Menet “Symbol of Fertility & Birth”

The Menet symbol is a strong religious symbol that comes in the shape of a necklace with a characteristic shape and counterweight. The Name Menet was also the name of the goddess Hathor of love, joy, and celebration. The ancient Egyptian symbol came in the shape of a necklace that was connected to the Hathor & Apis Bulls as a protective amulet. The Menet was shown as a symbol of birth, life, fertility, and regeneration. The Necklace was very popular in the new kingdom as it brought good & fortune and provides divine protection against evil spirits in this life & the afterlife and was used as a conduit for passing the power of Hathor to all her followers. Note: Menet Is an Ancient Egyptian Symbol of Fertility, Life, Birth, Good Health, Rebirth, Renewal, Potency, and the Afterlife. The Symbol was in the shape of a necklace found on many goddesses and found only in the elite of ancient Egyptian society. During the festival of Hathor, her priestesses will shake the Menat and the sistrum in each household which symbolizes the coming of good health and a life of fortune. A religious symbol is an iconic representation intended to represent a specific religion, or a specific concept within a given religion. Religious symbols have been used in the military in many countries, such as the United States military chaplain symbols. Similarly, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs emblems for headstones and markers recognize 57 symbols (including a number of symbols expressing non-religiosity).

In some African Indigenous religions, there are graphical and pictorial symbols representing the actual religion or faith just like the Abrahamic faith. Each indigenous religion, however, has symbolisms which are religious or spiritual in nature. Some of these may be graphical, numerological (as in Serer numerology – see Serer creation myth) or a combination of both. However, these graphical images represent the actual religion practice and elements within the faith. The Ìṣẹ̀ṣe religion of the yoruba people indigenous religion as an example has it graphical and pictorial symbol representing the religion, the symbol explained the philosophical concept of the four-cardinal point of the earth. The very nature of African art stem from “their themes of symbolism, functionalism and utilitarianism” hence why African art is multi-functional. In the African Indigenous belief system, Africans draw from their various artistic traditions as sources of inspiration.