. Yale University 1972, 32.Parkinson, R.B.: The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant.Oxford 1991, 3 of texts.

39. Franco, I.: Pequeo Diccionario de MitologaEgipcia. Barcelona, 1994, 82. Bonnet, H.: Op. Cit.,1971, 434. s.v. Mafdet: Man hat es als Wildkatze,Panther katze, Luchs oder auch Gepard ange-sprochen. On page 581 we find an identification ofMafdet with the word designing a cat form: See

also, J. Malek.: The Cat in Ancient Egypt. London,1993, 77 and Osborn, D.J, with Osbornov, J.: Themammals of Ancient Egypt. Warminster 1998, 117on this subject.

40. Shaw, I. y Nicholson, P.: British MuseumDictionary of Ancient Egypt. London, 1995, 139.

41. Westendorf, W.: s.v. Himmelsvorstellungen, LII, 1215-1218; s.v. Panther, L IV, 1982, 664-665, y Altaegyptische Darstellungen des Sonnen-laufes auf der abschuessigen Himmelsbahn, Berlin,1966. From another point of view and from theetymological study of the name of Mafdet.:Kammerzell, F.: Panther, Lwe und Sprach-entwicklung im Neolothikum. Bemerkungen zurEtymologie des gyptischen Theonyms Mafd.t zurBildung einiger Raubriernamen im gyptischenund zu einzelnen Grosskatzbezeichnungen indo-europischer Sprachen. Gttingen, Seminar frgyptologie und Koptologie, 1994. See note 20.

M. 1377) and also in a sculpture representingthe god Amun and king Tutankhamun, who isclad in this starry skin (Louvre M. E 11609). Inthe Theban necropolis, and more precisely inthe tomb of Userhat (TT51), we can observe afigure composed of three priests dressed inskins. In this case, the feline spots are indeedpainted, but these spots had rosettes drawnover them including five-point stars and thename of king Sethy I written in a cartouche,near one of his shoulders.

Finally we will mention the skins, genuineor fake, found in the tomb of Tutankhamun(numbered by Carter 21t, 44q and 46ff). Thefirst one was made of linen with a patternsimulating the spots of the animal skin; thesecond one also had gold five-point stars andsilver paws. The third (authentic) was inlaid ingold.

If we go further in these symbols, there alsoexisted a late tradition in which Seth (murdererof Osiris) after killing his brother, changed intoa big panther(?). When he was located, hewas skinned off as a punishment and his skin,marked by fire. This was how the leopard /cheetah spots were created. The funerarypriests would have been ordered to use thisskin to commemorate the defeating of evilforces, personified by Seth.42 The text says:

But Seth avoided them [Horus and Thot]and turned into a panther in this nome.Anubis, nevertheless, got hold of him andThot read again his magical spells againsthim. Thus he [Seth] fell on the ground beforethem. Anubis tied up his body in the east ofthe big hall. When the smell of his greasereached the heaven, it spread over thismagnificent place and Re and the rest of thegods took this smell as a pleasant one. ThenAnubis cut the skin of Seth, stripped it off andput it over himself [Anubis]. After that, heentered in the wabet of Osiris to makelibations to his father Seth is here.

And the wab priest of this god has beennamed setem for this reason. And he [Anubis]

marked on him [Seth] his seal on fire, whichlasts until the present day.

Because of this, there is a panther skin overthe setem priest until the present day.43

We observe that, as it is traditional in Egypt,the leopard and the cheetah would appearunder two distinct shapes presenting someantagonisms, good and evil (the heaven and themurderer of Osiris). But in this last case thereis a double meaning, since the priest is coveredwith a skin that gives him the power of goodover evil.

CCOONNCCLLUUSSIIOONN

Considering the above interpretation, wemight think over the biological attributiongiven in many cases to spotted skinsrepresented in reliefs, paintings and statuary. Itis definitely incorrect to use the term panthersince, as we have noticed, the cheetah is not apanther and sometimes this skin shows enoughdetails to place it in the family and speciesAcinonyx jabatus. It can also be stated thatsome skins are really leopards, others arecheetahs and that a third group has thecharacteristics of both animals.

Nevertheless, some new questions arise. Didthe Egyptians, as conscious as they were intheir representations, really know or wish todistinguish between the leopard and thecheetah when representing the skin of the deadanimal? It certainly seems strange that thesepeople, able to represent live animals in muchdetail, hence allowing us to classify them,expressed an absolute lack of ability in othercases. It seems that both cheetahs and leopardswere apothropaic animals; therefore it ispossible that they indistinctly used featuresfrom both, when representingthe attire of thepriest, simply because they were spotted skins,which was what really mattered most.

28

42. Vandier, J.: Le Papyrus Jumilhac. Paris, 1962, partII, lines 6-15.

43. Translation Antonio Hernndez.

Trabajos de EgiptologaPapers on Ancient Egypt

Nmero 1

2002

Consejo Editorial

Miguel . Molinero Polo Universidad de La Laguna

Antonio Prez LargachaCentro Superior de Estudios de Asiriologa y Egiptologa, Madrid

Jos-R. Prez-AccinoBirkbeck, Universidad de Londres

Covadonga Sevilla CuevaUniversidad Autnoma de Madrid

Comit Cientfico

Josep Cervell AutuoriAula Aegyptiaca, Barcelona

M. Jos Lpez GrandeUniversidad Autnoma de Madrid

Josep Padr i ParcerisaUniversitat Central de Barcelona

M. Carmen Prez DieMuseo Arqueolgico Nacional, Madrid

Esther Pons MelladoMuseo Arqueolgico Nacional, Madrid

Jos M. Serrano DelgadoUniversidad de Sevilla

Contenido

EEddiittoorriiaall 7

AAgguussttnn BBaarraahhoonnaaTwo lexicological notes related to the concept of music in Ancient Egypt 11

EElliissaa CCaasstteellPanthers, leopards and cheetahs. Notes on identification 17

PPaauull HHaaaanneennEarly state formation in anthropological perspective 29

BBiillll MMaannlleeyySome images of the king and queen togetherin stele of Ahmose I 35

CCaannddeellaarriiaa MMaarrttnn ddeell RRoo EEdduuaarrddoo AAllmmeennaarraaSome materials in Tenerife from Petries and Gargstangs excavations 45

JJeennnniiffeerr MMccKKeeoowwnnThe symbolism of the djed-pillar in "The Tale of King Khufu and the Magicians" 55

MMiigguueell .. MMoolliinneerroo PPoollooLes majanos canariens:des structures agricoles en pierre sche devenues des pyramides 69

JJooss--RR.. PPrreezz--AAcccciinnooAllalba vincer: a violent metaphor at dawn 91

FFrraanncceessccoo TTiirraaddrriittttiiLecture et sens des scnes dans les stles royales de la XXe Dynastie 103

TdE 1-2 CastelBinder1TdE 1 3TdE 1 2TdE 1 5