Crook and flail

The crook and flail on the coffinette of Tutankhamun

crook in hieroglyphs

flail in hieroglyphs

The crook (heka) and flail (nekhakha) were originally the attributes of the Ancient Egyptian god Osiris that became insignia of pharaonic authority. The shepherd's crook stood for kingship and the flail for the fertility of the land.

The earliest known example of a royal crook is from the Gerzeh culture and comes from tomb U547 in Abydos. By late Predynastic times the shepherd's crook was already an established symbol of rule. Flail initially remained separate, being depicted alone on some earliest representations of royal ceremonial. Approximately by the time of the Second Dynasty the crook and flail became paired.

The only extant pharaonic examples of both the crook and flail come from the tomb of Tutankhamun. Their staffs are made of heavy bronze covered with alternating stripes of blue glass, obsidian, and gold, while the flail's beads are made of gilded wood.

Theories on significance

Traditionally crossed over the chest when held, they probably represented the ruler as a shepherd whose beneficence is formidably tempered with might.

In the interpretation of Toby Wilkinson the flail, used to goad livestock, was a symbol of the ruler's coercive power: as shepherd of his flock, the ruler encouraged his subjects as well as restraining them.

Still another interpretation, by E. A. Wallis Budge, is that the flail is what was used to thresh grain.

See also

• Sekhem scepter
• Was scepter
• Pharaoh-seated, with flail & red crown (hieroglyph)