Maát is ethical principles that govern the Kosmos, galaxies, universe and the world(s) collectively embracing the values of truth, justice, harmony, balance, cosmological order, reciprocity, charity and propriety.
Personified as a goddess, Maát is depicted as a woman wearing an ostrich feather on her head, a symbol of the principles she represents. Controlling the movement of the stars and the seasonal flooding of the Nile River, Maát also had codes of tradition and customs. For all Khemetans (Egyptians) to live in a happy, prosperous and peaceful environment, they had to live within the order established by Maát. The Shekem/Sheket (vehicle through which the Most High makes their wishes known and realized/pharaoh), as
absolute ruler, was the individual most responsible to manifest in life, through all his actions, the entire concept of Maát. Deviation from the tenets of Maát could prove disastrous for the Sheket/Shekem (priest/priestess/pharaoh).
Maát was central to funerary practices in which if the deceased had been found to not have followed the concept of Maát during his life (if he had lied or cheated or killed or done anything against Maát) his heart was devoured (she was called Ammut -- Devouress of the Dead) and he died the final death. If the heart weighed the same as Maát, the deceased was allowed to go on to the afterlife. The heart of a person was considered the center of intellect and memory.
Ma'at was the personification of the fundamental order of the universe, without which all of creation would perish. The primary duty of the Shekem (pharaoh) was to uphold this order by maintaining the law and administering justice. To reflect this, many pharaohs took the title "Beloved of Ma'at," emphasizing their focus on justice and truth.
At any event in which something would be judged, Ma'at was said to be present, and her name would be invoked so that the judge involved would rule correctly and impartially. In the underworld, the heart of the deceased was weighed by Anubis against Ma'at's feather. If the heart was heavy with wicked deeds, it would outweigh the feather, and the soul would be fed to Ammit. But if the scales were balanced,
indicating that the deceased was a just and honorable person in life, he would be welcomed by Ausar (Osiris) into the Blessed Land. Maat's presence in all worlds was universal, and all the goddesses/gods deferred to her.
Worship: Worshipped and revered widely throughout all of Khemet (Egypt). Even the gods are shown praising Ma'at.
NOTE:
This symbolic weighing of the heart against the feather of truth (Maát) was performed to established the righteousness of the deceased. The scale of Maát was balanced after the recitation of the 42 Declarations of Innocence or Admonitions of Maát from the tomb of a Nubian. Book of Coming Forth by Day and by Night (Book of the Dead of Maiherperi):
This is to be said before the Forty-two goddesses /
on reaching the Hall of the Two Truths so as to purge (name) of any transgressions (sins) committed and to see the face of every goddess:
The Judgment of the Dead
The Declaration of Innocence
Hail to you, great Most High of the Two Truths!
i have come to you, my Goddess,
i was brought to see your beauty.
i know you, i know the names of the forty-two goddesses,
Who are with you in the Hall of the Two Truths,
Who live by warding off evildoers,
Who drink of their blood,
On that day of judging characters before Wennofer.
Lo, your name is "She-of-Two-Daughters,"
(And) "He-of-Maat's-Two-Eyes."
Lo, i come before you,
Bringing Ma'at to you,
Having repelled evil for you
The Declaration to the Forty-two Goddesses
O Wide-of-stride who comes from On: i have not done evil.
O Flame-grasper who comes from Kheraha: i have not robbed.
O Long-nosed who comes from Khbmun: i have not coveted.
O Shadow-eater who comes from the cave: i have not stolen.
O Savage-faced who comes from Rostau: i have not killed people.
O Lion-Twins who come from heaven: i have not trimmed the measure.
O Flint-eyed who comes from Khem: i have not cheated.
O Fiery-one who comes backward: i have not stolen a goddess'/god's property.
O Bone-smasher who comes from Hnes: i have not told lies.
O Flame-thrower who comes from Memphis: i have not seized food.
O Cave-dweller who comes from the west: i have not sulked.
O White-toothed who comes from Lakeland: i have not trespassed.
O Blood-eater who comes from slaughterplace: i have not slain sacred cattle.
O Entrall-eater who comes from the tribunal: i have not extorted.
O Lord of Ma'at who comes from Maaty: i have not stolen bread rations.
O Wanderer who comes from Bubastis: i have not spied.
O Pale-one who comes from On: i have not prattled.
O Villain who comes from Anjdty: i have contended only for my goods.
O Fiend who comes from slaughterhouse: i have not committed adultery.
O Examiner who comes from Min's temple: i have not defiled myself.
O Chief of the nobles who comes from Imu: i have not caused fear.
O Wrecker who comes from Huy: i have not trespassed.
O Disturber who comes from the sanctuary: i have not been violent.
O Child who comes from the nome of On: i have not been deaf to Ma'at.
O Foreteller who comes from Wensi: i have not quarreled.
O Bastet who comes from the shrine: i have not winked.
O Backward-faced who comes from the pit: i have not copulated with a boy.
O Flame-footed who comes from the dusk: i have not been false.
O Dark-one who comes from darkness: i have not reviled.
O Peace-bringer who comes from Sais: i have not been aggressive.
O Many-faced who comes from Djefet: i have not had a hasty heart.
O Accuser who comes from Utjen: i have not attacked and reviled a god.
O Horned-one who comes from Siut: i have not made many words.
O Nefertem who comes from Memphis: i have not sinned, i have not done wrong.
O Timeless-one who comes from Djedu: i have not made trouble.
O Willful-one who comes from Tjebu: i have not waded in water.
O Flowing-one who comes from Nun: i have not raised my voice.
O Commander of people who comes from his shrine: i have not cursed a god.
O Benefactor who comes from Huy: i have not been boastful.
O Nehebkau who comes from the city: i have not been haughty.
O High-of-head who comes from the cave: i have not wanted more than i had.
O Captor who comes from the graveyard: i have not cursed the goddess/god in my town.
42 Declarations of Innocence or Admonitions of Maát
1. i have not committed transgression (sin).
2. i have not committed robbery with violence.
3. i have not stolen.
4. i have not slain men and females (women).
5. i have not stolen grain.
6. i have not purloined offerings.
7. i have not stolen the property of the Goddess/God.
8. i have not uttered lies.
9. i have not carried away food.
10. i have not uttered curses.
11. i have not committed adultery, i have not lain with men.
12. i have made none to weep.
13. i have not eaten the heart.
14. i have not attacked any female (woman)/man.
15. i am not a man of deceit.
16. i have not stolen cultivated land.
17. i have not been an eavesdropper.
18. i have not slandered [no female (woman)/man].
19. i have not been angry without just cause.
20. i have not debauched the wife/husband of any female (woman)/man.
21. i have not debauched the wife of [any] man.
22. i have not polluted myself.
23. i have terrorized none.
24. i have not transgressed [the law].
25. i have not been wroth.
26. i have not shut my ears to the words of truth.
27. i have not blasphemed.
28. i am not a man of violence.
29. i have not been a stirrer up of strife.
30. i have not acted with undue haste.
31. i have not pried into matters.
32. i have not multiplied my words in speaking.
33. i have wronged none, i have done no evil.
34. i have not worked witchcraft against the king.
35. i have never stopped [the flow of] water.
36. i have never raised my voice.
37. i have not cursed the Goddesses/God.
38. i have not acted with arrogance.
39. i have not stolen the bread of the goddesses/gods.
40. i have not carried away the khenfu cakes from the Spirits of the dead.
41. i have not snatched away the bread of the child, nor treated with contempt the god of my city.
42. i have not slain the cattle belonging to the goddess/god.
Maat and the law[edit]
Maat wearing feather of truth
There is little surviving literature that describes the practice of ancient Egyptian law. Maat was the spirit in which justice was applied rather than the detailed legalistic exposition of rules (as found in Mosaic law of the 1st millennium BCE). Maat represented the normal and basic values that formed the backdrop for the application of justice that had to be carried out in the spirit of truth and fairness. From the 5th dynasty (c. 2510-2370 BCE) onwards the Vizier responsible for justice was called the Priest of Maat and in later periods judges wore images of Maat.[12]
Later scholars and philosophers also would embody concepts from the wisdom literature, or Sebayt. These spiritual texts dealt with common social or professional situations and how each was best to be resolved or addressed in the spirit of Maat. It was very practical advice, and highly case-based, so that few specific and general rules could be derived from them.[13]
During the Greek period in Egyptian history, Greek law existed alongside Egyptian law. The Egyptian law preserved the rights of women who were allowed to act independently of men and own substantial personal property and in time this influenced the more restrictive conventions of the Greeks and Romans.[14] When the Romans took control of Egypt, the Roman legal system which existed throughout the Roman Empire was imposed in Egypt
Maat in Funerary Texts (The Book of Coming Forth by Day and on tomb inscriptions)[edit]
BD Weighing of the Heart Book of the Dead written on papyrus showing the "Weighing of the Heart" in the Duatusing the feather of Maat as the measure in balance
Egyptians were often entombed with funerary texts in order to be well equipped for the afterlife as mandated by Egyptian burial customs. These often served to guide the deceased through the afterlife, and the most famous one is the Book of the Dead or Papyrus of Ani (known to the ancient Egyptians as The Book of Coming Forth by Day). The lines of these texts are often collectively called the "Forty-Two Declarations of Purity".[31] These declarations varied somewhat from tomb to tomb as they were tailored to the individual, and so cannot be considered a canonical definition of Maat. Rather, they appear to express each tomb owner's individual practices in life to please Maat, as well as words of absolution from 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 particular misdeed from the afterlife record of the deceased. Many of the lines are similar, however, and paint a very unified picture of Maat.[32]
The doctrine of Maat is represented in the declarations to Rekhti-merti-f-ent-Maat and the 42 Negative Confessions listed in the Papyrus of Ani. The following are translations by E. A. Wallis Budge.[33]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maat#The_Weig...
Posted By: DAVID JOHNSON
Monday, September 15th 2014 at 5:06PM
You can also
click
here to view all posts by this author...
