Kemetic Orthodoxy
From Wikinfo
Kemetic Orthodoxy is a modern organized religion reviving the faith of Kemet (ancient Egypt). It 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, and its tenets emphasize monolatry, ancestor veneration, and personal devotion. Although based on ancient Egyptian beliefs and practices, the religion was founded in the late 1980s by 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, and in 2000 she achieved a master's degree in Egyptology. The organisation is centred around the Tawy House temple in Joliet, Illinois but there are followers of the faith located around the world who correspond via the internet.
Kemetic Orthodoxy employs the use of some practices which are unique to the organization, and which are based in more contemporary interpretations of religion, such as the following:
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Rootnaming
Rootnaming is done in Kemetic Orthodoxy to children who are born to members of the faith at the request of the child's parents. The ritual calendar, which is based on the rising of Sirius over Joliet, determines which god is honored on a particular day; the suffix "-emheb" for boys or "-emhebet" for girls is added to the name of that god to form a child's religious name. This is only done for children (i.e., those under the age of puberty), and the name remains only until the child decides to become a Shemsu (a full convert to Kemetic Orthodoxy), if he or she chooses, at puberty or later. Rootnaming is a modern ritual based upon an analogous naming and determination of the "god of one's birth" practiced in antiquity.
Rite of Parent Divination
Adult converts to the faith, as well as Rootnamed children, who wish to become full members of the organization have the option to undergo a ceremony called the Rite of Parent Divination. A geomantic divination is performed on the convert's behalf by Siuda in order to determine the convert's "Parent" and "Beloved" gods. The Kemetic Orthodox belief is that the one or two Parent god(s) are the god(s) who create the ba, or eternal soul, of the candidate; the Beloved gods, who can be in any number of one or more, are those gods responsible for the ka, or the personality and non-eternal spirit of the candidate. Together, the Parent(s) and Beloved(s) of an RPD candidate are believed to represent his or her guardians and creators.
The Rite of Parent Divination has no origin in ancient Egyptian tradition, which did not recognize the roles of either "Parent" or "Beloved."
Shemsu naming
A person who undergoes the RPD and accepts it may at that time or at any later time decide to become a Shemsu in Kemetic Orthodoxy. They take a vow to honor the gods of their RPD before all others and in another divination are given a Shemsu Name, which is then bestowed on them in front of the entire Kemetic Orthodox community. This is a name in ancient Egyptian language, often containing the name of the Shemsu's Parent God or Goddess (a theophoric name, the most popular type of name in antiquity as well).
Shemsu-Ankh
Kemetic Orthodox Shemsu may choose to undergo a ritual known as Weshem-ib or "testing of the heart." Shemsu who undergo Weshem-ib make vows to serve their gods, the members of Kemetic Orthodoxy, Ma'at, and the world.
A Shemsu who has completed the Weshem-ib is called a Shemsu-Ankh, or "Sworn Shemsu/Shemsu Who Takes a Vow."
See also
External links
- www.kemet.org
- Tawy House
- Imhotep Kemetic Orthodox Seminary
- The Udjat Foundation - Kemetic Orthodox Charity for Children
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