What is "tutu"

ballet skirt, 1910, from French tutu, alteration of cucu, infantile reduplication of cul "bottom, backside," from Latin culus "bottom, backside, fundament."

n. A ballet skirt made of layered stiff but light netting.

Tutu may refer to:

Ballet:

• Tutu (clothing), a costume

People:

• Tutu (name)

Places:

• Tutu (island), in the Arno Atoll of the Marshall Islands
• Tutu, Iran, a village in South Khorasan Province, Iran
• Tutu, United States Virgin Islands, a subdivision of the island of Saint Thomas
• Tuţu, a village in Corbița Commune, Vrancea County, Romania

In ancient religion:

• Tutu (Egyptian deity), a protective deity
• Tutu (Mesopotamian deity), one of the Anunnaku

In arts and entertainment:

• Tutu (album), a 1986 album by Miles Davis
• "Tūtū", a composition by Liliuokalani, Queen of Hawaii
• Princess Tutu, an anime series, or its title character
• The wife of Tottles, the Bear character in Lewis Carroll's novel Sylvie and Bruno Concluded

Other uses:

• Tutu (plant), poisonous New Zealand plants of the genus Coriaria

The modern tutu is a dress worn as a costume in a ballet performance, often with attached bodice. It may be made of tarlatan, muslin, silk, tulle, gauze, or nylon. Modern tutus have two basic types: the Romantic tutu is soft and bell-shaped, reaching the calf or ankle; the Classical tutu is short and stiff, projecting horizontally from the waist and hip.

Tutu is an album by American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, released in 1986 by Warner Bros. Records. It was recorded primarily at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles and Clinton Recording in New York, except the song "Backyard Ritual", which was recorded at Le Gonks in West Hollywood. Davis received the 1987 Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist Grammy Award for his performance on Tutu.

Tutu is a common name of Māori origin for plants in the genus Coriaria ( Coriariaceae) found in New Zealand.

Six New Zealand native species are known by the name:

• Coriaria angustissima
• Coriaria arborea
• Coriaria lurida
• Coriaria plumosa
• Coriaria pteridoides
• Coriaria sarmentosa

They are shrubs or trees; some are endemic to New Zealand. Most of the plant parts are poisonous, containing the neurotoxin tutin and its derivative hyenanchin. The widespread Coriaria arborea species is most often linked to cases of poisoning.

Honey containing tutin can be produced by bees feeding on honeydew produced by sap-sucking vine hopper insects ( Scolypopa genus) feeding on tutu. The last recorded deaths from eating honey containing tutin were in the 1890s, although sporadic outbreaks of toxic honey poisoning continue to occur. Poisoning symptoms include delirium, vomiting, and coma.

Tutu is a god in ancient Mesopotamian religion. He was the tutelary god of Borsippa, near Babylon, during the reign of Hammurabi, but was later superseded by Nabu.

In the Enuma Elish it says of Tutu that he "devises the spell by which the gods may be at rest" and that "he is supreme among the assembly of the gods and no one among them is his equal". Another version states that Tutu "silences weeping and gives joy to the sad and ill at heart".

Tutu, the Egyptian official, was one of pharaoh's officials during the Amarna letters period: 1350- 1335 BC. He is only found in the body of letters from Aziru, and his son, DU -Teššup. Four letters, EA 158, 164, 167, and 169, ( EA for 'el Amarna') are addressed to the Pharaoh, by way of Tutu. DU-Teššup's single letter is written to pharaoh because his father Aziru is being detained in Egypt, and Aziru is needed to attend to affairs at home. Unless he were to remarry he may never return home again.

Tutu (or Tithoes in Greek) was an Egyptian god worshipped by ordinary people all over Egypt during the late period. The only known temple dedicated to Tutu is located in ancient Kellis, but reliefs depicting Tutu are seen in other temples, such as the Temple of Kalabsha. Tutu's title at the Shenhur temple was "Who comes to the one calling him". Other titles of Tutu are "Son of Neith," "the Lion," "Great of Strength", and "Master of the demons of Sekhmet and the wandering demons of Bastet".

His iconography is hybrid consisting of the body of a striding, winged lion, the head of a human, other heads of hawks and crocodiles projecting from the body, and the tail of a serpent. Tutu was son of Neith, who was considered as a "dangerous goddess". Other goddesses in the same aspect were named as Mut, Sekhmet, Nekhbet and Bastet. This meant that Tutu is placed in a position of power over demons. It was his role to slay demons sent out by "dangerous goddesses"; other sons of these goddesses performed the same function. These were Mahes, Khonsu and Nefertem. Originally the protector of tombs, Tutu later guarded the sleeping from danger or bad dreams. Tutu was also regarded for ordinary people to worship, offering and rituals were made on portable altars. Offerings included goose, and bread, and rituals were for protection from demons and bad dreams. Tutu was stated to have given protection from demons, giving longer life and protecting people from the Netherworld.

Tutu is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include:

Surname:

• Desmond Tutu (born 1931), South African archbishop, activist against apartheid, and Nobel Peace Prize winner
• Osei Kofi Tutu I (died 1717), Ashantehene, ruler of Kumasi, co-founder of the Empire of Ashanti
• Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II (born 1950), 16th Asantehene, King of the Ashanti
• Skelley Adu Tutu (born 1979), Ghanaian footballer

Given name:

• Tutu Chengcui (died 820), a powerful eunuch during the reign of Chinese Emperor Xianzong
• Tutu (Egyptian official), an official during the period 1350–1335 BC