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Afrikan Liberation Institute => Philosophy => Topic started by: olufemi_baina_ayo on Mar 18, 2007, 03:28 PM

Title: Ma'at-gctid26024
Post by: olufemi_baina_ayo on Mar 18, 2007, 03:28 PM
Ma'at, reconstructed to have been pronounced as *Mu[ch660][ch661]at (Muh-aht), was the Ancient Egyptian concept of law, morality, and justice which was deified as a goddess. As a goddess, her masculine counterpart was Thoth and their attributes go hand in hand. Like Thoth, she was seen to represent the Logos of Plato. Her primary role in Egyptian mythology dealt with the weighing of words that took place in the Underworld, Duat.

Because it was the pharaoh's duty to ensure truth and justice, many of them were referred to as Meri-Ma'at (Beloved of Ma'at). Since she was considered as merely the concept of order and truth, it was thought that she came into existence at the moment of creation, having no creator. When beliefs about Thoth arose and started to consume the earlier beliefs at Hermopolis about the Ogdoad, it was said that she was the mother of the Ogdoad and Thoth the father.

In Duat, the Egyptian underworld, the hearts of the dead were said to be weighed against the single Shu feather, symbolically representing the concept of Ma'at, in the Hall of Two Truths. A heart which was unworthy was devoured by Ammit and its owner condemned to remain in Duat. Those people with good, (and pure), hearts were sent on to Osiris in Aaru. The weighing of the heart, pictured on papyrus, (in the Book of the Dead, typically, or in tomb scenes, etc.), shows Anubis overseeing the weighing, the "lion-like" Ammit seated awaiting the results and the eating of the heart, the vertical heart on one flat surface of the balance scale, and the vertical Shu-feather standing on the other balance scale surface. Other traditions hold that Anubis brought the soul before the posthumous Osiris who performed the actual weighing.

Ma'at was commonly depicted in art as a woman with outstretched wings and a "curved" ostrich feather on her head or sometimes just as a feather. These images are on some sarcophagi as a symbol of protection for the souls of the dead. Egyptians believed that without Ma'at there would be only the primal chaos, ending the world. It was seen as the Pharaoh's necessity to apply just law.

 Ma'at as a principle

Ma'at as a principle was at least partially codified into a set of laws, and expressed a ubiquitous concept of right from wrong characterized by concepts of truth and a respect for and adherence to a divine order believed to be set forth at the time of the world's creation. This divine order was primarily conceived of as being modeled in various environmental/agricultural and social relationships. It somewhat resembles the underlying concepts of Taoism and Confucianism at times. Many of these concepts were codified into laws, and many of the concepts were often discussed by ancient Egyptian philosophers and officials who referenced the spiritual text known as the Book of the Dead. Later scholars and philosophers would also embody concepts from the Wisdom Literature, or seboyet. These spiritual texts dealt with common social or professional situations and how each was best to be resolved or addressed in the spirit of ma'at- it was very practical advice, and highly case-based, so that few specific and general rules could be derived from them. During the Greek period, Greek law existed alongside that of the Egyptian law, but usually these laws favored the Greeks. When the Romans took control of Egypt, the Roman legal system which existed throughout the Roman empire was imposed in Egypt. In addition to the importance of the ma'at, several other principles within Ancient Egyptian law were essential, including an adherence to tradition as opposed to change, the importance of rhetorical skill, and the significance of achieving impartiality and social equality. Thus, "to the Egyptian mind, Ma'at bound all things together in an indestructible unity: the universe, the natural world, the state and the individual were all seen as parts of the wider order generated by Ma'at.

One aspect of ancient Egyptian funerary literature which is often mistaken for a codified ethic of ma'at is Chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead, often called the 42 Declarations of Purity or the Negative Confession. These declarations actually varied somewhat from tomb to tomb, and so can not be considered a canonical definition of ma'at. They appear rather to express each tomb owner's individual conception of ma'at, as well as working as a magical absolution (misdeeds or mistakes made by the tomb owner in life could be declared as not having been done, and through the power of the written word wipe that particular misdeed from his or her afterlife record). Many of the lines are similar, however, and they can help to give the student a "flavor" for the sorts of things which ma'at governed (which was basically everything- from the most formal to the most mundane aspect of life). Many versions are given online, unfortunately seldom do they ever note the tomb from which they came or whether they are a collection from various different tombs. Generally, they are each addressed to a specific deity, described in his or her most fearsome aspect. Some believe the Book of the Dead was the ancient precursor to the Ten Commandments. Here is one version, from the scribe Ani:

THE 42 DECLARATIONS OF PURITY

  1. I have not killed, nor bid anyone kill.
  2. I have not committed adultery or rape.
  3. I have not avenged myself nor burned with rage.
  4. I have not caused terror.
  5. I have not assaulted anyone nor caused anyone pain.
  6. I have not caused misery.
  7. I have not done any harm to man or to animals.
  8. I have not caused the shedding of tears.
  9. I have not wronged the people nor bear them any evil intent.
 10. I have not stolen nor taken that which does not belong to me.
 11. I have not taken more than my fair share of food.
 12. I have not damaged the crops, the fields, or the trees.
 13. I have not deprived anyone of what is rightfully theirs.
 14. I have not borne false witness, nor supported false allegations.
 15. I have not lied, nor spoken falsely to the hurt of another.
 16. I have not used fiery words nor stirred up any strife.
 17. I have not spoken nor acted deceitfully to the hurt of another.
 18. I have not spoken scornfully against others.
 19. I have not eavesdropped.
 20. I have not ignored the truth or words of righteousness.
 21. I have not judged anyone hastily or harshly.
 22. I have not disrespected sacred places.
 23. I have caused no wrong to be done to any workers or prisoners.
 24. I have not been angry without good reason.
 25. I have not hindered the flow of running water.
 26. I have not wasted the running water.
 27. I have not polluted the water or the land.
 28. I have not taken God's name in vain.
 29. I have not despised nor anger the gods.
 30. I have not stolen from god.
 31. I have not given excessive offerings nor less than what is due.
 32. I have not coveted thy neighbor's goods.
 33. I have not stolen from nor disrespect the dead.
 34. I have remembered and observed the appointed holy days.
 35. I have not held back the offerings due to the gods.
 36. I have not interfered with sacred rites.
 37. I have not slaughtered with evil intent any sacred animals.
 38. I have not acted with guile or insolence.
 39. I have not been unduly proud nor acted with arrogance.
 40. I have not magnified my condition beyond what is appropriate.
 41. I have done no less than my daily obligations require.
 42. I have obeyed the law and committed no treason.

Note that several of these declarations overlap or repeat one another- this is often done for emphasis, as these particular transgressions would have been very damaging to the ancient Egyptian culture and economy (such as adultery, or and robbery) and therefore very serious. Some of them may also be meant to magically purge related, but specific deeds for whom the set of 42 was written.

1. ^ Heiroglyphs can be found in (Collier and Manley pp. 27, 29, 154)
  2. ^ Information taken from phonetic symbols for Ma'at, and explanations on how to pronounce based upon modern reals, revealed in (Collier and Manley pp. 2-4, 154)
  3. ^ (Budge The Gods of the Egyptians Vol. 1 p. 417)
  4. ^ (Budge The Gods of the Egyptians Vol. 1 p. 418)
  5. ^ (Budge The Gods of the Egyptians Vol. 1 p. 400)
  6. ^ (Budge The Gods of the Egyptians Vol. 1 p. 407)
  7. ^ http://www.wsu.edu:8000/~dee/EGYPT/MAAT.HTM (http://www.wsu.edu:8000/~dee/EGYPT/MAAT.HTM)
  8. ^ (Budge The Gods of the Egyptians Vol. 1 p. 418)
  9. ^ See Russ VerSteeg, Law in Ancient Egypt 19 (Carolina Academic Press 2002)
 10. ^ THE 42 COMMANDMENTS OF ANCIENT EGYPT

* Collier, Mark and Manly, Bill. How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs: Revised Edition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998.
  * Faulkner, Raymond. The Egyptian Book of the Dead. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1994.
  * Mancini, Anna. Ma'at Revealed: Philosophy of Justice in Ancient Egypt. New York: Buenos Books America, 2004.
Title: Ma'at-gctid33870
Post by: Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé on Mar 10, 2009, 08:30 PM
The 42 Divine Principles of the Goddess Maat

 1.        I have not committed sin.                                                
 2.        I have not committed robbery with violence.
 3.        I have not stolen.
 4.        I have not slain men or women
 5.        I have not stolen food.
 6.        I have not swindled offerings.
 7.        I have not stolen from God/Goddess.
 8.        I have not told lies.
 9.        I have not carried away food.
 10.     I have not cursed.
 11.     I have not closed my ears to truth
 12.     I have not committed adultery.
 13.     I have not made anyone cry.
 14.     I have not felt sorrow without reason
 15.     I have not assaulted anyone
 16.     I am not deceitful.
 17.     I have not stolen anyone’s land
 18.     I have not been an eavesdropper
 19.     I have not falsely accused anyone.
 20.     I have not been angry without reason.
 21.     I have not seduced anyone’s wife.              
 22.     I have not polluted myself.
 23.     I have not terrorized anyone.
 24.     I have not disobeyed the Law.
 25.     I have not been exclusively angry.
 26.     I have not cursed God/Goddess.
 27.     I have not behaved with violence.
 28.     I have not caused disruption of peace.
 29.     I have not acted hastily or without thought.
 30.     I have not overstepped my boundaries of concern.
 31.     I have not exaggerated my words when speaking.
 32.     I have not worked evil.
 33.     I have not used evil thoughts, words or deeds.
 34.     I have not polluted the water
 35.     I have not spoken angrily or arrogantly.
 36.     I have not cursed anyone in thought, word or deeds.
 37.     I have not placed myself on a Pedestal.
 38.     I have not stolen what belongs to God/Goddess.
 39.     I have not stolen from or disrespected the deceased.
 40.     I have not taken food from a child.
 41.     I have not acted with insolence.
 42.     I have not destroyed property belonging to God/Goddess.
   
 These 42 declarations were pronounced by the deceased after Anubis took him/her to the presence of the Goddess Maat and the Divine Judge Tehuti. If the Principles of Maat were respected the heart of the deceased would have nothing weighing down, so it would be lighter than the feather and everlasting life would be given due to respect of these laws that balance the Universe.
   
 It is from these Principles, erroneously called the 42 Negative Confessions by eureurasiaan Egyptologists that the Christian religion got it’s 10 Commandments. Unlike the Spook principle of Idols and exterior divinity our ancestors manifested the indwelling divinity and said “I have not” instead of being ordered “Thou Shalt not"
Title: Ma'at-gctid33889
Post by: Ib-Ra-Hima on Mar 11, 2009, 09:37 PM
Peace and blessings,

I just wanted to share, for anyone interested, a little about the history of OUR Divine Code. They are the origin of the 10 commandments and the 42 Negative confessions. They have been preserved, since the times of the Pharaohs, in writing, within the book of Divine Ordinances by the priestly order of the Dogon (Land Lords) and kept alive by the practice of the numerous tribes that can be considered under the name Dogon, though their specific names vary and though they are spread into many regions. Roughly, according to their knowledge, as presented by their highly esteemed priestly representative to the outside world, Master Naba, the 42 Negative confessions are framed as such because they were the statements of the deceased declaring that he had not committed violations against, what happened to be, 42 of the of the exisiting 77 commandments. The grave robbers "western egyptologist" who entered the tomb where they "discovered" these negative confessions also "found" another set that had a similar number of negative confessions but the denied violations varied slightly, which goes to show that they were pulling from a larger set of overall commandments.

The following is a history of the commandments as explained on theearthcenter.com presented by the Elders and Priesthood of the Dogon, the singularly authoritative preservers of Kemetic culture, which should supersede any other translation or interpretation of our knowledge that comes from outside of our culture (Budge, Faulkner et al.)

The Divine Code of Human Behavior:

The 77 commandments are our guide as Kem (one who has agreed to live in accordance with knowledge of the universe). They are the greatest gift that humanity has received from the Divine World. When human beings came into existence we were very animal like, and portrayed very barbaric behavior. There was a lack of values. Instances of murder, robbing, rape, and cannibalism ran rampant.
       In a short time our human world was sat down by the Divine World (the World of        the Gods) and was asked "What will be your agenda on Earth – What do you want?"
This was a very significant event in the becoming of humanity. In order to fully        comprehend this event, the honest student of life should strive to understand        the nature of the human mind. The human mind does not invent. Everything that        we can contemplate is based on what we have seen, heard or otherwise        experienced. Since the human mind cannot create, it is left to imitate. This        explains why our behavior was such before contact with the Divine World. It        also explains why, after contact with the Divine, the only thing we could think        of when asked such a question by the Gods was to imitate what we had seen in        them.
We wanted our world to be like the Divine World. We were true to our nature. We        wanted to reproduce the World of the Gods (be like the Gods). The World of the Gods became what we        call the perfect model – a model we lay our eyes on while we build our world.
This is not an easy task. There is much difference between the human world and        the Divine World. The Gods knew this when they heard our plea. They assured us        that this would be a very challenging goal.
The human world is dirty; it is full of corruption. Humans are liars, we are        cheaters, we are thieves, we die, we get sick, and our body produces its own        filth. Gods are pure, perfect and immortal, they are incorruptible beings, how        is it that we could imitate such perfection?
       Wsr the first God of the second trinity, our ancestral God, assisted us by        gathering a list of guidelines of what not to do, what we would        have to stay away from in order to achieve perfection. The Gods gave a set of        commandments so we will not decay spiritually. The Goddess Nwt, the mother of        Gods, provided us with forty-seven of the commandments. A separate individual        deity gave each the other thirty commandments. The majority of these        commandments have nothing to do with you and others; they have only to do with        you and yourself. These commandments provide guidelines to help you improve as        an individual. Some are rules that are beyond our understanding but we follow        them because the Gods gave them to us. If our goal is to copy their world,        until we reach that goal, there will be many things about that territory        that are beyond our understanding. It is part of the individual        evolution to seek out that understanding.
Nowadays the idea of what is good and bad is set by political systems. These        systems are pushing the world into barbarism, they want to claim that good and        evil exist, but they won't tell you why good and evil exist or give you an        objective definition of either.
A Kem recognizes that good and evil are based on what behavior is or is not in        line with the 77 commandments. By following the commandments, humans are placed        in a position to trust each other. When following the 77 commandments a        human will refrain from doing evil because he or she is aiming at being a        good person for themselves, and there is no human law or police state necessary        to enforce them since each individual relates to the commandments on        their own terms. The commandments are provided to us by the Divine World        for individuals to improve themselves. There are consequences to breaking these        commandments, but each person must take the responsibility for those        consequences individually. There can be no value to the individual evolution        without each individual striving to achieve the goal that the commandments        represent. No external person, organization, or nation state can force you to        follow the commandments. You must choose to follow them for yourself.
The commandments are the greatest tools in building a more perfect human being        that can reproduce a perfect world. It is up to every individual to build the        world that we want to see.

The Divine Code of Human Behavior  

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Title: Ma'at-gctid33902
Post by: kweku, afro olmec on Mar 13, 2009, 06:42 AM
TUA U BROTHER IB RA HIMA

, FOR THIS KmtywTASTIC POSTING,I WILL WRITE IT DOWN,AS I WEIGH MY OWN HEART ON THE SCALE OF MAAT, I WILL CHECK WHICH IN MY LIFE TIME I HAVE VIOLATED,ALSO IT IS TRUE, HUE MANS,DIE,HUEMAN PERISH,WE BECOME CORRUPT,JEALOUSY,ENVY,RUMOURS ARE ALL HUMAN TRAITS,WHEN THE GODS AND GODDESS ASKED WHAT IS OUR AGENDA ON EARTH,THEY KNEW,THAT PERFECTION IS HARD WORK,THE SCALE OF MAAT REPRESENT THE WEIGHING OF OUR ACTIONS, BOTH GOOD AND BAD,WHILE THE FEATHER WHEN WEIGHING THE HEART AGAINSTA FEATHER,THERE SHOULD BE NO HEAVINESS IN OUR HEART,SHOULD BE LIGHT ASA FEATHER,BECAUSEA BIRD CAN ONLY SOAR OR FLY AS THE QUALITY OF ITS FEATHER:pyramid::sphinx: ALSO  THOU SHALL NOT,SOUNDS LIKE CHRISTIANITY, I HAVE NOT IS BETTER,JUST LIKE KWAME EXPLAINED.HETEPU KWEKU.
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