Kemetic reconstructionism
Encyclopedia
Kemetism is a term for Egyptian neopaganism, i.e. neopagan revivals of Ancient Egyptian religion which developed in the United States
from the 1970s. There are several main groups, each of which take a different approach to their beliefs, ranging from eclectic
to polytheistic reconstructionist.
. The Church of the Eternal Source, promoting New Age
receptions of Egyptian spiritualism, was founded in 1970; and the Ausar Auset Society
, promoting Pan-Africanism
, was founded in 1973; Tamara Siuda
's Kemetic Orthodoxy
followed in the late 1980s. By the mid 2000s, there have also been "Kemetic" movements outside the USA, with Ta Noutri arising in Podensac
, France
, in 2004; and Kamitik in Aulnay
, France
, since 2004. The black supremacist group in Paris, Tribu Ka, was described as having Kemitic views.
The movement is composed of a mixture of New Age
, Wicca
, and Afrocentrism
, the latter in the context of "Afrocentrist Egyptology" which emerged in the United States in the 1990s.
. It is based in Brooklyn, New York with chapters in several major cities in the United States
. The organization was created for the purpose of providing members a societal framework through which the Kemetic spiritual way of life can be lived daily. The organization provides afrocentric-based spiritual training to the African American
community and to the African diaspora
. The religion uses the "Kemetic" Tree of Life
(Paut Neteru) as the basis of its cosmogony
and philosophical underpinning. It seeks to reunite the traditions of the founders of civilization into a spiritually empowering way of life that aims at the awakening of the Ausar
principle (the Divine Self
) within each individual.
, an Egypt-themed compound which housed about 100 adherents.
The compound was demolished in 2005, after the conviction of founder-prophet Malachi York to a 135 year prison sentence for child molestation.
, California
, since 1970), and the affiliated Temple of Ptah and Circle of Anubis (since 1975, based in Portland
, Oregon
) are "open to all interested Pagans and Wiccans who have an interest in the Ancient Egyptian Religions."
is a tendency within Neopaganism, apparent since the 1990s, to aim for greater historical accuracy or "authenticity".
"Kemetic Orthodoxy" is a specific tradition within Kemetic reconstructionism. It gained federal recognition in the United States of America as a religion under the name "House of Netjer" in 1994. Although based on ancient Egyptian beliefs and practices, the religion is a modern one which was founded in 1988 by Rev. Tamara L. Siuda
, known formally within her faith as "Her Holiness, Sekhenet-Ma'at-Ra setep-en-Ra Hekatawy I, Nisut-Bity of the Kemetic Orthodox faith" She underwent her coronation as Nisut-Bity in 1996 through ceremonies performed in Egypt by herself, and in 2000 she achieved a master's degree in Egyptology
. Within Kemetic Orthodoxy she is considered to have been imbued with the kingly ka, a concept which mimics the divine quality bestowed upon the pharaohs of ancient Egypt. Because of this, devoted Kemetic Orthodox members see her decisions regarding the church to be at least partially divinely inspired.
The organization is centered around the Tawy House temple in Joliet, Illinois
but there are followers of the faith located around the world who correspond via the Internet. The House of Netjer was legally recognized by the state of Illinois in 1993, and granted tax-exempt status in 1999. By 2007, Kemetic Orthodoxy claimed some 450 members.
Kemetic Orthodoxy is a Monist
approach to polytheism
in translating Netjer (the Egyptian for "deity") as "the supreme being" and considering the names of the various Egyptian deities as "names of Netjer".
Within Kemetic Orthodoxy, there are three categories of devotion which are recognized. The first is state ritual, which include rituals which have been reconstructed from those in ancient Egyptian texts and which are performed in by the priesthood. Next is personal piety, which is practiced by every Kemetic Orthodox and includes all personal religious practices. Most notably, personal piety includes the shrine ritual called senut which is taught to all Kemetic Orthodox as a daily devotional ritual and can be found in The Ancient Egyptian Prayerbook. Finally, the third category is devotion to one's akhu, or ancestors.
is a revival of the monotheist faith developed under the reforms of Akhenaten
. While there a number of Neo-Atenist websites appeared on the internet during the 2000s (atenism.org since 2001; kamitik.com 2004-2008), it is unclear whether it is being actively practiced in any form.
Wiccan and esoteric
Revivalist and Reconstructionist
Neo-Atenist
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from the 1970s. There are several main groups, each of which take a different approach to their beliefs, ranging from eclectic
Eclecticism
Eclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories in particular cases.It can sometimes seem inelegant or...
to polytheistic reconstructionist.
- Pan-Africanist or black nationalist: The Ausar Auset of Ra Un Nefer AmenRa Un Nefer AmenRa Un Nefer Amen is the founder of the Ausar Auset Society, a Pan-African religious organization dedicated to providing Afrocentric based spiritual training to people of African descent.-Early life:...
is a syncreticSyncretismSyncretism is the combining of different beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term means "combining", but see below for the origin of the word...
approach targeted at the African diasporaAfrican diasporaThe African diaspora was the movement of Africans and their descendants to places throughout the world—predominantly to the Americas also to Europe, the Middle East and other places around the globe...
. The Ancient Egiptian Order (a.k.a. "Nuwaubian Nation of Moors" and other names) was a black supremacist cult led by Malachi York. - Kemetic Wicca (also Tameran Wicca, from "land of two riverbanks", another native term for "Egypt") is an eclecticEclecticismEclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories in particular cases.It can sometimes seem inelegant or...
approach combining Ancient Egyptian elements with WiccaWiccaWicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
. - Kemetic Revivalism and Reconstruction, a reconstructionistPolytheistic reconstructionismPolytheistic reconstructionism is an approach to Neopaganism first emerging in the late 1960s to early 1970s, and gathering momentum in the 1990s to 2000s...
, which include academic approaches informed by EgyptologyEgyptologyEgyptology is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious practices in the AD 4th century. A practitioner of the discipline is an “Egyptologist”...
, notably Kemetic Orthodoxy of Tamara L. SiudaTamara SiudaTamara L. Siuda is the founder and current head of Kemetic Orthodoxy and the House of Netjer. She is known formally within her faith as Her Holiness, Sekhenet-Ma'at-Ra Setep-en-Ra User Hekatawy I, Nisut-Bity of the Kemetic Orthodox faith and uses the honorific Reverend outside of the faith to...
and Kerry Wisner's Akhet Hwt Hwr - Neo-Atenism is a neopagan revival not of Egyptian polytheism, but of the monotheistic faith introduced under AkhenatenAkhenatenAkhenaten also spelled Echnaton,Ikhnaton,and Khuenaten;meaning "living spirit of Aten") known before the fifth year of his reign as Amenhotep IV , was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt who ruled for 17 years and died perhaps in 1336 BC or 1334 BC...
in the Amarna periodAmarna PeriodThe Amarna Period was an era of Egyptian history during the latter half of the Eighteenth Dynasty when the royal residence of the pharaoh and his queen was shifted to Akhetaten in what is now modern-day Amarna...
(r. 1353–1336 BC)
History and demographics
Kemetic revivalism appeared in the 1970s with the rise of neopaganism in the United StatesNeopaganism in the United States
Neopaganism in the United States is represented by widely different movements and organizations. The largest Neopagan religion is Wicca, followed by Neodruidism. Both of these religions were introduced during the 1950s from Great Britain. Germanic Neopaganism and Kemetism appeared in the US in...
. The Church of the Eternal Source, promoting New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
receptions of Egyptian spiritualism, was founded in 1970; and the Ausar Auset Society
Ausar Auset Society
The Ausar Auset Society is a Pan-African religious organization founded in 1973 by Ra Un Nefer Amen for the purpose of providing members a societal framework through which the Kemetic spiritual way of life can be lived and to promote Rosicrucian values...
, promoting Pan-Africanism
Pan-Africanism
Pan-Africanism is a movement that seeks to unify African people or people living in Africa, into a "one African community". Differing types of Pan-Africanism seek different levels of economic, racial, social, or political unity...
, was founded in 1973; Tamara Siuda
Tamara Siuda
Tamara L. Siuda is the founder and current head of Kemetic Orthodoxy and the House of Netjer. She is known formally within her faith as Her Holiness, Sekhenet-Ma'at-Ra Setep-en-Ra User Hekatawy I, Nisut-Bity of the Kemetic Orthodox faith and uses the honorific Reverend outside of the faith to...
's Kemetic Orthodoxy
Kemetic Orthodoxy
Kemetic Orthodoxy is a branch of Kemeticism, a reconstruction of Egyptian polytheism, founded in 1988 by Tamara Siuda.Kemetic Orthodoxy does not follow a single scripture, but rather a fluid understanding of balance, justice and truth...
followed in the late 1980s. By the mid 2000s, there have also been "Kemetic" movements outside the USA, with Ta Noutri arising in Podensac
Podensac
Podensac is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-Structures:*Château d´eau Le Corbusier *Château Chavat-References:*...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, in 2004; and Kamitik in Aulnay
Aulnay
Aulnay is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:* Aulnay, Aube, in the Aube département* Aulnay, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime département* Aulnay, Vienne, in the Vienne département...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, since 2004. The black supremacist group in Paris, Tribu Ka, was described as having Kemitic views.
The movement is composed of a mixture of New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
, Wicca
Wicca
Wicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
, and Afrocentrism
Afrocentrism
Afrocentrism is cultural ideology mostly limited to the United States, dedicated to the history of Black people a response to global racist attitudes about African people and their historical contributions by revisiting this history with an African cultural and ideological center...
, the latter in the context of "Afrocentrist Egyptology" which emerged in the United States in the 1990s.
Ausar Auset Society
The "Ausar Auset Society" is a Pan-African religious organization founded in 1973 by Ra Un Nefer AmenRa Un Nefer Amen
Ra Un Nefer Amen is the founder of the Ausar Auset Society, a Pan-African religious organization dedicated to providing Afrocentric based spiritual training to people of African descent.-Early life:...
. It is based in Brooklyn, New York with chapters in several major cities in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The organization was created for the purpose of providing members a societal framework through which the Kemetic spiritual way of life can be lived daily. The organization provides afrocentric-based spiritual training to the African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
community and to the African diaspora
African diaspora
The African diaspora was the movement of Africans and their descendants to places throughout the world—predominantly to the Americas also to Europe, the Middle East and other places around the globe...
. The religion uses the "Kemetic" Tree of Life
Tree of Life
The tree of life in the Book of Genesis is a tree planted by God in midst of the Garden of Eden , whose fruit gives everlasting life, i.e. immortality. Together with the tree of life, God planted the tree of the knowledge of good and evil . According to some scholars, however, these are in fact...
(Paut Neteru) as the basis of its cosmogony
Cosmogony
Cosmogony, or cosmogeny, is any scientific theory concerning the coming into existence or origin of the universe, or about how reality came to be. The word comes from the Greek κοσμογονία , from κόσμος "cosmos, the world", and the root of γίνομαι / γέγονα "to be born, come about"...
and philosophical underpinning. It seeks to reunite the traditions of the founders of civilization into a spiritually empowering way of life that aims at the awakening of the Ausar
Osiris
Osiris is an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead. He is classically depicted as a green-skinned man with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two large ostrich feathers at either side, and...
principle (the Divine Self
Atman (Hinduism)
Ātman is a Sanskrit word that means 'self'. In Hindu philosophy, especially in the Vedanta school of Hinduism it refers to one's true self beyond identification with phenomena...
) within each individual.
Ancient Egiptian Order
The Ancient Egiptian Order or "Nuwaubian Nation" was a black supremacist quasi-religious movement, active during the late 1990s and early 2000s, centered at Tama-ReTama-Re
The Tama-Re compound in Putnam County, Georgia was an Egyptian-themed set of buildings and monuments established near Eatonton, Georgia by Nuwaubians in 1993 that was mostly demolished after being sold under government forfeiture in 2005.-History:On 15 January, 1993, Dwight York bought the...
, an Egypt-themed compound which housed about 100 adherents.
The compound was demolished in 2005, after the conviction of founder-prophet Malachi York to a 135 year prison sentence for child molestation.
New Age
The Church of the Eternal Source (BurbankBurbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, since 1970), and the affiliated Temple of Ptah and Circle of Anubis (since 1975, based in Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
) are "open to all interested Pagans and Wiccans who have an interest in the Ancient Egyptian Religions."
Kemetic Orthodoxy
Polytheistic reconstructionismPolytheistic reconstructionism
Polytheistic reconstructionism is an approach to Neopaganism first emerging in the late 1960s to early 1970s, and gathering momentum in the 1990s to 2000s...
is a tendency within Neopaganism, apparent since the 1990s, to aim for greater historical accuracy or "authenticity".
"Kemetic Orthodoxy" is a specific tradition within Kemetic reconstructionism. It gained federal recognition in the United States of America as a religion under the name "House of Netjer" in 1994. Although based on ancient Egyptian beliefs and practices, the religion is a modern one which was founded in 1988 by Rev. Tamara L. Siuda
Tamara Siuda
Tamara L. Siuda is the founder and current head of Kemetic Orthodoxy and the House of Netjer. She is known formally within her faith as Her Holiness, Sekhenet-Ma'at-Ra Setep-en-Ra User Hekatawy I, Nisut-Bity of the Kemetic Orthodox faith and uses the honorific Reverend outside of the faith to...
, known formally within her faith as "Her Holiness, Sekhenet-Ma'at-Ra setep-en-Ra Hekatawy I, Nisut-Bity of the Kemetic Orthodox faith" She underwent her coronation as Nisut-Bity in 1996 through ceremonies performed in Egypt by herself, and in 2000 she achieved a master's degree in Egyptology
Egyptology
Egyptology is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious practices in the AD 4th century. A practitioner of the discipline is an “Egyptologist”...
. Within Kemetic Orthodoxy she is considered to have been imbued with the kingly ka, a concept which mimics the divine quality bestowed upon the pharaohs of ancient Egypt. Because of this, devoted Kemetic Orthodox members see her decisions regarding the church to be at least partially divinely inspired.
The organization is centered around the Tawy House temple in Joliet, Illinois
Joliet, Illinois
Joliet is a city in Will and Kendall Counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, located southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. As of the 2010 census, the city was the fourth-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 147,433. It continues to be Illinois' fastest growing...
but there are followers of the faith located around the world who correspond via the Internet. The House of Netjer was legally recognized by the state of Illinois in 1993, and granted tax-exempt status in 1999. By 2007, Kemetic Orthodoxy claimed some 450 members.
Kemetic Orthodoxy is a Monist
Monism
Monism is any philosophical view which holds that there is unity in a given field of inquiry. Accordingly, some philosophers may hold that the universe is one rather than dualistic or pluralistic...
approach to polytheism
Polytheism
Polytheism is the belief of multiple deities also usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own mythologies and rituals....
in translating Netjer (the Egyptian for "deity") as "the supreme being" and considering the names of the various Egyptian deities as "names of Netjer".
Within Kemetic Orthodoxy, there are three categories of devotion which are recognized. The first is state ritual, which include rituals which have been reconstructed from those in ancient Egyptian texts and which are performed in by the priesthood. Next is personal piety, which is practiced by every Kemetic Orthodox and includes all personal religious practices. Most notably, personal piety includes the shrine ritual called senut which is taught to all Kemetic Orthodox as a daily devotional ritual and can be found in The Ancient Egyptian Prayerbook. Finally, the third category is devotion to one's akhu, or ancestors.
Neo-Atenism
Modern AtenismAtenism
Atenism, or the Amarna heresy, refers to the religious changes associated with the eighteenth dynasty Pharaoh Amenophis IV, better known under his adopted name, Akhenaten...
is a revival of the monotheist faith developed under the reforms of Akhenaten
Akhenaten
Akhenaten also spelled Echnaton,Ikhnaton,and Khuenaten;meaning "living spirit of Aten") known before the fifth year of his reign as Amenhotep IV , was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt who ruled for 17 years and died perhaps in 1336 BC or 1334 BC...
. While there a number of Neo-Atenist websites appeared on the internet during the 2000s (atenism.org since 2001; kamitik.com 2004-2008), it is unclear whether it is being actively practiced in any form.
See also
- Ancient Egyptian religion
- Neopaganism in the United StatesNeopaganism in the United StatesNeopaganism in the United States is represented by widely different movements and organizations. The largest Neopagan religion is Wicca, followed by Neodruidism. Both of these religions were introduced during the 1950s from Great Britain. Germanic Neopaganism and Kemetism appeared in the US in...
- Pan-AfricanismPan-AfricanismPan-Africanism is a movement that seeks to unify African people or people living in Africa, into a "one African community". Differing types of Pan-Africanism seek different levels of economic, racial, social, or political unity...
- AfrocentrismAfrocentrismAfrocentrism is cultural ideology mostly limited to the United States, dedicated to the history of Black people a response to global racist attitudes about African people and their historical contributions by revisiting this history with an African cultural and ideological center...
External links
Afrocentric- Unofficial History of Ra Un Nefer Amen I and Ausar Auset Society International
- Nikhtah Ma'eyah Kimata - The Black Nation
Wiccan and esoteric
- Church of the Eternal Source - Wiccan/Kemetic
- Kemetic FAQ from eCauldron
- Temple Harakhte by author Rosemary Clark
Revivalist and Reconstructionist
- Kemetic Orthodox House of Netjer
- Akhet Hwt Hrw "A school of Ancient Egyptian and Esoteric Studies"
- Per Heh "Veridical Kemetic Faith"
- Nuhati-am-Nutjeru "founded by His Holiness Ptahmassu Kaamptah Marianptah Nofra-Uaa and Brother Sonamnuhati Uwserhatuwatchit Ariaanmaat in 2001"
- International Network of Kemetics
- Kemetic Interfaith Network
- Ta Noutri french kemetic group
Neo-Atenist
- Kamitic - french group (AtenismAtenismAtenism, or the Amarna heresy, refers to the religious changes associated with the eighteenth dynasty Pharaoh Amenophis IV, better known under his adopted name, Akhenaten...
, founded by Pierre Nillon) - Akhetaten Fellowship (AtenismAtenismAtenism, or the Amarna heresy, refers to the religious changes associated with the eighteenth dynasty Pharaoh Amenophis IV, better known under his adopted name, Akhenaten...
)