Discussion of Kemp

Red Linen

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 14:23:27 GMT

by Rufus Maychild.

A small point I spotted in Goebs' article was re the red jdmj cloth. I had previously noted this in the paintings in Nefertari's tomb, (Nefertari wears it) and thought it significant, especially since she is otherwise in white (like Ani and his wife) but nobody could explain it.

Whatever precisely the blood-red cord was to Egyptians, it has become important to many modern folk - years ago Normandi Ellis produced an 'inspired' version of material from the Book of Coming Forth by Day called Awakening Osiris - it is of course generally understood that it's not a 'new translation' - in this particular case, the distance from the 'original' (chapter 156 of CFbD) is considerable. Ellis' "The Knot of Isis" is immensely popular.

Her text begins: At the ends of the universe is a blood-red cord that ties life to death, man to woman, will to destiny. Let the knot of that red sash, which cradles the hips of the Goddess, bind in me the ends of life and dream …"

Certainly would suit me for a funeral oration much better than the usual platitudes . I think I would use it if I get an Egyptian-minded funeral customer. It's pleasing to think that maybe Ellis' inspiration has a link to Egyptian thought after all!

Lecture 2

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 13:06:38 GMT

by Rufus Maychild.

I appreciated the aural clarity of the recording, being somewhat deaf myself also. There was one spot where I missed what you said properly - in the transcript (which unfortunately doesn't have timings) it comes up as 'Tach' in the context of a deity name(?) but I don't recognise that as anyone...

One other thing that I didn't quite get was re the Sema-Tawy. I am familiar with this image from the throne of Senusret I but I think your image was different - not Horus and Seth working in harmony but something you described as fecundity figures. Could you post the image please. I am not familiar with how many variants there might be of this idea?

On Ma'at, I certainly hold a positive view, maybe sympathetic to Karenga. In previous research I cam across a very anti-Ma'at work - the title sums it up

Muhlestein, K. (2011). Violence in the Service of Order: The Religious Framework for Sanctioned Killing in Ancient Egypt (British Archaeological Reports International Series 2299) ‏ Oxford: ‎ British Archaeological Reports Oxford Ltd.

in my view, it's an utter travesty... it would of course be ad hominem for me to note that he works at Brigham Young university, so I would guess him to be a Mormon, hardly someone sympathetic to kemetic religion!

Re: Discussion on Kemp

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 10:08:16 GMT

by Rufus Maychild.

With respect to shamanism, most Egyptologists seem to follow Assmann and others in utterly rejecting this with respect to Egypt. I think they're entirely wrong.

The idea of shamanism (mistakenly) used by them is I think primarily sociological - hence only properly applied to Siberian hunter-gatherers. In my view, it should be discussed 'spiritually', that is, in terms of the practitioners experiences, so can apply in any culture .

It is usual in Egyptology to describe their theology, cosmology etc as the result of 'speculation'. That's a word relating to something entirely 'intellectual' and 'rational'. I endorse the views of David Lewis-Williams in this issue, that religious 'beliefs' derive from religious experience, not from rational intellect, even if subsequently processed through that.

I suspect indeed that some Egyptologists are (were?) desperately fearful of other scholars labelling them 'irrational' or 'unscientific', as indeed they might label the 2000 years of Egyptosophy ('Egyptian Wisdom') tradition, so are loth to see any 'irrationality' in Egypt, as if discussing it somehow contaminated themselves.

Something we haven't got to yet is the Amduat. This seems to me to be an account of actual Underworld Journeys (not of speculation), extremely similar to shamanic accounts - I also noted that the accompanying 'artwork' - a fundamental part of the work, not 'illustration' (there's a full-size copy in Bolton Museum, perhaps best visited with a copy of Warburton's book) is very much in 'shamanic' style - the use of 'stick figures' etc - if we had found it elsewhere in Africa (or anywhere) I suggest its shamanic character would not be doubted.