God Tefnut “Tefnet” | Facts Ancient Egyptian Gods and Goddesses | God of moisture, moist air, dew and rain in Pharaonic Civilization & Most Important Ancient Egypt Deities, Mythology Symbols, Definition, Temple, Photo, Who was and more…
symbol of rain, water and moisture for the ancient Egyptians and Pharaohs | Facts and history of gods and religious beliefs in the civilization of ancient Egypt and more.
The god Tefnut is a female deity and one of the most important deities in the ancient Egyptian religion and the oldest creatures in the universe. She is the goddess of rain, water and moisture, and according to the solar creation myth she is the mother of many other deities.
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God Tefnut
● The father of the God Tefnut is the god Atum (the god of creation), who is said to have created Tefnut by sneezing and spitting.
● According to the creation myth and theology, the goddess Tefnut married her twin brother, the god Shu (the god of air, peace and wind). This marriage resulted in many other deities, the most prominent of which were: Job and Nut (the god of the earth and the goddess of the sky).
● And her descendants are the gods Isis, Osiris, Set, Nephthys and Horus.
● The goddess Tefnut is depicted on the walls of the temples in the form of a young female with the head of a female lion and her pointed ears.
● Some drawings depict the goddess Tefnut in the form of a serpent with a lion’s head, and she wears a sun disk on her head, which indicates her association with her father, Atum, the sun god. She holds a scepter in her hand, and in the other the symbol of life.
● The goddess Tefnut was given the title (Nubian cat), as she was called (the Truth).
● Archaeologists believed that Tefnut represents the moisture that precedes the fire, which made it also a symbol of fire.
The role in the ancient Egyptian religion
● The God Tefnut is considered the basis of life and a goddess of creation, as she represents water, which is the basic element for the continuation of life.
● Therefore, the ancient Egyptians sanctified it and erected temples for it to practice worship rituals. The main place of worship for it was a place called ancient Lower Mansit in the Egyptian city of Heliopolis. Feasts were also held for it to celebrate it.
● The God Tefnut was part of the Heliopolis Ennead of the sacred deities. She was charged with purifying the priests before practicing their work. She was responsible for the king’s health and well-being along with the rest of the other deities.
The rituals of worshiping the goddess Tefnut inside her temple
● Sanctification of the goddess Tefnut did not stop at the level of ordinary celebrations. Rather, there was a special priest for her other than the priest responsible for reciting prayers and talismans. His responsibility was to take care of the sacred statue of her. He would clean the statue, wash it, put a robe of woven on it, and apply cosmetic powders and eye makeup for it.
● There is a deep pool at the beginning of the temple, in which the pharaoh and the priests only throw a piece of stone for purification and to mark the start of the rituals.
● After that, candles and incense are lit to purify the air and create a state of tranquility and comfort, and then allow the rest of the people to enter the temple yard to present gifts to the goddess Tefnut and take her blessings.
● Before entering the temple, the pharaoh and priests are only allowed to throw a stone into a deep pool before entering the inner sanctuary of the temple to start worship rituals, as a kind of purification for them. Ordinary Egyptians are allowed to come to the doors or front of the temple yard to be blessed and offer gifts.
