Editing Tefnut (section)

==Mythological origins==
{{see also|Ancient Egyptian creation myths}}
{{Ancient Egyptian religion}}
[[File:Egyptian - Menat with the Heads of the Deities Shu and Tefnut - Walters 541515.jpg|thumb|upright|A [[menat]] depicting Tefnut and her husband-brother [[Shu (Egyptian deity)|Shu]].]]
Tefnut is the first daughter of the [[solar deity]] [[Ra]]-[[Atum]]. Married to her twin brother [[Shu (Egyptian god)|Shu]], she is mother of [[Nut (goddess)|Nut]], the sky and [[Geb]], the earth. Tefnut's grandchildren were [[Osiris]], [[Isis]], [[Set (deity)|Set]], [[Nephthys]], and, in some versions, [[Haroeris|Horus the Elder]]. She was also the great-grandmother of [[Harpocrates|Horus the Younger]]. Alongside her father, brother, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchild, she is a member of the [[Ennead]] of [[Heliopolis (ancient Egypt)|Heliopolis]].

There are a number of variants to the myth of the creation of the twins Tefnut and Shu. In every version, Tefnut is the product of [[parthenogenesis]], and all involve some variety of body fluid.

In the Heliopolitan creation myth, Atum sneezed to produce Tefnut and Shu.<ref name="Hassan">{{cite book |last=Hassan |first=Fekri A |title=Ancient Goddesses |publisher=British Museum Press |year=1998 |isbn=0-7141-1761-7 |editor=Goodison |editor-first=Lucy |editor-link=Lucy Goodison |location=London |pages=107 |chapter=5 |editor-last2=Morris |editor-first2=Christine |editor-link2=Christine E. Morris}}</ref> [[Pyramid Texts|Pyramid Text]] 527 says, "Atum was creative in that he proceeded to sneeze while in Heliopolis. And brother and sister were born - that is Shu and Tefnut."<ref name="Watterson">{{cite book|last=Watterson|first=Barbara|title=Gods of Ancient Egypt|publisher=Sutton Publishing|year=2003|pages=27|isbn=0-7509-3262-7}}</ref>

In some versions of this myth, Atum also spits out his saliva, which forms the act of procreation. This version contains a play on words, the ''tef'' sound which forms the first syllable of the name Tefnut also constitutes a word meaning "to spit" or "to expectorate".<ref name="Watterson" />

The [[Coffin Texts]] contain references to Shu being sneezed out by Atum from his nose, and Tefnut being spat out like saliva. The [[Bremner-Rhind Papyrus|Bremner-Rind Papyrus]] and the [[Shabaka Stone|Memphite Theology]] describe Atum as sneezing out saliva to form the twins.<ref name="Pinch">{{cite book|last=Pinch|first=Geraldine|author-link=Geraldine Pinch|title=Handbook of Egyptian Mythology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N-mTqRTrimgC&pg=PA63|year=2002|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-242-4|page=63}}</ref>