Everyone knows about the incredible relics found in King Tutankhamun’s Tomb. The stunning golden objects are beyond compare. But today, there is news about some seemingly less relevant simple objects that have long been overlooked. Five feet from the head of Tut’s coffin, there were strangely shaped staffs (or staves) on a ritual reed mat. In all, there were over 130 similar stick-like objects in the tomb. However, these four are emblems called Pedj-aha, or bent staffs. At close to four feet long, they are a focus of the new study.
According to LiveScience, the study suggests that Tutankhamun “may have invented” a ritual called the “Awakening Of Osiris” decades earlier than previously known. In this case, the ritual involved using the four staffs, as well as four small, plain, 3 x 1.5-inch rectangular, unbaked vessels made of Nile River clay. Perhaps, the researcher suggests, they once held the sacred waters of the life-giving river. (Until now, they were thought to serve merely as bases for the four staffs.)
Four Ped-aha Bent Staffs in Tutankhamun’s Tomb
In the published research by Yale University’s Nicholas Brown, evidence of funerary rites is revisited after 103 years. Below, you can see how Brown drew the objects near Tut’s sarcophagus. From their first appearance, they might appear like debris. And yet, these objects may have revealed spiritual secrets upon closer inspection.
Related to Hieroglyphics?
Below, you can see what another Pdj-aha bent staff looks like, probably from the Tomb of Ukhhotep or Hapiankhtifi. At first glance, it’s like a primitive rifle toy. But the object’s shape was possibly meant to represent the hieroglyph “res,” according to IFLScience.
As you can see, this object has a precise number of straps connecting a smaller branch to the larger one. Possibly, the meaning is comparable to the Djed pillar, with each line having a deeper spiritual meaning. And Osiris was symbolically resurrected from a Tree of Life. But the similarity is just an intuitive guess. Whatever the meaning, we can be sure this construction was carefully considered. As with other objects in Tut’s tomb, they were gilded in this case.
As well as construction, the number of four was significant, and may relate to the four Cardinal Directions. If so, the ritual’s meaning permeated the four corners of the cosmos. For example, Tut’s golden shrine is surrounded by four golden goddesses: Isis (north), Nephthys (south), Neith (east), and Selket (west). Each Cardinal Direction can also have an associated Son of Horus which may be in bird form.
According to the Rosetta Stone, the hieroglyph “res” relates to Kings or rulers, and a related hieroglyph for “pdj-aha” translates to “priest” and also has the meaning “Horus the fighter.”
- “pdj-aha” (ꜤḥꜢ): This may be related to “priest” in Ancient Egyptian.
- res: This translates to “king” or “ruler” in Ancient Egyptian. Or relates to a Greek transliteration of pharaohs’ names that often end with -res, which is related to the god Ra or Rê.
In addition, a related hieroglyph, ꜥḥꜣ-nḫt, translates to “Aha is strong.” What does Aha mean?
As it turns out, the dwarf Egyptian deity Bes was also known as Aha. Although small in stature, he and his female counterpart were fiercely protective deities. At the same time, Bes was a light-hearted “champion of everything good and the enemy of everything evil,” according to Ancient Egypt Online.
Considering all this, it’s interesting to make a connection between the spiritual aspirants or priests and priestesses. Not only did they have the fighting spirit of Horus, but also the protective spirit of Bes or Beset, some consider a manifestation of Ra on Earth.
The Staffs Are Symbolic
Although the strangely shaped staffs or staves may appear to have some mysterious practical use, they were purely ritual objects. The ritual probably involved holding the object and pointing it at the body, the same as when the ritual involves statues. Interestingly, in some cases, artists depicted the rituals being performed on the living, too.
According to Brown, the staffs “may indicate a connection to an ancient Egyptian text called the ‘Books of the Underworld and Sky,’ in which the god Horus holds up a ‘res’ symbol in order to revive the mummy of a dead pharaoh, who then takes the form of the deity Osiris,” the article states.
Attempting to find an example, I discovered this image as referenced in Egyptologist Joshua Aaron Roberson’s work.
As for the small clay troughs, Brown suggested they held ritual libations of sacred Nile water placed on a reed mat. However, Egyptologist Jacobus van Dijk has a different view of the ritual.
“During this ritual, four guides (each bearing a torch) stand by the sarcophagus to accompany the pharaoh through the treacherous journey to the afterlife until he reached Osiris and the Hall of Final Judgement. They would then extinguish those torches in clay trays filled with milk from a white cow—possibly symbolizing the goddess Hathor, who is often seen in the form of a cow,” wrote Popular Mechanics.
In this view, the ritual relates to the so-called Book of the Dead, which is also called the Book of Going Forth by Day. (Think: Enlightenment!)
Staffs As Symbols of Constellations
Similar rituals with objects called Adzes are called the “Opening of the Mouth” ceremony. Inside Tut’s tomb, there is an image of his related successor, Ay, performing this ritual at his funeral while holding an Adze. Here, Tut’s appearance is like Osiris.
The Adze (a tool used for shaping wood) has a strange bent shape associated with the Big Dipper or Ursa Major and the foreleg of an ox (or bull), calling it “msḫtjw.” (Osiris and the goddesses are portrayed symbolically as bulls and cows called the Apis. In esoteric circles, they are also symbols of the Sefech Ba Ra or souls of Ra. (Also called Chakras in related beliefs.)
Symbolic constellations and stars:
- Isis-Sopdet is the star Sirius
- Sah-Osiris is around Orion
- The Bull’s Foreleg is the seven bright stars of Ursa Major
Esoteric Meanings of the Resurrection of Osiris
In the esoteric view, the ritual involved would not be about a literal resurrection of a corpse. Instead, it would be to honor the spiritual resurrection when an enlightened person reaches higher consciousness. Thus, it’s more akin to strongly related Buddhist and Hindu beliefs as well as early Gnostic Christian beliefs.
In this view, each person’s higher enlightened self is called Horus (or Heru) on Earth and unites with the higher consciousness/soul Osiris (or Asar), having lived an enlightened and righteous life. And, having intuitively found their true nature through Isis (or Aset). If this is accomplished, individuals of any walk of life or gender may transcend a physical body. Along the road to enlightenment, they discover their consciousness is one with the highest source. (Very much like Buddhism, right?)
I enjoy learning about the profound esoteric spiritual beliefs and history and would recommend the readily available and fascinating books by Muata Ashby.
Political Intrigue in Tutankhamun’s Life
While the spiritual aspects of this ritual are fascinating, the political intrigue involved in Tutankhamun’s premature death is also compelling. It’s too complex to go into much detail here, but worth investigating on your own.
For instance, Tut’s successor, Ay, has been accused of possible assassination. (Scientists suggest he died due to an infected leg injury instead of an apparent blow to his head that showed signs of healing.) If there was an assassination, it may have been related to Tut’s relationship with his father, Pharaoh Akhenaten, who led disruptive religious reforms.
Of note, many articles about the research into these curious staffs go into the beliefs of Akhenaten. In the mainstream view, the story is about a “Herectic King” and monotheism, but if you delve deeper, this is not what you find. In short, his form of religion called Atenism wasn’t truly monotheism but more akin to later related Eastern beliefs that are now gaining ground even with scientists, such as Panpsychism, Pantheism, and Panentheism.
Looking further, we find many connections going back to the earliest spiritual beliefs. As the stories are told over years, names, and meanings change. Even within Egypt, the stories varied depending on the city. Yet, in reality, these ancient stories share in common an underlying faith in a higher purpose and connecting to a loving source. To the latter end, many eastern traditions point to a spiritual resurrection which requires reconnecting and healing your true higher self.
