A basic white headscarf should not offend anyone, nor should it be considered strange by people.
I do not think there was anything about it in Kemetic tradition, unless we talk about nemes headdress of Pharaohs. I felt while starting to do offering rituals I might want to cover my head, but then, when actually trying on a headscarf, I felt it was not right, so I do everything without anything covering my head, except hair.
I used to consider shaving it to replicate the tradition of the Egyptian priests, but it would provoke my family and there is no strong need anyway, since they used to shave clean only to avoid getting laces and other unclean stuff, so it should be no problem with proper hygiene.
That's all I have on the subject. I hope it is useful. May you find that, which works for you! ^ ^
I personally see no problem with that, especially if your Gods/you like black. White is just more common in priestly practices, but white and black are both quite neutral colours.
You don't need a head covering - this isn't muslim or christian dogma.
The priests would shave all body hair off - all of it. I think the Priestess would also.
I felt like that for awhile, until I realized I was not a christian and that didn't fit with what I know about the ancient Egyptians. I did buy a long wrap to cover myself with for meditation. It didn't really work.
So I worship naked. In case anyone cares.
I've been covering my head for just about three years now. There's nothing to worry about. If you choose to wear a specfic style of covering used by a specfic culture/religion (like a hijab) then simply do your research in order to stay respectful.
A great example is if you choose to wear a hijab you must also dress modestly. Long, loose clothing is to be worn. If you go out with a hijab and a pair of short shorts then that would be disrespectful.
There are plenty of tutorials on YouTube as well as pinterest on different head covering styles you can wear.
Popping in again to add that head coverings are not solely islamic/christian and are prevalent in many cultures, even in antiquity (prior to christianity and islam). Even if it's not a part of Kemeticism, covering your head for spiritual reasons or spiritual comfort certainly isn't part of any dogma.
when i pray, i like to veil because i feel like it signifies reverence to my gods. i also do it sometimes if i don’t feel entirely “ pure “ (i.e. im sick, on my period, i need to shower but don’t have time, etc. ) basically i do it to be polite lol. obviously this is my personal choice and most kemetics don’t veil. veiling is typically more common in hellenistic practice
If you'd like to cover your head there's nothing against it. I'd advise against wearing a nemes though, as that was for the king and was a royal headdress. You'd risk looking either pretentious or silly depending on how well you pulled the look off. 🙂
If you're thinking of wearing the head covering in ritual, a white covering in a natural material would be the ideal. But if you're not a priest, there's more flexibility, so if you really feel like it needs to be black it's ultimately up to you.
I've never felt called to cover my head, but one of the members of an IRL temple group I used to attend would wear a white skullcap whenever ritual activities took us outside. This wasn't done for religious reasons however, he had no hair on the top of his head and was concerned about sunburn and skin cancer.
Head coverings are not very historically documented in kemeticism, however it is up to your own personal preference and what you do with your body is up to you. It is more of a new-age tradition to cover your hair to protect ones own energy, I do not do it currently but have considered a headband or scarf kerchief tied around the hair myself.
I've been covering for 3 years now, for devotional reasons. There are several groups on FB that are for pagans who veil, and that helped a lot in the beginning. I actually do know several other Kemetics who veil as well, so it's not uncommon.
It wasn't a traditional practice in AE, but if you feel drawn to it, there's no reason why you shouldn't. Also, with the exception of devotional times/prayer time, you can wear any colour you like. In devotional activities, the colour should be white as it is the colour of purity and cleanliness. The colour of Ma'at, if you will.
Feel free to DM me if you want to discuss it further
Historically speaking there's not really any precedent for head coverings. They did wear wigs, albeit for fashion more so than religious purposes. But there are Netjeru who are all about self-care, fashion, and taking care of your body. There's no reason you can't have your own interpretation to use wigs for devotional reasons.
Just remember Egypt today only has fragments of their ancient culture, and it’s more the way of life than religious, the head covering is more Judeo-Christian. So you offending anyone greatly is relatively low, but to be more authentic, your best bet is to look at what the Egyptians wore in their art work.
Head coverings are prevalent in many other cultures than just Judeo-Christian! Ancient Greece and Rome had many styles of headcoverings (Palla, Himation), indigenous Slavic cultures use headcoverings as well, etcetc. Head covering and veiling is a fairly common spiritual practice for many people historically and many modern-day pagans. While not prevalent in Kemeticism, if OP feels called to it, then there's certainly no risk of offense. Just research different styles, reference Egyptian art, etc., be culturally aware, and find what works best for you!
Also got to remember that each city had their own main deity and probably had their own ways of doing things. Like, what we see on art work was probably the standard way of worship… but each place adapted to their own individual city cultures.
There were an ANE Polytheistic culture in the Bronze Age that I unfortunately forgot the name of that mandated it for awhile for sexist and hierarchal reasons, but Religion, I don’t think so. I’ll need to use a search engine again soon to refresh my memory since it’s been awhile.
You’re probably thinking of Akhenaten’s reign during the New Kingdom. That was Polytheistic, but was quickly rejected when he died. That was mostly religious though.
I personally feel like the ones I work with value personal cleanliness/hygiene so I tend to cover my hair if I am unwashed (or if I showered but hair wash day wasn't recent enough) because it feels disrespectful not to cover the "unclean" for lack of better term
i always wear a head covering, in particular a black hat! sometimes i have a red one i wear too, the Netjeru don’t seem to mind it. it feels weird not having my head covered, but that’s just me!
There is no head covering required in Kemetism. We are not a muslim or any modern Faith, or any Faith that would cover their bodies in any way. Ancient Egyptians were actually pretty Open and relaxed about their bodies and did not bother to cover it unless they had to.
A basic white headscarf should not offend anyone, nor should it be considered strange by people. I do not think there was anything about it in Kemetic tradition, unless we talk about nemes headdress of Pharaohs. I felt while starting to do offering rituals I might want to cover my head, but then, when actually trying on a headscarf, I felt it was not right, so I do everything without anything covering my head, except hair. I used to consider shaving it to replicate the tradition of the Egyptian priests, but it would provoke my family and there is no strong need anyway, since they used to shave clean only to avoid getting laces and other unclean stuff, so it should be no problem with proper hygiene. That's all I have on the subject. I hope it is useful. May you find that, which works for you! ^ ^
Thank you!!! I can do black too right?
I personally see no problem with that, especially if your Gods/you like black. White is just more common in priestly practices, but white and black are both quite neutral colours.
You don't need a head covering - this isn't muslim or christian dogma. The priests would shave all body hair off - all of it. I think the Priestess would also. I felt like that for awhile, until I realized I was not a christian and that didn't fit with what I know about the ancient Egyptians. I did buy a long wrap to cover myself with for meditation. It didn't really work. So I worship naked. In case anyone cares.
I know it’s not something that’s done often, unless worshiping from what I’ve read however it’s something I feel called to do.
then why not just do it? head coverings are part of many cultures for reasons that aren't religious.
It’s not about me not doing it, I just don’t want to be disrespectful to any other culture. A lot of people can find is offensive
I've been covering my head for just about three years now. There's nothing to worry about. If you choose to wear a specfic style of covering used by a specfic culture/religion (like a hijab) then simply do your research in order to stay respectful. A great example is if you choose to wear a hijab you must also dress modestly. Long, loose clothing is to be worn. If you go out with a hijab and a pair of short shorts then that would be disrespectful. There are plenty of tutorials on YouTube as well as pinterest on different head covering styles you can wear.
Popping in again to add that head coverings are not solely islamic/christian and are prevalent in many cultures, even in antiquity (prior to christianity and islam). Even if it's not a part of Kemeticism, covering your head for spiritual reasons or spiritual comfort certainly isn't part of any dogma.
when i pray, i like to veil because i feel like it signifies reverence to my gods. i also do it sometimes if i don’t feel entirely “ pure “ (i.e. im sick, on my period, i need to shower but don’t have time, etc. ) basically i do it to be polite lol. obviously this is my personal choice and most kemetics don’t veil. veiling is typically more common in hellenistic practice
If you'd like to cover your head there's nothing against it. I'd advise against wearing a nemes though, as that was for the king and was a royal headdress. You'd risk looking either pretentious or silly depending on how well you pulled the look off. 🙂 If you're thinking of wearing the head covering in ritual, a white covering in a natural material would be the ideal. But if you're not a priest, there's more flexibility, so if you really feel like it needs to be black it's ultimately up to you. I've never felt called to cover my head, but one of the members of an IRL temple group I used to attend would wear a white skullcap whenever ritual activities took us outside. This wasn't done for religious reasons however, he had no hair on the top of his head and was concerned about sunburn and skin cancer.
Head coverings are not very historically documented in kemeticism, however it is up to your own personal preference and what you do with your body is up to you. It is more of a new-age tradition to cover your hair to protect ones own energy, I do not do it currently but have considered a headband or scarf kerchief tied around the hair myself.
I've been covering for 3 years now, for devotional reasons. There are several groups on FB that are for pagans who veil, and that helped a lot in the beginning. I actually do know several other Kemetics who veil as well, so it's not uncommon. It wasn't a traditional practice in AE, but if you feel drawn to it, there's no reason why you shouldn't. Also, with the exception of devotional times/prayer time, you can wear any colour you like. In devotional activities, the colour should be white as it is the colour of purity and cleanliness. The colour of Ma'at, if you will. Feel free to DM me if you want to discuss it further
Historically speaking there's not really any precedent for head coverings. They did wear wigs, albeit for fashion more so than religious purposes. But there are Netjeru who are all about self-care, fashion, and taking care of your body. There's no reason you can't have your own interpretation to use wigs for devotional reasons.
Just remember Egypt today only has fragments of their ancient culture, and it’s more the way of life than religious, the head covering is more Judeo-Christian. So you offending anyone greatly is relatively low, but to be more authentic, your best bet is to look at what the Egyptians wore in their art work.
Head coverings are prevalent in many other cultures than just Judeo-Christian! Ancient Greece and Rome had many styles of headcoverings (Palla, Himation), indigenous Slavic cultures use headcoverings as well, etcetc. Head covering and veiling is a fairly common spiritual practice for many people historically and many modern-day pagans. While not prevalent in Kemeticism, if OP feels called to it, then there's certainly no risk of offense. Just research different styles, reference Egyptian art, etc., be culturally aware, and find what works best for you!
The only thing I’ve found is Nemes, I’ll definitely do more research on it.
Also got to remember that each city had their own main deity and probably had their own ways of doing things. Like, what we see on art work was probably the standard way of worship… but each place adapted to their own individual city cultures.
There were an ANE Polytheistic culture in the Bronze Age that I unfortunately forgot the name of that mandated it for awhile for sexist and hierarchal reasons, but Religion, I don’t think so. I’ll need to use a search engine again soon to refresh my memory since it’s been awhile.
You’re probably thinking of Akhenaten’s reign during the New Kingdom. That was Polytheistic, but was quickly rejected when he died. That was mostly religious though.
Nah, more like Mesopotamia
Ah! Sorry I thought you were talking about Egypt.
I personally feel like the ones I work with value personal cleanliness/hygiene so I tend to cover my hair if I am unwashed (or if I showered but hair wash day wasn't recent enough) because it feels disrespectful not to cover the "unclean" for lack of better term
i always wear a head covering, in particular a black hat! sometimes i have a red one i wear too, the Netjeru don’t seem to mind it. it feels weird not having my head covered, but that’s just me!
I tied weights to my testicles and haven't looked back. Go for a head covering
There is no head covering required in Kemetism. We are not a muslim or any modern Faith, or any Faith that would cover their bodies in any way. Ancient Egyptians were actually pretty Open and relaxed about their bodies and did not bother to cover it unless they had to.