Walk Like an Egyptian

Hi there folks, today I'm bringing you something a little different. I had originally intended for this piece to play an accompanying role to the “Tau Stylin' ” article I just wrote, but once the research began, there was just too much to not make into a subject of it's own. I feel the piece still accomplishes the intended role, hopefully getting you to think about the Tau through a new perspective, it's just a little grander than I had planned. It's a subject that has seen some resistance in the past, so if you don't buy it, don't feel bad, you're not alone. The fact of the matter is, where our last article dealt entirely with accredited truths nearly all of which came from source material provided by GW themselves, this topic requires a little bit of digging, and relies on the ability to draw your own conclusions as opposed to accept whats been laid out for you. So without further adieu, I present to you a set of comparisons between Tau and Egyptian themes.

An image of a Pharaoh, with his staff and Ankh in hand.

They might not be spitting images of
one another, but there's clearly a
connection present.

Superficially, there are several elements that make various, sometimes obvious allusions to ancient Egyptian theme and culture. The first, and probably most recognizable, is the Ethereal. Acting as an analogue to the Pharaoh, they both represent the pinnacle of their societies spiritual and governmental hierarchy. Ethereal models have been posed in stereotypical stances commonly associated with the Pharaoh's of Ancient Egypt, and can often be seen with their dual symbols of office in hand, symbols of office which parallel the crook and flail nicely – the earliest recorded concept sketch of this pose even references Egypt in it's accompanying blurb (sadly to what extent remains a mystery as the sketch that appeared in White Dwarf #261 was of too low a resolution to clearly make out in it's entirety). One particular model of Ethereal can be seen holding a staff and nondescript talisman – an image that's strongly reminiscent of a Pharaoh holding his staff and Ankh, while others are depicted as shirtless, their torsos clad only in an upper mantle. As an interesting foot note, Ethereals are the only models to have included Tau facial hair to date, in each case, a tightly corded and knotted beard. Seemingly an inconsequential and possibly even an unintended detail, when held up as a connection to the Pharaohs, it becomes significant in that the Egyptians saw beards as a sign of status, and in the Pharaoh's case, as a sacred symbol indicative of his divinity. Pharaohs were even known to have worn fake beards, the beards themselves, both false and natural, were corded and knotted in a strikingly similar fashion to the Ethereals own. Fake beards even appeared on prominent women, and can be seen adorning feminine icons in murals from the period – this fact, thankfully, is yet to be mirrored by the Tau.

The Egyptian "Lock of Youth"

The topic of hair doesn't end with beards either. The Tau “top-knot” as it has become known, is often linked to the Asian influences that the Tau are most recognized for. Though early concept art showed Tau hair as an untamed shock (easily associated with the images of wild Samurai), on closer inspection of modern Tau, we see that the hair style worn isn't a traditional Japanese top-knot at all, but rests off center – exactly like that of an Ancient Egyptian child's “Lock of Youth”. These locks were traditionally worn by children until puberty, where it was shaven and they were permitted to take up whatever prominent hairstyle presided over their culture at the time. By contrast, the only discussed purpose of the Tau top-knot, is as a stylistic display of their status in society – the more elaborate the braid and accompanying jewelry, the more important the Tau. The nature of the Lock of Youth in-itself then, seems contradictory, the Tau seen wearing it presumably past whatever passes for puberty amongst their race. Perhaps the Lock of Youth is then best explained as a design choice meant to reflect the Tau's nascent nature as a people, in an otherwise ancient galaxy.

Here's looking at you, kid.

Though I can't think of any factual references, I can't help but see similarities between a Tau's face, and certain pictures of mummies I've seen over the years. The Tau's gaunt face makes for cheek bones of nearly skeletal proportions, while their lack of nose and ears mirror the limited effects of decomposition on mummified remains. Grim, upturned mouths, along with sunken in eyes, rimmed by pronounced orbital sockets – it all reminds me of a mummy. Even the red eyes, though this detail has more in common with Hollywood's interpretation of a mummy than anything. All of which, if anything simply calls into question what a designer might think of as a genuine Egyptian reference, something that is historically accurate, or something that an audience might identify as deliverance on an Egyptian theme regardless of authenticity. In the end, this is exclusively a personal observation, but one I find interesting none the less.

(***Amendment: The following paragraph isn't entirely accurate, however, discovery of alternate theories regarding the Tau emblem came late in the editing process. Look forward to the next article where this subject is discussed in more detail.***)

Another superficial comparison could be drawn between the Tau's emblem, and a scarab. It's a simple point, and one that doesn't bare much explanation, but it's there none the less, plain as day. Conversely, more could be said for the other emblematic icons of the other 40k races, as they typically harbor some meaning, the Aquila of the Imperium, an Eldar Glyph, Ork Tribal designs, they're all symbolic or otherwise reinforce a theme within the army. Yet throughout all of the Tau lore, no explanation is presented for the sigil of T'au. It could be merely coincidental though, as subsequent Tau septs have always used modified variants on the simple geometric patterns put forward by the primary Tau emblem, none of which have seemingly held any symbolic nature, and whose only explanation has been as basic pictograms of celestial bodies. Still, the comparison is a simple and obvious one, and when presented alongside an ever convincing argument, I can't help but wonder, maybe it is just that obvious.

The image on the left is taken from Xenology. The image on
the right is taken from the Imperial Armor: Taros Campaign
book. The only object of peculiarity is the "spine" extending
from the inner ankle, regularly seen on models, but never on
naked Tau feet. I've always assumed it was a vestigial toe,
indeed, that would be in keeping with the digit count. Perhaps
it's just an inconsistency within the source material itself.

Still not convinced? That's okay, I haven't even brought out the big guns yet. Lets talk about an excepted, often misunderstood, and frequently forgotten aspect of the Tau's physiology, their hoofs. Did you ever stop to think 'why hoofs?', I mean, it seems like an interesting choice, doesn't it? The design of the Tau foot is perhaps, a bit more complicated than a simple hoof, and going back to the Tau's original concept art and the accompanying notes, we see that the Tau are in fact resting on what the designers quoted as “camel feet”. These large, three toed camel-like hoofs, the design of which is reflected in the Crisis Suit's own three toed “foot”, eventually became armored in such a way that they take on the simplified silhouette of a more common cattle-like hoof, just as in the same way a standard boot masks the detail of our own individual toes. The explanation, along with a detailed diagram for this can be found in a book titled “Xenology”, which chronicles a rogue Inquisitors autopsy addiction. Specifically, Xenology tells us, the Tau have hooves because they've evolved from cloven-hoofed ruminants. If you don't know what ruminants are, I'll save you pulling out the dictionary – they're a family of quadrupedal, cud-chewing mammals, that include cattle, camels, and even llamas. Not the most epic of ancestors, this is of course the reasoning as far as the fluff is concerned. But what about the designer? What made the concept artist put hoofs on his work, where feet arguably would have made more sense. For the answer, we look to etymology, and the very history of the word “Tau” itself.

the Greek form for Tau

Many of you will probably know that “Tau” is a letter of the greek alphabet, and as such is actually responsible for giving english, as well as many other languages, the letter “T”, and it's accompanying sound. But the Greek language didn't manifest spontaneously, it adopted concepts, rules, and symbols from many of the cultures around it, most prominently Phoenicia, who in turn had adopted many of the their language's characteristics and meanings from Egyptian hieroglyphs. Unlike the Greeks, the Egyptians, and by extension the Phoenicians, attributed meaning to many letters of their alphabet, known as “logograms” – not mere sounds used for phonetics, these letters were representative of objects and concepts. It follows then, that the very letter that would ultimately be adopted by the Greeks as Tau, carried the meaning of a bull, foremost of the animals held sacred by Ancient Egyptians, and you know, a cloven-hoofed ruminant.

the Tau Cross

But the rabbit hole doesn't end there. Here's another question – have you ever done a google image search for Tau? Amongst all those pictures of Battlesuits, and Devilfish, you probably saw something like the image attached to this paragraph. This T-shaped emblem is commonly known as the “Tau Cross” , it was used in some of the Egyptian's most sacred ceremonies, most notably the Pharaoh's induction into the Egyptian Mysteries. The meaning behind the Tau Cross is distilled from the same origins as the letter Tau itself (thus it's name), that of the bull, and it's shape marks a mid point in the evolution from it's hieroglyphic ancestry – “♉”, into the letter “T” we know today. If we were to take it one step further, what would we get if we placed a circle over the Tau Cross? If the Tau cross is taken as having the meaning of bull, and the circle as representing the sun, together they combine to form the Ankh, an implement of the Pharaohs, a religious icon representative of everlasting life, and more importantly to our discussion, the symbol of the Egyptian Bull god, Apis – you may know him better by different name – Taurus. Apis was widely venerated for his desire to show mercy and kindness towards strangers – making it the space fairing Tau's third shared trait, after his hoofs and name. Oh, and if that hieroglyph (“♉“) seemed familiar, that's because it endures as the astrological sign for Taurus, even today.

The astrological sign for Taurus.

As my last point, I want to share one more theory of mine with you, one I was sadly unable to confirm, but perhaps would bare fruit for someone more knowledgeable in the subject than I. Taurus as a constellation is said to exist in our own spiral arm of the galaxy – the same is true of the Tau Empire. Furthermore, the area of the galaxy in which Taurus is said to reside contains more bright stars than any other, which I speculate could be due in part to the globular nature of the Tau system, as both share the characteristic of being a stellar nursery. Disappointingly, I wasn't able to find anything more concrete than that, as legitimate star maps have a tendency to leave things like the Eye of Terror, and the Eastern Fringe out – crazy, I know. I'd be interested to see if someone could further the theory, as in my opinion it would be the feather in the cap of the Apis connection.

Coming full circle.

The Tau were created uniquely amongst the races of 40k. Where most are clear derivatives of their Fantasy counterparts, the Tau were the first to step out into uncharted waters. They exist, as many of GW's creations, as a melting pot of ideas and concepts from countless sources, are by no means the only faction to be touched by Egyptian themes. I don't speak purely of the Tomb Kings either, obviously the army most influenced influenced by Egyptian elements, think of Chaos, the Necrons, and the Space Marines themselves, there are examples everywhere. Chosen from a vast number of potential new races, the best ideas and concepts of those not destined to make it to the table top likely migrated to a new home within the Tau empire, further adding to their cosmopolitan origin. More than ever, one thing is clear to me, not only does GW have an army of people with liberal art degrees working for them, but they take great pride in manufacturing the smallest details as they build their universe. If only for the amusement of you and I, who would look past the surface. Going forward, what I think this does for us, is open ourselves to new possibilities. We can see the Tau from a new perspective, exploring the emerging details of a new codex, and examining the established fiction of the old. And for those of you, like me, who live to speculate, we can guide our musings with a new set of histories, enriching our predictions, and finding new ways to enjoy our favorite army. For most, I doubt it's a whole new world after reading this, but I'm hoping for some, it may gave gotten just a bit bigger.

I'd like to pay a special thank-you to a fellow poster on the Advanced Tau Tactica forums, O'ka'mesa – without your original post, I may have never been turned on to this subject, your initial work exists as the sole inspiration for this article. As always folks, thanks for reading!

It seems nothing I do will get the formatting for this post right - but it's much easier to read now than previously. A shame that such a favorite of mine will go marred by un-matching fonts, and mysteriously dark pictures. Regardless, I hope you've enjoyed it - I'm working on a new article, but things have gotten very busy in my life, and my blog as a priority can only be so high on the list. Thanks for sticking with me.