Black Spirituality Religion : Kemetic Reconstructionists

cherryblossom

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Feb 28, 2009
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Kemetic Reconstructionism ("Kemet" is the ancient word for Egypt) is a form of reconstructionist Neopagan religion that seeks to recreate ancient Egyptian religion as accurately as possible, based primarily on the latest research of Egyptologists.

Cultural and linguistic adaptions are made to ancient beliefs and rituals in order to preserve their meaning for modern followers, but eclecticism and adaptation is generally rejected in favor of authenticity.

Followers are referred to as Kemetic Reconstructionists or Kemetics.

Organization and Priesthood

There are many Kemetic organizations, but 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.

The largest Kemetic organization is the House of Netjer or Kemetic Orthodoxy, founded in the late 1980s by Tamara L. Siuda. It gained official recognition in the U.S. as a religion in 1994. Siuda underwent her coronation as Nisut-Bity (Pharaoh) in 1996 through ceremonies performed in Egypt, and is now known formally within her faith as "Her Holiness, Sekhenet-Ma'at-Ra setep-en-Ra Hekatawy I, Nisut-Bity of the Kemetic Orthodox faith." (See below for more on the role of Pharoah.) In 2000 Siuda earned a master's degree in Egyptology. The House of Netjer is headquarted at the Tawy House temple in Joliet, Illinois, and followers of the faith around the world correspond via the internet.

Several Kemetic temples and organizations maintain Egyptian-style priesthoods, with a hierarchy of part-time and full-time priests in addition to a chief priest embodied in the pharaoh or ruler. 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 groups.

Some Kemetics maintain, in keeping with the reconstructionist ideal, that the existence of a living Pharaoh (a Hebrew word; the Egyptian term is Nisut) 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 was a priest-king, the servant of both the gods and the people of Egypt. The largest Kemetic group, the House of Netjer, recognizes its founder, Egyptologist Rev. Tamara Siuda, as Nisut.

Other Kemetic organizations reject this idea, citing the abuse of power that could occur with a modern Pharoah. Instead, they recognize the Egyptian idea of kingship as a symbolic meeting of men and their gods and fulfill it by means of 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.

Beliefs

Kemetic Reconstructionists honor the ancient Egyptian gods, whom they call by their original Egyptian names rather than the more familiar Greek forms. These gods include:

Amun
Anubis
Bast
Bes
Hathor (Egyptian name: Het-heru, Het-hert, or Hwt-hru)
Horus (Hor or Heru)
Isis (Aset, Iset, Ast, or Auset)
Khonsu
Khnum
Ma'at
Nepthys
Osiris (Ausar, Asar, or Wesir)
Ra
Sekhmet
Set
Thoth
How these Gods are viewed depends on the individual belief. Polytheism is the most common form, in both ancient and modern forms of the religion. From this perspective, all the gods are understood as individual beings and are worshiped as individuals.

Many Kemetic Reconstructionists, including members of the large House of Netjer, define their form of polytheism as monolatry, a term coined by Egyptologists. This means that the many individual deities are regarded as parts of an ultimately unknowable self-created Oneness, known in ancient texts as Netjer, "being of divine power," or as Atum, "the complete one/the one who is not."

The ancient Egyptians had a variety of different myths to describe Earth's creation, which are meaningful to modern Kemetics despite their own (usually) scientific view of creation.

Views of Kermetics about the afterlife can vary significantly. Some Kemetic Reconstructionists accept the ancient Egyptian view of the afterlife, while others believe in reincarnation or hold other views. The ancient Egyptians saw the afterlife as a journey through several "tests," the climax of which is the Weighing of the Heart, in which the heart is weighed against an ostrich feather (Feather of Ma'at).

If the heart is too heavy with sin, it is fed to the monster-goddess Ammit 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.

Ethics

Kemetic ethics are based in the Egyptian concept of Ma'at, which is truth, justice, order, and "that which is right." In addition, Kemetics look to ancient Egyptian law texts such as the Declaration of Innocence (also called the "Negative Confessions"), which contain a list of 42 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 includes such sins as murder, muddying the rivers of the Nile river, adultery, theft, eavesdropping, and sexual perversion. This last sin is often translated in older texts as committing homosexuality, but Kemetic Reconstructionists consider this a mistranslation and are open to homosexual members. A common theory is that the prohibition refers to child prostitution.

Practices

The most common form of religious ritual in Kermetic Reconstructionism is informal offerings and prayers at a personal shrine. A person may also adapt various community priestly rituals from ancient Egypt to be done by one person.

The Egyptians believed that 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. Mummification is not practiced by modern Kermetics, since photographs and other records are sufficient to preserve a deceased person's memory. Many Kermetics have an Akhu shrine, dedicated to the "blessed dead," for this purpose.

There are several Kermetic festivals every month, and in some months there is almost a festival for every day. As in ancient Egypt, worshipers can choose which to celebrate, based usually on location, temple affiliation, and personal devotion to a particular deity. But a few major holidays are celebrated by most Kermetics regardless of their temple affiliation (most temples have official calendars) or independent status:

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


The Ritual of the Senut or the Daily Rite is a 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."

There are no formal rites of passage for solitary Kemetics, but the Kemetic Orthodox faith has developed specific rites of passage adapted from the spirit and tradition of ancient rites. Some of these have caused controversy among other Kemetic religionists, while others that have been adopted by them. These include Rootnaming, in which a child born to Kemetic parents is given an additional name indicating the god of his/her month of birth (e.g. Setneb for the month of Set), and the Rite of Parent Divination, a divination ritual performed for adult converts or children at puberty.


http://www.religionfacts.com/neopaganism/paths/kemetic.htm
 
Kemetic Reconstructionism
("Kemet" is the ancient word for Egypt) is a form of reconstructionist Neopagan religion that seeks to recreate ancient Egyptian religion as accurately as possible, based primarily on the latest research of Egyptologists.

Cultural and linguistic adaptions are made to ancient beliefs and rituals in order to preserve their meaning for modern followers, but eclecticism and adaptation is generally rejected in favor of authenticity.

Followers are referred to as Kemetic Reconstructionists or Kemetics.

Organization and Priesthood

There are many Kemetic organizations, but 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.

The largest Kemetic organization is the House of Netjer or Kemetic Orthodoxy, founded in the late 1980s by Tamara L. Siuda. It gained official recognition in the U.S. as a religion in 1994. Siuda underwent her coronation as Nisut-Bity (Pharaoh) in 1996 through ceremonies performed in Egypt, and is now known formally within her faith as "Her Holiness, Sekhenet-Ma'at-Ra setep-en-Ra Hekatawy I, Nisut-Bity of the Kemetic Orthodox faith." (See below for more on the role of Pharoah.) In 2000 Siuda earned a master's degree in Egyptology. The House of Netjer is headquarted at the Tawy House temple in Joliet, Illinois, and followers of the faith around the world correspond via the internet.

Several Kemetic temples and organizations maintain Egyptian-style priesthoods, with a hierarchy of part-time and full-time priests in addition to a chief priest embodied in the pharaoh or ruler. 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 groups.

Some Kemetics maintain, in keeping with the reconstructionist ideal, that the existence of a living Pharaoh (a Hebrew word; the Egyptian term is Nisut) 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 was a priest-king, the servant of both the gods and the people of Egypt. The largest Kemetic group, the House of Netjer, recognizes its founder, Egyptologist Rev. Tamara Siuda, as Nisut.

Other Kemetic organizations reject this idea, citing the abuse of power that could occur with a modern Pharoah. Instead, they recognize the Egyptian idea of kingship as a symbolic meeting of men and their gods and fulfill it by means of 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.

Beliefs

Kemetic Reconstructionists honor the ancient Egyptian gods, whom they call by their original Egyptian names rather than the more familiar Greek forms. These gods include:

Amun
Anubis
Bast
Bes
Hathor (Egyptian name: Het-heru, Het-hert, or Hwt-hru)
Horus (Hor or Heru)
Isis (Aset, Iset, Ast, or Auset)
Khonsu
Khnum
Ma'at
Nepthys
Osiris (Ausar, Asar, or Wesir)
Ra
Sekhmet
Set
Thoth
How these Gods are viewed depends on the individual belief. Polytheism is the most common form, in both ancient and modern forms of the religion. From this perspective, all the gods are understood as individual beings and are worshiped as individuals.

Many Kemetic Reconstructionists, including members of the large House of Netjer, define their form of polytheism as monolatry, a term coined by Egyptologists. This means that the many individual deities are regarded as parts of an ultimately unknowable self-created Oneness, known in ancient texts as Netjer, "being of divine power," or as Atum, "the complete one/the one who is not."

The ancient Egyptians had a variety of different myths to describe Earth's creation, which are meaningful to modern Kemetics despite their own (usually) scientific view of creation.

Views of Kermetics about the afterlife can vary significantly. Some Kemetic Reconstructionists accept the ancient Egyptian view of the afterlife, while others believe in reincarnation or hold other views. The ancient Egyptians saw the afterlife as a journey through several "tests," the climax of which is the Weighing of the Heart, in which the heart is weighed against an ostrich feather (Feather of Ma'at).

If the heart is too heavy with sin, it is fed to the monster-goddess Ammit 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.

Ethics

Kemetic ethics are based in the Egyptian concept of Ma'at, which is truth, justice, order, and "that which is right." In addition, Kemetics look to ancient Egyptian law texts such as the Declaration of Innocence (also called the "Negative Confessions"), which contain a list of 42 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 includes such sins as murder, muddying the rivers of the Nile river, adultery, theft, eavesdropping, and sexual perversion. This last sin is often translated in older texts as committing homosexuality, but Kemetic Reconstructionists consider this a mistranslation and are open to homosexual members. A common theory is that the prohibition refers to child prostitution.

Practices

The most common form of religious ritual in Kermetic Reconstructionism is informal offerings and prayers at a personal shrine. A person may also adapt various community priestly rituals from ancient Egypt to be done by one person.

The Egyptians believed that 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. Mummification is not practiced by modern Kermetics, since photographs and other records are sufficient to preserve a deceased person's memory. Many Kermetics have an Akhu shrine, dedicated to the "blessed dead," for this purpose.

There are several Kermetic festivals every month, and in some months there is almost a festival for every day. As in ancient Egypt, worshipers can choose which to celebrate, based usually on location, temple affiliation, and personal devotion to a particular deity. But a few major holidays are celebrated by most Kermetics regardless of their temple affiliation (most temples have official calendars) or independent status:

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


The Ritual of the Senut or the Daily Rite is a 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."

There are no formal rites of passage for solitary Kemetics, but the Kemetic Orthodox faith has developed specific rites of passage adapted from the spirit and tradition of ancient rites. Some of these have caused controversy among other Kemetic religionists, while others that have been adopted by them. These include Rootnaming, in which a child born to Kemetic parents is given an additional name indicating the god of his/her month of birth (e.g. Setneb for the month of Set), and the Rite of Parent Divination, a divination ritual performed for adult converts or children at puberty.


http://www.religionfacts.com/neopaganism/paths/kemetic.htm

Oh, Hell To The No You Didn't !!! Sorry Sis, you got to leave this one alone "Unless you are ready to deal with Christianity and it's origin tooth and nail"

1. Where did your commandments come from that God supposedly gave to Moses?

2. Where did the origin of your Christ come from"?

3.Where did you get your "virgin birth" from?

4. Where did You get your Jesus and his 12 disciples from?

5. Where did you get him being crucified and raising on the 3rd day from?

6. Where did you get your Trinity from?

7. Where did you get your Dec. 25th and Easter from?

8. Where did you get your concept of Satan from?

9. The Pert em Heru was written over 3,400 years before your Old Testament and 4,200 years before your New Testament. Since then there has been over 28 different versions and corruptions of it released including your King James Bible.

10. In Fact.. I can post over 250 direct parallels from Kemet and the so called sayings of Jesus or that's in the New Testament to show you that neither Jesus or the new testament said or did it first....or better yet, that "ONE IS SIMPLY A COPY/CORRUPTION OF THE OTHER".

11. Now if you so chose to disrespect our ancestors in this fashion like this again without having done any study to really "KNOW WHAT YOU'RE SPEAKING"...please do not post inaccurate information unless the POT LIKES CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK !!!
 

Oh, Hell To The No You Didn't !!! Sorry Sis, you got to leave this one alone "Unless you are ready to deal with Christianity and it's origin tooth and nail"
!!!


hysterical-1.gif


Whoodie-Hoo! Looks like I struck a NERVE! LMBO!

Keita, perhaps you haven't figured it out yet; but my reason for posting in the ATR sub-forum as well as the other belief systems is not one of disrespect but rather “***-for-tat” and “what's good for the goose is good for the gander.”

If you and others here can come into the Christianity sub-forum to give/assert your beliefs which counter MY religion, then why can't I post in the others?

And truly, I meant no disrespect with this thread. If the so-called “purpose” of these sub-forums is to “STUDY” each belief system in a “PROJECT,” then if I posted incorrect information, you can correct it.


So, don't get all defensive because I, a Christian, posted in the ATR forum.

When I first posted in the Christianity sub-forum, it was EMPTY. NO ONE had started any threads in it. But, as SOON as I,a CHRISTIAN, posted a thread in it, folks came a'running!

Until I posted THIS thread, there was NO activity in THIS forum since OCTOBER. And why don't I see any threads in this forum started by YOU?

Yet, YOU and some others who have different beliefs have been all over whatever I post in the Christianity forum.

And when I posted a thread on Esu/Elegbara, TWO members came in to ask why I, a CHRISTIAN, would post in this sub-forum.
http://destee.com/forums/showthread.php?p=583122#post583122

Ironically, one of them mirrored my own vewpoint...

Originally Posted by*Bootzey*
As a non-Christian*I actually find this practice... posting on a thread that is not your belief structure... kind of offensive.*

I am not a Christian, and I have deep anti-Christian sentiments, but*I would never disrespect Christian belief sytem by chiming in on the Christian threads.*

Even though I USED to be a devout Christian, have a degree in theology and have read the Bible cover to cover at least 5 times; still I stay away from Christian threads.*I don't understand your purpose for posting about something you clearly state you don't believe in.

So, my POINT is, if everybody on Destee with all our different religions/beliefs can comment and counter everybody else's everywhere on the board, then that is just a BREEDING GROUND for conflict and disrespect, IMO.

Yes, this is a discussion board; and, yes, people are going to disagree.
However, there are countless threads here which, in some way, cover religion and beliefs.

But religion is an area which is always a touchy one. And I have seen how Destee members just LOVE to pick and tear apart another's spiritual beliefs. Some seem to THRIVE on it.

Many of the threads about religion are the ones which get the most responses.

Some of them are even “seemingly” started to BAIT other members who adhere to a particular religion
. http://destee.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58676

But, I have PURPOSELY stayed away from and ignored such subjects because they are SET UP to be DIVISIVE.

So, I had restricted my Christian beliefs to the Christianity sub-forum, not all over the board.

So, if there is NO single, SEPARATE place here where different beliefs can mingle and discuss with others who believe the same, then that, IMO, is contradictory to Destee's mission statement.

Again, I meant no disrespect to ATR or any other belief here, but if you WANT respect, then GIVE IT.

Yet, you seem offended because I, a CHRISTIAN, posted some incorrect information in the ATR sub-forum. And I didn't know that it was incorrect. I just found a website and copied/pasted.

It was all a part of my test.

Things that make ya go “Hmmmm.”
 
In the Spirit of Sankofa and the Truth!

hysterical-1.gif


Whoodie-Hoo! Looks like I struck a NERVE! LMBO!

Keita, perhaps you haven't figured it out yet; but my reason for posting in the ATR sub-forum as well as the other belief systems is not one of disrespect but rather “***-for-tat” and “what's good for the goose is good for the gander.”

If you and others here can come into the Christianity sub-forum to give/assert your beliefs which counter MY religion, then why can't I post in the others?

And truly, I meant no disrespect with this thread. If the so-called “purpose” of these sub-forums is to “STUDY” each belief system in a “PROJECT,” then if I posted incorrect information, you can correct it.


So, don't get all defensive because I, a Christian, posted in the ATR forum.

When I first posted in the Christianity sub-forum, it was EMPTY. NO ONE had started any threads in it. But, as SOON as I,a CHRISTIAN, posted a thread in it, folks came a'running!

Until I posted THIS thread, there was NO activity in THIS forum since OCTOBER. And why don't I see any threads in this forum started by YOU?

Yet, YOU and some others who have different beliefs have been all over whatever I post in the Christianity forum.

And when I posted a thread on Esu/Elegbara, TWO members came in to ask why I, a CHRISTIAN, would post in this sub-forum.
http://destee.com/forums/showthread.php?p=583122#post583122

Ironically, one of them mirrored my own vewpoint...



So, my POINT is, if everybody on Destee with all our different religions/beliefs can comment and counter everybody else's everywhere on the board, then that is just a BREEDING GROUND for conflict and disrespect, IMO.
Yes, this is a discussion board; and, yes, people are going to disagree.
However, there are countless threads here which, in some way, cover religion and beliefs.

But religion is an area which is always a touchy one. And I have seen how Destee members just LOVE to pick and tear apart another's spiritual beliefs. Some seem to THRIVE on it.

Many of the threads about religion are the ones which get the most responses.

Some of them are even “seemingly” started to BAIT other members who adhere to a particular religion
. http://destee.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58676

But, I have PURPOSELY stayed away from and ignored such subjects because they are SET UP to be DIVISIVE.

So, I had restricted my Christian beliefs to the Christianity sub-forum, not all over the board.

So, if there is NO single, SEPARATE place here where different beliefs can mingle and discuss with others who believe the same, then that, IMO, is contradictory to Destee's mission statement.

Again, I meant no disrespect to ATR or any other belief here, but if you WANT respect, then GIVE IT.

Yet, you seem offended because I, a CHRISTIAN, posted some incorrect information in the ATR sub-forum. And I didn't know that it was incorrect. I just found a website and copied/pasted.

It was all a part of my test.

Things that make ya go “Hmmmm.”





cherryblossom,
:bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:

Well said sister cherryblossom, well said indeed.

 

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