Osirica

Last updated

The Osirica is purported Black Egyptian masonic order. It is mentioned in some afrocentric discussions of ancient Egyptian history. The theory of its existence is based on archeological evidence of an Egyptian village near Deir el-Medina. The word is used in many French and Italian references to ancient Egyptian culture and history, but very rarely is found in English.

The word was first used in English by George Granville Monah James book Stolen Legacy in 1954. George G.M. James is a controversial Afrocentricist whose work and motives have been hotly criticised by the mainstream Egyptology.[ clarification needed ]

Lately,[ when? ] the Osirica are championed by Afrocentric scholars and students as the original ancient "Lodge" of the Masonic order (Freemasonry), and the foundation of most modern Masonry orders.[ original research? ]

This claim that the classical period Greek masonic orders gained their knowledge from Egyptian sources may be based on legends originating from an ancient Egyptian village at present day Deir el-Medina, Egypt. This village was originally named "Ta Set Ma'at" (the Place of Truth), and was founded in the New Kingdom in the early 16th century B.C., by the 17th Dynasty Pharaoh Amenhotep I. There the craftsmen and women were the builders of the tombs of the Valley of the Kings. There they used masonry and craftsmanship that they taught in a vocational manner, much like current day technical schools.[ original research? ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freemasonry</span> Group of fraternal organizations

Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 14th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities and clients. Modern Freemasonry broadly consists of two main recognition groups: Regular Freemasonry, which insists that a volume of scripture be open in a working lodge, that every member professes belief in a Supreme Being, that no women be admitted, and that the discussion of religion and politics do not take place within the lodge; and Continental Freemasonry, which consists of the jurisdictions that have removed some, or all, of these restrictions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maat</span> Egyptian deity and concepts of truth, order and justice

Maat or Maʽat comprised the ancient Egyptian concepts of truth, balance, order, harmony, law, morality, and justice. Ma'at was also the goddess who personified these concepts, and regulated the stars, seasons, and the actions of mortals and the deities who had brought order from chaos at the moment of creation. Her ideological opposite was Isfet, meaning injustice, chaos, violence or to do evil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meretseger</span> Ancient Egyptian cobra-goddess

Meretseger was a Theban cobra-goddess in ancient Egyptian religion, in charge with guarding and protecting the vast Theban Necropolis — on the west bank of the Nile, in front of Thebes — and especially the heavily guarded Valley of the Kings. Her cult was typical of the New Kingdom of Egypt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afrocentrism</span> African ethnocentrism

Afrocentrism is a worldview that is centered on the history of people of African descent or a biased view that favors it over non-African civilizations. It is in some respects a response to Eurocentric attitudes about African people and their historical contributions. It seeks to counter what it sees as mistakes and ideas perpetuated by the racist philosophical underpinnings of Western academic disciplines as they developed during and since Europe's Early Renaissance as justifying rationales for the enslavement of other peoples, in order to enable more accurate accounts of not only African but all people's contributions to world history. Afrocentricity deals primarily with self-determination and African agency and is a pan-African point of view for the study of culture, philosophy, and history.

The history of Freemasonry encompasses the origins, evolution and defining events of the fraternal organisation known as Freemasonry. It covers three phases. Firstly, the emergence of organised lodges of operative masons during the Middle Ages, then the admission of lay members as "accepted" or "speculative" masons, and finally the evolution of purely speculative lodges, and the emergence of Grand Lodges to govern them. The watershed in this process is generally taken to be the formation of the first Grand Lodge in London in 1717. The two difficulties facing historians are the paucity of written material, even down to the 19th century, and the misinformation generated by masons and non-masons alike from the earliest years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deir el-Medina</span> Ancient Egyptian village in the Valley of the Kings

Deir el-Medina, or Dayr al-Madīnah, is an ancient Egyptian workmen's village which was home to the artisans who worked on the tombs in the Valley of the Kings during the 18th to 20th Dynasties of the New Kingdom of Egypt The settlement's ancient name was Setmaat, and the workmen who lived there were called "Servants in the Place of Truth". During the Christian era, the temple of Hathor was converted into a Monastery of Saint Isidorus the Martyr from which the Egyptian Arabic name Deir el-Medina is derived.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amenhotep I</span> Second Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt

Amenhotep I or Amenophis I, was the second Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt. His reign is generally dated from 1526 to 1506 BC.

Below are notable events in archaeology that occurred in 1905.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seti II</span> Pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty

Seti II was the fifth pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt and reigned from c. 1203 BC to 1197 BC. His throne name, Userkheperure Setepenre, means "Powerful are the manifestations of Re, the chosen one of Re." He was the son of Merneptah and Isetnofret II and occupied the throne during a period known for dynastic intrigue and short reigns, and his rule was no different. Seti II had to deal with many serious plots, most significantly the accession of a rival king named Amenmesse, possibly a half brother, who seized control over Thebes and Nubia in Upper Egypt during his second to fourth regnal years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramesses X</span> Ninth ruler of the 20th dynasty of Ancient Egypt

Khepermaatre Ramesses X was the ninth pharaoh of the 20th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. His birth name was Amonhirkhepeshef. His prenomen or throne name, Khepermaatre, means "The Justice of Re Abides."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ostracon</span> Broken piece of pottery with inscription

An ostracon is a piece of pottery, usually broken off from a vase or other earthenware vessel. In an archaeological or epigraphical context, ostraca refer to sherds or even small pieces of stone that have writing scratched into them. Usually these are considered to have been broken off before the writing was added; ancient people used the cheap, plentiful, and durable broken pieces of pottery around them as a convenient medium to write on for a wide variety of purposes, mostly very short inscriptions, but in some cases very long.

Jahbulon or Jabulon or Jahbuhlun is a word which is allegedly used in some rituals of Royal Arch Masonry and derivations thereof.

George Granville Monah James was a Guyanese-American historian and author, known for his 1954 book Stolen Legacy, which argues that Greek philosophy and religion originated in ancient Egypt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knights Templar (Freemasonry)</span> Fraternal order affiliated with Freemasonry

The Knights Templar, full name The United Religious, Military and Masonic Orders of the Temple and of St John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes and Malta, is a fraternal order affiliated with Freemasonry. Unlike the initial degrees conferred in a regular Masonic Lodge, which only require a belief in a Supreme Being regardless of religious affiliation, the Knights Templar is one of several additional Masonic Orders in which membership is open only to Freemasons who profess a belief in Christianity. One of the obligations entrants to the order are required to declare is to protect and defend the Christian faith. The word "United" in its full title indicates that more than one historical tradition and more than one actual order are jointly controlled within this system. The individual orders 'united' within this system are principally the Knights of the Temple, the Knights of Malta, the Knights of St Paul, and only within the York Rite, the Knights of the Red Cross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masonic bodies</span> Auxiliary organization of Freemasonry

There are many organisations and orders which form part of the widespread fraternity of Freemasonry, each having its own structure and terminology. Collectively these may be referred to as Masonic bodies, Masonic orders, Concordant bodies or appendant bodies of Freemasonry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sennedjem</span> Ancient Egyptian artisan

Sennedjem was an Ancient Egyptian artisan who was active during the reigns of Seti I and Ramesses II. He lived in Set Maat, contemporary Deir el-Medina, on the west bank of the Nile, opposite Thebes. Sennedjem had the title "Servant in the Place of Truth". He was buried along with his wife, Iyneferti, and members of his family in a tomb in the village necropolis. His tomb was discovered January 31, 1886. When Sennedjem's tomb was found, it contained furniture from his home, including a stool and a bed, which he used when he was alive.

The Will of Naunakhte is a papyrus found at the workmen's village of Deir el-Medina that dates to the 20th Dynasty during the reign of Ramesses V. Discovered by the French Institute in 1928, the will outlines the division of assets by an Egyptian mother among her children.

The Medical Ostraca of Deir el-Medina are a collection of ostraca containing notes of medical importance. These ostraca were written in the New Kingdom Egyptian village of Deir el-Medina during the 18th and 19th Dynasties. Unlike other sources of medical literature from the period, these ostraca are notes written by and concerning the artisans of Deir el-Medina, rather than physicians or royalty. Thus, they offer a unique view of the common experience of medicine in Ancient Egypt.

Bernard Bruyère was a French Egyptologist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jaana Toivari-Viitala</span> Finnish egyptologist

Jaana Toivari-Viitala was a Finnish egyptologist and museum curator who was Chair of the Finnish Egyptology Society and Head of the Department of Egyptology at the University of Helsinki.