Kemetic reconstructionism
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Kemetic reconstructionism is a form of reconstructionist religion which recreates the ancient Egyptian beliefs and practices. As with other types of polytheistic reconstructionism, it can best be described as a culturally focused, academic approach to the religion (in this case, focused on ancient Egypt, and placing priority on sources respected by modern egyptologists). Kemetic reconstructionists study the forms which the religion took in ancient times, as well as everything in its original cultural context which is available for general study- art, politics, economics, etc. These are not studied for the purpose of role-playing an ancient Egyptian lost in modern times- a common misconception- but in order to fully appreciate the implications and significance of specific religious forms and practices in the ancient setting. Most reconstructionists, Kemetic reconstructionists included, realize that it is not possible to re-enact the life and practices of an ancient civilization with 100% accuracy. The aim is to understand the ancient worldview and reasons for their practices as well as is humanly possible, so as to manifest the significance of each religious and ritual action in an appropriate context in modern life. Preference is given to traditional forms whenever possible, but not to the point where it would sacrifice the meaning behind the form.
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[edit] Basic Beliefs
[edit] The Gods
As in Ancient Egyptian (or Kemetic, using the ancient word for Egypt, "Kemet") belief, modern Kemetic Reconstructionists honor a wide variety of Gods. These include, but are not limited to:
It should be mentioned that these names are Greek. Many Kemetic Reconstructionists[name a specific person/group] choose instead to use names derived from the original Egyptian language. For example:
Osiris may be known as Ausar, Asar, or Wesir. Isis may be known as Aset, Iset, Ast, or Auset. Horus may be known as Hor or Heru. Hathor may be known as Het-heru, Het-hert, or Hwt-hru.
The list continues.
[edit] The Concept of God
How these Gods are viewed depends on the individual beliefs of the Kemetic Reconstructionist. The most common belief, in both ancient and modern forms of the religion, is that all of the Gods are individual beings and can be worshipped as individual beings -- that is to say, polytheism.
The largest Kemetic religious organization that could be considered reconstructionist, the Kemetic Orthodox House of Netjer, further defines this not as a "hard" polytheism, where each God and Goddess are forever individualized and separate, but as a special form of polytheism called monolatry (a term coined by several Egyptologists, most notably Siegfried Morenz and Erik Hornung). In a monolatry, each of the many individual Gods and Goddesses are in addition to (not in spite of) their diversity also considered to be parts or facets of one category of an ultimately unknowable self-created Oneness, also known from ancient texts as Netjer, "being of divine power," or as Atum, "the complete one/the one who is not." The term "one and the many" is also sometimes used to describe monolatry, as is henotheism.
It is likely that the Ancient Egyptians had diverse beliefs about the nature and number of their divinity/ies as well. This is amply demonstrated by various textual sources dating from all ancient Egypt's history where "God" and "the Gods" are both referred to, and even sometimes in impossible "hard" polytheistic relationships such as aspects (two deities who are actually "sides" of one deity, such as Hathor and Sekhmet) and syncretisms (where two otherwise individual deities merge together to create a third, equally distinct deity, such as Amun-Ra).
[edit] Creation of the World
The Ancient Egyptians had a variety of different myths to describe Earth's creation. Modern Kemetics are likely to have a scientific view of creation, but do not feel science contradicts their religion.
[edit] Ethics
The ethical system of Kemetic Reconstructionism is based on Ancient Egyptian texts. The most commonly used of these include the Declaration of Innocence (also called the "Negative Confessions"), which contain a list of forty-two sins a deceased person claims not to have done, and the Wisdom Texts, which are pieces of advice written by Ancient Egyptians.
The Declaration of Innocence reads much like the Ten Commandments, only much longer, including such sins as murder, muddying the rivers of the Nile river, adultery, theft, eavesdropping, and sexual perversion (often translated in older texts as committing homosexuality, although Kemetic Reconstructionists in general consider this a mistranslation and are open to homosexual members - a common theory is that the prohibition refers to child prostitution). To do good is seen as doing Ma'at, or what is right, just, and orderly.
[edit] Afterlife
Kemetic Reconstructionists vary in their views of the Afterlife, much like they differ in most other views. The Ancient Egyptians viewed the afterlife as a journey through several "tests," the climax of which is the Weighing of the Heart. The deceased has his or her heart (ib, yib, ieb) weighed against an ostrich feather (Feather of Ma'at). If his or her heart is too heavy with sin, it is fed to Ammit, a monster/Goddess, and the person is destroyed forever.
Those who pass this test become Akhu, or Blessed Ancestors. They reside in Duat, the land of Osiris, and can be communicated with by humans on Earth.
If a person flees judgement or gets lost on the way, he or she may become a Muet, or angry dead person, terrorizing living descendants.
For a person to survive death indefinitely, he or she must be remembered. The person's name and/or image must be remembered past death, which is the reason mummification was used.
Views of the afterlife amongst modern Kemetics may be much different. For example, many believe in Reincarnation, whether continuous or until all lessons are learned. Most deny the necessity of mummification to keep the soul alive, and instead rely on photographs and family memories instead of physical preservation of the body.
[edit] Kingship and Clergy
There are several Kemetic temples and organizations that maintain priesthoods similar to Ancient Egyptian priesthood with its hierarchy of part-time and full-time priests in addition to a chief priest embodied in the (occasionally deified) king or ruler (Pharaoh or Nisut, see below). These organizations include the Kemetic Orthodox House of Netjer, Per-Ankh, the Church of the Eternal Source, the Akhet Hwt-Hrw and the Nuhati-am-Nutjeru, among other lesser-known and less organized groups. There are also a good number of Kemetic reconstructionists who are not part of any specific organization. Membership in an organization is not compulsory to worship the ancient Egyptian gods.
Some people maintain, in keeping with the Kemetic reconstructionist ideal of practicing the religion and embracing the culture of the ancients as much as practicably possible, that the existence of a living Pharaoh is still required. This idea is rooted in an ancient belief that a "land without kingship" was a land that had lost its connection to Ma'at, and that the Pharaoh (from the Hebrew word for a palace; the ancient term is Nisut or Nisut-bity) was a priest-king, the servant of both the gods and the people of Egypt.
The House of Netjer is by far the largest Kemetic religious group (active in more than two dozen countries) and was the first to define itself as fully reconstructionist (Church of the Eternal Source has origins as early as the 1950s but was primarily a Wiccan organization until very recently). Something else that sets Kemetic Orthodoxy aside from other worshippers of the ancient Egyptian gods (and to some of them, in a negative or controversial way) is that the religion recognizes a non-deified Nisut in its founder, professional Egyptologist Rev. Tamara Siuda.
Not all Kemetic Reconstructionists believe having a Nisut/Pharaoh is necessary, and some express concerns that today, any person given the sort of responsibility an ancient Nisut/Pharaoh would have possessed would be inclined to abuse it, and do not trust such a position to be given to anyone. Still other organizations recognize the central idea of kingship as a symbolic meetingplace of men and their gods and appoint priests to act as royal deputies in the king's stead, or sit on ecclesiastical councils such as were convened in ancient Egypt during times of civil war or times of unrest when the line of normal kingly succession was not clear.
[edit] Practices and Rites of Passage
[edit] Festivals and holidays
Some people[name a specific person/group] consider themselves Kemetic Reconstructionists, but celebrate Wiccan Sabbats. There are several festival days every month, and in some months, there is almost one festival for every day. (Even in ancient times, worshippers chose which festivals to celebrate and which ones were still working days). This is perfectly in line with Ancient Egyptian religion, as festivals depended on where you lived and what God(s) you worshiped. There are a few major holidays that Kemetics are most likely to celebrate regardless of their temple affiliation (most temples have official calendars) or independent status. These include:
- Wep Ronpet, the Kemetic New Year
- Feast of Opet
- Feast of the Beautiful Valley
- Solstice Celebrations and Equinox Celebrations (sacred to Hathor, Eye of Ra)
- Feast of the Beautiful Reunion
- Full and New Moon Celebrations (sacred to various moon gods depending on the season)
- the birthdays and festival days of various gods and goddesses
[edit] Daily Ritual
In Ancient Egypt, we have no evidence that anybody except priests took part in formal rituals. Personal piety or the practice of religion in one's personal life without any official "dogma" was widely practiced, with the honoring of one's Akhu/ancestors and god(s) as well as taking part in local and national festivals.[citations needed]
Some ways modern Kemetic reconstructionists can engage in personal piety are:
[edit] Personal Devotion
Plenty of people simply keep a shrine to leave offerings and prayers at, without worry of formalities. This is the most common form of personal piety in antiquity and today.
[edit] Imitation of Priestly Rituals
A person may modify or copy a version of various priestly (formal) ritual from Ancient Egypt to be done by one person. Ancient formal ritual, as the entire ancient religion, was a community rather than a solitary practice.
[edit] The Ritual of the Senut/The Daily Rite
This is a modern Kemetic Orthodox ritual written in the early 1990s by Rev. Tamara Siuda, based upon a basic daily ritual practiced in the formal temples of antiquity and is partially translated into modern languages from those ancient rituals to that effect. The Senut, from an ancient word meaning "shrine," is given freely to all Kemetic Orthodox and is intended to be performed once daily whenever possible. Other Kemetic temples, such as Per-Ankh, often refer to their forms of this ritual as the "Daily Rite."
[edit] Rites of Passage
There are no formal rites of passage for solitary Kemetics. The Kemetic Orthodox Faith does have specific rites of passage, formed in the spirit and tradition of ancient rites of passage, and examples of their rites of passage (some of which have caused controversy among other Kemetic religionists and others that have been adopted by them) are below.
[edit] Rootnaming
Rootnaming is done in Kemetic Orthodoxy to children who are born to members of the faith. Which God is celebrated on their day of birth is determined, and the suffix "-emheb" for boys or "-emhebet" for girls is added. For example, a boy born on a day of the god Set would be named "Setemheb." This is only done for children (i.e., those under the age of puberty), and the name remains only until the child decides to become a Shemsu (a full convert to Kemetic Orthodoxy), if he or she chooses, at puberty or later. Rootnaming is a modern ritual based upon an analogous naming and determination of the "god of one's birth" practiced in antiquity.
[edit] Rite of Parent Divination (the RPD)
A very controversial rite of passage in Kemetic Orthodoxy (see Criticisms below) is the Rite of Parent Divination, or RPD. (The Kemetic Orthodox make no move to suggest nonmembers should or must adopt it, do not claim that the rite has ancient origin, and do not pressure their membership to have an RPD done.) Adult converts to the faith as well as Rootnamed children who wish to become full members at puberty or later have the option (RPD is not mandatory) to undergo a rite of passage involving a day-long ceremony of welcoming a person into the Kemetic Orthodox Faith in the presence of his or her ancestors and gods. At the end of the rituals, which are performed on the candidate's behalf by the Kemetic Orthodox Nisut (Rev. Siuda), a divination (also performed by the Nisut on the candidate's behalf) is undertaken in which the ancestors are contacted for messages on the candidate's life path and current situation and then the gods who are personally responsible for the candidate's life, referred to by the terms "Parent" or "Beloved," are discerned. The Kemetic Orthodox belief is that the one or in some less common cases two Parent god(s) are the god(s) who create the ba or eternal soul of the candidate; and the Beloved gods, who can be in any number they choose, are those gods responsible for the ka or personality/non-eternal spirit of the candidate. Together, the Parent(s) and Beloved(s) of an RPD candidate are believed to represent his or her guardians and creators.
If an RPD candidate accepts the results of the divination and wants to convert fully to Kemetic Orthodoxy, another rite of passage follows where (s)he becomes a Shemsu, or "follower" of the gods, with the bestowal of a Kemetic name (see Shemsu Naming below). The Kemetic Orthodox Shemsu takes a vow to give first attention to his or her Parent(s) and Beloved(s), although it does not forbid them from worshipping other Gods or even practicing other religions simultaneously.
[edit] Criticisms
Some Kemetic reconstructionists (who are not Kemetic Orthodox) object strongly to the RPD.
The main objection to the RPD usually is based in the understanding that RPD is a modern rite of passage with no basis in ancient Egyptian evidence. When asked to explain why they do RPD, the Kemetic Orthodox say they believe that because modern adult converts were not born into the society, there needs to be a mechanism to bring them into the society as well as the religion that is intertwined with that society. Some additionally credit this belief to a directive allegedly given to Rev. Siuda by the goddess Sekhmet to enact such a modern rite of passage to make up for any modern loss of ancient cultural context in Kemetic Orthodoxy.
Some outside Kemetic Orthodoxy criticize why children are given RPD when they become adults if they are Rootnamed, but this criticism is based in misunderstanding of what Rootnaming is. The "god of one's birth" in Kemetic Orthodox rootnaming (and even in antiquity) is not necessarily a Parent or Beloved, nor does Rootnaming comprise an entire rite where all ancestors, spirits and gods are invited to help a person become a member of the faith and society. (Rootnaming confers relationship with one god; RPD is designed to provide a relationship with a minimum of one god and an average of five, in addition to one's ancestors, spirits and spiritual teacher.) Even more importantly, making children full converts at birth would negate their free will in the matter, which Kemetic Orthodoxy is strongly opposed to and would be against Ma'at and ancient precedent, where children were not given more than simple blessings before puberty. After puberty, as they became adults, they could choose for themselves, and so in modern times the Kemetic Orthodox leave the RPD decision to those who have passed into adulthood.
[edit] Shemsu Naming
A person who undergoes the RPD and accepts it may at that time or at any later time decide to become a Shemsu in Kemetic Orthodoxy. They take a vow to honor the gods of their RPD before all others and in another divination are given a Shemsu Name, which is then bestowed on them in front of the entire Kemetic Orthodox community. This is a name in Ancient Egyptian language, often containing the name of the Shemsu's Parent God or Goddess (a "theophoric" name, the most popular type of name in antiquity as well).
[edit] Shemsu-Ankh
Some Kemetic Orthodox decide they would like to have a deeper commitment to the faith than just honoring the gods and being part of the community. Kemetic Orthodox Shemsu who want to commit fully to the Kemetic Orthodox way of life may choose to undergo a very special, private rite of passage known as Weshem-ib or "testing of the heart." Shemsu who undergo Weshem-ib, a formal group ritual involving seclusion in a sacred space as well as other rituals taken from ancient initiation ceremonies, make vows not only to serve their gods, but the members of Kemetic Orthodoxy, Ma'at, and the world.
A Shemsu who has completed Weshem-ib is called a Shemsu-Ankh, or "Sworn Shemsu/Shemsu Who Takes a Vow." This has erroneously been referred to as "Shemsu for Life," though that is based on a pun: the word ankh means life among many other things including a sworn vow, a mirror and a loaf of bread. Just like becoming Shemsu, becoming a Kemetic Orthodox Shemsu-Ankh is entirely voluntary and Kemetic Orthodoxy does not pressure people to make such a commitment, though that level of commitment to the Kemetic Orthodox way of life is required of those who would train for priesthood within the faith.
[edit] External links
[edit] Temples and organizations
- Kemetic Orthodox House of Netjer
- Church of the Eternal Source
- Per-Ankh
- Akhet Hwt-Hrw
- Nuhati-am-Nutjeru
- International Network of Kemetics
- Nikhtah Ma'eyah Kimata - The Black Nation
- Ta Noutri french kemetic group
- Kamitic - french group
- Temple Harakhte by author Rosemary Clark
