Maatism

Maatism is the major native religion of Karnak, practiced by some 40% of its present population as of 1756 AN. A polytheistic religion featuring both anthropomorphized and amorphous gods, Maatism is the oldest continuously practiced religious tradition in Karnak. It also remains one of the central religious traditions in Karnak alongside Umraism. The Pschent of Karnak is usually a practicing Maatist, although rare exceptions exist in Uramist Pschents ruling the country. Alongside its religious concepts Maatism also embodies multiple strands of philosophy that permeate Karnak's civilization in every social stratum and every part of the territory.

Maatic priests generally present the religion as the journey of every person to attain spiritual balance and, eventually, become one with the gods in the afterlife. Those individuals who pursue acts that bring peace and harmony to the land are thus closer to the gods. Those who contribute to violence, chaos, and pain will be abandoned to those gods and other metaphysical forces that regard "mercy" as a foreign concept. The concept of rebirth in Maatic tradition is present but debated, but it is generally acknowledged that no person retains memory of what could be termed "past lives" as their immortal soul drifts towards one ultimate fate or another.

Overview

Given its extreme age, Maatism also brings a complex cosmological system centered on the concept of spiritual and physical balance, continutity, and the maintenance of order within the seen and unseen universe. Many continuously surviving traditions from its earliest days as an organized religion include ritual practices, astronomical & astrological observations, political & dynastic legitimacy, moral philosophy, governance, and worldviews shaped by thousands of years shaped by slow tradition and change.

Maatism's emphasis on balance is partially derived from thousands of years of existence in a deeply contrasting Karnaki landscape. Karnak's geography is highly contrasted between the well-watered, verdant coastal regions and the deep desert where few can survive without a lifetime of preparation for the elements. The desert and well-watered regions of Karnak shift with time, and the second millennium AN have seen the deep desert retreat inland from the interior mountain ranges that protect much of the green parts of the country. During the early days of Maatism, however, most of Karnak was covered in deep sandy desert, with only a few river systems. Common belief holds that adherence to the religion was one of the causes of this re-balancing of the land in humanity's favor, and archaeological evidence has pointed to a shift that did begin a few centuries after the religion as established near present-day Abyd'os.

Maatic tradition retains a mixture of symbolic, personal, and non-personal (and even non-sentient) gods and other mythological entities. While the nature of this pantheon's composition and membership (for lack of a better word) is a matter of intense debate, the core concept of the religion is as established as it is old. That is, the central concept of Maatism is Maat itself. Maat is no longer understood not as an individualized or personified deity, but as the underlying order governing existence, binding mortals, rulers, nature, and even the gods themselves into a fragile but necessary equilibrium. Maat itself is still revered, however, among most Maatic temples.

Nature of the Gods

Physical and Non-Physical Aspects

Maatic tradition retains a mixture of symbolic, personal, and non-personal (and even non-sentient) gods and other mythological entities. Over the millennia of its existence, some early gods underwent a slow shift into non-personified manifestations of universal principles rather than strictly personified beings in the conventional sense. While these so-called "conceptual gods" do indeed exist at the center of this religion, they are not identified as anything regarded as "human" on present-day Micras. And indeed, neither are they considered to be alien (extraterrestrial) in origin (outside of a fringe, new-age minority). Personhood is sometimes assigned to these gods by some adherents, but most organized temples instead acknowledge the so-called "mystery of their existence" and deliberately avoid questioning the individualistic nature of certain gods.

However, other gods such Heru-Er (a falcon-headed god) and Saqqara (a lion-headed goddess) are individualized and personified, and indeed focus on specific concepts such as leadership and vigilance (Heru-Er), or justice and righteous violence (Saqqara). Fully animalistic gods such as Apis (a bull) or Mau (a cat) are revered by some Maatists for the benefits they bring to society, but the sacred nature of the physical animals themselves is usually left to the individual adherent. A number of fully humanized gods exist, such as Asar (creation and rebirth) and Heru (righteousness and balance).

Divine concepts are central to the maintenance of the immortal soul, and certain concepts such as Maat are considered to be worthy of reverence as if it were a deity to itself. Gods such as Pophis that represent the endless void are specifically revered as deities, but are at once disembodied and untouchable. Yet while Pophis lacks anything resembling a conventional form or even a distinct personality (at least in a human sense), these gods affect the fate of one's soul if (very unwisely) ignored. Such gods that are similarly amorphous and mysterious by nature are attended to by organized cults (so-called "High Maatism"), while looser adherents (so-called "Low Maatism") treat them as concepts and instead focus on personified deities as objects of worship.

Reverence for Maat

Regardless of whether one is High or Low Maatist, the concept of Maat itself is universally revered as the central binding tenet of this religion. Every aspect of divine worship and preparation for the afterlife is measured by one's contributions to Maat -- and transgressions against it. While Maat is no longer a specific "god" to be prayed to, it is revered and sometimes worshipped directly as the primordial force responsible for the existence of life, the movement of the immortal soul, and the instrument by which one is both judged and brought closer to the gods in the afterlife. Extremely rarely, one who is deemed to contribute greatly to Maat is themselves deified and retains their personhood, rather than absorbed into the divine (itself a truly great honor). Pschent Masaak IV (died c. -2500 AN is one such example of a gradual deification.