The Messed Up Origins of TAWERET: Protector of Mothers and Children | Egyptian Gods Explained

[@JonSolo]

Thanks for watching, mere mortals! Make sure you comment your thoughts on Taweret down below and LIKE + SUBSCRIBE for more deep dives into mythology and folklore EVERY week!

[@kevanthompson4848]

Wedding dresses are white to symbolize purity, so pretty much "the white one" would be "the one of purity"

[@ArtingFromScratch]

A partial statue of Tawaret was also in the show "Lost"

[@joelwidgins6329]

That was amazing Jon thanks for the lesson.. By any chance, Jon, is the Mad God "Acee Deci" from Jo Jo's Bizarre adventure based on the same creature from Jeepers Creepers? I tried to piece some of the behaviors together and was hoping you had the scoop on the Aztec mad god's origin

[@saphirawinters7028]

Yo Jon! If you ever want to do a collab on future videos involving Egyptian mythology. Let me know. I'm really passionate when it comes to Egyptian Mythology. In fact, did you know that the name "Isis" can also mean "Throne" in Egyptian? I know many more facts in case you wanted to do a future collaboration.

[@CatherineJessicaNatof]

I never heard of Tamaret. What was the demonetized video's thumbnail you featured in the Thoth video? I think you do a good job. I believe “white” simply means “pure”. That means the fresh start of being a baby.

[@greyladybast]

Given she's a birth goddess, could "the white one" refer to vernix caseosa? From Wikipedia: "Vernix caseosa, also known as vernix or birthing custard, is the waxy white substance found coating the skin of newborn human babies." Also someone else mentioned the pallor of death, which get white involved coming and going. So yeah, it actually makes sense.

[@zerotodona1495]

I thought that was the embryo sack on the baby

[@cutebutsadisticable]

I was thinking the different aspects of women that give birth she watches over. The crone that gives birth and watches over children.

[@BP-ef8mr]

I thought about this too! I didn't know what it was called, but I've seen a few births and they've all had that.

[@mim8377]

I thought it could be about breastmilk

[@harrietlyall1991]

Yes, that sounds likely. Also maybe the bright light of the rising sun?

[@Empress_of_Death]

Taweret really said, "I brought you into this world, I can take you out."

[@LdyVaJedi]

Please do not forget the Goddess Bastet is the Goddess of pregnancy, childbirth and protection. Bast's Greek and Roman equivalents are Artemis and Diana

[@joshtingle4758]

There are overlaps between both figures. The gods aren't mutually exclusive to their roles

[@etcetera1995]

'Equivalent' my foot, you might as well say all war gods are the same guy because every society makes war.

[@LdyVaJedi]

@@etcetera1995 In books I have read and have said that about other Deities from other countries that share borders.

[@titangirl161]

While a lot of Egyptian and Greek god(dess)s overlapped, I find it a little odd Bastet is the equivalent of Artemis, as Artemis was a godess of the moon and a virgin huntress who lived in the woods with her all female virgin huntress gang

[@RyugaruSenbi]

@@titangirl161 that's because the whole "equivalent" stuff is speculation at best. The romans are the one big (european) exception to this because they straight up took the greek gods and gave them new names and adapted them for a roman audience. The whole "equivalent" stuff comes from greeks and romans trying to match egyptian gods to their own. Like "aha they worship the sun god, so it must be Apollo under a different name" kind of shit.

[@ChynaSierra]

I love that you're diving into Egyptian religion

[@Lion09887]

Hopefully he'll cover ra or obelisk

[@char-leewiebe7199]

​@gamerhead473 obelisk seems phallic to me but what do I k know 😂

[@DarthCrax]

Me too. Love the Greek mythos, it's my favorite of them, but partially because it's the one I knew the most about before he covered it. I wanna know more about those of any culture.

[@hackman669]

So does the old religion still exist?

[@Darthalas]

I agree, I love that he talks about such a wide variety of tales from around the world and he doesn't stick to one group or one people or continent.

[@moonprincesst.s.h.4ever115]

Taweret is featured in The Kane Chronicles books (The Red Pyramid, Book 1, The Throne of Fire, Book 2 and The Serpent's Shadow, Book 3) by Rick Riordan. This is a great, funny, adventurous book series about what the Egyptian gods and goddesses are doing in modern times. 📚

[@10tailedbijuu]

That sounds fun!!

[@saphirawinters7028]

I LOVE those books. I even have the same necklace that Sadie Kane wears. The Egyptian Tyet.

[@InvaderTak176]

American gods does this too

[@danewillis263]

She didn’t appear in the first book.

[@Sacration]

Sounds cool

[@m3rrys0ngstr3ss]

I mean, hippos are a very "fuck around and find out" kind of species! I saw some Arab/Egyptian Moon Knight fans say that her mannerisms reminded them of older female family members, which I think tracks with her domain! Edit - maybe the "white" aspect refers to the ivory wands and thus doctors?

[@nixthechimera]

Rewatching MoonKnight, I noticed in the scene were they’re storing the lil Khonsu statue, you can actually see Anubis as one of the gods sealed away. So it’s interesting that the god commonly known for the scales and death is actually sealed away, and our lovely hippo takes their place.

[@amyisaacs3966]

I freaking love Taweret portrayal in the show because she is adorable, and giddy that i wanted to be her friend so bad...and hearing her story in the myth you just told is very interesting variant of her

[@kreolado5880]

One thing I love is that they chose Taweret of all of the gods. Taweret didn't have her own temple, but Ipet (one of her aspects) did. And Ipet's temple is right next to Khsonsu's temple. The close proximity of the temples suggests that the cult centers must have been connected. This can be explained by the fact that Ipet and Taweret were equated with the main goddess of Thebes: Mut, the mother of Khonsu. This is why Ipet also has titles that were normally associated with Mut, such as "the mother of flames" and why the Hippo became associated with Mut. In the Temple of Mut there is a fragmentary creation story in which the blood thirsty goddess Mut was calmed after she drank from the sacred lake of Ahseru and gave birth to the sun god Khonsu in her temple there. Khosnu was associated with both the sun and the moon because he was later merged with both Amun-Re and Osiris . In any case, the priests of the Ipet Temepel believed that Ipet is the mother of a god who is Amun-Re at day, but becomes Osiris when he dies, and is then reborn as Khonsu. She is the bascially the mother of the day and night circle with Amun-Re as the the sun, Osiris as the dying moon and Khonsu as the new moon. My head canon is that Khonshu and Taweret were friends from their time as cult-mates xD Like "Remember the time your priests build a temple next to mine and they basically made you into my mom? Good times" xD

[@KitiaraFlint]

You did a pretty good job with the Names btw 😊 Most Egyptologists agree that the other Hippo goddesses are aspects or more precisely the form in which Tawret (the second e is not mandatory) is working as. The white one is widely believed to be the newborn child, the white referring to the Vernix caseosa, covering the baby. And again, big Complement from your Egyptologist pal. Really accurate and well explained for everyone to understand.

[@PatrickRsGhost]

I'm wondering if Hedjet ("The White One") might refer to midwifery. Midwives existed in ancient Egypt just as much as they did in other ancient civilizations and even more modern ones. It could also refer to the white swaddling clothes one usually would wrap a newborn baby in.

[@YourQueerGreatAuntie]

Just a thought on the "White One": I don't have the linguistics for Egyptian, but in Old Irish, the term "find", usually translated into English as "white" or "fair" is associated with running water and rivers. There is also a branch of the Nile called the White Nile in English (again, don't have the etymology). Either way, it's a colour often associated with faster-flowing rivers.

[@libertarianguy5567]

I'm thinking more on the lines of purity, like the white wedding dress. Like you, I don't have the linguistics for Egyptian, but we have seen the color white as meaning purity in nearly every religion, it had to have come from somewhere.

[@keepingmealive4ever]

This makes me think she had something to do with labor complications, my next guess would be something to do with breastfeeding since that can be complicated too it doesn't come "naturally" for every mom

[@drakephoenixfeather4056]

​@@libertarianguy5567I thought purity as well but disregarded it as white being pure tends to be more along the Abrahamic religious thought-lines as far as I know?

[@zerotodona1495]

@@drakephoenixfeather4056you are forgetting most old religions go into Abrahamic religions. Horus and Jesus share a lot of similarities for example.

[@drakephoenixfeather4056]

@@zerotodona1495 This is very true

[@packnetadaija]

I’m loving these Egyptian mythology videos! I’m really familiar with greco-Roman mythology but I love seeing these aspects too!

[@Music-xp5wg]

I like the half man half beast aspect of it, the Greeks were right to copy that and incorporate it into their religion.

[@Thromash]

When you cross a Mother Hippo, all you'll see is a white blinding light.

[@tinanelligan4153]

I love the way you dive into different cultures' mythology. I would love to see more on Native American, Meso American, and African mythology.

[@aubreyhaven8972]

"Nothing is more docile than a cow" Me who has seen a cow attack and viciously stomp a coyote to ☠️ because it got too close to it's calf: 👀😅😬

[@janet6421]

Cows are responsible for an average of 22 human deaths in the U.S. each year. That makes them more dangerous than sharks, bears and wolves combined.

[@labelledamedumanor4876]

Too true there.

[@sandradermark8463]

A cow hippo, however, is aggressive... Many herbivores from Moose to Hippos the male is called bull, the female cow, the juvenile calf.

[@thelanktheist2626]

Girlboss

[@heatherlynn22]

Love this one. It would soooo cool if you did a messed up origins for Eastra. I am pretty sure you would dig her story.

[@touremuhammad5983]

Who’s Eastra?? I never heard of her.

[@emilywyatt9340]

​​@@touremuhammad5983Eostre Saxons goddess of spring and rebirth. Where Easter comes from symbols eggs bunnies ect.

[@kandipiatkowski8589]

When Jon said "for always and eternity"... my first thought was hearing Eartha Kitt from Holes.....then he played the clip....awesome!!!!

[@kreolado5880]

Just wanted to go into some myths about Taweret: Taweret is said to be the wife of evil and mother of monsters as she was seen in earlier times as the wife of Apep. Later on Set overtook Apeps role as the enemy of the gods and merged with Apep. Thus Taweret became a wife of Set . Plutarch describes her as a concubine of Set who betrayed him to protect young Horus and Isis from him. Set was not very happy about this and ordered a snake-demon to attack her. However, the army of Horus managed to kill this snake and save Taweret. In other versions it is Taweret who chains Set to the starry sky after the birth of Horus so that Set cannot harm the infant. She was also a wife of Osiris in Oxyrhynchus and with him the mother of Dedwen. It is said that Dedwen beheaded Horus as revenge after his half-brother beheaded Isis.

[@maddestmike5791]

So if she was originally in a relationship with Apep then why did they make her a force for good?

[@FoxTheFiend537]

"The white one" could be how she guides people in death, referring to how people "see the light" when they die.

[@janet6421]

Could also be white milk or just being pale after blood loss. I was pale as death after getting 3rd degree tears with my first.

[@juliusnovachrono4370]

This honestly is getting more and more interesting.

[@RayGamingChannel10]

Been loving this channel for years need more Egypt mythology keep up the work

[@nicholas8769]

Love the vids keep it up not enough mythology creators that put this much effort into it

[@ginnyjollykidd]

My guess for Hedjet is maybe the vernix covering the baby. It's a white substance that is like a cream that provides insulation for the baby when it is birthed. So a vernix-covered baby is a "white one." That's my guess.

[@sleepyvessel1848]

This could be reaching, but maybe “The White One” could be referring to mothers who have passed away during childbirth? Blood loss during childbirth could leave the mother pale, and this aspect of Taweret could be a sort of grim reaper for these women? I’m not entirely sure what role “The White One” played.

[@WavesofColours]

Taweret! I mentioned her in my thesis back when I was doing my graduate, which my Lord, was more than a decade ago. I referred her for her connection to water, fertility and womanhood etc. And the similar concepts of religious iconography and philosophy of neighbouring society. Good times. Coffee and library were essentially my boyfriends that time ahahaha.

[@crone_mother]

In Wicca, "the white one" is often referred to the Goddess Moon, which is seen as "the mother of all." Maybe that was the same in the Egyptian Parthenon

[@DoubleDealingDisarray]

I'm surprised. I had never heard of Taweret before. I was used to Sekhmet returning to being either Hathor or Bast. 🤔 Awesome video and great work!

[@emilywyatt9340]

Hathor. Bast is a cat goddess.

[@DoubleDealingDisarray]

@@emilywyatt9340 Thanks for pointing out the typo. I think my phone autocorrected it before I realized. 😂 That is true that Bast is a cat goddess. One of the many stories of Sekhmet has her becoming Bast instead of Hathor, if I recall correctly.

[@angelicagaldos]

Yes, you opened the video with my favorite scene from Moon Knight. Awesome video Jon.

[@corbannoahofficial]

In some cultures, white is associated with death. So it would make sense for Taweret to be called Hedjet/The White One if she dealt with people's souls after death.

[@boss_boy7259]

There's a book series that I absolutely love (I've reread it bout 5 or 6 times now). It's called the "barcode" book series and the title of the first book is called "legend of apollo". If you're interested in different cultures other worldly beings, I would highly recommend checking it out. The author is named kashif ross!

[@jmurphy95]

The art on these videos really takes it to the next level, thanks for brining us such cool mythology!

[@rusteshackleferd8115]

I love these messed up videos.

[@pierrebuieii3908]

Gloria from Madagascar remember the scene where she was wearing starfish lol 😂 I only know some eqgytion gods plus I love to learn especially about other cultures and stuff when I can so you know I like to know everything so keep it up bro I enjoy watching your videos also you do better than most KZbinrs I seen other channels that talk about this stuff but not as interesting to me as you

[@bariettaperez]

“Crocopottamus”. Never thought I’d hear that in my life

[@joeyc9418]

From what I've read you must journey through the duat in order to reach judgement (weighing of the hearts) so moon knight having them turn to dust is probably a reference to the souls that fail to finish the journey

[@heatherturner2366]

I only knew of her because of Grimm and the Kane chronicles

[@LordHoggo01]

Honestly this is the only channel where I don't skip the add break just so I can listen to the chill music Also that scene at 6:44 used to give me nightmares as a kid idk why

[@darklotus7083]

My favorite mythology teacher

[@escapistfromhell1543]

Thank you for getting into egyptian mythology as well

[@bluetigerbunnybarnett8613]

1:53 love the Rick Riordan Tawhert right there, love me some Kane Chronicles

[@Eddieavina123]

Love your video Jon Solo

[@VoidTheVixen3143]

I never new about Secmet’s relation to Hathor because I heard that Ra went to his sky dad for advice and his pop told him to take out his eye and THAT spawned Secmet and then that’s why Ra’s eye is so important Yes I know about the natural drift of myths but I was deep rises by just how different this one is

[@HyattHyatt3179]

The versions I've heard is that Sekhmet went on a rampage, drank blood mixed with wine, and then got split up into Sekhmet and Bastet

[@ladykoiwolfe]

My son and I really enjoyed watching this together.

[@Mizuna]

I'm only 3 minutes in, but I hope you used the clip of Oscar Isaac playing the hippopotamus song on a late night show.

[@Huntress_Creed]

Yes I’m here for it! 🦛 👸🏼🙌

[@hospitalgal101]

Take a shot every time Jon says "hippo/hippopotamus", just have 911 on speed dial

[@derekparker2098]

Do Bast! BASTET! NEXT please ❤

[@saphirawinters7028]

Yo Jon! If you ever want to do a collab on future videos involving Egyptian mythology. Let me know. I'm really passionate when it comes to Egyptian Mythology. In fact, did you know that the name "Isis" can also mean "Throne" in Egyptian? I know many more facts in case you wanted to do a future collaboration.

[@Aria-br8lr]

"The White One" name translation could refer to the Ivory Birthing Wand used by women during childbirth (min 4:19 refernce). Just a guess but...

[@ChrissyFraser]

I feel like I spoke you into existence this morning because I always watch KZbin while getting ready for work and I was like I wonder what the algorithm guys have for me today and guess who just happened to pop up.

[@gabrielaabreudearaujo2580]

Please do a video about the myth of Horus and his battles against Seth to take the Egyptian throne. And also telling about the title of Living Horus which is given to the reignant Pharaos.

[@bubby-un34benny-un46]

Love your videos

[@ant3ony]

your content is always fire and you seem like a really nice man. keep it up, friend

[@carenxatu5962]

0:13 Mom: “yeah, that’s how I respond when people say hi to me at work.”

[@danewillis263]

I think Hedjet represents still birth. “The white one” might be referring to the pale coloring they take after being born too early.

[@wesleybrown9018]

Plot twist! Jon Solo is now Jan Solo.

[@witch_in_a_wheelchair3050]

Maybe "the white one" is a reference to Vernix? The white substance that covers the skin of newborn babies. It is protective and conditions the baby's skin.

[@hereschica]

I am patiently waiting for the days that Jon Solo is able to upload a video on Anubis and a video on Bastet.

[@damaruslove8688]

😂 on our side

[@kaiumeda6341]

3:36 My guess is teeth, cuz hippo teeth are prominent when eating & fighting

[@frikkie1494]

MILK Edit: 3:36 you all are probably confused

[@clayharris7740]

2:02 In reality hippocampus are very dangerous and strangely adorable

[@laurapomeroy7341]

I love her little wiggle ears!❤

[@johnnysocket76]

The thumbnail person kinda looks like Gloria from Madagascar 😂😂

[@spicybeantofu]

It's the cartoon art style that does it. Probably used her as a reference.

[@hackman669]

Yep😁

[@deliciouspotato2623]

I hope you'll dive on ancient mesopotamian religion one day. You'd love it

[@VerySassatello]

The white one could be a reference too her second job of taking other people to the after life. Wikipedia says "The deceased were also often depicted in white clothes, because it represented the soul's purity after it had passed through judgement, in the Hall of Maat. Additionally, the orientation of the deceased was very important to ancient Egyptians." If ya search up Egyptian Color symbolism ya can probably find more stuff on it but it seems to usually used to symbolise , purity, sacredness, cleanliness and simplicity in general. So it could go either as just another representation of her being the goddess of birth as giving birth to a child can be considered sacred and pure. Or her second job of guiding souls to the afterlife. Thought this might be a interesting thought as I haven't seen anyone mentioned this yet-

[@stacy4625]

3:31 she's just a triple goddess, Ipet= Maid or Maiden the young learning to nurture, Reret = Mother the life giver, Hedjet = Crone the end of life to close the circle

[@TriXJester]

My best guess would be the White One might be the aspect of Taweret that dealt with birthing deaths.

[@tenebrousoul9368]

Thank you Jon

[@Kanamo4781]

When you say "The white one" i thought of Albinism, a rare mutation that make animals (inclluding humans) to be born without melanin, making most of them white, so i thought she was the protector of the differents, like albinos babies or deformed babies, but it could also refers to vernix caseosa, like another comment said

[@WhiteRaven696]

I need plushies of Taweret. She’s so adorable.

[@PhilieBlunt666]

My dude! Rust was such an insanely fun map, probably my favorite one in that game

[@cookiee_crumbulz8854]

Ur Rust reference was so unexpected 😂❤️

[@jennymcintyre804]

The white one… perhaps could refer to the cloth wraps used on the children that didn’t survive child birth? Thus the white one, could be more of a symbolic gesture?

[@DrDolan2000]

She looks like she gives good hugs

[@jonathanclarke3189]

Great episode

[@johnkendrick5745]

Omg! I lmao when you said you felt like one. Thought it was another KZbin confession video 🤣😂

[@justinanderson267]

The only thing that makes me think "the white one" with hippos is either the way water kind of turns white as it bubbles and churns, or maybe they were talking about an elbino hippo

[@mecahhannah]

Awesome thanks as always

[@Tit-Dirt]

Thoth is definitely the super homie 🤝 love to see your take on him unless it's already happened and didn't check yet.

[@melvinshine9841]

1:47 I'll have to look up whether Taweret appears in any SMT games, because that's the artwork that's used for Behemoth, though Behemoth has lime green skin in every game I've ever seen in it in. Shin Megami Tensei games are no stranger to having near identical designs used for different demons.

[@JustAStump]

She's in three games I think, and that's the official artwork for her lol

[@lyz_aviscarlet1698]

Honestly, I am surprised that in this version of the myth Hathor changed into Secmet. I always heard the one where Ra consulted his father, took out his eye which then transformed into Secmet. This partialy explained the symbolism of his eye. Also in this version it was mostly wine mixed with blood and poppies so it would smelled like human blood, make her crave more and instally get her to sleep. This split her to Tarweret and Bastet

[@TheSkullKlownTSK]

She is the draco star consolation. In the Calendar of Dendera she is in the middle of the galaxy. Its the oldest calender in the world, Giving birth to all the gods and goddess. Which are the Titans. She is also called Gaia and Tiamat. Disney did amazing job with her in Moon Knight.

[@TheBhsamurai]

Love the stories and lore of Egypt. One of my favorite eras of history. Designers didn't have to make Ammit a baddie tho. Sheeesh! lol 😂

[@Rainbowofthefallen]

Just commenting for the algorithm 💛

[@mousepariah3884]

I think a cow goddess turned lion goddess becoming a Hippo actually kinda makes sense. It's a combo of big docile Good mama (cow) , mixed with "I will absolutely fuck your shit sideways if you try me, I shall have blood!" (lion)

[@lollmao8655]

bro, "the white one" is literally a reference to a dead body

[@ravenwren233]

Considering the ancient Egyptians saw childbirth as a sacred event, as well as a necessity to life, there probably a few reasons as to the name for the Hippo Goddess Hedjet potentially being Taweret. White is a color that symbolized the sacred or the transcendence of humanity into the realm of the gods in ancient Egypt. It had other things it symbolized including purity, like that of children. The meaning actually fits on multiple layers if you break down just the symbolism of the color in and of itself, but it might take a bit of understanding that everything ties together in the mythos

[@crazyasalways9272]

I adored moon night I was so sad to hear they weren't making more but even sadder to hear what happened to the actor 😢

[@janet6421]

I heard the story of drunk Sekhmet turning into Bastet. At least they are both cats.

[@katiehaley2850]

Ah! He said “and remember”!!!

[@korygurman6638]

Could be a reference to childbirth not requiring magic. This could be inferred due to the Egyptians connection of magic to the color black; like the dark soil brought in by the flooding of the Nile.

[@Crowned_ladyd]

I love when you do these. My people weren't Egyptian but I'll take it 😅

[@DEMONOFLOVEANDDEATH]

Bless the Solo Cup

[@pamelamays4186]

Please, more Egyptian mythology, please!🦛🐊🐈‍⬛

[@rohan4012]

really enjoy your videos, do a khonsu episode next

[@bariettaperez]

“Sweet savory Kool-Aid” 💀

[@gracegallimore4580]

But why was she so nice though? I absolutely LOVE her and I would gladly take her out to just lunch because she seems so nice.

[@DesignsbyPDLux]

John, cows are actually very dangerous creatures