“Maat is a concept that is fundamental in understanding the Kemetic (ancient Egyptian) and hence the African world view. Embedded in Maat are a number of critical assumptions about the nature of the cosmos, society, the person, and their inextricable interrelatedness which are in stark contrast and, indeed, alien to the narrative of Western Civilization. Thus, in translating African concepts into modern European languages, we must strive to go beyond literal appearances to understand the cultural substance and mental processes that spoke these concepts into existence. In explaining Maat, this means going beyond the definition of it as truth, justice, righteousness, and universal order to provide some sense of what African people meant by these notions because they do not even remotely parallel the Western sense of these terms.” Article by Mario H. Beatty title “Maat: The Cultural and Intellectual Allegiance of a Concept” Book “African World History Project: The Preliminary Challenge” The Djehuty Project: African-Centered Think Tank and Research Institution 1996 Edited by Jacob H. Carruthers and Leon C. Harris Page 212
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 09:47:49 +0000
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