Hotep Devo

I saw your words "chose" to be Nisut and I had to giggle. That is a common misconception from many outside of Kemetic Orthodoxy. It is my personal observation that no one but the biggest masochist or the most undeniably stupid person on the face of the planet would ever "choose" that position. Believe me when I tell you, Hemet did NOT choose to be what she is over being a priest. It was what was asked of her. I was there - I saw it and I am not the only one by any stretch. I can also tell you the level of dissassembling of her life that was done until Hemet agreed.

And as for not seeing her anywhere, well our Nisut (AUS) is a part of the Parliament of World Religions. She is a regular contributor in many places, not just here. And she most definitely is not absent from Her people. We have access to her - probably more than many modern spiritual leaders. She has absolutely no problem interacting with and being available to the People within the Faith. Everyone from Beginner's on up have access to Her.

Those outside the Faith may contact her via the contacts list located at Kemet.org OR write to her at nisut@kemet.org.


Senebty!

Hotep Devo.

These forums are actually only one part of the activities of our faith. Primarily the forums in which we are talking with the guests are the outer "courtyard" to to speak, where interested people can come and meet us, ask questions, engage in discussion.

But we also have forums for members, as well as other chats and live gatherings and spiritual events for members and invited friends and guests.

As Kai Imakhu Niankh indicated members can also have contact with the Nisut through various means.

What makes her more than a priest is that she created this faith. While she issues no commandments, all aspects of our state-directed faith practice and a few aspects of our personal faith practice are established specifically and completely by her. We priests do not establish any such thing. Not here in Kemetic Orthodoxy at least. I cannot speak for priests anywhere outside of the House of Netjer.

Hope this helps more.

Senebty
Sedjemes

Em hotep

I can only speak from personal experience here, so please note that I do not speak for every Shemsu or Remetj.

For me, the role of the Nisut is highly practical. The Nisut is an inspired spiritual teacher, who interacts with the gods in meaningful ways to coordinate and educate the community-- from Remetj to Kai-Imakhu. Our current Nisut, for example, has created the framework of a community of Kemetic worship that works, and works well, with rites of passage that provide Kemetic context we would otherwise be lacking in our modern lives.

While the presence of a Nisut does not directly influence my personal practices -- most of my personal practices are highly informal -- it is crucial to my adherence to the community of faith. The ritual of the Senut, weekly group worship, the annual retreat, and smaller weekend workshops are all made possible by a Nisut. My faith would feel incomplete without the existence of the community, which a Nisut helps to hold together. It's all well and good to worship the gods as I see fit, but having a community of worshippers has enriched my spirituality by more than a hundredfold.

Also, the Nisut is responsible for performing a number of rituals on behalf of the members of our community-- daily rituals to reinforce ma'at and so on. As our community grows I expect that this role will become more important, but also expand and change.

I hope that helps. Again, it's just my opinion of the role of any Nisut. YMMV, all that good stuff.

Senebty,
Sobeq

ETA: I see now that as I was replying there was a flurry of activity. Rather than write a whole long post, I'll just simply agree with Kai-Imakhiu Niankh and Sedjemes, and Vethorn. Our present Nisut (AUS) is heavily active within our community, going so far as to have regular weekly chats to teach, visiting regions of the United States, forum posts, open hours for discussion on instant messaging programs and on and on.

She's not absent from us at all. There are the Ask the Nisut forums, the weekly chats, all the Tawy House events and gatherings like work studies and Wep Ronpet, she's involved with the beginner's class, and does the RPDs, she is reachable by phone, email, boards, and instant messaging. So nope, not absent at all

I agree with Vethorn! Once I took the beginners class and read what the Nisut had to say it dispelled a lot of my worries about her. That and many members have a chance to interact with her via the chats or even on IM if they can find the time. Its unfortunate that the Nisut only interacts on her own forum, but she does so for a reason. I imagine if she tired to be on every section of our forums she wouldn’t have any time to do her other functions! That and many people, including myself, would probably be a little more uneasy about posting if they knew she chimed in regularly, I know that seems silly but I bet its true especially for beginners and guests.

Now when we talk about if the Nisut feels like a king to me or a high priestess its hard to differentiate. I do admit that she does feel like more of a high priestess, which is good, because that’s one of the major roles of the Nisut! Ancient Egypt was a monarchy and theocracy after all. Does she fee like a leader, yes, she does to me anyways. However, she does not wield secular power, that part of Nisut-hood will probably never be restored. Nor do I want, no matter how awesome the Nisut is, to have secular power in the way the Nisuts of old had, since I rather enjoy living in a republic. That and I doubt modern Egypt would be too keen on handing over the reigns of government to her no matter how fancy her hat is (and it is, if I can say so, very fancy) or how many hieroglyphs she can read or how many gods they don’t worship (with exceptions) anymore say they should.

Honestly though most of the institutions of old cannot be restored, nor, do I think people of the modern era would flourish under those institutions since we are not living a couple thousand years ago. Kemetic Orthodoxy doesn’t go out to restore those old institutions, it seeks to build something new based on historical evidence, modern living, ancient theology, and technology to create a new institution that’s heart is the same as the old: to serve the gods.

Em hotep Huyitu-

I just wanted to say that I agree with you. I would feel very shaky if I knew the Nisut could read everything I posted all the time, and respond to it. I normally don't feel like I have much to add to discussion anyways, but that would be the nail in my coffin XD

Conflicting answers are an inevitability, as each person will see Hemet's (AUS) role differently depending on their take on the religion. Some will define her as a Pope of sorts, others as their King, and others as their Priest. Much like the Religion itself there are many different definitions for essentially the same thing. There are some common misconceptions as to why there is a Nisut (AUS) and how this came about, and one of the biggest is that Hemet (AUS) "chose" to become Nisut. I suppose you could look upon it that way, but in fact she was chosen, not the other way around. IIRC in my discussions with her, she was very reluctant to be the bearer of the Kingly Ka, but after some very convincing "arguments" were made, she acquiesced.

The Nisut (AUS) is my spiritual guide and teacher. She is a source of inspiration and a source of comfort. Her Prayerbook contains the rituals that I use and the prayers that I recite.

Hotep! I was kind of hesitant to comment on this particular thread, but here goes. I am a highly critical and skeptical person. I have studied world religions since I was eleven years old looking for my niche so to speak, and the House has done that for me in so many ways. I feel like I have a family here, and I have a relationship with God I haven't had since my childhood. None of this would be possible without Hemet, and of course the community as a whole. I had honestly lost hope that God was personal and wanted anything to do with humans on a intimate level, but then I got to know some of the names. I was skeptical of the Nisut (AUS) at one time, but then I listened to her speak on the podcasts. She had the most calm yet authoritative voice. I had never been impressed by a spiritual leader like I was her. There is no doubt in my mind she is who she is. Call that a divine revelation, or whatever you like, but I know without a doubt she is the possessor of the kingly ka, and our king. I say what Netjer has shown me to be true. I cannot just call her a High Priest personally, for I know she is more then that. She is our connection with Netjer, and my spiritual life is so enriched since I came to the House. I thank Hemet and all the Priests and fellow beginners, and Remetj and Shemsu. Thank you all.

Senebty

Yes, I'm aware that there are forums that I don't have access to, that I'd need to take the beginners course to gain access to. However, despite being here for nearly 6 months now, I have yet to find where the new classes are being posted, where to sign up for them, or anything of that sort. I will admit, I find it frustrating that the websites aren't kept more up to date. Until I knew of the HoN section of KO, I honestly thought that KO had gone under, because of the lack of updates.

I'm waiting to see if and when a new class is posted, to hopefully learn more, to see if my current views and feelings change.



I would like to hear further why someone wouldn't "choose" such a position. Seems to me that being the head of one of the most prominent Kemetic groups would be a lot of power, and more often than not, people like power.

I must just be missing this access due to not being a "beginner". Perhaps after I've taken the beginners course, and have access to other boards, my thoughts will change.


I honestly have to say that I completely disagree with this. The places I feel the most comfortable are the places where the admin are most see-able. I get nervous when the leader of a group doesn't interact with their people on all levels. The leader of a group is the most watched and prominent figure in said group. So to me, you should strive to know as many of the people in a group as can be.

I understand that I lack the ability to see all forums, but even so, at first glance, she appears very hidden, which has always concerned me.

-Devo

Em hotep, Devo!


I found information on applying very easily. All it takes is glancing around the kemet.org page. No, the front page isn't updated very often, but it's not too difficult to find relevant information. For instance, in the "Next Beginner's Group!" update on the front page about the beginner's class (which is outdated, yes) there is a link to apply right there. In link form.

Information on applying is also in the "About Us" section, specifically on the "Becoming Kemetic Orthodox" page. In my experience so far, the "About Us" section is probably one of the best places to start out when attempting to understand this faith.

Senebty!

Coty

Edited to add: Additionally, the beginner's class that started at the end of October (the one that I'm in now) has been the only publicly unannounced class in awhile, as far as I can see. The class before the current one was announced in the Public Announcement forum of this board.