The Opened Way - The Names of Dog

Yinepu

Also known as Anpu, Inpu, or (probably the most familiar) Anubis, which is the Greek form of His Name.

Yinepu is the Name of Netjer who oversees the process of embalming the dead, and guides their soul to the Hall of Double Truth. He is also the one who holds the balancing scales that weigh the Ib (heart) of the deceased against the feather of Ma'at (truth, right, order). Should the deceased not pass judgement (their Ib being heavier than the feather), their soul (apparently both ka, the individual personality, and ba, the eternal portion of the soul that can be reborn) is devoured by Am-mit. They are, in essence, Uncreated - the worst punishment possible in the view of the Kemetics.

He is most often represented as a jackal or a jackal-headed man. While the only species of jackal found in Egypt is the golden jackal, the fur of Yinepu is always black. Both His anthropomorphic form and His coloration are related to His duties as guardian of the dead - jackals are scavengers, and may have been seen in the vicinity of cemetaries. (More information on the canids themselves can be found here.)

Yinepu is an ancient deity - He was known in the Old Kingdom, and during that time, He occupied the position of lord of the dead that was later assumed by Wesir (Osiris). It was He who embalmed Wesir after Wesir's death at the hands of His brother Set, from which may come the suggestion that He was also the inventor of mummification. The priests who oversaw the ceremonial aspects of embalmings wore masks of Yinepu.

One myth regarding Yinepu's birth informs us that His mother was Nebt-Het (Nephthys), who was married to her brother Set. Set, apparently, was impotent and unable to give Her a child (which is interesting, when one considers that Set is also lord of the barren red desert), and she fled to Wesir; committing adultery with Her sister's husband (who was also Their brother). The result was Yinepu, whom She abandoned for Aset (Isis) and Wesir to raise as Their own.

In the Pyramid Texts, Yinepu is said to have a daughter - Kebehet, the Netjeru of 'freshness'. Her duties including purifying the dead monarch, and quenching his thirst.

Wepwawet

Also known as Apuat or Upuaut.

Wepwawet is another jackal-headed deity, though his fur may be grey or brown rather than black. In addition to Their similar appearance, Wepwawet and Yinepu also share certain functions; possibly a result of the gradual absorption of both Wepwawet and His duties by the latter.

Wepwawet is the Opener of the Ways - He is known to have performed this task both for the living and the dead, as there are depictions of His standard-bearers leading military processions. He can be prayed to in times of need when a solution would be aided by an "Opening of the Ways" - opening the way to finding a new job, opening the way to finding a new home, opening the way to finding assistance, and so on.

Yinepu-Wepwawet

Yinepu-Wepwawet is interesting in that He is, in fact, only one Name. Unlike a syncretized Name, in which two Netjeru come together to manifest in a new form, Yinepu-Wepwawet is aspected, in which a god has various functions and each function has its own Name. In this instance, 'Wepwawet' is a title rather than a name. Essentially, 'Yinepu-Wepwawet' is 'Yinepu, in His role as the Opener of the Ways'.