Nekhbet - The Protector

The ancient Egyptian goddess Nekhbet was usually depicted as a vulture, but sometimes in human form, says Magda van Ryneveld.

- Magda Van Ryneveld

The Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) is one of the smaller vulture species. In Southern Africa other small species also occur, e.g. the Palm-nut Vulture (Gypohierax angolensis) and the Hooded Vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus). The Egyptian Vulture (see opposite) can be found in Africa, Arabia and India. In the Republic of South Africa they can only be found in certain areas to the East of the country, e.g. Zululand (Kwa Zulu Natal). In Namibia they can be found in a large area in the North-West near the Angola border.

Typical of this vulture is the bare yellow face. The rest of the head, neck and body are covered with white feathers. Black feathers can be found in the wings. When in flight, the large black feathers of the wings can clearly be seen. The legs and claws are yellow.

The Egyptian Vulture eats any kind of ‘left-overs’ and cleans up carcasses after the larger vultures have finished their meal. They are also well known scavengers. They are very valuable in nature, but sadly their numbers have deteriorated because of deliberate poisoning. As a result they are by far not as common as they used to be. Egyptian Vultures usually nest on cliffs, raffia palms (near coastal areas), small caves or even old nests of other bird species in trees. Two eggs are laid and are incubated by both parents. The incubation period is 43 days.

The Egyptian Vulture was not the only species used to depict Nekhbet in art. Other larger species included the White headed Vulture, White-backed Vulture, Griffon Vulture and Lappet-faced Vulture.