Tayet was the goddess of weaving and the most crucial of her roles
was providing woven cloth for embalming. In the letter which the pharaoh
Senusret I sends to Sinuhe,
an ex-harem official, inviting him back to Egypt after a long sojourn
abroad, there is a fine passage evoking the rituals of the funerary
cult. It provides that after Sinuhe's death there will be a night of
unguents and "wrappings from the hand of Tayer. This refers to the mummy bandages of the embalmers that keep the corpse intact. In the Old Kingdom
a prayer was addressed to the goddess to guard the king's head and
gather his bones. Tayet also weaves the curtain (embroidered by the god Ptah) which hangs in the tent of purification where the ritual of embalmment is carried out.In daily life, linen bandages were used sparingly for medical purposes. One spell that has come down to us had to be recited over threads of fabric. It was meant to prevent hemorrhage and the resulting defilement of the purity of the "land of Tayer", meaning the bandages.
So long my friends,
Evalina
Informative and interesting as usual. You picked a great theme for your month Evalina. How is the stitching going?
ReplyDeleteThis stuff has always interested me. I also like to read about the Pharoahs and the pyramids. Have you ever read Paulo Coelho's book, 'The Alchemist'? It's about a trip to the pyramids in Egypt. It too is very cool.
ReplyDelete