✦ TITLE: Lord Montu -- The God of Warfare and Victory
✦ SACRED ANIMAL: The Hawk
✦ DIVINE WEAPON: Flail
✦ NOTABLE EPITHETS: "The Star of The Gods; The One Who Prevails; Bull of the Mighty Arm; He Who Overthrows His Enemy"
✦ PROFILE: https://deitiesproject.com/portfolio/montu/
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The ace athlete Montu has earned high win-streaks in battle, gaining fame and popularity among his devotees. This fuels his confident and boastful attitude, but he has his moments; he'll humble himself around those who earn his respect, or who can tolerate his sky-high ego. He is referred to as Lord Montu.
DEITIES x OC_TOBER -- Deity Profiles [Full Character Lineup]
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Alright I guess it's the hotshot victory bird's turn ✨
Montu's character in the supporting cast was originally meant to be "that one popular, egocentric, arrogant jock" who can back up his sh!t and has his own adoring fanclub. But along with Wepwawet and others, Montu has gotten a good chunk of character development offline with friends and his OG character shifted as a result.
While he is still quite vain with moments of bragaddocio, and he still has a fanclub that he entertains, Montu's a lot more grounded and has depth beyond his original archetype. Also a surprisingly supportive ally and friend, and I'm a lot happier with developing him now cuz of all that.
This doesn't change the fun fact that Montu was (still is??) meant to serve as an early rival for young[er] Horus in the DEITIES backstory -- at least before Horus was ready to take on Set directly. That's where more of Montu's arrogant side was apparent before getting a timely reality check, which helped shift his perspective with himself, and with the 'wannabe falcon prince.'
The two bird gods are on much better terms now, but hopefully I can explore the details of their first encounters another day, or as a side story \o/ We’ll see!
Finished some sidebar images I’ve been wanting to add to my blog. Monthu and Sobek, respectively. How’s this for a weird coincidence, my altarspace is directly behind me as I work, with the two devotional pieces I made earlier this year up on it. They are in mirror positions to these images on my blog! Like they’ve always got their eyes on me.
Can you tell me more about Montu and your experiences with him, what’s he like, what’s his personality? (:
G’day Anon!
I’ve written a few posts up on my experiences with him in general: a loose kind of summary here, some UPG bits and bobs, how he’s involved in my firefighting here and here, and I touch on some talk on epithets and his personality briefly here.
I don’t really have much to expand on his personality, and I tend to regard most of it as kinda UPG so YMMV? Some people seem to get more of the ‘Drill Sergeant’ or the ‘warry’ or warlike Montu, and that was certainly what I expected based on my research prior to introducing myself. Whilst I’ve found him to be rather proper, for lack of a better term, I’ve not found him to be overbearing or stuck-up, nor a gun-ho madman.
Key points, if I had to narrow them down a few that I’ve experienced: level headed, only rages when it counts, stubborn, methodical, speaks softly with a lot of meaning, a tactician with a game plan. He’s also been supportive, patient, understanding, and just.
My finished devotional project - a little embroidery logo for my firefighting jacket for Monthu. The Bukhis bull, which I see the most when I’m on the fireground.
Bukhis is for war, and my war is firefighting. Monthu is always stepping in or working through firefighting, so short of the dedication of my service to him and the little name I’ve written in my locker for him, I thought I might step it up a bit. There’s an allegory at my brigade about an old bull and a young bull. The young bull always rushes, gun-ho, teasing the old bull for being slower. But when they get where they’re going, the young bull is too exhausted to do anything and the old bull is rested and ready. It teaches us to calm down, take a breath, pace ourselves. A bit of get-up and go is fine, but at the right moments, or it will literally cost your your life. We tie it in with an saying that the best thing a young firefighter can hope to be is an old one. He’s always teaching me things in the brigade - such as looking after myself.
I toyed with putting this on the neckflap of my helmet but that’s not always down, so it went on the back of my jacket instead. It’s small - inch and a half or so - pretty visible but not huge. A lot of people personalize their gear, so it’s not going to attract undue attention either. It’s nice and subtle and means I’ll always have something for Monthu with me on the fireground. I will always have the bull at my back.
Finally finished a little devotional project for Montu I’ve been working on for quite a while. It wasn’t particularly intensive but tell that to my executive dysfunction. It has a lot of meaning. I’ll do a post on it tomorrow when I can take some daytime pictures and dig up the concept art too.
Guess who finally has something specifically votive on their altarspace? Me! I was at a local fair with a lot of smithing and knicknacks and I spied the bull before the crocodile, on the same stall. After some deliberation, I snagged both, because it’s going to be a while before I get or make full sized, proper votives.
It feels good to finally have some specific things for these two, even if I don’t see the Bukhis aspect of Monthu that often. It’s also apparently worked super well because someone will not butt their nose out.
In keeping with this post, I’m starting to log any/all possible ping and I’m starting with this one. With each ‘ping’ I’ll post context and possible causation, if any, at the start of each post. This is as much for my own discernment and sense of scientific reasoning as it is for future records. I guess let’s start with this one...
Yesterday, and I’m on my dash again, wading through post on post about Ant-Man and catching the edge rumblings of something big happening in the Kemetic community I completely missed because I’ve been out of the loop. The following flashes across my dash and catches my eye:
It hits the spot in a number of ways, and I reblog it. As I do, I tag it with both Sirs as per usual, Sobek and his epithet Chainsaw Teeth, and Monthu. Now, Monthu I don’t have an epithet for and this is a conversation I’ve been meaning to have with Him for a while.
It’s worthwhile discussing how, though I’ve worked for a shorter amount of time with Sobek than I have Monthu, that he rocks up and scores an epithet. For about as long as I’ve been willing to acknowledge and work with Monthu I’d felt Sobek lurking. I think it was either Devo or Desh that spoke about starting with one deity and the door not shutting behind them. I read about this when I was doing foundation research into the entire Kemetic thing, and I was wary. I dismissed any of Sobek’s (haha entirely a pun) rumblings for a long time, but He proved stubborn and stuck around. From the little notepad-journal I keep on my altarspace, a habit I started from the first day and I’m glad I did, the earliest recording I have of Him really sticking his nose in is July 2013, and I don’t actually actually ‘accept’ Him until December that same year. For context, I’d been formally devoted to Monthu since early 2012.
The circumstances of Sobek’s introduction were… trying. I was being certified in how to use a chainsaw and - as I was recovering from an injury - was rightly terrified. I felt I was at a turning point. One of the things hounded into me during those days of trial was ‘You can’t be afraid of the saw, you have to be confident and fearless, definite in your actions.’ Well, thanks to anxiety and a plethora of other issues (I’m tiny, but was learning on a standard 32” bar which is longer than my fuckin’ arm and a decent portion of my weight) that wasn’t going to be easy. One of the earliest bits of research I did on Sobek pointed to an association between the Croc and Fear. Crocodiles demand respect, just like chainsaws do, and like chainsaws, he’s much more ambivalent compared to Monthu’s obvious Chaotic/True Good mindset. He was called on to give strength to overcome fear/obstacles. That very much in mind, I did something I may yet live to regret- I struck a deal. If Sobek could lend me a bit of his strength, I would formally invite him to work with me and do what I could. Sobek upheld his end of the deal and I’m trying hard to uphold mine.
As I reflected on success later in the day, cleaning the saw on one of ten stumps of trees all over 10m that we had felled and cross-cut, an epithet had lodged itself in my head and wouldn’t leave: Chainsaw Teeth. I could sense a bit of a wicked, entirely purposeful toothy grin from Sobek and it’s kind of been his moniker from then on. Don’t know why it happened but it did and I haven’t been able to shake it- heck, he pretty much named himself. It fits perfectly. Many of Sobek’s recorded epithets make reference to his teeth:
Sharp of Teeth
Runner of Sharp Teeth/Sharp teeth running upon His body
White of teeth…
Those are just a few! But you can see how it relates. So the epithet he kind of chose for himself both describes him and serves as a permanent reminder of our oath. Plus, crocodilian dorsal scutes do a good impression of a saw’s teeth as much as their actual teeth do…
By comparison, for all the three or so years (skies it’s been that long already?!) I’ve worked with Monthu I haven’t given him an epithet.
It’s not like I haven’t discussed a few. To Monthu I have dedicated all my service with the Rural Fire Brigades. I have no military service for him to Warlord over, and despite the circumstances of our introduction (which I will cover eventually in a later post) I don’t think that a military moniker would suit him. Occasionally, in my writing, I refer to him as a Drill Sgt in the Fullmetal Jacket kind of sense- but also, in the sense that a Drill Sgt is the one who is constantly over your shoulder, in charge of making sure you keep on track and take care of you. They get a bad rep for showing a bit of tooth, but never without reason. You should trust your DI and work to earn theirs back in return. I relate to Monthu through a fairly militant lens but not overly so- he’s more than “…some stuffy military general…” (Altarspace Notes Vol 1 6/8/13) as He once put it.
When I sit and reflect on it, he’s very much like any Crewleader or other Field Officer in my brigade. The wars we fight in the RFS aren’t against humans, they’re against one of the most unflinching enemies you’ll ever face - fire. You have to utterly and completely trust whoever you’re working with or under because they will save your life at one point, and you will save theirs. The most critical piece any team member can play is the second on the hose line. You back up whoever is on the end of the hose, you are their eyes and ears, their last defence. You must be ready to take their full weight, direct them out of a danger they cannot see because they’re focused on getting the wet stuff on the red stuff. When you step up to back up, you put your hand across the back of their shoulder, put your knee ready to brace and give a bit of a push with a brief “Got your back” - and I won’t move if I’m on the hoseline until my backup has my actual back.
To illustrate: I have had my backup pull me to my knees, seeing the fire behind the front I was attacking billowing up on an incoming gust of 90kph wind, shouting “LEFT LEFT LEFT!” On our hoses, turning the nozzle fitting left will throw up a wall of fog, a shielding cone of water. I had no time to question him, I dropped and put up a fog just as that wind gust hit us, sending a wave of flames through the air. I trusted my backup to spot this and he trusted me to heed his instruction and save both our lives.
This is the kind of trust I must foster between Monthu and I. I have to trust his judgement on things I might not be able to see, and he has to trust me to react appropriately. He frequently uses my work with the RFS to make points, and I use it as a devotional act. By being the best teammate I can be to my crew, by being reliable, I uphold a lot of things. So it would make sense perhaps that Monthu be given an epithet to do with firefighting. Sadly, no. I’ve tried “Fire Chief” but it’s too American for me. The heads of our brigades are Captains, not Chiefs. Captain Monthu seems a bit too comical. To set the ball rolling, some of Monthu’s recorded epithets and some I’ve used include:
He who Rages
The Mighty Bull
Lord of the Two Lands
The Raging One
He who overthrows the Serpent Enemy of Ra
Upholder and Protector of Ma’at
Slayer of the Enemies of Ra
The Nomad
I only really see Monthu’s Bukhis aspects on the fireground- it seems an aspect reserved for wartime. His involvement in my life is much more than that but I can hardly write up an epithet like “He-who-has-my-back” it just doesn’t gell… Though he does, in fact, have my back. I’d love the epithet to be something that reflects all the aspects of his persona just as much as Sobek’s “Chainsaw Teeth” one does. I’m just gonna have to keep stewing I guess? My sister suggested “Pheonix King” because A) He’s a falcon, B) he’s a firebird but that’s a not quite it either. Though, it’s worth noting that in the RFS “Firebird” is the radio callsign of a helicopter or other aircraft that carries water, crew, mapping tech, etc. They’re crucial and magnificent parts of firefighting. Monthu likes to remind me to “Fight Fire with Fire” but again, not much of a title?
Time to ask for a bit of help I think. Hopefully all this bloody static in my head will calm down enough for Monthu to get a word through, or mine to get out. Maybe, just maybe.
And that, dear readers, brings this lengthy and mostly meandering writing to an end!
Dua Ma’at,
Dua Netjeru!
-Ales
PS: Further coincidence, all whilst I was writing about Sobek and his epithets, a song I had never heard played on my Soundcloud. It was called “I Follow Rivers” and it goes a little something like:
“You’re my river running high,
Run deep, run wild.
I follow you, deep sea baby,
I follow you, dark doom, honey,
I follow you.
He’s a message, I’m the runner,
He’s the rebel, I’m the daughter waiting for you.”
Fun fact, Sobek’s epithets also include just about every reference to being a river or in a river you can make, as well as “The Rebel who is amongst the gods”. I must have managed to ‘tune in’ a bit tonight…
