Introduction
This is Userkaf as he appears within the Papyrus Westcar's literary frame: the eldest of three sons fathered directly by the god Ra on the priest's wife Reddjedet, prophesied at birth to become a king of Egypt.
Family
- Father: Ra (as king)
- Mother: Reddjedet
- Siblings: Neferirkare (as told in the Westcar tale), Sahure (as told in the Westcar tale), Shu (as king)
A Literary King, A Historical Dynasty
Historically, Userkaf was the actual first king of Egypt's 5th Dynasty; the Westcar tale reframes that real dynastic transition as a story of literal divine paternity, likely composed generations later to retroactively sanctify the 5th Dynasty's legitimacy through direct descent from Ra — consistent with the dynasty's own historical emphasis on solar worship and temple-building.
This article records a specific literary or theological role — a king-list entry, a court tale, or a royal legitimation narrative — rather than the deity's or ruler's fuller religious identity, which (where applicable) is covered in the separate Egyptian Pantheon project.