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Kuk (mythology)

Kuk (mythology)

Kek is the deification of the concept of primordial darkness (kkw sm3w[1]) in the Ancient Egyptian Ogdoad cosmogony of Hermopolis.

The Ogdoad consisted of four pairs of deities, four male gods paired with their female counterparts. Kek's female counterpart was Kauket.[2][3][4] Kek and Kauket in some aspects also represent night and day, and were called "raiser up of the light" and the "raiser up of the night", respectively.[5]

The name is written as kk or kkwy with a variant of the sky hieroglyph in ligature with the staff (N2) associated with the word for "darkness" kkw.[6]

Kekui in hieroglyphs
V31
V31
N2

Kek
V31
V31
yG43N2A40

Kekui
V31
V31
yG43N2X1
H8
B1

Kekuit
Kuk and Kuket.jpg
Keket
V31
V31
N2B1
and Kekui
V31
V31
Z7
y
N2A40
depicted at Deir el-Medina.

History

In the oldest representations, Kekui is given the head of a serpent, and Kekuit the head of either a frog or a cat. In one scene, they are identified with Ka and Kait; in this scene, Ka-Kekui has the head of a frog surmounted by a beetle and Kait-Kekuit has the head of a serpent surmounted by a disk.[7]

In the Greco-Roman period, Kek's male form was depicted as a frog-headed man, and the female form as a serpent-headed woman, as were all four dualistic concepts in the Ogdoad.

In relation to the 2016 United States presidential election, individuals associated with online message boards, such as 4chan, noted a similarity between Kek and the character Pepe the Frog. This, combined with the frequent use of the term "kek" as a stand-in for the internet slang "lol" (owing to the encryption of the word "lol" to the cipher "kek" in World of Warcraft when said by a Horde player and read by an Alliance player to simulate foreign language between the two factions), which was often paired with images of Pepe, resulted in a resurgence of interest in the ancient deity.[8]

See also

  • Heqet

  • Erebus

References

[1]
Citation Linkopenlibrary.orgE. Hornung, "Licht und Finsternis in der Vorstellungswelt Altägyptens", Studium Generale 8 (1965), 72-83.
Sep 25, 2019, 1:30 AM
[2]
Citation Linkarchive.orgBudge, E. A. Wallis (1904). The Gods of the Egyptians: Or, Studies in Egyptian Mythology. 1. Methuen & Co. pp. 241, 283–286.
Sep 25, 2019, 1:30 AM
[3]
Citation Linkarchive.orgBudge, E. A. Wallis (1904). The Gods of the Egyptians: Or, Studies in Egyptian Mythology. 2. Methuen & Co. pp. 2, 378.
Sep 25, 2019, 1:30 AM
[4]
Citation Linkarchive.orgSteindorff, Georg (1905). The Religion of the Ancient Egyptians. G. P. Putnam's Sons. p. 50.
Sep 25, 2019, 1:30 AM
[5]
Citation Linkopenlibrary.orgBudge, E. A. Wallis (1904). The Gods of the Egyptians: Or, Studies in Egyptian Mythology. 1. Methuen & Co. pp. 241, 283–286.Budge, E. A. Wallis (1904). The Gods of the Egyptians: Or, Studies in Egyptian Mythology. 2. Methuen & Co. pp. 2, 378., p. 285f, vol. 1.
Sep 25, 2019, 1:30 AM
[6]
Citation Linkopenlibrary.org, p. 283, vol. 1.
Sep 25, 2019, 1:30 AM
[7]
Citation Linkopenlibrary.org, p. 286, vol. 1.
Sep 25, 2019, 1:30 AM
[8]
Citation Linkwww.splcenter.orgDavid, Neiwert (May 8, 2017). "What the Kek: Explaining the Alt-Right 'Deity' Behind Their 'Meme Magic'". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
Sep 25, 2019, 1:30 AM
[9]
Citation Linkwww.thekeep.org"Kek and Kauket, Deities of Darkness, Obscurity and Night"
Sep 25, 2019, 1:30 AM
[10]
Citation Linkarchive.orgThe Religion of the Ancient Egyptians
Sep 25, 2019, 1:30 AM
[11]
Citation Linkarchive.orgThe Gods of the Egyptians: Or, Studies in Egyptian Mythology
Sep 25, 2019, 1:30 AM
[12]
Citation Linkarchive.orgThe Gods of the Egyptians: Or, Studies in Egyptian Mythology
Sep 25, 2019, 1:30 AM
[13]
Citation Linkwww.splcenter.org"What the Kek: Explaining the Alt-Right 'Deity' Behind Their 'Meme Magic'"
Sep 25, 2019, 1:30 AM
[14]
Citation Linkwww.thekeep.org"Kek and Kauket, Deities of Darkness, Obscurity and Night"
Sep 25, 2019, 1:30 AM
[15]
Citation Linken.wikipedia.orgThe original version of this page is from Wikipedia, you can edit the page right here on Everipedia.Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Additional terms may apply.See everipedia.org/everipedia-termsfor further details.Images/media credited individually (click the icon for details).
Sep 25, 2019, 1:30 AM