The Lady with an Ostrich feather, on her head

Maat from British Museum

 

She is the personification of an influential Ancient Egyptian concept that is, “truth, balance, order and justice”. It was believed that without her existence, the world would be consume by her counterpart; Isfet. Upon Amun’s self-impregnation and the birth of Tefnut and Shu, Ma’at was born to reign over the spiritual and earthly realms.

To the Ancient Egyptians, Ma’at embodied everything that was good and pure. Therefore,  the Egyptians deemed the Black Land ‘Kemet’ and everything within its border filled with “truth, balance, order and justice” whereas the Red Land ‘Deshret’ and all beings foreign were Isfet-related.

“Divine offspring, who has come forth from the body of the god in order to endow the temple and who established Egypt and raise mankind and made Ma’at take her place”

 

 - Seti I's alabaster stela at Karnak

Based on Seti I’s writing, it was assumed that the pharaoh was responsible for ensuring that the country was Ma’at-filled and protected against Isfet. To do so, the pharaoh had to build temples and make offerings to the gods who also acknowledged the power of Ma’at. Besides that, a Rammeside literature illustrated that bribery of any kind was an action against Ma’at, and equality among all men and women were required to ensure the existence of Ma’at in the country. Nonetheless, the pharaohs were not the only ones in charge of defending Ma’at. His viziers substituted the pharaoh as chief justices and priest/priestess of Ma’at, who were expected to guarantee that Ma’at reigned peacefully over ‘Kemet’.

On a personal level, an individual was required to ensure that his/her life was Ma’at- filled which meant that there should be no envy, laziness, greed, disorder, justice and etcetera. This was essential because when the individual entered the Afterlife, he/she was required to participate in a judgment ritual known as the ‘Weighing of the Heart’ at the Hall of Ma’at. During this ritual, the individual’s heart was placed on a weighing scale against the feather of “truth, balance, order and justice”. If the heart weighed heavier than the heart, the organ would instantly be consumed by the gobbler; Ammit, resulting in a permanent extinction of the deceased.

"Weighing of the Heart" scene. Courtesy of http://wellesley.k12.ma.us/~heather_maffei/?OpenItemURL=S00513DB9-00513DB9

It is evident that the concept of Ma’at is one of the most important, if not the most important notion in Ancient Egyptian culture. Thus, it was crucial that each individual living within Kemet abided by her rules and the pharaohs and viziers had to protect the land from Isfet.

-chelle-