Tatenen the god of the original land

Tatenen the god of the original land

Tatenen or Ta-Tenen the original mound god in ancient Egyptian religion. His name means the resurrected land He is associated with rebirth and the Nile He is part of the Geb world gods as a source of artistic inspiration as well as aiding the dead on their journey to the afterlife and also refers to the silt of the Nile As a primordial god of the primordial world Tatenen is identified with both the creation of the world both feminine and masculine He is a genderless protector of nature. In inscriptions mostly on coffins from the Early Middle and Middle Kingdom periods his name appears as Tanenu or Tanuu meaning the inert land Ta-Tenen also had a magic staff dedicated to the falcon who was regarded as the great white lord of the world's creator

In one interpretation Tatenen led the pillar of stability of Jed generally as this pillar was given to Ptah Ta-Tenen's Attributions as a God of the Primordial State of the World Middle Kingdom Texts Form Ta-Tenen used his staff to drive out the evil serpent Apep or Apophis the spirit of evil darkness and destruction from the ancient mounds Ta-Tenen had a magical staff dedicated to the falcon who was regarded as the great white lord of the world's creator In one interpretation Ta-Tenen brought the Pillar of Stability of Jed to the land of Chi although it is commonly believed that this Pillar was given to Ptah Tatenen's early appearance at Memphis is possible as references in Middle Kingdom texts refer to a god named Khenty-Tjenenet the most important god of Tjenenet It has sometimes been speculated that Tatenen's original consort

His realm was a region deep beneath the earth where all things emerge.Ta-Tenen represented the world and was born at a time when it emerged from the chaos of the waters comparable to the ancient mounds of Ben-Ben and the Mastaba and the pyramids In later times he was regarded as the source of food and sustenance given by the gods in all good things In the ancient kingdoms with Ptah as Ptah-Ta-Tenen combined in the cloak of the Ogdoad were the original eight gods worshipped at Hermopolis These eight gods were arranged into four pairs of male and female The two names had the same meaning and differed only slightly

Tomb of Amunherkhopshef QV55 / son of pharaoh Rameses III is one of the most beautiful tombs in the Queenâs Valley with delicately painted bas-reliefs and very good colour preservation.

As a creator god of the 19th dynasty Ptah-Tatenen was considered a single entity worshipped as the creator god of the dynasty Ptah-Tatenen was considered the father of the Ogdoad of Hermopolis the eight gods representing the original elements before creation Worshiped as the creator god of the dynasty Ptah-Tatenen was considered the father of the eight Ogdoad of ancient Egypt In ancient Egyptian mythology or the Bible the role of the Ogdoad was to maintain the balance of creation by stopping the sky from collapsing back into Nun, the ancient Egyptian concept of the primordial flood which in cosmology was a state of chaos and the source of creation

Amenhotep II as god Tatenen / 

A fine limestone statue of king Amenhotep II in the form of the god Tatenen.

Afterlife Literature

In literature Taten often represents the world and the afterlife referring to the cracks in the door and the light penetrating the darkness Here it seems to be a comparison between the resurrection the deceased received and the birth the origin of the precious minerals within the world of the universe Geb is glorious the vastness of the world was created for my journey to cities and settlements because of what the god Taten hides His tatanen form is that of a strong young man wearing a crown of two tall feathers that encircle the solar disk like an underground flame that rumbles and lifts the earth The cult in Memphis and is often associated with the god Ptah who may have been the god of craftsmanship However there are documents in Memphis

cosmology that Taten created all things through words that became matter In most afterlife literature the comparison is between death and the deceased In the incantation of the body parts it is a common formula in afterlife literature Father Taten raises the sky for him to tread on all four sides The soul flies to the east as Ra the sun especially when illuminated at sunset For example the line Worship Re-Harakhty as he sets in the land of the living says of Re-Harakhty Your father Taten lifts you up and puts his arms around you The deceased who identifies with Re confirms that Taten’s friendliness is superior to Ruty’s Meaning two lions it means the gate of the underworld

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