The Nisut (AUS): Our link to Netjer

View a hymn written in Her Holiness' honor by one of Her Shemsu!

Kemetic Orthodoxy is more than a faith: it is a community, a culture, and a way of life, forged and united under the leadership of one remarkable woman. Her English name is Tamara L. Siuda, though the people of the faith also know her as Her Holiness, Sekhenet-Ma'at-Ra setep-en-Ra Hekatawy I, Nisut-Bityt of the Kemetic Orthodox faith, or simply, affectionately, as Hemet (an ancient word translated either as "majesty" or "sacred incarnation").

Nisut-Bity (or Nisut-bityt in the feminine), sometimes translated as "sovereign (ruler)," literally "(S)he of the Sedge and Bee," is the ancient title of a person sometimes called "Pharaoh": today as in antiquity, the spiritual and cultural leader of the Kemetic nation. Upon coronation, a Nisut is charged with carrying out the will of Netjer (God for the Kemetic people, seen both as one divine force and manifesting at the same time in many forms or Names), and acts as a physical and spiritual bridge between the faithful and Netjer. As the current Nisut-bityt (often shortened to "Nisut"), Her Holiness is recognized by the Kemetic Orthodox as the current incarnation of the kingly ka, or the invested spirit of Heru, the Kemetic aspect of divinity incarnate in its spiritual leaders. Upon coronation, our Nisut, believed to be the 196th of the lineage, received Kemetic names charging Her with spiritual responsibility for, and setting the course of Her mission within, the Kemetic Orthodox faith.

That coronation took place in 1996 in Egypt at the traditional places such rituals are conducted, in the ancient ritual forms. However, Her Holiness' coronation was not the beginning, but rather the next step in a lifelong journey of her personal dedication to Netjer's will: her involvement with the religion of ancient Egypt began many years before, in 1988, while earning an undergraduate degree from Mundelein College, one of the last remaining all-women's secondary institutions in the United States. She would enter graduate study a decade later at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, receiving her Master's degree in Egyptology from the University in August 2000. To understand the foundations of this spiritual journey, however, one must look even further back.

As a young girl growing up as part of a Methodist family in the American Midwest, Her Holiness' greatest inspiration was a child in the Bible, Samuel, who submitted his life to serving the Divine with the legendary words: "Here I am, Lord, send me!" These were among the words on the Nisut's lips at bedtime prayers, though she could not have imagined then that the gods answering those prayers would prove to be very different from the ones taught about in Sunday school! Ancient Egypt called to her imagination, to her strong sense of history and tradition, and finally to her innermost heart. She was given a challenge: to revive Kemet's long-forgotten ways and bring them to a new generation of the faithful, helping to return the love and wisdom of ma'at to a modern world sorely in need of it.

Her Holiness encourages devotees of Kemetic Orthodoxy to be active in local causes, serve in charitable work and put the principles of their faith into concrete action. She feels it is vital for our faith to be a "good neighbor" wherever it finds itself -- and with active members in almost 30 countries, that's a big neighborhood! Her emphasis on service and faith with action is embodied in her own work as well, from actively supporting the Parliament of World Religions, the United Religions Initiative and other interfaith service projects (such as America Online's Spirituality Forum, and Mary's House, a home for abandoned children with AIDS Florida's Kashi Ashram), to presenting scholarly papers at the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE), writing books and offering volunteer assistance at several Chicago museums, to working with spiritual leaders in the religions of Western and Southern Africa including the Ifa tradition of the Yoruba peoples; the traditions of the Akan, Nuba and Dinka; and the sangoma of South Africa). One of Her Holiness' most recent service projects is the Udjat Foundation, a Kemetic Orthodox charitable institution.

More than anything else, Her Holiness teaches a simple message that transcends religious boundaries: every human being, great or small, has a vital role to play in the Divine design. "I was taught that God doesn't make junk," she says. "If you accept that, once you believe you are a hand-crafted, deliberate formation of Netjer's will, loved and cherished from the moment of your making, then you can understand why you are important. Once you believe that everyone else is Netjer's creation as well - then you understand why they are important, and why you must help them in any way you can."

This stance is the foundation of the challenge Her Holiness sets for those who would accept her as a teacher and for the Kemetic Orthodox faith she founded: to embrace one's nature as a child of the Divine, and in doing so, to work to spread ma'at throughout the world. Kemetic Orthodoxy, she stresses, is not an "easy" faith nor does it provide simplistic answers: "Following our faith, or any faith really, requires commitment, along with a willingness to work towards one's goals rather than expect them to come with no effort. The gods and goddesses do answer prayers, but They also expect us to help answer them if that's in our power. They want each and every one of us to take the power They have given for ourselves and our world into our hands, to work with Them to change the world rather than simply wander through life doing what we're told, without being involved on all levels of our journey."

These are potent words from this scholar, teacher and spiritual leader, as she carries her nation of faith and its people forward into a new century and a new world.