Tayet was the goddess of weaving known from Old Kingdom times when she appears in the
Pyramid Texts, where it is said that she is the king's mother who clothes him and lifts him up to the sky (PT 741), and that she guards the king's head, gathers together his bones, and grants him favor with other Egyptian gods (PT 738). In later mythology Tayet was also said to weave the curtains or walls of the tent of purification in which the embalmers worked, but the most significant role played by this goddess is that she is the deity who provided the bandages in which the mummy was wrapped. The importance of these wraps to the ancient Egyptians and the proper burial procedure which utilized them is seen in the Middle Kingdom
story of Sinuhe, where the hero of the tale is urged to return to ancient Egypt by Senwosret I who reminds him that only there will he receive 'wrappings from the hands of Tayet' upon his death. The goddess was linked to
Neith, who was also associated with weaving, and with
Osiris, Isis and Nephthys because of her funerary role. Although she had no temples of her own, Tayet was honored in sanctuaries of several deities with whom she was associated.
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