Lecture: Egyptian creation of man.

A very old legend in Egypt told that mankind was divided into four types when they were made on the potter's wheel by the great creator Khnum. He made them all out of mud of various colors from the Nile. 

The order in which they were made was as follows: First was - Romut, meaning "men", and these were the Egyptians them- selves. The second to come from the potter's wheel was - Áamu, the people from the desert mountains east of the Nile. This name was later also used for Asians in general.

Number three, called - Temehu, was the fair skinned people from the Mediterranean coast west of the Nile Delta and the oases west of the Nile Valley.

The last to be made was - Nehesy, the black people to the south of Egypt, below the province of Nubia. 

Notable is that the names of these people seem to be very old and originating from the early times when the Egyptians didn't have a name for Asians, which they surely encountered well before the first dynasty as shown in archaeology remains.

According to another (much younger) legend mankind was created from a tear that fell from the eye of the god Re, and turned into men and women. The fair-skinned Libyans, considered as "cousins" by the people in the Nile valley, were formed in the same way. The two other people have a tear from Re as their origin too, but in a more irregular way.

Khnum God of creation and the waters

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

the Egyptian god Khnum was usually depicted with the head of a ram.
Name in hieroglyphs
Major cult center	Elephantine
Symbol	the potter's wheel
Personal Information
Consort	Satet, Neith, Heqet, Menchit, and Nebtu
Offspring	Anuket, sometimes Serket, Heka or Ra, and Thoth
Parents	Nun or Ra
Siblings	Neith

Khnum (/kəˈnuːm/; also spelled Khnemu) was one of the earliest Egyptian deities, originally the god of the source of the Nile River. Since the annual flooding of the Nile brought with it silt and clay, and its water brought life to its surroundings, he was thought to be the creator of the bodies of human children, which he made at a potter's wheel, from clay, and placed in their mothers' wombs. He later was described as having moulded the other deities, and he had the titles Divine Potter and Lord of created things from himself.

General Information

Khnum was the god of rebirth, creation and the evening sun, although this is usually the function of Atum. The worship of Khnum centered on two principal riverside sites, Elephantine Island and Esna, which were regarded as sacred sites. At Elephantine, he was worshipped alongside Anuket and Satet as the guardian of the source of the Nile River. His significance led to early theophoric names of him, for children, such as Khnum-Khufwy – Khnum is my Protector, the full name of Khufu, builder of the Great Pyramid.

Khnum has also been related to the deity Min.

Temple at Elephantine

The temple at Elephantine was dedicated to Khnum, his consort Satet and their daughter Anuket. The temple dates back to at least the Middle Kingdom. By the 11th dynasty Khnum, Satet and Anuket are all attested at Elephantine. During the New Kingdom finds from the time of Ramesses II show Khnum was still worshipped there.^[3]

Opposite Elephantine, on the east bank at Aswan, Khnum, Satet and Anuket are shown on a chapel wall dating to the Ptolemaic time.

Temple at Esna

Cnouphis-Nilus (Jupiter-Nilus, Dieu Nil), N372.2, Brooklyn Museum

In Esna (Latopolis), known as Iunyt or Ta-senet to the Ancient Egyptians, a temple was dedicated to Khnum, Neith and Heka, and other deities. The temple dates to the Ptolemaic period. Khnum is sometimes depicted as a crocodile-headed god. Nebt-uu and Menhit are Khnum's principal consorts and Heka is his eldest son and successor. Both Khnum and Neith are referred to as creator deities in the texts at Esna. Khnum is sometimes referred to as the "father of the fathers" and Neith as the "mother of the mothers". They later become the parents of Re, who is also referred to as Khnum-Re.