Not being mean, I honestly want to know, what are the main tenants of ma'at everyone should follow?
So the answer to this could probably be a couple of miles long, tbh. But I’m going to try and give you guys a concise list of some of the most common themes I’ve seen over the years while reading up on ma’at. Most of this stuff comes from Karenga, Quirke and Muhlenstein. I’ve bolded the key points to help for readability.
Humility. You are supposed to be humble. Conversely, you’re supposed to not be arrogant or overly prideful.
Moderation is another common theme. This is why Set is often othered, because he lacks moderation in many respects. This is reflected in what you consume, how you respond to people, how you act, etc. I would also argue that it’s also about how you live (aka the wealth you obtain), but I don’t know that that is historically corroborated (probably not, tbh, because you were supposed to give your wealth to those who had less, and so long as you were giving back, you’d be golden afaict).
Giving to those who have less than you. This is commonly worded as “clothing the naked, giving a home to the homeless, a boat to the boatless, feeding the hungry, etc.” It’s about giving to those who have less than you. Egypt failed on this a lot. A lot of modern practitioners also fail on it.
Not being a jerk to other people. Esp. if they have less than you. It’s written in the wisdom texts that if someone who is of lesser rank than you spouts off, it’ll do you well to listen to them, but not to berate them. Leave that to someone who is of an authority to do so. This also goes back to moderation.
All in all, finding your place within your community, and doing what you can to help the community. This is probably because before the modern era, humans truly required their fellows to help them survive. No man was an island before the modern era, and everyone was needed to help keep everything running smoothly. Hence the emphasis on community in the here and now. This, ofc, means more than just the Kemetic community, but also the ppl you live next to. Conversely, it also seems to tie into not suffering people who would destroy your community.
Doing your job well, being a hard worker, having a good work ethic. Not being a cheating, swindling jerkface.
Self-reflection and making self-awareness and growth something of a priority. Taking the time to look at yourself and being honest with what you need to improve, and working to make improvements as you are able.
Maintaining the cult of the gods. This is arguably more relevant to the people whose jobs it was to do this on the regular (aka the king, priests), but it still deserves a place on the list. The gods helped us maintain Order, maintain our world. As such, it benefited us to take care of them. Conversely, if the gods weren’t fulfilling their roles, it was also within ma’at to call them on it (see my point about doing your job well) and refuse to take care of their needs until your needs (or the community’s needs) are met.
These all seem pretty self-explanatory, imo. And they are probably the most commonly sighted tenets of ma’at. The rules shift, however, when ma’at is threatened. Muhlenstein writes about this extensively in his text “Violence in the Service of Order.” In order to get a complete idea of what ma’at entails, we need to examine this side of things, too:
Being willing to smite isfet when it shows up. This is often referred to as “smiting Set’s confederates” or something similar. Ma’at is all about creating something, and maintaining that creation–which means defending it when necessary. So when someone shows up and tries to wreck the party, you wreck that person’s face and send them packing.
Once any isfet is eradicated, you are supposed to replace it with ma’at. It’s not good enough to just cut down isfet where it stands. You need to replace that void with ma’at, otherwise the isfet will return to fill the void.
Taking care of your community is another aspect of this. Egypt used this as an excuse to go conquesting. Pretty sure most of us know that colonialism is bad and would add in extra caveats on what is acceptable for “taking care of your own”, but from a purely historical standpoint, this meant beating down anyone who had stuff you wanted so that you could bring more resources back to your home. In a more modern context, I would argue that it means helping your fellows to succeed and to be safe. This is also more than just our Kemetic community, and should include people who are a part of your life or in-person community.
Protecting what you have built (usually referred to as Order, protecting Order.) This honestly is just a succinct way of saying what I said in the last three bullets.
Now, obvs, not everyone is cut out to smite isfet or help defend things on the regular. And that’s fine. However, just because you’re not able or not necessarily comfortable with it doesn’t mean that you should get in the way of those who are willing and able to do so. I think that’s honestly one of the largest issues I see in most situations. “I’m made uncomfortable by this, and therefore you shouldn’t do the thing, because I personally wouldn’t want the thing done.” Even though defending the community and those who are adherents of ma’at is part and parcel with ma’at in certain contexts.
Given how extensive ma’at is, it’s possible that I’ve missed some things, but these are probably the highlights of what comes to mind. If anyone else can think of anything I’ve missed, feel free to add.
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