Thinking Kemetic...

[Mark Wells]

The Origin of the Word, Kemet

In the pre-history period of Egypt, and during the Old Kingdom, Egypt was referred to as Kemet, or simply Kmt, which means "The Black Nation" or "The Black City". The name for Egypt was originated by the Greeks, as Ae-gyp-t-os. Over the millenniums, Egypt has had many names in many different languages. Today, its official name is Junhuriyah Misr al-Arabiyah, which in English means the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egyptians themselves today refer to Egypt as Misr.Misr is an Arabic name simply meaning "country". The Arabs who invaded Egypt, like the Greeks, had problems pronouncing the term, Ae-gyp-t-os, which means "Egyptian citizen". Essentially, they changed the word to Copti. Of course, at that time, Egypt was a Christian nation, so the term became limited to actual Egyptian Christians as the country became more and more Islamic.

Book of the Dead of Maiherperi; Click picture to enlarge

History of Religion

The Kemetians, studied the cosmos closely and recognized that great powers hold the universe together. These powers inherent in the universe were also identified in the human body, and the sum total of all the Universal forces was the One God, the Supreme, the Universe.

The Kemetic people were ancient black people of the Nile Valley. After many successful attempts over a period of thousands of years, the land was finally conquered by invaders. This invasion ended the Kemetic empire. It was the first monotheistic tradition and the oldest spiritual system in the world. As a result, of the downfall this gave rise to the Egyptian people. The Egyptian people were the conquerors who settled in the land and there they remained after each conquest from the Arabic influence to that of the Romans. The closing of the Egyptian temples by the order of Emperor Justinian in the fifth century (AD) was the attempt to destroy African civilization by reorganizing many of North Africa's principal features.

So where did the ancient Kemetic people go? Well, some stay around the ancient land, but it is believed that most of them migrated to sub-Sahara Africa and to the West of Africa.

The Kemetic religion embodies a system of spiritual cultivation, the oldest in the world. The next closest tradition in terms of age would be Vedic tradition of India, which based on the Rig Veda, could be traced back to about 1500 BCE, and even the Vedic tradition would appear also to owe some of its spiritual science to Kemet. The earliest written parts of the Bible would have been written 1000 BCE, based on a tradition dating back to Abraham, who would have lived one thousand years earlier, in about 2000 BCE. Moses lived about 1300 BCE. Chinese Taoist philosophy dates back only to about 500 BCE, as does Confucianism.

The Ausarian Drama or Resurrection

The trilogy of Auset (Isis), Ausar (Orisis), and Heru (Horus) (Ausarian Drama) is 4100 years older than Christianity. In the story, the God Ausar, was killed by his brother,Set (origin of the word Satan). The son (Sun) of Ausar, named Heru, avenged his father's death by fighting with Set. His father was resurrected from death. This original story (prototype for Constantine's bible) is published in detail in the Book of the Dead. The earliest Book of the Dead on record dates to the mid-fifteenth century BCE, but some of the spells had their origins in the Pyramid Texts from the 5th and 6th Dynasties, carved more than 1000 years earlier. The Pyramid Texts themselves in part refer in their own turn to rituals and practices probably in common usage 1000 years prior to them. Some of the texts were found on the walls of tombs, on coffins, written on linen or vellum, and on papyrus.

Kemetic Beliefs

It is about living a successful, glorious and peaceful life. They believe the purpose of our existence is to develop our Spiritual Selves, in ways that gives full expression to our Divine Power through the integration and balancing of all aspects of our Spiritual Selves, and the harmonizing of our relationships to the world and nature. The goal is to create "Unity Within Diversity". The statement "As Above; So Below" refers to the fact that the Objective (material world) is a reflection of the Subjective (inner world). It has been referred to as magic, and miracles in the Objective World, which are expressions of the Spiritual Power manifesting in the Objective World. When this power is misused, that is, not wielded with the idea of creating "Unity Within Diversity" then disease, war, discord occurs in the world. We are all manifestations of a transcendent force: the Mother/Father God, and we are all connected, and powerful. The purpose of spiritual cultivation on all levels is to reveal the unity in diversity on all levels, and thus create peace within the individual, and in the world. The purpose also was to create Maat (balance, harmony, justice, righteousness, reciprocity, and order). These are the key concepts in any ethical system, and they emerged first within the ancient Nile Valley of Africa.
Ptah-Hotep & the Instruction of Ke'Gemni:The Oldest Books in the World

6th Dynasty (2300 to 2150 BCE.) Ancient African Wisdom.
Ptah-hotep served during the reign of Izezi as a sage. His maxims are in the Prisse Papyrus which are in the Louvre. Another copy of these is in the British Museum. In these maxims, he has told his fellow Kemetian to conduct their affairs in a quiet and righteous manner. He encouraged them to be truthful and be kind and tolerant to their neighbors and fellow countrymen.

Book of the Dead of Maiherperi

The Judgment of the Dead

(1427-1392 BCE)

The "Declaration of Innocence" had to be said by the deceased in the "Hall of Justice" descending to the broad "Hall of Two Truths", purging all the forbidden things he/she has done in order to be purified, and be allowed Rebirth. If the heart failed the test it was thrown to the Ammut "the Eater of Souls".

There were forty-two Confessions with forty-two judges. One must pass these confessions after practicing holiness to achieve an acceptable death of immortality. These "Confessions" is one of the most distinctive, innovative and best known features of the Book of the Dead. These forty-two declarations were found on papyrus in the tomb of the Nubian Maiherperi of the
18th Dynasty.

Translated quotes from Ptah-Hotep

(source, The Living Wisdom of Ancient Egypt")

"Great is the Law (Maat)." (p. 24)

"All conduct should be so straight that you can measure it with a plumb-line." (p. 27)

"Injustice exists in abundance, but evil can never succeed in the long run." (p. 32)

"Punish with principle, teach meaningfully. The act of stopping evil leads to the lasting establishment of virtue." (p. 32)

"The human race never accomplishes anything. It's what God commands that gets done." (p. 41)

"Those whom God guides do not go wrong. Those whose boat He takes away cannot cross." (p. 43)

"Follow your heart all your life, do not commit excess with respect to what has been ordained." (p. 66)

"If you work hard, and if growth takes place as it should in the fields, it is because God has placed abundance in your hands." (p. 74)

"Do not gossip in your neighborhood, because people respect the silent." (p. 74)

"Listening benefits the listener." (p. 74)

"If he who listens, listens fully, then he who listens becomes he who understands." (p. 76)

"He who listens becomes the master of what is profitable." (p. 76)

"To listen is better than anything, thus is born perfect love." (p. 76)

"God loves he who listens. He hates those who do not listen." (p. 76)

"As for the ignorant man who does not listen, he accomplishes nothing. He equates knowledge with ignorance, the useless with the harmful. He does everything which is detestable, so people get angry with him each day." (p. 77)

"A perfect word is hidden more deeply than precious stones. It is to be found near the servants working at the mill-stone." (p. 78)

"Only speak when you have something worth saying." (p. 79)

"As for you, teach your disciple the words of tradition. May he act as a model for the children of the great, that they may find in him the understanding and justice of every heart that speaks to him, since man is not born wise." (p. 85)

"A woman with happy heart brings equilibrium." (p. 107)

"Love your wife with passion." (p. 107)

"As for those who end up continually lusting after women, none of their plans will succeed." (p. 108)

"How wonderful is a son who obeys his father!" (p. 112)

"How happy he is of whom it is said: 'A son is kind-natured when he knows how to listen.'" (p. 112)

"Do not blame those who are childless, do not criticize them for not having any, and do not boast about having them yourself." (p. 113)

"May your heart never be vain because of what you know. Take counsel from the ignorant as well as the wise..." (p. 119)

"So do not place any confidence in your heart in the accumulation of riches, since everything that you have is a gift from God." (p. 126)

"Think of living in peace with what you possess, and whatever the Gods choose to give will come of its own accord." (p. 127)

"Do not repeat a slanderous rumor, do not listen to it." (p. 139)

"He who has a great heart has a gift from God. He who obeys his stomach obeys the enemy." (p. 140)

"Those who[m] the Gods guide cannot get lost. Those they forbid passage will not be able to cross the river of life." (p. 143)

[Edward C. Shepherd Jr.]

My brother I like these qoutes I will seek out book ASAP alot of this material comes best when one put his mind,body and soul together to work as one unit that something I am trying so hard to defeat I am really starting to learn more each day I wnt to Thank You