Journal of Religion in Africa (2023) 1–32 brill.com/jra Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’, Death and the Afterlife Abstract Ideal and/or Lived Practice? Joseph Aketema | Orcid: 0000-0003-1791-1612 University of Media Arts and Communication UniMAC National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI-Branch), Accra, Ghana aketema@yahoo.com; joseph.aketema@nafti.edu.gh Ọbádélé Bakari Kambon | ORCID: 0000-0002-8513-6622 Associate Professor & Research Coordinator, Language, Literature and Drama Section, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana Corresponding author obkambon@staff.ug.edu.gh; obadele.kambon@gmail.com Abstract This study sets out to demonstrate how in classical and traditional Afrikan thought one’s afterlife on physical and spiritual planes is thought of as being commensurate with one’s adherence to Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ in terms of lived practice rather than sim- ply as an abstract ideal. As such, we will interrogate textual examples from classical Kmt ‘The Black Nation/Land of the Blacks’ and attested lived examples from contemporary Afrika among the Kasena-Nankana with brief references to other cultural-linguistic groups. We demonstrate there is a shared understanding from the classical to the contemporary in terms of how one’s body is treated and how one’s experience in the afterlife is conceptualized. We find that conceptions of the afterlife have influenced how Afrikans engage Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ as praxis. Keywords Kemet – Afterlife – Indigenous – Maat – Reincarnation Published with license by Koninklijke Brill NV | doi:10.1163/15700666-12340265 © Joseph Aketema AND Ọbádélé Bakari Kambon, 2023Downloaded from Brill.com06/06/2023 09:11:05AM via free access 2 Aketema AND Kambon ḏd mꜢꜤt ꞽr mꜢꜤt ꞽrr.k n.i m mꜢꜤt speak Maat do Maat do.2ms dat.1ms in Maat ‘Speak Maat, do Maat. Do Maat towards/for me.’ (Bak, 2016, p. 422) 1 Introduction: Objective of Study and Definitions of Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ The objective of this article is to argue that the body’s preparation for the afterlife as well as how the afterlife is conceived of directly relate to the com- munity’s view of the person’s adherence to Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ as practice in classical and traditional Afrika. In other words, Ancestorship is communally determined.1 This has implications for one’s afterlife on both the physical and spiritual planes. In contemporary times, Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ is usually translated into English in the context of seven cardinal virtues: truth, justice, righteousness/propriety, harmony, balance, order, and reciprocity (Banner, 2021; Daniels et al., 2022; Durham, 2020; Kalonji, 2014; Karenga, 2003; Martin, 2020; Psychologists, 2022; Swain, 2011). It is thus necessary to disambiguate what Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ is from what Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ is not (Aketema & Kambon, 2021; Kambon & Songsore, 2021; Kambon et al., 2021). In his seminal text entitled Maat, the moral ideal in ancient Egypt: A study in classical African ethics, Ɔbenfo2 Maulana Karenga (2003, p. 3) argues that the Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ is best examined as a moral ideal stating: The focus on the moral ideal rather than the assumed moral practice of ancient Egypt is done for several reasons. [… T]he ideal expressed in the literature is more readily accessible and saves one from problematic claims about practice which often are at best, only speculative and at worst prejudicial and reductive. However, after engaging with a plethora of texts, in the same book, Karenga (2003, p. 132) later states: Therefore in the Sebaitic tradition, Maat is not the Truth or Justice as the abstract Ideal, but is something one speaks and does, loves, wills and practices. When Intef, son of Sent (Sethe 1928b, 81.3–4) says “I am a listener who listens to Maat and ponders (swꜣwꜣ) it in his heart,” he is 10.1163/15700666-12340265 | Journal of DRoewnlliogadieodn f rionm ABfrirlilc.cao m( 0260/0263/)2 012–33 029:11:05AM via free access Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’, Death and the Afterlife 3 indeed contemplating Maat. But he is contemplating it not so much as an abstract Truth or ideal, but as an engaging moral practice. (bold empha- sis added) This latter articulation is in alignment with that of Ɔbenfo Kamau Rashid (2020, p. 365), in his chapter “Maat As Liberatory Praxis,” which argues that: The practice of Maat requires comprehensive systems that reinforce and defend Maat. It is not simply a philosophical idea, nor is it an idea that is simply an ethical value; it is a holistic paradigm, a totalizing social imperative. Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ as practice is also discussed by Martin (2008, p. 954) who inten- tionally “avoids the notion of an ideal” with regard to her discourse on Maat. According to Martin (2008), as explained below, Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ serves three purposes: cosmological, philosophical and religious: In its cosmological sense, Maat is the principle of order that informs the creation of the universe. In its religious sense, Maat is a goddess or neter[et] representing order or balance. Last, in its philosophical sense, Maat is a moral and ethical principle that all Egyptians were expected to embody in their daily actions toward family, community, nation, environ- ment, and god. (p. 951). The idea of Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ as multi-layered is consistent with Tâta Théophile Obenga’s (1990; 2004) assertion that: La notion de maât est complexe et riche. Trois niveaux de compréhension s’imposent: 1. Au plan universel, la notion de maât « exprime l’harmonie des éléments enfin établis à leur place ». C’est le Tout ordonné, le cosmos. 2. Dans le domaine politique, la notion de maât s’oppose à l’injustice. C’est au nom de la maât que Pharaon soumet les rebelles et domine les contrées étrangères. 3. Au niveau individuel, « la maât recouvre les règles concrètes du savoir-vivre et les principes moraux ». Se soumettre à ces règles et princi- pes, c’est réaliser concrètement l’ordre universel en soi, vivre en harmonie avec le Tout ordonné. L’acte humain le mieux réussi, utile et convenable, est cosmologiquement circonscrit, comme le nom de Pharaon qui se trouve loti dans un cartouche, un cercle  – cette parfaite figure géométrique qui représente le Soleil vivifiant. (Obenga, 1990, p. 158) Journal of Religion in Africa (2023) 1–32 | D1o0w.n1l1o6a3de/d1 5f7r0o0m 6B6r6il-l1.2c3o4m0062/6056/2023 09:11:05AM via free access 4 Aketema AND Kambon Translation: The concept of Maat is complex, multi-layered. To understand it, we need to examine it on three levels: 1. On the universal level, the concept of Maat “expresses the harmony of the elements as clearly established, each in its right place.” This is the concept of the ordered Whole, the cosmos. 2. On the political level, the concept of Maat works against injustice. It is in the name of Maat that the pharaoh subjugates rebels and dominates foreign lands. 3. On the individual level, “Maat embraces specific rules for living in con- cert with moral principles.” Whoever lives according to these rules and principles achieves universal order in his or her own life, in practical terms, and lives in harmony with the ordered Whole. (Obenga, 2004, pp. 191–192) Expanding on this initial idea of three levels, N’lôngi Obenga later fleshes out what he refers to as the five spheres of reality that in the three tier model were collapsed together. He writes: Maat is concerned with all the spheres of reality. There are five realities: The divine or sacred world The Cosmos or the universe The state or the governance The society or the human community (humanity) The human being (family) Each of these realities has five dimensions of significance: Religious Cosmic Political Social Anthropological Thus, the five realities have together 125 dimensions of significance. This is Maat’s number. It means that because of Maat, the sacred world must be balanced to itself, to the cosmos, to the state, to the society and to humans. The cosmos must be balanced to the divine world, to itself, to the state, to the society and to humans. The state must be balanced to the sacred, to the cosmos, to itself, and to humans. The humans must be bal- anced to the divine world, to the cosmos, to the state, to the society and to themselves (Montgomery, 2009, pp. 43–44; Obenga, 1996, pp. 93–94) 10.1163/15700666-12340265 | Journal of DRoewnlliogadieodn f rionm ABfrirlilc.cao m( 0260/0263/)2 012–33 029:11:05AM via free access Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’, Death and the Afterlife 5 Figure 1 An image of the Nṯrt ‘feminine divinity’ Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ Photo Credit: Rand African Art https://bit.ly/3j45KZQ The contemporary study of archeoastronomy is in recognition that our Ancestors worked to bring the architectural on earth into alignment with the cosmos (Kambon & Asare, 2019). This is consistent with Ɔbenfo Obenga’s (1990; 1996, 2004) typologies of Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ operating at the confluence of sev- eral spheres of reality each with several dimensions as explicated above. Journal of Religion in Africa (2023) 1–32 | D1o0w.n1l1o6a3de/d1 5f7r0o0m 6B6r6il-l1.2c3o4m0062/6056/2023 09:11:05AM via free access 6 Aketema AND Kambon Giving insight to Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ and her virtues as held by ancient Kmt(yw) ‘Black People’, Ɔbenfo Beatty (1997, p. 221) explains, The feather as a symbol of truth is weighed against the heart of the deceased. If the heart were weighed against the feather as a physical specimen, the scales would never be balanced. Hence, the heart is meta- phor for a person’s will and desire to be in harmony with Maat which is reflected in behavior and conduct. The heart, being in harmony with Maat, reflects the moral and spiritual worthiness necessary to enter the abode of the blessed. 2 Conceptual Framework: Cultural Complementarity and Mutual Illumination There is an existing world view that traditional cultures in Afrika that prac- tice traditional Afrikan=Black spirituality share the same worldview as that of the ancient Kmt(yw) ‘Black People’s’ spiritual practice of Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’. This is supported by the similarities in cultural practices including the indig- enous Afrikan knowledge of life after death as reminiscent in the Kmt(yw) ‘Black People’s’ concept of Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ in indigenous cultures (Diop, 1991, Hilliard, 1992 & 1995). Far from abstract overgeneralization, this is the principle of cultural complementarity wherein we argue here that: What lacks in Igbo is supplemented by Zulu, what is incomplete in Shona is substantiated by Dinka, what is forgotten by Bambara is returned by Fon, what is obscure in Owambo is clarified by Ayiti (Haiti) (Gumbe, 2020, p. 12; Kamalu, 1998, p. 107) In this vein, we also concur with Nana Carruthers (1989) who, with regard to different creation stories from classical Kmt ‘The Black Nation/Land of the Blacks’3 states The various creation perspectives are not competing doctrines but parts of a whole. They represent various points on the circle of perception as the creation which is the focal point is brought into view. This same [phenomenon] occurs when anything is viewed from several angles, each point reveals a configuration somewhat different from, but not incom- patible with all other viewpoints. (Carruthers, 1989, pp. 64–65) 10.1163/15700666-12340265 | Journal of DRoewnlliogadieodn f rionm ABfrirlilc.cao m( 0260/0263/)2 012–33 029:11:05AM via free access Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’, Death and the Afterlife 7 This is to say, the more pieces of the puzzle that one has at one’s disposal, the better one is enabled to see and understand the totality of the Afrikan worldview and how the pieces all fit together rather than being limited by a fragmented vision. The various cultures are manifestations of the shared worldview in a similar way to which branches of a river delta with all their individual and unique contours are ultimately still components of one river. To notice differences between one branch of the delta and another is not tan- tamount to them not still being part of the same river. As such, in this article, we set out to compare concepts of Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’, Death and the Afterlife in classical Kmt ‘The Black Nation/Land of the Blacks’ and contempo- rary Kasena-Nankana culture utilizing Kambon’s (2017b) theory of Mutual Illumination which shows how one phenomenon can shed light on another and vice versa. Thus, as exemplified by classical Kmt ‘The Black Nation/Land of the Blacks’ and contemporary Kasena-Nankana culture, for the soul of the dead to reach the afterworld, one would have had to have lived according to the prin- ciples of Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ as defined above. What Primary Texts have to say About Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’: Afterlife on the Physical Plane and Ancestral Realm as Evidence of Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ as Practice in Classical Kmt ‘The Black Nation/Land of the Blacks’ In consultation with primary texts, it is clear that the Ancestors viewed Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ as inextricable from lived practice. In this regard, the afterlife and what happened to one when one passed on was seen as a measure of the degree to which one lived one’s life in alignment with Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’. To this point, the stela of imAxw sḥtp-ꞽb-rꜤ ‘imAxw4 Sehotep-Ib-Ra’ also known as The Loyalist Instruction as shown in example (1) below reads thusly: 1. > nn ꞽz n sbꞽ ḥr Ḥm.f neg tomb gen rebel on servant.3ms ‘There is no tomb for the one who rebels against His Servant,’5 ꞽw ẖꜢt.f m ḳmꜢ n mw part body.3ms as throw lat water Journal of Religion in Africa (2023) 1–32 | D1o0w.n1l1o6a3de/d1 5f7r0o0m 6B6r6il-l1.2c3o4m0062/6056/2023 09:11:05AM via free access 8 Aketema AND Kambon ‘and his body is something thrown into the water.’ (J. P. Allen, 2014, pp. 156, 158) This text is in alignment with Ɔbenfo Rashid’s (2020) contention regarding the comprehensive systems that reinforce and defend Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ – in this case that of the ruler who would deny a tomb to traitors. It is also commensurate with the idea that Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ is “not simply a philosophical idea, nor is it an idea that is simply an ethical value; it is a holistic paradigm, a totalizing social imperative” (p. 365). The instruction of zẖꜢw ꞽny ‘Scribe Ani’ in example (2) below states: 2. ꞽr mytꞽ ꞽꜢt.w ꜥꜢt.w part copy aged.pl great.pl ‘Emulate the great departed’ ḥtpw ksw m ẖnw mt sn rest.pl bowing in interior tomb 3pl ‘Who are at rest within their tombs.’ bw ḫpr.w ṯꜢy neg transpire.pl rebuke n pA irw.f of det do.pl.3sg ‘No blame accrues to him who does it.’ (Suys, 1935, p. 37) The idea contained in this line is that no matter how much Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ may be interpreted or analysed as an abstract ideal in modern times, the thought of the Kmt(yw) ‘Black People’ was that one whose behaviour was at variance with Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ in practice would not be honoured 10.1163/15700666-12340265 | Journal of DRoewnlliogadieodn f rionm ABfrirlilc.cao m( 0260/0263/)2 012–33 029:11:05AM via free access Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’, Death and the Afterlife 9 Figure 2 Bakuyu: Bodies of Ɔbosomase Robbers Photo credit OtecFM Ghana https://bit .ly/3hLbx82 as one who conducted his/her life in alignment with Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ but would rather be discarded. In classical or traditional Afrika, one whose practice is against Maat is not regarded as an Ancestor regardless of any conception of an abstract ideal that may or may not exist. According to N’kulu Fu-Kiâu (2007, p. 4) there is a prov- erb in the Kikôngo language that asks, “Boko dia n’kuyu na’ wayena dio? Who sees the boko6 of N’kuyu, the stunted (ill-thriven) ancestor (where one talks of good things about a deviant ancestor)?” In other words, who would treat a deviant Ancestor in the manner in which a good Ancestor is treated? This is to say that as Ancestorship is communally determined, how would an entire community consider someone to be an Ancestor who is really against Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ as practice because some abstract ideal may or may not exist? As such, the tomb, as well as the treatment of the body in preparation for the afterlife, serve as a kind of evidence for whether the person lived in alignment with Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ and, conversely, the degree to which he/she did not. To this point, consider in Figure 2 the haphazard treatment accorded to reputed armed robbers in Ɔbosomase, Ghana as compared to the elaborate treatment of the body of an esteemed elder revered in his or her community. Again, the difference in the treatment of the body is communally and collectively deter- mined by their practice of Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ or lack thereof. This concept is echoed in the excerpt from the Instructions of (ꞽ)m(ꞽ)-r nꞽwt ṯꜢty Ptḥḥtp in example (3) below, which states: 3. wꜢḥ z ꜥqꜢ .f mꜢꜥt endure man measure .3ms Maat ‘The man whose measure is Maat endures,’ Journal of Religion in Africa (2023) 1–32 | D1o0w.n1l1o6a3de/d1 5f7r0o0m 6B6r6il-l1.2c3o4m0062/6056/2023 09:11:05AM via free access 10 Aketema AND Kambon šm r nmtt .f go lat stride 3ms ‘One who goes towards his stride;’ ꞽw .f ꞽr.f ꞽmyt ꞽm part 3ms do.3ms inventory thereby ‘He will make a will by it,’ nn wn ꞽz n ꜥwn ꞽb neg exist tomb for steal heart ‘No tomb exists for the greedy’ (Žába, 1956, p. 40) We argue here that these texts mutually illuminate each other by shining greater metaphorical light on each other leading to a more holistic concep- tualization of Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ as found in primary texts. As such, in an emic view, whether or not one endures is directly related to the degree to which one’s measure of behaviour is Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’. The context in which this text is written is one in which the right to make a tomb is granted by the Ruler (the political component) and which is worked upon by artisans (the social component). In fine, the focus on practice is not only realized in terms of what happens to one’s physical body after passing (ɛ.n. to be honoured with a tomb or not), but also in terms of what happens to one in the Ancestral realm as articu- lated below in example (4) from the tomb of ꞽmꜢḫw p-dꞽ-ꞽsꞽr ‘imAxw P-di-Isir’: 4. Imntt dmy mr nty n wn.f west landing-place shore rel neg fault.3sg ‘The West (Amenta) is the landing place of the blameless.’ 10.1163/15700666-12340265 | Journal of DRoewnlliogadieodn f rionm ABfrirlilc.cao m( 0260/0263/)2 012–33 029:11:05AM via free access Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’, Death and the Afterlife 11 dwꜢ nṯr n z pḥ sw praise nTr dat man reach 3ms ‘Praise nTr for one who has reached it.’ nn spr z nb r.z wp ꞽb.f ꜥḳ neg arrive man each lat.3fs unless heart.3ms straightforward m ꞽr mꜢꜥt in do mAat ‘No one reaches it unless his heart is upright in doing Maat.’ n dnw šw[Ꜣ] r bw[Ꜣ] ꞽm neg distinguish poor from rich dem ‘The poor is not distinguished from the rich there.’ wp gm ntw m n wn.f only find rel in neg fault.3ms ‘Only he who is found free of fault’ ꞽwz[w] ḥnꜥ ḳd(ꞽ) mtt nb nḥḥ scale together with kite amidst owner eternity ‘by scale and weight before the owner of eternity’ n šw n tm m ḥsbt.f neg empty of neg in reckoning.3ms ‘There is none exempt from being reckoned’ Journal of Religion in Africa (2023) 1–32 | D1o0w.n1l1o6a3de/d1 5f7r0o0m 6B6r6il-l1.2c3o4m0062/6056/2023 09:11:05AM via free access 12 Aketema AND Kambon Ḏḥwti m ꞽꜥn ḥr mḫꜢt Djehewty as baboon on balance ‘Djehewty as Baboon in charge of the balance’ r ḥsb z nb m ꞽrt.n.f ḥr dp tꜢ fut reckon man each in do.pst.3ms on top earth ‘will reckon each man for his deeds on earth.’ (Lefebvre, 1924, p. 54) In other words, while there is a socio-political component of the afterlife in the sense of being granted a tomb or otherwise, there is also a spiritual com- ponent in terms of what happens to one on the spiritual plane after death as articulated in the passage above. Consistent with the principle of reciprocity, these considerations are seen as being in direct relation to one’s behaviour on earth. This attestation will be connected to similar practices among the Kasena-Nankana of contemporary Ghana below. Indeed, Classical Afrikan=Black Spirituality regards death as a journey back to life (Fu-Kiau, 2001; Obenga, 2004). In the Kikôngo language, a proverb states Tufwanga mu soba ‘We die in order to undergo change’ (Kambon, 2017, p. 7). The Kasena-Nankana of the Upper East Region of Ghana, have the same indig- enous Afrikan knowledge of reality (Abasi, 1995). It is Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ that informs how people in ancient Kmt ‘The Black Nation/Land of the Blacks’ abhor evil and extol the qualities of harmony, justice, truth, and righteousness. Living in accordance with these values guarantees the people a tomb after transition (death) and a place in the ancestral world. 3 Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’, Death and the Afterlife as Social Phenomena Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ in the view of Karenga (2003), is polysemous. Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ is deified as a Nṯrt ‘feminine divinity’. Beatty (1997, p. 217) affirms that she is known as ‘Mistress of all the [ Nṯrw ‘Divinities’],’ ‘Lady of the Sky,’ and ‘daughter of Ra’. Total adherence to Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ is essential to attaining eternity. In this regard, Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ is a divinity when written as Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ as well as a concept when written as Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’. Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ as a concept, which Allen (2014) and Menkiti (1984) explain, is a prerequisite to joining the society of the Ancestors or residing among those who continue 10.1163/15700666-12340265 | Journal of DRoewnlliogadieodn f rionm ABfrirlilc.cao m( 0260/0263/)2 012–33 029:11:05AM via free access Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’, Death and the Afterlife 13 to live on in spirit after having physically transitioned. The classical concept of Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ is discussed here in reference to death. Comparatively, this concept is juxtaposed with that found in contemporary indigenous Afrikan cultures. As explicated above, in classical Kmt ‘The Black Nation/Land of the Blacks’, one’s deeds – comprising a totality of their lives as to their obser- vance of Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ while on earth  – are measured on a scale of jus- tice. If one’s heart is lighter than the ostrich feather, which represents Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ on the scale, then one is granted eternity. Martin (2008, pp. 960, 961) affirms, in the papyrus of Ꜣny ‘Ani’, he is presented before Ỉsỉr ‘Ausar’, the Owner/Possessor of Resurrection; and if he lived according to Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’, Ỉsỉr ‘Ausar’ will justify him for eternity. Similarly, as it would be noticed, when people among the Kesena culture exude some profound truth, justice, gratitude or righteousness to a fellow human being, they are often extoled in the following words: O nà tega o ba pↄ ‘He/she will not decay whey they die’. By the same token, among the Akan is the proverb: Onipa wu a ne tɛkrɛma ɛmporɔ no, na ɛfiri teasefoɔ. If a person dies and his tongue does not rot, it is because of living people. (The words that worthy people speak, live after them). (Appiah et al., 2001, p. 203) These statements should not be taken literally. In the Kasena sense, one has not decayed if one is remembered, or regarded as an Ancestor. They would be perpetually remembered or recognized during festivals and any form of sac- erdotal rites. In the Akan proverb, there is an emphasis on the role of the liv- ing in determining whether or not the deceased is an Ancestor whose words should continue to live on after his/her physical transition. This is consistent with Obenga’s (1996) typology of Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ operating on a social level. Thus, the typology and the primary texts also mutually illuminate each other with the understanding of the levels of Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ elucidated by the texts and texts elucidated what is meant by the levels upon which Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ operates. 4 Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ in Contemporary Afrika n Cultures on an Individual Level Living Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’; “the relationship between things thought, things felt, things spoken, and things done  … were informed by divine law and order; it was not a mere theory to explain practice. Theories can change, but Maat Journal of Religion in Africa (2023) 1–32 | D1o0w.n1l1o6a3de/d1 5f7r0o0m 6B6r6il-l1.2c3o4m0062/6056/2023 09:11:05AM via free access 14 Aketema AND Kambon was immutable” (Beatty, 1997, p. 221). Most indigenous traditions appear to hinge on that which is in alignment with the practice associated with Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ (not necessarily in name, but in the embodiment of the concept) known as the declarations of innocence. To this point, Ɔbenfo Karenga (2003, p. 5) argues: Within this conceptual framework which allows for two interpretations of moral ideals, Maat is clearly the ideal theme, and the Declarations of Innocence are a collective set of ideal norms which taken as a whole and considered as a single unit become an ideal norm or standard of con- duct. Maat is the ground and point of orientation and the Declarations of Innocence (DOI) evolved as an ideal norm by which the Maatian person set programmatic tasks which conformed to the moral vision of Maat, the ideal theme or conceptual ideal. A key point that seems to elude many and which is not mentioned directly by Karenga is the fact that there is no authoritative and definitive version of the Declarations of Innocence in the way that there are, say, ten immutable commandments in the judeo-christian tradition. This is the essential differ- ence between continuous revelation (Afrikan) wherein transformation is con- stant vs. discontinuous revelation (eurasian book religions) wherein all that is to be revealed is to be found in a supposedly sacred book written in the past (O. Kambon, 2017a). In essence, this malleability allows one to be able to substitute that which could not be said truthfully from that which could. Simpson (2003, pp. 269–270) demonstrates a few examples of this wherein the declaration “I have not mistreated cattle.” may, in certain instances, be replaced with “I have not mistreated associates.” Similarly, “I have not debased a [Netcher]” could be and commonly was replaced with the variant “I have not debased a deed of the king in my time.” The declaration “I have not caused pain.” had a com- mon variant “I have not caused hunger.” and so forth and so on. In short, for example, the declarations for a ruler would necessarily be different from that of, say, a farmer, due to the necessarily different practices in which they would need to engage and due to the different behaviours that each could truthfully say that he/she did not do. This difference is best explicated in the prophecy of ꞽmꜢḫw Nfrtꞽ ‘imAxw Neferti’ in example (5) below, in which the ruler Ꞽmny ‘Ameny’ plays the following role in his maintenance of Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’. 10.1163/15700666-12340265 | Journal of DRoewnlliogadieodn f rionm ABfrirlilc.cao m( 0260/0263/)2 012–33 029:11:05AM via free access Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’, Death and the Afterlife 15 5. ꞽw ꜥꜢm.w r ḫr n šꜥt.f part eurasian.pl fut fall gen sword.3sg.poss ‘eurasians will fall of his sword,’ tꞽmḥ.w r ḫr n nswt.f Timeh.hum.pl fut fall gen flame.3sg.poss ‘timehiw will fall of his flame,’ ꞽw sbꞽ.w nw dndn.f part rebel.pl gen.pl wrath.3sg.poss ‘rebels to his wrath,’ ẖꜢk.w ꞽb n šfšfywt .f rebel.pl heart gen awe .3m.sg.poss ‘traitors due to awe of him,’ […] tw r ḳd ꞽnb.w-ḥḳꜢ (ꜥnḫ wḏꜢ snb) one fut build wall.pl-(of)-ruler (life, prosperity, health) ‘One will build the Walls-of-the-Ruler (life, prosperity, health)’ nn rdꞽt hꜢy ꜥꜣm.w r kmt neg allow enter eurasian.pl lat Kemet ‘To bar eurasians from entering Kemet (the Black Nation/the land of Black people);’ […] Journal of Religion in Africa (2023) 1–32 | D1o0w.n1l1o6a3de/d1 5f7r0o0m 6B6r6il-l1.2c3o4m0062/6056/2023 09:11:05AM via free access 16 Aketema AND Kambon ꞽw mꜢꜥt r ꞽꞽt r st.s part Maat fut come lat seat.3f.sg ‘Maat will come to her seat,’ ꞽsft drtꞽ r rwtꞽ isft expel lat outside ‘isft driven to outside.’ (Golénischeff, 1927, pls. 23–25; Kambon, Forthcoming) (Bold emphasis added) In fine, what the ruler does to ensure Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ is different from what, an artisan, farmer, or scribe would do. As such, depending on one’s social role, one’s declarations of innocence would necessarily be different. Similarly, among the Akan and the Bakôngo people, a truthful, righ- teous, and just life is essential to one transitioning into the afterworld and becoming an Ancestor (Ephirim-Donkor, 1997; Fu-Kiau, 2007; Gyekye, 1987; Wiredu & Gyekye, 1992). However, there was latitude in terms of understand- ing what amounted to a truthful, righteous, and just life as communally and collectively determined in the socio-political context in which the deceased operated. By the same token, as is widely held in most indigenous Afrikan communi- ties, people who live lives of shame, cowardice, deceit, and injustice and/or experience undesired forms of death such as suicide are hardly respected or remembered as alluded to above in Figure 2. The deeds of such persons die with them, and they soon rot in the memories of their communities due to liv- ing lives of ꞽsft ‘wrong, wrongdoing, falsehood’ at variance with the spirit of Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’.7 This distinction was essential in the maintenance of order in society in classical and contemporary times. Correspondingly, in consonance with the Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ principle, the Kasena-Nankana speak of the ubiquitous eye of Wɛ ‘The Supreme Being’, which witnesses and records all our deeds. Evidentially, males are named, Wεbadoa (The Supreme Being does not sleep) to remind the living that their deeds will not go unnoticed. In other words, a person must live an ethical and moral life (consistent with, what in classical Kmt ‘The Black Nation/Land of the Blacks’ would be seen as living in alignment with Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’). 10.1163/15700666-12340265 | Journal of DRoewnlliogadieodn f rionm ABfrirlilc.cao m( 0260/0263/)2 012–33 029:11:05AM via free access Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’, Death and the Afterlife 17 Comparably, according to Karenga (2003), Ḏḥwty ‘Djehuti’, the scribe of judgement and Owner/Possessor of the just measure with his pen and pal- ate in hand, records and announces the results of the weighing when those who have passed on appear before the seat of judgement. The role played by Ḏḥwty ‘Djehuti’ is analogous to that played by Afrikan ancestors who, in the afterworld, decide the fate of recently arrived souls so as to establish whether they are fit to live with them in the ancestral world. This is the spiri- tual component of Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ (Obenga, 1996, 2004) that will be further expounded upon below. 5 What Happens to the Body after Death (Socio-Politically/ Communally Determined) and What Happens to the Person in the Afterlife (Cosmically/Spiritually Determined)? Notwithstanding the Afrikan=Black knowledge of life after death and the need for one to attain eternity through living one’s life in alignment with Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’, there are different Afrikan=Black cultural thoughts regarding the journeying of the soul to the afterworld. Among the Kasena-Nankana, many determinants are crucial for the soul of the dead to reach Kyuuru or Kem-tinga (Kasena-Nankana words for ‘Ancestral World’ respectively). These include the mode of death and the performance of the final funeral rites (Abasi, 1995). This suggests a soul will still be in a process of transition, an intermediate world of the living and the dead, a limbo, a place of torment, so to say, if the final funeral rites are not performed. This is because it has been denied its rightful place. A similar concept is attested in ancient Kmt ‘The Black Nation/Land of the Blacks’ as seen in the following two texts. The first text is that of ꞽmꜢḫw ppy-nḫt ḥḳꜢ ꞽb ‘imAxw Nakht-Pepy/Pepynakht Heqaib’ in example (6) below, which states: 6. ꞽw gr hꜢb.n.w(ꞽ) ḥm n nb r ḫꜢst then send.cpl.1sg servant gen owner lat foreign land ꜥꜢm eurasian ‘The servant of my possessor sent me to the land of the aam (eurasian)’ Journal of Religion in Africa (2023) 1–32 | D1o0w.n1l1o6a3de/d1 5f7r0o0m 6B6r6il-l1.2c3o4m0062/6056/2023 09:11:05AM via free access 18 Aketema AND Kambon r ꞽnt n.f smr wꜥt mḏḥ nḫn kꜥpr dat fetch dat.3sg friend one carpenter Nekhen Kaaper ‘to bring back to him (the body of) the sole companion, carpenter of Nekhen, Kaaper’ (ꞽ)m(ꞽ)-r ꜥꜣ(.w) ꜥnḫt ‘of the overseer of foreigners, Ankhti.’ wn(.f ) ḥr spt kbnt ꞽm exist.3sg prog build reed boat dem ‘He had been building a reed boat there’ r pwnt lat Punt ‘to travel to Punt’ sk smꜢ n sw ꜥꜢm.w nw wipe away kill cpl 3sg eurasian.pl gen ḥr.w-šꜥ(y) over.pl-sand ‘when the aAmu and Sand-dwellers killed him’ ḥnꜥ ṯst nt mšꜢ nt ḥnꜥ .f together with armed division gen expedition gen together with .3sg ‘and the armed division of the expedition which accompanied him.’ (Sethe, 1903, pp. 134–135) 10.1163/15700666-12340265 | Journal of DRoewnlliogadieodn f rionm ABfrirlilc.cao m( 0260/0263/)2 012–33 029:11:05AM via free access Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’, Death and the Afterlife 19 The importance of this text is that it shows that all those who live lives of righ- teousness have the right to final funeral rites and it shows the extent to which the state would mobilize resources, human and otherwise, to recover the body to ensure that a proper burial and associated rituals were completed. Similarly, in the story of ꞽmꜢḫw sꜢnht ‘imAxw Sanhat’, we find the protagonist in his old age being entreated thusly: ꞽr n.k ꞽwt r Kmt ‘Make your return to Kmt ‘Nation of Blacks/Land of Black people.’ This entreaty precedes one of the most elaborate expositions from classical Kmt ‘The Black Nation/Land of the Blacks’ on what would be included in his final funerary rites, translated thusly: think of the day of entombment, when you are sent to the state of honor. The evening is separated for you with cedar oil and bandaging in Tayet’s arms. The procession’s following is made for you on the day of interment, the mummy-case of gold, with head of lapis-lazuli, the sky above as you lie on the bier, oxen drawing you, chanters in front of you. Funerary dances are done for you at your tomb’s mouth, the offering-list is recited for you, and slaughter is done at the mouth of your offering-slabs, your columns constructed of limestone amid the king’s children. (J. P. Allen, 2014, p. 398) This detailed exposition culminates in the following passage in example (7) below: nn wn m(w)t .k ḥr ḫꜢst nn bs tw ꜥꜢm.w neg exist death 2sg on foreign neg inter one eurasian.pl You shall not die in a foreign land, interred by eurasians! Journal of Religion in Africa (2023) 1–32 | D1o0w.n1l1o6a3de/d1 5f7r0o0m 6B6r6il-l1.2c3o4m0062/6056/2023 09:11:05AM via free access 20 Aketema AND Kambon nn dꞽ.t(w).k m ꞽnm n zr neg give.pass.2sg in skin gen ram ‘You shall not be wrapped in the skin of a ram’ ꞽr.tw ḏr.k do.one limit.2sg ‘when your grave is made’… ꞽw nꜢ Ꜣw.(w) r ḥwt tꜢ part dem long inf strike land This has become too long now to wander mḥ ḥr ḫꜢt ꞽwt.k concern on illness return.2sg be concerned about illness and come back (J. P. Allen, 2014, pp. 119–120) This entreaty is core to mutually illuminating understandings of the impor- tance of the final funeral rites for Kmt(yw) ‘Black People’ throughout space and time as exemplified in classical Kmt ‘The Black Nation/Land of the Blacks’. This classical conception is mutually illuminated by the concept of the Kasena-Nankana wherein death among Afrikans, including the Kasena- Nankana, is seen as going home. The Luo and the Komkomba see death as a call from the Ancestors (Owuor, 2006; Zimoń, 2008). This call of the Ancestors is mostly used with regard to when the very old in society make their transition. These people would not only have lived long but attained successes by way of having children, grandchildren, and even great grandchildren and would have been successful farmers or would have had various other enviable traits or engaged in professions worth emulating as perceived by their descendants and the social community as a whole. It is due to these attributes associated with the call of the Ancestors that the death of a young person is considered as 10.1163/15700666-12340265 | Journal of DRoewnlliogadieodn f rionm ABfrirlilc.cao m( 0260/0263/)2 012–33 029:11:05AM via free access Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’, Death and the Afterlife 21 Figure 3 A Kasena-Nankana war dance performed to honour an elderly man Photo by the first author sudden or abnormal. No person who had attained the requisite age and deeds is denied the gaiety and fanfare that comes with his/her funeral. Meanwhile, those who lead lives where they do not produce children or live deviant life- styles are not accorded these honours. Among the Kasena-Nankana, a war dance has to be performed to honour the worthy. According to Zimoń, (2008, p. 210), the Konkomba just like the Kasena- Nankana believed that, “Dances that emphasize and celebrate life serve to oppose death. By means of dance, Africans pay homage to the [deceased] elder […] and also express reverence and respect for them. Moreover, dances remind the Africans of and reinforce their belief in the afterlife of those ances- tors whose lives were long, successful and happy”. In this celebration, the living witnessing the dancing, aspire to live like the deceased, while comforting ele- gies and chants sooth the soul of the dead as they journey to the after world. In short, just as explicated above in the case of classical Kmt ‘The Black Nation/Land of the Blacks’ among the Kasena-Nankana, there is a socio- political aspect to Ancestorhood in the sense that it is the human community that acknowledges one’s deeds as being worthy of emulation and one’s life as being successful. This can be compared with the classical Kmt ‘The Black Nation/Land of the Blacks’ concept of living in alignment with Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’. Journal of Religion in Africa (2023) 1–32 | D1o0w.n1l1o6a3de/d1 5f7r0o0m 6B6r6il-l1.2c3o4m0062/6056/2023 09:11:05AM via free access 22 Aketema AND Kambon Figure 4 The body being taken for final funeral rites among the Kasena-Nankana Photo credit, first author Consequently, demonstrating the paramount importance ascribed to final funeral rites, among the Kasena-Nankana, Akantue (2019), explicates, a clan head and his entire family, whose duty it is to perform these rites, stand to suf- fer consequences and continual torment from the lingering soul of the dead such as nightmares, sicknesses, accidents and – worst of all – death if the final funeral rites are not performed. This rite is known as fulim in Kasem and nyua in Nankani, without which, the dead cannot rest in their ancestral abode. Once the soul finds rest, it waits there hoping to be reborn. Nankana names like Nyaaba (my ancestor) Mmalemna (mother is returned) are some traditional names given to children who bear a resemblance to a deceased family member who has been long dead but who has recently been reborn. Unlike the non-Afrikan notion of life and death wherein death is the termi- nal point of a line, Afrikans hold the view that the end of death is life as time itself is conceived as a cycle (Ọ Kambon, 2017; Kambon, 2019). According to Imafidon (2012, p. 13), “This is evidenced in the belief in reincarnation, spirits, and the ancestral cult, which varies in degrees from one African community to another. The expectation of death and the anticipation to join the ancestors has in most cases a this-worldly effect”. It is in the expectation of becoming an Ancestor, to be reincarnated that the living strove to live by the principle of Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’. It should be noted, however, that living Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ alone does not grant passage of the soul to the Ancestral world in certain traditional Afrikan cultural expressions. No living souls will escape death. How a person dies also 10.1163/15700666-12340265 | Journal of DRoewnlliogadieodn f rionm ABfrirlilc.cao m( 0260/0263/)2 012–33 029:11:05AM via free access Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’, Death and the Afterlife 23 plays a major role in terms of whether or not they will reach the Ancestral world. As such, apart from living Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’, there is also the question of the mode of death. In some cases, the mode of death is even taken to be reflective of whether or not the person was living in alignment with Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’. Abasi (1995, p. 451) mentions, the types of death as normal deaths and abnormal deaths. He intimates that: Normal deaths are those of the very old, whereas abnormal deaths are those of the young and those close to or shortly after marriage. Bad deaths also include dying alone, in the bush or as the result of lightning, drowning, dying away from home, and dying from an accident. Babies are said to ‘return’ (jori), and so they have died only seemingly. It is important to note that among the Kasena-Nankana, dying as a warrior on the battlefield irrespective of one’s age is not regarded as a bad death. In essence, the communal determination in this regard is based on that which, when emulated, will lead to an ordered ( Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’-like) society. Beyond the foregoing discussion is the question of where does the soul of those who have died a “bad death” go? Per the Kasena-Nankana culture, in the instance of those who have died a bad death, “their death has to be nor- malised through a specific ritual” (Abasi, 1995, p. 451). This does not mean, however, that the normality of one’s death absolves a person who has violated Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ and that, therefore, their souls can now be granted safe pas- sage. Thus, there are multiple evaluative criteria and concomitant organizing principles in play. Similarly, in the papyrus of Ꜣny ‘Ani’, for any person whose deeds are found to be at variance with Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’, his/her heart is consumed by the Great Devourer Ꜥmmỉt ‘Ammit’. Maam Diop (1989, p. 1) adds, “Among the Egyptians, no felicity was possible except for the deceased who could prove, at the Tribunal of Osiris that he had been charitable to the poor and had never sinned”. It, therefore, appears incomplete and raises the ques- tion where the souls of those who die bad deaths such as suicide and persons lynched for their heinous crimes go. A violation of one’s own body is ỉsft ‘wrong, wrongdoing, falsehood’ in and of itself. Therefore, if a person dies through one of such means, it is obvious by their mode of death that they would have violated Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’. The Kasena-Nankana, as Abasi (1995) mentions, have only two worlds: the world of the living (Tega baŋa) and the Ancestors (Kyuuru). However, Akantue (2019) states that during the final funeral rites, which fare the Ancestor to the after world, pleas are made for his/her safe passage. However, this begs the Journal of Religion in Africa (2023) 1–32 | D1o0w.n1l1o6a3de/d1 5f7r0o0m 6B6r6il-l1.2c3o4m0062/6056/2023 09:11:05AM via free access 24 Aketema AND Kambon Figure 5 An image of nmtỉ ‘Nemty’, the ferryman of classical Kmt ‘The Black Nation/Land of the Blacks’ Image credit Chronologia.org https://bit .ly/3d9G9uA question of if it is only the final funeral rites that grant the person passage, where will those who fail to meet the requirements find their souls? There appears to be a point of departure from the classical Kmt(yw) ‘Black People’ in the form of a principle of judgement and that of the Kasena-Nankana and oth- ers. Whereas Ꜥmmỉt ‘Ammit’ – an otherworldly beast – ensures that the hearts of the unworthy are consumed, the Kasena-Nankana concept of the afterworld does not appear to be so straightforward. It does appear that there is a possibility of a third world for the souls of the rejected since not all will be worthy to be Ancestors and be welcomed to Kyuuru. This is typically seen as the spirit of the restless soul wandering through the realm of the living. It is important to note here that so-called “hell,” an eurasian phenomenon where “God” punishes evil souls, is definitely not this third place since the word/con- cept does not exist in any indigenous Afrikan traditions including that of the Kasena-Nankana. Just as in classical Kmt ‘The Black Nation/Land of the Blacks’, it is understood that the soul must journey to the afterworld and requires basic accoutrements to live comfortably in the spirit world. In that world – the after- life – the passing soul, once a farmer, will need their farm implements to till their lands. The housewife will need her earthenware pot with which she will use to cook and fetch water. It is vital to stress that for the Kasena-Nankana like the Dagaaba of north-western Ghana the journey involves crossing a river in a canoe. It is thus a sacred duty before burial to give the dead the amount neces- sary for the ferryman to carry him or her across. For others, the dying person should be given water to drink just before dying to prepare him or her for the long journey. All sorts of gifts are buried with the dead: they are intended for use during the journey and on arrival among the dead forebears. These are gifts of money or cowries (Abasi, 1995). Here we find another point of confluence between classical Kmt ‘The Black Nation/Land of the Blacks’ and among the Kasena-Nankana. This is seen in the person of the ferryman to whom the dead will pay to have passage. As affirmed by El-Saady (1998), in classical Kmt ‘The Black Nation/Land of 10.1163/15700666-12340265 | Journal of DRoewnlliogadieodn f rionm ABfrirlilc.cao m( 0260/0263/)2 012–33 029:11:05AM via free access Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’, Death and the Afterlife 25 Figure 6 Nankana offerings on a grave during a fresh funeral (one who has recently died) the Blacks’, this ferryman was known as nmtỉ ‘Nemty’ as shown in Figure 6. Exhumed tombs of the great nswt bity ‘Ruler of Upper and Lower Kmt’ have given testimony to these parting gifts as still seen in parting gifts to the deceased in contemporary Afrika=Land of the Blacks. Preparing a nswt bity ‘Ruler of Upper and Lower Kmt’ to journey to the afterworld in most Afrikan cultures includes adding his kingly regalia as well as adding his ser- vants to serve him in the afterworld. Even though, in recent times, the latter is said to have been abolished by most kingdoms, the prior affirms indigenous knowledge of the afterlife. It is to be noted however, that during the final funeral rites, which are known to bid the deceased farewell, money to pay the ferry man is given, and hoe blades to enable the deceased to cultivate their farmlands are presented. Farm produce, among other things, such as fowls are given and the giver delivers an elegy, or eulogy of the dead before either smashing the fowl on the ground or presenting the materials to the pallbearers as shown in Figure 6. The deceased will collect the items in spirit. Since the dead at funerals that have recently taken place do not go to Kyuuru, where do they go with the items given them in the first place? And if they do, is it not the case then that the first final funeral rites are needless and a mere waste of time and resources? Kamalu (1998, p. 49), with regard to the Igbo people, brings the argument to rest. He clarifies, “Death does not automatically make one an ancestor, but the full funeral rights have to be enacted. Without these rites the person is ban- ished to some form of intermediate world between the spiritual and physi- cal world” (p. 49). The Kasena-Nankana share in this notion. When a person Journal of Religion in Africa (2023) 1–32 | D1o0w.n1l1o6a3de/d1 5f7r0o0m 6B6r6il-l1.2c3o4m0062/6056/2023 09:11:05AM via free access 26 Aketema AND Kambon dies, it is with the final funeral rites that they are able to reach the ancestral world (Akantue, 2019). When his/her funeral is not performed, his/her soul lurks around with the living. Apart from this, his/her rejected soul is also left wandering in two worlds: namely the world of the living and the realm of the Ancestors. In short, indigenous Afrikan traditions ascribe to the concept of Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ as the way to attaining eternity. What is not shared in all indigenous Afrikan knowledge systems is with regard to the final resting place of the soul. Souls that have lived according to Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ may reside in Kyuuru and can be reborn. This is comparable with ancient knowledge of the resurrection of the righteous souls by Ỉsỉr ‘Ausar’ the Owner/Possessor of Resurrection. There exist divergent worldviews with regard to a possible third interme- diate world for those who have violated Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ and those whose funerals are not performed. The title Ancestor is conferred onto the dead by the living who have recognized that he/she lived according to Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’. Fundamentally, all Afrikan cultures, irrespective of the final resting place(s) of the soul, insist on the concept of Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ as this assures one of being remembered as an Ancestor with the possibility of being reborn again into the world of the living. The converse is the case during periods of ꞽsft ‘wrong, wrongdoing, false- hood’ such as the period in which we currently find ourselves. In this regard, we return to Ɔbenfo Rashid in his observation: The text that Theophile Obenga calls The Lamentations of Ipuwer is a lamentation of social decline (Obenga 2004). Set during the period that the Egyptologists call the First Intermediate Period after the end of the Old Kingdom, this text depicts a society that has descended into isfet. Foreign occupiers, marauding gangs, bandits, and usurpers  – Ipuwer looks out upon a world that is characteristic of maximal chaos and disor- der. In many respects, Ipuwer’s narrative captures a world much like our own, both domestically and globally. (Rashid, 2020, pp. 358–359) From ꞽmꜢḫw ꞽpw-wr ‘ImAxw Ipuwer’ comes the following passage: tm m ꞽr n.f ḏbꜢt m nb ḥꜢt neg in do dat.3sg sarcophagus in owner tomb ‘He who could make for himself no sarcophagus is (now) possessor of a tomb.’ 10.1163/15700666-12340265 | Journal of DRoewnlliogadieodn f rionm ABfrirlilc.cao m( 0260/0263/)2 012–33 029:11:05AM via free access Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’, Death and the Afterlife 27 mktn nbw wꜥb.w.t Check it 2pl owner tomb.pl.f ‘Check it out y’all, the possessors of tombs’ dr ḥr ḳꜢ.n r idbw drive away on high ground.1pl mouth riverbank ‘are driven out on our high ground at the edge of the riverbank.’ tm m ꞽr n.f ḳrs(w) m nb ḥḏ neg in do dat.3sg coffin in owner treasury ‘He who could make for himself no coffin is (now (possessor) of a treasury).’ (Gardiner, 1969, p. 56) The significance of this text is that when there is a lack of Black power among Kmt(yw) ‘Black People’ and the ruler is no longer able to enforce Mꜣ ꜥt ‘Maat’ and the social order has turned to ꞽsft ‘wrong, wrongdoing, false- hood’, that is the time when the body after transition would be mistreated. Those who are deserving of respect would be disrespected and ṯs pẖr ‘vice versa’. However, as long as Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ is maintained on the socio-political spheres of reality, the treatment of the body in the afterlife can serve as evi- dence of the person having lived according to Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’. 6 Conclusion This study began largely in conversation with Ɔbenfo Karenga (2003) in his focus on Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ as “moral ideal” in contradistinction with Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ as lived practice. In this article, we have provided arguments and evidence  – primarily in the form of how the person’s body was treated and spirit was conceived of after death dependent on his/her behaviour – to dem- onstrate that for classical and contemporary Kmt(yw) ‘Black People’, Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ is about lived practice rather than abstract ideals as even later con- ceded by Karenga (2003, p. 132) himself in the same text. Journal of Religion in Africa (2023) 1–32 | D1o0w.n1l1o6a3de/d1 5f7r0o0m 6B6r6il-l1.2c3o4m0062/6056/2023 09:11:05AM via free access 28 Aketema AND Kambon Further, following Obenga’s (1990, 1996, 2004) conception of various spheres and dimensions within which Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ can be understood, one’s afterlife on both the physical and spiritual planes is thought of as being com- mensurate with one’s adherence to Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ in terms of lived practice rather than simply as an abstract ideal. It is in this vein that we cited copi- ous examples from classical Kmt ‘The Black Nation/Land of the Blacks’ and compared them with attested examples among the Kasena-Nankana with and other cultural-linguistic groups. This is to say, the ancient and the contem- porary mutually illuminate each other allowing us to understand each one in a deeper way than if taken alone as they are, collectively, expressions of the Afrikan worldview (O. Kambon, 2017b). In sum, we demonstrated that a shared understanding existed and contin- ues to exist from the classical to the contemporary among Kmt(yw) ‘Black People’ in terms of how the body of the deceased is treated and how one’s experience in the afterlife is conceptualized dependent on one’s lived practice. Conceptions of the afterlife have influenced and continue to influence how Afrikans engage Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ as lived practice. References Abasi, A. K. (1995). Lua-lia, the ‘fresh funeral’: founding a house for the deceased among the Kasena of north-east Ghana. Africa, 65(3), 448–475. Akantue, A. (2019). Funeral Rites among the Kasena-Nankana. In J. Aketema (Ed.), (Phone Interview ed.). Aketema, J., & Kambon, O. (2021). Maat and the Rebirth of Kmt ‘Land of Black People’: An Examination of Beatty’s Djehuty Project. Filosofia Theoretica: Journal of African Philosophy, Culture and Religions, 10(2), 47–76. https://doi.org/https://dx.doi.org/10 .4314/ft.v10i2.4. Allen, J. P. (2014). Middle Egyptian Literature: Eight Literary Works of the Middle Kingdom. Cambridge University Press. https://books.google.com.gh/books?id=yvp MBQAAQBAJ. Allen, J. P. (2014). Middle Egyptian: An introduction to the language and culture of hiero- glyphs. Cambridge University Press. Appiah, P., Appiah, K. A., & Agyeman-Duah, I. (2001). Bu Me Bɛ: Akan Proverbs. Centre for Intellectual Renewal. http://books.google.com.gh/books?id=1RVlAAAAMAAJ. Bak, S. (2016). Smi n Skhty Pn: Multilingual translation of a 4,000-year-old-African story. Per Ankh. Banner, T. (2021). Columbus Africentric Early College: Building the Black identity through art and culture. Visual Inquiry, 10(1), 65–88. 10.1163/15700666-12340265 | Journal of DRoewnlliogadieodn f rionm ABfrirlilc.cao m( 0260/0263/)2 012–33 029:11:05AM via free access Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’, Death and the Afterlife 29 Beatty, M. (1997). Maat: The cultural and intellectual allegiance of a concept. In J. H. Carruthers & L. C. Harris (Eds.), The preliminary challenge: World history project (pp. 211–244). Association for the Study of Classical African Civilizations; Kemetic Institute. Carruthers, J. H. (1989). Essays in ancient Egyptian studies. University of Sankore Press. Daniels, K., Archibald, P., & Darrell, L. (2022). Cultural Awareness Training for Police Officers: The Intergenerational Ma’at Way (I-Ma’at-Way). In Why the Police Should be Trained by Black People (pp. 96–106). Routledge. Diop, C. A., & Cook, M. (1989). The African Origin of Civilization: Myth Or Reality. Chicago Review Press. https://books.google.com.gh/books?id=dHnDH-m9UQYC. Durham, H. (2020). Scales and Balances This article appears in Joseph D. Martin and Cyrus CM Mody, eds., Between Making and Knowing: Tools in the History of Materials Research, WSPC Encyclopedia of the Development and History of Materials Science, vol. 1. Singapore: World Scientific, 2020. El-Saady, H. (1998). Considerations on bribery in ancient Egypt. Studien zur Altägyp- tischen Kultur, 295–304. Ephirim-Donkor, A. (1997). African spirituality: On becoming ancestors. Africa World Press Fu-Kiau, K. K. B. (2001). African cosmology of the Bântu-Kôngo: tying the spiritual knot: principles of life & living. Athelia Henrietta Press, publishing in the name of Orunmila. http://books.google.com.gh/books?id=a8B4AAAAMAAJ. Fu-Kiau, K. K. B. (2007). The Mbongi: An African Traditional Political Institution: a Eureka to the African Crisis. African Djeli Publishers. http://books.google.com.gh /books?id=lWecQwAACAAJ. Gardiner, A. H. (1969). The Admonitions of an Egyptian Sage from a Hieratic Papyrus in Leiden. G. Olms Verlag. https://books.google.com.gh/books?id=sODdSq7blZoC. Golénischeff, W. (1927). Papyrus Hiératiques (Vol. Volumes 58001–58036 of Catalogue général des Antiquités Egyptiennes du Musée du Caire). IFAO. Gumbe, N. (2020). Ukwenziwa Kwendalo: An exploration of the alignment between Afrikan Thought and Communal Space. University of Ghana]. Legon. Gyekye, K. (1987). An essay on African philosophical thought  – the Akan conceptual scheme. Cambridge University Press. Hilliard, A. G. (1992). The meaning of KMT (ancient Egyptian) history for contempo- rary African American experience. Phylon (1960–), 49(1/2), 10–22. Imafidon, E. (2012). The concept of person in an African culture and its implication for social order. Lumina: Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 23(2), 78–96. Kalonji, T. (2014). The Nguzo Saba & Maat, a path for self-reconstruction and recov- eredness: Exploring a Kawaida paradigm for healing addiction in the Black com- munity. Journal of Pan African Studies, 7(4), 195–210. Kamalu, C. (1998). Person, Divinity and Nature. Karnak House. Journal of Religion in Africa (2023) 1–32 | D1o0w.n1l1o6a3de/d1 5f7r0o0m 6B6r6il-l1.2c3o4m0062/6056/2023 09:11:05AM via free access 30 Aketema AND Kambon Kambon, O. (2017). Akan Ananse Stories, Yorùbá Ìjàpá Tales, and the Dikenga Theory: Worldview and Structure. Contemporary Journal of African Studies, 4(2), 1–36. Kambon, O. (2017a). Intellectual Warfare, Theory and Practice: Gates, Thornton, White World Terror Domination and the War on Afrocentricity. Africology: The Journal of Pan African Studies, 10(3), 75–99. Kambon, O. (2017b). An Intertextual Analysis of Jími Ṣólańkẹ́’s Ọ̀nà Là (In The Path) via the Multiple Star System Theory of Mutual Illumination and Interaction. Legon Journal of the Humanities, 28(1), 62–78. https://doi.org/https://dx.doi.org/10.4314 /ljh.v28i1.6 Kambon, O. (2019). Ku Nseke and Ku Mpèmba: The Dikènga Theory as Evinced Through Content and Function of Akan Ananse Stories and Yorùbá Ìjàpá Tales. Contemporary Journal of African Studies, 6(2), 215–242. https://journals.ug.edu.gh/index.php/cjas /article/view/66 Kambon, O. (2021). Of Rivers, Rivulets and Repatriation. In A Smart Ghana Repatriation Guide. Adinkra Group. https://books.google.com.gh/books?id=laXbzQEACAAJ. Kambon, O. (Forthcoming). The Classical Kmtyw Origins of Pan-Afrikanism and the Dikènga Theory of Kmtyw Consciousness. Kambon, O., & Asare, Y. M. (2019). Humanities and Sciences as Complementary Aspects of an Afrikan=Black Whole: Evidence from Archeoastronomy. Legon Journal of the Humanities, 30(2), 215–242. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ljh/article/view /195066/184243. Kambon, O., & Songsore, L. (2021). Fiction vs. Evidence: A Critical Review of Ataa Ayi Kwei Armah’s Wat Nt Shemsw and the Eurasian Rhetorical Ethic. African and Asian Studies, 20(1–2), 124–153. Kambon, O. B., Songsore, L., & Asare, Y. M. (2021). Maat vs. The Statue of Égalité: A Critical Analysis of Ataa Ayi Kwei Armah’s Wat Nt Shemsw: The Way of Companions. Legon Journal of the Humanities, 30(2), 33–65. Karenga, M. (2003). Maat, the moral ideal in ancient Egypt: A study in classical African ethics. Routledge. Lefebvre, G. (1924). Le tombeau de Petosiris (Vol. 1). l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale. Martin, D. (2008). Maat and Order in African Cosmology: A Conceptual Tool for Understanding Indigenous Knowledge. Journal of Black Studies, 38(6), 951–967. https://doi.org/10.2307/40035033. Martin, J. D. (2020). SCALES AND BALANCES. In Between Making And Knowing: Tools In The History Of Materials Research (pp. 53–61). World Scientific. Menkiti, I. A. (1984). Person and community in African traditional thought. African philosophy: An introduction, 3, 171–182. Montgomery, A. B. (2009). The Oral Tradition of Africa: Words as Intellectual, Cultural, and Spiritual Nourishment! Lulu. com. 10.1163/15700666-12340265 | Journal of DRoewnlliogadieodn f rionm ABfrirlilc.cao m( 0260/0263/)2 012–33 029:11:05AM via free access Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’, Death and the Afterlife 31 Obenga, T. (1990). La philosophie africaine de la période pharaonique: 2 780–330 avant notre ère. La philosophie africaine de la période pharaonique, 1–567. Obenga, T. (1996). Icons of maat. Philadelphia: The Source Editions. Obenga, T. (2004). African Philosophy: The Pharaonic period, 2780–330 B.C. Per Ankh. https://books.google.com.gh/books?id=yenwAAAAIAAJ. Owuor, V. B. (2006). Resurrection hope in the African context: Challenging Luo beliefs and practices concerning death North-West University]. Psychologists, A. o. B. (2022). Ethical Standards of Black Psychologists: Revised 2021. Journal of Black Psychology, 48(2), 233–258. Rashid, K. (2020). Maat as Liberatory Praxis. In A. A. O. Wadie & B. McSwine (Eds.), The Eternal Year Of African People (pp. 352–368). Frontline Books. Sethe, K. (1903). Urkunden des alten reichs (Vol. 1). JC Hinrichs. Simpson, W. K. (2003). The literature of ancient Egypt: an anthology of stories, instruc- tions, stelae, autobiographies, and poetry. Yale University Press. Suys, É. (1935). La sagesse d’Ani: texte, traduction et commentaire. Analecta orientalia, 1100. Swain, A. N. (2011). 21st century Freedom Fighters: African descent teachers’ use of cultur- ally relevant pedagogy as a tool of liberation. Georgia State University. Wiredu, K., & Gyekye, K. (1992). Person and Community: Ghanaian Philosophical Studies I. Council for Research in Values and Philosophy. http://books.google.com .gh/books?id=jbTWxIhLyO0C Žába, Z. (1956). Les maximes de Ptahhotep. De Lácadémie Tchécoslovaque des Sciences. Zimoń, H. (2008). Secondary funeral rituals among the Konkomba of Northern Ghana: the Bichabob tribe example. Notes 1  The upshot of Ancestorship being communally determined is that one community’s Ancestors may be regarded by another community as unworthy and vice versa in the case whereby our heroes are their enemies and their enemies are our heroes. This discussion, however, is beyond the scope of this paper. 2  Asante Twi translating to “well-cooked (ɛ.n. ‘skilled’ one); contemporarily used to translate “professor.” 3  Kmt, from whence the term Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’originates, while inappropriately referred to as “Ancient Egypt,” is a word that translates to The Black Nation/Land of the Blacks, due to its foundation by Black people and its Black population. See Kambon, O. (2021). Of Rivers, Rivulets and Repatriation. In A Smart Ghana Repatriation Guide Adinkra Group. https:// books.google.com.gh/books?id=laXbzQEACAAJ and Hilliard, A. G. (1992). The meaning of KMT (ancient Egyptian) history for contemporary African American experience. Phylon (1960–), 49(1/2), 10–22. 4  This is a term that translates to revered one (of the blessed dead). It is used throughout the article to refer to Ancestors respectfully. Journal of Religion in Africa (2023) 1–32 | D1o0w.n1l1o6a3de/d1 5f7r0o0m 6B6r6il-l1.2c3o4m0062/6056/2023 09:11:05AM via free access 32 Aketema AND Kambon 5  Sometimes translated as His Majesty or His Incarnation. The translation here is due to the word Hm also translating to servant and is in alignment with the idea that the ruler is the servant of nTr. All translations herein done by second author when untranslated in original publication and/or when the original translation found to be unsatisfactory. 6  Boko is the public council house where words and deeds of great Ancestors would be spoken of. 7  ꞽsft ‘wrong, wrong doing, falsehood’ is the complementary opposite of mAat ‘Truth, balance, harmony, justice, righteousness/propriety, order, reciprocity’ and which invokes ideas from chaos to disorder. 10.1163/15700666-12340265 | Journal of DRoewnlliogadieodn f rionm ABfrirlilc.cao m( 0260/0263/)2 012–33 029:11:05AM via free access