Modern Revival of the Religious Traditions of Ancient Egypt
By Anne S.
(Our faith) is called Kemetic Orthodoxy after the term Kemetic for "of Kemet," Kemet being the ancient name of Egypt; and Orthodox meaning "a sect conforming to established doctrine especially in religion."
~ Kemetic Orthodoxy.
Revival
In the late 1980s Tamara L. Sidua founded Kemetic Orthodoxy. It is thoroughly grounded within the religion, thought, and spirituality of ancient Egypt and aims to not only provide a spiritual path but also to represent and preserve the cultural heritage of the spiritual ancestors of the faith. As such, Kemetic Orthodoxy is monolatrous in form and practice. There is one universal divine energy - the Netjer - which is composed of many small, interrelated parts - the individual deities.
In the Kemetic faith those individual deities are individual in every way - they have clear differences, specific responsibilities, separate personalities - but at the same time they are connected parts of one whole. This monolatrous ideaology has lead Kemetic Orthodoxy to be very inclusive of other beliefs. Converts are not expected to forswear their current or past belief systems.
"We do not believe our faith to be the one and only path to spiritual success and Kemetic Orthodoxy may not be for everyone."
~ Kemetic Orthodoxy
For anyone interested in exploring the Egyptian faith in detail, I thoroughly recommend you visit Kemet.org. The site is extensive and offers a lot of comprehensive information in relatively user-friendly formats. There is a wonderful section on the gods and goddesses - researched and written by the Nisut herself that is well worth the visit just to expand your knowledge and understanding of the Egyptian deities. I am not aware of any other organisations that follow the Egyptian faith - although there may be others.
Practicing the Faith
There are many ways to live one's faith. Officially, according to Kemet.org, practice is broken into three parts (discussed below). But there is also the unofficial. The Nisut is active within local and global charities and encourages this from her followers. In such actions can be found the living principle of ma'at in action - we are all a part of the same global family. It is right that we care for each other. It also translates as an act of piety in taking responsibility for the care and healing of the world given us by the Netjer. Being active in charity is an acceptance of the challenge set her followers by the Nisut, the chance "to embrace one's nature as a child of the Divine, and in doing so, to work to spread ma'at throughout the world".
"Following our faith, or any faith really, requires commitment, along with a willingness to work towards one's goals rather than expect them to come with no effort. The gods and goddesses do answer prayers, but They also expect us to help answer them if that's in our power. They want each and every one of us to take the power They have given for ourselves and our world into our hands, to work with Them to change the world rather than simply wander through life doing what we're told, without being involved on all levels of our journey."
~ Sekhenet-Ma'at-Ra setep-en-Ra Hekatawy I, Nisut-Bityt of the Kemetic Orthodoxy
Practicing the Faith - Personal Piety
As the name suggests, this refers to personal worship and the enactment of the ritual of the Senet. This simple daily sacrament is the most important of them all and is practiced by every member of the faith to honour and commune with the Netjer.
Practicing the Faith - State Ritual
This is the formal form of worship - and the ones easiest to revive since this is what was recorded by the ancient Egyptians. State rituals in honour of the gods and Pharoah were inscibed in stone, painted on walls, written down on papyrus scrolls. The modern Kemetic Orthodox priesthood follows these rites as strictly and accurately as possible.
Practicing the Faith - Ancestral Devotion
The honouring of the Akhu - blessed dead - ensures their immortal existence and is a ritual that involves shared responsibility between the living and the dead. The living venerate and make offerings to their ancestors, ensuring their eternal life and in return the ancestors protect and bless the living.
Family Matters
Family means more than just the traditional family of parents and children. It also refers to the extended family of the faith, the ancestors, the gods. All these types of family are of great importance to the Kemetic Orthodox. This is shown in both the structure of the organisation and its support system, and in the practice of the faith. Strengthening and expanding familial bonds is a part of the intent behind the spirituality. This is clearly evidenced within the Ancestral Devotion, but is also shown in the gatherings, the daily devotions, the gods and their responsibilities.
"I was taught that God doesn't make junk. If you accept that, once you believe you are a hand-crafted, deliberate formation of Netjer's will, loved and cherished from the moment of your making, then you can understand why you are important. Once you believe that everyone else is Netjer's creation as well - then you understand why they are important, and why you must help them in any way you can."
~ Sekhenet-Ma'at-Ra setep-en-Ra Hekatawy I, Nisut-Bityt of the Kemetic Orthodoxy
The Nisut-bityt
She of the Sedge and Bee - the traditional title of the spiritual and secular leader of the ancient Egyptians. This is the title used by today's leader of the Kemetic Orthodoxy, who also goes by the lengthy name of Her Holiness, Sekhenet-Ma'at-Ra setep-en-Ra Hekatawy I, Nisut-Bityt of the Kemetic Orthodoxy, or Hemet (an affectionate "nickname" meaning "majesty" or "sacred incarnation").
The Nisut was officially coronated in Egypt, and charged with the sacred duty of enacting Netjer's will. The current incarnation of the kingly ka that invests all spiritual leaders of the Kemetic Orthodoxy, the Nisut is the link between the divine and the people. Like past leaders (in the ancient world) the Nisut has extensive training and education to prepare her for this responsibility. Dedicated to Netjer's will from childhood, she has a Master's in Egyptology. She has worked hard, and continues to do so, in her efforts to "revive Kemet's long-forgotten ways and bring them to a new generation of the faithful, helping to return the love and wisdom of ma'at to a modern world sorely in need of it."
The Call of Ancient Egypt
The Egyptians are especially famous for a number of things: their gods, their festivals, their Pharaohs, and their ideas on death.
The Gods
There are so many deities in Egyptian mythology, over 700 if you look at the entire history. They can be divided into two groups - household deities and local/state/national gods. The local and state deities were specific only to a limited area while the national gods were common throughout the country. Some national gods took on local characteristics depending upon which part of the country they were in. Thus we can have a god with multiple names representing the responsibilities and locations of that god. There were also many household gods - who did not take on cult status like the others. The most well known of these are Bes and Tawaret.
So, with so many gods, where does one start in learning about them?
I'd recommend looking at the Ennead, the nine Great Gods. (Ennead can also be used to refer to "all" the gods, or a council of the gods). These are the primary, first gods from whom came the others (with the exception of those who moved into the country from another region).
First only the primal nothingness existed. The great Nu devoid of anything. Then Atum created himself. Using his spittle (or blood) he formed two offspring - Shu and Tefnut - who mated. Their children, Geb and Nut, mated and Nut gave birth to the first gods of earth: Osiris, Isis, Set, and Nephthys. The union of these two pairs gave rise to many other gods and also the pharoahs.
The Festivals
From the available evidence it is clear the Egyptians enjoyed their festivals. A couple of days of feasting and making merry, honouring the gods and the seasons, celebrating life and the eternal cycle. They may have worked very hard, but they also celebrated life and death to the fullest. All aspects of Egyptian life were recognised and given their due.
Reconstructing the festivals is a blend of easy and hard. The Egyptians were notoriously obsessed with notating everything. And papyrus calendars have been unearthed and translated. But, like my kitchen calendar, they are quite boring - a list of event, date, and deities honoured. Not the story of a vibrant celebration. The walls however are another thing entirely. Rich in details of various feasts and festivals, prayers and rituals, offerings and observations, when added to the calendars they provide a lot of detail. Much of our knowledge is drawn from places such as Medinet Habu which provide information primarily about the various cultic (religious) festivals. There were civil ones as well, but little information on those remains.
Some nationally celebrated festivals include:
Wep-renpet (New Year) - the new year and the time of rebirth and rejuvenation
Feast of Wagy - 17 days later the national observation of mortuary rituals occured
The Festival of Opet - a joyful celebration of the link between Pharoah and Amun, and the bequeathing of Amun's power and authority upon the Pharoah, his Son. Held in the second month.
The Festival of Choiak or Sokar - a sorrowful six day observance in the fourth month connected to the death of Osirus.
The Rebirth Celebration of Nehebkau - a festival in the fifth month celebrating Osirus's rebirth. This became a second New Year celebration.
The Festival of the Fertility god Min - a fertility and abundance festival held in the ninth month.
The Beautiful Feast of the Valley - a mortuary festival in the tenth month filled with celebration and communion with the dead.
Pharaoh
Pharaoh was the living god-king of the people. He belonged to both the world of gods and the human world, acting as a link between them as he worked to bring ma'at to the land and the people. All Pharaohs were desceded from Amun and this lineage was crucial in establishing their divinity and right to rule. It was also one of the reasons many Pharaohs married within the family - keeping the bloodlines pure and undiluted by lessor blood. The health and welfare of the land was seen as irrevocably tied to the health and ability of the Pharaoh.
Death, Mummies, and Pyramids
The Egyptians may well be best known for their elaborate rituals revoving around death. Mummification of the body, exstensive tomb offerings, pyramids, books of instructions for the dead...the list goes on. There is a vast amount of source material about death, and it would be easy to assume from this that they were obsessed with death, but I think that is unlikely. Partially it is the fascination our society has with death that leads to such a strong focus upon evidence of it elsewhere. Partially it is the conditions - grave items, especially in the wonderfully preservative environment of Egypt, tend to survive better than everyday goods. So a lot more "death" stuff is left than "life" stuff. And partially it is the obsessive nature of the Egyptians themselves - combined with the sheer amount of time they had to perfect their ideas.
Thousands of years of civilisation. A race dedicated to the preservation of their relationship with their gods. You end up with a lot of books and pictures on religion. When that society also believes in immortal life after death - if certain conditions are met - well, let's just say "a lot of books" doesn't begin to cover what they produced to ensure that immortal life was achieved by as many deserving supplicants as possible.
And it was life they were obsessed with. Both the enjoyment of it now and the eternal enjoyment of it in the next life. Death was but a transition. Mummification and burial were steps that needed to be observed correctly to enable that transition to occur.
The pyramids, Valley of the Kings, and other tombs were attempts by various Pharoahs and nobles to ensure their mummified remains would survive intact with all the trappings. This survival guaranteed the survival of the ka, the spirit, that remained within the tomb. The ka's survival helped keep the akh, the immortal soul, intact in the Underworld. Mummification itself was designed to preserve the body - also seen as a way to help ensure the survival of the akh.
A Censing Prayer
The fire is laid, the fire shines;
The incense is laid on the fire, the incense shines.
Your perfume comes to me, O Incense;
May my perfume come to you, O Incense.
Your perfume comes to me, you gods;
May my perfume come to you, you gods.
May I be with you, you gods;
May you be with me, you gods.
May I live with you, you gods;
May you live with me, you gods.
I love you, you gods;
May you love me, you gods
The Pyramid Text, Utterance 269
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