 The pelican ( <unk> in Egyptian ) was associated in Ancient Egypt with death and the afterlife . It was depicted in art on the walls of tombs , and figured in funerary texts , as a protective symbol against snakes . <unk> was also referred to in the Pyramid Texts as the " mother of the king " and thus seen as a goddess . References in non @-@ royal funerary papyri show that the pelican was believed to possess the ability to prophesy safe passage in the underworld for someone who had died . 
