IsmailaGodHasHeard
Well-Known Member
I am curious.
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What is Kemetism?
- Thread starter IsmailaGodHasHeard
- Start date
Mata
Insert Witty Title Here
Kemetism/Kemeticism, and the variants are usually terms for the revived or reconstructed religion/s of ancient Egypt. Kemet being an ancient Egyptian word they called their own land (Egypt is the Greek name), Kemet means 'black [land]', which is most commonly interpreted as referring to the dark blackish soil of the soil that the civilization depending upon for it's survival and prosperity.
To keep it short and sweet, Kemetic [neo]paganism is about upholding Ma'at, which is the order of the universe. Most Kemetics worship many different gods and goddesses, which is not surprising since there's over 1500 recorded Egyptian deities! Some are hard polytheists and believe that each god is distant and individual from the others, and some others are soft polytheists, and then you even have various other types of theism within the Kemetic religion, because the conception of the divine changed a lot during Egypt's long history.
Ritual offerings are a main activity of Kemetic worship because the gods are said to derive nourishment from the food and drink offered to them and it allows them to uphold Ma'at and keep Isfet (uncreation, personified by the underworld chaos-serpent Apep/Apophis) at bay.
That's just off the top of my head; if you want some more specific answers, feel free to ask
Even though I don't identify as a Kemetic pagan, I've always had a love for Egyptian mythology & religion/culture - so when I began looking into pagan religions, I naturally learned a little bit about it's revived and reconstructed forms.
To keep it short and sweet, Kemetic [neo]paganism is about upholding Ma'at, which is the order of the universe. Most Kemetics worship many different gods and goddesses, which is not surprising since there's over 1500 recorded Egyptian deities! Some are hard polytheists and believe that each god is distant and individual from the others, and some others are soft polytheists, and then you even have various other types of theism within the Kemetic religion, because the conception of the divine changed a lot during Egypt's long history.
Ritual offerings are a main activity of Kemetic worship because the gods are said to derive nourishment from the food and drink offered to them and it allows them to uphold Ma'at and keep Isfet (uncreation, personified by the underworld chaos-serpent Apep/Apophis) at bay.
That's just off the top of my head; if you want some more specific answers, feel free to ask
Even though I don't identify as a Kemetic pagan, I've always had a love for Egyptian mythology & religion/culture - so when I began looking into pagan religions, I naturally learned a little bit about it's revived and reconstructed forms.
IsmailaGodHasHeard
Well-Known Member
Kemetism/Kemeticism, and the variants are usually terms for the revived or reconstructed religion/s of ancient Egypt. Kemet being an ancient Egyptian word they called their own land (Egypt is the Greek name), Kemet means 'black [land]', which is most commonly interpreted as referring to the dark blackish soil of the soil that the civilization depending upon for it's survival and prosperity.
To keep it short and sweet, Kemetic [neo]paganism is about upholding Ma'at, which is the order of the universe. Most Kemetics worship many different gods and goddesses, which is not surprising since there's over 1500 recorded Egyptian deities! Some are hard polytheists and believe that each god is distant and individual from the others, and some others are soft polytheists, and then you even have various other types of theism within the Kemetic religion, because the conception of the divine changed a lot during Egypt's long history.
Ritual offerings are a main activity of Kemetic worship because the gods are said to derive nourishment from the food and drink offered to them and it allows them to uphold Ma'at and keep Isfet (uncreation, personified by the underworld chaos-serpent Apep/Apophis) at bay.
That's just off the top of my head; if you want some more specific answers, feel free to ask
Oh, okay. Thank you for telling me. That is interesting.
Kemetism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
You have a lot of questions my Friend...
Checking out wikipedia would be a good start so you don't have to sit around and wait for us to reply to you.
Then perhaps you can bring forth a more dynamic question/specific.
:namaste
SageTree
You have a lot of questions my Friend...
Checking out wikipedia would be a good start so you don't have to sit around and wait for us to reply to you.
Then perhaps you can bring forth a more dynamic question/specific.
:namaste
SageTree
IsmailaGodHasHeard
Well-Known Member
I am sorry for all of the questions. I like to learn.:sorry1:
No need to apologize my Friend, you did nothing wrong.
My only intention is for you to have a deeper experience that only what people say on the topic.
While many of us have good information, there is also a lot of personal experience and biases in them.
So if you read a little bit, perhaps you'll be able to compare and contrast what you're seeing and hearing with YOUR experience with at least a brief reading over the material in question.
Know what I mean?
We all learn different ways, but basically.... RF or Wiki... it's reading/visually based.
The readings might also help fill in some gaps.
Maybe my own skeptical bias is showing, but I think the more we look into things the more we understand or the more likely we are to at least ask better questions.
All that said... maybe you're taking the info you get from posts and looking further on your own as well? I don't really know.
It's good to trust others opinions, is what I'm saying, but it's good to also form your own ideas and understanding as well, instead of just being told what the 'facts' are.
Hope that makes sense.
Again, you're doing NOTHING wrong to apologize for.
I just want you to be able to cut to the core, rather than just skim for surface answers
:namaste
SageTree
IsmailaGodHasHeard
Well-Known Member
Thank you. I appreciate that.
Stovepipe_Hat
One who will die.
Egypt had many parallel theological systems. The adoration of local deities in shrines, and the offering table rite for the deceased in their tombs, took place alongside the offering to the state gods at the great temples by or on behalf of the king. The creation accounts ran along three main lines: The Hermopolitan system of Khemenu (Eight-Town) in middle Egypt, with its four pairs of pre-creation gods called the Ogdoad (Group of 8) in Greek , the Heliopolitan system of Annu (City of the Sun) in lower Egypt, with its post-creation gods of the Ennead (Group of 9), and the triad of creator gods at Mennefer (Memphis), located where the Nile Delta joins the narrow ribbon of the Nile. These were the powerful state gods.
For Egypt was the Nile, alive by the annual inundation of its fields beneath the eternal desert sun. It was Kemet, the fertile Black Land, while all else was the dry Desheret, the Red Land, and Egypt's children knew no other home. It was Tawy, the Two Lands, the swampy Delta and the immensely long upper valley in its broad gorge, united by the peace agreement of Horus and Seth, who tied the papyrus stem of lower Egypt and the sedge reed of upper Egypt in a knot together.
Sailing across the sky above Kemet by day in his day-boat, and sailing toward renewal in the underground Duat by night in his night-boat was the sun god, Re, with the crew of gods and men who helped him beat back chaos.
The Ogdoad are
The Ennead are
As described in Coffin Texts Spell 148, the pregnancy of Isis births Horus.
The Memphite Triad are
There are many themes and variations on themes within this schema. Major funerary compositions begin with the Pyramid Texts, reserved for the king during the Old Kingdom; the Coffin Texts available to nonroyal elites in the Middle Kingdom, including women; and the Book of the Dead, also called the Book of Coming Forth by Day, available to anyone with means in the New Kingdom. Other theological texts include the Memphite Theology on the Shabaqo Stone, the Hymn to Amun-Re on Papyrus Leiden I 350, and the Heavenly Cow in tombs of the Ramessid kings.
More discussion & Bibliography future post.
For Egypt was the Nile, alive by the annual inundation of its fields beneath the eternal desert sun. It was Kemet, the fertile Black Land, while all else was the dry Desheret, the Red Land, and Egypt's children knew no other home. It was Tawy, the Two Lands, the swampy Delta and the immensely long upper valley in its broad gorge, united by the peace agreement of Horus and Seth, who tied the papyrus stem of lower Egypt and the sedge reed of upper Egypt in a knot together.
Sailing across the sky above Kemet by day in his day-boat, and sailing toward renewal in the underground Duat by night in his night-boat was the sun god, Re, with the crew of gods and men who helped him beat back chaos.
The Ogdoad are
- Nun (the watery one, male) and Naunet (his female counterpart)
- Hehu (infinite flood, male) and Hehut (female counterpart)
- Keku (perpetual dark, male) and Kekut (female counterpart)
- Amun (the hidden one, male) and Amunet (female counterpart)
The Ennead are
- Atum (creator), who ejaculates onto the ground to beget:
- Shu (dry air god) and Tefnut (moist air goddess), who marry and beget:
- Geb (earth god) and Nut (sky goddess), who beget four children,
- Osiris (god of the world of the dead), Isis, Nephthys, and Seth (unruly god)
As described in Coffin Texts Spell 148, the pregnancy of Isis births Horus.
The Memphite Triad are
- Ptah (patron of craftsmen)
- Sokar (funerary god of Memphis)
- Osiris (who is also in the Ennead)
There are many themes and variations on themes within this schema. Major funerary compositions begin with the Pyramid Texts, reserved for the king during the Old Kingdom; the Coffin Texts available to nonroyal elites in the Middle Kingdom, including women; and the Book of the Dead, also called the Book of Coming Forth by Day, available to anyone with means in the New Kingdom. Other theological texts include the Memphite Theology on the Shabaqo Stone, the Hymn to Amun-Re on Papyrus Leiden I 350, and the Heavenly Cow in tombs of the Ramessid kings.
More discussion & Bibliography future post.
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Stovepipe_Hat
One who will die.
King and god were not separate in Egypt. The king wasn't himself a god, but became one in the afterlife, and the king was responsible for maintaining the regular offering to the major gods. The best first resource for detailed information on kings, gods, and many other topics is
Language isn't separate from the divine, either, and much about Egyptian belief can be found in Allen. This is a grammar for serious beginners, but you can read the translated sentences to find a wealth of belief. There are also detailed essay sections in English about the society and its religion. The other book, by Hornung, looks at how Egyptians constructed their gods within a general framework of sacred thought.
An overview of the civilization's religion, operating principles, and a discussion of the new city founded by Akhenaten during his brief religious revolution are in three books, all by British anthropologist Barry Kemp:
An inexpensive, lavish color reproduction of a Book of Dead scroll with translation by Raymond O. Faulkner is in
Enjoy! I will try to add to this data later. I realize the modern Kemetism may not resemble the original. But to follow Egypt's deities, you simply must study them. They aren't like any other gods you've ever seen.
Digital Egypt. A website of University College, London.
Digital Egypt for Universities: A to Z Index
Digital Egypt for Universities: A to Z Index
Language isn't separate from the divine, either, and much about Egyptian belief can be found in Allen. This is a grammar for serious beginners, but you can read the translated sentences to find a wealth of belief. There are also detailed essay sections in English about the society and its religion. The other book, by Hornung, looks at how Egyptians constructed their gods within a general framework of sacred thought.
- Allen, James P. Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs. Cambridge U. Press, 2010 (2nd ed.), 2014 (3rd ed.)
- Hornung, Erik. Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt: The One and the Many. John Baines, trans. Cornell U. Press, 1996
An overview of the civilization's religion, operating principles, and a discussion of the new city founded by Akhenaten during his brief religious revolution are in three books, all by British anthropologist Barry Kemp:
- Kemp, Barry. How to Read the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Norton, 2008
- --. Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization. Routledge, 2011
- --. The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Tell el-Amarna and Its People. Thames & Hudson, 2014
An inexpensive, lavish color reproduction of a Book of Dead scroll with translation by Raymond O. Faulkner is in
- Von Dassow, Eva (ed.). The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Book of Going Forth by Day - The Complete Papyrus of Ani. Chronicle Books, 2008
Enjoy! I will try to add to this data later. I realize the modern Kemetism may not resemble the original. But to follow Egypt's deities, you simply must study them. They aren't like any other gods you've ever seen.
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