Introduction to Kemet©The purpose of this document is to introduce
the student into the basic concepts of Kemet.
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The Ancient Egyptians had many names for their home.
Kemet is one of those names; it means "Black Land", so named for the fertile
lands of the Nile delta and the dark-skinned people that inhabited Egypt.
In this introduction, there are several concepts which
is going to be covered:
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The Egyptians had a multitude of gods, approximately
3,000. And they had several names for their gods--neter, netjer,
netcher, neteru--all non-gender specific words meaning "god."
The word neter is singular; netjer is the
plural version. These words will be used throughout the rest of this paper.
Separation of Church and StateThe Ancient Egyptians did not see a separation between
State and Religion, Every Day and Secular Life.
Their religion was completely ingrained in every aspect
of their lives. However, with every Culture, there is a difference between
the approved "Civil" or "State" Religion and what the Nomes and Individuals
worshipped.
The commonly accepted number of Netjer is about 3,000. Many of these Neter were regional deities and not major deities that were worshipped by all. Each home could have its own shrine of amulets and statuary for their ancestors and Netjer. Conceivably, a villager could have his State Netjer, his Nome Netjer, and then his own personal ones that he worshipped in his own home. The concept of regional identity (regionality) helps to explain the different creation myths in the Egyptian culture. Regionality gave rise to different myths, and in later dynasties, assimilation and adoption of different Neters. Because of the sheer number of Netjer, not all Neter were worshipped in each nome. However, there was always a Main Temple, Per Ankh (meaning House of Life), in each major city. (Traditionally, the Per Ankh kept many of the nome's important documents.) |
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Ma'at is both a Neter and a concept. The rest of the
Netjer will be covered in later papers, but the concept of Ma'at is very
important, and even the rest of the Netjer must live and abide by it.
As a Neter, Ma'at is the Goddess of Truth, Justice, Light,
Law, and Judgement. She is depicted with a feather on her head or her hand.
It is the Feather of Truth and is usually considered to be a white ostrich
feather. The feather is used in weighing against the heart when a person
dies and goes to the Great Hall for judgement.
Ma'at is not only goddess, but It is the concept of World
Balance and of Personal Wholeness. In Kemetic beliefs, when you passed
from this lifetime, you were judged in the Great Hall; your heart would
be weighed against Ma'at's feather and you were asked 42 assessor's questions.
If you committed unacceptable actions (anything that conflicted with the
law of Ma'at), you were given to the SoulEater never to be reborn.
Finding your personal Ma'at (your personal truth, your personal balance) is a deep process. Balance is about knowing yourself, your shadow or dark side, your fears and acknowledging them and bringing them into the light. Accepting your dark traits, integrating them, and understanding them helps you to create a holistic, wholer you. Many of you are familiar with the Wiccan Rede ('An ye harm none, do what ye will') or the Golden Rule (`Do unto others as they would unto you). In Kemetic tradition, there is no Rede, but we must live by the laws of Ma'at--we are judged by our actions and by whether or not we accept personal responsibility for these actions. |
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There are different aspects of the Netjer that are very
different from today's concepts. For instance, the concept of gender. Amoung
the Netjer, a lot of "gender bending" occurs. It's called "genderbending"
because as Westerners it is often not acceptable for Males to be seen as
nurturing and life-giving and females to be shown to be just as destructive
and aggressive.
The first Neter in all the different creation myths has
always been a male, bringing life into creation; then there is Hapi, the
Nile Neter who is a male depicted with breasts, epitomizing the nourishing
aspect of the Nile. Both the Moon and Earth, seen traditionally in the
Western culture as feminine, are males. Neith is the protector of the Per'oah,
and Sekhmet is the destructive force of Re. These roles, in Western culture,
are typically relegated to males.
Yet, this is not a male-centric religion or a female-centric one, but a Ma'at religion--one that understands the importance of both genders. Light & DarkAnother concept is the ideas of light and dark. For the
Egyptians, the term dark does not equate with evil. There are no evil or
chaotic Netjer.
Dark is simply the other half of Light, and is very necessary.
There can be no Day without Night. There can be no Light without Dark.
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The few historical records we have only outline what
the upper classes did for their ritual practice; the lower classes were
almost completely excluded from any records.
StatuaryIt is known that statuary was used extensively in this
religion; more so than any other. However, the Ancient Egyptians did not
worship the statues themselves.
It must be understood that the status was a place for the Netjer to reside while visiting that shrine or temple. Within this holy resting place, the statuary had to be well taken cared for--kept clean and purified, fed, and dressed. Priests & MagiciansMost kemetics performed the rituals themselves (what
most pagans would call spell craft) or had priests perform such rites for
them.
These priests were trained to be the "Garment", the vessel when a Neter comes down and speaks through your body and voice; this is not a vision, but actual possession. Often times, the priests and magicians of the time seemed to have performed much of the same roles. Many priests did spells and many often specialized in various things--one priest might have specialized in love spells or healing spells, while another would specialize in writing letters to the Beloved Dead. Theurgy, divination through dreams, was a popular form of magic as well. Whether or not the magicians and priests were one and the same, is up to speculation until more evidence is produced. However, anyone could be trained and act as a priest. In small villages, people took turns throughout the year acting as the village priest. One person would be priest for one or two months, then the next person, etc.etc.etc. There were different levels of hierarchy and function within the priesthood. Almost everyone started out learning to be a Wab/Web priest, one who purifies the temple in order that the rituals might take place. Time for RitualRituals were performed for almost any given reason. There
were daily rituals, planting rituals, rituals for inundation, for any type
of festival. Basically, any reason could have been used for ritual. This
shows the integration between the Ancient Egyptians' Religious beliefs
and their daily lives.
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More than anything, it must be stressed that the Kemetic
religion isn't about any particular system of magick. It is more of a mindset,
a way of seeing things than anything else.
It affects the way we view the world, our Netjer, and
how we interact with others. One of the most important physical items to
come out of the tombs isn't made of pure gold, jewel-encrusted, or inlaid
with precious metals. It is the set of scrolls collectively known as The
Book of Coming Forth by Day or more commonly known as the Book of the Dead
(because it was found with the mummified remains of the Dead).
This book, or set of scrolls, can be considered to be the single most important item to be found in all of the Egyptian archeological history. There have been several translations. It is through these scrolls that we can see with the eyes
of the Ancient Egyptians; know what they loved, feared, and how they lived.
It is through these writings, whose truth still speaks to us today, as
well as the Coffin and Pyramid scrolls, that we have come to know the Netjer.This
knowledge gives us the foundation we need to build our modern practices
and to serve the Netjer today.
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