42 Laws of Maat Under Kemet Law

Maat was the rule of law and moral justice among the ancient Kemet people, and the divine cosmological order within their mythology, astronomy, and astrophysical studies.

Kemet is the name the native African people of the country now known as Egypt called themselves in their surviving writings. Many scholars refer to the people as "kmt" or Kemet. The surviving artifacts of the Kemet viziers and scribes evidence that Kemet rule of law was “Maat,” contained at least in part in observing the 42 Laws of Maat.

The Goddess Maat as the Cosmological Origin of Kemet Rule of Law

Heliopolis-era creation stories from the Kemet people report that in the beginning Atum emerged from the Isfet (chaos) of Nu (primordial waters). Atum created the god Shu (personification of air/cool dryness) and goddess Tefnut (personification of moisture) from Nu. Shu is depicted in the Kemet iconography as an ostrich feather.

Under Kemet cosmology, Maat is designed to avert chaos (Isfet) and maintain truth (Maat). The symbol for truth, justice, balance, and order is the Goddess Maat. The iconography for Maat in the hieroglyphs depict the single ostrich feather (Shu), worn atop Goddess Maat’s head.

During the reign of Pharaoh Menes, around 2925 B.C.E., after the unification of upper and lower Kemet, archaeological finds evidence administration of the 42 Laws of Maat among the Kemet people as deduced from Kemet coffin texts or funerary papyri dating from this period.

The Duat, the Hall of Two Truths, and the Weighing the Ka (Heart)

Photo: Plate 3 of the Papyrus of Ani. 42 Laws of Maat, or 42 Negative Confessions, or 42 Admonition to Goddess Maat

The duat (underworld as the place for judgment) is where the popular Kemet funerary scene of the Hall of Two Truths is depicted in the various versions of the “Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Papyrus of Ani,” edited by E.A. Wallis Budge. A closer interpretation of the title from the Kemet language is said to be “Book of Coming Forth by Day.” The Budge translation was a funerary text written for the "coming forth" of Kemet scribe Ani.

In Chapter 30B of The Papyrus of Ani entitled “Chapter for Not Letting Ani’s Heart Create Opposition Against Him, in the Gods’ Domain,” we see the deceased scribe standing before his own heart/soul (ka) on the scale of Maat. On the opposite scale is the Goddess Maat’s feather of truth (Shu). The head of the Goddess Maat is depicted atop the scales of justice. Thoth, also known by other names such as Tehuti, stands holding a tablet and a writing tool to record the results from the scales. The ibis-headed Thoth is the patron saint of Maat scribes and priests.

Petitioner Announces the 42 Divine Principles of the Maat

In Chapter 125 of The Papyrus of Ani, we find the petitioner led by Anubis into duat and pronouncing his/her 42 affirmative declarations, listed below from Budge’s public domain translation of the 42 Divine Principles of 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.

After the petitioner’s testimony containing the 42 affirmative declarations, the weighing of the ka for truth, and the reading of the scales, it is said that the doer of Maat is administered Maat. If the petitioner is deemed by the Goddess Maat to be in substantial compliance with the 42 Laws of Maat the petitioner passes from duat to the Field of Reeds (Arus) where Osiris sits as the final gatekeeper.

- by Vanessa Cross

References:

• "Maat the Moral Ideal in Ancient Egypt," by Maulana Karenga (Sankore Publisher, 2006).
• "The Book of the Dead," edited by E.A. Wallis Budge (Gramercy Publisher, 1995).
• “Maxims of Good Discourse” writings of the notable Kemet vizier and scribe Ptah-Hotep (accounting of some procedural laws under Maat).

Pharaoh Akhenaten, Queen Nefertiti and the Rise of Amarna

Statute of Akhenaten in the early Amarna style

(Antiquité égyptienne, Akhénaton Égypte,

Musée égyptien du Caire)

Pharaoh Akhenaten's rule of Kemet, now known as ancient Egypt in northeast Africa along the Nile River, is reflected in the archaeological records as one with a long period of peace and prosperity throughout the kingdom. Akhenaten ruled the throne of a unified Kemet with his wife Queen Nefertiti. He is best known as the first ruler on Earth to leave a written record of the belief in the concept of One Supreme God.

The Kemet civilization developed around 3150 BCE with the political unification of its Upper and Lower regions. The nation would be independent from foreign forces for the next three millennia. The ancient Egyptians (kmt) are said to have reached the pinnacle of their civilization during the New Kingdom. Subsequently, the nation entered a period of decline. Pharaonic rule officially ended in 31 BCE when the early Roman Empire conquered the nation.

PHARAOH AKHENATEN'S BELIEF IN ONE GOD

Pharaoh Akhenaten (1380-1362 BCE), son of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye, ruled Kemet during its 18th dynasty. Akhenaten developed policies to abolish religious worship practices to multiple God/Goddess. The custom of the nation at the time of Akhenaten's rule was stepped in the tradition of a varied spiritual pantheon. Akhenaten's philosophy of monotheism is arguably said to have influenced the subsequent Judeo-Christian religions.

Pharaoh Akhenaten's first major move as the new ruler of Kemet was to move the nation's center of administration from the former pharaoh's place of ruler-ship, Pharaoh Tutankamen, into the desert. The name of this new administrative capital was appropriately named Akhenaten. Since Kemet came under Arabic Islamic rule, the city of Akhenaten has since been renamed Tell el Amarna, often referred to as Amarna.

QUEEN NEFERTITI AND THE GROWTH OF THE ARTS AND ARCHITECTURAL DEVELOPMENTS

Akhenaten and Nefertiti had a great impact on the development of an artistic renaissance in Kemet, or ancient Egypt. Akhenaten commissioned many royal artists and architects to develop the city's life. Royal commissions were requested that required the artist to recreate life in its natural state instead of in the traditional stylized form of early artists. The city of Akhenaten was known for its sculpture gardens and grand buildings dedicated to religion and the arts. This artistic renaissance would mean that Akhenaten was the first Kemet king to have a true likeness of his form recorded.

Akhenaten, Nefertiti and their children

(Staatliche Museen zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Ägyptisches Museum)

Akhenaten defied customs by elevating Queen Nefertiti above the traditional role of Kemet queens. Nefertiti's image was placed into the forefront of the public eye through royal commissions such as the famous Nefertiti bust statute that was displayed in Berlin as late as 1924. The Nefertiti sculpture has since become one of Berlin, Germany's biggest tourist draws since its arrival. In 1912, Ludwig Borchardt lead a German archaeological team to Amarna, Egypt and returned to Europe with the sculpture.

Nefertiti Sculpture

Originally from Amarna, part of the

Ägyptisches Museum Berlin

(Egyptian Museum) collection

The Nefertiti sculpture resides at the Egyptian Museum in Berlin (Ägyptisches Museum Berlin). Museum officials have stated that it is too fragile to move. As it currently stands in this battle for ancient antiquities, the Kemet queen's image of royal beauty will now live on in public view in Berlin through a replica made in 1913 for Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm. The details of Nefertiti's life are virtual unknown, even her parentage. This makes the 3,000-year-old limestone and plaster Nefertiti sculpture a more precious site for visitors to Berlin.

AMARNA AFTER AKHENATEN

Horemheb (also spelled Horemhab or Haremhab and meaning the jubilation of Horus) was the last Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty from 1319 BCE to late 1292 BCE. Horemheb demolished monuments of Akhenaten throughout the nation. He is said to have reused the remains of the stones from buildings and public art works in new building projects. Horemheb appointed his vizier Paramesse as his successor. Vizier Paramesse would assume the throne as Ramesses I.

Map of Amarna

Road in Tell el Amarna

Amarna North Palace Site