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Molefi Kete Asante
Temple University and ANKH, A Scientific Institute

The remains of what is called the Kagemni's text (2300 BC) are from a single manuscript which shows a similarity to the work of Ptahhotep. Some scholars have argued that Kagemni's text may have been written by one Kaires who appears in a list of literary figures in the Papyrus Chester Beatty IV, where he is shown in a drawing alongside Ptahhotep on a tomb wall at Saqqara..
I have followed the more popular line taken by Maulana Karenga that the text of Kagemni reflects the wisdom of a man who was comprehensive in knowledge, broad in interests, and active in the pursuit of natural life. Yet, I have accepted the fact that the instructions appear to be directed toward Kagemni. This does not dilute the idea of Kagemni was a person of considerable means and power. In fact, it simply demonstrates that in the classical traditions even the powerful were students of the wise. Where you have no instructions from the wise, the powerful become tyrants. Power without wisdom is a corrupting entity.

Kagemni's mastaba, a large box shaped tomb, located near the pyramid of Unas and that of Tetit, is of the Sixth Dynasty. What we know about him are a few facts gleaned from the mastaba itself. He was a judge, philosopher, and a priest and served as the officer of the Per Ab, Sneferu, and may well have served during the reign of Huni. In Kemet, the great king, almost always had a great prime minister, and no officer was greater for his king than Kagemni. Holding close to his chest the secrets of the king and recognizing Sneferu' s popularity, political well-being, and support were partly dependent upon his handling of the affairs of state, Kagemni walked the way of the ancestors and listened to the wise voices of the sages. He was steeped in the traditions and philosophies of Kemet. There is no question in my mind that he knew and understood the words of Harper's Song, and paid close attention to the legacy of Imhotep's explanations of time, space, volume, disease, and immortality. I cannot believe that a person of Kagemni's position and stature would not have known something of Imhotep's work in medicine, politics, and architecture. Just as surely as he knew Imhotep who lived four hundred years before him, Kagemni also knew Ptahhotep who lived a hundred years before him. Thus, he was aware of Ptahhotep's ethical teachings and knew Ptahhotep's thinking on the process of aging. What I am saying to you is that here was a man who knew his traditions. He was steeped in the words of those who had gone before him. He did not have to tread over ground that had been already walked. He could extend the boundaries, push the frontiers farther; he followed a tradition, an intellectual path that gave him access to the accumulated wisdom of the ages.
Now the instructions given to him specifically add to a tradition remarkably well-suited to enrich the philosophical legacy of the ancient Egyptian people. But our lives are also enriched by the words of the ancients. We are no less affected by the words of Kemetic philosophers than we are by those of ancient Greece or Rome. In fact, if human beings had followed the Kemetic philosophers they may have led us down a different pathway than unprovoked attacks on other nations, the doctrine of pre-emptive strikes on a nation far away from your own borders, than the acceptance of the massacre of the Palestinians, than the stoning of a woman because she had sex with a man. They don't even stone men who have sex with little boys.
We have not seen the image of Africa in the world. There is no African nation that expresses the African ideal. We are trapped in either the Christian or the Muslim world, our continent, as the French say, le continent etouffait. But back to the text:

It is an old text, dating to 2300 BC. The 80 great pyramids are finished two hundred years before the text. Sneferu reigns. The memory of Narmer, Khufu, Khepera, Djoser, and Menkaure has grown faint. Down through the ages have come the clear and dynamic words of the keepers of the traditions, those who have reiterated Maat and restored and cultivated choice.

The text writer wrote about social behavior and the proper conduct toward leaders and fellow human beings.

The sage that instructed Kagemni was almost a "house" philosopher, one committed to the idea that the masses must be taught how to relate to the king because the king was the embodiment of the people. As the king went, so went the people. If the king was healthy, then the nation was healthy. If the king respected the ancestors, then it was a model for the people to follow.

The text I have chosen is recorded in the Prisse Papyrus. I believe that it has enough in it to provide some insight into human renaissance. Gardner calls the term, SEBAYT, Smith calls it SEBOYET, I believe that the glyphs could also support SEBAYETI, a more Africanized rendering with the emphasis on the vowel sounds. (nty, the one who, mss, born, mss, born)

One text attributed to Kagemni says:

He who is the priest of the living, whom the Divine favors like the Bennu bird on the Tekenu performs right actions without seeking a reward for them but sets his heart only on Divine service. He has compassion upon all living creatures. He holds fast to the Divine name and inspires others to meditate on it. He accepts joy and sorrow with equanimity. He is always happy and never set apart from the Divine. To him, gold and dross are as one. Nectar and poison are as one. The king and the beggar are as one.

An explanation of this text reveals that the unknown philosopher's renown rested not so much on his statecraft, which evidently was well thought of, and respected on high, but more on his intelligent and caution approach to service and generosity. He proffered a way of looking at the world that involved the true understanding and appreciation of other people and all creatures. He may have been the first philosopher to render nature, irw, itself a part of human concern. He may have been the first ecologically interested philosopher because he spoke on behalf of the principles that demonstrate generosity to the land as well as to the people. To use the Bennu bird, often called the Phoenix, after the Greek version of the word. Like so many American cities they are simply the Greek rendering of African words. Memphis is another. The tekenu or obelisk as figures in his moral teaching also shows a person who is attuned to the myths, intellectual properties, and metaphors of his own time.
It is not inconsiderable that the writer uses the example of the bird that rises from the ashes, the bird that does not die when all else is dead, the bird that flies away when it seems to be trapped, the Bennu bird. Our people have always been like the Bennu bird. I remember hearing of the time when the people who worked in the cotton fields or who were beaten at the posts cried out for High John de Conqueror to come and deliver them. They were reaching back into the depths of African culture for a way to explain the contemporary situation.

A profound attitude toward the earth and a collegiality with other inhabitants of the land were the calling cards of Kagemni's teacher. In fact, human beings had the possibility of ntry, neteri, becoming divine, to be divine. His way of looking at the world may be contained in what I have called the "six djeds or pillars of Kagemni." They are: devotion, compassion, loyalty, balance, solidarity, and judgment. Let us examine the strengths and lessons inherent in the Papyrus Prisse.

The Six Djeds

The Djed was a column, a pillar,that was used to support a superstructure such as a temple or shrine. Sometimes the djed was simply used as a decorative device to indicate strength. But in all cases the person who saw these massive pillars of stone would clearly think of them as powerful, substantial, representations of the stability of the divine in the universe. There were often halls of djeds. The temple of Karnak is a good example of many djed halls.. I know some of you have walked through those djed halls with me. Many of you have visited them on your own. You get the sense of durability, strength, and agelessness from the djeds.

The first djed is:

Devotion: This word means concentrate on a pursuit, to dedicate oneself to some action, an earnest attachment to a cause. Kagemni's teacher says that the priest of the living performs right actions without seeking rewards. This is surely a search for the ideal. The philosopher sees the ideal in the priest of the living, i.e., those priests who are engaged in the mediations, and worldly matters involving the living. The priests who officiate for the dead have other responsibilities. But those who minister to the living must have the character to do right without looking for any type of reward; one should do right because it is right. This is the full meaning of devotion. There is no religion that is necessary, no ritual can make you do right, no amount of singing and praying can make you do right, you do right because you want to do right. The best way to show devotion is to do right because it is right. I wish we could convince President Bush to do right because it is right. I wish we could convince Ariel Sharon to do right because it is right. I wish we could get Osama bin Laden to do right because it is right. The problem is that each of these individuals have define their own interest as that which is right. They have missed the philosopher's idea of devotion, which is ultimately a devotion to truth. When we think of a full measure of devotion we immediately think of one who is willing to give his or her life for what they believe is right. One can be devoted to another or to a cause, but the highest reward is to be devoted to a cause that involves human beings. The Christians say that Jesus was devoted to sinners because he was willing to give his life that sinners might be saved. Africans point to the sacrifice of Nat Turner, Denmark Vesey, and Gabriel Prosser in the quest for African liberation from enslavement in America. They knew that if they failed in their devotion to their cause they would be killed and yet they continued with their plans.

The second djed is:

Compassion: Notice how the philosopher says that the ideal person has compassion for all living creatures. He is sug- gesting that the ideal person recognizes something in all living creatures that are special, unique, and inherently wonderful. In this respect, the Kagemni instructions helped to mold the Egyptian way of life and the response to the environment. At such an early age in Egyptian history, a philosopher, one given to living, learning, and teaching at the highest levels of his society, was capable of expressing what evidently was already a major aspect of African philosophy, African pacifism, by the 6th Dynasty. All living creatures were worthy of respect and hence compassion. How could a person just cut down a tree, or catch a fish, or kill a goose, or disturb the river without awe at the beautiful harmony in the universe? The teacher of Kagemni was a significant force in cultivating the more compassionate aspects of Kemetic life. One should understand this type of compassion as sympathy with action.

Different families held to various beliefs about the nature of the earth and its bounty. Some people did not kill rams, others did not kill geese, and still others revered the crocodile. Herein is an indication that totemic responses to the environment might be possible and indeed necessary as a way to control human treatment of other living creatures. If one is respectful of all living creatures, one is at heart applying a system of ecological dignity to the animal kingdom that constitutes the ideal. Early on the Africans discovered that wholesale destruction of the environment and abuse to the ecological balance were dangerous to the human community.

The third djed is:

Loyalty: The meaning of this word is faithful adherence to a person or a principle. It implies constancy, not wavering, but a sense of obligation to a cause. Kagemni's teacher holds fast the Divine name and teaches others to meditate on it. There is a sense of focus and concentration in the philosopher's understanding of the way one holds fast to the name of the Divine. This does not mean he walks around shouting the name of God. It does not mean he wears a sign on his car that says, "Jesus." This is not some opportunistic slogan. He is not simply speaking the name of god as a mnemonic device, but actually in the way one respects the name of the Divine.
Certain striking advances are noted in the work of this philosopher who may be called one of the earliest Egyptian humanists in the sense that he was an advocate of man, a believer in the possibilities of humans working out government or social relations on the basis of right actions. We have no guarantee of a civilized culture without the idea that a person's word can count for, something. Loyalty is based always on trust; credibility depends upon right actions. The author's insistence on holding fast to the god's name is more than a technique to secure an empty allegiance, it is a sincere belief in the idea that if a person is focused, committed to an idea, to a purpose, he or she will excel at all things. This is why we see him as a philosopher of rites, special protocols, and manners; one who is ultimately capable of teaching us about the perfectibility of man.

The fourth djed is:

Balance: Life is fraught with many problems that are capable of creating disequilibrium. Thus, it is necessary for us to have a balanced attitude toward the various situations in which we fmd ourselves. One must treat with equanimity both sorrow and joy. Some days we will experience more sorrow than joy. On other days our joy will be unending, but in either case we must be prepared to accept both. For the philosopher, this was a form of wisdom. It is foolish to run after pleasure without taking into consideration that pain is also a part of human existence. But it is also vain to wallow in pain as if there is no pleasure. Both are realities of life. Along with the valleys of life, there will always be mountains on the other side.

The fifth djed is:

Solidarity: The statement that the person whom he favors "is always happy and never set apart from his god" could be seen as an expression of solidarity with that which is preeminent. But for one to arrive at such a position of attachment, it is fundamental that knowledge precedes attachment. The philosopher sug- gests that the votarist is "always happy" and one can argue that the meaning here is that attachment to the god, that is, solidarity with that which is perfection, is the source of happiness. But how do the djed of solidarity square with the idea of balance? Does the teacher mean that our attachment to the god, that is, the good, the object of the good, goodness, and godliness, obliterate sor- row, pain, and suffering? No, he means rather that solidarity to the god brings its own stability, its own rewards even if we experience pain and suffering.

The sixth djed is:

Judgment: This words means to discriminate between two things. The Kemetic word, Udd, Uded, contains the glyph dd as in dd mdw. The _dd here is the Cobra glyph. One can ascertain that judgment is the good sense to know that one should not discriminate since the beggar and the king must be viewed as one. Indeed, the wise understand that gold and dross are as one. This does not mean that there are no intrinsic differences but rather that one should not
use difference as a means of discrimination. In fact, the real idea behind the philosopher's dictum is that the person has a view of life that insulates him or her from making undue judgments. Furthermore, one should not take right actions to please someone of high status, but because they are right actions.
The six djeds of Kagemni's instruction must not be seen as simply the creation of an individual. What the author produced as the six djeds was the collective wisdom of his day. He was the mouthpiece for the generally held beliefs of the Egyptian people. They knew by experience and observation and they believed by virtue of their cosmogony that certain "pillars" were a part of the reality of a people's existence and it was impossible for them to deny what they knew and what they believed. Kagemni, however, the student and judge, was instructed that human beings needed to be reminded of their duties to each other and their duties to God. Only by considering devotion, compassion, loyalty, balance, solidarity, and judgment could humans complete their destinies on earth and be assured of etemal life.

Additional fragments from the Kagemni seboyet give further indication of his judgment and wisdom regarding human relations:

On Propriety in Speech The humble remains united with the people and the one who deals righteously with people is praised. The humble will find shelter and the speaker who uses propriety will find a comfortable place, but the one who strays from the path will find a sharp knife. Nothing could be more precious to teach than the concept of propriety. What is appropriate has a lot to do with balance, harmony, good sense, and tradition. In speech, the per- son who shortens the distance between his or her words and the people's understanding is considered a master at speech. Much later than Kagemni's unknown teacher it would be said of Jesus that without a parable he never spoke. This was a statement of Jesus' sense of propriety. It was something recognized in the Kagemni instructions centuries before Jesus.

On Social Graces at Meals If you sit with many persons, do not show that you want to devour the food; it takes only a few moments to control one's self, and it is disgraceful to be greedy. A cup of water quenches thirst and if one's mouth be full of gratitude it strengthens the heart. A simple thing takes the place of that which is good just as little takes the place of much. He is a miserable man who is greedy because he shows no sense of propriety nor respect for others.

Be Cautious of Boastfulness Do not boast of your strength in the midst of your own age group. Be on guard against any who will test you. You will never know what may happen just as you do not know how God punishes. The person who boasts draws negative, not positive, attention to himself or herself. Such negative attention is the source of much harm.

The text appears to be a straightforward enough ethical text, but like all Egyptian texts it is meant to be activated. Just as the priests had to activate the gods every day, the society had to be activated through the presentation of the six djeds. Here near the beginning of the dynastic period of Egypt, we find already the fundamental principles of the society being discussed by one of its highest officials. The author surely knows that these principles are based on the First Occasion and he is as dutiful and attentive to maintaining Maat as anyone, but he also knows that to be able to advance one's ideas it is necessary to reinforce the First Occasion with practical precepts.