Sebiumeker was a major supreme god of procreation and fertility in Meroe,

Kush Kush or Cush may refer to: Bible * Cush (Bible), two people and one or more places in the Hebrew Bible Places * Kush (mountain), a mountain near Kalat, Pakistan Balochistan * Kush (satrapy), a satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire * Hindu Kush, a m ...

, in present-day

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

. He is sometimes thought of as a guardian of gateways as his statues are sometimes found near doorways. He has many similarities with

Atum Atum (, Egyptian: ''jtm(w)'' or ''tm(w)'', ''reconstructed'' ; Coptic ''Atoum''), sometimes rendered as Atem or Tem, is an important deity in Egyptian mythology. Name Atum's name is thought to be derived from the verb ''tm'' which means 'to com ...

, but has

Nubian Nubian may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Nubia, a region along the Nile river in Southern Egypt and northern Sudan. *Nubian people *Nubian languages *Anglo-Nubian goat, a breed of goat * Nubian ibex * , several ships of the Britis ...

characteristics, and is also considered the god of agriculture.

Etymology

His Meroitic name was probably Sabomakal, which became Sebiumeker in the ancient Egyptian language.

Role in ancient Kush

Sebiumeker was a major supreme god of procreation and fertility in Meroe,

(present-day

). He was referred to as Lord of Musawwarat. His statues have often been found near doorways at the Nubian sites Tabo (Nubia) and

Musawwarat es-Sufra Musawwarat es-Sufra (Arabic: , Meroitic: Aborepi, Old Egyptian: jbrp, jpbr-ˁnḫ), also known as Al-Musawarat Al-Sufra, is a large Meroitic temple complex in modern Sudan, dating back to the early Meroitic period of the 3rd century BC. It is lo ...

, giving rise to the interpretation that he was a guardian god. But another interpretation is that he represented transformation which is why he was placed at the doorways of temples. Though certainly a Nubian god, he has many Egyptian symbols and legends.

Family

His partner (or maybe brother) was

Arensnuphis Arensnuphis (in Egyptian: Iryhemesnefer, ''ỉrỉ-ḥms-nfr'', "the good companion") is a deity from the Kingdom of Kush in ancient Nubia, first attested at Musawwarat el-Sufra in the 3rd century BC. His worship spread to the Egyptian-controlled ...

. This close association with Arensnuphis is similar to the relationship with

Set Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...

and

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wsjr'', cop, ⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲉ , ; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎𐤓, romanized: ʾsr) is the god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...

Image

He wore the ancient

double crown Double crown can refer to: * the Pschent combined crown of Ancient Egypt; * a British coin worth ten shillings or two crowns; * winning the first two of the three races in the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * a double hair whorl A hair whorl ...

with a beard and

uraeus The Uraeus (), or Ouraeus (Ancient Greek: , ; Egyptian: ', "rearing cobra"), ''(plural: Uraei)'' is the stylized, upright form of an Egyptian cobra, used as a symbol of sovereignty, royalty, deity and divine authority in ancient Egypt. Sym ...

and had big ears, a mark of importance. With his double crown, false beard, kilt, and tunic, he resembles Atum. A sandstone head without inscription stands in Meroe. It also has the double crown with uraeus. It has several Egyptian looking features, but also has the formal broad Nubian unmodeled planes.

In popular culture

His worship is invoked in the Gifts of the Nile scenario in the strategy video game ''

Civilization VI ''Sid Meier's Civilization VI'' is a turn-based strategy 4X video game developed by Firaxis Games, published by 2K Games, and distributed by Take-Two Interactive. The mobile port was published by Aspyr Media. The latest entry into the ''Civiliza ...

''.

References

{{Ancient Egyptian religion footer Egyptian gods Fertility gods Liminal deities Nubian gods