Tayt (also Tait, Tayet, and Taytet) was an

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

goddess. Some attest her husband was

Neper The neper (symbol: Np) is a logarithmic unit for ratios of measurements of physical field and power quantities, such as gain and loss of electronic signals. The unit's name is derived from the name of John Napier, the inventor of logarithms. ...

while others state she was possibly the consort of Hedjhotep.

Textile goddess

Tayt was the

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

ian goddess of weaving, textiles, and to a lesser extent mummification. Her role was similar to Hedjhotep. The name Taytet originates from a word meaning garment. Because

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong and absorbent, and it dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. Lin ...

was the most common textile used in

, Tayt often wove or gave linen headdresses to deities and high-ranked officials. Statues of deities were clothed in high quality linen, the linen being considered divine due to its quality and attributes. Linen is derived from the stem of the flax plant: the younger the plant, the higher the grade and the higher the quality of the linen product. Due to linen's protective qualities, Tayt began being ascribed the role of a protective maternal figure. In Pyramid Text spell 738a, Tayt guards the pharaoh’s head, and helps him garner favor among other deities. In

, weaving was a popular commercial activity among workers’ women and royal women. Later, cotton was introduced to Egypt with the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

Funerary goddess

Tayt became associated as a funerary goddess through the application of mummification bandages. Tayt is known as a goddess who “awakes in peace” and is associated with textile offerings to garner favor from deities. As a funerary goddess, she is depicted in the Fifth Section of the

Book of Caverns A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

, which describes Ra’s journey through the underworld and his dealings with the damned. She is shown greeting Ra and

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wikt:wsjr, wsjr'') was the ancient Egyptian deities, god of fertility, agriculture, the Ancient Egyptian religion#Afterlife, afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...

in the lower register. In the Pyramid Texts of the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties, Tayt is characterized as a motherly figure wrapping bandages on a dead king. Mummy bandages came from the “land of Tait.”

Goddess of Tait

Tayt was the tutelary goddess of the town Tait as referenced in one of the

Pyramid Texts The Pyramid Texts are the oldest ancient Egyptian funerary texts, dating to the late Old Kingdom. They are the earliest known corpus of ancient Egyptian religious texts. Written in Old Egyptian, the pyramid texts were carved onto the subterranea ...

References

Works cited

*Editor, Hastings, James; Editor, Selbie, John Alexander; Editor, Gray, Louis Herbert. ''Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics: Mundas-Phrygians.'' Andover-Harvard Theological Library. *"The goddess of weaving Tait". ''http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/religion/tait.htm.'' *"Women's Clothing and Fashion in Ancient Egypt". ''http://www.womenintheancientworld.com/women%27s%20clothing.htm.'' *Willems, Harco (1996). ''The coffin of Heqata : (Cairo JdE 36418); a case study of Egyptian funerary culture of the Early Middle Kingdom.'' Leuven: Peeters .a. . *"The Book of Caverns". www.touregypt.net (in Russian). ''http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/caverns.htm.'' *Nicholson, edited by Paul T.; Shaw, Ian (2000). ''Ancient Egyptian materials and technology (1. publ., repr. ed.).'' Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press. .

Textile goddess

Funerary goddess

Goddess of Tait

See also

References

Works cited

Further reading