IseeExiledKemetics PDF

A bo u
ut
the A u
uthor
t hor
Moustafa Gadalla was born in Cairo, Egypt in 1944.
He graduated from Cairo University with a Bachelor of Sci-
ence degree in civil engineering in 1967. He immigrated to
the U.S.A. in 1971 to practice as a licensed
l icensed professional en-
gineer and land surveyor.
From his early childhood, Gadalla pursued his Ancient
Egyptian roots with passion, through continuous study and
research. Since 1990, he has ded
dedicated
icated and concentrated all
his time to researching the Ancient Egyptian civilization.
As an independent Egyptologist, he spends a part of every
year visiting and studying sites of antiquities.
Gadalla is the author of ten internationally acclaimed
books. He is the chairman of theth e T
Tehuti
ehuti Research
Research Founda-
tion—an international, U.S.-based,
U.S. -based, non-profit organization,
dedicated to Ancient Egyptian studies.
O ther
ther Books B y The A u
uthor
t hor
[See details on pages 189-192]
Egyptian Cosmology: The Animated Universe - 2nd ed.
Egyptian Divinities:
Divinities: The All Who Are THE ONE
Egyptian Harmony: The Visual Music
- 2nd ed.
Historical Deception: The Untold Story of Ancient Egypt -
Egyptian Rhythm: The Heavenly Melodies
Exiled Egyptians: The Heart of Africa
Pyramid Handbook - 2nd ed.
Tut-Ankh-Amen: The Living Image of the Lord
Egypt: A Practical Guide

This book is dedicated to
All The
The Indigenou
Indigenous
s Egyptia
Egyptiann Descenda
Descendants
nts
Everywhere.
Book Production: Moustafa Gadalla & Faith Cross

Book Cover Artwork by K&D Design, Erie, PA,
PA, USA

Last Updated:
Updated : May,
May, 2003
Exiled Egyptians
The Heart of Africa
Moustafa Gadalla
Maa Kheru (True of Voice)
Tehuti Research Foundation

Internationall Head Office: Greensboro, NC, U.S.A.
Internationa

Exiled Egyptians
Th e He ar t of Af r i ca
by MOUSTAFA GADALLA
Published by:
Tehuti Research Foundation
P.O. Box 39406
Greensboro, NC 27438-9406, U.S.A.
All rights reserved.
reserved. No part of this book may
may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechani-
cal, including
includin g photocopying, recorded or by any
any information stor-
st or-
age and retrieval system without written permission from the
author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
Copyright © 1999 and 2003 by Moustafa Gadalla, All rights reserved.

reserved.
First published in paperback in 1999
eBook format published in 2003
Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication
(Provided by Quality Books, Inc.)
Gadalla, Moustafa, 1944-

Exiled Egyptians : The heart of Af
Africa
rica /
Moustafa Gadalla.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references
refe rences and index.
LCCN: 99-94009
ISBN: 1-931446-10-5 (eBook)
ISBN: 0-9652509-6-2 (pbk)
1. Egypt--Religion--Influence
Egypt--Relig ion--Influence.. 2. Ethnology--Africa,
Ethnology--Afri ca,
Sub-Saharan. 3. Egypt--Emigra
Egypt--Emigration
tion and immigration--
Religious aspects. 4. Egypt--Emigrat
Egypt--Emigrationion and immigra-
tion--Economic aspects. 5. Occultism--Egypt. 6. Egyp-
tian language--Influence
language-- Influence on African languages. I. Title.
DT61.G34 1999 299’.31
QBI99-973

Table of Contents
Table of Contents 5
List of Maps 15
Preface 17
Standards & Terminology 19
Map of African Countries 21
Map of Egypt (Present-Day) 22
I. Clearing Academic Confusion
1. The Days After 24
2. La
Language, Race, and History 26
3. Dependency on Written History 28

Moslem Historical Accounts
Christian Historical Accounts
4. Western Linguists & Africa 32

6 Exiled Egyptians: The Heart of Africa
Linguistic Classification Falsehoods

Falsehood of “Tribal” ClClassification
assification
Ancient Egyptian Language
Lan guage Falsification
5. Nu
Nubia, Meroe Fictional Sham 41
II. Egypt: The

The Mother Land
6. Ancient Egypt & Interior Africa 46

Ancient Trade Routes
Items of Trade with Interior Africa
7. Kush: The Egyptian Frontier 51

The Archaic Period
The Old Kingdom Period
The Middle Kingdom
Kin gdom Period
The New Kingdom Period
Napata and Other Kushite Holy Places
8. The Aftermath of the New Kingdom Era 60

Regional Governments (1070-712 BCE)
The South Rises (712-657 BCE)
The Southern Retreat
The
The Persians and the
Last Egyptian End of Renaissance
Pharaohs

Table of Contents 7
9. M
Maacedonian & Ptolemaic Rule 69
Ptolemies & Foreign Settlements
Revolting Against Foreign Occupation
Occ upation
Ptolemies and the Renegades at Meroe
10. Roman Rule 80

Struggling with the South
The Iron Hand
Taxation Without Justification
More Depopulation of Egyptians
Romans and the Renegades at Meroe
The Southern Rebels
11. Byzantine Rule 90

Romans & Early Christians in Egypt
Christian Rampage
Philae: The Last Stand
The X-Group
12. Byzantine & Christians Self-Destruct 98

The Powerful New Monster
Christian Family Feud
The Persian Interlude
Cyrus: A Taste of Their Own Medicine
13.. Chri
13 Christ
stia
ians
ns Se
Sell
ll Out Eg
Egy
ypt to th
the
e Ara
rab
bs 102
102
Christians’ Gift to Mohammed
Islam Rises Out ofChristian
Kush Ambiguous the Rubble
Era

Kush Repulses the Arabs
14. Egypt: The Arab Colony 1 07

The Murderous Musical Chairs
Resisting the Arab Rule
The Fatimid Locusts Destroy Egypt
The Murderous Musical Chairs Continue
Arab Republic
Republic of Egypt
III. Dispersing the Egyptian

Egyptian Seeds
Seeds
15. Populating Western Africa 12 0

Western Africa Population Explosion
Egypt: Source of People, Knowledge, and
Wealth
Progression of Population Patterns in West
Africa
16. BMass
etweMigration
en the Nile & Lake Chad 1 30
The Founding of Duguwa(Kanem) Confedera-
tion (between Lower Kush & Lake Chad)
Southern Kordofan Region
The Tungur Confederation & The Tumagera
The Sa-u (West and South of the Lake)
Pre-Islamic Bornu (A Child of the Sa-u)
17. Ne
New Beginning at the Bennu 14 0

Table of Contents 9
The Nok Culture

The Jukun
The Bantu at the Upper Bennu River
18. M
MaaBa-u (Hausa) Commonwealth 152
The Alliance of the Seven
Examples of Ancient Egypt Similarities
The Legend of the MaBa-u (Hausa)
Founders
19. T
Thhe Pearls of the Niger River 158
Migration from the Nile to the Niger
Examples of ancient Egyptian Similarities
The Niger River (The Other Nile)
Ginne: The Western
Western pearl of the Niger
20. W
Wa
agadu (Ghana) Commonwealth 166
The Westerly Confederation
Soninke (founders of Ancient Wagadu

Songhai) Wagadu and
Soninke’s Ancient Egyptian Traditions
The Gold Mystery and Wangara
21. Trading With the Devil 172

New Saharan Trade Activities (the Gold
Rush)
Trade Routes in the Sahara & Western

Africa

Trade Items
The Wolf
Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
Conversion, Death, or Enslavement (The
Islamic Doctrine)
The Barbarian Berbers (Hired Mercenaries)
The 11th Century Massacres
IV.. The Egyptian Model & The New Societies

IV
22. Religious Beliefs 182

Falsification of ancient Egyptian an
andd African
Belief Systems
Monotheism
Cosmology and the Origin of the Universe
The Mighty
M ighty Word
The Name (Ren) Significance
Energies that Animate the Universe
Animism (The Energized Universe)
Ausar(Osiris) and the Ancestor Spirits
Interacting with the Animated World
Ma-at: The Way
Serpent Significance
Spirited Groves / Trees
Male Initiation and Circumcision
23. S
Soocial & Political Structures 202
As Above So Below
Matrilineal/Matriarchal Society
The Family
Polity / Vill Lineage
Village
age

Table of Contents 11
Alliance of Individual
I ndividual Polities
Relationship Between LanLandd and People
The Legitimacy and Role of King/Leader/
Head
The Leader, Fertility, and the Moon
Energizing the Master Servant
24. Division of Labor 218

Inborn Destiny
Division of Labor/Castes/Classes
Dynamics Within Each Labor Division/
Caste
Dynamics Between the Occupations/Layers
Occupations/L ayers
1) Public Servants (Intermediaries)
2) The Farming Community (Nobles &
Farmers)
3) The Artisans (Manifesters of the
Cosmic Word)
a) The Smiths
b) The Weavers
c) Leatherworkers
d) Wor
Wordsmiths
dsmiths (Storytellers)
4) Servile Bondsmen
5) Homeless Herders
25. Linguistic Similarities 236
V. The Islamic Onslaughts

Onslaughts on Western
Western Africa
26. Wa
Wagadu(Ghana) is Shattered 242

The 1076
1076 Barbarian Northern Blow
The Barbarian Keita Clan Southern Assault
(1235 CE)
27. Keita Clan (Mali) Islamic Rule 245

Ushering Africa’s Dark Age
The Illegitimate Murderous Succession
28. S
So
onghai Under Islamic Rule 248
Keita Rule Over the Niger Pearls
The Sunni Rulers
The Askia Islamic Military
Milit ary Rule
The Militaristic Collapse
Coll apse (1591)
29. LLa
ake Chad Basin in Distress 25 2
Western Kanem Islamic Coup of 1068
The Bulala Resist the Moslem Intrusion
The Islamization of Bornu
30. The Southern Exodus 25 7

The Safer South
Yorubaland
Benin
Mossi Kingdoms
31.
T
Nurmoil
ile VallBetween
ey Lake Chad and the 265

Table of Contents 13
The Sennar(Fung) Confederation

The Tungur Breakups (Dar-Fur & Wadai)
32.. The
32 The Fu
Fulalani
ni Is
Isla
lami
mic
c Sl
Slau
augh
ghte
terr Ca
Camp
mpaiaign
gn 27
270
0
The Pastoral Fulani
The Aftermath of Firearms Introduction
(17 th & 18th centuries Devastations)
Plotting the Slaughter Campaigns
The Serial Killings (A Two Thousand Mile
Trail of Terror)
The Sokoto Caliphate (Bloody Animal
Anim al Farm)
Islamic Righteousness between Bornu and
the Fulani
VI. The Last Two

Two Centurie
Centuriess
33. European Colonialism 282

Fulani’s Islamic Jihads and Africa’s Misery
The Europeans End Islamic Jihads
European Delineation of African Borders
34. Independence & A Dark Future 287
End of European
Political
Political and SocialColonialism
Systems

VII. Epilogue
35. Fragmented But Never Forgotten 2 92

The Kotoko
The
The Highlands
Bamun of Central Cameroon
Ga / Gan / Gang
Dogon
Bozo
Bantu Dispersion Into Interior & Southern
Africa
Non-Moslem Peoples
Peoples of the Sudan
Egypt Now
36. Let Freedom Ring 30 6

Bring the Walls Down
Time for Rebirth
Appen
Appendixes
dixes
A. Glossary 31 0
B. Selected Bibliography 31 5
C. Sources and Notes 3 21
D. Index 33 6
E. About Our Books 35 0
F. Order Form 3 54

List of Maps
Introduction
Ch Pg Description
21 The African Countries
22 Egypt (present-day)
Part I
4 33 Western Linguists’ Language Families of Africa
5 43 Egypt in Ancient Times
Part II
6 47 Africa’s Major Trade Routes in Ancient Times
7 53 The Nile Valley in Ancient Times
7 57 The Egyptian Kush Main Sites
8 61 Egypt from 1070 to 332 BCE
9 71 Egypt during Ptolemaic Rule
10 81 Egypt during Roman Rule
13 103 Division of Egypt under Moslem Rule
14 10 9 Egypt as Arab colony
Part III
15
15 1 21
127
12 7 W
Westt A
est
es Afr
friica
fri ca -- Ma
GeiongSi
Mai rates
phsic(1
Site Rst
egm
(1st ioil
nlsen
illenn
niu
ium
m)

16 Exiled E
Egyptians:
gyptians: The Heart of Africa
16 1 31 Between the Nile and Lake Chad (1st millen.)

17 1 41 The Bennu River Basin (1st millenium)
18 1 53 The Ma
MaBa-u (H(Hausa) Po
Polities
19 1 59 The Pearls of the Niger River (1st millen.)
20 1 67 Wagadu (Ancient Ghana) (1st millen.)
21 173
17 3 Western AfAfrica - Trade Ro (late 1st
Routes (l
millen.)
Part V
27 247 Keita Cl
Clan (A
(Ancient Ma
Mali) Em
Empire
28 251 Songhai Moslem-Ruled Empire
2
309 2 53
259
25 9 IYsolaru
mbiacl-aRnudl,ed
BeKa
BeKnain
ne&
mM&osBsoi rKi
niungdoms
K
31 267
26 7 Betetwwee
een n th
thee Nil
ile
e an
and Lak
Lake
e Ch Chad
ad (Po
Post
st-I
-Isl
slam
am))
32 271
27 1 Slave Raiding Islamic Empires (18th & 19th
centuries)
Part VI
33 285 Eur
285 urop
opeean Co
Colo
loni
nial
alis
ism
m of Afri
rica
ca (1
(19
900 CE)
34 289 Division of Africa (After WW2)

Preface
Throughout our lives, each one of us hears numerous

“gentle knocks” that we tend to ignore.
ignore. I heard a gentle
knock, early in 1998, from an Internet Discussion Group.
A young person wrote a message to the group, advising them
th em
to look into the languages of sub-Sahara Africa, to help them
unlock the mysteries of Ancient Egypt. This person is an
indigenous Egyptian, whose family left Egypt generations
earlier, as a result of the Arab/Moslem invasion of 641 CE,
and their subsequent brutal rule.
rule. The Western
Western academicians
on the Discussion Group were quick to respond, in their
usual harsh way,
way, that this person was wrong.
This is odd! Western academicians are telling

telling an indig-
enous Egyptian to learn from them, about their “scholarly”
work about Egypt?! Academicians have nevernever been kno
knownwn
for their ability to listen.
I contacted this fellow Egyptian, who would rather re-
main anonymous for safety concerns, as per family wishes.
This book will explain the legitimate reasons for their safety
concerns.
Sub-Sahara Western
Western Africa is the most populated part
of the continent. It includes Nigeria, the most populous Af-
rican country.
country. In ancient times, Egypt was the most popu-
lated country in Africa.
Afr ica. Now,
Now, Egypt, at the northeast
n ortheast cor-
ner of the continent, is the second most populated African
country
count ry.. But how and when was
was sub-Saharan Wester
Western
n Af-
rica populated?
I followed up with extensive research, turning over ev-

ery stone.
stone. The task was very
very difficult, yet v
very
ery rew
rewarding.
arding.

18 Exiled E
Egyptians:
gyptians: The Heart of Africa
The more I learned about sub-Sahara Africa, the more I

learned about ancient and modern-day rural Egypt. This
gentle knock opened up so many doors. I began, and con-
tinue to appreciate,
appreciate, E.A. Wallis Budge’s statement,
I became convinced that a satisfactory explanation of the

ancient Egyptian Religion could only be obtained from the
Religions of the Soudan, more especially those of the
peoples who lived in the isolated districts in the south and
west of that region, where European influence was lim-
ited.
I followed Ma-at, The Way, who is repre-

sented in hermy
She was/is uncl
unclothed
othed form, i.e. the naked truth.
compass.
It is expected that each biased self-pro-

claimed “scholarly” and righteous group will dis-
miss a portion of this book, and agree with the
rest of
of it. In the end, probably
probably all the various Ma-at
groups will be equally angry.
angry. This means that I The Way
am in the center, as I always want to be.
Moustafa Gadalla
August, 1999

Standards and Terminology
1. There arethis
name in alternative
book. Wspellings
e have, for almostpossible,
have, whenever every proper
prop er
used
the primary spelling. For example: Moslem,
Mohammed, Wagadu (rather than the French transla-
tion Ougadou), etc
etc..
2. We shall write names as close as possible to their origi-

nal intent. Therefore,
Therefore, we shall use the hard ‘ g’
g’ , not the
Arabic-pronounced ‘ j’
j’ , as in Gabal, not Jebel.
3. You may find one or more variations on the spelling of

names. This is the result of us trying to approximate
the sound of different languages, into the English lan-
guage and its alphabet. For example,
example, we read Bennu/
Benu/Benue. Many times, this confuses an issue issue,, and
we might think they are separate and distinct places.
To help avoid this, I will occasionally list some
s ome written
variations of a name
nam e, as a reminder.
reminder.
4. As in all Semitic styles of writings, ancient Egyptian

writing was limited to the consonants of the words, be-
cause the meaning of the word was generally contained
in the consonants,
consonant s, while the vowels were added only to
indicate the grammatical
grammatical forms. As such, vvow
owel
el sounds
were not included in the written language.
Since we do not know the exact sounds of their words,

and toEgyptian
lated simplifytexts
matters, theapproximation,
are an vowels you seeand
in trans-
by no
no

means do they represent the true sound.

As a result, you may find a variety in writing the same
thing such as Amen/Amun/Amon.
5. The Greeks had a disdainful attitude to all foreign

names, and arbitrarily changed them. The Egyptian
name Tehuti, was rendered by the Greeks variously as
Thoth, Thouth, Thout. In theophoric [neter (god)-bear-
ing] names, they introduced further corruption plus the
ornament of a Greek
Greek ending. It has become fashion-
able among many modern academicians to use the Greek
renderings of Egyptian names, in their translations.
If the commonly used Greek name is different than the

true Egyptian name, we will show the correct Egyptian
name followed by the common, but arbitrary
arbitrar y Greek ren-
dering between parentheses.
6. To make matters simpler, we choose to spell the name

of the country south of Egypt as Sudan, and the geo-
graphical region between 8o and 16o north latitude,
across the African continent, as Soudan. Most texts
don’t distinguish between the two spellings, which
causes confusion to some readers.
7. Throughout this book, fonting of quotations and terms

varies, depending on the sour
source
ce of quotation. There
are generally two types of fonting: one for ancient Egyp-
tian sources and terms, and a second for other references .

I
Clearing
Academic
Confusion

1
The Days After
It has been written and repeated, that the ancient Egyp-

tians accepted the domination of the Ptolemaic and Roman
rules, that they had willingly changed their religious beliefs
into Christianity, and a short time later, they willingly ac-
cepted Islam as a substitute for Christianity
Christianit y.
This does
countries notaded,
makemany
are invaded,
inv sensepeople
at all, for we
e. know
leave
leav that when
So, what really
really
happened to Egypt and the Egyptians, after the Pharaohs?
Academia tells us that in the first millennium, there

was a sudden increase in population in sub-Sahara Africa,
of a highly civilized people who energized the whole area.
But who are these people, and where did they come
from? Where did they go?
We learn
lennium, later that,
the peace in the beginning
in sub-Sahara of the
Africa was second
s econd mil-
shattered. By
tying the historical events together, we find that in the 11 th
century, a picture emerges of a hammer-blow from the north,
in the shape of mounted raiders sweeping in and shattering
a homogeneous and politically decentralized population. The
hammer-blow of Islamic jihads that started in the 11th cen-
tury continued for about 900 miserable
miserable years.
years. The intr
intro-
o-
duction of Islam, in the form of Islamic jihads, is the cause
for fragmentation, aimless migrations, wars, and misery.
misery. The
local populations in western Africa were totally decimated
1. The Days After

25
by the fiercest Is-

la
l a m i c jii h a d ,
j
which was car-
ried out by the
nomadic Fulani
in the 19 th cen-
tury, with its as-
sociated slave
People throwing dust on them-
raiding and
selves, as a gesture of grief.
slaughter of re-
sisters.
When the Europeans arrived in Africa, it was already a

fragmented Dark Continent. The rreality
eality is that most Afri-
cans were relieved to see them. The Europeans helped pre-
vent more Islamic

more
in artificial atrocities.
borderlines However,
However, colonization
and imposition resulted
of the Western sys-
tem on the Africans. European colonization lasted a few few
decades.
All conquerors picture themselves as the bringers of

light and a new civilization to the people
people they
they conquer.
conquer. The
invaders (Ptolemies, Romans, Arabs, or Europeans) actu-
ally came to profit and to dominate, not to “civilize”.
To put the
able evidence,
evidence pieces
, which together,
comes from:we shall review the avail-
1) Arch
Archeoeolo
logi
gica
call fi
find
ndin
ings
gs..
2) Oral trtraditions.
3) Wri ritte
ttenn accou
accounts
nts by early
early tr
trav
avele
elers
rs who
who wro
wrote
te
about what they saw, saw, or what they
t hey had been told
by others.
The truth is a composite of different and complemen-

tary pieces of a puzzle.
puzzle. Let us put the pieces into the right
location, time, and order

order..

2
Language, Race, and History
The diversity of physical types of man, languages, and

cultures in Africa has challenged the th e non-African academi-
cians, in their different fields of interests.
Historians disagree with archeologists, and linguists
disagree
micians with anthropologists.
continue, Disagreements
and prejudices often cloudamong acade-
their views.
Their compartmental thinking further compounds the con-
fusion.
Linguisti cs, physical anthropology, and archeology must

Linguistics,
be more
more attentive
attentive to dynamic factors such as history,
history, migra-
migra-
tion, adaptation to ecological areas, and genetic exchange and
drift, in their efforts to understand the peoples of Africa and
their culture/history.
culture/history.
In Africa, as well as other continents, there is no neces-

sary correlation
correlati on between race, languag
language,e, and culture.
culture. Popu-
lations change languages and culture as a function of his-
torical factors. The presence or absence
a bsence of related languages
in one area, or their scattering over wide distant areas, indi-
cates the migration, gradual drift, or isolation of their speak-
ers.
The ‘white’ and the ‘colored’ races, in Africa, are for

the most part dark-skinned. Few African Blacks are wholly
2. Language, Race, and History 27

‘black’, and some in fact hav
havee skin tones that are little differ-
ent from those of the darker EurEuropeans.
opeans. The skin pigmen-
pigmen-
tation distinction has a sharpness that is not in accordance
with reality.
reality. Skin pigmentation is essentially due to the com-
bined influences of climate and breeding. Dark skins afford
better protection in conditions
conditions of bright sunlight and heat.
Words and terms have different meanings for different

people,, at different times in history
people history.. Most people mean spe-
cific bodily features/configurations, when they state a cer-
tain color. Here are a few examples:
1. North Africans are sometimes called Libyan

called Libyan,, the
name given to them

first millennium by the
BCE. GreekAfricans
North geographers of the
are called
Berbers,, by the Moslem Arabs who entered North Af-
Berbers
rica from Syria and Arabia, from the 7 th century CE
onward.
2. The Greek

Greek early trav
travelers
elers called sub-Sahara Afri-
cans Ethiopians
Ethiopians.. The Arabs called them al-Sud,
al-Sud, the
name in each case meaning simply dark-skinned people.
people.
3. The very dark-skinned Senegalese,

Senegalese, that the whole
world would describe as black
as black,, refer, contemptuously
contemptuous ly,,
to their neighboring Mauritanians as as blacks
blacks..
So, the terms, black,

terms, black, white, red, colored
colored,, …etc., should be
treated very carefully,
carefully, because the meanings vary from per-
son to person, from region to region, and from one era to
another.
anothe r. Most references, however,
however, are veryvery careless in us-
ing such terms, and omit adequate explanation.

3
Dependency on Written
History
Moslem Historical Accounts
Western historians rely almost blindly on ancient writ-

ten records, when studying the history of western Africa. If
it is not on paper, in a book, or in their library, it does not
exist. The written records of pre-colonial Africa in their li-
braries
brar ies are those written
written by Moslem
Moslem writers
writers or Christian
Christian mis-
sionaries.
Western academicians,
ac ademicians, whose countries were involved
in invading and colonizing other countries, tend to accept
similar behavior from the Arab and Berber Moslems,
Mosle ms, as they
decimated Africa in the name of Islam.
In most cases, Western

Western academi
academicians
cians accepted
accepte d the writ-
ten accounts of Moslem writers, even when they did not
make any sense.
Here are a few credibility problems regarding the Mos-

lem historical accounts:
1. The Moslems’ observations were often quite slanted

and filled with prejudice. Medieval Islamic geographies
are acknowledged to be unabashedly
unabas hedly Arab-centric. For

3. De
D ependancy on Written History 29
example, ancient Mali’s

example, Mal i’s history “began” with the reign
of Mansa Barmandana, who was converted to Islam
at the time of the Almoravids (11(11th century CE). Even
though there had been countless Kings before him,
Moslems dismissed the earlier Kings as “pagans” and an d
therefore unworthy
unworthy of recognition!
2. Many ancient Hausa (northern Nigeria) records

destroyed by the Fulani invaders in the early 19th
were destroyed
century; those of Bornu (in present-day Nigeria) by
the Kanuri.
Kanuri. Other original records were
were destroyed
destroyed byby
other barbarian invaders.
invaders. The records
records were
were later re-
re-
produced from memory
memory.. As a result, there are consid-
erable divergences and contradictions, and our diffi-
culties are greatly increased by the theological bias of
their Moslem authors and editors.

3. As a consequence of an unending series of Islamic
jihads, all the Islamized tribes of the Soudan sought to
establish a traditional connection either with Mecca
or — if their history does not take them back to the
time of early Islam in Mecca — with Baghdad, the seat
in later times of the Abbassid Caliphate.
Caliphate. As a conse-
quence, all their oral traditions were given a Moslem/
Arab color, to appease their fanatic Moslem oppres-
sors.
Thus the rise of the Fulani in West Africa is ascribed
to the time of the first Moslem invasion; Bornu (in
present-day Nigeria) is said to have been founded by
Sef, son of the last Himyarite king of Mecca; while
[present-day Nigeria’s people of] the Gobir, Yoruba,
Bede, Busa, and Burum peoples say they came from
the vicinity of Mecca. Even the Jukun of central Ni-
geria are said to have left Y
Yemen,
emen, while the Daura (in
northern Nigeria) tradition connects the founding of

30 I. Clearing Academic Confusion
the Hausa states with the Abbassids of Baghdad.
4. Before the mid-14th century CE, there had not even

been direct travel
travel by any Moslem geographers to the
lands they described. That did not stop them, for they
wrote about the history, land, and peoples of sub-Sa-
hara Africa,
Africa, anyway!
anyway!
5. Almost all of the African chroniclers were sworn

opponents of the “heretics”. They were critical of, or
impatient with, customs and ideas that were different
from their own, especially if they conflicted with Is-
lamic teachings. These biases were common in Mos-
lem writings about West
West Africa.
6. The merchants of towns, such as Timbuktu (in

present-day Mali), jealously guarded information about
their riches and their sources of trade goods, and were
not above spreading misinformation, to deter foreign
inquisitiveness.
7. The most referenced account of ancient Ghana (in

present-day Mali) in Arabic writings is from A1-Bakri
present-day
1th century).
(11
(1
Al-Bakri was based at Cordoba in Spain, and his “writ-
ten” accounts were based on second and third-hand
information from uneducat
uneducated
ed nomadic travelers.
travelers. Fur-
thermore,, these accounts were describing events that
thermore
occurred decades and centuries
centu ries earlier.
8. A writer-geographer named Al-Edrisi (a Moslem

Berber in the service of the King of Sicily) described
“Wangara”,
“W angara”, in ancient
ancien t Ghana, as,
...an island 300 miles long and 150 miles wide, surrounded

by the waters of the Nile River. During part of the year
floodwaters submerged this island. But when the water

3. De
D ependancy on Written History 31
receded, people of nearby regions paddled out to the is-

land to collect
col lect the gold washed up by the flood. The
They
y stayed
there on the job until the flood returned.
a) There is no such island, with such measure-

ments, anywhere.
b) Wangara is not a name of an island or a place.
This term is explained on page 171 of this book.
The man had no idea, because he was on an island (Sic-

ily) several hundreds of miles away from his written, “his-
torical” accounts.
Christian Historical Accounts
Some references are made to the writings of Christian

missionaries who traveled
traveled to interior Africa. These mission-
ary accounts must be taken with a grain of salt, mostly be-
cause their mission is not a fact-finding mission, but to con-
vert. It is already established in their minds that anything
not Christian and not European
European is inferior.
inferior. In addition to
their religious and racial prejudices, they were ignorant of
local languages, cultures, etc.
etc. As such, they,
they, like any traveler
traveler
to a foreign land, were likely to misunderstand what they
saw,, even if they were objective.
saw ob jective.
It is all in writing, and most of these writings are

twisted. It is therefore important to evaluate
evaluate and
use such records in proper context in relation to
other available information.

4
Western Linguists & Africa
Linguistic Classification Falsehoods
The most incredible fact about the present
presen t state of writ-
ten African history is that
th at it is based mostly on the works of
a new breed of misguided and
and irresponsible Western
Western linguists.
linguists.
While languages should be a factor in the study of history,
they cannot be the leading factor in such a process. Western
academic linguists suffer more from compartmental think-
ing, than any other academic group.
Africa, particularly the part that lies south of the Sa-

hara, is characterized by a great multiplicity of languages/
dialects. In the absence of a generally accepted method for
distinguishing between dialect and language,
language, no exact figure
can be given. Western linguists tell us that the number of
“distinct languages” is well
well above
above 800. Many of these “lan-
guages” have only

are widespread andaspoken
small number of speakers, butboth
by millions—including others
na-
tive speakers and those for whom the languages function as
an auxiliary means of communication.
Western linguists
linguis ts divided the languages
langu ages of Africa, based
ba sed
on collecting sample spoken (unwritten) words from natives,
and then categorized the collected data into a small
sm all number
of stocks of apparently distinct origin. The four major lan-
guage stocks are Afro-Asiatic, Nilo-Saharan, Niger-
Kordofanian (form
(formerly
erly known as West Soudanic
Soudani c, and includ-

4
.
W
e
s
t
e
r
n
L
i
n
g
u
i
s
t
s
&
A
f
r
i
c
a
3
3
ing Bantu), and Click (former Bushman, including Hottentot

and two languages of East Africa). This work was pioneered
by the American linguist, Joseph H. Greenberg, in the late
1940s, who worked out an overall,
overall, genetic scheme
sch eme of classi-
fication for all the hundreds of spoken (but unwritten) “lan-
guages” of sub-Sahara Africa.
Greenberg’s overall genetic scheme was so far-sweep-

ing and radical, that immediate and universal acceptance of
it by other linguists was hardly to be expected. Some of them
were critical of his methods, pointing to the small sampling
of words (20-50) used to establish genetic relationships be-
tween the “languages”, and to his use of words from vocabu-
vocabu-
laries that all too often had not been rigorously established.
They, however, did not do that much better.
In 1992, Western
Western linguists
ling uists basically
basically repackaged the same
process of Greenberg into a new terminology —
lexicostatistics, by comparing 50-100 words
words of the most ba-
sic vocabulary in the present-day languages, in order to cat-
egorize the language and iitsts speakers’
speakers’ origin. They used
words such as the first ten numerals, parts of the body
body,, and
common words like sun and bird.
Their techniques for comparing vocabularies to deter-

mine grouping of languages lead to haphazard conclusions.
Here are some of their obvious flaws that, individually
individuall y or in
combination, will lead to unreliable conclusions:
1. The number of sample words

words is too small to arrive
at such
gins andsweeping and emphatic
major groupings conclusions
of hundreds about“lan-
of these ori-
guages” and peoples.
2. There is the possibility of

of misunderstanding be-
tween the questioner (Latin language) and the candi-

date (African language). The questioner must point
and/or gesture, in order to hear the native’s response,
response,
so that he can record the sound
sou nd of the word as he hears
it. If the questioner wants
wants to know the word,
word, and
points to a ‘face’, the respondent can easily think that
the questioner is referring to ‘I’ (as a person), male/
female, color of face, cheek, jaw, condition of nose/
face, etc
et c.
3. The African native,

native, chosen to provide
provide the sampling
vocabulary for any/each of the 800 “languages”, like
most people anywhere, most likely doesn’t speak
clearly.. One person, by random, cannot be the spo-
clearly
ken representation of a language.
4. One should expect

expect that every
every language has man
many
y
alternate words to mean the same thing, and that cer-
tain words are used more in one
on e region than another.
Here are a few examples of words in the English lan-
guage and their alternatives,
alterna tives, which are very different
in writing and sound, yet they mean the same thing:
parent/father, door/gate, column/pillar,

parent/father, column/pill ar, father/dad,
gift/present, chair/seat, lady/woman,
l ady/woman, house/home,
apartment/flat, man/guy/lad, clothes/outfit/apparel,
chief/lord/king/master,, rainy/w
chief/lord/king/master rainy/wet
et
The result is that people may be classified as two dis-

tinct groups, because the (African) candidates used
alternate words, for the same thing.
5. Many people have

have tendencies to re
reverse
verse letters of a
word. In illiterate societies, these people
people are not cor-
rected. As a result, we
we end up with what appear to be
totally different words, indicative of a false sense of
distinct languages.
6. “Slang” language is a fact of life.

life. A Londoner will
not understand cockney speaking, even though they
live in the very same city! For the uninformed, slang
may be categorized as a distinct
distin ct language.
7. Linguists base their work

work on the sound of some
words. This could provide misleading
misleadi ng results,
results, because
replacing letters (sound shift) is a common phenom-
enon, worldwide.
From the earliest

earlies t days of comparative philology
philolo gy,, it was
noticed that the sounds of related languages corre-
sponded in apparently
apparently systematic ways. The most fa-
mous of these “sound
“s ound shifts” were worked out by Jacob
Grimm in 1822, and have become known as “Grimm’s
Law”.
The circular relationship between these correspon-

dences is a major feature:
G K  X  GH  G

T  TH  DH  D  T
P  F BH B  P
The following are examples of correspondences that

are noted in the Middle East and the sub-Sahara Afri-
can regions:
• M is often exchanged
exchanged for N.
• M often becomes B.
• R and L are
are often confused.
• GI is often exchanged
exchanged with DI.
• K ma
may y be pronounced G.
• H may bebe added or dropped
dropped at the end of a wor
word.
d.
• D may be dropped at the end of a word.
word.
• S may be used instead of SH.
• W may be G, TH may be F.
awayAcademic
away from otherlinguists
realities.keep working
They are in a total
are always sure vacuum,
of them-
selves, yet they keep changing their position quite radically.
Here are a few examples:
a) Greenberg originally classified Kordofanian as a

separate language family.
family. In 1963, he treated it as a
coordinate branch to Niger-Congo, and named the re-
sultant phylum Niger-Kordofanian.
Niger-Kordofanian.
b) Western
ester
family thenSonghai
linguists
linguistslanguage
cannot determine
deter mine
(at the which
inner language
langua
Niger ge
Delta)
belongs to. They are
are classified as:
Nilo-Saharan
Niger-Kordofanian
Afro-Asiatic
This should have been a wake-up call to Western
Western lin-
guists, to abandon their artificial African language
grouping scheme.
scheme. It went
went unheeded!
Latersocieties
the new in this book,
in the you will
inner find are
Delta, thatthe
the same
founders of
people
who founded all the new societies along the 2,000 mile (3,200
km)long Sahel, south of the Sahara. So naturally,
naturally, they all
had/have had a common language, possibly with some s ome dif-
ferent dialects.
The conclusion is that these language groupings

groupings are not
as distinct as some insist. Following
Following the always-emphatic,
always-emphatic,
Western linguists leads to chaotic conclusions. Their work
must not lead the way
way. It should be accepted with a grain of
salt, as they
t hey change their positions frequently
f requently and radically,
radically,
while refusing to accept other realities.
Later in Chapter 17, we will find that Western

Western linguists
tend to agree that there was one original language
l anguage,, that they
called proto-Bantu, and that their African language group-
ings are not really distinct.
Falsehood of “Tribal” Classification

Africa’s hundreds of different ethnic groups are often
defined by the language they speak, according to contempo-
rary (Wester
ethnic(Wgroups
estern)
n)—academic practice.
pract
Moundang ice. As an
, Toupouri example,
, Mbum — aretheclassi-
three
fied as belonging to one of seven sub-groups of the Congo-
Kordofanian
Ko rdofanian language family.
family. The reality is that these three
ethnic groups have totally different social structures,
lifestyles, and myths of origins.
origins.
This is one of several examples of the unrealistic W

West-
est-
ern linguists.
their In reality, ethnic

economic groups in
roles (division ofWest
of Africa
labor). areexample
As an defined, the
example, by
Bambara define themselves as farmers, the Fulani as herd-
ers of the Sahel, and the Tuareg as herders of the eastern
desert. More details can be found in Chapter 24, Division of
Labor.
Anncient Egyptian Language Falsification

A
With very little knowledge of the ancient Egyptian lan-
guage,, linguists decided that ancient Egypt and its language
guage
would be the dominion of their fellow academic
Egyptologists. As a consequence,
consequence, they left the subject of the
ancient Egyptian language alone alone.. They followed up with
their compartmental/territorial thinking, by stating emphati-
cally that there is absolutely
absolutel y no relationship
relationship between ancient
ancie nt
Egypt and sub-Sahara African languages. They ended the
issue
ment there,
there, with noofroom
is indicative roaom forofdiscussion.
lack su bstance..The emphatic state-
substance
Academic Egyptologists claim that they have deciphered

and understand the ancient Egyptian language. But do they?
Deciphering the ancient Egyptian language began with
Champollion (ca. 1822),
1822), but practically
practically ended then. He made
some assumptions to unlock the mysteries of the ancient
Egyptian language. Later, Egyptologists
Egyptologi sts carelessly made more
and more
more assumptions. They kept piling assumptions on
top ofend
The assumptions. They made
result was chaos. up rules
One can easilyassee
they
thethe
y went along.
struggle of
academia, to understand the ancient Egyptian language,
which reached a dead end, as is reflected in an apparent “de-
ciphering” of no more than 1500 words that have contradic-
tory and confusing meanings.
Even if we accept academically deciphered ancient

Egyptian terms and names, which is equivalent to about 1500
English-language words and terms, this number is less than
1% of the .vocabulary
dictionary.
dictionary With suchlisted infraction,
a small an average
theEnglish
evidencelanguage
is clear
that their whole effort was a sham — a quick fix. It is in-
credible that the leader of this farce,
farce, Alan Gardiner,
Gardiner, berates
the ancient Egyptians for not
n ot being clear, and for being vain,
instead of admitting his own shortcomings.
As part of the quick fix by Western

Western Egyptologists, they
t hey
declared that “Coptic” words (basically corrupt Ancient
Egyptian words written in the
t he Greek alphabet) would be used
to estimate the sounds of the unwritten Ancient Egyptian
vowels. The Coptic words were, were, however,
however, at variance
varian ce with
their “deciphered” Ancient Egyptian “words”
“words”.. In essence,
their quick fix translation of the Ancient Egyptian language
is wrong, and/or their premise of the “Coptic language”, as
Ancient Egyptian written in the Greek alphabet, is wrong!
The “Coptic” language did not work for them.
th em. So they
quietly
to use a started looking
non-Egyptian
non-Egyptian somewhere
Asiatic else. By
language?! Now they decided
comparing some
some
names in both Ancient Egypt and these countries during
the Amarna period, they claimed to now KNOW how the
Ancient Egyptian language was pronounced!!
A language cannot mimic the sound/phonetic of an-
other language. Each has its own peculiar phonetic attributes.
How then, can academia classify the Ancient Egyptian lan-
guage in their African phonological division of languages?
They can’t. So they
they simply ignore it and exclude it from
their studies. Out of sight, out of mind.
Despite the wishful thinking of tthe
he Arabs and Western
Western
academia, the Ancient Egyptian language nevernever died.
died. The
colloquial language in Egypt has retained much of the an-
cient language.
language. This colloquial language is unrelated
unrelated to Ara-
bic in vocabulary
vocabulary and grammatical structure.
structure.
There are two areas where linguists and Egyptologists

should focus their studies:
1. Remote
emote area
areass of Eg
Egyp
ypt,t, where
where the
the peop
people
le spea
speak,
k, amon
amongg
themselves, the genuine ancient language.
l anguage.
2. Outs
Outsid
idee Egyp
Egypt,t, w
whe
herre the
the indi
indige
geno
nous
us Egy
Egypt
ptia
ians
ns ffle
led,
d, and
and
where Arabic and Islam were not forced.
But that would be an admission of their present sham!
5
Nubia & Meroe Fictional
Sham
Like the blind leading the blind, reference after refer-

ence writes about the Egyptian conquest of Kush (present-
day Nubia in Egypt and Sudan), how ancient Egyptians oc-
cupied it for long periods, and how the Kushites gained in-
dependence and formed an “Egypt Rival” civilization, from
ca. 1000 BCE to the 4th century CE. Yet, like a mirage
mirage,, when
you read their explanations, you end up with a totally dif-
ferent conclusion to the events, which actually contradicts
their original statement. It is a shameless attempt to divide
one country — Egypt — into fragmented rivals. Their own own
presentation supports the opposite that Kush was always
a dear part of Egypt, and it was never a foreign-conquered
land. What happened in this dear part of Egypt will be de-
tailed later, but here are a few highlights of the historical
fragmentation sham.
1. Academicians can’t even

even identify the so-called na-
tive people of Kush that the ancient Egyptians “pushed
out”, or “dominated”. They call them “A, B, C, or X
groups
in termsof—
unidentified origins”.
origins”
to identify people . This
as is, yet
native,
native contradictory
insist that
they are of “unidentified origins”?!
In their twisted attempts, academicians blow certain
things totally out of proportion. It is very simple to
explain these “unidentified groups”.
groups”. When Egypt was
weak, the desert tribes raided the rich lands of the Nile;
when Egypt was strong, punitive expeditions held the
nomads in check. Also in this region, which was
sparsely populated because of limited food supplies,
the ancient Egyptians had to rely on other nomadic
groups to do several
several work tasks, and thence
then ce academi-
cians terms
t erms of “unidentified origins”
origins ”.
2. Some academicians deliberately

deliberately deleted the only
authentic name Kush altogether, and highlight Meroe
(further south). They would say Meroetic Kingdom at
Napata & Meroe. Yet the people of that region NEVER
called it “ Meroetic Kingdom”.
The inscription on a stele, in which King Ezana of
Axum in Ethiopia (325-375 CE) recorded his victory
after invading the so-called Meroe, has no mention of
such a name as Meroe.
3. Sometimes, the ancient inhabitants of Kush are

consistently referred to as Nub ianss, even though
Nubian
Nubians is a term that came into use after
af ter the 7 th cen-
tury CE, i.e. a long time after their claimed
cl aimed indepen-
dent” civilizatio
civil ization
n faded away.
away.
4. The rulers who were

were based in Kush, south of
of Sunt
(Aswan), were always, in principle, a government of
Egypt, rather than a purely indigenous government of
Kush.
These loyal Egyptians in the south
sout h never developed
developed a
conscious style or an official name of their own. Most
scholars until
Kingdom 50 years
of Ethiopia ago referred
, retaining to theused
the name areabyasclas-
the
sical writers. Supposedly to avoid
avoid the possibility of
confusion, Kingdom of Kush has been the “selected”
term used by many recent writers, which has caused
intentional/unintentional confusion.
5. Nu
Nubia, Meroe Fictional Sham 43

5. The basic inspiration of the K

Kushites
ushites was that of
ancient Egypt. The neteru(gods) of the temples were
Egyptian. The
rulers continued
to call themselves
the L
Loo rd s of t h e
Two Lands, and to
lead the dedicated
high-priestly lives
of Egyptian Pha-
raohs, leading
their people in the
ceremonies of seed
time and harvest,
honored as divine by their subjects, and expected to
maintain the balance
balan ce and harmony with the universe
u niverse..
6. The detailed history of Egypt’s southern regions is

scarcely known.
known. A form of chronology was weakly
established, based on a series of royal burials at Napata
and Meroe, where there are pyramid
pyramid burials of about
70 rulers, stretching from about 750 BCE to the
t he middle
of the 4th century CE. By using a few
few approximately
approximately
fixed dates and allocating hypothetical lengths of reign
to rulers — many of whose names are known from
inscriptions on their pyramids or on objects from the
tombs — approximate dates for individual rulers
rul ers have
been calculated.
7. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics were used exclu-

exclu-
sively throughout Egypt’s southern region until the
last few decades. It was only at the immediate area of
of
Meroe, that the so-called Meroitic cursive writing sys-
tem developed, which was based on the use of Egyp-
tian hieroglyphs, i.e
i.e.,
., it was Egyptian all the way
way..
II
Egypt:
The Mother Land

6
Ancient Egypt
& Interior Africa
Ancient
Ancient Trad
Trade
e Routes
Superfici ally,, ancient Egypt seems isolated and distinct

Superficially
from the rest of the world, isolated by the deserts that hem
in the narrow valley
valley of the Nile
Nile.. Yet the Egyptians were in
constant contact with other countries.
The needs of a civilized society, such as the ancient

Egyptians, are not fully satisfied with the produce of its
homeland. Thus, trade routes were developed to faraway
faraway
places. The Nile was navigable throughout the length of of
Egypt. The Red
Red Sea gave
gave access to Africa and the Far
Far East.
The Mediterranean Sea gave them access to countries in
Europe and, dare we say, even to northern Europe and the
Americas. Trav
Travel
el in ancient days was
was much more extensive
extensive
and common than is generally imagined.
In Africa, caravans of merchants guarded by soldiers

introduced Egyptian products and techniques to distant trad-
ers. They carried
carried these goods and innovations
innovations westward
westward
along the savannah, toward Lake Chad and further west-
ward, southward to the highlands of Ethiopia and Equato-
rial Africa.
The trade routes of this region are the oldest in Africa.
6
.
A
n
c
i
e
n
t
E
g
y
p
t
&

I
n
t
e
r
i
o
r
A
f
r
i
c
a
4
7
48 II. Egypt: The Mother Land

Many of them were already in existence at the beginning of
the Common Era (CE), and some can be traced back to the
third millennium BCE.
Egypt was connected with the lands to the south by

three main routes:
1. Darb el-Arbeen
The Forty Days’ Road links Asyut
As yut in the Nile
Ni le Valley
Valley to
El Fasher in the Dar-Fur Province of Sudan, a jour-
ney of 1,082 miles (1,721
(1,721 km). It was the shortest
and safest distance to travel
travel into western
western Africa. The
route was strung along several green and lush oases
such as El Kharga. Dozens of towns, forts, and wa way
y
stations spread over
over the depression floor.
From El Fasher,
Fasher, another route led west through Dar-
Fur, toward Lake Chad, ending in the area of Kano
(northern Nigeria), at the upper reaches of the Niger
River Basin.
2. Sunt (Elephantine) Road

It began at Sunt (Aswan), and went to El Fasher in
Dar-Fur,
Sunt by way
way of the
(Elephantine) oases
Road of Selima
also andoff
branched BirtoNat
Natrum.
rum.
Semna
West, where the caravans and expeditions transferred
to ships in order to continue the journey to beyond
the trading post established at Kerma, above the Third
Cataract. In the same way
way,, protective escorts and mer-
chandise bound for Egypt from the south disembarked
disem barked
at Semna, where the fortress of Semna South was built
(during the Middle Kingdom) to protect the travelers.
During the time of the New Kingdom (1550-1070
6. Ancient Egypt & Interior Africa 49

BCE), this highway was in continuous use all the
t he way
way
throughout the Roman Era, as many inscriptions on
the Rock of Offerings at Sunt(Elephantine) testify.
testify.
3. Nile Valley

Valley to The Red Sea
There were also several trade routes
to the Red Sea from the Nile Valley,
which allowed trade with Asian
countries. Some of these ports along
the Red Sea were: Suakin, Massawa,
and Zeila.
Other routes led south from the

Nile Valley towns of Asyut, Qus, Sunt
(Aswan), and Dongola, via the oases of
Kharga, Dakhla, and Dunqul,
Dun qul, to Kufra, Soudanic Noble
Dar-Fur (western Sudan), and (wall painting at
Kordofan. Ta-Apet /
Thebes)
Another route led from the west-
ern oases of Egypt to Bilma and
an d Gao, but this seems to h
hav
avee
fallen out of use by the 10th century.
In Sudan, the main transversal

t ransversal route,
route, running from east
to west, started from Suakin, to Sennar or Qerri, and con-
tinued across Kordofan
Kordofan to Darfur and on to the countries in
West and Central Africa.
The whole African continent was known to the people

of Egypt, as confirmed by Herodotus, who reported that
Necho, King of Egypt, c. 600 BCE, sent an Egyptian ship
with Phoenician sailors to circumnavigate Africa, and that
they returned safely and reported of their endeavor.

endeavor.

Items of Trade with Interior Africa
The cast of the scene

scen e from the temple of Ramesses II at
Beit el-Wali
el-Wali in Kush, shows clearly what the Egyptians were
accustomed to importing from from interior Africa. They brought
leopards,
leopa rds, leopard-
leopard-skins
skins,, giraffe-
giraffe-tails,
tails, giraffes,
giraffes, monkey
monkeys,
s, cattle,
cattle,
antelopes, gazelles,
gazell es, lions, ebony,
ebony, ivory,
ivory, ostrich-feathers and
eggs, fans, bows, and shields made of fine hides.
The other African products that Egypt bought included:

incl uded:
wood, gum, incense, carnelian (a stone prized both as jew-
elry and for arrowheads), haematite (red ochre), amazon
stone,, perfumes, oils, selected cattle, and dogs.
stone
How deep and far inside Africa did they travel?

travel? Many
of the names of places, in the ancient Egyptian records, are
not recognizable, but the time it took to travel, along with
the list of exports, indicate regions at least as far as the Niger
River and the Ethiopian highlands. Prince Herkhuf, one of
the greatest of the caravan masters, spent 7-8 months on each
of his three recorded trade missions, during
durin g the reign of King
Merenra (2255-2246 BCE).

7
Kush: The Egyptian Frontier
Many people like to portray the land south of

Sunt(Aswan) as a distinctive area that was not a part of an-
a n-
cient Egypt. This is totally incorrect. This land, which is
now called Nubia, was always the Egyptian frontier, since
very Nubia
ancientistimes.
a name that was given to Egypt’s southern
frontier, by the Arabs, after the 7 th century CE. The legiti-
mate name is Kush. Sunt(Aswan) was the end of the green
valley and the navigable river
river.. This does not mean the end
of Egypt proper.
proper. It only means that Kush was sparsely popu-
lated and therefore
therefore was loosely administered
administered in the early his-
tory of Egypt, just like Sinai and the deserts on both sides of
the River Nile.
The Archaic Period (3150-2686 BCE)

In 1962, the Franco-Argentine Expedition led by Pro-
fessor Jean Vercoutter discovered an Egyptian cemetery of
the Archaic Period, southwest of the Aksa temple of Ramses
II, which produced typical 1st Dynasty sealings, pottery and
palettes. This means that Egyptians were actually living in
what they called The Land of the Ghosts, meaning sparsely
populated, since that
th at very ancient time.

The Old Kingdom Period
Period (2575-2150 BCE)
The town of Buhen (location map on page 57), within
with in
a few miles of the
t he Second Cataract, provides extensive Egyp-
tian archeological evidence, since the early years of the Old
Kingdom (2575-2150
(2575-2150 BCE). The names of the following
following
kings have been identified on clay sealings and ostraca:
Khafra, Menkaura, Userkaf, Sahura, Neferirkara, Neuserra.
The Egyptians at Buhen, during the 4 th and 5th Dynasties,
were employed chiefly in smelting and refining copper ore.
A considerable quantity of smelted copper was found in some
of the buildings, together with several furnaces.
Professor Emery, the discoverer, sums up the Buhen
find as follows:
1. Thethe
though town was a purely
unidentified Egyptian
B-Group colony,
colony,atfor
is present, al-
least
95% of the pottery shards are Egyptian.
2. A huge number of papyri jar sealings indicate that

a well-organized dispatch service was maintained with
northern Egypt, throughout the 4th and 5th Dynasties.
The Princes of Sunt stood high in the hierarchy of the
Old Kingdom.
Keep
Keeperer of Three
of the Door of theofSouth
of their, Caravan
proudestConductor
titles were those
and
and of
Over-
seer of Dragomans. They were were responsible for organizing and
equipping the caravans, heading deep into Africa.
During the time of King Mernera (2255-2246 BCE), a

channel through the rocks at the First Cataract
C ataract was cleared,
to allow additional navigation south of Sunt. As stated ear-
lier, Prince Herkhuf led at least three
three trade caravans,
caravans, during
the reign of King Merenra, each lasting 7-8 months.
His fourth recorded journey was during the reign of


Pepi II (2246-2152
(2246-2152 BCE), when he returned with a dancing
dwarf from somewhere
somewhere deep in A Africa.
frica. Pepi II’s response to
this news was a letter, which Herkhuf proudly reproduced
on the outside wall of his tomb, together with the accounts
of his other activities. Pepi II wrote
wrote,,
“. . . Your letter stated that you have brought a dancing

dwarf of the neter(god) Bes,
Bes , like the dwarf which the trea-
surer,, Bawardede, brought from Punt in the time of Asosi
surer
[a king of about a century before this time].
Each year you are doing that which your Lord desires and
praises…. (implying the active, frequent trade mis-
sions.)
If you arrive home with the dwarf being in good health, I

promise to do for you a greater thing than that which was
done for the treasurer Bawardede in the time of Asosi….”
Asos i….”
Bes, the Ancient Egyptian dwarf

neter, was known to be a protector
against snake bites, a helper of women
during childbirth, and to be consid-
ered a joy deity.
The dwarf’s small size disguises

his/her tremendous
tremendous strength.
strength. Dwarfs
demonstrate remarkable control over
over
the spiritual and physical environ-
ment. They are both instruments for Bes
reward
rew ard as well as punishment.
It is for these reasons,

reasons, that dwarfs were brought to Egypt
with great care and respect, as detailed in many ancient Egyp-
tian texts.

The Middle Kingdom Period (2040-1783 BCE)
There is more archeological evidence of major public
work projects in Kush, which were built in order to estab-
lish a permanen
permanentt presen
presence
ce in the area
area during
during the Middle
Middle King-
King-
dom. King Senwasret
Senwasret III (1878-1844
(1878-1844 BCE) established (mod-
ern-day) Semna (location map on page 57) as a natural strong
point, with three fortresses, in order to provide security to
the trade caravans. The area above the Third Cataract was
fertile and supported a large population.
During the Middle Kingdom, an artificial dam blocked

the channel. A portion of this dam is still visible,
visible, to this
date, at Semna East. The dam at this point was constructed
to raise the level of the Nile for hundreds of miles to the
south, enabling trading expeditions to navigate far into the
interior of Africa. There are
are about 25 inscriptions on the
rocks below the channel fortresses of Semna East and
an d Semna
West. They represent Nile flood levels recorded during the
Middle Kingdom period, and allal l of them show a level about
25 ft (8m) higher than the maximum water levels of today
today..
Following Senwasret III, the rule of Amenemhet III
(1844-1797 BCE) was the apex of Egyptian influence in the
Kush region of his period, with extensive trade activities.
The New Kingdom Period

Period (1550-
(1550-1070
1070 BCE)
(Location map on page 57)
After the lack of activities during the 2nd Intermediate
Period, the Kings of the New Kingdom revived the attention
to Kush.
King Ahmose I (1550-1525 BCE) rebuilt some Kushite
forts, and cleared the canal at the First Cataract. He also up-
graded the status of Kush to an Egyptian province governed
governed
by a viceroy.
viceroy. Public work improvements
improvements were carried out

upriver all the way to the Fourth Cataract, 400 miles (644
km) beyond the old southern frontier of Semna. Egypt’s ad-
ministrative boundaries extended past the Fourth Cataract,
Egyptian sources list tributary districts reaching to the Red
Sea and upstream to the confluence of the Blue Nile and
White Nile rivers.
Many of the forts were rebuilt and enlarged. Towns

sprang up and irrigation works
works wer
weree introduced. Once in-
frastructures were provided in Kush, more merchants and
artisans were able to settle in the region.
The viceroys of these newly populated centers were ap-

pointed by by the Pharaoh. The viceroys
viceroys bore
bore among many
other titles those of King’s Son of Kush
Kush, Prince of Kush
Kush. The
title, King’s Son of Kush, did not mean that the incumbent
was a true son of the Pharaoh,
P haraoh, rather it signified the impor-
tance of the position.
The first viceroy of Kush, of whom we have detailed

knowledge, is Thuwre, under Amenhotep I (1525-1504
BCE).
The best-preserved tomb of a viceroy
vic eroy of Kush is that of
Amenhotep-Huy, who served under King Tutankhamun.
The ceremony for Huy’s appointment took place in the
temple of
painted Amon
tomb at Ta-Apet
in western (Thebes).
Ta-Apet Huy has
(Thebes), andais,
beautifully
in effect,
a record of his activities as viceroy
viceroy..
The government of the Egyptian frontier of Kush re-

mained in the hands of the viceroys for nearly 800 years.
These viceroys were elevated by the priesthood in Ta-
Apet(Thebes) and Napata to be de-facto Pharaohs of Egypt,
when Egypt was invaded and sacked by foreign countries.
Their new role as the torch-bearers of Ancient Egypt will be
discussed in later chapters.


Napata and Other Kushite Holy Places
The Pharaohs of Egypt built and enlarged numerous

temples on the holy sites of Kush, in following the ancient
EgyptianSai,
Amada, traditions.
traditions. Senwasret
Senwasr
and Gabal Doshe,,etamong
Doshe III built temples
other at Semna,
places.
plac es.
The Kings of the 18th and early 19th Dynasties (1575-

1237 BCE) enlarged and built numerous
numerous temples. Among
them are:
• At Kumma,
Kumma, opposite Semna, Tuthomosis I began a
temple, which Tuthomosis II enlarged, and which
Tuthomosis III finished.
• Queen Hatshepsut built a temple at Buhen.
• Tuthomosis III built a temple on Sai Island.
• Amenhotep III built a temple at Soleb,

Soleb, and another
at Sedeinqa on the West
West Bank.
• Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) built the Temple

Temple of
of
Sesibi, at Delgo.
• Ramses II erected
erected several
several temples at Abu Simbel:
Gerf Hussein, Wadi es-Sebua, and at Derr.
Derr.
One of the most complete surviving temples from

Ramses II, is the Temple of Amara, on the east bank of the
Nile,, opposite Sai Island.
Nile I sland.
The holiest site in Kush is commonly known as Napata,
which had the same distinction as Karnak, as the “Throne of

Karnak

the Two Lands.” Napata refers to a district immediately
downstream from the Fourth Cataract of the Nile (the re-
gion of modern Kare-ama). It was an area rather than a single
town, and embraced the country on both sides of the river
from modern Kurru
Kurru to Nuri. Whether or not there was ev ever
er
a specific town named Napata is uncertain.
The ancient Egyptian monuments, which are known

to us from the Fourth Cataract region, are scattered over a
distance of about 15 miles (24 km) along both banks of the
Nile.. Within this area are the royal
Nile royal cemeteries of El Kurru,
Kurru,
Gabal Barkal, and Nuri, the great complex of temples at Gabal
Barkal, and the lesser temple at Sanam. The name Napata is
associated in one sense or another, with all of these locali-
ties. Napa-ta could possibly mean high/holy land.
From the beginning, the holy place seems to have been

more important as a religious center than as a political or
commercial center.
center. Its focal point wwas
as the Sacred Mountain
of Gabal Barkal, a 325ft (100m) high hill, 1 mile (2 km) south
of present-day Kare-ama. It stood a mile or two (2-4km) from
the Nile’s northern bank. Its peculiar shape was looked on
as the throne of Amen-Ra, Lord ofof the Winds.
In the 15 th century BCE, Tuthomosis III and
Amenhotep II built
foot of the hill, andthe Temple ofthe
it remained main religious at
Amun/Amen/Amon the
center
ever since. Later, in the 13th century BCE, Ramses II made
more additions to it.
A colony of Egyptian priests of Amen-Ra took up resi-

dence at Gabal Barkal, when it was built. The population
here swelled considerably
consid erably because of the exiles from Ta-
Apet(Thebes), who took refuge at this southern counterpart
of Karnak, when foreigners invaded Egypt.

8
The Aftermath of the
New Kingdom Era
Regional Governments (1070 - 712 BCE)

When the 20th Dynasty ended (c. 1070 BCE), regional
coalition governments in Egypt were in place.
In the north, Smendes (1070-1

(1070-1044
044 BCE) established
establish ed the
new 21st Dynasty, that lasted from 1070 to 712 BCE, with
its center at Tanis
Tanis in the eastern Delta. It is not clear what
the extent of this coalition was.
In the south, a Ramesside ruling line continued at Ta-
Apet(Thebes) simultaneously, all through the middle 7 th cen-
tury BCE.
Over 125 years later, Sheshonq I became the first

fir st King
nd
of the 22 Dynasty (945-712 BCE), in the north region, in
Bubastis. It has been reported that Sheshonq
Sheshonq I came fr from
om a
“Libyan” military family in Bubastis, and had previously
served as a general under the last ruler of the 21 st Dynasty.
References to Libya/Libyans only means from the direction
of Libya, i.e.
i.e. Western
Western Delta.
Delt a. People of this part of the world
don’t use east , west , north, and south as directional references,
but instead refer to the name of the region
region in that direction.
direction.
The state of the whole land of Egypt during this 22nd

Dynasty may be deduced from the long inscription of King


Takelot II (860-
(860-835
835 BCE), in the temple of Karnak.
Karnak. From
this text, it is clear that there were several regional govern-
ments, each with their own king/leader
king/leader.. There w
were
ere no signs
of wars or strife during this time, contrary to general percep-
tion. Western academia is obsessed with a centralized-type
government and anything else for them will be chaos, strife,
civil wars, ...etc. Egyptian regions
regions consisted of a common-
wealth-type government,
government, where people ally together
t ogether on mat-
ters of common interest. (Read
(Read more about it under the Sec-
tion IV, The Egyptian Model and The New Societies ..))
In the succeeding reign of King Sheshonq III (c. 835-

783 BCE), a parallel ruling line known as the 23rd Dynasty
(828-712 BCE), was established also in the Delta region by
Petubastis I, in about 828 BCE.
Later, Tefnakhte
Tefnakhte appeared in Sais, in the Western Delta,
and founded the short-lived 24th Dynasty (724-712 BCE).
There are several conflicting reports about his exact iden-
tity.. However
tity However,, he and his successors appear to have come
from the Western
Western Delta (i.e. the Libyan direction).
direction). He suc-
ceeded in forming a new northern coalition, which extended
south to Men-Nefer(Memphis) and beyond.
The South Rises (712-657 BCE)

In about 727 BCE, Piankhi, the ruler of the southern
region, went to Men-Nefer(Memphis). There are exagger-
ated reports as to what happened there, yet subsequent
known facts indicate a lack of hostilities. Piankhi then went
back to Napata and Tefnakhte continued to rule the north-
ern region from Sais, to 712 BCE.
Piankhi (751-716)
(751-716) was the seventh ruler, according to

Reisner’s chronology
c hronology,, to be sanctioned by the Egyptian
Egyptia n priests
to rule Egypt’s southern regions from Napata/ Ta-
Apet(Thebes). Several
Several writers insist that the Kush-based
kings were literally descended
descen ded from the priesthood of Amon,
at Gabal Barkal. They forget
forget that the most important role
role of
the king is to be the Highest Priest, and therefore kings-to-
be always had extensive
extensive studies in all matters related to the
priesthood. Therefore,
Therefore, one way or the other, the leader/king’s
legitimacy,, training, and function rested ultimately on the
legitimacy
sanction of the educated priests.
The sixth of this line, according to Reisner’s chronol-

ogy,, was Kashta (806-751 BCE). At some point
ogy po int in his career,
ca reer,
he went to Ta-Apet(Thebes), where his daughter Amenirdis
was adopted as the High Priestess successor-designate.
Thence,, the daughter began a legitimate hereditary royal line,
Thence line,
as per ancient Egyptian traditions. (More details in Section
IV.) Kashta was acclaimed at Ta-Apet(Thebes), as he was at
Gabal Barkal, as the appointed patron of Amon. Kashta then
ruled from Ta-Apet(Thebes), but was buried in Napata (El
Kurru).
After marrying the legitimate heiress, Amenirdis,
Piankhi (751-716 BCE) became the founder of the 25 th Dy-
nasty,, which lasted for about 100 years.
nasty
BCE),Itwho
wasmay
Piankhi’s
ma y hav successor,
havee been King
unnecessaril
unnec essarily Shabaka .(716-701
y aggressive.
aggressive Shabaka
(716-701
(716-7 01 BCE) did not reconcile with the ruler of Sais, now
Bocchoris, Tefnakhte’s
Tefnakhte’s successor. Instead, Shabaka marched
back north,
north, attackin
attackingg Bocchori
Bocchoris.
s. He then stomped
stomped into Tanis,
anis,
and marched toward Palestine and Syria. The campaigns
were at first fought with varying success in Syria, but his
forces were repulsed. There now began the conflict
confl ict between
the Assyrian and the Kush-based Egyptian kingdom.
Shabaka was later buried in Napata, and was followed
by Shabataka (701-690
(701-690 BCE), who was followed
followed by Taharqa

(690-664 BCE).
Taharqa tried to force a centralized
cen tralized form of government
on the whole of Egypt. In ancient Egypt, central govern-govern-
ment was based on the choice of the participating regions,
and not by force.
force. Taharqa made many enemies. He also
tried again and failed to intervene in Asia.
The Assyrians then moved into Egypt, in retaliation.
In 671 BCE, Esarhaddon, the Assyrian king, succeeded in
penetrating into Egypt as far as Men-Nefer(Memphis).
Taharqa responded, and was able to regain Men-
Nefer(Memphis), a short time after.
In 667 BCE, the Assyrians, under their new ruler,

Ashurbanipal, advanced on Men-Nefer(Memphis)again, and
may have advanced
advanced as far
fa r as Ta-Apet(Thebes). Taharqa with-
drew and returned to Napata, downstream of the Fourth
Cataract, where he continued to rule the southern region
from Kush.
Kush. As a consequence,
consequence, there w was
as no central or ma-
jor power
power in Egypt. North of Ta-Apet(Thebes) was now gov-
erned by local rulers — the period of The Dodekarchy, as the
Greeks later called it.
In the northern region, Psammetichus, son of Necho,

who succeeded his father at Sais, was able to reunite most of
Lower and Middle Egypt, which began the 26th Dynasty, in
664 BCE.
In the very same year (~664 BCE), Tenutamon suc-
ceeded Taharqa to the throne at Napata, as the last of the
25th Dynasty in the southern region.
Tenutamon (664-657 BCE), soon after his arrival on

the throne, went to challenge the northern alliance and
marched to Men-Nefer(Memphis). The Assyrians came to
the help of the Saites. The Assyrians’ reprisal
reprisal was swift and
devastating. In 66
661
1 BCE, Ashurbanipal chased Tenutamon
Tenutamon

out of Men-Nefer(Memphis) and Ta-Apet(Thebes).
After this disaster, Tenutamon passed the remainder

of his brief reign
reign at Napata. The passing of Tenutamon
Tenutamon marks
the end of the 25th Dynasty.
In 654 BCE, Psammetichus drove the Assyrians out

with the help of Greek mercenaries.
So, the 25th Dynasty (712-657 BCE) consisted of

Piankhi 751-716 BCE
Shabaka 716-701 BCE
Shabataka 701-690 BCE
Taharqa 690-664 BCE
Tenutamon 664-653 BCE
The Kush-based rulers’ aim was the restoration

restoration of Egyp-
tian culture and religion to their original ‘purity’, and in this
they were not wholly unsuccessful. They began a muted
renaissance, by reverting
reverting to the Old Kingdom models in ttheir
heir
art and architecture,
architecture, in some instances
ins tances making direct copies
c opies
of earlier works.
works. Signs of a marked revival
revival in the artistic
and cultural life of Egypt can be observed throughout Egypt.
Temples were restored and added to, as well as large-scale
rebuilding, mainly in the Delta cities of Tanis and Sais.
The archaizing tendencies, which were first apparent

in the monuments and literature of the 25th Dynasty, were
to persist through succeeding generations until the final
downfall of the Pharaonic Era.
The illustrious names of Psammetichus, Necho, and

Amasis, of the 26th Dynasty in Sais, are known to every
reader of
of Herodotus. On one hand, these kings rewarded
rewarded
the Greeks, by allowing them to learn in Egypt, which was

the direct cause

c ause for the sudden appearance of “Greek
“G reek minds”.
minds”.
In the meantime, the Sais-based kings, like the Kush-based
kings, endeavored to revive the ancient Egyptian greatness
of the Old Kingdom.
The Southern Retreat

Wary of a Kushite rebound, the second
sec ond Sais-based
Sais-ba sed king,
Psamtik II (610-595 BCE) of Egypt, sent an army of Greek
mercenaries into Kush,
Kush, to preempt any possible
possible strike.
strike. The
Greek mercenaries advanced, secured, and left troops
t roops behind
at the Second Cataract, to guard the frontier.
As a consequence of the Kushites’ losses, an open hos-

tility erupted between the Napata-based king, Aspalta (593-
568 BCE), and the priesthood of Napata. At that time, time,
Aspalta may have moved to Meroe, by the Sixth Cataract,
even though
though he was later buried at Napata. Meroe lies in the
fertile “island” , between the river Atbara and the Nile
Nile,, and
was situated along an important trade route from the Red
Sea coast. The surrounding
surrounding cliffs contained plenty of good
stone for building, as well as deposits of iron-ore.
iron-ore. Read more
about Aspalta’s break-up, at the

th e end of the next chapter
chapt er..
The Kush-based Egyptians, at the Napata region, main-
tained the systems of administration and justice from the
motherland. The kings referred to themselves as the lords of
the two lands and performed the priestly roles of a Pharaoh
Ph araoh
of Egypt. Amon and the other Egyptian neteru were all re-
vered. The power of the ruler of Kush, just like an ancient
Egyptian King, derived his legitimacy to rule
ru le from his posi-
tion as a spiritual medium, whose well-being was necessary
for the general prosperity of all the people.

The Kush-based rulers, who governed contemporane-

ously with the 26th Dynasty at Sais, were:
Atlanersa 653-643 BCE
Senkamanisken 643-623 BCE
Anlamani 623-593 BCE
Aspalta 593-568 BCE
Amtalqa 568-555 BCE
Malenaqen 555-542 BCE
Analmaye 542-538 BCE
Amani-nataki-lebte 538-519 BCE
Persians
The Persians and End
End of Renaissance
Renaissance (525-404BCE)
The dream of reviving the Old Kingdom traditions

ended when the Persian Cambyses attacked Egypt, in the
year 525 BCE. Egypt next became a Persian province;
province; sev-
sev-
eral rebellions were cruelly suppressed; and the country was
entirely ruined.
Cambyses (525-522 BCE), who crowned himself King

of Egypt, was the first of the 27 th Dynasty (525-404 BCE).
Cambyses sent separate expeditions out to crush the legiti-
mate rulers based in Kush.
Kush. But the Sahara accomplished
what the Egyptian armies could not. A sandstorm caught
Cambyses in the desert; his large
l arge army lost its way and only
a handful of soldiers
sol diers survived the retreat back to Egypt.
The Kush-based rulers during the Persian occupation

were:
Karkamani 519-510 BCE
Amaniastabarqa 510-487 BCE
Siaspiqa 487-468 BCE
Nasakhma 468-463 BCE
Malewiebamani 463-435 BCE

Talakhamani 435-431 BCE

Aman-nete-yerike 431-405 BCE
Baskakeren 405-404 BCE
The Last Egyptian Pharaohs (404-343 BCE)

Three successive dynasties followe
foll owed
d the 27 th Dyn
Dynasty
asty..
The 28th Dynasty (404-399 BCE) is designated by the
historian, Manetho, to only one king, named Amyrtaeus —
a Saite prince who, by his 5th year (400 BCE), expelled the
Persians, who completed their withdraw
withdrawalal from Egypt.
The Kush-based ruler at that time was Harsiotef (404-
369 BCE).
The Kings of the new 29th Dynasty (399-380 BCE) came

from Mendes (in Western Delta) in the Delta. The history
of this dynasty and that of its successor, the 30th Dynasty
(380-343 BCE) is, so far as it is known, a long struggle to
maintain the independence of Egypt against repeated at-
tempts by the Persians to re-annex it.
Nectanebo II (360-343 BCE) was the third and last

Egyptian-born King from the north.
The Kush-based rulers during the 29 th and 30th Dynas-
ties were:
(unknown king?) 369-350 BCE
Akhratan 350-335 BCE
All Kush-based rulers during these periods were bur-

ied in the Napata area.
The second Persian occupation of Egypt lasted from
343 to 332 BCE, until
un til Alexander the Great arrived to Egypt
in 332 BCE.

9
Macedonian & Ptolemaic Rule
(332-30 BCE)
Ptolemaics & Foreign Settlements

Alexander the Great entered Egypt in 332 BCE, with
the invitation and blessings of the Egyptians, in order to
help them defeat and end the Persians’
Persians’ second period of oc-
cupation (343-332 BC) of Egypt. The people of Egypt had
no reason to believe that this would mark the end of their
status as an independent nation.
When Alexander died in 323 BCE, rulership of Egypt

fell to one of his generals, Ptolemy, son of Lagus, under the
nominal rulership of Alexander’s
Al exander’s brother Philip Arrhidaeus.
Ptolemy became sole ruler upon Philip’s death andan d initiated
a Ptolemaic Dynasty, until the Romans wrested it from
Cleopatra VII in 30 BCE.
The Ptolemies ruled

rule d Egypt from the Alexandria region,
along the Mediterranean coast. Their new settlement along
the coast was a predominantly Greek city, which was offi-
cially described as being ad Aegyptum, not in Aegypto, i.e
i.e.. it
was an intrusion into
in to an alien country.
country.
In Alexandria, Greeks formed the bulk of the popula-

tion, followed in number by the Jews.

Greek became the mother tongue of the Jews in Egypt.

Many Jews had been imported as soldiers, even before the
arrival of the Ptolemies. For example,
example, the Persians
Persians had es-
tablished a Jewish garrison, as far
f ar south as the island of Ph
Philae
ilae,,
which had left behind some records in Aramaic
Aramaic..
When Palestine fell under the control of Ptolemy I in

301 BCE, he brought back Jewish mercenaries, who joined
the already-established communities. Unable to speak their
native tongue,
tongue, Jews living in Alexandria soon felt a need to
translate their sacred books into Greek. They persuaded King
Ptolemy II (285-247 BCE), to order a Greek translation of
the Bible.
Bible. The High Priest of Jerusalem sent 72 elders to
Alexandria, six representatives from each of the twelve tribes
of Israel, together with an official copy of the Pentateuch.
They worked for 72 days to produce the final copy of the
Pentateuch in Greek.
Greek. Later,
Later, the other books of the Old Tes-
Tes-
tament were also translated into Greek by others, and the
whole work became known as the Septuagint , which means
‘The Seventy’ . Since the Greek tetext
xt is older than the Hebrew
Hebrew
text, it was therefore adopted as the Bible of the early Church.
Ptolemy compensated his mercenary troops (Greeks,

Macedonians, Persians and Hellenized Asiatics) by giving
them tracts
near the of land
capitals ofamong the Egyptian
t he provinces,
the population
into which Egyptinwas
towns
di-
vided. The Ptolemies also encouraged other foreigners
foreigners to
come and live in Egypt. Foreigners included Syrians and
Persians, as well as Greeks, who took up residence in the
Delta, in certain quarters of Men-Nefer(Memphis), and
Fayoum,
Fa youm, where an enormous settlement grew up. Egypt in
Ptolemaic times was inhabited by a diversified foreign popu-
lation.
The Ptolemaics treated Egypt as a mere estate to be ex-

9. Ma
M acedonian & Ptolemaic Rule 71

ploited for their own benefit.
Although the Greeks held the Egyptian culture in rev-

erence, and were
were fascinat
fascinated
ed by the ‘sacred mysteries’ and ‘di-
vine oracles’ of the Land of Wonders,
Wonders, they nevertheless held
the Egyptians in contempt. Papyri,
Papyri, found printed in Greek,
clearly reflect disdain for the Egyptians.
Revolting Against Foreign Occupation

With their country occupied and the forced influx of
hated foreigners, the very
very proud native Egyptians naturally
rejected the Greeks and their cronies. There was an anti-
Greek feelingfrequently,
they rebelled among the, resentful
frequently Egyptians.
of There
the factisthat
evidence that
they were
treated as a conquered people.
people. Prophetic writings were were
widely circulated among the Egyptians, promising the ex-
pulsion of the foreigners.
foreigners. Many Egyptians left for safer
grounds further south. Even though many records have have been
destroyed and/or were one-sided Greek propaganda, some
indications of the rejection
rejection of the Greeks still survive
survive. This
depopulation and arms struggle are confirmed in different
sources, including the writings of Strabo
Strabo and others. Some
specificherein:
shown references to internal
intern al revolts
revolts and rebelliousness, are
• The prepreservation
servation of the native Egyptian
Egyptian traditions
traditions
of kingship was expressed in a very lively demotic lit-
erary tradition that was pervasiv
pervasivee outside Alexandria.
The most well-known was the Dem Demoti
oticc Chro
Chronic
nicle,
le,
which was composed, compiled, and circulated since
the early Ptolemaic period. It was a popular ‘nation-
alist’ piece of literature, containing romantic tales of
earlier Pharaohs, which clearly emphasizes the pre-

9. Ma
Ptolemaic native tradition.
• Records indicate serious revolts

revolts in Ta-Apet(Thebes),
in 207-206 BCE. Two native Pharaohs were pro-
claimed in succession, who the Greek records named
Haronnophris (or Hurgonaphor) and Charonnophris.
The semi-independent state in a large area around Ta-
Apet(Thebes) persisted through the 190s, despite some
show of force by Ptolemaic soldiers in 199-198 BCE.
These revolts are evidence of native Egyptians’ ability

to rule part of their country during the Ptolemaic
Ptolem aic Era,
from Ta-Apet(Thebes). They were probably Kush-
based Pharaohs, who werewere able to extend their author-
ity inside the occupied territories of Egypt.
Towards the end of the 2nd century BCE, there were

• Towards
economic problems and political unrest in Egypt, along
with a decline
decl ine in foreign trade.
Ptolemy V tried to obtain legitimacy of his rule, as is

clear in the Rosetta
Rosetta Stone.
Stone. The inscriptions on the
famous Rosetta Stone, issued in 196 BCE, show
Ptolemy V looking inward, trying to appease the na-
tive Egyptian tradition. The Stele proclaims clearly and
for the firstking

Ptolemaic timeatthat we know,
Men-Nefer the coronation
(Memphis), of a
and decrees
the measures to try to secure the loyalty and support
of the native priesthood. This was a clear sign of a
political and religious move trying to legitimize the
Ptolemies’
Ptolem ies’ right to rule. Of course, the empty ploy was
rejected, as evidenced in the continuation of internal
revolting.
• Further civil outbreaks occurred later in the cen-

tury and further undermined Ptolemaic control, par-

ticularly in the 160s and 130s BCE.
• An Egyptian literary piece

piece,, called the Oracle of the
Potter,, which is known only from Greek versions, be-
Potter
gan circulating around the period between about 130
and 115
115 BCE. It continued in circulation
circulation into the 2nd
and 3rd centuries CE. It reads,
reads, in part:
“And then the Guardian Spirit will desert the city

which they founded and will go to god-bearing Men-
Nefer(Memphis) and it will be deserted . . . That will
be the end of our evils when Egypt shall see the for-
eigners fall like leaves from the branch. The city by
the sea [meaning Alexandria] will be a drying-place
for the fishermen’s catch because the Guardian
Spirit has gone to Men-Nefer, so that passers-by will
say, “This was the all-nurturing city in which all the
races of mankind live.”’
The message is clear: Egyptians wanted foreigners to

leave,, Alexandria to fall, and Men-Nefer(Memphis) to
leave
rise again.
• Dynastic feuds and a general weakening of author-

ity had marked the last two centuries of Ptolemaic rule.
Considerable
Upper Egypt, disorders had occurred,
with Egyptians particularly
ruling portions in
of their
country.
Something of the general condition of Egypt may be

gathered from Strabo’s account of his journey through
the country soon after the Roman occupation, in
Geographica, Book 17 . Onnu(Heliopolis) is described
as entirely deserted, Abtu(Abydos) as only a small
settlement, and Ta-Apet(Thebes) as a collection of vil-
lages — the last of which was destroyed
destroyed by Ptolemy IX

9. Ma
Soter II, after an abortive rev

revolt
olt in 88 BCE.
Strabo’s account offers a clear picture that Egyptians

were forced to leave their country and there was a concen-
tration of population in Upper Egypt, around Ta-Apet, that
maintained their native Pharaohs and shows that the
Ptolemies had no control
cont rol over a good portion of Upper Egypt.
When the Ptolemaic Dynasty expired and was replaced
by the Romans,
Romans, it was
was a priority
priority of the Romans to crush the
rebel forces that had swelled the population in the south.
Ptolemies and the Renegades at Meroe
As stated on page 66, Meroe became the center of a

group that separated from Napata, at the end of the 6th cen-
tury BCE. The activities of this separate
separate gr
group
oup became moremore
known later on, through the writings of Greek and Roman
historians. The implication is that there was a cozy rela-
tionship between this separate group and the Greeks and
Romans.
It is not a coincidence that the Ptolemaic
Ptolema ic rule of Egypt
started in 332 BCE, and less than half a century later,
Arkakamani (c. 295-275 BCE), became
becam e the first regional ruler
ruler
to be buried at Meroe
Meroe.. Historical evidence at Meroe
Meroe shows
that since the reign of Aspalta (593-568 BCE), he and his
successors lived in Meroe, to escape potential attacks from
foreigners on Napata. These rulers were were still buried in
Napata, because of its sacred
sacred importance.
importance. One of the earliest
and best known rulers at Meroe who left any account of
themselves, is Arkamani, whose reign is roughly estimated
between 218 and 200 BCE, and who is probably to be recog-
nized as Ergamenes ofof Diodorus Siculus’ writings. Follow-
Follow-
ing, is some additional interesting information about
Arkamani (Ergamenes):

1. He is recognized historically as the first ruler at

Meroe who established formal relations with the Ptole-
maic rulers of Egypt. His dates have
have been the subject
of a good deal of dispute,
dispute, but many writers place
plac e him
in the latter half of the 3rd century BCE.
2. According to Diodorus he had a smattering of Greek

learning; how he came by it is not specified. This also
implies that prior regional rulers at Meroe have en-
couraged contact with Greek-speaking people,
people, the oc-
cupiers of Egypt.
3. Diodorus also relates that Ergamenes (Arkamani)

(Arkamani)
slew the priests of Amon at Gabal Barkal of Napata.
There is no evidence of Diodorus’ contention of kill-
ing or any type of strife. However,
However, the main point is
that these people,
people, who split
spl it to/at Meroe, did not want
to follow some of the ancient Egyptian traditions, as it
relates to the priesthood sanction of the legitimacy and
powers to rule. Therefore they broke away from
Napata.
The first ruler

rule r to be buried at Meroe was
was Arkakamani,
ca. 275 BCE. There may be a possible confusion in
names and dates between
bet ween Arkamani and Arkakamani.
It is also possible that Diodorus did not get the name
right.
4. The pyramid of Arkamani is probably the third

third of
those built in the North Cemetery at Meroe
Meroe.. Its chapel
contains one of the last intelligible texts in Egyptian
hierogl
hie roglyphi
yphics,
cs, inscri
ins cribed
bed on any Meroitic
Meroi tic funerar
fun erary
y
monument. Subsequent inscriptions are in a new
script, called Meroitic .
Who are these people at Meroe? It appears that these

9. Ma
people were in the service of ancient Egyptians, where they

learned ancient
ancien t Egyptian traditions. They did not want to
follow certain traditions,
traditi ons, and they broke away.
away. Like grow-
grow-
ing children, they wanted to assert their independence, to be
different, and establish
establish their own
own identify.
identify. But by contact-
ing the Ptolemies, the enemies of their makers, they then
can be regarded a conspirators
con spirators or even traitors.
The Meroe breakup was carried out in two major steps,
by the following
following rulers:
1. Aspalta (593-568 BCE), who began residence in

Meroe,, and was buried in Napata.
Meroe
2. Ergamenes (Arkaman/Arkakamani), who broke

the cord, in the latter half of the 3rd century BCE. He
and his successors
suc cessors lived and were buried in Meroe.
Meroe.
The traditional Egyptian loyalists maintained

maintain ed their pre-
scribed roles at Napata, and it continued to be the spiritual
base for fighting the occupiers of Egypt.
There is much to support that Napata remained the ma-

jor power center long after the Meroe split. Both Strabo and
Dio Cassius regarded Napata as the power center in 23 BCE,
when it was attacked and pill
pillaged
aged by a Roman army
army..
The coexistence of two regional powers at Napata and

Meroe is thus a logical possibility,
possibility, but what was the relation-
ship between them?
Since there is no suggestion of strife between the two
groups, it seems that they
they did so by
by mutual consent. It is the
true ancient Egyptian tradition
tradition — to live and let live
live.. The
Meroe people wanted to split and there was no fuss/retalia-

tion. Diodorus’ account of slaying

slaying the priests must ha
have
ve been
disinformation, and there is no supporting evidence to sub-
stantiate it.
Historical accounts
accou nts from various sources, together with
archeological evidence, supports that in the 2nd and 3rd cen-
turies BCE and further on, Kush, from the Fourth to the
First Cataract, was a semi-autonomous region governed by a
line of hereditary rulers at Napata (exactly as it has been
since the New Kingdom Era), who organized and sanctioned
sanct ioned
the resistance of foreign rule of Egypt.
The Ancient Egyptian neteru(gods) lingered on at

Meroe,, but the understanding associated with their worship
Meroe
was lost. Most of the basis for their knowledge and wisdom
evaporated.
evapor ated. The regional rulers at Meroe
Meroe continued to fol-
low the maternal/matria
maternal/matriarcha
rchall system of successi
succession,
on, as is/was
is/was
the case in the rest of Egypt.
Ancient Egyptian
Artistic Style

9. Ma
There were
were uncanny similarities between the people at
Meroe and their Ptolemaic friends, such as:
1. The Queen ruled or co-ruled. In ancient Egyptian

traditions, the queen’s role was to legitimize her hus-
band as a ruler,
ruler, and not to outright rule or co-rule.
co-rule.
2. Their artistic wall reliefs are similarly exaggerated,
exaggerated,
which is different than the graceful Egyptian-style.
Both reliefs are elaborate but not inspiring as is the
case in ancient Egyptian
E gyptian style.
The cozy arrangement between the renegades at Meroe

and the Ptolemies were extended to the Romans.
Romans.
Meroe Artistic Style

10
Roman Rule (30 BCE-323 CE)
Struggling With the South

Egyptians, who fled to communities along Darb el-
Arbeen and Kush during the Ptolemaic Era, caused major
problems for their Greek occupiers, even though Western
references tend to ignore this fact. Later actions indicate
pre-existing problems, as you will see in the next point.
After their conquest of Egypt in the 1st century BCE,
the Romans realized that they had inherited a problem in
southern Egypt. A major attack against the Roman military
bases at Sunt (Elephantine), by the Egyptian southern rebels,
caused the Romans to dispatch
dispatc h a punitive expedition to Kush
in 23 BCE under Petronius, Governor of Egypt. The Ro-
mans bypassed the populated
popu lated areas, went on the desert road,
and ravaged as far south as the Fourth Cataract, and de-
stroyed the holy sites at Napata. They then retired to their
southern frontier at Sunt (Elephantine/Aswan).
Knowledge of the expedition itself is derived from the

detailed descriptions
description s made by the classical historians
histor ians Strabo,
Pliny and Dio Cassius. It has been reported
reported by these Roman
historians,
historians, that a treaty was signed with the rebel forces. The
treaty gav
gavee the Romans access to that stretch of Lower Kush
between Sunt (Aswan) and Amada, which was known as
The Dodekaschoinos, or The Twelve Schoinoi - a schoinos equal-
ing about 7½ miles (12km). The Romans
Romans,, however
however,, never
never

10. Roman Rule 81

had control over it. It is unclear what, if anything, the rebels

got in return. It appears from
from subsequent events,
events, that the
claim of the so-called treaty was a save-face measure to end
the Roman
Roman military operation.
operation. Shortly after concluding said
treaty, the southern rebels regrouped, and Nero (54-68 CE)
appears to have
have contemplated the invasion
invasion of Kush.
Kush. At least
one further Roman expedition in the south, recorded both
by Pliny and by Seneca, took place between 61 and 67 CE.
There were continuous fights in southern Egypt
throughout the Roman rule of Egypt, as will be addressed
later in this chapter.
The Iron Hand

Like the Ptolemies, Rome treated Egypt as a mere es-
tate to be exploited for the benefit of the Roman rulers. They
controlled Egypt by force,
force, and regarded the land
l and as no more
than a granary to provide a regular supply of grain from Egypt
to Rome, where its free distribution to the citizens was an
important bulwark of the emperor’s power.power.
The general pattern of Roman Egypt included a strong,

centralized
The Romans admin
administration
istration
stationed supported
several by a large
garrisons military
militar yEgypt.
throughout force.
force.
In practice, the country was incorporated as a province of
the empire and was administered by a prefect, formally ap-
pointed by the emperor.
There was an elaborate bureaucracy with an extended

system of registers and controls, and a social hierarchy,
hierarchy, with
preferred treatment for the Hellenized population of the
towns, over the rural and native Egyptian population.
The Romans reinforced foreign settlement, by bring-

10. Roman Rule 83
ing in more foreigners. The Jewish colony in Alex

Alexandria
andria is
said to have had a population of 1 million in the 1st century
CE.
The Romans made an overt show of respect for Egyp-

tian priesthood by constructing new temples or completing
older ones built by the Ptolemies at Dendera, Esna, Kom
Ombo and Philae. It is worthy of note, however,
however, that the
sites for these temples were chosen for their strategic posi-
tion and not necessarily for the sake of ancient tradition.
Esna had been a center for local commerce
comm erce from earliest times;
Kom Ombo, situated on a hill, commanded the trade routes
to Kush in the south; and Philae was situated at the wealthy
trade center of Sunt(Aswan).
Many temples’ economic power was reduced by the

Romans, who substituted direct state subsidies or grants of
land at fixed rentals. The temples retained ownership of
some other enterprises, although they had to pay substantial
taxes on them. Temple lands elsewhere, however, were an-
nexed and placed under the control of the Roman govern-
ment.
A Roman
Roman official held the
t he title of High Priest of Alexan-
dria and all Egypt and
and was the supreme authority over all
the temples.
Taxation Without Justification

An enormous burden of taxation was placed on the
people of the Nile Valley
Valley.. A census was imposed on villages
throughout the land. Calculations of the wheat quota were
not based on the productivity of the land, but on the num-

ber of men in a village.

village.
The Romans held considerable quantities of state-

owned land, designated as royal or public , which was leased
out to public tenants.
Rentals were reduced on imperial lands and foreign

settlers were exempt from taxation, but the Egyptian rural
population was assessed at a flat rate, without regard for in-
come,, age, or capacity for work.
come
The main constituent of the revenue was the land tax

paid in kind, but there was also a huge variety of small money
taxes payable by individuals. Almost all taxes were collected
for the imperial government.
government. Examples of local taxestaxes raised
by towns
towns for their own purposes are few.few.
Methods of tax-collection varied: some taxes were con-

tracted out to private collectors, most were collected by ap-
pointed officials who had to work in liaison with the local
government administrators. The officials and their commu-
nities were under the gun to make sure that their quotas
were filled, because it was they themselves who were liable
to make good any deficits fr
from
om their own assets. As a result,
result,
the civilian populace was burdened, indeed often terrorized,
by billeting and requisitions.
requisitions.
Another and more sinister dimension of this aspect be-

comes clearer in the course of the 3rd century CE, when local
officials were repeatedly bombarded with orders to collect
foodstuffs and clothing in the form of irregular levies and
requisitions (annona militaris) and transport them directly
to military units. The increase in demands of this sort was
an important contributory factor in the breakdown of the
system of local government, in the latter part of the 3rd cen-
tury.

10. Roman Rule 85
As expected, when people cannot

cann ot pay their taxes, they
must abandon the land, since no amount of torture by tax
collectors will change the fact that one has nothing with
which to pay.
In common with the rest of the Roman Empire

Empire,, Egypt
suffered from a general depression brought about by over-
taxation and the consequent abandonment of farmlands.
Since Egypt provided the food for the Roman Empire,

it followed that when the economy of Egypt collapsed, the
Empire went
went hungry and therefore collapsed too. The same
story was repeated with every invader of Egypt.
More Depopulation of Egyptians

The Romans
Romans reinforced foreign settlement by inviting
more foreigners and giving them land. This, together with
land appropriation, over-tax
over-taxation,
ation, and the loss of freedom
and pride,
pride, led to the acceleration of Egyptians leaving their
farmlands. Here are a few
few examples:
examples:
• A few
few remaining Roman
Roman records show that a tax
document of the year 55 CE lists the names of 105
“tax fugitives” from the village of Philadelphia.
• There is evidence of hardship

hardship from the first half of
the 1st century. The records from Fayoum villages are
an evidential example of a phenomenon of rapid dete-
rioration. There are records
records of men having
having “fled leav-
ing no property,” 43 in number, then 60, then 100,
from a single village
village..

• By the year
year 200 CE, the population of Karanis
Karanis was
down by about 40%. By the 4th century it was almost
vacant.
• The once populous village of Theadelphia was re-

duced from perhaps 2,600 in the early 2 nd century to
only about 100 by 312 CE.
• The village
village of Socnopaiou Nesos disappears com-
pletely from Roman records after the second decade
of the 3rd century and must have been abandoned.
It is worth mentioning that

th at during this same tim
timee, there
was a population explosion, which all sources and academi-
cians admit to, in the western oases, the Beja country east of
the Nile,
Nile, and in Kush. We shall follow these exiled
exiled Egyp-
tians in later chapters.
Romans and the Renegades at Meroe

The last dated inscription of any ruler from Meroe is a
graffito in the Auset(Isis) Temple at Philae, south of Sunt
(Aswan), recording the dispatch in 260 CE of an envoy to
Rome by the regional ruler at Meroe, Teqerideamani (246-
266 CE). This shows
shows the continuing cozy relationship be-
tween the renegades at Meroe and the occupiers of Egypt.
When, toward the middle of the 4th century CE, the

armies of the Christian kingdom of Axum came down from
the heights of Abyssinia
Abyssin ia to conquer the region of Meroe, they
found it totally abandoned. The timing of this abandon-
abandon-
ment is curious, because it coincides with the Roman mili-

10. Roman Rule 87
tary forces abandoning of the region south of Sunt(Aswan).

It appears that the Meroe people had no more friends in the
region. But where did they
they go?
Much linguistic and archeological evidence in

Yorubaland
orubaland suggests that
th at the newcomers tot o this area in south-
ern Nigeria came
c ame from the NileNil e Valley
Valley after the
th e Roman Era.
Later events and evidence will show that people from
Meroe made it eventually to Yorubaland, which was part of
the area described as the bastard states, by the Hausa people
of northern Nigeria (see later chapters in the book). Bas-
tard means illegitimate,
illegi timate, and the descendants from Meroe may
have been called illegitimate.
illegitimate. It is also interesting that all
these “bastard states” in Nigeria have left archeological evi-
dence, including items of Greek and Roman origin, indica-
tive of their unusual cozy relationship with both.
The Southern Rebels
As would be expected, in any place, and any era, when

invaders advance, civilians get out of their path of destruc-
tion, by becoming refugees. Refugees always wait not too
far from the danger zone, hoping to return in a short time.
In the case of the Ta-Apet-Sunt(Luxor-Aswan) region in Up-
per Egypt, when it was invaded by the Greeks and Romans,
many local people fled and inhabited the eastern desert be-
tween the Nile and the Red
Red Sea. These refugees were
were later
identified by what Greek and Roman writers called the
Blemmyes (now known as the Beja).
Outside the occupied territories, rebel forces in Upper

Egypt occasionally threatened the southern frontier, which

forced the Emperor Diocletian in 296 CE to withdraw all

his troops,
troops, and to set the southern frontier of Egypt at Philae.
Philae.
Attempts to suppress these rebel forces were only partially
successful, and many of them continued to be active through-
out the presence of foreign invaders, all throughout the Mos-
lem/Arab rule of Egypt.
The ferocious Beja (Blemmyes) appear frequently in

classical texts of the 3rd and 4th centuries, as the perpetrators
of raids upon the occupying forces around Sunt(Aswan) and
Philae, and on two occasions, according to Roman writers,
they seem to have participated in abortive Egyptian rebel-
lions against Roman
Roman authority,
authority, in the Roman-occupied Nile
Valley itself
i tself..
The Romans identified two enemy groups: one to the

east of the Nile (Blemmyes), and the other to the west of the
Nile (Nobatae).
The Byzantine historian Procopius records:
Now both these

reverence nations,
Isis and Osiris.the Blemmyes
Above all, theand the Nobatae
Blemmyes were
devotees of Isis and it was this fact which brought them
into conflict with Rome over a period of centuries, since
the center of the Isis reverence was in Roman territory—
at Philae in the First Cataract.
Of course, Western writers like Procopius do not per-

ceive the Roman rule of Egypt as an occupying force, and
therefore downplay and downgrade the natives’ (Blemmyes
and Nobatae) resistance.
resistance.

10. Roman Rule 89
The other “nation” to which Procopius referred—the

Nobatae—lived in the oases in the desert to the west of the
Nile.. Procopius wrote that the Nobatae came from an oasis,
Nile
meaning the green lowland areas in the Western
Western Desert that
lie along Darb el-Arbeen.
There was a noticeable increase in population, as a re-

sult of migration directly from Egypt to Kordofan and Dar-
Fur,, following the caravan roads west of the Nile, known as
Fur
the Darb el-Arbeen
el-Arbeen and Sunt (Elephantine) Road. These west-
ern refugees had a significant if indirect effect on the situa-
tion in Kush, for they facilitated the recruiting of more sol-
diers (as was the case in earlier history of Egypt) from
Kordofan and Dar-Fur, to fight the occupying forces of Egypt.
The Nobatae
and their were a combination
military recruits of Egyptian
from the Noba/Nuba refugees
Mountains
of the Kordofan
Kordofan region.
region. The military recruits
recruits were one of
several
sever al well-armed bands of horse-
hors e- and camel-borne warriors
who sold protection to the population; eventually they in-
termarried and established themselves as a military aristoc-
racy.

11
The Byzantine
(323 Rule
- 642 CE)

Romans & Early Christians in Egypt
When the Romans arrived in Alexandria, they gave

preferred treatment
treatment to the Jews. Augustus granted
granted self-gov-
ernment to the Hellenized Jews of Alexandria. This caused
great consternation among the Greeks,
G reeks, who had lived there
for a longer period of time. The city’s contentious popula-
tion was involved in revolts against Roman control, from
the 1st century CE onward.
onward. Fighting soon brok
brokee out, first
between Greeks and Jews, then with the Romans’ participa-
tion when they tried to separate the two.
Christianity arrived early in Alexandria, from Judaea

and Syria. The RRomans
omans encouraged and facilitated more
immigration from Syria to Egypt.
The history of the spread of Christianity in Egypt can-
not be traced in detail in either the archeological remains or
the literary evidence.
evidence. According to a one-sided Christian
tradition, which goes back to the 4th century CE, the Church
at Alexandria
Alexandria was founded b by
y Mark, the evangelist.
evangelist. This
claim is generally dismissed as fiction and pro-Christian pro-
paganda.
As shown earlier, native Egyptians hated the foreign

11. The Byzantine Rule 91
inhabitants of Alexandria. Christians did not emerge as a

noticeable cult, until about 190 CE, when Pantaenus founded
the Christian doctrine school. The first patriarch
patriarch at Alexan-
Alexan-
dria who is said to have been concerned about converting
the native Egyptians, is Dionysius (247-264 CE). But there
was no response, because Christian theology is contrary to
Egyptian character.
character. (R (Read
ead mor
moree about the Ancient Egyp-
tian model in Section IV of
of this book.)
Communal tensions between the city’s Jewish and

Greek elements became more complex with the foundation
of Christianity in Alexandria. Conflicts arose b between
etween and
among Alexandria’s Christian, Jewish, and traditional
traditional Egyp-
tian communities over the desire of Christians to destroy
everything that was contrary to their
th eir doctrine.
The Christians’ virulent bigotry was checked, in the

beginning, by the officially imposed religious toleration of
Rome.
Christian Rampage
In 312 CE, Christianity was made the official and only
religion of the Roman
Roman Empire. A short time later
later,, the Ro-
man Empire split. Egypt became part of the Eastern
Eastern (or Byz-
antine) Empire in 323 CE.
The decree that there be only one religious system

(Christianity), and that anything else is untrue, is dictato-
rial. The Christian decree
decree added to the economic and social
disaster,, which still remained from
disaster f rom the earlier
earl ier Roman rule.
rule.
Constantine’s declaration, to make Christianity the of-

ficial religion of the empire, had two immediate effects on
Egypt. Firstly,
Firstly, it allowed the Church to enhance the organi-

zation of its administrative structure and to acquire

ac quire consid-
erable wealth; and secondly, it allowed Christian fanatics to
destroy the native Egyptian religious rights, properties, and
temples.
Here are a few examples of the Christian rampage in

Egypt:
• During a visit
visit to Egypt
Egypt in 385 CE, the praetorian
praetorian
prefect of the east, Maternus Cynegius, closed the an-
cient Egyptian temples and forbade sacrifices to Min-
Amen.
• When Theophilus was was made Patriarch of Alexan-

dria in 391 CE, he displayed tremendous zeal in de-
stroying ancient Egyptian temples. A wave
wave of destruc-
tion swept over
over the land of Egypt. Tombs were rav-
aged, walls of ancient monuments scraped, and stat-
ues toppled. In Alexandria,
Alexandria, the famous statue of
Serapis was burned and the Serapeum destroyed, along
with its library.
When Theophilus attempted to convert a temple of
Dionysus in Alexandria into a church, rioting between
non-Christians and Christians ensued, the former oc-
cupying the great Serapeum.
Serapeum. The subsequent destruc-
tion of the temple was shamelessly advertised by Chris-
tians as symbolic ofof a great victory.
victory. It was a folly of
fanaticism in the name of orthodoxy
orthodoxy..
• The same year (391 CE) saw the beginning of legis-

lation that aimed to outlaw ancient Egyptian rites and
to close the temples. The laws helped the fanatic Chris-
tians destroy other temples.
No rational mind can accept that such destructive

destruc tive be-

havior led to “convince” people to convert to any

any reli-
reli-
gion (Christianity), as advertised by the fanatics, no
matter how rational it (Christianity) may appear to
anyone.
• The fanatic early Christians went on appropriating

appropriating
ancient Egyptian temples. In the 4 and 5th centuries,
th
many ancient temples on the west bank of Ta-

Apet(Thebes) were converted into monastic centers.
- Hatshepsut’s Commemorative Temple was was con-

verted into Deir (monastery) el Bahari.
- Ptolemy III Temple was converted into Deir el

Medina.
- The Commemorative
Commemorative Temple
Temple of R
Ramses
amses III was
was
given the Christian name, “Medinat Habu”.
- The Court of Amenhotep III in Luxor

Luxor Temple
Temple,,
on the east bank of Ta-Apet(Thebes) was similarly
violated.
• In 415 CE under Theodosius II, P
Patriarch
atriarch Cyril ex-
ex-
pelled the Jews of Alexandria from the city; and
Hypatia, the learned and beautiful Neoplatonist, was
cruelly murdered.
• Christian mobs forcefully took a part of the Temple

Temple
of Het-Heru(Hathor) at Dendera in the middle of the
6th century CE, and built a new church, which was
constructed between the Birth House and the Coro-
nation House, using some of the blocks from the Birth
House.
• Similarly, in Khmunu(Hermopolis
(Hermopolis)) a T
Temple
emple of Amon

was occupied by Christians and had part of its inte-

rior turned into a chapel.
In addition to the violation of ancient Egyptian temples,

the fanatic Christians adopted a new script called
call ed the Coptic
language — basically demotic Egyptian written in Greek
characters with a few additional letters — from about 300
CE. A non-Egyptian alphabet was intended for the use of
those non-Egyptians who were schooled in the Greek lan-
guage.. This move
guage move had the effect of re-emphasizing
re-emphasizing the cul-
tural divide between them and the true t rue native Egyptians.
The Greek
characters are
not any easier Egyptian Demotic Script
than the Egyp-

tian demotic
script, which is
yet another indi- Greek Script
cation that the
Church emphasis
was on the Greek-speaking population of Alexandria,
Fayoum,
Fayoum, and a few other colonies of foreigners.
There is no archaeological evidence, outside Alexan-

dria, to substantiate
substantiat e the Christians’ overly exaggerated
exaggerated popu-
larity claims. We only find the ruins of the Church of St.
Menas south of Alexandria, and no other churches to show
for their fabricated popularity claims. Based on the adop-
tion of more recognizably Christian names as an indicator
of number of “converts”, the records indicate a trickle in-
crease in the Christian faith. Their terroristic action, ram-
pages, and disrespect for the native population can hardly
win any popularity contest. To make Christianity the state
religion did not lead (as expected) to people converting.
c onverting.
Accepting Christianity
Christia nity is to accept the Bible, which con-

demns ancient Egypt and establishes the Jews as God’s “cho-

sen people” . It is totally incompatible with Egyptian history
history,,
nature, and traditions. For more about it, read Part
Part IV,
IV, The
Egyptian Model & The New Societies.
cient The Edicttemples,

Egyptian of Theodosius I (391associated
caused people CE), to close
withthe an-
temple
activities to flee, along with all those who were threatened
by the onslaught of the fanatic Christians.
There was unrest and riots, short of civil war every-

where,, even
where even in the Delta. The Egyptian refugees at Ta-
Apet(Thebes) were active against this virulent bigotry; and
they frequently attacked the Byzantine strongholds in the
western oases and Upper Egypt.
Philae, The Last Stand
The edict of Theodosius I, which decreed the closing of

all non-Christian temples, was not enforced at Philae, and
later attempts to limit access to it, prov
provoked
oked armed clashes
between native Egyptians and the fanatic Christians. The
local populace was strong enough to resist the Byzantines
and the fanatic Christians for another
an other two centuries.
In 453 CE, Maximinus, Commander-in-Chief in Egypt,

was forced to recognize and to guarantee native Egyptians,
who are referred to as Blemmyes and Nobatae, the right to
practice their religion, and to make a pilgrimage to Philae
annually,, and to borrow
annually borrow the statue
stat ue of Auset(Isis
(Isis)) from time
time
to time
time.. Since Maximinus represented a Christian
Chris tian State, the
settlement terms
ter ms are indicative of the presence, power
power,, and
determination of the native Egyptians, to fight at this last

stand.
Soon after Maximinus died, the exiled Egyptian forces

(Blemmyes and Nobatae) went back to Upper Egypt and re-
covered the Egyptian hostages who were held by the
Byzantines.
For W
Westerners
esterners to refer to this powerful resistance force
(called Nobatae and Blemmyes), south of Philae, as “barba-
rous tribes” is ridiculous. Barbarian tribes want loot, not
the right to maintain access to religious traditions.
traditions. All that
they wanted was accessibility to their religious site at Philae.
Philae.
Around the middle of the 6th century CE, the Emperor

Justinian (527-565 CE) decided to make an end to Philae
and sent
temple Narses, and
revenue
revenue, to close thethe
remove temple
sac complex,
sacred
red confiscate
statues and the
take them
to Constantinople
Constantin ople..
This resulted
resulted in revolts
revolts by
by the natives.
natives. Byzantine
records show a major revolt by the Blemmyes in 565 CE, the
year Justinian died.
The X-Group
Archeological evidence
evidenc e in Lower Kush (Nubia) showed
showed
a significant number of tombs from the Roman
Roman Era that aca-
demicians categorize as the X-Group. Reisner interpreted
the unfamiliar X-Grou
X-Groupp type of grave as evidence of the com-
c om-
ing of a new people. It was, he reported,
... a new and distinctly non-Egyptian type of grave... This

type of grave.., was marked by the contraction and the
orientation of the body and by the pottery
potter y as being unique.

The contents of these graves

graves present a non-Egyptian cul-
ture, the racial antecedents of which are not clear.
The anatomical evidence of the X-Group skeletons is

described by Elliot Smith:
The X-Group people were strongly negroid aliens who had

suddenly made their way north into Nubia, bringing with
them a mode of burial and a type of pottery which Dr
Reisner has declared to be distinctly non-Egyptian... The
feature that immediately caught the eye in these skulls
was the strikingly negroid facial aspect...
These “negroid aliens who had suddenly made their way

north ” are the Egyptian military recruits from the Noba/Nuba
Mountain region of Kordofan.
Kordofan. Ancient Egyptians are agri-
culturists who by nature don’t fight. Since ancient times,
Egyptians recruited Africans, Greeks, and others to popu-
late their military forces.
forces.
The people that are called the X-Group, were described

by Romans and Byzantines
Byzantines as the Nobat ae, the fighting forces
Nobatae
on the western side of the Nile.

12
The Byzantines’ & Christians’
Self-Destruction
The Powerful New Monster
From the reign of Constantine onwards, the Alexan-

dria-based Church was able to acquire wealth and property
on a very large scale. Constantine not only made it legal for
them to hold
hol d property,
property, but also
al so made provision for grants to
to
churches, and the Church secured many other special trad-
ing privileges. Such ownership of wealth
wealth and property
property by
churches and monasteries turned, by the beginning of the
5th century, into a very powerful economic force
f orce..
By the 6th century there is clear evidence that they were

entitled to some proportion of the taxes paid by local land-
owners. As for property,
property, there wer
weree precious objects
objects in the
churches, money acquired through bequest, possession of
houses, shops and workshops of various kinds, but above
all, a massive income from the ownership of estates — some
exploited directly,
directly, others rented out to ttenants
enants — which ne-
cessitated the appointment of a multitude of estate supervi-
sors and administrators, and the acquisition of boats to trans-
port produce.
produce. The Church had its own fleet of trading
trading ves-
sels, that carried corn, silver,
silver, fine tissues, and other precious
wares, to faraway lands.
As a result of its economic

ec onomic power,
power, the Church in Egypt

12. Byzantines’ & Christians’ Self-Destruction 99
dominated secular as well as religious institutions, and ac-

quired a powerful interest and role in every political issue.
The bishop, or patriarch of Alexandria, was, quite simply,
the most powerful figure in Egypt by far. He was directly
responsible for the appointment of bishops throughout his
patriarchy
patriarchy,
els too. In ,short,
and thus
thu
hes could
indirectly forwho
decide appointments at lower
was and who was lev-
not
politically and theologically acceptable.
acceptable.
It was the wealth and power of the Church as an insti-

tution that facilitated the political nature of its role and the
struggles within it. Two developments stand out. First, the
power of the patriarchy of the church in Alexandria, and
secondly its position in relation to the Eastern Empire as a
whole and Constantinople in particular.
Christian Family Feud
The history of the political and doctrinal struggles

within the Church during and after the 4th century has largely
been written in terms of the disputes over
over the nature of God
and Christ and the relationship between
between them. A good deal
of the turbulent history of Egypt in the 4th, 5th, and 6th centu-
ries can be understood in terms of the struggles of the suc-
cessive (or,
(or, after 570 CE, co-existing) patriarchs of Alexan-
dria to maintain their position both within their patriarchy
and outside it, in relation to Constantinople.
Monophysites had, from the first, espoused a doctrine

of Christ, which placed the greatest possible emphasis on his
divinity, and came near to denying that he had a human
nature. In 449 CE, Dioscurus, the patriarch of Alexandria,
refused to accept the Byzantine Christian doctrine
doctrine.. He be-
lieved that Christ is totally divine,
divine, and that it is blasphemous

to consider Him
Him human. And so, when the orthodox theo-
logians of Rome and Constantinople agreed at the Council
of Chalcedon, in 451, that Christ was to be worshipped “in
two natures inseparably united ”,
”, the Monophysite opposition
contended that though Christ could be “out of two natures ””,,
he couldisnot
volved be in two
perhaps bestnatures.
conveyed The
in depth of feeling
the slogan in-
of the
Monophysite bishops at Chalcedon, which said, “Throw out
the Nestorians. Christ is God ”. As a result, in 451, during
durin g the
reign of the patriarch Dioscorus, the Monophysite Church
in Egypt broke away
away from the Orthodox Church, and elected
its own patriarch.
Since the Council of Chalcedon in 451, each of the two

Churches had its own separate patriarch and administration.
Theseteparties
Jacobi
Jacobite were
or Coptic distinguished
, and Melkite or R
Melkite by the familiar
. The
Royalist
oyalist names
Jacobites were
were
by creed Monophysites, by race mainly,
mainly, though not exclu-
exclu-
sively people born in Egypt, but of foreign descent (mistak-
enly thought of as native Egyptians); while the Melkites were
orthodox followers of Chalcedon and for the most part of
Greek or European origin.
The term Melkite, as employed in Egypt, is of a Syriac

origin, and there is no anachronism in using it before the
Arab conquest. This is an additional piece of evidence that
the early Christians were using Syriac language and names,
indicating their origin to
t o be Syria/Palestine
Syria/Palestine and not E
Egypt.
gypt.
Syrian migration to Alexandria constituted the bulk of

the early Christians in Egypt. They — the Christians in Egypt
— continue to maintain physical and personal traits that are
very Syrian. It is easy for native
native Egyptians, to this date,
date, to
distinguish a Christian (so-called ‘Copt’), just based on his/
her body
body language and features, which reflects peculiar Syr-
ian (non-Egyptian) traits.

12. Byzantines’ & Chris
isttia
ian
ns’ Self-
f-D
Destru
ruc
ction 101
101
The Persian Interlude (616-629 CE)
The spread of Persian power throughout Syria culmi-

nated in the conquest of Jerusalem (615 CE) and Persian
hostility to Christians, which thrust more Syrian Christian
refugees
Thewestward toin
total chaos Alexandria.
Egypt eased the path of the Persian
conquerors to Egypt in 616 CE. It took the Persians three
years to control Egypt and Pentapolis.
The period of occupation was concluded by a peace
treaty and Persian withdrawal
withdrawal in 628 CE, and the return to
Byzantine rule.
rule.
Cyrus: A Taste of their Own Medicine (631-642 CE)

After the death of the Melkite Patriarch George
George,, Cyrus
was sent as Imperial Patriarch
Patriarch to Alexandria in 631
631 CE. He
was given both religious and civil authority.
authority.
The double succession of pontiffs was maintained, and
it was the early policy of Heraclius to bring about a recon-
cilement between the two Christian factions.
Cyrus first tried a compromise between the two fac-

tions (Melkites and Monophysites). The proposed
proposed compro-
compro-
mise backfired from both stubborn groups.
Cyrus had to restore order, on behalf of his Emperor,
for the Monophysites had terrorized
ter rorized and destroyed those who
merely didn’t
didn’t agree with their fanatic interpretations.
interpretations. Cyrus
forcefully imposed the 451 Council of Chalcedon decree.
Did Cyrus prosecute the Monophysites, or did they

th ey ask
for his actions by
by rejecting him and his authority? By exten-
sion, they had been prosecuting the land and people of Egypt
(their host) for several centuries, and ironically, Cyrus, the
Christian, gave them a taste of their own medicine.

13
Christiansthe
Sell Out Egypt to
Arabs
Christians’ Gift to Mohammed

In 627 CE, when Mohammed, the Islam
I slam founder, con-
solidated his power in the Arab Peninsula, and felt himself
strong enough to challenge the submission of the rulers of
the world to Islam, his new religion, he caused letters to be
written to several neighboring rulers, including letters to
George,, wrongly called
George cal led the Mukaukas, governor
governor of Alexan-
dria and the Melkite
Melkit e Viceroy of Egypt (621-631);
(621-631); to Chosroes,
King of Persia; and to Heraclius, Emperor of the Romans.
All contained the same claim of allegiance to Islam and to
the Arabian prophet as Vicegerent of the Most High.
The Monophysites, who never had any loyalty to Egypt,

manifested such disloyalty when the Christian Viceroy of
Egypt promised to consider the message, and treated
Mohammed’s envoy,
envoy, Hatib,
Hatib, with all honor.
honor. The Christian
Viceroy sent back with his reply some valuable presents,
which included two Christian maidens (Mary and Shirin),
the mule Duldul,
Dul dul, the ass Nafur, and a bag of money.
money.
Mohammed, who already had nine wives, fell in love

with Mary.
Mary. The Christian Mary became Mohammed’s sweet-
heart and bore him a son. The baby died under suspicious
circumstances. Mary died in 636 CE.

13. Christians Sell Out Egypt to the Arabs 1 03

Islam Rises Out of the Rubble

Because of the extensive fighting between the
Byzantines and Persians, both victor and vanquished were
drained of strength, which provided further motivation for
Mohammed and his forces to declare Islamic jihads against
them. The relatively easy early victories of the Ar
Arabs
abs over
over
their powerful neighbors opened the riches of the Middle
East to the warriors of Islam.
Syria was occupied by 639 CE, and at the same time

Moslem armies were conquering Mesopotamia and Persia.
Egypt, because of its wealth, attracted the Arab leaders very
early. In December 639 CE, Amr ibn el-As set out to con-
quer Egypt with a few thousand men. His task was rela-
tively simple, because of the active support of the Christian
Monophysites, the so-called Copts.
After less than two years of fights and political maneu-

m aneu-
vering between the Arab invaders and the Byzantines, Cyrus
went to meet the Arab commander at Babylon near Cairo,
and both signed a treaty on November 8, 641, which called
for the total withdrawal of Roman soldiers, imposing a trib-
ute of two dinars a head on all able-bodied males, and a tax
on all landowners. The only parties to the treaty
treaty were
were the
Moslem Arabs and the Christians, who passed along a coun-
c oun-
try that was not theirs.
Not yet interested in converting the people to Islam,

the Moslem Arab conquerors favored the Monophysite
Church, using it to assist them in collecting
collect ing the poll-tax lev-
ied on all non-Moslems, and in return, guaranteed the right
of the Christian population to continue
continu e to practice their reli-
gion.
The final defeat of Byzantium in Egypt came when their
soldiers evacuated Alexandria, in 642 CE.

13. Christians Sell Out Egypt to the Arabs 1 05
Kush Ambiguous Christian Era

What happened after the closing of the Ph
Philae
ilae Temple
Temple,,
in 565 CE, is not too clear.
clear. There are
are no historical records,
records,
only very biased Monophysite reports that don’t make any
sense.. As forvague.
sense
intentionally the Kushites
vague . (Nubians) themselves, they are
We are told that Kushites turned, practically overnight,

overnight,
into Christians, and were under the control of the
Monophysite Church of Egypt, and that a hierarchy of bish-
ops, named by their patriarch and consecrated in Egypt, di-
rected the church’s activities and wielded considerable secu-
lar power
power.. Yet
Yet rrationale
ationale and other later evidence contradicts
these claims that are contrary to Christian doctrine
doct rine,, such as:
1. The church sanctioned a non-Christian Kingship,

confirming the
th e royal line’s llegitimacy
egitimacy..
2. The queen mother’s role in the succession process
paralleled that of Egypt’s matriarchal tradition. In turn,
the monarch protected the church’s interests. The
Christians in Egypt, as detailed earlier, were known
for their fanaticism and intolerance.
intolerance. Christian tradi-
tion is in total conflict with the form of kingdom in
ancient Egypt, and in Kush (now Nubia).
3. As we will find later on, the so-called “sudden con-
version to Christianity” in Kush disappeared utterly
in a flash. They turned into Moslems overnight!!
Kush Repulses the Arabs

A few decades after the acclaimed overnight massive
Christian conversions, the Arab general Amr ibn el-As had

no sooner completed the

subjugation of Egypt, in 641/
642 CE, than he turned his at-
tention to the south. A cavalry
force of 20,000 men was dis-
patched
after into Kush(Nubia).
into Kush(Nubia).
penetrating as farBut
as
Dongola, between the Third
and Fourth Cataracts, it met
with a resistance such as no
other Arab army encountered
in the first century of Islamic expansion. The first Battle of
Dongola was disastrous for the invaders, who were compelled
to make terms and withdraw.
withdraw. Kush (Nubia)
(Nubia) had been cel-
ebrated for its bowmen as far back as the Middle Kingdom
(2040-1783 BCE).
A second and more concerted attack
attac k upon Kush (Nubia)
was mounted in 651-2 CE. Again the invaders advanced to
Dongola, where another fierce encounter took place.
place. Mos-
lem Arab records state that a truce,
truce, the Baqt, was concluded.
Under its terms, the Kushites (Nubians) were to deliver to
the Arab rulers of Egypt an annual quota of slaves, and were
to receive various Egyptian manufactured
manufac tured goods in exchange.
exchange.
One wonders why would the Kushites want a truce, when
they were
ation winning?
by the The so-called
Arab invaders Baqt was
who wanted a save-face
to justify cre-
their loss
and withdrawal.
withdrawal.
☞
When the Arab Bedouins left Dongola, it freed this
region for 600 years, from the threat of Islamic con-
quest. However
However,, it also caused an invisible divide
between
betw een these
these indigeno
indigenous
us Egyptian
Egyptianss in the south,
south, and
the rest of Egypt to the north, which became an Arab
colony.. The new name for the region, Nubia, took
colony
hold since then.

14
Egypt: The Arab Colony
The Murderous Musical Chairs
There were
were generally two distinct phases of the Islamic
Rule of Egypt, before the disastrous arrival of the Fatimids
(969 CE).
A. As a colony of eastern
eastern caliphates.
caliphates.
During the first 200 years of Moslem rule, Egypt was

controlled by a series of military
militar y governors
governors appointed
appoint ed by Mos-
lem caliphs in the East — the Omayyads
Omayyads in Damascus (661-(661-
749 CE) and the Abbasids in Baghdad (749-868 CE). Most
of the country’s great agricultural wealth was channeled
channel ed into
the coffers of the central treasury.
treasury. Egypt was used b byy them
as a source of grain, mirroring its role under the Romans.
The power of these governors was severely curtailed by short
terms of office and by restrictions placed upon their inter-
nal authority, to prevent the establishment of an indepen-
dent state in Egypt.
The early Islamic period in Egypt leaned heavily on

established Roman and Byzantine administrative practices.
The result was oppressive taxation and widespread official
corruption, which brought Egypt to the verge of economic
collapse.
Spreading Islam was not a priority with these eastern

caliphates. Therefore
Therefore,, the progress of Islam within Egypt
was slow.
In order to hold their state together, the caliphs in

Baghdad began to employ Turkish recruit armies to suppress
the
as awill of the
ruling native
caste
caste, loypopulation.
, loyal These
al only to the Abb Turks wer
Abbasids.
asids. were
Thee power
groomed
pow er of
the Turkish generals became so great and the upkeep of their
armies was so costly, that the caliphs were compelled to dis-
tribute large tracts of land in lieu of pa
pay
y. In this manner,
manner,
Egypt became, in 832 CE, a private fief of the new Moslem
military elite. Many Egyptians had to surrender their lands
and even worse,
worse, be enslaved, if they didn’t leave. In 832 CE,
the Abbasid caliph al-Mamun came to Egypt to startstar t this land
acquisition scheme.
scheme. His visit was followed by a vigorous
military suppression of dissent in Egypt.

Homeless Egyptians found their way to areas outside
Egypt, and were reported to go to the newly-found Hausala
Hausaland
nd
in northern Nigeria, as the records in Gobir indicated their
arrival at that time.
time. (Read
(Read more about it in Chapter 18.)
B. Egypt as an autonomous state.
There were two different dynasties, with a 30-year

Abbasid rule in between. The sequence was
was as follows:
follows:
1. Ahmad Ibn Tulun, a non-Egyptian, was able to

gain total control of the provincial government,
government, estab-
lishing the first autonomous Moslem State in Egypt,
in 868 CE. His short dynasty lasted to 905 CE.
2. In 905 CE, the Tulunids were displaced from power

power
in Egypt by an Abbasid army
army,, and a 30-year period of
direct Abbasid control of Egypt followed.

1
4
.
E
g
y
p
t
:
T
h
e
A
r
a
b
C
o
l
o
n
y
1
0
9
Egypt was again ruled by a series of oppressive and

ineffectual provincial governors, appointed from Iraq.
The growing threat of the Shia Fatimid Dynasty, cen-
tered in Tunisia, who twice (913 and 919-21)
919-21) invaded
Egypt during this period, demanded a more effective
form of governme
government
nt in the Nile Valley.
Valley. The Abbasids
were therefore compelled to allow the establishment
in 935 CE of a new semi-autonomous state in Egypt.
3. In 935 CE, Mohammed B.

B. Tughj, a non-Egyptian,
was appointed governor
governor of Egypt. He was also granted
the Central Asian princely title of The Ikhshid. The
Ikhshidid Dynasty (935-969), like the Tulunid, was
founded by a Mamluk governor
governor in Abbasid service.
The Fatimids launched a third raid against Egypt in the

year of the Ikhshid’s arrival in the country.
country.
The fairly rapid rise and fall of the Islamic Dynasties
was an unending series of murderous musical chairs.
Resisting the Arab Rule
Because of the ironclad control of Islam over history
writing since 641 CE, Moslem historians emphasize that
Egyptians forgot their identity and became a part of a big
happy family called “Arabs”.
Arabs”. No one can dare oppose the
line that Islam saved Egypt from previous
previous Gahe-Liya (igno-
rance era). As such, all Moslem writers consider that for an
“Arab” to rule Egypt is okay
okay.. Despite this intellectual state
of terrorism, few known records, both in the Moslem-occu-
pied Egypt proper and the ambiguously independent Kush
(now called Nubia),
Nubia), show a pattern of resistance.
resistance. The fol-
lowing is the timeline of the few referenced revolts and ac-
14. Eg
Egypt: The Arab Colony 1 11
tions, which were always reported as “tax revolts”, and never

as a result of Islamic violations of the Egyptian’s religious
rights and liberties.
• In 725 CE, a “tax rerevolt”

volt” was reported throughout
throughout
Egypt, which continued for several years, until the
military forces crushed the revolts
revolts in 733 CE. Was it 8
years of tax revolts, as reported, or was it more than
just “tax revolts”?
revolts”?
• The problems continued and in 750 750 CE, the

Omayyad caliph Marwan II was killed at Fayoum in
Egypt; and another series of revolts continued through-
out the country.
• The Islamic rulers’ decr

decree
ee of paying off
off their hired
hired
mercenaries by giving them land, caused major “un-
rest” in Egypt in 780 CE. Between the lines, one can
imagine the flight of the homeless Egyptians.
• More unrest was reported
reported throughout
throughout 794-95 CE,
and no intelligent reason was reported.
• Civil uprising and general revolts

revolts over “taxes” was
was
reported between 813-33 CE, peaking in 831 CE. Was
it “taxes” or land appropriation by the invaders, that
was the cause for
f or 20 years of revolts?
• In 83
831
1 CE, the Abbasid
Abbasid caliph al-Mamun visited
Egypt accompanied by his general Afshin to quell coun-
try-wide revolts.
revolts. Many fled to northern Nigeria.
Nigeria.
• The Moslem rule
rulers
rs lost total control
control of Upper Egypt,
Egypt,
for long periods. The Kush-based Egyptians (now
called Nubians) launched several attacks against the
Moslem forces.
• Arabic records
records show
show that in 831
831 CE, a treaty
treaty was
concluded between the Beja (who live between the Nile
and the Red Sea) and the Arabs, by which the Beja
were only to visit the populated areas unarmed and
not to damage the mosques erected in their region.
This really means that:
a. The Arab rulers did not have control over

over Up-
per Egypt for a long time prior to 831 CE.
b
b.. The situation was important enough to call for
for a
treaty, that was in return important enough to make
it to the history books.
c. The Egyptians in this area at least, did not ad-

here to Islam, because they were
were “not supposed to
damage the mosques”.
• In the same year,

year, 831 CE, we
we hear that the Kush (at
the southern frontier) tribute was then in arrears, and
the Arabs encouraged the Beja to raid them. This is
totally unbelievable,
unbelievable, since the
th e Beja are Kushites them-
selves, and have been and will continue to be an en-
emy of the Arabs.
• In 854 CE, the Beja raided the Ar

Arabic
abic military posts
at Edfu and Esna, which means that the claim of the
above treaty
treaty of 831 CE was a fiasco.
• In 858 CE, a revolt

revolt of the Beja tribe in Upper Egypt
was reported. The Arabs
Arabs and Islam, still until then,
did not have any control over Upper Egypt.
• In 949 CE, Kushites supported the disturbanc

disturbances
es
throughout Egypt.
14. Eg
• In 951
951 CE, a Kushite (Nubian) raid of the Ar
Arabs/
abs/
Moslems, stationed at Kharga Oasis, was reported.
• In 954 CE, major civil disturbances against the Is-

lamic regime were reported, which led the barbarian
rulers to set major populated areas such as al-Fustat
in Cairo on
on fire,
fire, to quell the revolts.
revolts. The land torch-
ing terror campaign was still going on.
• In 955 CE, in conjunction with civil disturbances

throughout Egypt, Kushite (Nubian) troops liberated
Sunt(Aswan) from the Arab occupiers, for a period of
time.
• A series of civil disturbances were reported

reported through-
out Egypt between
between 963-969
963-969 CE. No intelligent reports
reports
of the cause(s) were given.
The above information is what was reported by Arab

sources, which are
are known for gross biases. In other words:
words:
1. Much more unrest
unrest of all kinds was going on all the
time.
2. The actual reason for such unrest is not stated,

which is that the Egyptians rejected Islam as they re-
jected Christianity
Christianit y. They rejected foreign invaders
from all foreign lands including the barbarian Arab
Bedouins. They are/were not their brothers, the Ar-
abs are/were their oppressors.
The Fatimid Locusts Destroy Egypt

The Fatimids were the leaders of a Moslem sect that
adhered to the Ismaili branch of Shiism. They claimed de-
scent from Mohammed, the Moslem founder, through his

daughter Fatima.
Fatima. They regarded
regarded themselves
themselves as divi
divinely
nely or-
dained rulers, and damned the Abbasid caliphs as usurpers.
The Fatimids’ army was largely made up of Berber tribes-
men. The Fatimids
Fatimids invaded Egypt fromfrom the west, having
first secured a base for themselves in
in Tunisia. By 969, the
Fatimids had completed the conquest of Egypt.
The Fatimids were the only Shia dynasty

dynast y to hold power
in Egypt between 969-1171
969-1171 CE. They founded
founde d al-Qahira,
Cairo. It. isThis

quisher” an ugly un-Egyptian
is contrary name,
nameEgyptian
to ancient , meaningchoices
“The Van-
for
names, like Men-Nefer(Memphis), meaning Established in
Beauty/Harmony, or Ta-Apet (Thebes), meaning The Fertile/
Good Land.
ALL historians
historians agree that the Moroccans (Berbers) were
responsible for all chaos in Egypt, at the beginning of the
Fatimid rul
rulee. They harassed whoever was different from them
(meaning everyone), and violated everyone. These Moroc-
cans settledEgypt,
and Upper in many places
after throughout
fighting Egypt,
the local in. the
people
people. Delta,
Until to-
day, many villages and towns in Upper Egypt retain the
names of their tribes and their branches, especially around
Asyut, Sohag, and Naga Hamadi. This region
region continues to
be unsettled and unsafe, to this date.
date.
For the Egyptians, the reign of the

For th e Fatimids w
was
as a total
disaster.. The country’s administration
disaster administration and taxation system
hastened the deterioration of Egypt’s agriculture,
agriculture, with di-
sastrousbarely
archy, consequences. Egypt
a century afterwas
was
thereduced to a stateof
establishment of the
an-
Fatimids. Their leaders were
were cold-blooded
cold-blood ed maniacs who
raped women, set towns
towns on fire,
fire, forbade women to leave their
houses…etc..
houses…etc
In his book, African Glory: The Story of Vanished Negro
14. Eg
Civilizations, the Ghanian writer, J.C. De Graft-Johnson, tells

us:
The first Arab invasion of Egypt and North Africa came in
the 7 th century. The second invasion came in the 10 th cen-
tury was a raid and a raping party mostly led by poorly-
trained soldiers and free-booters. Many of them spread
Islam with the sword, because they were addicted to mur-
der.
The following is a timeline of the known highlighted

disaster of these most barbaric of all barbarians. As stated
earlier,, no Moslem writer dares to view a rule by Moslems to
earlier
be a foreign
foreign rule.
rule. Moslem writers portray the cause of prob-
prob-
lems as mostly an act of God (famine,
(famine, drought),
drought), and not the
real reason of oppression and poor management of resources.
• In 972 CE, a riot
riot erupted, and an army
army was used to
crush the rebels. They threw
threw people out of their homes,
and occupied the dwellings themselves.
• In 984 CE, a “famine” was

was rreported
eported throughout
throughout
Egypt.
• In 1
1020
020 CE, a major rebellion in Egypt was reported.
The Fatimid ruler responded by burning down al-
Fustat (in Cairo).
• In 1027 CE, o
other
ther major disturbances were
were reported
throughout Egypt.
• More internal disturbances were

were reported
reported through-
out Egypt in 1043 CE.
• Yet another “famine”

“famin e” was
was reported in 1054-55 CE.
• The year 1065 CE was the start of an especially se-

vere “seven-year
“seven-year famine” in Egypt.
• At the end of the so-called

so-called “seve
“severe
re seven-year
seven-year fam-
ine”, in 1072
1072 CE, it was reported that there was com-
plete civil chaos in Cairo and throughout Egypt.
• The struggle for power

power by the Berber,
Berber, Turkish, and
Soudanic regimentsCE,
climax in 1072-73 of with
the Fatimid army killing,
a free-for-all reachedrap-
its
ing, and robbery.
• In 11074,
074, Fatimid General
General Badr al-Jamali came to
Cairo to restore order,
order, and led a ruthless,
ruth less, vigorous sup-
pression of dissidents.
The oppression of the unruly

unrul y Fatimids pushed the an-
cient Egyptian beliefs into underground secret societies, such
as the Sufis.
founders Infour
of the order toWays
Sufi keep claim
Islamic threats
descent at bay,
to the all
follow-
ers of Mohammed in Mecca. The secret societies are still ac-
tive, practicing the ancient Egyptian traditions with a thin
Islamic facade, in order to prevent being accused of blas-
phemy,, which is punishable by death.
phemy
The Murderous Musical Chairs Continue
• The F Fatimids’
atimids’ nightmare was supplanted by Salah
al-Din, the famous Saladin of medieval European
chroniclers, who
wh o founded the Ayyubid Dynasty (1171-
(1171-
1250). The murderous musical chairs went on and
on, with ruler after ruler killing each other to ascend
the throne.
14. Eg
• The Ayyubids were were replaced with the Mamluks

(1250-1517). Mamluks (Arabic for owned) were an
elite but frequently disorderly caste of soldier-admin-
istrators, composed largely of Turkish, Kurdish, and
Circassian slaves.
Until the 13th century
century,, the Kushite (Nubian) kingdoms
kin gdoms
kept the Moslem Arabs at bay. In 1276 CE, the
Mamluks killed Dongola’s
Dongola ’s reigning leader, and declared
a Moslem family as the reigning
reigning rulers. They were
never recognized by the Kushites (Nubians) as legiti-
mate rulers.
right to rule Therefore,
Therefore, inthrough
by descent, an attempt
thetodaughter
legitimizeoftheir
the
past legitimate ruler, the Moslem ruling family “ac-
quired” (probably by force) the heiress, the bearer of
the solar blood, who was forced to marry (rape mar-
riage) a man of the Moslem ruling family.
family. As a result,
in 1315, a Moslem prince of Kushite (Nubian) royal
blood ascended the throne of Dongola as king.
History books that told how Kush

Kush converted to Chris-
tianity practically
middle overnight,
of the 15th century, told us again
Christianity as that by has
a faith the
vanished from Kush (Nubia) utterly
utterl y.
Nothing here makes sense, but there is no evidence to
tell us what really happened. The new Sennar (Fung)
Confederation (Chapter 31), however
however,, was created as
an heir to the Moslems’ takeov
takeoverer of Lower Kush.
• In 15
1517
17 CE, Egypt was invaded by Ottoman sul-
tans, who relied on Mamluks to govern the country.
They ruled Egypt as a colony from 1517 to 1882.
In 1798, Napoleon conquered Egypt, but left three
years later
lat er..
• An Albanian officer in the Ottoman service,

service, called
Mohammed Ali, declared himself ruler of an indepen-
dent Egypt.
reign He ruledKhedive
of his grandson, from 1805 to 1849.
Ismail, During
the British the
found
an excuse to invade Egypt, in 1882 CE.
C E.
• In 1882 CE, the British spread their forces through-
out the whole
whole country.
country. But gradually,
gradually, their military
forces shrank from populated areas, to station near the
Suez Canal, until
unt il a total withdrawal treaty was signed,
and all the British forces left Egypt, in 1956.
Ara
Arab
b Republic
Republic of Egypt
Egypt
In 1952, the royal dynasty established by Mohammed
Ali came to an end when a group of Egyptian army officers
forced the abdication of King F
Farouk.
arouk. It was the first time in
about 2,000 years, that Egyptians finally ruled themselves
— not as in the Pharaonic time, but under the domination
of Arabic/Islamic traditions.
Egypt will be fully independent when:
1. Its ancient language and religion are restored,
restored, since
both present language (Arabic) and religions (Islam &
Christianity) were forced on people.
people. Both these reli-
reli-
gions spread disinformation about ancient Egypt, in
order to divert attention of their ironclad rule of the
masses
mas ses.. No religion
religion should
should dictate
dictate its terms
terms on the coun-
try and/or have the power to validate other beliefs.
2. The exiled Egyptians, who were forced to leave their

country, are recognized as a part of the Egyptian family.
III
Dispersing the
Egyptian Seeds

15
Populating Western Africa
Western Africa Population Explosion

During the second half of the first millennium CE, the
Central Soudan — that 2,000 mile (3,200 km) area stretch-
ing from the Senegal region to Dar-Fur — saw a population
explosion and the emergence and consolidation of a number
of substantial organized,
organized, de-centralized, wealthy
wealthy states. They
were all developed in the Sahel — a region running across
Africa, south of the Sahara and north of Lake Chad. The
Sahel is a hot, dry savannah that can support human agri-
culture and settlement.
This is exactly the same environment as Egypt — a fer-
tile land close to a river,
river, and near a dry desert.
Information concerning the origins of early settlement

is based mainly on some scant physical evidence,
evidence, as well as
oral traditions, later recorded by court chroniclers, or on the
mostly Islamic-biased writings of Arab traders and travel-
ers.
All sources and evidence agree to the following charac-
teristics of this population explosion:
1. The sudden increase in population in the rregion

egion
resulted from the migration of highly civilized, well-
organized, mostly agricultural
agric ultural people.
2. The ooriginal

riginal sparsely native population speak of
1
5
.
P
o
p
u
l
a
t
i
n
g
W
e
s
t
e
r
n
A
f
r
i
c
a
1
2
1

122 III. Dispersing the Egyptian Seeds
highly civilized people who settled and governed

governed them
peacefully.
3. The newcomers

newcomers were light-skinned.
light-skin ned. References
References are
made to them as whites. This term means different
things to different
different people.
people. For local people,
people, a dark-
skinned person with fine features is called a white per-
son.
4. The newcomers had the technological and finan-

cial resources to build irrigation, waterworks, and land
reclamation projects, in order to provide the food
needed to sustain such large populations.
5. The newcomers

newcomers had the knowledge and experi-
experi-
ence of a well-organized society: politically
polit ically and socially
socia lly..
6. They were knowledgeable and experienced in city

planning and infrastructure, as evident in the numer-
ous settlements that they built.
7. Significant polities started emerging after 500 CE.
8. They had advanced

advanced knowledge of metal-working.
metal-working.
9. Numerous bronze items were

were found in present-
day Nigeria.
Nigeria. It is noteworthy
noteworthy to highlight that there
are,, and were,
are were, no copper mines in these areas, which
indicates that the material was imported from a dis-
tance. The method of casting bronze statues in West
Africa is distinctly Egyptian, and is known
kn own as the lost-
wax (cire perdue) method of casting.
Academia did not take the trouble to think, evaluate,

and come to rational conclusions. Instead, they went hay-
hay-
wire, guessing that the newcomers were originated from

15. Po
Populating Western Africa 123
Barbary, Yemen, Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Persia, Canaan, …etc.,

i.e. any place but Egypt. Yet none of these cultures possessed
possesse d
the above-mentioned, detailed characteristics of the
t he newcom-
ers. Only ancient Egyptians match ALL the characteristics
of the newcomers.
The most common academic theory as to the origin of

these newcomers
newcomers are Berbers or Jews.
Jews. The implication that
the Jews or the Berbers of North Africa
Afric a populated and spread
civilization to the Sahel, is totally unfounded, since:
1. Neither group had the number of people required

to cause the massive explosion in population.
2. Neither group had or has any regard or respect

for the black population of Africa. They had and still
have no respect
respect for negroids. The famed Berber histo-
rian, Ibn Khaldoun, stated,
The negroes are in general characterized by levity, excit-

ability
abilit y, and great emo
emotionali
tionalism.
sm. . .They are everywhere de-
scribed as stupid.
How can anyone suggest that people with such a dis-

dain for blacks could have peacefully ruled negroid
states for several centuries?
3. TheThe b
bib
ible
le sta
state
tess that
that dark
dark-s
-ski
kinne
nned
d peo
peopl
plee wer
weree the
the
descendants of Ham, who, according to the biblical
story,, was condemned to serve his brothers by his fa-
story
ther,, Noah. A very
ther very dangerous
dangerous premise
premise grew
grew out of
this story: that blacks were a cursed race who were
inherently inferior to whites. The idea that Jews ruled
the blacks peacefully is absurd. The Jews to this day day
have only disrespect
disrespect and disdain for blacks.

4. It is agai
against
nst the natur
naturee of
of pas
pasto
tora
rali
lists
sts (nomad
(nomads),
s),
like the
t he Berber and Hebrew tribes, to settle down to
farm.
5. Neither group had the political and/or social and/

or religious organization that was adopted by the new
settlers, as they spread out through Africa.
6. The matriarchal system, which is the base of social

and political organization in ancient Egypt and sub-
Sahara Africa, never existed among Libyans
(Garamantes), Greeks, Romans, Persians, or Jews.
7. No nomadic population, such as the Berbers and

the Hebrews, are known to build civilizations, but, to
the contrary,
contrary, often took them over or destroyed
destroyed them.
As per all historical records, it was the Berbers who
attacked, in the name of Islam ic jihad, all the new Sahel
Islamic
statess in the 11th century
state century,, and continued to t o do so after-
wards.
8. Neither group are food-producing

food-producin g farmers who
know about food production for a large population—
a main characteristic of the newcomers.
usedNeither
9. groupway
the unique produced iron,metals,
of casting or had attributed
the skills, or
to
these newcomers.
newcomers. One can’t teach what one does not
know.
10. Neither group meets ev

even
en a few
few of the newcom-
ers’ main characteristics,
characteristic s, listed in the beginning of this
chapter.
11. Neither group meets any of the additional charac-

teristics listed later in this book.

15. Po
Egypt: Source of People, Knowledge, and Wealth

The characteristics of the newcomers match the ancient
Egyptians, in all aspects. As per previous
previous chapters, the for-
eign occupation, expulsion from their farmlands, and reli-
giousto
tians discrimination in their
leave. When Egypt
leave. homeland,
became forced manycolony
an Arab/Moslem Egyp-,
colony,
there was no hope for their return to their homeland, and
they started moving east, west, and south.
The sudden increase in population, accompanied

accompan ied by the
general wealth, peace and prosperity in sub-Sahara Africa,
could never have taken place, without the newcomers hav-
ing had all of the following factors:
1. People
People (qualified to duplicate their homeland civi-
lization).
2. Knowledge (cosmology and religion, agricultural,

metal-working, city planning, infrastructure
infrastructu re,, govern-
ments, …etc.).
3. Wealth (the capital needed to start projects and sus-

tain them until they become fruitful for the society).
The Egyptians, and nobody else, had these important

factors required
required to establish the new societies. Egypt was
the most populous, civilized, and wealthiest country in the
area. The descriptions of these new settlers, their system,
lifestyle, social structure
structure,, etc., points to the ancient Egyp-
tians as the source.
The following chapters will follow the exiled Egyptians

throughout western
western Africa. This does not ignore
ignore or mini-
mize their dispersion throughout other parts of Africa and

other places.
As we go along, we will find numerous similarities be-

tween the new African societies and ancient Egypt. Among
them are:
A. Relig
eligioious
us bel
belie
iefs
fs and
and prpracti
actice
ces.s.
B. Cosm
Cosmog ogen
enyy aand
nd crea
creati
tioon myt
myths hs::
i. Story of creation, starting with with 4 pairs of pri-
meval neteru(gods).
ii. The creative
creative act was to bring forth seed (his
own semen).
iii. The entire ancient Egyptian matrix of
neteru(gods & goddesses) is almost intact in
Africa.
iv.. Mores, customs, traditions, and thinking.
iv
C. The
The strstron
ongg fai
faith
th in a fut
futur
uree lif
lifee.
D. The
The divi
divinene rule
rule of
of tthe
he King
King/le/lead
aderer..
E. Lang
Langua uagege affi
affini
nity
ty/a
/aff
ffil
ilia
iati
tion
on..
F. Surv
Surviv ival
al of
of cust
custom
omss and
and name
namess of persperson
ons,
s, pla
place
ces,
s,
objects, etc.
G. The
The impimpororta
tanc
ncee aatt
ttac
ache
hedd tto
o nam
names es..
H. The abundant use in Africa of ancient Egyptian
prefixes (Ka, Ba, Ra, Ma, ...etc) in names and titles,
with the same meanings as in ancient Egypt.
Details of the above

a bove are
are presented in Part IV of this book.
Progression
Progression of Populati
opulation
on Patterns
in West Africa (East to West)
The following chapters will show that the Ancient

1
5
.
P
o
p
u
l
a
t
i
n
g
W
e
s
t
e
r
n
A
f
r
i
c
a
1
2
7
Egyptians and their entourage (described in many textbooks

as Hamites, and half-Hamites) moved across the Soudanese
Belt from east to west.
Evidence from sites like Ginne(Jenne-Jeno), Dia, and

Akumbu indicate existence of first-millennium cities and
an d of
an extensive east-west commercial network which later be-
came major trade routes.
By combining oral traditions, ethno-history

ethno-history,, and archeo-
logical evidence (dating of major settlements, tombs, mining
activities, …etc.), one can see that the newcomers began from
the Nile Valley and progressed
progressed westward along the Sahel re-
gion. They then progressed
progressed to the ar
area
ea of Lake Chad (Tashed)
(Tashed)
and the Jos Plateau. From there,
there, they continued to the Niger
River, and then toward the Senegal River.
The movement was continuous and demonstrable.

The upcoming
erly migrations tookchapters willthe
place from show
Nilethat two major west
Valley:
1. A line from the western

western oases,
oases, along
along Darb el-
Arbeen.
2. Another line fr

from
om the region of Upper Kush,
Kush, at
Meroe.
Migrations to other directions are not the main sub-
jects of this edition.
It should be noted that there were no Soudanic states

with specific central authority and defined borders in the
history of Africa. There was a type of loose commonwealth-
15. Po
type relationship
relationship between
between small polities. This peaceful co-
existence between polities changed to a centralized un-demo-
cratic-type government, in the 1 111th century
century,, when Islam
I slam en-
tered the Sahel, by force, in the name of Islamic jihads. The
more Islamized the new state was, the more centralized it
became..
became
In order to make it easy for the readers, we shall refer

to the most known alliances/confederations in Western Af-
rica, even though in reality
reality,, they were just loose confedera-
c onfedera-
tions. A centralized-type government
government is inferior and unnatu-
ral, as compared to the common
commonwealth-type
wealth-type societies. It is
always believed
believed that tthe
he best government is the
t he least govern-
ment. More on such comparisons in the next chapters.

16
Between the Nile & Lake Chad
Mass Migratio
M igration
n
In Somalia, southern Ethiopia, and the area between

the Nile and Lake Chad (Shadi/Tsad), local chronicles throw
some light on events in the last 700-800 years,
years, in very biased
Moslem accounts. But the earlier history of these areas is
almost completely dark.
The darkness comes still closer to modern times in the
southern and western modern-day Islamic-ruled Sudan,
where historical records date back no further than a cen-
tury.. Whatever little we know
tury know, is mostly b based
ased on biased
Moslem accounts.
Remains of num
numerous
erous sites of cities have been reported
between the Nile Valley and Lake Chad that, on examina-
tion, prove existence of a vast population that had moved
into the
Thearea,
bulkand later
of this abandoned
massive it. from the north and
migration,
the east, extended over the period 500 CE to 1000 CE.
This chapter will follow the movement of this mass

migration between the Nile Valley
Valley and Lake Chad region.
1
6
.
B
e
t
w
e
e
n
t
h
e
N
i
l
e
&
L
a
k
e
C
h
a
d
3
1
1

The Founding of Duguwa (Kanem) Confederation
(between Lower Kush and Lake Chad)
Arab chronicles describe the founding of Duguwa
(Kanem) as being tied to massive migrations in the 7 th and
8th centuries. The massive migration w
was
as the result of west-
ward migrating people from the populated areas, along Darb
el-Arbeen and the lower Kush region, which swelled during
the foreign invasion of Egypt.
There are sizeable brick-built ruins, north and east of

Lake Chad, indicative of a much larger population that used
to live there in the 1 st millennium of our Common Era.
Historical chronicles and oral traditions state that the
Duguwa people were
were the founders of the nenew
w society.
society. The
newcomers
with a slightwere
soundknown to the
shift, can Arabs ).
be Duguwa as The
Zaghawa (which
Arabic name,
name,
Zaghawa, was applied to the dominant groups of non-Berber
origin, between Chad and Dar-Fur. Thus, the Duguwa
(Zaghawa) region seems originally to have included both
Kanem and Dar-Fur.
Dar-Fur. The Arabs, likelike many other
other invaders,
provide different
different names to people and places, instead
ins tead of us-
ing the locals’ names.
Dugu-wa means the people of high mountains, in ancient
Egyptian. Dugu (Du-gu/gau) means high mountains, and Wa

means people. This is reminiscent of the term, Dogon (Du-
gau-n), of present-day Islamic-ruled Mali, who are the in-
habitants of high mountains (see Chapter 35).
The 10th century geographer, al-Muhallabi, described

this vast land and its people:
The kingdom of the Zaghawa (meaning Duguwa) is a great

kingdom among
among the kingdoms of the Soudan. It borders
in the east on the kingdom of the Nubia [Lower Kush re-
16. Between the Nile & Lake

Lake Chad 133
gion], who dwell in the uppermost part of Upper Egypt,
there being between them a distance of ten days’ travel-
ing. They are many nations. Their country is fifteen
fifte en states
in length by the same in width, in continuously inhabited
lands. Their houses are all reed
reed huts as is also the palace
of their king. They believe that their kings bring life and
death, sickness and health.
In about 800 CE, the Duguwa founded a coalition be-

tween newly settled polities, which became known later as
anem. The legendary brick city of Ngimi (Njimi), north-
Kanem
K
east of Lake Chad, was one of its active centers.
Until 1000 CE, Kanem

Kanem had possessed the character
c haracter of a
loose hegemony of various work
work groups with the Magumi (a
name that is also known in the Highlands of the Dar-Fur
region), and its senior lineage, the Sayfuwa, being the ruling
class. At this time,
time, the leader bore the title ofof mai, being
advised by a council of nobles made up of leading members
of the various polities in the coalition/alliance.
c oalition/alliance.
The geographer, Al-Muhallabi,

Al-Muhal labi, defined
define d their religion in
Duguwa(Kanem) as “king-worship” , noting that the people re-
garded their kings as the cause of life and death, sickness
and health, and were believed to possess a special spiritual
essence, and describing the elaborate precautions taken to
give the king his food in secret.
Like Ancient Egypt, the kings or mai-s of Kanem were

considered semi-divine.
semi-divine. The queen mother
m other held an honored
position in society and exercised great power
power over the kings.
The senior wife of the mai also had great influence
influenc e.
This system has no roots in Y

Yemen,
emen, Libya, or Christian

Ethiopia, and it is purely an Ancient Egyptian system.
The prosperity of Kanem, by the 9th century if not ear-

lier, caused a flourishing business for traders coming down
from Fezzan, attracted by the newly-found wealth of these
knowledgeable and rich newcomers from the Nile Valley.
The present-day names of the Kangu “tribe” are particu-

larly associat
associated
ed with the ancient
ancient Magumi ruling lineage. Kangu
is also known as Mambu, Kanguma, and Kanembu. These
names are all restructures of ancient Egyptian terms/com-
ponents: Ka/Ga, Ma, Ba, Nu/N, with ‘u’ at the end to signify
plural.
Southern Kordofan Region
Presently living in the Noba/Nuba Mountains of the

southern Kordofan
Kordofan region are about three dozen small groups
collectively called the Noba/Nuba, but varying considerably
in their culture and social organization.
They are the remnants of peoples of varying language
dialects and race, the majority of whom are now negroid.
The non-negroid elements are of Kushite/Egyptian origin.

The leader/king in this region was called Ba-ra-i (the
Ancient Egyptian Ba-Ra, meaning the spirit of the solar power/
energy, Ra ; the i signifies my/mine).
The Shilluk people in this region present many striking

similarities with that of the Jukun-Yoruba
Jukun-Yoruba culture complex.
c omplex.
(More about the Jukun
Jukun in Chapter 17, and in PPart
art IV.)
IV.) The
Jukun, Yoruba, and possibly also the Nupe (all in present-
day Nigeria), shared with the Shilluk to some considerable

Lake Chad 135
extent a common culture which had non-negroid features.
By tying the pieces together, it seems that the inhabit-

ants of Meroe vacated their region, in the 4 th century CE,
and went toward
toward Gabal Meidob.
Meidob. Some went southward
southward to
become known as the Shilluk, and others went westward,
and were known later as the Jukun, Yoruba, and Nupe.
The non-negroid elements of these people possess physi-

cal characteristics remarkably similar to the Wolof-speaking
peoples of West Africa. Moreover, the “languages” of the
Noba/Nuba are more closely related to Wolof
Wolof and other west-
ern Soudanic languages, than to any other linguistic stock.
It is not difficult to
t o follow the migration of these origi-
nal Nile dwellers along the Sahel, from the Nile to the Atlan-
tic Ocean.
The Tungur Confederation & The Tumagera

(West of Darfur)
TheofTumagera
try west founded
Dar-Fur and fromseveral
whom thekingdoms
historicin the coun-
Tungur king-
dom is descended. Indications are that they came from the
Meroe region. Tumagari would then be a convenient general
term for the kind of Hamite or half-Hamite caste that was
known as the Jukun, when it moved further west and south.
Traditions from many different sources seem to indi-

cate that the Tumagari ruling lineage of Mandara were en-
tirely cognate to and affiliated with the Magumi rulers of
Duguwa(Kanem) and Fitri.

The Sa-u (West & South of Lake Chad)
The original inhabitants of the area south and west of
Lake Chad were cattle breeders, who had little or no farm-
ing. From 300 CE, there is evidence of substantial Iron
Iron Age
settlements,
settlemen ts, but the major influx occurred two centuries later
later..
At least 600 sites of small mud-built towns in the area
date from about
about 500 CE onw
onwards.
ards. These earliest settlements
are said to have been undefended by surrounding walls.
Successive migrations from the east brought into the
area southeast of Lake Chad, a conglomeration of peoples
known collectively as Sa-u (or Sao or So). Traditions, asso-
ciated with the Sa-u, speak of migrations from the north and
east, in the early centuries of the first millennium CE.
The Sa-u, like Duguwa(Kanem) people, are/were orga-

nized in small city-states, and also speak of their Magumi an-
cestors. Therefore, by culture, the Sa-u are related to
Duguwa(Kanem), having an Afro-Asiatic tongue
tongu e, just like the
ancient Egyptians.
One of the closest modern descendants of the Sa-u are
the Kotoko, living south of Lake Chad, and whose language
is classified as Afro-Asiatic.
Afro-Asiatic. Their neighbors further west,
the Hausa (more about them in Chapter 18), and numerous
other groups living to the west, also spoke the same type of
language. The Afro-Asiatic
Afro-Asiatic tongue is indicativ
indicativee of their ori-
gin, i.e. ancient Egypt.
The Sa-u people are also known by some in Africa, as

Sahu. The Sah-u (or Saho) are their kin, who live in Eritria,
and who are known as Eastern Kushites (in other words,
Blemmyes/Beja). Sah and Sah-u are ancient Egyptian terms
that are associated, in some of iits
ts aspects, to Orion. The Sa-
u/Sah-u people are an important link between their Egyp-
tian origin and the history of sub-Sahara Africa.

Lake Chad 137
The new urban life emerged in the neighborhood of
Lake Chad, in particular beside the banks of its two great
southern affluents, the Chari and Logone, and along the
western side of the lake
lake.. Intensive agriculture
agricultu re was combined
with fishing and stock-raising,
stoc k-raising, and the surplus
surplu s shipped away
northward across the lake to Duguwa(Kanem), and south-
ward up the rivers to the equatorial forest. They enjoyed
enjoyed a
high standard of living.
The Sa-u perfected their work in metal, to the level of

casting by what is technically termed the lost wax technique,
which was known
known only to ancient
ancient Egyptians. They also made
made
fine pottery,
pottery, including large urns, in which they buried their
dead.
The Sa-u were reputed to have built deeper and better

cemented wells than can be made by the natives of today.
Ancient Egyptians built deeper and better wells and shafts
throughout their long
l ong history.
The Sa-u had no centralized state,

state, and formed a peace-
ful commonwealth-type alliance between their different poli-
ties.
A decisive moment seems to have occurred in its his-

tory,, when the
tory th e early sites were
were abandoned except at the spir-
ited (sacred) groves, and the population regrouped itself in
larger
larger settleme
settlements,
nts, each enclosed
enclosed within
within a defensiv
defensivee wa
wall
ll from
from
the 11th century onward.
onward. The defensive walls
walls were built to
protect them from Islamic jihads, which intended to convert,
kill, or enslave
enslave them. They have have resisted
resisted Islam and its on-
slaughts, and never surrendered their traditions.
The term Sa-u , like Sah/Sah-u, has Egyptian roots,

since:

1. Sa-u was the name of a main city in the Egyptian
Delta.
2. Sa-u is plural in Ancient Egyptian language

lan guage,, for Sa,
which means ‘someone
someone,, regiment, guardians, sons, order ’.
The Sa-u people are also known by a variety of other

names, such as the Soninke, Sarakule , …etc. We will find
them again as the
th e founders of the new
n ew prosperous
prosperous societies,
all throughout sub-Sahara Africa.
The Sa-u towns are known as Ndi/Nti-Kwa, which is

the same name as what Western academicians consider as
another “ mysterious”
mysterious” people called Ba-Ntu (ntu is plural for
nti/ndi). Ndi/Nti signifies man, someone, in the ancient Egyp-
tian language, and throughout almost all the African “lan-
guages” south of the Sahara. Kwa/wa signifies people.
Pre-Islamic Bornu (A Child of the Sa-u)
Prior to the foundation of the Bornu state, the region

to the west and to the south of Lake Chad had been the do-
main
ruled of
thethe Sa-u
vast , who
region are the
from descendants of to
Nile Valley
Valley the Magumi, who
Nigeria.
Traditions current both in Bornu and Katsina (in

present-day northern Nigeria) state that there was a time
early in the 1st millennium CE, when the greater portion of
central Nigeria was occupied by races of which the names
are of the type M’bum, M’butu, M’bafum. These people have
now been driven into the central part of the Cameroons and
the eastern part of the Southern Provinces of Nigeria. The
Mbum (Ma-ba-u-m) peoples before 1400 CE were located

Lake Chad 139
mainly in Bornu well north of the Bennu(Benue) River.
Like ancient Egypt, the Bornu (of the Sa-u) Dynasties

observed the matrilineal system. Like Ancient Egyptians,
Egyptians,
they ascribe leading roles to their women, including those of
queen mother and queen sister.
sister.
Biased and illogical Arab/Moslem chronicles state that

in the 11th century, the mai (an Ancient Egyptian term, sig-
nifying king/leader ) and his court accepted Islam, just like
all their counterparts along the Sahel. The same chronicles
will state, every
every couple of decades later
lat er,, that the Kings were
still “pagans”, and therefore were overthrown
overthrown in one of the
numerous Islamic jihads that hit Africa. It is a broken record
— people convert and a few decades later, they are “not con-
verts” and must be converted, and on and on. on. The chronicles
lied, everytime
everytime they stated
s tated that the “elite” converted to t o Is-
lam.
The present-day area of Bornu now consists of two

t wo main
groups:
1. The Kanuri people.

2. The Kanembu people.
The Hausa people describe the people of Bornu as Beri-

beri. This description may apply to the Kanuri
Kanuri people.
people. The
Kanembu are Hamites—tall, slim, with thin lips and aqui-
line nose.
nose. The Kanuri
Kanuri are squat, with negroid
negroid features.
The people of this area, just like most societies in sub-

Sahara Africa, since the Islamic onslaughts of the 11th cen-
tury CE, live in small, defensive, walled agricultural villages
( birni).

17
New Beginning at the Bennu
Since the area between the Nile

Nil e Valley
Valley and Lake Chad
Basin cannot support a large agricultural population, more
permanent settlements occurred
occurred along the river basins.
basins. One
of these areas was the Sa-u (known as So/Sao) settlement,
around Lake Chad Basin, which was referred to in the previ-
ous chapter
c hapter..
Further southwest of the Lake Chad region, more sub-
stantial development
development took place
place.. History books
books talk about
three cultures/people who occupied the area around the
Bennu/Benue River:
- The Nok culture.

- The Jukun people
people..
- The Bantu people.

people.
The river basin where the newcomers
n ewcomers
settled, was called Bennu /Benu
/Benuee, by these
people. Bennu is the ancient Egyptian ben-
ben stone symbol of the mound of creation
at Onnu/Anu(Heliopolis)
(Heliopolis),, the worship
worship center for Ra. As such,
the name given to the river by the newcomers, signifies a
new beginning. The choice of name and the available iinfor-
nfor-
mation on these people, points to Ancient Egypt, as their
original Bennu (source/origin).

1
7
.
N
e
w
B
e
g
i
n
n
i
n
g
a
t
t
h
e
B
e
n
n
u
1
4
1
The Nok Culture (Jos Plateau)

The Nok culture refers to a series of sites located over
an expanse 300 miles (483 km) long, extending both north
and south of the Bennu(Benue) River, to the southwest of
Lake Chad.
In 1936, a small terracotta head of

a monkey was discovered in tin-mining
operations near the village of Nok. We
do not know what the people called
themselves, so the culture was named
after the town of Nok where the first ob-
ject was found.
Nok/Nuk, in the Ancient Egyptian

language, means, I am / thee.
The Nok culture is distinguished

for its distinctive tradition of terracotta sculpture, which is
abstractly stylized and geometric in conception, and is ad-
mired both for its artistic expression and for the high techni-
cal standards of its production. The fired clay or terracotta
sculptures range in size from a small pendant to life-sized
figures.
The Nok people were agriculturists who possessed some

knowledge of iron-working, but appear to have still made
use of a variety of stone implements. Radiocarbo
Radiocarbon
n dates sug-
gest that their culture developed toward
toward the end of the first
firs t
millennium BCE. Their knowledge of agricultural tech-
niques is thought to have spread from the Nile Valley.
The primitive iron-smelting furnaces at Taruga dating

from the 4th century BCE. provide the oldest evidence of met-
alworking in West Africa. The Nok people, whose skills were
17. New Beginning at the Bennu 143
ultimately derived from Kush, appears to have introduced

iron metal to the peoples of sub-Sahara Africa, in the last
centuries of the first millennium BCE.
The Nok culture affords evidence of metallurgical skills

in tin, as well as in iron. The lost wax process
process of casting was
used for tin products.
products. To repeat, this method of casting was
only known in Ancient Egypt.
Two of their products

were tin beads and coiled
snakes, which were found in
Bauchi. Both (mummy) beads
and serpents were also main
features in Ancient Egypt.
The Nok tradition repre-

sents the earliest known sculpture
scul pture yet found in sub-Saharan
Africa and seems to have been later transferred to Ife and
Benin in western Nigeria, and to other places further west
and south.
But who were the Nok, and what happened to them?
One finds people with similar characteristics and achieve-
ments, in the same area of the Bennu River
River,, yet with a differ-
ent name, the Jukun and the Bantu.
The Jukun (from Meroe to the Bennu River)

The Jukun today survive as little more than a remnant
group. Much of their history that survives
survives is known
known mainly
from the histories of Bornu and the Hausa states, especially
that of Kano.
According to their own traditions and the tradition of

their neighbors, the Jukun were not originally indigenous
either to the Bennu (Benue) region, their present main habi-
tat, or in fact to Nigeria, but migrated from Kordofan and
the region of the Nile, through the Fitri region, Mandara,
and the Gongola region, to the Bennu River region.
The credibility of these traditions are compatible with
other neighboring traditions.
In modern times, the people who are generally known

as the Jukun, call themselves W-apa-n (plural of W-apa or
a p a ). They live in a number of settlements in the
Bennu(Benue) Valley.
A Jukun calls the Hausa (of northern Nigeria) Apa-

kwa-riga, i.e. the Apa people who wear a “tobe”, just as the
Hausa himself calls the Jukun people, in general, K
Kwarar-
warar-
apa, i.e. peoples who call themselves
themsel ves Apa.
Kororofa/Kwararafa/Kwarar-apa, which was used to

designate both the country and the ancient capital of the
Jukun, by most Western
Western writers, is not known to the Jukun
themselves.
As we will see in Chapter 18, the Hausa of northern

Nigeria name the Jukun as one of seven bastard states, pos-
sibly because they came from the illegitimate
ill egitimate Meroe region.
This contention is further affirmed, since:
1. The
cal JukunThey
features. don’t appear
have
have thetoEgyptian K
Kushite
ushite physi-
be “half-Hamites”, in-
dicative of their coming from the Meroe region.
2. The Jukun themselves

themselves don’t claim kinship with
the Magumi, the early ruling people of Duguwa(Kanem).
The Magumi were part of the more northerly migra-

tion from Darb el-Arbeen and the Lower Kush regions.
3. The Jukun accounts show that they

they themselves
were few
few in number and were a ruling class (nobles),
(nobles ),
who, under the pressure of other immigrants,
im migrants, too over-
whelming in number for effective resistance to be
made, were forced to migrate toward Bennu(Benue).
In light of the small number of the original immigrat-

ing Jukun, we should expect to find absorption of this
t his group
into the native populations.
The Jukun provide an important link between the Nile

Valley and Nigeria, because they survived the Moslem on-
slaughts, and they captured the attention of some British
anthropoligists such as C.K. Meek. (See Selected Bibliogra-
phy.)
The Jukun ritual knowledge is widely respected, and

their king, the aku of Wukari, enjoyed a spiritual preeminence
preeminenc e.
The Aku, or king of the Jukun, is regarded as a son of god.
The origin of the

t he name, Jukun, is unknown, but it could
simply mean the people/subjects of the King(Jukun/J-Aku-n).
Among the Jukun, the Bennu/Benue River is known as

Anu. Bennu is the ancient Egyptian ben-ben stone symbol of
mound of creation at Onnu/Anu(Heliopolis), the worship cen-
ter for Ra. It is of
of interest to note that the Jukun are called
Sun( Ra Worshippers.
) Worshippers
Ra
This and other incredible similarities between the Jukun

and ancient Egypt will be detailed in Part IV of this book,
The Egyptian Model & The New Societies .
The Bantu at the Upper Bennu River

The term Bantu is the most commonly used term in
African history.
history.
In southern Africa, the name Bantu (Bantu culture)

culture) has
long been used to refer to all Africans, and
an d widely adopted
by many writers as being that of all Africa. Incredibly,
Incredibly, the
non-African academicians insist that the Bantu-speaking
peoples form only perhaps 1/3 of the continent’s total popu-
lation. It is a reckless,
reckless, arbitrary,
arbitrary, and shameful Western
Western aca-
demic ploy to confuse issues.
According to Western academia, the term Bantu refers

to a family of about 300-600 “languages” spoken by over
150 million Africans. For these academicians, it is strictly
speaking a term of linguistic classification. It derives from
their findings that the “languages”, spoken by the inhabit-
ants of the southern half of Africa, share the same basic gram-
mars and vocabularies.
It was this unusually close interrelationship of the
“Bantu languages” that provided the first indication that the
ancestors of their modern speakers must have occupied the
whole southern half of Africa relatively recently and rela-
tively quickly.
quickly. The Bantu’s dispersal represents one of the
greatest movements of population in the history of the world,
during the last two thousand years.
1. From where did thethey

y disperse?
2. What are their characteristics?
3. Where did the
they
y come from?
4. What prov
provoked
oked their dispersion? And when did
it occur?
These are serious basic questions that are not taken
seriously by Western
Western academicians. They deal with this, the
largest immigration movement in the history of Africa, in
abstracts and with reckless disregard for the truth.
Whatever written sources,
sourc es, if any,
any, that the “Bantu”
“Bant u” had,
were destroyed
destroyed by invaders who dispersed them throughout
the continent. Western academicians were selective
selective in which
oral traditions they wrote
wrote down. They chose only the ones
that fit their pre-conceived notions/theories, and rejected the
rest.
From where did they disperse?
The evidence from Western

Western “linguistic”
“linguist ic” academia pro-
vides three important clues:
1. Though there are 300-600 Bantu “languages” or

dialects, they are all closely related to one another. All
the Bantu “languages” (of southern Africa) stem from
a single ancestral language (now labeled proto-Bantu).
This was proven
respondences a century
betwee
between ago by the
n phonemes regularity
in different of cor-
cor -
contem-
porary “languages” and by the similarities
simil arities in grammar.
It was soon realized that such a massive dispersion
was most likely the result of a vast human migration,
and that the original cradle of the language family
would indicate the starting point of this migration.
2. The American

American linguist, Greenberg, compared the
equivalents for approximately

spoken by many present westernfifty
present Soudordinary
Soudanic words
anic groups and
also by
by Bantu speakers of southern Africa. He con-
cluded that the various Bantu dialects, as well as the
western Soudanic, all belong to one language family,
which he called Niger-K
Niger-Kordof anian.
ordofanian
3. Greenberg
Greenberg then concluded that the speakers
speakers of these
languages began their dispersion from the savannah
and hence moved abruptly southward to the forest re-
gion of Africa.
☞
This then suggests that the home of the earliest Bantu
speakers or “proto-Bantu” as Guthrie calls them, is/
was situated in the area of the Upper Bennu/Benue.
Academicians were just content to refer to them with

an abstract term, “proto-Bantu”.
What are their characteristics?
In addition to finding an origin of these massive Afri-

can migrations, according to linguistic basis, there were other
characteristics of these Bantu-speaking peoples:
1. The early proto-Bantu possessed a metalworking

technology,, found both in copper and iron. The diffu-
technology
sion of iron working technology across the continent
followed the Bantu movements.
2. The proto-Bantu were also responsible for diffus-

ing agriculture, and food producing techniques, par-
ticularly agriculture of high-yield crops. The spread
of agriculture led to the explosive growth
growth of village life
all throughout Africa.
3. Data shows

shows that the proto-Bantu ancestral commu-
nities had lived in relatively well organized, stable vil-
lages.
4. The proto-Bantu were wealthy, and brought gold
and other riches with them.
5. Wherever they migrated, the proto-Bantu “imposed”

their language, which mixed with and replaced indig-
enous languages.
☞ How they managed to “impose” their language on

such a wide range of people across such a huge
swathe of territory is indicative of an influential,
knowledgeable,, rich,
knowledgeable rich , and respected people.
6. They followed the divine Kingship and other as-

pects, which are totally ancient Egyptian, and are to-
tally foreign to any Asiatic origin.
7. Notwithstanding the academicians’ struggle with

the “mysterious” Bantu, the term Bantu is actually of
ancient Egyptian origin.
Ba-Ntu means the men or people. The stem Ntu of Bantu

occurs in Egyptian: Nti (Ntu is plural) = man, some-
one; in Wolof: Nit =
= man; and in Peul: Neddo=man.
This designation of a people by a generic term mean-
ing man has been general throughout Africa, starting
with Egypt.
Are the Bantu and M’bum the same people? And who
are the M’bum (plural of Ma-Ba), which is the name of the
pre-Hausa states? (see Chapter 18)
Incredibly, the above characteristics of the so-called

proto-Bantu are exactly the same as the newcomers who de-
veloped the new societies south of the S
Sahara
ahara Desert. Coin-
cidence? Or the same people?!
Where did they come from?
Academicia
cademiciansns went haywire,
haywire, ignoring the
t he oral traditions
of the native people, and opted to settle for the notion that
the Bantu’s origin is an unsolved mystery
mystery.. How can the
source of the largest migration in African history be called
call ed a
mystery; and then build up the African history
histor y on this empty
mystery?
Most academicians like the idea that these “mysterious”

people came from someplace in Asia. They theorize that the th e
Bantu reached the coast of East Africa at a time when it was
being regularly
regularly visited by Indonesian seafarers. The w weight
eight
of their arguments is based on the presence/introduction of
three plants, domesticated in southeast Asia but hitherto
completely unknown in Africa — the banana, the Asian yam,
and the coco yam
yam or taro. These plants spread
spread across the
African continent directly,
directly, but most likely indirectly by the
Bantu.
It is incredible to think that three agricultural products

are the key/critical evidence of massive Indonesian migra-
tion. Such plants, just like
like other plants, could, and did, spread
spread
via traders, since very ancient times, throughout the world.
Yet academicians can’t even fit this “immigration” of

the “yam-carriers” into the timeline evidence.
evidence. Their theory
that the “mysterious people”, in the span between the 4th
and 12th centuries, began to infiltrate the eastern African
coasts and the central highlands, has no
n o supporting evidence
evidence
whatsoever
whatsoever.
it, since Al .Masudi,
On the known
contrary
contrary,, the
to evidence
be an astute is directly, did
observer,
observer against
not
see or report any migration from the Indian Ocean, on his
visit into the area in the 10th century.
Convinced of that, academicians started looking for
another theory.
What provoked this dispersion, and when did it occur?
All references agree that the speakers of Bantu “lan-

guages” must have separated much more recently and they
must have moved comparatively rapidly,
rapidly, to account for their
present dispersal throughout Africa.
Why did these agricultural Bantu

Ban tu move through the rain
forest region, where it is inaccessible and cannot support
any substantial population? Mass migration
migration is caused by
by
danger or a sudden change.
change. Agriculturists are known
known to be
tied to their land.
The substance of archeological finds,

fin ds, before around 750
CE, is meager, consisting mostly of some ceramics, and scraps
of iron or iron
iron slag. Some hundreds of radiocarbon
radiocarbon dates are
now available from early Iron Age sites in interior Africa.
They show that by the 8th century, there was a considerable
number of communities using iron, extending from south-
ern Zambia across western and central Zimbabwe into north-
ern Transvaal.
Earlier evidence from radio carbon dating reveals that
iron was being used in the Nigerian plateau, in northern
central Nigeria, in the 3rd century BCE.
Archeological evidence then reveals that the massive
migration occurred, toward
toward the end of the
th e first millennium,
as Islamic jihads reached the fringes of the Sahel region. More
jihads
about the Islamic jihads in later chapters.
18
Ancient MaBa-u (Hausa)
Commonwealth
The Alliance of the Seven

Geographically, Hausaland straddles the watershed be-
Geographically,
tween the Niger River and the Lake Chad Basin.
The people known as the Hausa, don’t call themselves

by that name.
name. The peoples of pre-Hausa states were
were known
known
as the M’bau/Ma-Ba-u kingdoms, who are the very same
people that can
c an be found in Wadai.
Wadai. Ma-B-u are those Egyp-
tians
to who
form fled
the via Darb
Hausa el-Arbeen to Wadai and further west,
Commonwealth.
The term Hausa is primarily linguistic, and also to a
considerable extent religious and cultural, but historically
and physically the Hausa are in fact a hodge-podge of peoples
of various origins, speaking a Hamitoid Afro-Asiatic lan-
guage,, like Egypt.
guage
The people in present-day Bauchi, of Nigeria, are

a re prob-
ably
Lakethe prototype
Chad, of the
some time
some Hausa,500
between whoand
migrated
700
700 CE.from
Theeast
new-of
comers entered the area and in time,
time, the fusion between these
western-moving Afro-Asiatic speakers and the pre-existing
Negro population created the
t he Hausa cculture
ulture..
The early Hausa states had a direct infusion from Egypt
1
8
.
A
n
c
i
e
n
t
M
a
B
a
-
u
(
H
u
a
s
a
)
C
o
m
m
o
n
w
e
a
l
t
h
1
5
3

th th
during the 8th and 9th centuries of our era, to possibly join
prior relatives. Between 828 and 837 CE, the Egyptians rre- e-
belled against the Arab deputy of the caliph of Baghdad. To
suppress this uprising, the caliph
c aliph used an army,
army, largely com-
posed of Turks, to drive many of the discontented people
into the Libyan
Libyan Desert. Some elements of these people may
have found their way
way via Bilma into northern Nigeria.
The Egyptian influence, however, goes back way be-
fore the rise of Islam, for Islamic tradition current through-
out the Soudan indicates that “infidels” of Semitic origin
held, in the early centuries of our era,
era, the chief power
power.. Jews
are not considered to be “infidels” in Islamic traditions, which
leaves only Egypt as the only refer
reference.
ence.
The fact that Belo (the Fulani sultan and historian) ac-
tually ascribed an Egyptian origin to the people of Gobir is
also significant.
The Hausa city-states, because of the choice of their

rulers, never had a meaningful political union of their poli-
ties, throughout its history
history.. The Commonw
Commonwealth
ealth consisted
of seven original city-states: Biram, Daura, Kano, Zazzau
(Zaria), Gobir
G obir,, Rano, and Katsina.
The wealth of all the city-states depended upon the

thriving farming villages as well as trade and manufactur-
ing.
They developed elaborate cultures and lived in com-

pact settlements, the most important of which were destine
destined
d
to become substantial walled towns, from the 11th century
and onwards, when they were raided
raided in the name
nam e of Islam.
Since the beginning of Hausa history, the seven states

of Hausaland divided up production and labor activities in
18. Ancient MaBa-u (Hausa) Commonwealth 155

accordance with their location and natural resources. Each
of the Hausa states acquired special military, economic, or
religious functions. No one state dominated the others, but
at various times different states assumed
a ssumed a leading role.
The largest Hausa city is Kano, for centuries the hub

and distribution center
cent er for the trans-Saharan
t rans-Saharan trade.
trade. There is
evidence of iron smelting on Dala Hill in Kano from about
600 to 700 CE. For a long period, DauraDaura was/is considered
to be the spiritual home of the Hausa.
Examples of Ancient Egyptian Similarities

In addition to prior evidence of Ancient Egyptian af-
finities in Hausaland, here are some more examples:
examples:
1. The political organization ooff all the Hausa States

was similar.
similar. Kings/leaders, like in
in Ancient Egypt, had
great divine powers. There was a well-ordered
well-ordered hierar-
chy of ministers, officials, and councils, all of whom
exercised
exercised checks upon the powers of the leader/king.
leader/kin g.
2. Like Ancient Egypt, the Hausa kings/leaders reck-

reck-
oned descent matrilineally, the name of the father be-
ing ignored in the oldest lists of the kings. In the list
of the kings of Kano down to the Fulani Islamic on-
slaught of the 19th century, descent is reckoned through
the mother.
3. Like Ancient Egypt and eeven

ven modern-day Egypt,

the Hausa/Ma-ba-u settlements were sites forming part
of a string of shrines, at which major religious and
trade fairs took place.
4. The Hausa have

have the same exact
exact traditions for the
naming of a new child, circumcision, etc., like Ancient
Egypt and other commonwealth (empires) in Western
Africa. Like ancient
ancient Egyptians also,
also, the Hausa are
are not
violent. They are easy-going, with mild dispositions.
5. Similar to the Ancient Egyptian’s Heb-sed rituals,

the Hausa kings/leaders went through a near-death
experience (figuratively killing their kings).
6. Like Ancient Egypt, wrestling was an important

religious ritual in their lives.
lives. Wrestlers went from
from one
locality to another to perform matches, with lots of
rituals. This is reminiscent of the wrestling
wrestling scenes
(shown above) in Beni Hassan tombs in Upper Egypt.
18. Ancient MaBa-u (Hausa) Commonwealth 157

The Legend of the MaBa-u (Hausa) Founders
Founders
The founding of the Hausa States is contained in the
tale of the Queen of Daura and Abayejidu.
Abayejidu. There are many
variations of this story, and the one mentioned here came
from a document in possession of the Kutumbawa
Kutumbawa of Kano.
According to this legend,
legend, the progenitor of the kings of Daura,
Katsina, Gobir,
Gobir, Kano, Rano, and Zaria, was Abayejidu,
Abayejidu, son
of Abdulahi, king of Bagadaza (Baghdad). The king,
Abdulahi, was driven out of his country by a pagan horde
headed by a woman named Ziduwan.Ziduwan. Abay
Abayejidu,
ejidu, or Muktari
as he is also called,
cal led, traveled west to what later became known
as Bornu — presumably Kanem at that time — accompa-
nied by a good manymany of his fellows
fellows in distress. The king of
Bornu, Abdu Balili, helped Abayejidu and his companions.
Abdu was even forced (according to the Islamic
Isla mic recorded
legend) to give his daughter Magaram to Abayejidu.
Abayejidu.
Excluding the Islamic coloring of the story, the essen-

tial points in the Daura tradition are that the founders of the
Hausa States were foreigners fromfrom the East, and all belonged
to the same racial stock,
st ock, that they introduced the horse, and
that they followed the matrilocal system of marriage, and
the matrilineal system of descent.
The Hausa-speaking peoples call the states of Kebbi,

Nupe, Gwari, Yelwa, Ilorin, Kwororofa (Jukun), and
Zamfara: the Banza Bokwoi, meaning bastard/illegitimate
states. This will be consistent with
with how Egyptians
Egyptians in Kus
Kush’s
h’s
Napata region would have described the southern renegades
at Meroe, who migrated westward, in a more southerly di-
rection, to central and southern Nigeria. The mor
moree north-
erly migration was from the Darb el-Arbeen oases and lower
lower
Kush to Kanem, Wadai, Sa-u, Bornu, to Hausaland, and fur-
ther west.

19
The Pearls of the Niger River
Migration From the Nile to the Niger

Historians have identified the three main ethnic groups
that joined to make up the early settlers downriver of the
Niger Great Bend. They were were the Gow or Gobibi, who earned
a reputation as masters of the soil; the Do, who were farmers,
cattle-herders, and hunters; and the Sorko, called masters of
the river because
because of their expertise in irrigation, farming,
farming, boat-
building, fishing and canoeing. The Gow and Do appear to
havee been the first groups to occupy Dendi. The Sorko came
hav
later. The Sorko is another name variation to the Sa-u,
Sarakulee, Soninke
Sarakul Sonin ke.. Therefore, we keep hearing
heari ng of the same
people (with a slight name variation) who came and ruled
the natives peacefully throughout sub-Sahara Africa.
During the 7 th or 8th centuries CE, groups of Sorko (Sa-

u/Soninke) began to move up the river, coming from the Lake
Chad area. Sorko extended their activities up the Niger as
far as Lake Debo
Debo and Ginne.
Ginne. The Sorko/Soninke
Sorko/Soninke were able
to unite a new commonwealth, which included Ginne
(Jenne), Timbuktu (Timbuto), Gao, Kukya, and Dendi.
The new alliance along the Niger is commonly known
as Songhai (SAUN-ghi), which is a slight sound change of
Sonk-ai, i.e.
i.e. of Soninke origin. The ruling class were the
Sorko (a variation of the name Soninke).
At the bend of the

t he Niger,
Niger, was the town usually
usuall y known,

1
.9
T
h
e
P
e
a
r
l
s
o
f
t
h
e
N
i
g
e
r
R
i
v
e
r
1
5
9
in Arabic writings, as Kawkaw, (the modern Gao). A slight

Kawkaw
sound variation for Gao is K a-o or Ka-u, which is the plural
Ka-o
form for Ka, signifying a person (Ka-u = people).
Gao was in the heart of the great trans-Saharan trade
network that linked North Africa and Arabia, the Western
Soudan, and the forest region to the south.
The people of Gao enjoyed a high standard of living.

Because the Niger flows through many different regions,
trade items from these regions could be exchanged by boat.
Gao soon developed into a wealthy region.
region.
Most of the early Songhai family lineages were of

Soninke origin. They include
inc lude the Ture, Sylla, Tunkara, Sisse,
and Drame.
Drame. They are primarily farmers, fishermen,
f ishermen, and trad-
ers. They are/were very good horsemen. They are (and were)
were)
a very proud and hospitable people.
The Songhai Commonwealth looks like a replica of

Pharaonic Egypt, in that both states were river civilizations.
Examples of Ancient Egyptian Similarities
1. As in Ancient Egypt, the early river common-
wealths were ruled by Kings, regarded as semi-divine.
semi-divine.
The King was considered the father of his people and
a nd
the source of wealth and of the fertility of the land,
herds, and community.
community.
2. Early Songhai society had a hierarchical, social,

and political structure
struct ure,, just like Ancient Egypt and all
the societies of the west and central Soudan, at that
time.
19. The Pearls of the Niger River 161

3. Locals have been using the shadouff (a hoist for
irrigation used on the River Nile). It is the same exact
thing and name, as was used by the Ancient Egyptians.
More about it on page 227.
4. Like Ancient Egypt and in modern-day rural

Egypt, they also believe in two earths and seven heav-
ens (as detailed later,
later, in Part IV of this
t his book).
5. Like Ancient Egyptians, the Songhai people are

not fighters, and therefore recruited native African
people to serve in their army and navy.
navy.
The Niger River (The Other Nile)

The Niger, the second-longest river in Africa, has al-
ways been the most reliable source of water for the region.
Its banks and floodplains provide fertile fields for rice and
other crops. Though obstructed by many falls and rapids,
rapids,
the Niger has always been a major route for communication
communic ation
among the peoples of this area.
Among the Mandinka people of present-day Mali, the

Niger River is known as the Joliba; among the Songhai of
the great bend in the river, it is called the Issa Ber ; while
among the Nupe and
and Yoruba
Yoruba of Nigeria,
Nigeria , it is called the K
Kwara.
wara
The name, Niger , is of uncertain origin, but first appears in
European literature in the Desc
Descript
ription Afri ca, by Leo
ion of Africa,
Africanus in the mid-16th century.
The first mention of the Niger in recorded history, al-

though not by its name,
name, was probably
probably by Herodotus.
Herodotus. Writ-
ten in the 5th century BCE, a tale he had heard from the people
of Cyrene: five young members of a Berber tribe called the
Nasamonians had crossed an immense sandy desert and
come to a fertile region where they met a tribe of black dwarf-
like creatures
creatures (reminiscent
(reminiscent of Pharaoh Pepi II dwarf’s story,
story,
in Chapter 7) whose city lay alongside
a swift and violent river

r iver,, flowing from the West
West to the rising
sun, and described as a branch of the Nile.
It seems more likely

l ikely to have been the Niger River.
The word, Niger
Niger,, turned up in the first century BCE in
a scholarly treatise
t reatise on Africa written by the Rome-educated
Berber king of Numidia (roughly modern Algeria), Juba II.
He described a river that flowed eastward from lower
Mauritania and ran underground, surfacing to join the Nile;

he called it the Niger , a word in Latin meaning black.
The Romans, careful relaters of their own victories,
speak little of the interior parts of Africa. Pliny the Elder
(CE 23-79), whose 37-volume Natural History constitutes a
prodigious compilation of second-hand
second-han d information, wrote,
wrote,
The river Niger is of the same nature as the Nile. Its banks
are lined with reeds and papyrus, it breeds the same liv-
ing creatures and rises or swells at the same season.
The view that the Niger and the Nile were one, was
first challenged by the Hellenized Alexandrian astronomer
and geographer Claudius Ptolemy (87-150 CE).
It is believed by
by some geologists that, as the ancient ac-
counts seemed to indicate, there is some underground ex-
tension of Lake Chad towards
towards the northeast. Nachtigal be-
lieved the Bahr-el-Ghazal to be an effluent of Lake Chad;
and the Tilho
Tilh o Mission was inclined to share this view,
view, based
on the ground of the presence of salt in the surrounding coun-
try, and the comparative lack of salinity in the waters of the
try,
lake.. The fauna in the region between the Nile and Chad
lake
seems also, the Mission thought, to indicate that
th at there were
ancient fluvial connections between the Nile and Chad, and
that there was possibly a vast ancient sea which was in com-
munication with the basins of the Nile, Congo, and Niger.
The present lake would on this assumption be but one of
the many outlying archipelagoes of this vast inland sea of
former times.
Therefore, the ancient accounts of the Niger being part
Therefore,
of the Nile should not be dismissed just because the above
ground surface waters do not join anymore.
anymore.
Ginne: the Western Pearl of the Niger

Jenne is the Arabic pronounciation of Ginne/Guinea,
which is the name of this magnificent pearl. As eexplained
xplained
later, on page 194, Ginne/Guinea is an ancient Egyptian term
meaning ancestor spirit .
At Ginne, if the Pharaoh awoke there today, he would

think he was in ancient Egypt. The clay houses have deco-
rated facades with trapezoidal porticos, pointed crenels, and
columns in low relief.
The mound, which represents the first site of

Ginne(Jenne), has demonstrated the existence of a town of
some 80 acres, flourishing from about the mid-8th century to
about 1100,
1100, and reached its greatest
greatest size late in about
about 850
CE. Ginne was founded by Soninke
Soninke merchants,
merchants, and served
as a trading post between the traders from the western and
central Soudan and those from Guinea, and was directly
linked to the important trading city of Timbuktu, located
250 miles (400 km) downstream on the Niger River.River.
Ancient Ginne(Jenne) thrived until at least 1000 CE.

It was a large, heterogeneous community of no fewer than
10,000 souls that included specialists providing services to
an integrated hinterland. Then, a slow decline in occupa-
tion and early abandonment of hinterland villages antici-
pated final desertion of Ginne (Jenne) about 1400. This
was all related to Islamic jihads, by the Keita Clan of ancient
Mali, and the later expansionist Islamic rulers of Songhai.
More details in Part V of this book.
Images of figures covered with serpents, which were

created in great numbers by the artists of ancient
Ginne(Jenne), illustrate the significance of serpents, in its
traditions, reminiscent of Ancient Egypt.
A very large num-

ber of terracotta sculp-
tures have been found
in the Inland Delta area
of the Niger River,
which date from the
last
la st cent
ce ntur
urie
iess of the
th e
first millennium CE
through the 15th cen-
tury. The style is often
referred
referr ed to as the Ginne
(Jenne) style. Ancient Egyptian Ushtabi
A crowded urban cemetery provided evidence of many

m any
figurative ceramics, reminiscent of the Ancient Egyptian
ushtabi.
The people of Ginne had the same exact founding story

as that of Wagadu (ancient Ghana), for both were clearly
founded by the Soninke/Sa-u.

20
Wagadu(Ghana) Commonwealth
The Westerly Confederation

The new settlers, led by the Soninke,
Soninke, in this most
m ost west-
erly location, formed a confederation that covered much of
today’s Mali, parts of Senegal and Mauritania. The Soninke
called their new homeland, Wagadu. It is commonly known
as the Ghana Kingdom.
Ancient Ghana should not be confused with the mod-

ern state of Ghana, which lies about 930 miles (1.500 km)
to the southeast of ancient Ghana. Modern Ghana is on the
coast of the Atlantic Ocean.
Al-Fazari, wrote, in the 9th century, that Wagadu was

known in Morocco as The Land of Gold, suggesting that both
Ghana and its trade links with North Africa were well es-
tablished by the time of his writing. Wagadu was known
known to
pay for trade items, such as salt and luxury items, with gold.
Yet oddly enough,
en ough, no goldmines
gol dmines were ever found in this
t his area.
(More details at the end of this chapter.)
The Soninke also sold food products to desert nomads.
Trade routes branched out into a network of intercontinen-
tal trade.
According to Soninke traditions passed down by word

of mouth from one generation to the next, the beginning of
the their confederation dates back to about 700 CE.
20. Wa
Wagadu (Ghana) Commonwealth 167

Soninke
Soni nke (F
(Fo
oun
unde
ders
rs of Ancient
Ancient Wagadu & Songh
Songhai)
ai)
Under Soninke leadership, Wagadu(Ghana)
Wagadu(Ghana) embarked
on a fabulous period of development and prosperity, based
on trade and village agriculture
agric ulture..
The Soninke were not the only people who lived in

ancient Ghana, but they occupied controlling positions in
the political, economic,
economic, and other aspects of life.
life. Typically,
Typically,
the division of labor in the commonwealth/kingdom often
seemed to correspond to different family lineages, just like
ancient Egypt and the new societies of sub-Sahara Africa.
Read more details about this system in Chapter 24, Division
of Labor .
The major different Soninke family lineages, are the

Sisse (see-say), Drame (dra-may), Kante (kan-tay), and Sylla
(sil-la). The Sisse family was
was the ruling family line among
the Soninkes. Sisse is an ancient Egyptian word that is still
being used in Egypt nowadays,
nowadays, which means nobles, people
who ride mares. The Kante
Kante lineage specialized in metalwork-
ing and provided
provided the blacksmiths. Other lineages were/are
were/are
engaged in such work as farming, fishing, clothmaking, or
cattle breeding.
Oral traditions state that the Soninke came from the

east, along the Sahel. Oral traditions
traditions stress
stress that the locals
were ruled by “white people”, i.e. light color skin or dark
skin with fine features, before Islam arrived.
ar rived.
In 1067-8 CE, the Cordoban geographer al-Bakri put

together a fairly comprehensive account of Wagadu, its cit-
ies, and its trade activities.
Al-Bakri remarked that properly Ghana is the title of
20. Wa
the king. The name may thus derive

derive from the Malinke word
word
gana or kana meaning chief. The name al-Bakri gives for
the king reigning in his day is Tunka Manin, and tunka/timka/
dinga means chief in Soninke.
It may also be noted that the chronicle Timbuktu tarikhs
give the name K ava-magha for the founding dynasty of an-
Kava-magha
cient Ghana, and magha/ma-ka also means chief or ruler .
It was very common for both states in sub-Sahara Af-

rica and their capitals to have been known by a name indi-
cating the presence
presence of roy
royalty
alty.. Thus, Mali in Malinke (and
Mande in Soninke) means the place where the master [ma]
resides, and by extension, the Malinke
Malin ke or Mande people are
the people of the King , which is exactly like the people of Brit-
ain, who are called subjects of the Queen/King .
The same situation was the case in ancient Egypt, where

Wasat meant The Seat , i.e
i.e.. where the king/leader is. An-
cient Egyptian provinces were each called Wasat, i.e. where
the authority (seat of government) is located.
The Soninke are known by various names:

na mes: the Soninke
Son inke,,
Serakole, Saracolet, Sarakole, Serahule, Sarawule, Sarkole/
Sarcolet, Sorko, Soro/Susu, Sorogo/Soroko, Susu/Susa/
Sussu, Sose, Soro,
Soro, Soses, Sosoe,
Sosoe, Sosola, Sosso, Souci, Soussou,
Suso, Suzees, So, Sao, Sa-u ...etc. Some early Arab writers
called them the Wakore
Wakore or Wangara. Some of the above above
names have even more variations.
So, we have this group with slight name variations, who

settled among the original inhabitants of the 2,000 mile (3200
km) long Sahel, from
from Chad to Senegambia.
Senegambia. This group, with
an ancient Egyptian origin, was the founder and the ruling
class of the new societies of sub-Sahara Africa.
Soninke’s Ancient Egyptian Traditions

1. As in Ancient Egypt, the king was held to be semi-
divine, and his well-being was considered necessary
for the good of the state
stat e.
2. Al-Bakri, in the 11th century, reported that the

Soninke at this
thi s time, were a matrilineal society
soc iety,, i.e. the
line of roy
royal
al succession would have passed through
the king’s daughter, just like Ancient Egypt.
3. When the king died, he was buried in the spirited

(sacred) grove
grove, along with his personal belongings,
bel ongings, just
like Ancient Egyptians.
4. Like Ancient Egyptians, they named

their babies after 7 days. At that time,
time,
they shaved
shaved the baby’s head. The locks
of hair are worn by the children as an
amulet, just like young Heru(Horus).
5. Soninke traditions tell us that

Wagadu-Bida was a great snake that
th at lived
in a dark cave in the Spirited (Sacred)
Grove. This serpent was the protecting
spirit of the Sisse. Since the king was the
protector of his
h is people, Wagadu-Bi
Wagadu-Bida
da be-
came the protecting spirit of all the
people (exactly like in Ancient Egypt).
According to legend, Wagadu (ancient Ghana) weak-

ened because a Moslem warrior
warrior,, Amadou (Ahmed, another
name of Mohammed, the Islamic founder) killed the snake
spirit Wagadu-Bida.
Wagadu-Bida. The legend speaks volumes
volumes of the rea-
son for Wagadu’s demise, as will be explained later.
20. Wa
The Gold Mystery and Wangara

One interesting point about al-Bakri’s extended account
of Wagadu
Wagadu (ancient Ghana) — and indeed about the Arabic
references generally — is that little is said about the actual
location of gold mine(s), on which the prosperity
prosperity of the king-
dom and of the trans-Saharan trade relied. There w were/are
ere/are
no gold mines within hundreds of miles. It is obvious, in
fact, that ancient writers knew little about it.
Al-Idrisi said that the gold came from ‘the land of
Wangara’, which ‘adjoined’ the kingdom of Wagadu
Wagadu (ancient
Ghana). But where is Wangara?
Wangara was not an area of land but a distinctive trad-

ing group. By the 14th century, it is apparent from the evi-
dence of Ibn Battuta (who, unlike Idrisi, actually
actual ly visited the
area), together with that of Hausa tradition, that terms like
Wanjara, Wanjarata, and Wangarawa did refer to a special-
ized group of long-distance
long-distanc e traders, in origin Soninke.
Soninke.
The question still remains — where did all this gold

come from? Academicians went haywire,
haywire, inventing loca-
tions for gold mines, without providing any physical evi-
dence.. The only place where there are gold mines in west-
dence west-
ern Africa, is in the southern region of present-day Ghana,
900 miles (1450 km) away away.. It never occurred to anybody
anybody
that the gold was imported to the area, and was never mined
— just like the case of the great quantity of bronze statues in
Nigeria, where no copper mines existed there either.
Who was rich and had gold and bronze at that time?
Ancient Egypt did, and it was the exiled Egyptians, named
Sa-u, Soninke, and other variable names, who naturally
packed up and carried away their belongings and temple
contents, when their enemies were closing in on them.
21
Trading with the Devil
New Sahara Trade

Trade Activities (The Gold Rush)
Early Islamic merchants, most of them from Syria, fol-
lowed the soldiers and administrators
administrators into northern Africa.
Later, as stability was assured and wealth increased,
inc reased, traders
were drawn to the regions of sub-Sahara Africa. Interior
trade routes were
were utilized, and the camel, which had been in
general use in North Africa since before the 3rd centu
century
ry,, pro-
vided the means for traversing the desert.
The wealth of the new civilizations in sub-Sahara Af-
rica created
Active thea sign
trade is needoffor otherand
wealth goods from foreign lands.
prosperity.
Trade Routes in the Sahara & Western Africa
Before the desert could be traversed with maximum
safety, the water sources of the Sahara had to be tapped.
There is considerable underground water in certain areas of
the Sahara.
been in useMany of the oases,
for centuries particularly
before the Arabs in began
the north, had
to push
south. These oases were located where water could be ob-
tained with a minimum amount of work.
By the 10th century, a number of major trans-Saharan
2
1
.
T
r
a
d
i
n
g
W
i
t
h
t
h
e
D
e
v
i
l
1
7
3
routes had been developed.

developed. In the west, one track began
near the great Niger Bend, and proceeded north through the
Taodeni Oasis to Tindouf and Sijilmasa. From Sijilmasa,
routes branched
branched to different North African cities. Another
route began further west at Walata, and went north to
Taodeni, Taut,
Taut, and then to the coast. The Fezzan
Fezzan route origi-
nated in the vicinity of Lake Chad and passed through Bilma,
Kawar
Kawar,, and the Fezzan oases to Tripolitania.
There were also east-west routes which linked far west-

ern towns such as Audaghost to the Niger Bend, Lake Chad,
and eventually
eventually to Dongola and Sennar on the Nile.
Nile. Many
secondary routes were also used to connect to the trading
cities of the north. Later, similar feeder routes linking the
towns of Bornu to the Hausa cities and those of the Niger
Bend were also developed.
The lands immediately to the north of the great Niger

Bend were in a most strategic
strategic location. They were
were a natural
stopping place for traders, to get a much-needed rest and re-
fitting.
Trade Items
The prosperous societies of the savannah and fringe
forest areas prized one product
product above all others — salt. Salt
was easy to obtain in the Sahara, with large salt mines at
Taotek, TTaodeni,
aodeni, and Taghaza.
Taghaza. As late as 1906, a 20,000-
camel caravan left Agadez to collect salt at Bilma Oasis, to be
distributed throughout the sub-Saharan regions.
Traders from North Africa and the Middle East brought

such goods as ornaments, jewels, sugar, glassware
glassware,, salt, weap-
21. Tr
Trading With the Devil 17 5
ons, horses, spices, cloth, kolanuts, natrons, silk, paper,

blades, skin, and ivory.
ivory. They brought the curious blue and
multi-colored Egyptian “aggrey
“aggrey beads” so prized by the new
settlers.
th
By the early 8 century CE, he Arab conquest of North
Africa concluded with lightning success. In a matter of
months, a strip of territory, 100-200
100-200 miles (160-320km) deep,
was under Arab control — all the way from the borders of
Egypt to the Atlantic coast.
The North African and

an d Arabian slave trade was vigor-
ous, and the demand for slaves was high. Islamic law for-
bade the enslavement of free Moslems, but allowed
allowed the con-
tinued enslavement of peoples who converted after their
capture. In the years of Islamic conquest, the pastoral Berber
capture.
people had provided
provided the bulk of these slav
slaves.
es. The larger part
of the population north of the Atlas Mountains became con-
verts to Islam and therefore could not legally be enslaved.
en slaved.
Starting in the 10th century CE, in order to keep the

supply up to the demand, the Arab traders conspired with
the nomad Berbers to organize raids, under the guise of Is-
lamic jihads, into neighboring provinces where traditional
African religions were practiced. These raids,
raids, more than
anything, caused many people to declare conversion to Is-
lam prior to being captured, to avoid
avoid the horrible raids of
killing, kidnapping, enslaving, and family break-ups.
Ibn Battuta reported that a caravan, in which he was

traveling,
traveling, during the Islamic-ruled
Islam ic-ruled Keita Clan (ancient Mali),
had over ten thousand slaves. He reported that the slaves
were beaten like animals and often made to work long hours
without water. Many of them died. Moslem Arabs and
Berbers have/had the lowest regard for black Africans.
The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

The Moslem Arabs brought not only Middle Eastern
and Mediterranean goods, but also the religion of Islam, and
a greedy hunger for wealth through abduction and trading
of black slaves.
Because traditional ancient Egyptian and African reli-

gions don’t have a doctrine, and are not mobilized in a cult-
type camp with rules and regulations,
regulation s, they accept everyone’s
right to believe
believe in any way they wish. The Arabs/Moslems
enjoyed this right when they settled among the peaceful
people.. However
people However,, the native people became a victim of their
own charity.
In order to penetrate the sub-Saharan societies, Mos-

lem clerics preached “social injustice”, a slogan intended to
start a class warfare. Later on, we will show how the preach-
ers of “social justice” were behind the largest human enslave-
ment in the history of mankind.
Another tactic was for the Moslem/Arab traders to help

one side or the other in local disputes, i.e. to get a foothold,
and then betray.
betray. Divide and conquer.
conqu er.
Though many Moslems lived in Wagadu (ancient

Ghana), worked there, and even served the King, the toler-
ant people treated them fairly and in a friendly way way. By
1050, a powerful new force swept through West West Africa. A
Moslem preacher named Ibn Yacin Yacin (ib-bin ya-seen) founded
hiss Almo
hi Al morav
ravid
id sect
se ct,, a fana
fa nati
ticc group
gro up of Mosl
Mo slem
ems.s. The
Th e
Almoravids, however,
however, did not return the Ghanaian’s
Ghanai an’s religious
freedom in kind.
One of the Almoravids’ targets was Wagadu, whose

Kings had repeatedly refused to convert to Islam.
21. Tr
Conversion,
Conversion, Death, or Enslavement
(The Islamic Doctrine)
The Islamic doctrine calls on Moslems to spread Islam,
even by force
force if necessary.
necessary. As a result, any Moslem with a
superior arm can force
force his religion by
by killing others. The
unarmed people have no choice but to convert to Islam, or
die.. This self-righteous Moslem may choose instead to en-
die
slave any
any and all members of a non-Moslem familyfamily.. Spread-
ing Islam by ALL means is not an option,
option , but a duty required
by the Islamic doctrine.
There are also sanctions for pursuing the jihad, or holy

war , against those who had not been converted. Those who
die in battle against non-Moslems,
non-Moslems , would die in a holy cause.
Each of these Islamic jihads followed the same pattern.

Just like any terror campaign, they required financing and
hiring of mercenaries. All these terror campaigns started at
the beginning point of Islam, i.e. i.e. Mecca. The story is the
same all along the 2000 mile (3200 km) Sahel. For about
1000 years
years – a Moslem cleric,
cler ic, or leader, living in Africa,
Afric a, goes
to Mecca, gets financial support, and is assigned as a “Mos-
lem deputy caliph” in his African region.
region. He returns to de-
clare Islamic jihad, and supplies his masters with more slaves.
jihad
It always started with the usual intimidation, a (Mos-

lem) gang will deliver a message to the leader of the peaceful
non-Moslem group,
group, to embrace Islam. Once people refuse
and/or ignore this unsolicited intimidation, then as shame-
lessly stated in the Tarikh es Soudan (Soudan Chronicles),
the gangsters declared that it is:
Their duty is to fight them and straightaway, the Moslem

fighters launched war against them, killing a number of
their men, devastating their fields, plundering their habita-
tions, and taking their children into captivity

captivity.. All of the men
and women who were taken away as captives were made
the object of divine benediction [converted to Islam].
The Moslem-biased historians repeated again and again

that once a sub-Saharan king/leader hears of Islam, he and
his
causecourt would convert
throughout to Islam.
sub-Sahara Africa,This is a stupid
the Kings’ duty lie,
lie, be-
was/is
to first assure
assu re the prosperity of his land
lan d and people, by mak-
ing compacts with the world of the spirits and the
neteru(gods). Islam has no tolerance for the role role of anyone
anyone
as intermediary with the supernatural.
But many Africans may have adopted Islam as they

would an outer garment, to keep the Islamic threat at bay,
keeping their traditional costume underneath. Few were
were able
to read
they or write to
continued Arabic or understand
adhere their “new
to their traditional faith”, and
beliefs.
The Barbarian Berbers (Hired Mercenaries)

The Berbers are an indigenous race of cryptic origins,
which has been established in the Mediterranean basin for
several thousand years. The Greeks and the Romans
Romans called
them Barbarians. It is, in fact, Barbary.
Barbary.
The Berbers had no concept of nationhood. The tribes

known collectively to the Classical world as Libyans lived in
what is now Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco and were
the ancestors of the modern Berbers. They are widely scat-
tered across
across the vast
vast bulk of North Africa. They had little
culture,, and no cities of their own.
culture
21. Tr
They are men of the veil, who wrap veils around their
faces, and show only their cold-blooded eyes, in the fashion
still followed
foll owed by the Tuareg. The famous Tuareg (TWAH-(TWAH-
reg) nomads are the name given to the Berber tribes of the
west and central Sahara.
Sahara. Before the arrival of the French,
they were
were the lords of the desert, i.e. highway
highway robbers.
robbers. They
are known for their fierce raids on other tribes and attacks
on camel caravans. To them, robbery was an honorable
occupation.
Bands of Tuareg would suddenly appear out of the
sands, cracking their whips and flashing their silver swords.
They would then raid the nearest settlement, stealing the
food and enslaving the inhabitants.
The Tuareg are fiercely proud of their Caucasian de-

scent and feel themselves to be superior to the Negro. So it is
hardly surprising that they have historically had conflicts
with the sub-Sahara residents.
The Tuareg dominated the Sahara deserts throughout

the history of the Common Era.
Era. Arab immigration
immigration was only
significant in northern Chad and Mauritania.
The Tuareg are now Moslem, yet their customs are dis-
tinct from the Arabs.
The 11th Century Massacres

In the 11th century, a campaign of terror was waged
against all sub-Saharan communities, by the mercenary
Berbers. Attacking in the same time span, and using the
same excuse ( jihad), are indicative of a conspiracy, from
Moslem rulers in the Middle East. These rulers have
have financed
and publicly sanctioned these

th ese campaigns of terror.
terror.
The theme was always the same — Islamic jihad. The
tactic was always the same — to attack, abduct, and kidnap
the leader’s sons, who would be held hostages somewhere
else,, and be brainwashed.
else brainwashed. The desperate leader would
would have
to pronounce Islam, in order to ensure his kin’s safety and
security.. This is the explanation why we
security we hear that leader
after leader converted to Islam, yet his people never did.
Even Moslem-ruled Egypt did not escape the Berber

attacks. In a bid for mastery of the whole Moslem world,
world,
the Fatimid caliphs, standard-bearers of the Shia doctrine,
established a base in Tunisia and then conquered Egypt, and
established the Fatimid Dynasty (969 CE), mostly with
Berber troops, as detailed earlier.
earlier.

IV
The Egyptian
Model & The New
Societies

22
Religious Beliefs
Falsification of Ancient Egypt

E gypt and African
Belief Systems
In order to justify
justify their violent
violent actions against the lives
and properties of the African population, Christianity, Is-
lam, and European colonists spread, and continue to spread,
lies about the African indigenous religious beliefs. The ag-
gressive invaders always paint themselves as the “saviors”
of the people who they conquer.
The two most common lies are:
1. Human Sacrifice
It is incredible that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

accuse others of human sac
sacrifice
rifice,, when in truth, it is ONLY
ONLY
they who practice such atrocities.
All these three religions base their creed on human sac-

rifice, as shown by the story of Abraham, and how he was
willing to sacrifice his son, upon “God’s order”.
order”. So, “in the
name of God”, a father kills his son!
Christianity also exemplifies human sacrifice, in the

story of how God sacrificed his son, Jesus, for mankind.
22. Religious Beliefs 18 3
Islam honors human sacrifice in two ways. It is a

Moslem’s duty to kill others, in the effort to spread Islam,
such as in jihads. Also, if a born-Moslem person dares to
leave Islam, and/or commit blasphemy (which can be inter-inter-
preted in any way a Moslem wants) a loyal Moslem is “com-
pelled” to kill that person, according to the Koran.
Koran. If a Mos-
lem dies in the process of enforcing the above Islamic laws,
he becomes a martyr,
martyr, and joins Allah in heaven.
2. Polytheism
Judaism, Christianity,
Christianity, and Islam are not monotheist, as
they keep
keep SHOUTING. These three religions
religions can’t deny the
existencee and powers of “Satan”
existenc “Satan ”. So, they believe in two
opposing forces in the universe
universe.. They are
are at pain to explain
away
awa y their polytheism. They believe
believe that their “good god”
left the “bad god” active in the universe.
universe. Their “good god”
is not in control of their “bad god” god”.. He could, but he
doesn’t!?!!? If they believe that there are
are two independent
and separate forces (Good and Bad) out there,
there, then they be-
lieve in two
two gods, i.e.
i.e. polytheism.
The Ancient Egyptian and other related African reli-

gions are
are truly monotheistic. They don’t demean the Al-
mighty, in wicked interactions
mighty, int eractions between Him and some “Cho-
sen People
People””. They recognize his powers in everythi
everything
ng in the
universe.. Their beliefs are not primitive
universe primitive as portray
portrayed
ed by the
three religions, but they are based on the most logical philo-
sophical and scientific rationale, as will be detailed herein.
The Ancient Egyptian and African religions are not a

matter of creed and dogma, but a personal, natural and spon-
taneous pouring out and uplifting of emotions from the in-
dividual to the Infinite
Infin ite..
184 IV.. The Egyptian Model

IV
Monotheism
The religious texts of Egypt reveal that the Egyptians
believed in One God, who was self-produced, self-existent,
immortal, invisible, eternal, omniscient, almighty, and in-
scrutable; the maker of heaven, earth, and the Other
O ther World;
World;
the creator of men and women, animals, birds, and creeping
things, trees and plants.
The Egyptians regarded the universe as a conscious act

of creation
creation by
by the One Great God. The fundamental doc-
trine was the unity of the Deity
Deity.. This One God was never
represented and has no name. Ancient Egyptians avoided
abstracts. One can only define “God” through the multi-
tude of his attributes/qualities/pow
attributes/qualities/powers/actions.
ers/actions. It is the func-
tions and attributes
attribut es of his domain that were/are repr
represented.
esented.
They were called the neteru (pronounced net-er-oo, singular:
neter in the masculine form and netert in the feminine form).
As such, an Egyptian neter/netert was not a ‘god/goddess’
but the personification of a specific function/attribute of the
One God.
Once a reference was made to his functions/attributes,

he became a distinguishable agent; reflecting this particular
function/attribute, and its influence on the world. Such as
God the Creator,
Creator, God the First, God the Healer,
Healer, ...etc.
...etc. Fur-
thermore, each of these functions/attributes were/are sub-
divided further
further into various sub-functions and duti
duties.
es. Egyp-
tians dealt with them separately and in combination, just as
we deal with sound alone (radio) or sound and light together
(television), …etc.
It is a common (maybe also intentional) misconception

that each ethnic group in Africa has its own religion, so there
are literally hundreds of traditional religions in West Africa.
They are all basically the same.
same. The common factors among
all of them reflect

reflect the beliefs
beliefs of Ancient Egyptians. They
believe in One Supreme Being as well as in resurrection and
immortality. The Supreme Being is worshiped through his
numerous attributes/forces of the universe.
Cosmology and the Origin of the Universe

Cosmology depicts and treats the major issues in an-
cient Egypt and African societies.
soc ieties. Creation allegories are es-
pecially revealing
revealing since they seek to explain the origin of God,
of the universe, of man, and account for the ultimate des-
tiny.. In so doing, they also rev
tiny reveal
eal people’s views about the
character of man and
an d their values of good and evil.
Cosmology was and is expressed in the form of allego-

ries, which are a superior means for expressing metaphysi-
cal concepts. Allegories incorporate philosophical and sci-
entific ideas into a story form, like a sacred drama or mys-
tery play
play that can be easily digested. Information, in the
form of abstracts (science
(scien ce,, philosophy and the like) alone is
useless, unless it is transformed
transformed into understanding. Well-
crafted allegories can achieve that understanding. These sto-
ries/allegories are a wealth
wealth of unending information. They
form a complete encyclopedia of information.
Every Egyptian creation text starts with the same basic

belief that before the beginning of things, thertheree was a prime-
val endless abyss, without boundaries or directions, which
they called Nu/Nun/Ny. This chaos possessed characteristics
that were identified with four pairs of primordial powers/
forces. Each pair represents
represents the masculine/feminine aspect
that precedes creation. The four pairs were given the names,
Night, Obscurity
Obsc urity,, Secret, and Eternity
Ete rnity,, but they might as well

IV
be the mythological/philosophical names for the four forces

of the universe
un iverse (the weak force,
f orce, the strong force, gravity,
gravity, and
electromagnetism). The four pairs are are a constant theme at
all four Ancient Egyptian cosmological teaching centers.
Scientists agree with the Ancient Egyptian description

desc ription
of the origin
origin of the universe,
universe, as being an abyss.
abyss. Scientists
refer to this abyss as neutron soup — the origin of all matter
and energy in the
th e universe
universe..
The chaos, in the pre-creation state,

state, was caused by the
compression of matter, i.e. atoms did not exist in their nor-
mal states, but were squeezed so closely together, that many
atomic nuclei were crowded into a space, previously occu-
pied by a single normal atom. Under such conditions, the
electrons of these atoms were squeezed out of their orbits
and move about freely like electrons in a metal (a degenerate
state).
The origin of the world and the nature of the

neteru(gods) who took part in its creation were subjects of
constant interest to the Egyptians. Most of their ancient
cosmological traditions came from the four centers at
Onnu ( H
Hee l i o p o l i s ) , Men-Nefer(Memphis), and Ta-
Apet(Thebes). The fourth, namely Khmunu( Hermopolis) ,
provided an account of creation as a result of the word —
analogous to the opening of the Gospel according to St. John.
At Men-Nefer(Memphis), Ptah in his 8 forms — com-

prising Nun and Naunet, the male and female aspects of the
primeval waters — created the universe.
universe.
At Onnu(Heliopolis), Atum created the 8 beings, who

along with Atum are called the Great Ennead.
At Khmunu(Hermopolis), 8 primeval neteru — the

Ogdoad — created the universe
universe.. They were
were the representa-
representa-
tions of the primeval state of the universe.
At Ta-Apet(Thebes), Amun/Aman/Amen after creating

himself in secret, created the Ogdoad.
Similar to Ancient Egypt, the Yoruba people of south-

ern Nigeria (who are second-hand recipients of Ancient
Egyptian traditions), believe also that in the beginning there
was only water
water and chaos. The Supreme Being sent Obatala
or Orishanla down from the sky to create some land out of
chaos. Orshilana created humans out of the earth and got
Olurun to blow life into them (analogous to the Ancient
Egyptian Amun’s breath of life symbol of the animation force).
Like Ancient Egyptians, the elaborate creation story of

the Mande-speaking peoples of West Africa, describes how
Maa-Ngala w was
as there in the beginning. Maa-Ngala is per-
ceived as a round energetic presence (all the energies of the
universe). Within Maa-Ngala there existed 4 divisions that
were symbolic of, among many things, the four elements
(matter), and each set, comprised of dualed genderness (male
and female). Maa-Ngala made it into the form of a seed.
The seed was his creation of the world. The seed blew
blew up.
Most sub-Sahara creation stories, like the Ancient Egyp-
tians, are based on primeval dual-gendered twins, who from
the beginning take an active part in creation.
All these origin/creation stories are embedded with the

society’s social framework.
framework. All these societies conduct their
practices in accordance with their cosmogony
c osmogony.. As Above
Above So
Below (see Chapter 23) is, and was, the governing rule of all
aspects of their lives.

IV
The Mighty Word
Egyptian creation texts repeatedly stress the belief of
creation by the Word.
Word. When nothing
nothin g existed except
except the One,
He created the universe with his commanding voicevoice.. In ef-
fect, He contained the potential existence of all things, and
when He spoke, He and all things with Him came into ob-
jective existence.
existence. The Egyptian Book of the Coming Forth by
Day (wrongly and commonly translated as The Book of the
Dead), the oldest written text in the world, we read:
I am the Eternal ... I am that which created the Word ... I

am the Word ...
In ancient Egypt, the words, revealed through Tehuti

(equivalent to Hermes, or Mercury), became the things and
creatures of this world.
Tehuti(Thoth), the representation of the divine tongue,

gave names to the divine beings, which resulted from the
Big Bang .
Since the created universe came out of
the mouth, in hieroglyphs, the mouth was
the symbol of Unity, the One.
The word (any word)

word) is scientifically
scientific ally a vibrational com
com--
plex element, which is a wave phenomenon, characterized
by movement of variable frequency and intensity,
intensity, between
oppositely charged poles.
The force of expressing or utterance (sound waves) is,

in scientific terms, a vibrational energy.
energy. We hear something
because the membrane
membrane inside our ears, vibrate
vibrate as a result of
the soundwaves/energy
soundwaves/energy.. There are various types of sound
waves (energies).
(energi es). We know that infrasound
infraso und waves
waves can’t be
detected by our ears, but they can shake buildings and de-
stroy body organs.

Also, the ultrasound waves cannot be detected by our
ears, but doctors use this power, as a kind of knifeless scal-
pel in microsurgery
microsurge ry.. We also know that a soprano singer
singe r
can shatter glass with her voice
voice..
As you will see in a later chapter

ch apter,, the work of artisans,
metal workers, and others are considered to be the physical
manifestation of the Cosmic WWord.
ord.
For the deeply religious people of ancient Egypt and

sub-Sahara Africa, there was no mundane activity — every
action was/is a religious/sacred act.
The Name (Ren) Significance

The power of the name,
name, and its role in ancient thought,
t hought,
is one of the least understood aspects of the ancient Egyp-
tians. The name was not, as per our modern-day
modern-day thinking, a
mere label. The name of a neter, person, animal, or prin-
ciple, represented a resume or synopsis of the qualities of
that object or person.
Everything has a ‘real’ cosmic name, a name that en-

shrines the essence of the thing, which is the thing. To know
and pronounce the real name of a neter(god), person, or
animal, is to exercise power
power over it.
According to the Egyptian traditions, one could do noth-

ing better for any one than by inscriptions and representa-
tions to “cause his name to live”, and nothing worse than to
allow it to perish.
The power of the sound vibrations was important in

IV
performing Egyptian chants, spells and calling a person s
name.. By pronouncing certain words or names of powers,
name
in the proper manner and
and in the proper tone of voice, a priest/
doctor could heal the sick, and cast out the evil spirits (in
other words the contrary/incompatible energies) which
caused the pain and suffering. (More details in Chapter 24,
Division of Labor .)
.)
The significance of names in Ancient
Anc ient Egypt was/is mir-
rored in all the new societies of sub-Sahara Africa.
Energies that Animate the Universe

Since Einstein’s relativity theory, it has been known
and accepted that matter is a form of energy, a coagulation
or condensation of of energy
energy. In this light, the material uni-
verse is basically a hierarchy of energies, at different orders
of density.
density. Our senses have
have some access to the densest form
of energy, which is matter . The hierarchy of energies are
interrelated, and each level is sustained by the level below it.
This hierarchy of energies was identified with the

neteru(gods/goddesses) in ancient Egypt, where visible (con-
densed energies) and invisible (uncondensed energies) re-
alities were understood as aspects of a single scheme (ener-
gies).
This hierarchy of energies
energies came as a result of the initial
act of creation and the subsequent effects of the Big Bang
that created the universe.
All created parts of the universe

universe are energies. Each
minute particle of everything is in constant motion, i.e. en-
ergized, according to the kinetic theory.
theory. In other words,
words, ev-
erything is animated (energized)— animals, trees, rocks,

birds, even
even the air,
air, sun, and moon.
Energy was, is, and continues to be both the cause caus e and
the effect. It is a prerequisite
prerequisite to all action and it is emitted as
a by-product of every act.
The world’s basic energy,

energy, the energy that animates
an imates the
universe, is what ancient Egyptians refer to as Nu/Nun/Ny,
the original state of the universe (see page 185). All through-
out sub-Sahara Africa, we find the same term: Nu/Nun/Ny.
The Mande-speaking people of West West Africa speak
s peak of ny-ama
(an Ancient Egyptian term — Ny means life force, Ama means
mother/matrix) — the universal
universal hierarchy of energies. This
hierarchy
hierarchy of energies
energies is set neatly into a vast matrix of deeply
interfaced natural laws. It is both natural and m mystical.
ystical.
This energy matrix also provides a system of cause and

effect that binds a society to its mores. Each one of us must
know how to manage this Ny-Ama (energies) within and
around ourselves. Ny-Ama is in everything, including all the
forces, desires, emotions, etc.,
etc., within each of us. Social laws
must follow the same pattern of the energy organization of
the universe. As Above
Above So Below.
Below.
In concentrations, especially when they are massive and
uncontrolled, this energy matrix is potentially dangerous,
even deadly. Being hyperactive or angry are human examples
of uncontrolled massive energies. It is therefore of paramount
importance that the energy
energy matrix be controlled. Only
learned people can manipulate and control this matrix with-
out upsetting the balance.
balance.
Thus we have an explanation of the forces at work in
the social and natural world that encourages a cautious dis-
position and restraint in all areas of life
lif e.
In addition to
t o the Mande-speaking peoples of W
West
est Af-
rica and their recognition of Nu/Ny world energy,
energy, the follow-
foll ow-

IV
ing African societies have similar application.
1. The sun (the cause of our creation and existence)

is called ny-anu , meaning the life force/energy of the sun
(Anu is the Ancient Egyptian name for Heliopolis—
which means city of the sun), by the Jukun of central
Nigeria.
2. 1,000 miles (1,600 km) further westward,
westward, in the
Upper Volta
Volta region, the Mossi call it nam. Nam is short
for Ny-Ama.
3. 2,000 miles (3,200 km) westward

westward in Senegal, the
Wolof use the same term, ny, for life force/energy
force/energy.
Since the whole universe is basically Ny-Ama (an en-

ergy matrix), Ancient Egyptian and other African societies
regard the world as a product of a complex system of rela-
tionships among people, living and dead, animals, plants, and
natural and supernatural phenomena. This rationale is of-
ten called Animism because of its central premise that all
things are “animated” (energized) by life forces.
These invisible energies in the universe are called spir-
its by many.
many. Spirits are therefore numerous. These invisible
energies inhabit certain areas or are associated with particu-
lar natural
natural phenomena.
phenomena. Spirits
Spirits (energies)
(energies) exist
exist in family-
family-type
type
groups (i.e. related to each other). They are also capable of
taking human, animal, plant, or any form.
Nothing prevents
prevents a form of energy (spirit) to reside in
anything. As human beings who are are born and later die,
die, one
can rationalize that the spirit (energy matrix/interrelated
energy group) that entered the human body (matter), to ani-
mate it (bring it to life) at birth will later vacate the matter
(body) to go to another place,
place, and can likewise dwell in any
other object for any length of time.

Ausar(Osiris)
Ausar(Osiris) and
and the Anc
Ancesto
estorr Spirits
Spirits
Since everything originated from one source, the an-
cient Egyptian entire sociology and existence,
existence, is nothing from
beginning to end but a long chain of ancestral precedents,
every single link and rivet of which became a custom and a
law from their spiritual fathers unto themselves in the flesh.
This rational thinking is common all over Africa, and
its existence is not incompatible with a belief in God, the
Creator of the World
World and all in it, because ancestor lineages
are the product of creation and its continuance
continuanc e.
Ausar(Osiris), the divine Ancestor, became the Father

of the souls of the Egyptians, and the symbol of their hope
of resurrection and immortality, which could only be real-
ized through death and resurrection.
Ausar(Osiris) repre-
sents the process, growth,
and the underlying cycli-
cal aspects of the universe
universe..
Therefore, he was also
identified with the spirits
(energies) of grain, trees,
animals, reptiles, birds,
etc.
Ausar(Osiris) shown with 28
stalks of wheat growing out of
his coffin. (“The Resurrection
Resurrection of
Ancestor impor- the Wheat”)
tance is based on the al-
most universal belief in
the persistence of the human soul after death. A man who
lives to a good
good old age has a vigorous soul, which transcends
to the next world
world with its spiritual popower
wer.. This power
power as-
sists and protects
protects his family lineage.
lineage. He is the intermediary

IV
between his family and the unknown forces that control
control the
universe.. When he leaves
universe leaves the world he must therefore be
sent off with due respect, and properly equipped with all
that he may require. Part of his property,
property, which was ener-
gized by his spirit while on earth, is buried with him in the
grave.
Ancestor spirit means
means Guinea/Ginne (which Arabs pro-
nounce as Jinne/Jenne). This A Ancient
ncient Egyptian term per-
meates many places in sub-Sahara Africa. We find the Gulf
of Guinea, the Guinea States, countries called Guinea, and
the most famous city along the Bani River — Ginne(Jenne).
Spirits (energies/energy matrices) can be either good

or evil, and both have
have great
great power
power over
over the living. There-
fore,,and
fore
bad the propitiating
people are/were concerned
the friendly with keeping
spirits. away the
This concern
c oncern led
to the development of special groups or priests to provide
the training and to exercise such powers of communication.
The spirits (energies/energy matrices) of the departed

are supposed to mingle freely with the living, in their earthly
journies. The departed spirits convey warnings, encourage-
ment, direction, and admonitions to human
h uman beings via vari-
ous means, such as in dreams, when a portion of our invis-
ible (spiritual)
through being has departed thethrough
subtle actions/communications humanbirds,
body,ani-
or
mals, a breeze,
breeze, candle flicker,
flicker, ...etc.
A number of the invisible energies are evil or mischie-

vous spirits, who are always ready
ready to do harm. Their power
for evil was believed to be greater than while on earth, for
their freedom from the body gave them greater facilities for
doing harm to people
people.. They are also offered sacrifices to
appease them, when some evil has befallen the family.
family. As
the saying goes, “Give the devil its due.”

Interacting With the Animated World
World
Our modern society admits that we only use about 5%
of our mental capacity.
capacity. Animists use much more because
they are aware and able to tap into the invisible energies
around us, by interacting with the universe through its many
ma ny
components.
In order to have peace,
peace, stability, good health, and pros-
perity,, it is necessary to stay in harmony
perity harmony with nature
nature.. Ani-
mists achieve/achieved this harmony by communicating with
their ancestors (Ginne) and the many spirits. Diviners and
spiritualists help to achieve this harmony by interpreting
spiritual forces, and provide the means to influence them.t hem.
Ancient and modern-day rural Egyptians, like many

Songhai along the Niger River and the Sahel region, believ
believee
that the world consists of two
t wo earths and seven heavens. God
lives in the most distant heaven.
heaven. Deified angels inhabit heav-
ens two to six. Ancestor spirits inhabit the first heaven, the
one nearest earth. Heavens are the same as realms.
In concurrence with an orderly matrix of creation, an-

cestors are thought to span the gap between the supernatu-
ral and natural worlds. They connect these
t hese two worlds spe-
cifically by linking living lineage members with their earli-
est forebears. Because of their proximity, and because they
once walked among the living, ancestors are prone to inter-
vene in daily affairs. This intervention is particularly likely
in the case of the recently deceased, who are thought to spend
weeks or months in limbo between the living and the dead.
Many religious observances include special rituals to

propitiate these spirits, encourage them to take their leave
with serenity,
serenity, and restore the social order their deaths have
disrupted.

IV
As stated earlier, the spirit/energy matrix that animated
the human flesh/matter at birth, and left the body (matter)
at death, can reside in any other matter
matte r, for as long as it wants,
exactly as it did in its life journey in a human body/flesh/
matter. In order
order to communicate with the departed (free)
spirit, a dwelling place (a condensed form of energy, possi-
bly matter) is needed, in order to manifest and communi-
cate its will and influence to the living beings on earth.
Therefore, the ancient Egyptians provided dwelling

places for spirits of all kinds, in the form of amulets and
statues. Departed spirits (energy matrices) may enter and
leave these statues at will.
will.
The Egyptians wore amulets of all kinds when living,

and were laid on bodies of the dead because it was thought
that the benevolent, in-dwelling spirits would protect them
from the evil
evil spirits. The tombs of Egypt have
have yielded un-
told thousands of beads of all kinds, shells, teeth of animals
and men, pendants, etc., which could be worn as necklaces.
necklaces .
The same practice continues in rural Egypt and sub-Sahara
Africa.
☞ Neither the Egyptian nor the modern African ever

believed in the divinity of their amulets or fetishes,
and they never considered them to represent deities.
Fetish objects are
are simply local residences. A spirit
(energy matrix) can live anywhere,
anywhere, and in anything.
The thing itself, the material itself, is nothing more
than a medium. The fetish user makes a clear dis-
tinction between a certain material object, and the
spirit for the time inhabiting it. For this reason noth-
ing is too small, or too mean,
m ean, or too ridiculous, to be
considered fit for a spirit’s locum tenens. For when
the spirit is supposed to have gone out of that thing,

i.e. vacates it, and definitely abandons it, the object
itself is discarded/thro
disca rded/thrown
wn away as useless.
A departed soul (energy matrix)

has no home.
home. In order to maintain any
form of energy, we have to sustain it.
The energy matrix of a living person
will disintegrate (weaken and ulti-
mately die) if it is not provided with
food and drink. Likewise,
Likewise, a departed
spirit (energy matrix) requires suste-
nance; otherwise it will disintegrate,
decompose, or convert into other
Offerings
forms of energies. In simple terms, de-
parted souls are always hungry and
thirsty, and so must be supplied with food and drink; ne-
glect would cause them to lose their force that helps those
still living on earth.
It was/is therefore essential to provide the ancestor spir-

its with offerings. The ancient and present-day rural Egyp-
tian, like the modern African, made offerings to the spirits
of their ancestors, with the intention of keeping their help
and protection by maintaining their existence.
Ma-at: The Way

The ethical heart of ancient Egypt is Ma-at, “Th
“ Thee Way”.
Way”.
This encompasses the virtues, goals, and duties that define
the acceptable, if not ideal, social interaction and personal
behavior..
behavior

IV
In context, Ma-at variously denotes truth, righteous-
ness, justice,
justice, and divine
divine harmony.
harmony. The constant theme of
the Egyptian wisdom literature was the ‘acting out’ of Truth
on earth. Ma-at could be favor
f avorably
ably compared with the East-
ern concept of karma and the Western concept of common
sense.. She touches all, encompasses all, affects all, judges
sense
all.
At the far west end of West Africa, the Senegalese ex-
pression, Wo-Maat , also means The Way/Guide
ay/Gu ide. The Way is
to respect, and continue to respect, ancestors. They believe
that a person who failed to live up to family obligations had
betrayed
betray ed his or her ancestors. If displeased, these ancestors
could cause personal disasters, such as crop failures, losses
in business, and disease.
disease. The person honors the ancestors
by being a decent human being. The same concept perme-
ates sub-Sahara Africa.
The Wolo
Woloff proverb
prover b, “The person who does not have honor
does not have anything ”, ”, expresses the Wolof ideal of the de-
termining quality of humanity.
humanity. For a person to be recog- recog-
nized as ‘honorable’, s/he must demonstrate the following
characteristics: self-respect, composure, courage, integrity,
truthfulness
truthf ulness,, generosity, sociability
sociabi lity,, reserved speech, and in-
telligence.
telligen ce. Each of these qualities is manifested
manifest ed through con-
crete behaviors
behaviors in daily activities. They must be translated
translated
from the abstract to the practical to validate one’s claim to
honor in one’s caste.
caste.
Wolof culture provides each member considerable av-
enues to a high level
l evel of personal and group dignity and satis-
faction. The potential for this achievement
achievement is viable
viable in ev-
ev-
ery caste, in spite of the apparent contradictions within the
hierarchically determined ideological system.
These are the very same lessons that are taught in rural
Egypt, and throughout sub-Sahara Africa.

Serpent Significance
The Egyptians regarded certain kinds of snakes with
reverence
rev erence,, and others were regarded as incarnations of evil,
as forms of the monster serpent Apep, which represented all
types of physical
physical and moral evil. In short, the serpent was
either a power for good or
or the incarnation of diabolical cun
cun--
ning and wickedness.
The serpent, which is a remarkable individualistic ani-

an i-
mal, bears both a forked tongue (verbal duality)
dual ity) and a double
penis (sexual
(sexual duality). On the metaphysical level,
level, the ser-
pent represents the dualizing principle, the ability of One to
divide into Two.
As a symbol of duality, the serpent represents intellect,

the faculty by which man can break down
down the whole into its
constituent parts. This is analogous to creation, in the sense
that multiplicity is created out of unity
unity..
The cobra (or uraeus) is the omnipresent protector of

all Egypt.
Among the Hausa peoples of
northern Nigeria, certain indi-
viduals believe themselves to be
immune from snakebites and will
never kill a snake.
snake. Among today’s
Sufis of the Ref a-ee Way in the
Refa-ee
Nile Delta, snakes are handled
with absolute ease and respect.
There is an established trust be-
tween the Refa-ee Sufis and snakes.
sn akes.
The significance and attitudes toward the serpent

throughout sub-Sahara Africa are too numerous to present
here..
here

IV
Spirited Groves/Trees
Trees, as part of the ani-
mated universe, act as a conve-
c onve-
nient medium, between the liv-
ing and the departed souls.
The Ancient Egyptian

term for sacred grove (which is
still being used in present-day
Egypt), is Ginne-na / Guinea-na,
meaning the place of ancestor
spirits. If a ginn (ancestor) tree
— a tree with a spirit living in
it — is nearby, people often
write notes and attach them to
the branches of the tree.
An Ancient Egyptian
Wise men and women
Spirited (Sacred) Tree
consult departed spirits con-
stantly,, and periodically spend
stantly
several days with them at the
g rovee.
spirited grov
This practice is also common throughout sub-Sahara

Africa — too frequent to be listed here.
here.
Male Initiation and Circumcision

The survival of any society requires that knowledge be
passed from one generation to another
an other.. In many African
Afric an so-
cieties, this transmission of the knowledge of the world and

its forces is mostly limited to
males.
In ancient and present-day

rural Egypt, as well as sub-Sahara
Africa, boys are circumcised
shortly after reaching puberty.
After the operation, they stay
away
awa y from people and live in spe-
cial lodges, isolated from the rest
of the community, where the boys will be actively trans-
formed into adulthood by learning what adults must know
to assume societal responsibilities. Boys from different
different vil-
lages, usually accompanied by an elder, gather for the rites,
which last several
several weeks. This will be the spiritual and physi-
physi-
cal boot camp, where boys make the transition from
f rom children
into responsible adults.
Boys are taught how to manage their inner ny-ama (en-

ergy matrix). Teaching the male members of the society self-
control, is an essential aspect of any society.
It is also at this time that

th at the young men become mem-
bers of the many secret societies
soc ieties that permeate Africa, be-
cause of the terroristic threats and actions from the self-righ-
teous Moslems and Christians.

23
Social & Political Structures
(Orderly Hierarchy)
As Above
Above So Below
Below
In order to achieve
ac hieve perfect universal harmony,
harmony, the so-
cial structure must mirror the same orderly hierarchy of the
created
the sameuniverse.
universe
orderly.structure
Human survival and success
be maintained. require
As above
abov that
e so below
is the only Way to achieve order and harmony, i.e. Ma-at.
Because order is the natural, desir-

able state, disorder is not happenstance
happens tance..
Classical African
Africa n sources devote consid-
erable energy to the maintenance of or-
der and the determination of who or
what is the cause for disorder.
Antisocial acts or bad luck signal

that this harmony has been upset, lead-
ing to efforts to restore it through ritual
acts, such as prayers, sacrifices, libations,
communions, dances, and symbolic
struggles. Such intervention, it is be-
lieved, helps ward off the chaos that ad- Ma-at
versely affects people and their souls, Order & Harmony
families and communities, and an d crops and
harvests..
harvests
23. Social & Political Structures 2 03

Matrilineal/Matriarchal Society
The Ancient Egyptians were totally aware
aware of the plan-
etary laws. The modern “discovery”/rediscovery
“discovery”/rediscovery of such laws
attributed to Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), who himself
boasted in print, that he had rediscovered
rediscovered the lost laws of
Egypt. He was honest, but his followers
followers w
were/are
ere/are not.
Kepler rediscovered that the orbit of a planet/comet,

about its sun is an egg-shaped path (ellipse). Each planetary
system is balanced only when the planet’s orbit is an egg-
shaped plane that has 2 foci, with its sun’s center
cen ter of mass at
one of its foci.
The creation stories in ancient Egypt, and throughout

Africa, begin
begin with the cosmic egg (an ellipse). In the
Khmunu(Hermopolis) traditions, the cosmic egg contained the
bird of light (the sun). All planets/comets follow the egg-
shaped (elliptical) orbit, with a sun at one of its foci.
Likewise, on earth, the female is the source of energy,

the sun. It is her power
power that keeps
keeps the planets (children),
each in its own
own independent orbit. That is to say,
say, the matri-

IV
lineal/matriarchal system follows the planetary laws.
The matriarchal system, as the social manifestation of
planetary laws, was the basis of the social organization in
ancient Egypt and throughout sub-Sahara Africa. All these
societies, whether discovered in East, Central, or West Af-
rica, had the same features in common. The queen sister
and queen mother had positions of great respect and poten-
tially much
muc h authority.
Throughout Egyptian history, it was the queen who

transmitted the solar blood. The queen was the true sover-
eign, landowner, keeper of the royalty, and guardian of the
purity of the lineage. Egyptian kings claimed a right to the
throne through marriage with an Egyptian princess.
Through marriage, she transmitted the crown to her hus-
band, he only acted as her executive
executive agent.
They followed the example of the Egyptian allegory,

where Ausar became the king, as a result of his marrying
Auset (Auset means seat , i.e. authority). Sabt(Sirius) is the
dwelling star of Auset. It is the sun of our sun. Sabt’s pre-
cise cosmic role, in our modern as-
tronomy and physics, is still un-
folding. Greeks, Romans, and
other ancient sources reported
that Egypt knew that Sabt is the
greater sun, about which our sun
and solar system orbits. The Auset Ausar
Sabt(Sirius) star, i.e. Auset, is the (Seat on top) (Seat & Eye)
sun of suns, i.e. the mother of
mothers, the Cosmic Queen.
As a rule, in the tombs of the Ancient Egyptian Old

Kingdom, the mother of the deceased is represented with
the wife,
wife, while the father rarely
rarely appears. On the funerary
funerary
stelae of later times also, it is the usual custom to trace the

descent of the deceased on the mother’s side, and not on
that of the father.
father. The person’s mother is specified, but not
the father, or he is only mentioned incidentally.
incidentally.
Surviving records from the Middle Kingdom show that

the nomes (provinces) of Egypt passed from one family to
another through heiresses; thus he who married an heiress
would gain for his son the inheritance of his father-in-law
fath er-in-law..
Western academicians are uncomfortable with writing

about the African matrilineal and matriarchal societies. Some
even went so far as to state that the reason they traced the
mothers only, was because fathers were unknown or in
doubt. They are in pain, trying to ignore, downplay, and
explain it through their own dark
dark sides. Their underlying,
pathetic,, resentful and contemptuous
pathetic contem ptuous thinking is, what Eu-
rope did not have, cannot be!
The ruling families of the new societies in sub-Sahara

Africa, such as Bornu, Kano, ancient Ghana, Mundang of
Chad, Cameroon Grassland polities, Benin of Nigeria, and
the Ashanti/Asante of present-day Ghana (to name a few),
reckoned their descent in the female line.
line. It was only when
Islam arrived to the region that the Moslem invaders forced,
or tried to force, the conversion to a patriarchal succession.
Since this change took place, there has never been an or-
derly succession of rulers.
Because of the African populous’ strong belief in the

matrilineal and matriarchal system, the Moslem invaders
sometimes killed and displaced the priest-kings of the local
polities. In many cases, the invaders
invaders forced themselves by
by
abducting, kidnapping,
kidnapp ing, and raping women
women (forced marriages)
from the ruling families, and thus established claims to rule
the land by right (through
(through birth) as well as b
by
y conquest. Lit-
erally and physically, it was a “shot-gun marriage”.

IV
The Family
Family Lineage (Solar System on Earth)
The English terms “clan” and “lineage”
“lin eage” are widely but
often inaccurately used by writers of African history.
The family lineage (called Ginne/Jenne, and meaning

ancestor ) consists of a number of family units who share the
same female line. The female transmitted the solar blood.
She is/was the sun of the family, just like the solar system.
Therefore,, each planet revolves in its own egg-shaped orbit,
Therefore
around her.
The Ashanti/Asante of present-day Ghana describe this

lineage as Abu-sua, exactly the same as in ancient Egypt and
modern-day rural Egyptians. Sua denotes female (or female
organ). Abu means founder/f ather/leader . Abu-sua members
founder/father/leader
perform regular ceremonies to honor the Abu-sua ancestors,
whose spirits (energies) are believed to always be present.
Each family
famil y has a leader, or family head, who is respon-
sible for the material
ma terial and spiritual welfare of every
every member
of the Abu-sua. A number of sub-heads are also selected from
each household within the large village of Abu-sua
Abu-sua relatives.
This leader controls the land farmed by the members. He
also maintains law, order, justice, and harmony. The elders
settle internal disputes among members of the Abu-sua.
Members of the same family lineage cannot

cann ot marry
marry,, be-
cause it is considered to be contrary to the nature of creation
and its continuance
continuanc e.
The term, clan, is a vague term

ter m that is
i s used by Western
Western
academicians to degrade people
people..
In many African societies, family lineage forms the ba-

sic (and only) political unit within a polity/village.

Polity/Village (Stellar System on Earth)
A polity is like a small stellar system that revolves
around a common purpose.
purpose. A single eextended
xtended family may
may
occupy an entire village, and in this case the family
fam ily and vil-
lage organization are identical. More usually,
usually, however
however,, the
village consists of a number of extended families living in
compounds clustered
clu stered within a narrow area, or scattered about
in groups, which are often at considerable distances from
one another.
another. The families may be be closely related by kinship
ties, or they may be unrelated groups sharing common inter-
ests.
In the regions where people have

h ave been attacked by for-
eigners, which created refugees, the village community com-
monly consists of families of totally different ethnic stock.
In such cases the family organization has given way to that
of village communities, in which the blood relationship ties
have lost much of their binding force.
force.
Autonomous food-producing village polities are wide-

spread throughout Africa. They form a basic sociopolitical
format varying from a few families (25-50 people), to up to
several
sever al thousand. Settlement patterns range from compacted
villages to widely dispersed neighborhoods with farm fields
and pasture interspersed between households.
The polity is widely viewed as divided into founders

and their lineage descendants, as owners of the land, and
later arrivals, who often have lower status,
stat us, access to more
distant farmlands, and less access to political offices. Al-
though not all members of a village necessarily share blood
ties, the head of the Abu-sua lineage and other Abu-sua el-
ders lead the community.
community. The most common institution of
authority is the headman, elected
elect ed from the founder lineage,
and a council of respected elders from the established lin-

IV
eages of the community.
community. This eldership assists the headman
in the governance
governance of the community.
community. It serves as a court,
helps the headman
hea dman allocate
al locate access to resources, carries
c arries out
rituals, and organizes public works.
Other offices include that of village spiritual interme-

diary, which may be differentiated from
diary, from headman. He links
the community ritually to the authority of the local spirits
of the land and the ghosts of past leaders whose aid and ret-
ributions he interprets.
Most offices are

are open to all prospects. Village headship
is generally hereditary with some tendencies toward primo-
geniture,, though personal qualities play an important quali-
geniture
fying role.
The term, tribe, is used to demean African societies. It

is another uninformed, vague,
vague, abstract term.
Alliance of Individu
Alliance Individual
al Polities
Polities (Gal
(Galaxy
axy on
on Earth)
Earth)
In our modern times, after the social upheaval of the
Industrial Revolution, and the creation of urban areas, we
have forgotten the importance of the local community.
community. Each
local community knows its own affairs
af fairs more than anyone
else.. In the United States, they recognize
else recognize this fact (even
(even
though they don’t apply it) when they say, “ All politics are
local.”
To harmonize with the

t he universe,
universe, a large society
soc iety should
be like a galaxy composed of sev
several
eral planetary groups (analo-
gous to family lineages). No planetary group
group dominates an-

other. They are all independent groups that harmonize
other. harmonize about
common interests, like
l ike a galaxy.
The so-called village-state (nome/province) gov

government
ernment
in ancient Egypt, and later in sub-Sahara
s ub-Sahara Africa, is a form of
a commonwealth-type government, where coalitions are
formed to share specific duties and responsibilities that can
benefit all of them. This is a true grass-roots
grass-roots de
democracy
mocracy..
Relations between pol

polities
ities are carr
carried
ied on through trade,
marriage relations, joint communal hunts, and inheritable
peace treaties between polities.
Allian ces can be resolved, changed or restructured.

Alliances restruct ured. We
should not misunderstand this to mean upheaval.
Two forms of supralocal, governments — chieftaincies

and states — evolved throughout Africa.
1. Chieftaincies emerge when a local chief becomes

a chief of chiefs, recognized as a leader of a set of poli-
ties. This “paramount
“paramount chief” heads a council of lead-
ers, including members of his own chiefly lineage.
The
theirprimary
polity toduty of paramount
foreign authorities. chiefs
authorities. In theissecular
to represent
world,
this means relations through alliances, traditional cer-
emonies, and gift exchanges
exchanges or treaties of non-aggres-
sion and rights of passage
passage.. Chiefs supplicate spirits of
of
the land to renew its fertility and engage the help of
chiefly ancestors to foster polity welfare.
Authority is not monopolized by an elite group, but is

shared horizontally among society’s components.
c omponents. They
have/had
have/had little or no centralized bureaucracies.
bureaucracies. Many

IV
parts of western Africa had traditions of these non-
coercive political organizations, before Islamic and
European centralized forms of government arrived,
bringing with them unending misery.
misery.
2. Kingdoms/chief
Kingdoms/chieftaincies
taincies tended to form in clusters,
with one or more larger units toward the center of the
cluster, and a host of smaller ones scattered around
the periphery.
periphery. Even the smaller kingdoms, however
however,,
contrasted sharply with the loose family or lineage
l ineage in-
stitutions of those societies that had never been orga-
nized in this way.
The chieftaincy was mostly a kind of theocracy, orga-

nized under a priest-king and his ritual assistants. Some-
times, it tended to become something nearer to a bureau-
cracy.. The administration traditionally involved
cracy involved the daily
affairs and relationships between the segments of the soci-
ety.. The pinnacle and central symbol was
ety was the leader and his
dynastic lineage.
lineage. A council of nobles made
made up the inner coun-
cil of advisors.
It is commonly accepted that the forms of an organized

government developed
developed among sub-Saharan Africa, and was
probably first evident at some time in the first millennium
of the Common Era (CE), displaying a common pattern simi-
lar to that of ancient Egypt.
The Egyptian model was diffused through the rest of
the continent, as detailed throughout this book.
Relationship Between Land and People

In order to maintain order and harmony, the primor-

dial spirits of a land/site must accommodate newcomers and
a new relationship will have to be forged. In effect, the rights
of a group, defined by common genealogical descent were
linked to a particular place and the settlements within it.
In other words, when people move to a new

n ew area, they
must gain acceptance from the ancestor spirits still dwelling
in that land, before they can settle.
settle. The newcomers
newcomers are also
fully aware that they never “own” the land — they are just
sharing it for the time they occupy human/physical form.
Ancient Egyptians and other African traditions recog-

nize and respect the supernatural residents of the land —
any land. These spirits of place (trees, rock outcroppings, a
river, snakes, or other animals and objects) were identified
and placated by the original founders, who had migrated to
the new site from a previous one. Spirits of the land might
vary with each place or be so closely identified with a group’s
welfare that they were carried to a new place, as part of the
continuity of a group to its former home
h ome..
In the new place, these spiritual migrants join the local

spirit population, in a new covenant
covenant created by the founders
of a settlement between themselves and the local spirits. ThisTh is
covenant
cove nant legitimized their arrival.
ar rival. In return for regular rites
and prayers to these spirits, the founders could claim per-
petual access to local resources. In so doing, they became the
lineage in charge of the hereditary local priesthood and vil-
lage headship, and were recognized as “tenants of the place”
by later human arrivals.
arrivals. Both sets of spirits, those o
off family
and those of place, demanded loyalty to communal virtues
and to the authority of the elders in defending ancient be-
liefs and practices.
☞
It is this type of thinking that made local African
people report that the newcomers (from the Nile

IV
Valley) settled peacefully among them, in the 1st
millennium of CE. Ancient Egyptian and present-
present-
day rural Egyptian beliefs have/had great respect
for land and
an d people.
The Mossi people of the Upper Volta region believed

that land had no value apart from people, and, conversely,
that people could not exist without
without land. As they say,
say,
Land is the mother; it fed the ancestors of this generation;
it feeds the present generation and its children; and it pro-
vides the final resting place for all men.
The Mossi chiefs did not own the land, but they con-
trolled it and assigned land rights to their subjects. There-
fore, a Mossi chief never hesitated to give anyone permis-
sion to use unoccupied land.
The Legitimacy and Role of the King/Leader/Head

The authority of a king/leader, and his legitimacy to
rule over his people, is derived from his acceptance by his
subjects as the descendant of the founding ancestor of the
people. The supernatural power
power of these ancestors, and the
vigilance they were believed to maintain over the affairs of
their descendants, were regarded as important factors in gov-
ernment. It is a continuous chain, for the chief does not die
— he merely “goes above” and then returns, in the person of
the new chief. Even the British of today follow,
follow, uncon-
sciously, the same belief, when they say, “The king is dead.
Long live the king.”
The Ancient Egyptian or African King, with the help

of the priests associated with him, via the ancestral spirits,
establishes a proper relationship between the people and the

supernatural forces. The leader is regarded
regarded as having
having a per-
sonal influence over the works of nature, to whom divine
honors were paid and to whom divine powers were attrib-at trib-
uted. Chiefs have no political power — their main function
was/is to act as intermediaries between the natural and su-
pernatural worlds
worlds by
by conducting rites and sacrifices. They
are not, and apparently never were,
were, expected to be leaders of
victorious armies, but are expected to secure a regular suc-
cession of rich harvests. They are
are identified with the crops,
and are addressed as: Our Guinea-corn, Our Ground-nuts, or
Our Beans, just as in ancient Egypt, when the Pharaoh was
addressed by the title of Our Crop and Our Harvest .
Like Ancient Egypt, from

the moment when the Mossi
leader “drank the namtibo” and
thereby received the nam of his
ancestors, he had the right — in-
deed, the duty — to offer sacri-
fices to these ancestors in the
name of his subjects.
Based on his extensive

training with the powers of the
supernatural, the king’s body was believed to be charged with
a divine dynamism that communicated itself to everything
he touched. As such, he continually performed the neces-
sary rituals for proper relationship and communication with
the neteru (the powers of the universe), in order to maintain
the welfare of the state, and to insure the fertility of the earth,
that it may bring forth sustenance. Each year the king hoed
the first plot of farming
farm ing land, and sowed the first seeds.
Diodorus reported that the Pharaoh, like subsequent

kingdoms in sub-Sahara Africa, typically lead a restrictive
life. Not even the most int
intimate
imate of his courtiers
c ourtiers might see

IV
him eat or drink. When the king eats, he does so in priv
private.
ate.
The food is offered to him with the same ritual as is used by
priests in offering sacrifice to the neteru(gods).
Like the Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh, the Jukun of

today’s Nigeria believe/realize that the king’s divinity is an
earthly image of the plurality of divine energies of the uni-
verse (neteru). The position of the Jukun king appears to be
like that of the Pharaohs who were regarded as sons of the
Sun-neter, Ra, but also identified with other neteru as well.
The Jukun daily ritual is similar to the daily liturgy

performed on behalf of the Sun- neter a t Anu/
Onnu(Heliopolis). Even the Jukun’s word for the sun en-
ergy/powers is Ny-Onnu or Inu or Anu), which is the same
ancient Egyptian name for On/Onnu (Heliopolis) — The City
of the Sun. Sun rites are still carried out in Jukun communi-
ties, and among numerous other African groups.
The Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs and Kings through-

out Africa, such as the Mossi King in the Upper Volta re-
gion, were so awe-inspiring (“like the sun”), that no one
dared to look upon their faces.
In addition to the sun powers, the

kings/leaders throughout Africa, such
as the Jukun, are closely associated with
Ausar(Osiris) in his many manifesta-
tions. Like Ausar, the king is identified
with the corn. The king carries out a
daily ritual by which he feeds his royal
ancestors, particularly the last deceased
chief, who are regarded as the life and
soul of the crops.
crops. In fact, he performs
performs
the part of Heru(Horus), like the Pha-
raoh in Ancient Egypt.

It is said that if these rituals were not performed the
crops would wither,
wither, just as in Ancient Egypt it was believed
that if the Pharaoh did not perform the daily liturgy to the
neteru, the crops would perish.
It is interesting
to note that the hon-
orary title of Li on ,
Lion
which is used in ad-
dressing ancient
Egyptian kings, were
also used all through-
out the Sahel from
the Hausa to Wagadu (ancient Ghana).
Around the royal person, circled a galaxy of titled of-
fice-bearers.
of the QueenThe preeminent
Mother
Mother, offices
, the Queen were
were
Sister nearly
and always
always num-
of a limited those
ber of titled great wives of the ruler. At the head of the ad-
ministration were a few high officials, often four in number.
From these depended a descending hierarchy of various func-
tions. Artists, craftsmen and other specialists were located
at the royal
royal court. There was was a tendency for the rulers of of
such states to be at least identified with the mysterious craft
of the smith.
Tradition requires that a chief should never address the

public directly,
directly, nor be spoken to, ex
except
cept through the spokes-
man. Therefore,
Therefore, the position of the spokesman was/is im-
portant in litigation, and in all matters
matt ers involving a chief or a
king. Every chief has his spokesman who servesserves him in sev-
eral capacities.
In Ancient Egypt, just like African entities, each prov-

prov-
ince was the seat of an ancient n
noble
oble family,
family, who for genera-
tions inherited the government and the high priesthood of
its local shrines.

IV
The Leader, Fertility, and the Moon
Egyptian kings were regarded as personifications (ema-
nations) of the moon, no less than of the sun. Ausar(Osiris)
is/was related to the moon cycles.
A number of titles are applied to the Jukun king that

suggest equating the king with the moon. Thus he is called
Wa-Su, a phrase which means He of the Moon , a title that is
apparently connected with the word moon (a-su). He is also
called So-mbu, i.e. The Full Moon.
Throughout the entire world, menstruation appears to

be connected with the moon, the courses of the moon being
likened to the courses of a woman. The moon is thus the
appropriate symbol of fertilit
fertility
y. As the moon waxes and
wanes, it is regarded as a dying and resurrecting cycle, the
symbol of the death and rebirth of the crops.
The king, as the representative of the moon, would thus

come to have a peculiar relationship to womankind, and be
free from the dangers of menstrual blood, to which other
males are subject.
When the moon is about to disappear, the Jukun King

bids farewell
farewell to the people,
people, and forbids them to grieve,
grieve, for in
three days
days he will arise again and come unto them. This is
in consort with the Ausar allegory (which was duplicated in
the Easter celebration) of the death of Ausar/Jesus, and his
resurrection on the third
th ird day after his disappearance.
The royal drum is then beaten, and the drummer ex-

claims,
The new moon has risen our king who ascended

ascende d to the heav-
ens has returned.

Energizing the Master Servant
The fertility of the soil, the abundant harvests, the
health of people and cattle, the normal flo
flow
w of events and all
phenomena of life, are intimately linked to the potential of
the ruler’s vital force.
The Egyptian King was not supposed (or even able) to

reign unless he was in good
good health. The Heb-sed festival
was a rejuvenation of this vital force (as per our common
expression, he becomes “good as new”).
As stated earlier, the king/chief is/was imbued with di-

vine powers to ensure the prosperity of land and people.
people. As
a divine medium, he needed an annual recharge of his pow-
ers.
The Heb-Sed festival of Ancient Egypt included an in-

duced near-death experience, which is wrongly mistaken as
a “ceremonial
“ceremonial killing of the King” by uninformed travelers.
This festival is/was centered around Ausar(Osiris), who does
not die; he merely ascends to the skies
sk ies and returns again.
These rejuvenation rituals are found all over the new

societies of sub-Sahara Africa, such as the Yoruba, Jukun,
Baguirmi, Wadai, Dagomba and Songhai, and in the Hausa
states of Gobir, Katsina, and Duara.
Additionally,
dditionally, the same
sam e rituals can
c an be found among the
chiefs of the Dinka and Shilluk (in southern Sudan), as well
as the Zulu (who strikingly resemble the Niloites). It was
also common in Ethiopia until the 3rd century
century,, and with the
rulers of Meroe.
It is reported that the King of the Jukun was subjected

to special practices every
every seven years. Seven
Seven is the number
Ausar
of (Osiris), signifying renewal and rebirth.

24
Division of Labor
Inborn Destiny
The ancient Egyptian and African societies are divided
into various labor groups. To some eextent,
xtent, an individual’s
labor group is determined by birth.
birth.
Heredity
destinies is important
. A common in determining
expression,
expression, most people’s
“nature vs. nurture”, raises
the eternal question — how much is inborn, and how much
is a result of our upbringing/environment.
People are born with certain skills, i.e. there is a he-

reditary factor(s) in our making. In the United States, people
refer to a reason for someone’s genius, by saying, “It’s in
her/his genes”, i.e.
i.e. the reason is
is genetic.
genetic.
or the Itspecial
would skills
take several
sever al generations
peculiar to a given to
given acquire
type jobthe
of job.. Rkna
knack
ck
elying
on habit, the sense of custom, and tradition, Egyptians gen-
erally preferred not to run risks, and therefore
th erefore chose to stay
within the confines
confine s of the profession in which they had been
raised — the ancestral profession — for their own personal
good and for that of society as a whole.
The above is what Diodorus said about the labor sys-

tem in Ancient Egypt, along with noting that the members
of a given profession or trade constantly rivaled each other

in their quest for perfection.
All the professions were clearly demarcate

demarcated,
d, and highly
efficient and specialized. Encroachments on the pr preserves
eserves
of others were not desired or encouraged.
This system allows the building up

u p of work experience
at an early age.
age. The inborn skills, together with such acqui-
sition of experience, are much more efficient and productive
productive
than our common education system nowadays.
There is a common misconception that a “caste” is a

ranked endogamous division of society in which member-
ship is hereditary and permanent. The emphasis on hierar-
chy inhibits our understanding. A more accurate analysis
for these societies would be to distinguish castes by cultur-
ally defined sources of capacity or power
power..
Castes are not some type of hereditary succession; for
though a son usually followed the profession of his father,
owing to habit, thoughts, education, or patronage and con-
nection, which have existed at all times and in all countries,
he could
c ould still
stil l enter
en ter a different profession/trade.
profession/trade. He would
woul d
have to do that without the benefit of his family’s experi-
ences and connections. He could choose another labor group, group,
but it would
would be difficult.
difficult. There
There were
were therefor
thereforee no rigid castes,
castes,
in the strict sense of the term.
All the most essential parts of life — marriage, hous-
ing, occupation and status — revolve around profession. It
is clear that one’s profession defines one’s existence.
existence.
In our post-Industrial Revolution societies, we waste

time and energy in schooling. Most people don’t become
effective in their trade/profession, until they are about 30
years old. To be born into a tr
trade/profession,
ade/profession, one would
would be
able to contribute at a much earlier age.

IV
Division of Labor / Castes / Classes
Ancient Egypt, like
l ike most West
West African societies, did not
have castes, in the strictest sense of the word. But there was
a general division of labor into five main groups:
1. Intermediaries, consisting of the clergy (temples

and shrines), judges, and doctors.
2. The farming community

community,, consisting of roy
royal
al lin-
eages, nobles, farmers (who made up the bulk of the
population), stock breeders, gardeners, supervisors of
waterway activities and duties such as irrigation, wa-
ter and fishing rights, etc.,
etc., huntsmen, boatmen of the
Nile,, traders, and shopkeepers.
Nile
3. Specialized professionals (artisans), consisting of

the Ny-Ama (energy/word) handlers, such as: the
smiths, leatherworkers, woodworkers, weavers and
bards (storytellers),
(storyteller s), as well as masons, and probably
potters.
4. Servile bondsmen, consisting of long-term servile

bondsmen and from
bondsmen from whom people
people voluntee
volunteere
red
d for mili-
tary and enforcement duties.
5. This group

group mainly consists of people without
without a
permanent home address, such as the herdsmen
groups, pastors, oxherds, shepherds, goatherds, swine-
herds, poulterers, and fowlers.
These five main groups were usually subdivided again,

according to their peculiar trade or occupation.
More details of the five major groups will follow later
in this chapter.
c hapter.

Dynamics Within Each Labor Division/Caste
Within this hierarchical social structure, each member
of the community finds his/her social position according to
the heredity position of
of the family.
family. Even if a child does
does not
perform the traditional role of his/her parents, the child’s
status remains as theirs.
Whether or not they choose to develop that capacity

and exercise their right, does not change the fact of their
inheritance, nor does it provide easy access to others that
may wish to enter that domain.
Members in a class are mobile within their particular

occupation or range of occupations, which is considered to
be appropriate to each class.
Dynamics Between the Occupations/Layers

The whole society is/was aware
aware of the inter-dependence
of all groups within the society.
The different social classes contribute equally but sepa-

rately to the society.
society. For example,
example, blacksmiths
blacksm iths assist all youth
through a physical and psychological journey to adulthood,
through the rites of male initiation and circumcision. A black-
smith would lead the rite and physically perform the cir-
cumcision itself.
All groups rely on the Ny-Ama (energy/word) handlers

(artisans) to be their intermediaries, to guide their religious
upbringing, handle power and solve their problems from the

IV
physical (e.g. fixing tools) to the spiritual (e.g. inability to
conceive). An artisan may act as healer,
healer, exor
exorcist,
cist, peacemaker,
arbiter, or counselor.
The hunters contribute to the society with their unsur-

passed knowledge of the bush and their herbal abilities.
Client-patron relationships are/were organized between

the noble families and the artisans. The nobles pro
provide
vide fi-
nancial and material support for their artisan families while
they in turn act as their host’s blacksmiths, tanners, cob-
blers, weavers,
weavers, musicians, historians and entertainers.
Traditionally, the most skillful artisan families are at-

tached to the personal service of the kings and leading noble-
men. Lesser-talented casted persons
persons serve
serve lesser noble fami-
lies in a corresponding, hierarchical
hierarchical system.
For the bards, in particular, those who are clients of

royal
roy al nobility have a higher status than the wandering min-
strels of the countryside who are not attached to any spe-
cific noble family.
family.
There is mobility not only between the different occu-

pations but also within any particular occupation.
Individuals are not necessarily confined to this occu-

pation for life. They have the option of seeking out other
occupations but can only perform the less complicated tasks.
Intermarriage between the various work groups does

not normally take place, not because of disrespect for each
other,, but because it is against the
other th e nature that maintains the
talent of each ancestor lineage.
lineage. This is not a racist
racist or cul-
tural superiority complex. It is meant to maximize the knowl-
edge,, and not to scatter it.
edge

1) Public Servants (Intermediaries)
Since order is the natural, desirable state

stat e, disorder must
be identif
iden tified
ied and rectifie
rect ified.
d. It is therefore
there fore importa
impo rtant
nt to
determine who or what is responsible for any disorder.
Trained intermediaries are employed to rectify these disor-
ders and imbalances.
This group of intermediaries can be categorized in the

following major groups:
1. The priesthood at the large temples

are/were the officially delegated subor-
dinates of the king, and perform the
necessary rituals to ensure the well-be-
ing of the land and people
people.. These large
temples were built as shrines for the
neteru (the divine aspects/forces of the
universe). Any equilibrium between
the mass of humanity and the deity is
thus maintained through the divine of-
fices of the
th e Pharaoh/leader.
The priests (servants) of

the major temples con-
sisted of various grades
— chief priests or pon-
tiffs, prophets, judges,
sacred scribes, dressers
or keepers of the sacred
robes, the bearers of the
shrines, banners, and
other holy emblems, the
sacred sculptors, drafts-
men and masons, the

IV
embalmers, the keepers of sacred animals, and vari-
ous officers employed in the processions and other re-
ligious ceremonies.
ceremonie s. There was also the king’s own
priest and the royal scribes.
Like Ancient Egypt, the priests of the Yoruba

Yoruba temples
are divided
divided into grades. In Y Yoruba
oruba and Egypt, the of-
fice of priest was hereditary.
hereditary. The temple is called “Ile
Orisha”, i.e. house of the god; in Egypt also the temple
was called house of the neter(god).
Women in ancient Egypt attained

att ained the position of priest-
priest -
esses. Women
Women hold similar positions among the many
newly formed African
Africa n societies, such
su ch as Jukun, Yoruba,
Yoruba,
Busawa, Hausa, Longuda, Bachama, and Mbula.
2. Judges of high rank served Ma-at as priests and the

chief justice of the land wore a little figure of Ma-at
around his neck as a badge of office.
office. Judges were fully
trained in law, harmony, and equilibrium.
3. Specialized doctors for the different ailments.

Ancient sources refer to the Egyptians as the healthi-
est people of the ancient world. Herodotus wrote
wrote,, in
the 5th century BCE:
Of all the nations of the world, Egyptians are the happiest,

healthiest and most religious.
The excellent condition of the Egyptians was attrib-

uted to their application of metaphysical realities, in
their daily lives. The Egyptian
Egyptian medicine understood
man as a whole,
whole, in tune with the cosmos. The body is
an immensely complex vibratory
vibratory system. Everything

is in a constant dynamic state of movements that are
intimately connected to the rhythms, harmonies and
pulsation of the universe. Accumulating evidence
proves the existence of cycles in the incidence of dis-
eases, and in their intensities, which are indicative of
cosmic resonance.
resonance. If a person’s orderly rhythmic
rhythmic pat-
terns were disturbed, this was an indication of trouble
ahead. When out of tune tune,, the body was seen as un-
healthy or diseased. InI n the case
c ase of illness, it is of the
greatest importance to ascertain which spirit or which
person is responsible for undermining the natural or-
der; only then is it possible to prescribe a remedy.
remedy. The
ritual specialists identify the threats to harmony and
recommend appropriate action. They have acquired
such knowledge incrementally as they made their way way
through elaborate apprenticeships.
To heal a person, is to bring that person back into ttune,
une,
by the deliberate summoning-up of the specific har-
monic phenomena pertinent to the case. Magic for
ancient Egyptians was the profound understanding of
cosmic resonance, as opposed to the current shallow
notion, that magic is a synonym for superstition.
Western medicine is mostly a combination of butcher
medicine (surgery) and shock treatment (induction of
concentrated chemical compounds).
4. Servants of the local ancestor shrines, who per-

form the duties and ceremonies, connect with ances-
tral spirits in the appropriate relationship. Such ser-
vices were performed by a member of each family, at
their local shrine, who in ancient Egyptian dynastic
times were called the Servant of the KA. These shrines
continue to be very active throughout Egypt, especially
in the rural areas.

IV
The chief of every large village, town,
town, or district, usu-
ally attached a man to his service, who was believed to
be able to hold communication with the ancestor spir-
its and to have influence with them. This person was was
also believed to possess powers of an occult character
with which, when necessary, he could control, limit,
or abrogate the action of evil spirits.
5. Special practitioners in Ancient Egypt, present-

day rural Egypt, Yoruba,
Yoruba, and other
oth er African areas deal
with everyday
everyday life disorders suc
suchh as: misfortune, sick-
ness, infertility, drought, famine, floods, political ri-
valries, inheritance disputes, marital or career choices,
or the clearing of a new
n ew field.
Magic and sorcery both serve this end. From society’s

standpoint, magic is positive or neutral. On the one
hand, magicians try to influence life forces to alter the
physical world, perhaps to bring good fortune or a re-
turn to health. Sorcerers, on the other
oth er hand, are anti-
social, using sorcery (or “black magic”) to control or
consume the vital force of others. Unlike magicians,
whose identity is generally known, sorcerers hide their
supernatural powers, practicing their rites in secret.
When misfortune occurs, people often suspect that
sorcery is at the root of their troubles. They seek coun-
sel from diviners or magicians to identify the respon-
sible party,
party, and to help to rectify
rectify the situation. If the
disruption
disrupt ion is deemed to threaten everyone, leaders may
act on behalf of the
t he community at large.
If it is thought that an evil spirit has possessed a per-

son, the diviner or magician may take care of it, or an
exorcist
exor cist with a greater degree of specialization may be
called in.

These special practitioners or medicine men, are the
ones who dispense charms, bags full of fetishes such
as birds’ skulls and shells, and medicinal products.
They may tell fortunes, or give advice on how to avoid
danger. All these items must bebe activated/blessed by
the medicine man, prior to its use.
2) The Farming Community (Nobles & Farmers)
The new farmland areas, from Kanem to Hausaland to

Songhai, all the way to Wagadu, adopted an intensive sys-
tem of irrigation and cultivation. All these ideas came from
Ancient Egypt, as well as the irrigation method employed —
that of the hydraulic shadouff (see
(see illustration on page 161).
Water is raised from
f rom streams or shallow wells by means of a
bucket attached
attac hed tot o the end of a pole, which is levered
levered on a
crossbeam of wood. The other end of the pole is weighted
with a slab of dried mud, causing the pole in its rest position
to stand erect. The bucket is drawn down by by hand to raise
raise
the water from the stream. The weight of the mud-slab causes
the pole to raise
raise the filled bucket automatically. All these
new societies maintained the Ancient Egyptian name of this
apparatus to this day, i.e. shadouff .
Nobles were
were basically farmers. Friedrick Nietzsche
traced the origin of the concept
conc ept of ‘good’, in German culture,
culture,
to the concept of ‘noble’.
‘noble’. Likewise in Ancient Egypt and
throughout sub-Sahara Africa — a noble was not a rich aris-
tocrat, but a good person.
The term, noble, came from the Ancient Egyptian Neb/
Nab/Naba, which is one of the titles of the leaders through-
out Ancient Egypt and sub-Sahara Africa. Neb means gold
(traditionally the finished perfected end
en d product — the goal
of the alchemist). Neb also means Lord, Master , and All.

IV
Nobles are/were also the
leaders of the community.
community.
Likewise, the Wolof
peoples of Senegambia
identify the concepts of
goodness, beauty, and no-
bility as inherently
inherently related.
related.
Even though their major occupation is farming, nobles

n obles
also take up other activities such as hunting or part-time busi-
ness during the off-season. They managed to trade and ex-
change various products between the different communities.
Rulers of the various polities were chosen from mem-

bers of a particular royal
royal line.
line. Nobles not of royal
royal blood had
differential rights and privileges depending upon their fami-
lies and their duties in the state.
state. The nobility participated in
the selection of the kings-to-be, although they themselves
were not eligible to be chosen.
3) The Artisans (Manifesters of the Cosmic Word)
Egyptian creation texts repeatedly stress
the
Thebelief of creation
Supreme containedbythe
the Word. In
potential effect,
existence
of all things, and when He spoke, He and all
things with Him came
cam e into objective existence.
Likewise,, according to the Mande-speak-
Likewise
ing peoples of Western
Western Africa, Maa Ngala cre-
ated the universe simply by saying the right
words.
In Ancient Egypt, Ptah is/was the Cos-
mic Architect, the cosmic shaping force, the Ptah
giver of form (smith). He is/was patron of

crafts, trades, and the arts. He is/was the coagulating, cre-
ative fire, simultaneously the cause (of the created world)
and effect (of the scission). Ptah is phi, the creative power.
Ptah sits enthroned or stands upon a pedestal in the
form of the glyph for Ma-at (cosmic law, harmony, equilib-
rium), to emphasize the importance of balancing
balan cing energies in
the transformation process, from a raw to finished form.
Ptah’s work is expressed in the following Mande-speak-

ing people’s saying:
The smith forges the Word,

The weaver weaves it,
The Ieatherworker beats it smooth.
Words posses
possesss high levels
levels of Ny-ama (force/energy), and
only trained energy handlers, Ny-ama-ka-la-u, are capable of
handling, controlling, and manipulating the energies con-
tained in raw
raw materials. The handlers are br broken
oken down into
three major specialized guilds: blacksmiths, leather workers,
and bards.
Their professions are usually passed down from one

generation to the next.
3a) The Smiths
Ptah’s counter-
parts on earth are the
smiths, who are/
were called The First
Sons of the Earth .
The forge was called

IV
the fan
fan — the same name given to the cosmic
cos mic egg from which
all life was born. The four creation (or mother) elements
were always present at the smith’s forge: fire, the air of the
bellows to tease fire,
fire, water to tame fire (her twin sister), and
earth to stand upon for security.
Ironworking demands a great deal of the energy of ac-

Ironworking
tion, by the handler (smith) himself, in order to release the
energy.. This energy is lodged in the inorganic matter and is
energy
emitted as a part of the transformation process, when the
ore is smelted, or the iron is shaped. During the process,
enormous amounts of Ny-Ama are given off.
Smelting is/was a mystery,

mystery, surrounded by a ritual sym-
bolism that compared the act of smelting to sexual inter-
course, and the reduction of the ore to the ‘cooking’ of a
child in its
it s mother’s womb.
Blacksmiths are/were highly revered and sometimes

feared because they are believed to be powerful magicians,
and their work was shrouded in mysticism. African black-
smiths had a closed and secret society, through which their
skills were/are passed from one generation to another.
The smith’s guild was divided

1. blast-furnace smiths into three subgroups:
2. blacksmiths
3. workers in precious
precious metals or jewelers
Each group had rites and rituals that prepared an ap-
prentice smith for initiation into the body of masters.
Blacksmiths also make most of their society’s wood and

iron works.
works. Generally,
Generally, several
several male smiths in a town will
will
work iron and wood, while at least one female member of
the family will work clay

c lay..

Ptah’s counterparts on earth (the smiths) perform the
work aimed at shaping the environments and the
th e individu-
als around
around them. Their activities include those of techni-
cians, healers, sorcerers, and mediators.
3b) The Weavers
The weavers,
li
l i ke b l a c k s m i t h s ,
possess some mysti-
cal powers. They
were both respected
and feared.
The spider is
the divine animal
that symbolizes the
art of weaving, and as such it is the divine archetype of th
this
is
craft.
The weaver’s work, like the smith’s, was teeming with

symbolism. There are/were 33 parts of the loom, and all of
the parts had a meaning. For example,
example, there are/were eight
parts of the frame, four of which were symbols of the mother
elements— fire, air,
air, earth, water—and four
f our that symbolized
the directions—north, south, east, and west. The weaver is/
was also counted as part of the magic of the loom. Before
beginning work, the weaver
weaver touched eevery
very ppart
art of the loom
and said an invocation.
As the weaver’s shuttle moved to and from, the weaver

sang rhythmically with his/her actions. Only weavers could
understand the language of the loom.

IV
3c.) The Leathermakers
The leatherworkers handle forces/energy,

forces/energy, because the
t he
life force and power that the animal once possessed is re-
tained in the leather and is released with its manipulation.
The leatherworker beats [the Word] smooth.
Leather, like feathers, horn, claws, and bone, retains its

Leather,
life form and life force after the flesh has disintegrated.
Leather workers have a major role in the amulets made

by priests, medicine men, and blacksmiths
blac ksmiths for clients
cl ients with
wit h
particular problems to solve, or particular goals to achieve.
Ny-ama is the active ingredient in these devices, and so leather
workers must themselves possess enough of it, to defend
against its potentially awesome effects. They make the ap-
propriate and compatible leather covers/containers for the
amulets. The amulets lose their entire efficacy if the they
y are
are
not properly wrapped in covers made by such experts.
There is a certain mysti-

cal aspect of musical instru-
ments, as though they were
alive with their own language
of sounds. The fact that

aregoats
the
most
talk-
ative
animals, and their skins are used al-
most exclusively in making drums, is
no coincidence. One reason for the
variety of drums is that they serve not
only as musical instruments, but also
as a method of communication.

3d) Words
Wordsmiths
miths (Storytellers)
The mouth and tongue, both

of which are intensely nyama -
laden, produce words. Words are are
full of special energy, which can
be
b e d a n g e r o u s ( t h e t o n g u e i s
mightier than the sword) if mis-
used. Bards are believed to pos-
sess great reserves of this power,
and they are trained to use it with
the utmost care.care. Bards are/were
“wordsmiths” — anything to do
with words and songs was their
specialty.
They, like smiths, also work with spells, the supernatu-

They,
ral formulas that activate the energy on behalf of a person or
against certain negative forces/energies.
Almost all that we know about the ancient history of

Africa comes from oral tradition. Written history is less cred-
ible than oral history,
history, if it is biased and irresponsible
irresponsible.. Trans-
mitting history by word of mouth from generation to gen-
eration through professional historians was a common and
credible method, until foreign forces came to Africa, and the
locals colored
colored their stories
stories to appea
appease
se their Moslem
Moslem overlor
overlords.
ds.
The wordsmiths’ accounts are often poetic and accom-

panied by musical instruments, such as the harplike kora
and the small tam tam or “talking drum.”
Storytelling is not sheer entertainment. It is a respon-

sible duty.
duty. All through history, storyt
storyteller
ellerss the world over,
over,
share their craft with children and adults alike, and make
the conveying of knowledge

kn owledge a pleasant experience
experience..

IV
4) Servile Bondsmen
While traditional Western notions of slavery might in-

clude gruesome, immoral images of vulnerable and helpless
victims, slavery in Africa, before the arrival of Islam in the
11th century, was by no means a hardship or miserable exist-
ence. It was a relatively marginal aspect of traditional Afri-
can societies. It was generally
generally in the form of servitude,
servitude, and
was relatively benign—an extension of lineage and kinship
systems, and it was a case of adoption rather than slavery.
They were
were treated as members of the family.
family. Anyone apply-
ing the epithet of “slave” to them, would be hotly taken to
task by the “owner”
“owner ”. They were always well treated an
and
d could
rise to respected positions in households and communities.
Even in modern times, one can witness the relation-

ship between a noble and servile bondsman, as a two-way
relationship of love,
love, caring, and dedication.
Soldiers, law enforcement officers, tax collectors and

minor bureaucrats were recruited from servile bondsmen.
The Moslem conquests of North Africa, and their pen-

etration in the south, were for the main purpose of captur-
ing a large number of helpless people to be traded as a com-
modity (slaves).
(slaves). As a result,
result, the slave
slave trade of Africans —
especially women and children — developed
developed on a new scale.
It was no longer a mutual agreement of civil adoption rela-
tionship between two parties, but Islamic jihads changed it
to a case of abduction, kidnapping, and reducing the people
to a mere commodity to buy and sell. In I n theory,
theory, slaves could
buy their freedom, but this was very
very difficult to do.
It is only within the last hundred
h undred years that slav
slavery
ery has
become illegal
il legal in these areas. Even now
n ow,, its effects are still
felt by the descendants of former slaves, who still work as
tenant farmers for their former masters.

5) Homeless Herders
Ancient Egyptians sent their cattle for a part of each

year to the marshes of the north; for though all the land in
the Nile Valley was pretty well brought under
u nder cultivation, a
good part of the Delta was still wild and uncultivated.
In the marshy districts, the men who kept the cattle

were barely regarded
regarded by the true Egyptians as their equals.
These men lived in the marshes with the cows; they

had no settled home,
home, for their reed huts could be moved
moved from
place to place
plac e when necessary.
They were a small, foreign minority among Egyptian

farmers who were very
very attached to their land, and un
unable
able to
envision wandering as nomadic herders.

25
Linguistic Similarities
Throughout this book, numerous linguistic similarities
are shown, which provide the strong evidence that the an-
cient Egyptians spread their language into Africa. Linguis-
tic similarities are not, and should not be, studied in isola-
tion without taking into account other cultural realities, as
Western linguistic academicians do.
It is very clear that the linguistic component, as a part

and in conjunction with all other components, shows An-
cient Egyptians as the origin of culture in sub-Sahara Af-
rica. Here is a small sampling of some of this linguistic evi-
dence:
1. Ancestor spirits are the heart and soul

of thespirit
tor Africanofculture.
culture . The great
Ancient Egyptances-
is
Ausar(Osiris).
Osiris is the Greek form of the word that

was pronounced by the Egyptians and
others as Usiri, Usri, User, Asar, Ausar, or
Asari. The vowel sounds cannot always
be determine
determined,
d, and the pronunci
pronunciatio
ation
n ap-
pears to have varied in different locali- Ausar
ties.
25. Linguistic Similarities 23 7

Si or usi is the essential part of the name of the great
Egyptian neter, Ausar(Osiris).
Throughout Africa the root si or usi is applied some-

times to the earth or earth deity, sometimes to the
moon, sometimes to the sun or sun deity, and some-
times to the sky.
It should be further noted that the root si or se occurs

frequently in the personal names of Ancient Egyptian
kings (e.g.
(e.g. in Isi, Isesi, and Neusere of the 5th Dynas
Dynasty
ty,,
and Sesi and Userkere of the 6th Dynasty).
The legitimacy,
legitimacy, of tthe
he Ancient Egyptian King tto
o rule,
was associated with the King being a successor of
Ausar(Osiris).
Some of the traditional titles for the kings of the new

societies in sub-Sahara Africa are/were:
 Kisira/Kasera (Ka-Se-Ra)
• Sarki or Seraki (Se-Ra-Ka-i) - The i signifies my/
mine.
The above terms contain the same root

of the Egyptian Ausar/Usera (U-Se-Ra).
Ka/Ki signifies the person of .
Sarki or Seraki (Se-Ra-ka-i) is a Hausa

(Ma-Ba-u) title for king, which has be-
come a general term over a large part of
West Africa. Se-Ra was a regular title
for king in Ancient Egypt.
Ra
The founders of the new African soci-

IV
eties along the Niger River and Wagadu (ancient
Ghana) are the Se-Ra-Aku-la (commonly known as
Serakule/Soninke). Aku signifies King .
It is clear, therefore, that the word si, usi, usir, etc.,

which is current all over Africa today was also com-
mon in Ancient Egypt.
2. There were

were other titles for leaders in the new soci-
eties , such as Ber/Bari (the ancient Egyptian term for
Pharaoh), meaning Great House. Since the Pharaoh
was also associated with Ra, Bari (Ba-Ra-i) means the
life force of Ra , in Ancient Egyptian. The letter i at the
end signifies my or mine.
Also, another title for the leaders was/is Ma-i, which

means lion, a Pharaoh’s title/attribute
title/attribut e. Also, Mau means
eagle, signifying Heru(Horus).
3. Ama or Ma, is used throughout

Western Africa, in the same exact
fashion like Auset(Isis) in ancient
Egypt. She is the creatress
creatress of all liv-
ing things.
The Ancient Egyptians called her
Auset with the Ten Thousand Names
(meaning attributes, qualities, as-
pects, functions, ...etc
...et c.).
She is the Universal Mother.

Mother. The
Auset/Ama
word, Ama/Ma continues to be used
25. Linguistic Similarities 23 9

extensively in Egypt, since ancient times, to denote
mother/nation.
Auset(Isis) is described as “the abode in which all life

originated, and her womb was the source whence sprang
all living creatures.”
men and neteru , the harvest and all
She was regarded as an Earth- netert(goddess) and the

mother of all fertility, the Queen of the Earth and The
Creatress of all Green Things. As the nourisher of crops,
her benign influence made grain of all sorts
so rts to grow.
grow.
Ama is the earth, the womb, and when a man dies he

goes to Ama; for every living thing that dies, whether
man, beast, or bird, returns to earth.
4. West African populations have an abundant use of

Egyptian metaphysical terms, such as the Ka and the
Ba, in their names. The same use, in names, for the
same exact meanings are abundant in Ancient Egyp-
tian names.
5. The expression, Ba-Ra-Ka (meaning blessing ),

), has
been used in Egypt, since ancient times, and is used
throughout West
West Africa as well. Ba-Ra-Ka is the Trin-
ity blessing, so reminiscent of the latter Christian Trin-
ity.
6. Without listing the entire vocabulary common to

Ancient Egypt, and all the societies throughout the

IV
3,000 mile (5400 km) land south of the Sahara, the
following are a few more names in common, between
Egypt and the Wolof-speaking peoples of Senegal:
Atum: Atu
Sek-met : Sek
Antef : Anta
Fari: Fari
Meri: Meri
Ba-Ra
Ba-R a: Bara, Bari
Ra,
R Ree: Rog
a, R
A few more words common to both Egyptian and

Yoruba, of southern
south ern Nigeria, aand
nd their meanings
m eanings are:
ran =name
bu = place name
Amon = concealed
miri = water
Hor = to be high
8. There are too many linguistic similarities between

Ancient Egypt and sub-Sahara African societies, to be
ascribed to mere chance. In many cases, with a few
sound shifts (see Chapter 4, Languages ),
), one can see
how the Ancient Egyptian language is the mother lan-
guage of the new societies of sub-Sahara Africa.

V
The Islamic
Onslaughts on
Western Africa

26
Wagadu(Ghana) is Shattered
The 1076 Barbarian Northern Blow

In the deserts north of the Wagadu
Wagadu (Ghana) Common-
wealth, a Berber group of gangsters, called the Almoravids,
started attacking peaceful settlements and villages.
The traditional
Almoravids Yahiastory
is that Yahia of the made
ibn Ibrahim, beginnings
m of the
ade a pilgrimage to
Mecca. On his return journey, he met Ibn Yacin, whom he
persuaded to accompany him to Audaghost, where they
preached the practice of Islam. The preaching of Ibn Yacin,
Yacin,
however
howe ver,, irritated the people of the area. After the death of
Yahia, his protector, Ibn Yacin was forced to retire with his
followers to an island in the Senegal River
River..
Since he couldn’t convince the people to convert to Is-

lambyby
it by choice,
the sword.
sword.Yacin
Yacin
He followed the aIslamic
proclaimed doctrine
doctrin e, to force
jihad, and in 1054 CE,
Audaghost fell to the Almoravids.
Al moravids. Over
Over a period of five years,
between 1054 and 1059 , the Almoravid terrorists captured
the Moroccan city of Sijilmasa, a hub in the trans-Saharan
trade route, and from there commanded ceaseless attacks
against the main center of WWagadu
agadu (ancient Ghana).
Ghana ).
After Ibn Yacin’

Yacin’ss death in 1057, a follower named
nam ed Abu
Bakr assumed leadership of the Almoravid terrorist forces
in the southern Sahara. In 1062, he began attacking W
Wagadu
agadu

26. Wagadu(Ghana) is Shattered 24 3
(ancient Ghana).
Ghana). By l067, the Almoravid terrorists were ham-
mering at the gates of Koumbi, believed to be the main city
in Wagadu.
Under King Bassi (ba-see) and his successor, King

Tunka Manin (tun-ka man-in), Wagadu resisted heroically
for almost a decade. But in 1076 or 107 7,7, the Almoravids
were able to destroy the cities and slew many of the citizens
and seized their property.
property.
The barbaric Almoravids were made up of fierce desert

tribesmen. These tribes remained united so long as they had
a common cause and a common enemy. But once they ac-
complished their goal, they usually fell to fighting among
themselves. Abu Bakr, who lived by
by killing others, was him-
self killed, while suppressing a revolt in 1087 within his
ranks.
On the death of Abu Bakr in 1087, Almoravid power

south of the Sahara simply fell apart. The Almoravids’ stay
in Wagadu had been relatively short, but it proved disrup-
tive.
The Barbarian
Barbarian Keita Clan Southern Assault
(1235 CE)
While the Soninke lived just south of the Sahara Desert,
in the Wagadu
Wagadu Confederation, the Malinke
Malin ke occupied mostly
the middle and southern parts of the savannah, near the for-
est belt. There was peaceful
peaceful coexistence between both the
Soninke and the Malinke. Actually
ctual ly,, they both belong to the
Mande people (See Glossary, pages 312-13).
The Keita
Keita Clan was one of many groups near the forest

244 V. The Islamic Onslaughts on Western Africa
belt. They were

were originally centered
centered in Kangaba, on the Niger
River,, which was about 250 miles (402km) south of Koumbi.
River
In 1230, Sundiata was declared the chief of Kangaba.

It is reported in Islamic records, that Sundiata was converted
to Islam.
- Was
Was he? Was he forced to? Was he inticed to do it?
- Was Sundiata promised wealth and status by the
Almoravids (his Moslem Berber mentors)?
Many of the questions can be answered by the actions

of the Keita Clan afterwards.
Sundiata of Kangaba began to expand his authority by

force,, in the name of Islam. His forces began the ugly slave
force
raiding and trade,
trade, with their Moslem
Moslem masters. So, Sundiata
became the first main sub-Sahara
sub-Sahara supplier of slaves.
slaves.
In order for the

th e aggressive Keita
Keita gangsters to justify at-
tacking their northern neighbors, they came up with the story
that they were threatened by the Soninke (much like the
excuses Hitler used, to attack his neighbors). The Almoravid
Almoravid
Berbers who couldn’t destroy the Soninke, got Sundiata to
attack them.
In 1235, at the battle of Kirina, Sundiata defeated the

Soninke army. Five years later, all of Wagadu(a
Wagadu(ancient
ncient Ghana)
G hana)
was incorporated into his domains, destroying a peaceful civi-
lization. Sundiata shifted his place
pl ace of residence from Jeriba
in Kangaba to a new
n ew city,
city, Niani, further down the Niger.
The term Mali, meaning where the king lives, came to be

applied to the new Mandingo State created by Sundiata’s
Keita
Keita Clan.
Cl an.
Islamic rule has arrived to sub-Sahara Africa.

27
Keita Clan (Mali) Islamic Rule
Ushering in Africa’s Dark Age

After Sundiata, the rulers of this Islamic empire assumed
the title of Mansa, which means emperor or sultan.
Since Sundiata was not in very good health, his imme-
diate successor-son, Uli (c. 1255-70), began the tradition
among the ruling Keita Clan of following the wishes of their
t heir
Moslem masters, by making a haj , a pilgrimage to the Mos-
lem capital at Mecca, on the Arabian Peninsula. He came
back infused with Mecca’s authority to attack his neighbors,
in yet more Islamic jihads. Immediately thereafter,
thereafter, the Keita
Keita
Clan of Kangaba conquered territories, stretching from mid-
Senegal to the border of Niger.
The oral history of the Malinke from the 1200s onward

onward
stresses the connection of the Malinke to Islam so as to ap-
pease their Moslem
Moslem masters. An outlandish link of Sundiata’s
Sundiata’s
ancestor
ancest or with Arabia is believed to be an example of this “con-
“con-
nection”.
The Keita Clan emerged as a dominant power in sub-

Sahara Africa, and controlled
con trolled the trans-Saharan trades from
about 1200 to 1500 CE. In the days of the Keita
Keita Islamic rule,
a major trading route across the Sahara to Tunis and to Cairo,
was utilized often, because Moslem rulers needed slaves that
the Keita Clan was obliged to provide. The Keita Clan be-
trayed their own kind, to make riches. Gradually the north-
east trade route became the main one.

246 V. The Islamic Onslaughts on Western Africa
The Illegitimate Murderous Succession

The new illegitimate dictatorial Islamic rule eliminated
the matrilineal succession system. There was no peaceful,
orderly system of succession. As a consequence, in the thirty
years following the death of Sundiata, the
t he Keita
Keita Islamic rule
had five rulers.
There were three main periods of bloody disorder in

the Keita’s rule, created by disputed claims to the throne.
The first showed
showed Sundiata succeeded
suc ceeded by three sons, Uli,
Ul i, W
Wali,
ali,
and Khalifa.
The last son, Khalifa, was overthro
overthrown
wn in a bloody coup
c oup
by the followers of Abu Bakr, considered to be the rightful
heir, as the son of one of Sundiata’s daughters. As a result,
Abu Bakr then took power.
power.
Sakura, a freed slave of the royal family, managed to
secure control of the army,
army, and overthrew
overthrew Abu Bakr’s reign
in another bloody coup.
Sakura, was also overthrown, in yet another bloody
coup.
The third emperor of the 14th century

century,, a descendant of
a brother of Sundiata, was (Kankan) Mousa, who went to
the Islamic-beseiged
Islamic-beseig ed Cairo and Mecca, in 1324, where he was
infused with authority to attack more neighbors and abduct
more slaves, in the name of Islamic jihads.
On his return from Mecca, he conquered
c onquered Gao and took
two of its princes as hostages, along with other children of
neighboring communities. These children
children acted as shields,
preventing
preventing the Gao people from attacking Mousa’s court.
After Mansa Mousa’s death, probably in 1337, a brief
struggle for power ensued before Sulayman, Mousa’s brother,
came to the throne in 1341.
1341. After his death in 1360, various
factions of the Keita Clan began to compete with each other
for power,
power, and their hold on power disintegrated.

27. Keita Clan (Mali) Islamic Rule 24 7
In short, the empire was maintained by the exercise

exercise of
dominion of a quasi-Islamic ruling class, by force
force (al-Umari
writes of an army of 100,000, with 10,000 cavalry), for their
own profit.
profit. As far as the Mande/Malinke
Mande/Malinke subjects were
were con-
cerned, they have never accepted this illegitimate
ill egitimate exercise of
power,, and were never converted to Islam
power Isla m by their Moslem
overlords.
overlords. They maintained their indigenous traditions.

28
Songhai under Islamic Rule
The Keita Rule Over the Niger Pearls

In 1010 CE, the Tuareg Berbers attacked Gao and
claimed to have converted the Gao leader to Islam. They
used the same tactics as other Berber Islamic assaults, by
taking family members as hostages/human shields.
By the beginning of the 1300s, Gao’s wealth and stra-

tegic location attracted the interest of the Keita Clan Islamic
Empire of Mali. As stated earlier, in 1325, after receiving
blessings from Mecca, the forces of Mansa Mousa, emperor
emperor
of Mali, invaded Gao, which was subsequently
subsequentl y absorbed into
the Keita Clan (Mali) Empire. Mansa Mousa took two
Songhai princes, as hostages/human shields, to live with him.
This was a common practice with the Islamic rulers.
After 1346, when Mansa Mousa died, the gangsters of

the Keita
Keita Clan fought each
eac h other, and their so-called Empire
disintegrated. As a consequence:
1. The two princes escaped back to Gao and liberated

Songhai.
2. The Mossi (who lived on the Niger River

River just be-
low Gao) tried to free their kin in Timbuktu, which
was then controlled by the Berbers—the Tuareg.

28. So
S onghai Under Islamic Rule 24 9
The Sunni Rulers (1464-1492)

Songhai was revived again under Sunni Ali (1464-
1492), also called Ber (meaning The Great , in ancient Egyp-
tian language), who hailed from a strong traditional back-
ground. When he came to power,
power, he was considered one of
the most powerful
powerful spiritualists of sub-Sahara
sub-Sahara Africa. He re-
fused to accept Islam, and instead advanced African tradi-
tions.
Sunni Ali realized the importance of the military for
the political stability and survival of the state. He also took
full advantage of the Niger River by building a navy under a
naval commander, the Hikoy. Sunni Ali was then able to
liberate Timbuktu (which was controlled by the Tuareg),
the key trading city in the region, as well as Ginne(Jenne),
in 1469, from the Keita gangsters and their
th eir Tuareg cronies.
The Askia Islamic Military Rule [1492-1591]

The Moslems were furious with Sunni Ali. Within a
year after Ber (Sunni)
(S unni) Ali di
died,
ed, his heir, Abu Bakr, was over-
over-
thrown and killed in a military coup, led by Askia
Mohammed Touré,
Touré, who was Sunni Ali’s General. Askia
theninexiled
ing Moslemthe legitimate
legitim ate ruling
eyes, Askia made fam
family
anily.
. To
To increase
imposing his stand-
pilgrimage to
Mecca, and returned vested with the “prestigious” title of
caliph. As was always the case, case, after a Moslem leader re- re-
turns from Mecca, he immediately launched jihads against
all non-Moslems, surrounding
surrounding Songhai. The first to feel his
military might were the Mossi. He killed thousands of them, t hem,
captured their children to raise them as Moslems.
Next, in 1515, Askia Mohammed led a marauding ex-

pedition through the Hausaland polities of Zaria, Katsina,

250 V. The Islami
Islamicc Onslaught
Onslaughtss on Western Africa
Kano and Gobir.

Gobir. The motive seems to have been booty rather
than conquest, but the kings of Zaria, Katsina and Gobir all
lost their lives, and it was said that as many as half of ttheir
heir
subjects
subjec ts were marched away into slavery.
slavery. Kano, however
however,,
was able to withstand a siege for long enough to make terms.
This was a devastating blow, which led many to mi-
grate southward for safety. However,
However, many stayed on.
Every family lineage in this Islamic

I slamic state was required
to send a son or daughter (de-facto hostages) to serve Askia,
in order to ensure absolute loyalty
loyalty from all families. Askia
restored relationships with the Tuareg, and went back to a
Keita
Ke ita Clan form of government.
government. The governing
governing clan owned
everything, and increased slav
sl avee raids and trade.
trade.
As Askia came to rule

r ule by force,
force, he himself was deposed
and exiled to a remote island
isl and in the Niger River,
River, toward the
end of his life, by his ambitious son. From 1528 to 1591,
several rulers occupied the throne, killing each other in the
process, each lasting an average of four years.
The Militaristic Collapse (1591)

In 1591, al-Mansur,
al-Mansur, the sultan of Morocco, sent a mer-
cenary Berber
small pieces ofarmy of 4,000
artillery
artillery, men,
, across the with firearms
Sahara. and some
The small Mo-
roccan force,
force, overwhelmed Askia’s forces. The Askia milita-
ristic empire collapsed with astonishing speed. The Moroc-
Moroc-
can occupation ended in 1618.
There was
was no revival
revival of Islamic Songhai power
power.. The
legitimate descendants of Sunni Ali and the illegitimate de-
scendants of the militaristic Askia Mohammed, quarreled
constantly among themselves. Neither side was able to re-
gain power
p ower..

28. So
S onghai Under Islamic Rule 25 1

29
Lake Chad Basin in Distress
Western Kanem Islamic

Isl amic Coup of 1068
As stated earlier, the Duguwa established rule over the
area of Kanem, east and north of Lake Chad, about 800 CE.
Islamic records indicate that Islam entered
en tered the area in 106
1061,
1,
and that a court official, Hummai (1068-1080), overthrew
the Duguwa ruling family and founded the Islamic Sayfuwa
Dynasty.. Some historians believe
Dynasty believe that iitt was Sayf
Sayf ibn Dhi
Yazan, rather than Hummai, who established this new rul-
ing dynasty.
dynasty. In any eevent,
vent, all records
records agree that the popu-
lace resisted the new religion in favor of traditional beliefs
and practices.
For centuries after their reported “conversion” to Is-

lam, the mais (leaders) still retained much of the mystic ritual
of pre-Islamic rulers, rarely appearing in public, and giving
audiences from behind a screen, just like ancient Egyptians.
Islamic records indicate that Dunama Dibalemi (1203-
1242 CE), the 6th successor of Hummai, was removed and
replaced again by the Duguwa ruling family, and that the Is-
lamic Sayfuwa Clan moved and established a new semi-in-
dependent state, Bornu, west of Lake Chad.
It is unclear, from the heavily-biased Islamic records,

what happened after the Duguwa reestablished themselves,
after 1242 CE.

2
9
.
L
a
k
e
C
h
a
d
B
a
s
i
n
i
n
D
i
s
t
r
e
s
s
2
5
3
254 V. The Islami

Islamicc Onslaught
th
The Bulala Resist the Moslem Intrusion (14

Century)
Over 100 years
years after
aft er the reported Sayfuwa
S ayfuwa (or a branch
of it) left Kanem, we find the non-Moslem population of
Kanem in a fight with the Berbers, on the east side of Lake
Chad. Moslem records tell us that between 1353 and 1376,
trouble arose between an offshoot of ancient Kanem, who
are referred
referred to in the chronicles as the
t he Bulala (its real name
may be Gaoga, as reported by by Leo Africanus), and the Berbers
east of Lake Chad. The Bulala, who were the most ardent
defenders of divine
divine kingship, and the Kuka around Lake Fitri,
paid off Arab mercenaries, who were infiltrating the region,
to get rid of the illegitimate Berber rulers at Ngimi (Njimi).
By 1386, King Omar ibn Idris was unable to fend off

the Bulala(Gaoga). At some point in the 1390s, King Omar
Ibn Idris abandoned the former capital at Ngimi, east of Lake
Chad, and in the words of the traditional king-list, ‘ He
He took
out his armies and all his
hi s possessions and his people into Kaga,
and down to this day none of our rulers have ever returned to
Kanem to re-establish their residence there.’
The Islamization of Bornu (Late 16th Century)

As per the Islamic records, after the Duguwa took over
the rule in Kanem (ca. 1242 CE), the Sayfuwa moved into
the region of Bornu, west of Lake Chad.

In the 1390s, when Omar ibn Idris and his followers
were pushed out by the Bulala, they proceeded forcefully
toward the western side of the lake.
lake. They are/were
are/were called
Beri-Beri by their westerly neighbor
neighbor,, the Hausa. This is an
29. La
L ake Chad Basin in Distress 2 55
ancient Egyptian (as well as a colloquial Egyptian) expres-

sion, referring to the K anuri , who came down from the
Kanuri
Libyan deserts.
deserts. Omar and his followers
followers did not settle peace-
fully among the Sa-u people
people,, who had lived
l ived there for centu-
ries, but forced themselves,
themselves, byby the sword. The Sa-u people
of this region will later be known as K anembu — another
Kanembu
Islamic name to confuse issues.
The new waves

waves of the Kanuri fought against the earlier
people,, who moved
people moved to Bornu in ca. 1242 CE. Four succes-
sive kings died fighting against each other, and it was only
toward the middle of the 15th century that the dynastic feuds,
which brought them to the verge of destruction, ended by
Ali Gaji (1455-1487). Ali finally assumed power himself,
over
ov er the two fighting factions. He founded the city of
Gazargamo (Ngazargamu), some 125 miles (200 km) up the
River Yo, from its mouth on the northwest shores of Lake
Chad. It was to remain the capital town of Bornu until it
was abandoned after being sacked by the Fulani in 1812.
The rulers of Islamic Bornu continued fighting the

Bulala, east of Lake Chad, during the reigns of Idris
Katakarmabe
Katak armabe (1487-1509) and Idris II (1507-29).
(1507-29).
As a result of the Moslem onslaughts, a coalition be-
tween the Bulala, the Kuka around
around Lake Fitri, and the clus-
ter of Sa-u/Kotoko city-states
city-sta tes in the valley of the lower Chari
River,, emerged by 1500. By this time,
River time, the Bulala coalition
had a strong cavalry
cavalry power that regained much of the terri-
tory of old Kanem from the Kanuri.
The introduction
this (and of Shortly
other) area(s). firearmsbefore
changed
thethe
falldynamics in
of Songhai,
Idris Aloma (1580-1617), came to power as the greatest
Moslem tyrant of the Bornu emperors. By the end of the
century, Aloma established effective relations with the Ot-
toman Turks who were now in control of Egypt and Tri-
256 V. The Islami

Islamicc Onslaught
poli, with the result that Aloma was able to secure supplies
of firearms.
Idris Aloma made a Mecca pilgrimage,

pilgrimage, and returned to
rule with a harsher hand, and not incidentally, increase of
slave raids
raids and export
export of them to his Ottoman masters. He
organized seven military expeditions against the Bulala coa-
lition, who had to withdraw to the area of Lake Fitri.
In central Bornu itself, Idris Aloma pushed the non-

Moslem Sa-u (the true inhabitants of Bornu) out of their
homes, from
homes, from the immediate
immediate neighborho
neighborhood
od of Gazargamo,
Gazargamo, and
in eastern Bornu
Born u he drove them into Lake Chad, where they
found refuge on the islands of the lake.
lake.
During the 15th and 16th century, the Moslem kings of

Bornu were constantly at war with the Bulala coalition, as
well as the non-Moslem Jukun to the south.
Aloma’s grandson, King Ali, who reigned in the later

17 th century
century,, made three pilgrimages to Mecca. Not inciden-
tally,, he also had many
tally m any military campaigns, and a large num-
ber of captured slaves, who were
were to be exported to his mas-
ters in the
t he Ottoman Empire.
Empire.
The Islamic rulers

rul ers of Bornu were pirates and highway
robbers, whose revenue came from the spoils of war, and
from regular tributes from the Hausa kingdoms and
Baguirmi. The smaller communities on the southern bor-
ders were raided for slaves, who were sold to North African
merchants in exchange
exchange for horses and later for muskets. By
this means,cavalry
permanent the barbarian leaders
force and were
a small able
corps to build up a
of musketeers.
As for the people of Bornu (Kanembu and some Kanui),

they resisted
resisted Islam until 1846. Read more about it at the
end of Chapter 32.
30
The Southern Exodus
The Safer South
The cycle of migration and settlement,

settlement , followed by the
organization of kingdoms, and repeated even further afield,
proceeded across West Africa from the region of the new
settlements at Lake Chad and Hausaland, in two main
streams. One of these is the line already considered in Part
Part
III of this book. The other wwould
ould run in a more southerly
direction from Hausaland and Borgu, embracing the Jukun
State on the Bennu/Benue River, the Nupe kingdom just
north of the Bennu-Niger confluence, the Igala kingdom
south of Nupe, the Yoruba kingdoms to the southwest of
Nupe and the south of Borgu, the Benin kingdom to the east
of the Yoruba,
Yoruba, and the kingdoms of the Aja (a branch of the
Ewe) to their west. Beyond the Aja, lay
lay the small states of
the Adangme and Ga in southeastern present-day Ghana.
The leaders of these kingdoms, and of a number of other
kingdoms besides, looked back to the east or northeast as
the direction from which their ancestors had
h ad come.
come.
The Guinea states, to the east of the Volta, had affini-

ties with the states between the Niger River and Lake Chad.
The Guinea
ties with thestates
ststates
ates toofthe
thewest of the
upper Volta
Volta
Niger, River
with had aff
Wagadu affini-
ini-
(an-
cient Ghana), and with ancient Mali.
The legends of origin for the eastern Guinea states, and

the marked similarities in their political structure, indicate
258 V. The Islami

Islamicc Onslaught
that the people of this area spread south and west from the
Nile-Chad region. According to the traditions
traditions of the Jukun
people living along the Bennu, and to those of the Yoruba
and kindred peoples now inhabiting the forests of western
Nigeria, their states were founded by immigrants from the
Nile Valley.
Valley. They would refer at most to small groups of the
same kind as those who founded the states between the Nile
and Lake Chad.
The eastern Guinea kingdoms were created by the con-
stant branching-out from earlier established coalitions, which
always came as a result of people escaping Islamic jihads.
The form of social and political organization called the

Soudanic States was present throughout the sub-savannah
and forest area.
area. The central figure in such a political organi-
organi-
zation was the divine King who had direct access to the dei-
ties and natural forces that controlled the destinies of the
state. This concept can only be traced back to Ancient Egypt.
Yorubaland
In 1910,
1910, the German ethnographer, Leo Frobenius, re-
vealed the existence of a fine tradition of sculpture in brass
and terracotta from Ife.
Ife. A large part of the Ife finds are life-
size representations of the heads of ancient kings and queens
in a style of striking beauty and of a naturalism hitherto
unsuspected of African artists.
th th
The and
centuries finest of these
rank heads
with the bestdate to the late
examples 12 and. The
of sculpture.
sculpture 13
artists, who worked in both media, were highly trained and
complete masters of their
t heir subject matter.
Comparisons of this art with other discovered

discovered figurines
3
0
.
T
h
e
S
o
u
h
t
e
r
n
E
x
o
d
u
s
2
5
9
260 V. The Islami

Islamicc Onslaught
of a Nok type in Yorubaland, and with previously identified
works of Yoruba
Yoruba art, suggest a later continuation
continua tion of the Nok
culture further south, i.e. there were people living in Nok,
who later migrated southward to Yorubaland.
The Moslem incursions on the Sahel in the 11th cen-
tury, caused this mass migration further south, and settle-
ment in safer areas such as Yoruba
Yoruba lands.
At Ife,
Ife, traditionally
traditionally the first center
center of Yoruba
Yoruba settlement,
settlement,
the excavation of extensive potsherd pavements has shown
that this ostensibly urban feature dates from about the 11 th
century CE.
The discovered Ife brass heads were found to be cast by

the cire-perdue process (the famous lost-wax technique of
making bronze and brass objects and figurines), as were some
examples ofof complete figures of kings.
kings. The art of Ife is unique
in sub-Sahara Africa. The recently constructed museum at
Ife contains enough examples of later work that one can trace
the deterioration of naturalism in the 14th and subsequent
centuries.. The later brasses and sculptured works, while tech-
centuries
nically excellent, show increasing foreshortening of some of
the body parts and exaggeration of other features, particu-
larly the eyes
eyes and the mouth. It was this form that was trans-
ferred, along with the techniques of casting, to Benin some
time in the late 15th century.
Both this original, naturalistic,
naturalistic, artistic style and the
type of casting used can only be Ancient Egyptian.
Not only that the naturalistic artistic style and the

method of casting were ancient Egyptian, but the main ques-
tion is the source that provided such a large quantity of metal.
The nearest known historical copper workings are in Air
and in the lower Congo, both about 800 miles (1300 km)
away
away. The copper used for casting the sculptures was al-

most invariably in the form of brass or bronze, in which cop-
per is alloyed with other metals such as zinc, tin and lead.
The source of this material is none other than Ancient Egypt,
where the Ancient Egyptians were accustomed to re-using
their old statues, by melting and recasting them over and
over
over again.
a gain.
Abundant proof of an intimate connection between

between the
Ancient Egyptians and the Yoruba
Yoruba is exhaustive
exhaustive.. In addi-
tion to prior referenced affinities, here are a few more:
A. Most Egyptian and Yoruba

Yoruba deities are identical, in
name,, attributes or both. Among them are Ausar(Osiris),
name
Auset(Isis), Heru(Horus), Shu, Tehuti(Thoth), Khepera, Amon,
Khonsu, Khnum, Het-Heru(Hathor), Ra, Seb,
Seb, the four elemen-
el emen-
tal deities, and others.
B. All the ontological notions of the Ancient Egyp-
tians, such as Ka, Akhu, Khu, Sahu, and Ba, are found
f ound in Yoruba.
C. There is a form of Yoruba

Yoruba hierogl
hieroglyphics
yphics th
that
at are kept
secret because people lost total trust in each
eac h other,
other, after cen-
turies of pain and misery of Islamic
Isl amic devastation.
The Latinized form of (Horus), from which the

Heru
Yoruba Orisha seems to derive,
derive, would lead
l ead us to think that
their migration from the Nile Valley came during/after the
Roman domination.
Some of the houses to be seen in Yoruba and Igbede
country are of the same design as the Roman impluvium.
Furthermore, in the southern provinces, the small clay
cl ay lamps
of the Edo are strongly reminiscent of those in use among
the Romans.
Romans. These products were
were carried by
by the people of
the Meroe region, who had intimate contact with both the
Greeks and Romans, as explained in earlier chapters.
262 V. The Islami

Islamicc Onslaught
Benin
In 1486, the Portuguese Affonso

Af fonso d’A
d’Aveiro came to Benin
with a small trading mission, to find a prosperous and well-
organized little state
state..
Going into the Oba’s (Ancient

(Ancient Egyptian title for kings,
meaning of my heart or highest — — still being used in collo-
quial Egyptian) genealogy
gen ealogy,, the Portuguese compiled a list of
17 Benin kings, prior to the one in power at that time. The
list of kings preserved in Benin tradition show that the ori-
gins of the ruling dynasty go back to about 1200 or 1 1100
100 CE.
Until the British sacked it, Benin City was one of the
great cities of West Africa. A British contingent arrived in
1897, and carted 2000 bronze statues from the Oba’s palace,
palace,
back to Europe.
Europe.
Benin tradition asserted that the art of brass casting had

been brought to Benin from Ife in the time of a king who
probably ruled about a century
c entury before the arrival of the Por-
tuguese. Like Ife’s, the style of the cast statues was initially
naturalistic (like Ancient Egypt), but then increasingly
inc reasingly styl-
ized (exaggerated).
How did an isolated people in this unhealthy

un healthy corner of
West Africa develop bronze casting by the lost wax process
to such a high level? The answer to this question can only
be traced back to Ancient Egypt.
To this day in Benin City, Nigeria, bronze objects are

being made which str
strongly
ongly recall
recall some of the bronzes
bronzes made
in Egypt for the neter(god) Amon of Ta-Apet (Thebes) and
Napata.
Moreover,, where did this large quantity

Moreover quanti ty of copper come

from? As stated earlier,
earlier, the nearest known historical copper
copper
workings are in Air and in the lower
l ower Congo, both about 800
miles (1300 km) away
away.. Only ancient Egypt is the answer
answer,,
where they have re-used their metal statues over and over
again, throughout their history.
Many statues that left Egypt during foreign invasions
were carried out to these new
new lands. They were melted down
and reused again and again.
Mossi Kingdoms
Oral traditions emphasize that the creators of the Volta

Basin states were westerly offshoots from state-forming pro-
cesses that were
were earlier active around
around Lake Chad. The es-
tablishment of the new kingdoms, which survived into mod-
ern times in the Volta basin, is conn
connected
ected with the chan
change
ge in
the balance of power further north and east, as a result of
Islamic intrusions.
When the new towns along the Niger River were at-
tacked by the Moslem Berbers, many fled south of the Niger,
toward the Upper Volta
Volta region.
region. The pre-Mossi kingdoms
were the Diamare kingdoms — a territory just to the south
of the Dendi, on either
eit her side of the Niger where the towns of
Niamey and Say now are.
The historical chronicle—Timbuktu Tarikhs—reports
of raids by the Mossi against the Moslem Berbers who were
controlling the non-Moslem population of the major towns
of the Niger Bend. These raids seem to have occurred inter-
mittently between about 1260 and 1480 CE, and these raid-
ers seem to
t o have come originally from Diamare.
Diamare.
264 V. The Islami

Islamicc Onslaught
However, the growth of the new Islamic power in
Songhai led to the extinction of the Diamare kingdoms. Dur-
ing the time of Askia Mohammed (1492-1529) and Askia
Daoud (1549-1582), the Moslem rulers of Songhai were able
to push back the non-Moslem people of Diamare, who wer weree
trying to free their non-Moslem kin along the Inner Niger
Delta from the grip of Islamists.
Between about
abo ut the 11th and 14th centuries, a number of
kingdoms were organized
organized further to the east of Diamare
Diamare. At
some uncertain period, bands of “Bar Fur” (wrongly trans-
lates as red men, but actually meaning Dar Fur ), ), as the leg-
ends call them, began to move across the Niger River from
the east. They came on horseback. They also brought with
them knowledge of the workings of a state system of govern-
ment. These “new“new people”
people” came to help defend the non-
Moslem groups in this region, from the ever unending Is-
lamic jihads and slave raiding.
The Mossi founded a new coalition, centered around

Wagadogo. There were four Mossi kingdoms, Mamprussi —
Dagomba, Wagadogo, Yatenga — each with its own king, or
naba, which is also a title for leader/noble in Ancient Egypt.
About the middle of the 16 th century, an immigrant

group of Mande origin, coming from the west, created the
kingdom of Gonga (Gonja) on Dagomba’s western borders.
After the fall of the Islamic militaristic rule in Songhai,

the Mossi became a major political and military force in the
bend of the Niger River,
River, in the centuries between
between 1500 and
1900, and were effective in resisting the onslaughts of the
Moslem Fulanis across the Soudan area of West West Africa.
The resilient Mossi have kept many of the Ancient

Egyptian traditions, as shown in Part IV of this book.

31
Turmoil between Lake Chad
and the Nile Valley
The Sennar (Fung) Confederation

The Arab penetration of northern Kush (now called
Nubia) began in the late 13 th century.
By the mid-14th century, Bedouin Arabs had bypassed

the Dongola reach and spread
sp read across northern Kordofan and
Dar-Fur into the Chad basin. The Arab breakthrough in
Kush(Nubia) was the precursor of a whole new range of
impetus in slave-raiding, extensive
extensive turmoil and empire build-
ing in the region to the east of Lake Chad.
After the Moslem penetration of Lower Kush, and tak-

ing
mateover the ruleofinlower
successors 1315Kush
K(as
ushstated
movedonfurther
page 1south
17), the
to alegiti-
safer
place between the Blue and White Niles. They formed an
alliance between many polities, and became known as the
Fung Confederation. Its principal territories were the Gezira
region (the ‘island’ between the Blue and White Niles), and
the upper reaches of the Blue Nile and its tributaries, on the
borders of what is now Ethiopia. The city of Sennar, which
they chose for their capital, was situated on the Blue Nile,
over 150 miles (240km) above its confluence with the Whit Whitee
Nile.. It is located on one of the main eastern trade routes
Nile
266 V. The Islami

Islamicc Onslaught
from Massawa, on the Red Sea, to El Fasher further west,
and on to Western
Western Africa.
The Fung confederation was a very loose form of alli-

ance between polities, which was
was never
never centralized. It con-
sisted of Kushite(Nubian) groups, many Beja groups, and a
good many indigenous black peoples on the Upper Nile and
in Kordofan.
At the height of their prominance in the 17 th century,

the Fung alliance
al liance extended over the Nile Valley
Valley as far north
as the Third Cataract, and from the Red Sea in the east to
Kordofan in the west.
Throughout its history

h istory (1500-1821), the ruling dynasty
dynasty,,
the Unsab, was matrilineal.
Under the continuous assault of the invading Arabs,

this indigenous confederation shrank further and further
south. By the opening of the 19th century
century,, the Fung leaders
exercised almost no control over the areas north of Khartoum.
Khar toum.
In 1821, Ismail Pasha, the son of Mohammed Ali, the

Ottoman governor general of Egypt, conquered Sudan and
ended the long, obscure, history of the Fung Confederation.
The Tungur Breakups (Dar-Fur & Wadai)

A. Dar-Fur has a very
very strategic location, due to the
important caravan routes that crossed its region; from Wadai
Wadai
and Bornu in the west, from southern Kordofan, and from
the Bahr-el-Ghazal, as well as Darb el-Arbeen, which con-

3
1
.
T
u
r
m
o
l
i
B
e
t
w
e
e
n
L
a
k
e
C
h
a
d
a
n
d
t
h
e
N
i
l
e
V
a
l
l
e
y
2
6
7
268 V. The Islami

Islamicc Onslaught
nected El Fasher
Fasher to Egypt. Dar-Fur was therefore
therefore an impor-
tant target for Arab/Moslem assaults.
By the 17 th century
century,, there were a discernible
discern ible number of
branches among the t he Fur, the most important of which was
the Kayra, who were a part of the large and ancient Tungur
alliance. It seems that during this perio
period,
d, the Kayra kingdom
was confined to Gabal Marra (Ma-Ra) and its northern ap-
proaches, overlooking the very strategic city of El Fasher.
Fasher.
Kayra was cut off from the rest of Tungur, by Moslem/

Moslem /
Arab plotting — probably in the late 15th century.
The usual entry tactic of the
th e Moslem/Arab traders was
to help one side or the other in local disputes. Divide and
conquer. A case in point is Sulayman Solong, who after get-
ting support from the Moslem rulers of Bornu, overthrew
the Kayra of the old Tungur Dynasty
Dynasty,, and then declared him-
self Dar-Fur’s first sultan (an Islamic title), and decreed Is-
lam to be the sultanate’s official religion. His reign lasted
from 1596 to 1637.
But it was during the reign of Ahmad Bakr (1682-1722),

that firearms were obtained and used to compel the popu
lace to become Moslems. Ahmad Bakr was remembered also
for launching wars against W
Wadai
adai (who refused Isl
Islam),
am), west
of Dar-Fur.
Dar-Fur. He follow
followed
ed the policy
policy of his predecessors, by
working with the Moslems of Bornu to sandwich and en-
slave the in-between states of Wadai and Baguirmi.
After consolidating the dynasty’s hold on Dar-Fur, Bakr

established his capital at El Fasher, and contested the Fung
for control of the Kordofan region to the east.
Sultan Mohammed Tayrab

Tayrab (1752-1786) turned his at-
tention to the east. In 1786, he attacked the Fung Confed-
eration of Sennar.
Sennar. Howe
However
ver,, his efforts failed.
31.. Tur
31 urmo
moil
il Be
Betw
twee
een
n La
Lake
ke Ch
Chad
ad an
and
d th
the
e Ni
Nile
le Val
alle
ley
y 269
B. The confederati

confederation
on of Wadai, Dar-Fur’s
Dar-Fur’ s western
neighbor
neighbor, , was also created as a Tungur successor state, in the
late 15 century.
th
Wadai was a non-Moslem confederation, which

emerged to the northeast of Baguirmi in the 16th century,
when the Tungur relocated to this region after leaving Dar-
Fur. By about 1630, an Arab, Abd al-Karim, overthrew the
legitimate leader, Maba, and created a Moslem dynasty that
lasted until the French conquest and occupation.
Baguirmi was also a non-Moslem confederation that

tha t ex-
tended to the southeast of Kanem-Bornu.
The Moslem rulers of Wadai did not leave Baguirmi

alone.. Around 1800, the Moslem rulers of Wadai began to
alone
expand under their sultan, Sabun. A later
l ater ruler, Mohammed
Sharif, eventually established Wadai’s hegemony over
Baguirmi.

32
The Fulani Islamic Slaughter
Campaign
The Pastoral Fulani

The Fulani (Fou-LAN-ee) are the only cattle-herder,
pastoral people of western Africa. They appeared on the
scene in present-day Senegal, more than 15 centuries ago.
The Fulani call themselves Fulbe (singular - Pullo). The
French call them Peul
Peul or Peulh.
Peulh. In Chad they are
are known as
Felaata, and in Mali as Ful
Fulla.
la.
The Fulani are an uncultured, gloomy people, who
don’t sing or dance

dance,, in contrast to most other W
West
est Africans.
Belo, a Fulani himself, (historian and second sultan
sult an of
the Fulani Sokoto Empire) believed
believed the Fulani to have been
of Persian origin. Without any basis whatsoever, some
claimed their origin to be Egypt.
Egypt. The Fulani have
have absolutely
nothing to do with Ancient Egyptian ways or characteris-
tics. Egyptians were/are
were/are farmers (not trav
traveling
eling nomads),
who don’t fight (nomads do), and who always hired others
to defend them.
Because the Fulani are not tied to the land, they were
easily manipulated by outside forces to participate in slave
raiding. Some Fulani became not only Moslems but but also
fanatic clerics. The Islamic religion gave them the opportu-
nity to control others by
by sheer force.
force. But most of the Fulani
3
2
.
T
h
e
F
u
l
a
n
i

I
s
l
a
m
i
c
S
l
a
u
g
h
t
e
r
C
a
m
p
a
i
g
n
2
7
1
272 V. The Islami

Islamicc Onslaught
remained followers of indigenous beliefs, and are called

Fulanin boroje.
After the collapse of the Islamic-ruled Songhai (1591

CE), bands of hired mercenary Fulani expanded eastward
from Fouta
Fouta Toro
Toro in Lower Senegal. By the 18th century, the
Fulani were located not only in Fouta and Macina but small
groups of them were scattered throughout the interior, from
the Senegal River to the Cameroons.
Cam eroons.
The peoples of West Africa hate and fear the Fulani,

who are not to be trusted. Sheikh Mohammed, of Tunisia,
described the
th e sentiment of the peop
peoples
les of West
West Africa towards
the Fulani:
These Fulas were formerly considered to be the most con-

of the people of Nigritia. In Soudan [meaning
temptible of
the countries of sub-Sahara Africa] , it is related that they
descend from a chameleon and consequently never had
a human father.
father. The woman from whom they sprang was
found sleeping by a chameleon and bore a child from whom
all the Fellatahs descended. For my part I think that this is
a fable invented
invented for the purpose
pur pose of contempt.
The Fulani adopted the Hausa language and later called

it the Fulani language, after their Islamic jihads decimated
the peace-loving Hausa people.

people.
The Aftermath of Firearms Introduction

(17 th and 18th centuries of Devastation)
In 1591, the Moroccan occupation of the Niger Bend
marked the beginning of the use of firearms in sub-Sahara
32. The Fulani Islamic Slaughter Campaign 27 3
Africa. About that same time,

time, firearms also reached
reached the Mos-
lem Berber rulers of Bornu, west of Lake Chad.
An increasing quantity of the musket — essentially a

muzzle-loaded, flintlock handgun, firing a single ball,
ball , entered
the African market around the 17 th century.
century. As a result,
local conflicts became even sharper,
sharper, because no ruler could
c ould
afford to stand aside.
aside. To defend himself, he needed firearms;
to procure firearms he had to engage in the slave trade, ei-
ther by taking over the slave markets of his neighbors, or by
raiding communities less well equipped to defend themselves.
A vicious cycle went into a higher and higher gear.
gear. The tide
of violence rose steadily as the number of firearms increased
and their efficiency improved.
improved.
In order to justify the increase in slave raiding, Islamic

jihads were declared. The jihads of the 17 th and 18th centu-
ries in the western Soudan were a camouflage for intensive
and violent slave
slave raiding. The numbers and intensity of slave
slave
trade during the so-called jihads, show the underlying rea-
son for this massive human tragedy.
tragedy.
From the middle of the 17 th century onwards, Fulani
in the far western Soudan, in Bondu (a region just south of
the middle Senegal) and Fouta, began to wage Islamic
Isl amic jihads
against their neighbors,
n eighbors, by taking over political power from
local Mande rulers. From about 1750 CE, Fulani nomads
invaded the Songhai region and established a strong foot-
hold. They made frequent raids upon the many groups of
Songhai, particularly
particularl y the Dargol and Tera.
Early in the 19th century, the difference in weaponry

between the coast-based intruders and those who lived in
the interior began to be increased by the gradual spread of
the rifle. By the second half of the century a few of the
wealthiest African rulers were accumulating small stocks of
rifles and ammunition.
274 V. The Islami

Islamicc Onslaught
Plotting the Slaughter Campaigns
After the collapse of the Islamic-ruled
Islamic-ru led Songhai Empire
(1591), whose later rulers had been such staunch upholders
of Islam, the Islamic fear w was
as partially lifted. The rulers of
the sub-Sahara states, such as the Hausa states,
states , the Bambara,
the Mossi, and
a nd the W
Wolof,
olof, were Moslems in name only, and
still supported the traditional religion of their peoples.
The self-righteous Moslem leaders felt compelled to act

and managed to buy off the uncultured Fulani nomadic lead-
ers to wage a 2,000 mile (3.200 km) trail of terror in West
Africa.
The Fulani family of Torodbe, in Gobir (northern Ni-

geria), was the bedrock of this organized crime against hu-
manity
manit y. The Torodbe
Torodbe trio of Osman dan Fodia,
Fodia, his brother
Abdullahi, and his son Mohammed Bello, were the conspira-
tors of this human tragedy.
tragedy.
Their 4th co-conspirator was Al-Haj Omar,
Omar, a Tukulor,
Tukulor,
who on his way back from his pilgrimage to Mecca had spent
12 years with the trio, where he had married a daughter of
Bello’s. In all, he spent some 20 years away from his home-
land. While in Mecca, Omar was appointed as the western
African caliph (Moslem ruler) — a gesture of total disregard
for the peoples of Western Africa and their sovereignty.
This 4th terrorist, Omar, had also spent some time with

the 5th semi-conspirator, al-Kanemi
al-Kanemi (the man from Kanem),
to secure his approval,
approval, if not his direct
direct participation. Al-
Kanemi agreed to be a passive supporter of this largest ter-
rorist campaign in the history of Africa, to increase slave
raiding and its trade.
With the financial and political support of Mecca, the

five conspirators made West
West Africa a living hell.

The Serial Killings (A Two Thousand Mile Trail of
Terror)
The conspirators proclaimed no less than five jihads,
in various parts of western and central Soudan, during the
18th and 19th centuries:
1. The first in this series br

broke
oke out in Fouta
Fouta Jallon
(now part of the Republic of Guinea) about 1725 CE.
By about 1750 CE, the Moslem leaders were soon en-
gaged in organizing slave trade to the Upper Guinea
coast on which European traders were active.
The foundation of a Moslem state in Fouta Jallon had

a profound impact on the surrounding peoples, who
dispersed to avoid the mass murder and enslavement.

ens lavement.
2. In the 1770’s, a second jihad was proclaimed in

Fouta Toro
Fouta Toro,, the homeland of the Tukulor, with simi-
lar devastation and dispersion.
3. The third in the series of jihads resulted in the cre-

ation of the Sokoto caliphate. It was the work of
of three
Fulani terrorists: Osman dan Fodia, his brother
Abdullahi, and his son Mohammed Bello.
Osman was the leading Fulani cleric in Gobir, the

Hausaland northernmost polities. Since the 11th cen-
tury,, some of the Hausa states—such as those at Kano,
tury
Katsina, and Gobir—had developed into walled towns,
in order to protect themselves against nomadic Mos-
lem attacks. The kings of Gobir
Gobir,, like other Hausa lead-
ers, were at least nominally Moslems, and for a time
Osman had been employed at their court.
276 V. The Islami

Islamicc Onslaught
By the end of the 18th century, Osman began class war-

fare, by turning Hausa peasants and Fulani
fare, Fula ni cattlemen
against their leaders. He then used the influence he
had gained to develop a terrorist
t errorist camp that was well
financed and armed.
In 1804, Osman and his mercenaries declared an Is-

lamic jihad and Osman appointed himself an indepen-
dent Moslem ruler
rul er of Gobir — in essence,
es sence, overthrow-
overthrow-
ing the legitimate Hausa rulers. Soon thereafter
thereafter,, he
declared war against all of the Hausa polities.
The kings of central Hausaland — Katsina, Zaria and

Kano — then appealed for help from the Moslem ruler
of Bornu (to whom they paid protection tribute). The
Bornu leader was unable to defend even himself against
the Fulani
defeat of his
of Gobir,
Gobir own region.
own
, Osman’s Already
supporters before
befor
had e the final
succeeded in
seizing power in the Hausa states of Kano, Zaria, and
Katsina, which were all incorporated into the newly
founded Sokoto Islamic State.
State.
Osman called himself sarkin musulmi, and ruled with

his son, Mohammed
Mohammed Bello, who oversaw
oversaw its larger east-
ern half from Osman’s new city of Sokoto, and to a
brother,
broth er, Abdull
Abdu llahi
ahi,, who control
con trolled
led the west from
Gwandu.
The Fulani mercenaries then moved southeastward

into the Bennu/Ben
Ben nu/Benueue River Valley,
Valley, and southward to
Nupe and Oyo in a movement which, despite some
fluctuations, retained its momentum until well into
the second half of the 19th century.
century. The gangsters set
about conquering neighboring communities and so
builtt up a string
buil stri ng of new states
stat es — Bauc
Bauchi,
hi, Gombe
Gomb e,
Adamawa, and others — all tributary to Sokoto and
larger than any polities the area
area had known before
before..
Wherever the Fulani bands arrived, they found cities

abandoned. Their onslaughts
onslaugh ts caused thousands of refu-
gees to flee southward, shattering the relatively peace-
ful relationship that had existed in the past between
the various Yoruba states. The refugees’ problem
caused a period
per iod of civil war that convulsed Yoruba com-
munities for the rest of the century
cent ury..
Osman’s campaign was, as it appears on its surface, a
war between Moslem Fulani and non-Moslem Hausa.
However
Howe ver,, many of the Fulani pastoralists who fought
the jihads remained non-Moslems. Tuareg, and mem-
berss of other
ber oth er ethn
et hnic
ic group
gro ups,
s, were to be fou
found
nd in
Osman’s camp. It was an army of mercenaries.
mercenaries.
The Fulani onslaught was not altogether racial, as

many Fulani fought against Osman.
This fake campaign of social justice
just ice had led the Sokoto
to acquire the second highest number of slaves, sec-
ond only to the U.S.A.
The Fulani success in the central Soudan had impor-

tant repercussions farther west, as shown below
below..
4. The 4th in the series of these waves of terror

terror ( jihads)
was proclaimed inof1818.
the neighborhood 1818. e/Jenne
Ginn In Macina,
Ginne/Jenne a little
on the upperstate in,
Niger,
Niger
a Fulani cleric, by the name of Ahmadu ibn Hammadi,
attacked the Bambara Kingdom of Macina, and as a
result created another Moslem Fulani State.
Ahmadu ruled Macina for a while, but in 1862 the
kingdom was overwhelmed by al-Haj Omar,
Omar, as detailed
below..
below
5. The last wave

wave of terror from Fouta
Fouta Toro
Toro was
was
278 V. The Islami

Islamicc Onslaught
launched by
by 1864. The lead terrorist was al Haj Omar
Tal (c.1797-1864), a Tukulor cleric from the Fouta
Toro.
About 1838, Omar arrived

ar rived home in the Fouta. In 1848
hee m ove
h ov e d away
aw ay w i t h h i s h i red
re d m e rc e n a r i e s t o
Dingui raye,, on the borders of the Fouta Jallon.
Dinguiraye Jallo n. There,
Omar followed the traditional pattern of training, in a
ribat (meaning
(meaning training camp), which he was able to
equip with firearms secured from the Upper Guinea
coast. In 1852, Omar’s terrorist gangs attacked their
neighboring regions. The Bambara kingdom of Kaarta
was the first to fall in 1854.
Omar then turned west down the Senegal toward his

own homeland and the French trading posts. But he
was repulsed by the French.
After 1859, he sought to join with the Fulani of Macina
in the conquest of the more powerful Bambara king-
dom of Segu. The Macina Fulani were afraid of this
terrorist and even gave some aid to Segu. After Omar’s
Omar’ s
forces had conquered Segu in 1861, they continued
eastward, and attacked the Macina terrorist, Ahmadu,
and his forces as well.
By 1863, Omar possessed an empire reaching from

Senegal to Timbuktu. As with any any gangsters, when
the fighting stopped, there were numerous uprisings
against him by his followers, who seem to have been
only concerned
concern ed with plunder. In 1864, Omar was was
killed while fighting one of the many uprisings within
his ranks. He left a very disturbed inheritance to his
son and successor, Ahmadu Seku.
Both Ahmadu and Omar had close contacts with the
leaders of the terrorism in the Sokoto caliphate.

The Sokoto Caliphate (Bloody Animal Farm)
The creation of the Sokoto caliphate in the Islamic
jihads of 1804-8 brought most of the northern region and
adjacent parts of present-day Niger and Cameroon under a
single Islamic government.
By 1850, the Sokoto caliphate covered an area of

150,000 square miles (390,000 sq km), and stretched from
the Sahara to the forest belt and from beyond the northwest-
ern borders of modern Nigeria, deep into the Adama
Adamawawa pla-
teau in the present Republic of Cameroon.
Bello succeeded his father as caliph in 1817.

1817. When their
terrorist campaign ended, the terrorists began fighting among
themselves and the Sokoto caliphate fell apart.
In the early 1840s, civil war raged in Nupeland, and in

1844 a determined but unsuccessful attempt was made by
Gobir and Maradi to get rid of the Fulani intrusion.
In 1893, the people of Kano were able to defy the au-
thority of the Moslem ruler and choose their own chief.
By the 20th century, the ruling elements of Hausaland

were often referred to as Hausa-Fulani, as if it was a peace-
ful intermarriage between the cultured Hausa and the no-
madic Fulani. It was literally a shotgun marriage,
marriage, where the
peace-loving leaders of Hausa had no choice.
Islamic Righteousness Between Bornu and the

Fulani
At an early stage in these latest Islamic jihads, Fulani
280 V. The Islami

Islamicc Onslaught
living in the western marshlands of Bornu threw off the ex
isting Kanuri rule and founded a number
nu mber of minor emirates,
including Hadeija and Katagum. From these bases they car-
ried the war into the heart of Bornu,
Bornu , destroying its capital in
1812, and forcing the ruler and his followers to flee east-
ward.
The people of Bornu were accused by the Fulani of

making sacrifices to stones and trees, and practicing obser-
vances on their rivers “ similar
similar to those of the Egyptians on the
”, indicative of the significance of ancient
banks of the Nile ”
Egypt, in this region, during the last 2,000 years.
The Fulani did not conquer Bornu, which was saved

by a warrior cleric from Kanem, Mohammed al-Amin al-
Kanemi, a friend of the terrorist Osman of Gobir. Al-Kanemi,
who was frightened by the Fulani success, accused the Fulani
of attacking Islamic-ruled Bornu under the guise of a reli-
gious reformation.
reformation. The Islamic doctrine gagave
ve these killers
the divine license
licen se to kill and enslave.
enslave.
Al-Kanemi made himself the de facto ruler of Bornu, to

keep the Fulani from conquering and enslaving its inhabit-
ants. He never
never declared himself as their direct ruler.
It was not until 1846, eleven years after Al-Kanemi’s

death, that the last Sayfuwa mai was removed by Omar, his
son, and successor.
Bornu under theth e Kanemi Dynasty differed in some re-
spects from the old Sayfuwa kingdom. There was also a
change in the royal
royal title from mai to shehu (sheikh).

VI
The Last Two
Centuries

33
European Colonialism
Fulani’s Islamic Jihads and Africa’s Misery

The process of slave raiding, under the guise of Islamic
ds, weakened the social and political structure and hence-
jihads
jiha
forth destroyed the economy and the social fabric of sub-
Sahara Africa.
The jihads
the creation bearing
of new the
Fulani slogan of social
aristocracies, whichjustice,
derivedled
derived to
their
wealth from slaves obtained by attacking their non-Moslem
neighbors, in raids hypocritically sanctified
sanctifi ed as continuations
continuation s
of the holy war .
The number of captured slaves speaks for this human

misery.. The exports of slaves,
misery slaves, from the Sierra Leone region
region
alone, was 108,000 between 1761-70, no doubt as a conse-
quence of the Fouta Jallon Islamic jihad.
The significant period of the export slave trade in Af-

rica runs from about the middle of the 17 th century, when
the Atlantic trade began to assume major dimensions, to
about the middle of the 19 th, after which the sea-borne slave
trades were
were rapidly extinguished.
extinguished. During this period of some
200 years, the evidence suggests that something like 14 mil-
lion men and women may have been taken out of sub-Sa-
hara Africa.
Families were broken, people were killed, and others
33. European Colonialism 28 3

escaped further into unhealthy forest regions.
regions. Trust between
people disappeared.
disappeared. In the course of survival, family mem-
bers turned against each other. Then came European colo-
nialism, to a Dark Continent.
The Europeans End Islamic Jihads

The new movement by Europeans
Europeans into Africa began in
the 15th century, when the Christian peoples of Spain and
Portugal finally succeeded in expelling the Moslems of Arab
or Berber origin, who had dominated the Iberian Peninsula
since the 8th century.
By the end of the 15 th century, the Portuguese, eager to

tap into the active trade of the Western
Western Soudan, anandd to dis-
coverr a sea route to the
cove t he Indies, went on tto
o establish trading
posts on the Guinea coast, then to make contact with the
states of Benin and Congo.
There followed, in quick succession, a series of voyages

voyages
that brought the Portuguese to the vicinity of modern-day
Sierra Leone in 1460, south of Rio de Oro in 1441, the is-
land of Arguin in 1444, and the Gambia River by 1456.
Fernão Gomes’ ships crossed the equator in 1475, and Cap-
tain Diogo Cão investigated the mouth of the Congo River
River..
Driven by a combination of economic, political, and

religious factors, the Europeans were determined to gain
greater control of Africa. After the Portuguese
Portuguese came to sub-
Sahara Africa, the Spanish arrived,
a rrived, followed by
by the British,
French, Dutch, German, and Belgian.
The Europeans had a strong presence on the West West Af-

rican coast, long before the collapse of Islamic-ruled Songhai
284 VI. The Last Two Centurie

Centuriess
(1591). In the mid-1800s they became increasingly inter-
ested in the interior and began to interfere in the daily af-
fairs of African states.
British influence in the critical

criti cal coastal areas grew stron-
ger.. In the early 1880s, French
ger French and German activity in these
areas caused some friction, and when Leopold’s ambitions
in the Congo conflicted with those
th ose of Britain and Portugal, a
pretext was provided
provided for calling a conference of the powers
involved. At the Berlin Conference (1884) it was was agreed
that new annexations on the African coast were not to be
recognized as valid, unless they were accompanied by effec-
tive occupation. Activity on the continent was intensified.
In West
West Africa, the French advanced rapidly east from
Senegal, engulfing the remains of Haj Omar’s empire and a
Mandingo empire further south, and sweeping on to Lake
Chad.
The British government, mainly to prevent the French
taking over the lower Niger and raising a tariff barrier, de-
clared a Protectorate over that region and handed
han ded it over to
be ruled by the Roy
Royal
al Niger Company.
Company.
The conquest of the Fulani states

st ates by the British, which
was begun by the Royal
Royal Niger Company’s defeat of Bida and
Ilorin in 1897, was completed by the British Government
between
betw een 1900 and 1903.
1903. By the end of that year
year, all the Fulani
provinces were
were under British control.
The non-Fulani empire of Bornu, which had been re-

duced to a state
stat e of anarchy by the wars of Rabeh and his son
Fadr-el-Allah, was brought under effective British control
before the close of 1902.
In west central Africa, Britain, Germany, and France

sought access to Lake Chad.
33. European Colonialism 28 5

286 VI. The Last Two Centurie

Centuriess
European Delineation of African Borders
By 1900, the colonial governments of the European
powers were busy delimiting frontiers, assessing the eco-
nomic resources of their new possessions, and organizing
the administration of the African peoples they had come to
rule. They stamped out the slave
slave trade and after some initial
disputes, brought peace to a continent
c ontinent that was sorely in need
of a period of tranquillity.
tranquillity. For most Africans, conditions
probably improved
improved under the new order; fear abated and in-
dividuals moved freely about thet he countryside.
The Europeans, howe

h owever
ver,, imposed forced labor
lab or to build
public works projects for their own advantages.
advantages. Many of
the first railways in Africa were built from coastal ports to
new mining centers inland,
in land, by such forced labor.
The colonial administration also dislocated

dislocat ed villages and
instituted mandatory type of crops to be raised by the farm-
ers. Traditional farmers such as the Gobibi suddenly were were
forced to grow only cash crops like peanuts. These were sold
abroad to profit the French government. This selfish policy
affected the internal trade patterns within western Africa,
while benefiting the European countries. Africa still suffers
from such a selfish
sel fish colonialist policy
policy..
As European powers carved out African territories,

territ ories, they
established artificial unnatural borders that fragmented and
weakened numerous ethnic groups. Their total disregard and
ignorance of the African social, political, and economical
systems, has forever caused endless civil and border wars.

34
Independence &
A Dark Future
End of European Colonialism

Africans who joined the allied forces were promised
better conditions after the Second
Sec ond W
World
orld War
War.. Thereafter,
Thereafter,
circulation of nationalist newspapers increased and demands
for independence swelled in volume.
In 1952, Egyptian army officers overthrew King

Farouk, the succes
successor
sor of the Khedives, and established
esta blished a revo-
lutionary government.
government. It was a precedent
precedent to be
be followed
followed in
many Arab states and later in newly independent African
countries.
French colonial rule, like that of the British, ended in

most parts of West Africa in the 1960s.
Political & Social Systems

The Western
Western political and social systems are products
of the European industrial revolution, which created mass
industrialized centers that were manned from farmlands.
These new centers created new gatherings of people unre-
lated to each other.

other. This led to a centralized-type of govern-
288 VI. The Last Two Centur

Centuries
ies
ment, where the family
famil y lineage representations were substi-
tuted by
by a one-man-one-vote
one-man-one-vote representation. This system
did not even work in the West,
West, which suffered
su ffered and still suf-
fers from ethnic warfare,
warfare, social upheavals,
upheavals, ...etc.
...etc. Ignoring
group identity (ethnicity) does not work.
Western political structures are now

n ow practically run by
“special interest groups”, who influence the decision-mak-
ing of governments.
governments. One-man-one-vote is an empty facade facade,,
for the real rule of the well-to-do industrialists.
The best way to govern is to balance individual rights

and group rights, and to have a commonwealth-type rela-
tionship between the different groups/polities, as was the
case in ancient Egypt, and the rest of Africa before Islam,
Christianity, and European colonialism came to devastate
this continent.
The balkanization of Africa, with the ending of colo-

nial rule, is in some respects like that which took place in
southeast Europe, with the breakup of the Ottoman Empire.
Empire.
Since independence, colonial powers attempted to cre-

ate a “democratic constitutional political system” in their
ex-colonies.
After the independence movement in the late 1950s,
an array
array of misfortunes visited African states. Of the many
political ills, a few
f ew of the most traumatic have been neocolo-
nialism, coups d’état, civil wars, governmental instability,
and large-scale armed
armed invasi
invasions.
ons. Some of the most egregious
egregious
social afflictions
affl ictions have been poverty
poverty,, illiteracy,
illiteracy, ethnic and re-
gional animosities, high mortality rates, and an unbalanced
population distribution. Dominant economic woes have have
included famine, drought, economic dependence,
dependence, and over-
reliance on a single crop. In the 15 years after 1960, there
were about 40 unconstitutional changes of regime in Africa.
34. Independence & A Dark Future 28 9

290 VI. The Last Two Centur

Centuries
ies
By 1975, the army was in power in 29 out of some 45 states.
In fact, there are only a few African states that have not ex-
perienced an illegal change in regime
regime.. Many African nations
have experienced, and continue to experience,
experience, more than
one of these troubles periodically.
Once independence was gained, the old differences and

rivalries came to the surface
surface,, but in a new context.
context. Before
colonialism, tribal self-consciousness was less marked than
it is now.
now. It was stimulated within the colonial countries by
by,,
for instance, governments attempting to define their provin-
cial and district units in ethnic terms.
In the atmosphere of uncertainty, individuals extract

what profit they can, where they can, and while they can.
Economics become dependent on foreign aid with strings
attached to it, and on loans carrying heavy interest charges.
The Organization of African Unity (O.A.U.), estab-

lished
lished after
after a confere
conference
nce of the independ
independent
ent countries
countries in 196
1963
3
in Addis Ababa, now includes all the African countries.
Without reaching for African solutions to African problems,
O.A.U. will continue to be irrelevant.
irrelevant.
Peace and prosperity will come back to Africa, once the

ingenious and indigenous social, economical, and political
systems, as outlined
outlin ed in Part IV of this book, are revived.

VII
Epilogue

35
But Fragmented
Never Forgotten
Several groups defied death, dislocation, and forced mi-

Several
gration, in order to maintain their traditions. Others cam-
ouflaged their traditions with a thin exterior facade of Islam
or Christianity, in order to keep the danger and harassment
of their self-righteousness
sel f-righteousness at bay
bay..
Many of these smaller groups are living among larger
groups. Academia likes to think that these smaller groups
were “assimilated by”, or “absorbed
“absorbed into” other groups. The
reality is that this is a survival tactic by the smaller groups
who blend within the larger groups, in order to maintain
their ancient traditions. No names willwill be given,
given, because of
the ever-present
ever-present danger of vigilantism by Christians and Mos-
lems.
Since the times of Islamic onslaughts of the 11th cen-

tury,, thousands of compact
tury c ompact settlements, throughout sub-Sa-
hara Africa, developed into walled towns of brick. They are
surrounded by enormous walls, sometimes crenellated for
defense,, several miles long, and up to 35ft (10m) high. Within
defense
these walls, narrow alleys wind between high, windowless
walls that hide the dwellings and courtyards of individual
families.
They are afraid of slave raids
raids by the Moslem Fulani
Fulan i and
harassment from the self-righteous Moslems and Christian

missionaries and their “armies of God”.
Some of the larger groups, like the Wolof-speaking
peoples of Senegal, Somalis, Jukun of Nigeria, and the Beja
of Egypt, Sudan, and Eritria, have announced their ancient
Egyptian links. However
However,, many more gr groups
oups exist, but pre-
pre-
fer to keep their identities and locations unknown, because
their safety is protected by their anonymity. We have have no
intention of endangering them.
This chapter presents a few of these fragmented groups

that are known already.
294 VII. Epilogue

The Kotoko
otoko is the Arabic name for Ma-Geri. The Kotoko
Kotoko
K
live south of Lake Chad, and are descendants of the Sa-u,
the early settlers. They are
are related to the Soninke,
Soninke, who were
the founders and rulers of the commonwealths along the
Niger River and Wagadu
Wagadu (ancient Ghana).
The Kotoko are skillful fishermen who obtain their

catch by using large butterfly nets, exactly like Egyptians,
ancient and modern. They are also noted as builders of boats
that are made of
of planks literally sewn
sewn together.
together. This is eex-
x-
actly how the ancient Egyptians built their boats, as is evi-
dent in Khufu’s boat, housed in a museum next to his pyra-
mid in Giza.
The Kotoko are also, like Ancient Egyptians, masters

of the river. Each polity has a “chief of the waters” who de-
cides when fishing is allowed, and enforces water and fish-
ing rights.
Their superficial practice of Islam camouflages

camoufla ges their ex-
tensive beliefs in Animism.

The Highlands of Central Cameroon
Cameroon
(Mbum, Tikar, Bamileke)
About 300 miles (480 km) south of Baguirmi, there are
a cluster of kingdoms and chiefdoms associated with the
Mbum (Ma-Ba-u-m
a remarkable ), the Tikar,
well established and the
political Bamileke, and
organization whoelabo-
have
rate material culture.
culture.
These groups employ an efficient

efficien t system of agriculture
agricult ure,,
capable of producing the surplus needed to support a sub-
stantial number of craft specialists and administrative offi-
cials.
The settlement of most of the highlands of Cameroon

by the present inhabitants took place fairly recently
recently.. Many
groups came from farther north. The early history of these
peoples is completely ignored by academicians, who dismiss
oral and other traditions
t raditions and evidence
evidence,, if it contradicts their
self-made linguistic classification.
• The Mbum (Ma-Ba-u-m) are the most ancient of these

groups, with their four kingdoms, each with its own ruler
( beilaka).
• The Tikar are an offshoot of the Mbum (Ma-Ba-u-

m), who were responsible for creating many of the other states
of the area, including the Bamoun/Bamun (Ba-Amun).
• The Bamileke have several polities/kingdoms. Each

Bamileke kingdom possesses a highly complex social organi-
296 VII. Epilogue

zation, marked by a ruling fon (chief) who shares authority
with an advisory council, and various intergroup associa-
tions and secret
secret societies. The Animistic tr
traditions
aditions of these
polities are much the same as the Mbum (Ma-Ba-u-m) of the
Bornu and Hausa (Ma-Ba-u) traditions.
The Ba-Amun
The name, Ba-Amun is indicative of
their Ancient Egyptian origin.
The Bamoun/Bamun (Ba-Amun) still

speak a Bamileke dialect. They are a united
people whose common leader is a member
of a dynasty that has a recorded history of
unbroken rule through 44 generations.
Fumban, the capital of Bamoum/Bamun
(Ba-Amun), has a wide range of local crafts,
including bronze-casting.
bronze-casting. It was regarded
at the end of the 19th century as one of the
Amun/Amen
major artistic centers of tropical Africa.
The Bamoun/Bamun (Ba-Amun) were able to withstand

the initial Fulani attacks (Islamic jihads) in the 19th cent
century
ury,,
by digging ditches around their territory,
territory, but they were ulti-
mately conquered.
Many texts reported that one of their rulers, Njoya-

Arouna, who was enthroned in 1888, devised a script hav-
ing 510 signs, which he later reduced to 83 signs and 10
numbers. This sounds like the Ancient
Ancient Egyptian
Egyptian hiero-
glyphic system. No one inv
invents
ents a language out
out of thin air.
air.

Ga/Gan/Gang
These people originated from Egypt. The Ga people
people in
present-day Ghana tell of several
several forced migrations from the
Nile Valley to Nigeria, through the forest region to Congo
and the area of the Great Lakes, back to Nigeria, to Upper
Volta, Ivory Coast and Ghana. They are known through
these vast regions by many names,
such as Ga, Gan, and Gang.
With a slight sound shift

from Ga to Ka, their name, Ka is
Ka
clearly of Ancient Egyptian ori-
gin.
The Ga people of Ghana

(near the Volta River) continue
cont inue to
celebrate the annual Nile festiv-
ity during the month of August,
just like their ancient ancestors.
Their old men are called Ni Nile
le
Wulomei (priests of the River
Nile), using water that they have
carried with them from the Nile,
more than 1,500 years ago. The Hapi, the personifica-
priests are considered the custo- tion of the Nile,
dians of the worship of the Nile equates to inundation.
shrines in present-day Ghana.
They are understandably secretive about their tradi-

tions.. They,
tions They, like many other groups, have proven
proven to be resil-
ient, for a very long time.
Because of the relatively high percentage of indigenous

in digenous
beliefs in present-day
present-day Ghana, the Ga people can openly prac-
tice some of their traditions.
298 VII. Epilogue

Dogon
Du-gau means high mountain in an-
cient Egyptian. Du-gau-n (Dogon) means
the people of the high mountains . The
Dogon live and are buried in the high
mountains of present-day Islamic-ruled
Mali.
The Dogon culture is so dominated

by the number eight, that they may have
have
been originated
originated from
from the region
region of Khmunu
(Hermopolis), which means Eight (The
Ogdoad). The Dogon’s open-sided build-
ings with eight wooden posts supporting
acent
roofofofancient
dried millet stalks,
Egyptian are reminis-
buildings. The
Tehuti
(Thoth)
pillars are frequently carved into figures
representing
repr esenting the eight mythical Dogon an-
cestors (four male and
an d four female, repr
representing
esenting the primor-
dial state of the universe). The same exact symbolism is
found in Ancient Egypt,
E gypt, where four couples are engendered
by the original
original nature of the universe
universe,, prior to scissio
scission
n (break
(break
up).
Thesystem.
merical numberTehuti
eight ,isinalso the basis
Ancient of the
Egypt, wasDogon’s nu-
called The
of Eight (
Master of the City of (Khmunu).
According to their traditional history,

history, ancestors of the
Dogon migrated to the area, which they now inhabit some
time around the 10th century
centu ry.. They are very secretive.
The Dogon, like Ancient Egyptians, believe in ances-

tor spirits. Other interesting
interesting similarities include:

1. The significance of the serpent.
2. The jackal neter of the Dogon dei-

ties is the guardian of the pond where
the dead are supposed to be cleansed.
Anbu (Anubis) was the ensign for the
12th and 13th Nomes of Upper Egypt,
which are on both sides of the Nile
at Asyut, the beginning of the Darb
el-Arbeen route to Dar-Fur — the
main escape route of the exiled Egyp-
tians into Africa.
3. Signs of the zodiac in Dogon cos- Anbu(Anubis)

mogony are based on the star Sabt/
Sopdit(Sirius), as was the case in the Egyptian calen-
dar, which was based on the heliacal rising
r ising of that st
star
ar..
Bozo
The Bozo (or Boya) are fisher people whose territory

lies along the Niger from Bamako
Bam ako to
t o Timbuktu. They are
300 VII. Epilogue

known in the history books as the Sorko (Soninke), who built
the new society (Songhai) along the inn
inner
er Niger River
River..
Both the cities of Ginne (Jenne) and Mopti are located

in the heart of the Bozo culture region, i.e. they are
are the origi-
nal Songhai, known as Sorko , who mastered the Niger and
Bani Rivers before the onslaughts of the Keita Clan of Mali,
and the Islamic rule of Songhai.
One of the Bozo/Sorko popular leg-

ends speaks of the crocodile
c rocodile that saved the
Bozo during a war, by taking them across
the Niger on his back. Since then, they
have had a blood pact with the crocodiles.
They know how to live safely with croco-
diles. When a crocodile catches a Bozo,
he lets him go.
Their ability to co-exist with the

crocodile,, and their kinship with Soninke/
crocodile Sebek
Sa-u/Sahu, leads to their origin in ancient
Egypt, from Kom Ombo, which was one
of the centers for Sebek, the crocodile-headed neter, symbol
of water and fertility.
Ethnologists who have studied the Bozo believe that

that they came from Egypt and settled in the Niger Bend.
They have not moved since,
since, or changed their ways.
The Bozo have maintained their spiritual independence

independen ce
from Islam and Christianity.
Christianity. Watching a Bozo religious cer-
emony, the dancers’ heads covered with animal masks, is
like watching hieroglyphs
hieroglyphs come to life
life..

Bantu Dispersion Into Interior & Southern Africa
This book deals in some detail with the migration
throughout West Africa only. This is not to underestimate
and/or neglect the dispersion of Egyptians and/or Egyptian
model society, to east, central, and southern Africa. Such
dispersion was caused by foreign invasions and the Islamic
onslaughts on Western Africa in the 11th century.
Substantial archeological evidence shows that there was

a significant population growth between 750 and 1100 CE,
accompanied by the emergence of a dozen or so stable and
distinct regional traditions, which flourished in central and
an d
eastern Africa. These new societies had the same features of
the Ancient Egyptian model government, beliefs, and build-
ing technologies.
The dispersion to central and southern Africa, in the
11th century
century,, began from near
n ear the Upper Bennu River,
River, to the
Congo and southern Africa. Academia and records tell us
that this was the largest migration
migration in Africa’s history.
history. These
people,, who are called Bantu, created states that emerged in
people
Africa’s interior
inter ior without any reference to events
events at the coast.
A great gold-mining industry developed without any

stimulus
by from
an influx ofavery
world market,
wealth
wealthy which
y and can only bepeople
knowledgeable explained
people..
No serious thought is given by academia, to the cause(s)

of such dispersion. People don’t pick up and leave,
leave, except
except
for some type of disaster.
disaster. What was the disaster?
Who stimulated the prosperity

prosperity of Africa?
Africa? Who are these
these
highly civilized and knowledgeable people? The ancient
Egyptians qualify as the YES to all these questions.
302 VII. Epilogue

According to the tentative reconstruction of Bantu mi-
grations by Guthrie and Oliver, Bantu settlers moved into
East Africa. There is strong
strong evidence
evidence that eastern Africa
was populated by some of the Kushites who left their home-
land. By 1000 CE, newcomers were to be found along the
coast from Zambezi to the Juba.
An example is given by
by the people who construc
constructed
ted the
first stone walls at Zimbabwe,
Zimbabwe, the most famous and the most
spectacular complex of ruins in the southern half
hal f of Africa.
In the 11th century, the newcomers established their domi-
nation over the settlers, and merged with them to become
the ancestors of the Kar
Karanga
anga (Shona) people of modern Zim-
babwe..
babwe
Archaeological evidence
evidence of building in the 11th and sub-
sequent times, in Zimbabwe, is an indication that all these
new kingdoms and societies are copies of the Ancient
Ancien t Egyp-
tian model. The exiled Egyptians and/or their
t heir entourage may
have escaped the troubles in Hausaland, and fled into the
interiors of Africa.
There is no evidence to show when Caucasoid groups

first reached the interlacustrine area, but it is clear that some
centuries before 1500, a wave of light-skinned people, usu-
ally referred to as Hamites and probably associated with the
Kushitic peoples, reached the country north of Lake Victoria,
and came to dominate the scattered and stateless original
inhabitants. They formed the Swahili city-states of the East
African coast, and of Kitara, a kingdom north of Lake
Victoria.
South Africa, today, possesses a greater assortment of

races than any other region of the continent; 3,000 years
ago its population was made up exclusively of people of
Bushmanoid stock. About the beginning
beginnin g of the Common Era,

these hunting folk probably came into contact with small
groups of Hamites (Kushites), who had made their way
southward from the highlands of East Africa.
Stone bowls of a type associated with the Neolithic cul-

cul -
ture of Kenya
Kenya have been found in sou
southwest
thwest Africa,
Afri ca, a Kushite
strain has been noted in the physical characteristics of the
pastoral Herero of that territory,
territory, and skeletal
s keletal remains from
later Stone Age sites in other parts of South Africa possess
Kushite features.
Peoples
Non-Moslem Peoples of the Sudan
The present-day country of Sudan is controlled and ter-
ter -
rorized byby the Moslem rulers in Khartoum, its capital. South-
ern Sudan gets the attention and sympathy of Western me-
dia, because their leaders claim to be Christian. Howe
However
ver,,
other indigenous groups suffer the same Islamic terror si-
lently,, because of the lack of international attention.
lently
In the 1990s, most of Sudan’s diverse non-Moslem
peoples lived in southern Sudan, but a number of small
groups resided in the hilly areas south of the Blue Nile on or
near the border with Ethiopia. The Beja in eastern Sudan
were mentioned earlier. They are officially Moslem, but only
as an outer garment/shield, to keep Moslem and Christian
self-righteousness at bay
bay..
Dar-Fur, in western present-day Sudan, is almost at war
with the Moslem-dominated Khartoum government.
government. In the
late 1980s, Dar-Fur succeeded for a short while in becoming
a virtually autonomous province.
province. By the early 1990s,
1990s, much
of Dar-Fur was in a state of anarchy.
anarchy.
304 VII. Epilogue

Egypt Now
Al-Ahram, the largest newspaper in Egypt, had a re-
port in its Jan 29, 1999 edition, of an Egyptian Anthropolo-
gist Conference in Cairo, which was attended by Egyptian
(Moslem & Christian) academicians. The conference ac-
knowledged that ancient Egyptian religious beliefs in the
powers of ancestor spirits, and the need to communicate
with/through them, are still strong. The official gathering
admitted that there are more than 3,000 regional and na-
tional festivities associated with these beliefs, which are at-
tended by more than 50% of the Egyptian population.
Ancient Egyptian traditions en-

dure.. In Cairo, Bubastis’ cats are
dure a re still fed
in Cadi’s court
cour t at public expense, and be-
have with singular decorum when the
“servant of the cats” serves them their
dinner. At Tanta in the Delta,
Ausar(Osiris) holds his festivals as en-
thusiastically as evever
er,, under the name of
Sidi el Badawi. The peasant women of-
fer sacrifices to the Nile, and walk
around ancient statues in order to have
children. The ceremonies at births and Bastet
buri
bu rial
alss are not
no t IsIsla
lami
mic,
c, but
bu t Anci
An cien ent
t
Egyptian.
Ancient practices are concealed under a thin layer of

Islam, in order to stay alive.
alive. Nothing has changed.
The Sufis, as stated earlier, are some of the many secret

societies that hold onto the Ancient Egyptian traditions, by
maintaining a delicate balance between appeasing Islamists
and maintaining the Ancient Egyptian traditions.

The Ancient Egyptian language
lan guage didn’t die either, since
the so-called colloquial “Arabic” in Egypt consists of hun-
dreds of non-Arabic words. The spoken language in Egypt
has a TOTALL
TOTALLY Y different grammatical structure
str ucture than Ara-
bic..
bic
The people of Upper Kush(Nubia)

Kush(Nub ia) have preserved many
living reminders of the remote past. Their beautifully con-
structed houses, for example, still occasionally use the An-
cient Egyptian barrel vault, which went out of use in Egypt
following the Arab
Arab invasion and domination of Egypt. Their
portals are decorated with symbols that have ancient origins.
Their boats are constructed in a similar fashion to that of
certain vessels depicted in Egyptian tombs. These boats have
have
no ribs or keel, and
an d they are almost as wide as they are long.
Their planks are held together with pegs and the whole struc-
ture is braced by a heavy beam.
Walking through a modern Kushite village gives one a

sense of walking through an Ancient Egyptian town.
The above facts are proof that neither the Ancient Egyp-
tian religion nor its language are dead, and that they will
never die
di e.

36
Let Freedom Ring
Bring the Walls Down
Throughout Africa, archeologists and travelers have

reported the existence of numerous ancient and existing
walled villages — walls that are about 16 miles (26km) long,
and over 30 feet (9m) high. The villages themselves are situ-
ated
sites on
are the tops ofunhealthy,
generally hills or inand
forest
theclearings. The
hill sites are notforest
eco-
nomical, as a great deal of labor is expended daily, in the
transport of water and supplies. Villages are further pro-
tected by hedges of cactus surrounding them.
The African continent has countless numbers of se-

cret societies and secret traditions. This state of terror
terror is
caused by the self-righteous Moslems and Christians, who
continue to be a constant
const ant threat. Trust even between mem-
bers of the same family is nonexistent.
The walls and other
oth er means of protection are still there,
there,
because the danger is still there.
there. African governments, as
well as all world governments, do not denounce the Islamic
doctrine of jihad, which calls for the killing or enslaving of
any non-Moslem, or even of a born-Moslem who is not n ot prac-
ticing according to another Moslem’s arbitrary opinion.
Freedom of religion must not include the right of a
Moslem to kill or enslave others, as sanctioned and urged by
36. Let Freedom Ring 307

the Koran
Koran (the Moslem’s holy
hol y book) itself.
The African people must be able to choose their reli-

gious beliefs and practices, without the harassment and ter-
rorism of the evils of Islam and Ch
Christianity
ristianity..
These people who live in miserable conditions should

be applauded because they
they truly stand for what they believe
believe
in. The world celebrated the collapse of the Berlin W
Wall.
all. It is
time to have African villages — not African walled villages.
Bring the walls of fear down.

Bring the walls of brick down.
Time for Rebirth
After almost 2,000 years, the prophecies of the

Hermetica continue to be proven
proven accurate.
accurate. Here are por-
tions of this
t his powerful prophecy.
prophecy. (Asclepius III 24-25)
Firstly,, it talks about the cosmic importance of Egypt.

Firstly
Do you not know, Asclepius, that Egypt is an image of
heaven, or, to speak more exactly, in Egypt all the opera-
tions of the powers which rule and work in heaven have
been transferred to earth below
below.. It should rather be said
that the whole cosmos dwells in this our land as in its sanc-
tuary. . . .
Secondly,, it predicted the demise of the Ancient Egyp-

Secondly
308 VII. Epilogue

tian belief system.
There will come a time when the neteru(gods) will return

from earth to heaven; Egypt will be forsaken,
forsaken, and the land
which was once the home of religion will be left desolate,
bereft of the presence of its deities. . . .
Thirdly, it predicted how Egyptians would be forced to

Thirdly,
denounce their traditions, and to scorn their own past (ex-
actly as it happened, as a result of the Christian and Islamic
onslaughts and continuing domination).
O Egypt, Egypt, of thy religion nothing will remain but an

empty tale, which thine own children in time to come will
not believe; nothing will be left but graven words, and only
the stones will tell of thy piety.
piety. And in that day men will be
weary of life, and they will cease to think the universe wor-
wor-
thy of reverent
reverent wonder and of worship. And so religion,
religi on,
the greatest of all blessings, — for there is nothing, nor
has been, nor ever shall be, that can be deemed a greater
boon, — will be threatened with destruction; men will think
it a burden, and will come to scorn it. . . .
Christianity and Islam were created, after Hermetica

was written.
written . Disorder, anarchy,
anarchy, and greed followed.
Hermetica prophesized it:
And so the neteru(gods) will depart from mankind, — a

grievous thing! — and only evil angels will remain, who
will mingle with men, and drive the poor wretches by main
force into all manner of reckless crime, into wars, and rob-
beries, and frauds, and all things hostile to the nature of
the soul. . . .
But the most accurate prophecy declares that at this,
36. Let Freedom Ring 309

the darkest hour,
hour, the light is about to come on for the honor-
able, proud, suffering people of Africa, and for the whole
world. For as Hermetica states:
But when all this has befallen, then the Master and Father,
Father,
God, the first before all, will look on that which has come
to pass, and will stay the disorder by the counterworking
of his will, which is the good. He will call back to the right
path those who
wh o have gone astray; he will cleanse
clea nse the world
from evil. . . .
Such is the new birth

bir th of the cosmos; it is a making again of
all things good, a holy and awe-striking restoration of all
nature; and it is wrought in the
t he process of time by the eter-
nal will of God.
It is time for rebirth.

Glossary
Animism - The concept that all things in the universe are

animated (energized) by life forces. This concurs, sci-
entifically,, with the kinetic theory,
entifically theory, where each minute
particle of any matter is in constant motion, i.e., ener-
gized with life forces.
Ausar(Osiris )- represents the mortal man carrying within

himself the capacity and power
power of spiritual salvation.
Ausar came to earth for the benefit of mankind, with
the title of Manifester of Good and Truth. His death by
the evil one was followed by his burial and resurrec-
tion, and then becoming the judge of the dead.
Ausar(Osiris) is equivalent to Pluto and with Dionysos,
in Greek mythology.
Isis ) -
Auset( Isis the power responsible for the creation of all
living creatures. She was lovingly known as Auset with
10,000 names/attributes/qualities. Auset is related to the
star Sabt/Sopdit(Sirius). She is the universal Mother
of Nature,
Nature, and protector of mankind. Her followers from
all overinthe
shrine ancient
Phil ae.. world made their pilgrimage to her
Philae
Ba - is usually translated as the soul. It is the divine

divine,, immor-
tal essence.
essence. When the ba departs, the body dies. Ba is
usually depicted as a stork with a human head.
BCE - Before Common Era. Noted in many references

references as
BC.
CE - Common Era.
Era. Noted in many references as AD.
A. Glossary 31 1
Central Soudan -
- the 1,000-mile (1,600km) stretch of sa-
vannah reaching from the middle Niger to Dar-Fur.
haj - to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca. Every Moslem is ex-

pected to take this pilgrimage at least once in their life.
After this is completed, the person can add ‘ Haj
Haj ’ to their
name, to gain respect from their Moslem friends and
neighbors.
Hamites - a member of any of several usually dark-skinned,

Caucasoid peoples, native to North and East Africa, such
as the Egyptians, including Kushites (so-called Nubians).
Heb-sed - Ancient festival associated with the rejuvenation

and spiritual and physical
physical renewal
renewal of the Pharao
Pharaoh.
h. For
additional information, see page 217.
Isis - see Auset (the Egyptian name).
Islam - - Islam means submission. The Moslems believe in

Allah as the sole God, AND that Mohammed is his
prophet. Allah is an Arabic word, meaning who has ev-
erything . According to Islamic traditions, Moslem fol-
lowers
low ers are encouraged to spread the word, even by force
if necessary
necessa ry..
Moslems have five main acts to follow, as directed by
the Koran
Koran (Qur’an), the Moslem’s holy book. These
Five Pillars of Faith are:
1. The Moslem must publicly declare that ‘There is no
God but Allah and Mohammed is his Messenger’.
These two statements go hand in hand. You can’t
have one without the other.
other.
2. The Moslem must pray five times a day, at specific
times between
between dawn
dawn and early evening.
evening. A person
can pray anywhere
anywhere.. Only male Moslems are required
to attend the
th e Friday noon mass prayer at the mosque.
312 Appendixes
3. Moslems are required to give a certain percentage of
their wealth to zakah(charity), for the needy
needy,, and to
further the cause of Islam.
4. Moslems must fast from dawn to dusk, during the
Islamic lunar month of Ramadan.
5. At least once in a lifetime, the Moslem must make
the haj , or pilgrimage to Mecca, if at all possible.
possible.
jihad -A
-A Moslem war aimed at converting others to Islam,
by killing those who resist,
resist, and/or enslaving them.
Ka - A complex spiritual entity, that is often translated as the

personality. The ka does not die with the mortal body;
but it reincarnates
reincarnates into another physical vehicle
vehicle..
Kush (Nubia) - the land of the Nile Cataracts. The land

from the First to Second
Secon d Cataract is called Lower Kush
(Nubia). The land beyond
beyond the Second Cataract is called
Upper Kush (Nubia).
People/Language(s) -
Mande People/Language(s) - an important group of over
20 million people who live in W
Western
estern Africa, between
the upper reaches of the Niger River and the Atlantic
coast.
The three major groups of the Mande are the Soninke,

Bambara, and Malinke. Other smaller sub-groups in-
clude the Boza (or Sorko), the Yalunka (or Dialonke),
Kagoro, Kasonke, Konyaka, Koranko, Nono, and Soso.
Mali in Malinke, and Mande in Soninke mean the place

] resides — and by extension, the
where the master [ ma
ma
Malinke or Mande people are the people of the King .
Other Mande sub-groups who do not occupy the cen-

tral region of present-day Mali and its nearby areas, and
A. Glossary 31 3
who settled among non-Mande peoples, include the Dan,
Busansi, Dafi,
Daf i, Beng, Gband
Gbandee, Guru, Kono, Kpelle, Ligbi,
Loko, Mende, Ngere, Samo, Sia, Tienga,
Tie nga, Loma,
Lo ma, and Vai.
Vai.
The Mande people were fragmented and dispersed be-

cause of Islamic jihads and their associated slave-r
slave-raids.
aids.
It all began with the Keita Clan, the Malinke branch,
who turned on their own Soninke (see Chapter 26).
matriarchy - A society/state/organization, whose descent,

inheritance, and governance are traced through the fe-
males. It is the woman
woman who transmits political rights,
and the husband she chooses, acts as her executive
executive agent.
matrilineal - A society whose descent, inheritance,

inheritance, and gov-
ernance are based on descent through the maternal line
l ine..
Osiris - See Ausar (the Egyptian name).
Sahara - a vast desert

region in North Af-
rica, extending
from the Atlantic to
the Red Sea —
about 3.5 million
square miles (9.1
million sq. km).
Sahel - the fertile strip

of land just below
the Sahara Desert
that stretches from
the Red Sea on the
east to the Atlantic
Ocean on the west. It is characterized by an average
average
annual rainfall of 6-20 inches (15-50 cm).
314 Appendixes
savannah - a plain or grassland, characterized by a few scat-
tered trees, especially in tropical or sub-tropical regions
having seasonal rains.
Soudan/Bilad al-Sudan (General)- Geographical region

(the northern reaches
reac hes are now more commonly referred
to as the Sahel), stretching across
a cross Africa from
f rom Cape V
Verde
erde
on the Atlantic Coast, to the Red Sea between 8 o and
16o north latitude, just south of the Sahara Desert, char-
acterized by savannah and semi-arid steppesteppe.. Term de-
rived from Arabic bilad al Soudan (literally Land of the
Blacks). Not to be confused with Sudan, the country
south of present-day Egypt.
Tehuti - Neter(god) of wisdom and intellect. It was Tehuti,
who uttered
manded by the
R awords
. He thatwascreated the world, as
the messenger ofcom-
the
neteru(gods), of writing,
writ ing, of language,
language, of knowledge.
knowledge.
Thoth - see Tehuti (the Egyptian name).
ushtabi - A small figurine, usually of clay, buried with the

mummy.
For more information,

information, check the Index
Index and
Table of Contents.

Selected Bibliography
General
Ajayi, J.F.A. and Michael Crowder (editors), A History of

Afric a, Vol. I (London, 1971).
West Africa
Bovill, E.W.
E.W. The Niger Explored. New York, 1968.
Chu & Skinner.

Skin ner. A Glorious Age in Africa, 1990.
Crew, Quentin. In Search of the Sahara. New York, 1984.
Curtin, Philip D. The Atlantic Slave Trade: A Census (1969)
Curtin, Philip, Steven Feierman, Leonard Thompson and

Jan Vansina. African History. New York and London,
1978.
Davidson, Basil. Afric
Africa:
a: Histor
History
y of a Continent . London, 1966.
Continent
DeGraft-Johnson, J.C. African Glory: The Story of Vanished
Vanished
Negro Civilization. Baltimore,
Baltimore, USA, 1986.
Diop, Cheikh Anta. The African Origin of Civilization. Chi-

cago, USA, 1974.
Fage, J. D. A History of Africa. London, 1978.
Fage, J. D. A History of Africa. London, 1988.
316 Appendixes
Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress,
Cameroon: A Country Study. Washington
ashin gton DC, 1990.
Ibid , Chad.
Ibid, Côte d’Ivoire.
Ibid, Ghana.
Ibid, Guinea.
Ibid, Nigeria.
Ibid, Senegal.
Ibid, Sierra Leone.
Gailey, Harry A. Jr. History of Africa from Earliest Times to

1800 Vol. 1. Malabar, Florida, 1981.
1981.
Gramont, Sanche de.de. The Strong Brown God: The Story of the
River . USA, 1976.
Niger River
Gray, Richard (ed.). Cambridge History of Africa, vol. 4, c

1600-c. 1870. Cambridge, 1975.
Grove, A. T. Africa. Oxford, 1978.
Hallett, Robin. Africa to 1875. University of Michigan Press,

USA, 1970.
Hedges, James Blaine

Bl aine.. The Browns of Providence Plantations.
1952.
Internet , Information from websites.
Johnson, Willard
Willard R. The Cameroon Federation: Political Inte-
gration
gration in a Fragment
Fragmentary Society. New Jersey, USA, 1970.
ary Society
Lovejoy, Paul E., Transformations in Slavery: A History of
Slavery in Africa, 1983.
Selected Bibliography 31 7
Lovejoy, Paul E. The Volume of the Atlantic Slave Trade: a
Synthesis. 1982.
Magel, Emil A. (Tr. and Annotated). Folkt

Folktales
ales fro
fromm the
Gambia. Boulder, CO, USA, 1984.
McKissack, Patricia and Fredrick. The Royal Kingdoms of

Ghana, Mali and Songhay. New York, 1994.
McNaughton, Patrick R. The Mande Blacksmiths. Indianapo-

lis, USA, 1993.
Meek, C. K. A Sudanese Kingdom: An Ethnographical Study

of the Jukun-speaking Peoples of Nigeria. London, 1931.
1931.
Meek, C. K.. Tribal Studies in Northern Nigeria, Two Vol-

umes. London, 1931.
Meek, C. K. The Northern Tribes of Nigeria, Two Volumes.

London, 1971.
Middleton, John, Ed. Encyclopaedia of Africa South of the

Sahara. Scribner’s, New York, 1997.
Nachtigal, Gustav.
Gustav. Sahara & Sudan. Translated by Allan and
Murphy Fisher.
Fishe r. USA, 1974.
Nelson, Harold D. Area Handbook for
for the United Republic of
of
Cameroon. Washington DC. USA, 1974.
Ibid, Chad, 1972.
Newton, Alex. West Africa. Lonely Planet, 1992.
Oliver, Ronald (ed.). Cambridge History of Africa, vol. 3, c.
1050-c. 1600. Cambridge, 1977.
318 Appendixes
Oliver, Ronald,
Ronald, & Anthony
Anth ony Atmore. The African Middle Ages.
New York, 1989.
Oliver, Ronald, & J. D. Fage. A Short History of Africa, 6th

Edition.
Editio n. New York, 1988.
Skinner, Elliott P. The Mossi of the Upper Volta. Stanford,

USA, 1964.
Skinner, Elliott P. Peoples and Cultures of

of Africa. New York,
USA, 1973.
Wesler, Kit W., Editor. Histori

Historical Archaeolog y in Nigeria .
cal Archaeology
Trenton, NJ, USA, 1998.
Egypt & The Nile Valley

Adams, William
Willi am Y.
Y. Nubia: Corridor to Africa. Princeton Uni-
versity Press, NJ, USA, 1977.
Arkell, Anthony J. A History of the Sudan: From the Earliest

Times to 1821. London, 1955.
Bowman, Alan K. Egypt After the Pharaohs 332 BC - AD642.

USA, 1986.
Budge, Sir E.A. Wallis. Egyptian Language,

L anguage, Easy Lesso
Lessons
ns in
Egyptian Hieroglyphics. New York, 1983.
Budge, Wallis, Osiris & The Egyptian Resurrection (2 vol-
umes).. New York, 1973.

umes)
Selected Bibliography 31 9
Butler, Alfred. The Arab Invasion of Egypt and the Last 30
Years of the Roman Dominion. NY, USA, 1992.
Dafalla, Hassan. The Nubian Exodus. London, 1975.
Erman, Adolf. Life in Ancient Egypt . New York, 1971.
Federal Research Division of the Library

Li brary of Congress.
Congress . Egypt:
A Country Study, 1990, Washington DC.
Ibid, Sudan.
Gadalla, Moustafa. Historical Deception: The Untold Story of

Ancient Egypt . USA, 1996.
Gadalla, Moustafa. Egyptian Cosmology:

Cosmolo gy: The Absolute Har-
mony. USA, 1997.
Gardiner,, Alan.
Gardiner Al an. Egyptian Grammar . Oxford, 1994.
Herodotus. The Histories, translated by A. de Selincourt. New

York and Harmondsworth, 1954.
James, T.G.H. An Introduction

Introductio n to Ancient Egypt . London,
1979.
Keating, Rex. Nubian Twilight . New York, 1963.
King, Joan Wucher. Historical Dictionary of Egypt . Lon-

don, 1984.
Lambelet, Edouard. Gods and Goddesses in Ancient Egypt .

Cairo, 1986.
Mango, Cyril. Byzantium: The Empire of New Rome. New
320 Appendixes
York, USA, 1980.
Wayne, Scott. Egypt & The Sudan. Lonely Planet, 1990.
West, John A. The Travelers Key

Key to Ancient Egypt . New York,
ork,
1989.
Wilkinson, Sir J. Gardner. The Ancient Egyptians, Their Life

and Customs. London, 1988.
Numerous references written in Arabic.
The States of Barbary
Federal
Federal Research
Research Division of the Library of Congress.
C ongress. Libya:
A Country Study. 1990, Washington DC.
Ibid, Mauritania.
Ibid, Morocco.
Ibid, Tunisia.
Nelson, Harold
Libya D. Area DC,
. Washington Handbook for the United Republic oof
for
USA, 1979. f
Ibid, Morocco, 1978.
Wright, John. Libya. New York, 1969.

Sources and Notes
This book represents my interpretation of events that

were mentioned in various sources. I believe that a researcher
should not be content with referring to a single (or a few)
references to support a point. It is my belief that to search
search
for the truth, sever
several
al sources must be considered and evalu-
aated, and, in
puzzle
puzzle, pieces of evidence
the right must
location andput together
time.
time likereference
. A single pieces
refer of
ence
may (and often does) intentionally/unintentionally
intentionally/uninten tionally leave out
something, or color it.
Almost all my sources are written by very biased au-

thors, who (consciously or sub-consciously) have pro-West-
pro-West-
ern and/or Judeo-Christian
Judeo-Christian paradigms.
paradigms. Their interpretation
interpretation
of events is colored
colored by such prejudices.
prejudices. Islam is portrayed in
colonial reports and studies as a civilization higher than
“show
African paganism
a disdain ”. The
for local vast
vastand
people majority of these references
their traditions. Yet none
of these Western academicians will question their own be-
lief in the virgin birth, death, and resurrection in flesh of a
half-person/half-god, whose existence has no historical or
archeological support.
My references to the biased sources are listed in the

previous section, Selected Bibliography
Bibliography. They are only re-
ferred to for the facts, events, and dates, not to their inter-
pretations of such information.
322 Appendixes
Chapter 1
All posted references in the Selected
Select ed Bibliography were used,
in general terms.
Chapter 2
All posted references in the Selected
Select ed Bibliography wer
weree used,
in general terms.
Chapter 3
Most listed references in the General and Egypt sections of
the Selected Bibliography were used, in general terms.
Chapter 4
Sub-Sahara African
Primary sources: Languages
Curtin, Davidson, Diop,
Dio p, Fage
Fage,, Galley
Gall ey,, Gray
Gray,,
Grove, Hallett, various internet
Grove, int ernet websites, Meek (all listed
lis ted
books), Middleton, Oliver (all listed books), Skinner
( Peoples and Cultures
Cultures of Africa).
I also contacted linguist

lin guist professors at Oxford, and they stone-
walled me.
me. The information in the above
above references
references are
mostly repetitive
repetitive. Some of these references
references don’t give
give
all available
available information. It is good to have
have as complete
picture as possible, by reading all these references.
Sources and Notes 32 3

Ancient Egyptian Language
Primary source: Budge ( Eg Egyp
ypti
tian
an La
Langu age ), but it is
nguage
Gardiner ( Egyptia
Egyptiann Grammar ) and his compounded
assumptions that show the shortcomings of the academic
Egyptologist.
Chapter 5
All basic information is contained in Adams, Arkell, and
Keating. However
However,, their rhetoric is contrary to the evi-
dential basic
basic information that they provided. They
couldn’t hide their hate and disdain for Egypt.
Other listed sources cover this same subject, but not in such
detail. They provide different perspectives
perspectives of the sub-
ject.
Chapter 6
Primary sources: Middleton, Adams, Arkell, Erman,
Herodotus, James, and Keating.
Also, severalBibliography
several
lected references under
makethe General section
references of th
thee Se-
to archeological
findings of ancient Egyptian goods and products in sub-
Sahara Africa.
Chapter 7
Primary sources: Adams, Arkell, Erman, James, Keating, and
Wayne.
324 Appendixes
The rhetoric of Adams, Arkell, and Keating is inconsistent
with the basic information that they presented (and that
I don’t have
have a quarrel
quarrel with). Their biases are
are so blind-
ing, they can no longer see the obvious.
Chapter 8
All the following references (Adams, Arkell, Diop, James,
and Keating) had to be consulted in order to piece to-
gether the series of events,
events, in an objective
objective wa
wayy. These
references have extremely different
different biases, yet
yet the ba-
sic data in this book came from their books.
Chronology
Chronology,, dates,
for Kings and
an d sequence
of southern of of
regions reigns given
Egypt, in this
follow book
Hintze,
Studien zur Meroitischen Chronologie und zu den
Py ramiden von Meroe, pp. 23-4, 33.)
Opfertafeln aus den Pyramiden
Additional information was obtained from Erman,

Herodotus, and West.
All the above references

references lack the basic understanding
underst anding of the
social and political system of ancient Egypt, and there-
fore their interpretation of the events are skewed and

twisted.
Chapter 9
Ptolemaic Rule of Egypt
Bowman provides data that is woven into his European colo-
nizing mentality,
mentality, and Judeo-Christian bias. Neverthe-

less, this scant data can also be interpreted contrary to
Bowman’s rhetoric.
rhetoric. He sees foreign rule and imposi-
tion of Christianity as a “blessing” to the non-European
countries.
The Events in Meroe

Primary sources: Adams, Arkell, and Keating.
See comments about these three sources, abov

abovee.
Chapter 10
Primary sources:
sources: Adams, Arkell, Bowman, Keating, and
King.
King is the source for the
t he chronology of disorders in Egypt.
It is slightly biased to European and Judeo-Christianity
and Islam. However,
However, the events
events and records establish
establ ish
the pattern and frequency of resistance.
Chapter 11
Primary sources: Adams, Arkell, Bowman, Keating, King,

and Mango.
Chapter 12
Primary sources: Bowman, Butler,

Butler, King, and Mango. But-
ler provides valuable information in this period of time.

time.
326 Appendixes
Chapter 13
Primary sources: Adams, Arkell, Butler, and King. See com-
ments about these sources above.
above.
Chapter 14
Primary source: King.
Secondary sources: Federal Research, Egyp

Egypt:
t: A Country
Coun try
Study, DeGraft-Johnson, and numerous references writ-
ten in Arabic.
Chapter 15
Population Explosion in West Africa

The characteristics of the newcomers who populated sub-
Sahara Africa, came from these sources:
sources: Chu, Curtin,
Davidson, Diop, Fage, Country Study of Chad and Nige-
ria, Gailey, Gray, Grove, Hallett, Middleton, Nelson
(Cultures
Cameroon and Chad
of Africa ). ), Oliver, Skinner ( People
Peopless and
In order to evaluate the possibility that the newcomers

n ewcomers were
were
Jews or
or Berber,
Berber, all books under the Section, The States
of Barbary, of the Selected Bibliography
Bib liography,, were evaluat
evaluated
ed
in addition to the above books.
Egypt as the Source of Such Explosion

In order to evaluate the intimate connections between an-

cient Egypt and sub-Sahara Africa, numerous sources
were consulted.
Primary sources: Meek (all five

f ive listed books), Diop, Arkell,
and Budge (Osiris & The Egyptian Resurrection).
Egy ptian Resurrection
There are,
are, however
however,, bits and pieces of information support-
ing this intimate relationship in Chu, Curtin, Davidson,
Diop, Fage,
Fage, A Country Study - Chad and Nigeria, Gailey
G ailey,,
Gray,, Grove,
Gray Grove, Hallett,
Halle tt, Middleton,
Middl eton, Nelson
Nel son ( Cameroon and
Chad), Oliver, Skinner ( Peoples and Cultures of Africa).
As for the Ancient Egyptian culture and people, the follow-

ing are the main sources of information: Erman, Gadalla
( H
Hii s t o r i c a l D e c e p t i o n and E
Egg y p t i a n C o s m o l o g y ) ,
Herodotus, James, Lambelet, West, and Wilkinson.
Progression of Population Patterns in West Africa

In order to determine the progression
progression of population patterns
in West
West Africa, all listed references were consulted. Ar-
cheological evidence of mining activities and dating of
burial sites and settlements
settl ements were an important part of
the research.
research. My main source in this particular infor-
mation was
was Middleton. Another closely rrelated
elated source
was Wesler.
esl er.
I had to reconcile different dating (not related to archeologi-
cal findings) between the various sources, which were
driven by their biases and special agendas.
The Commonwealth-Type New Societies

Practically all sources in the Selected Bibliography concur
with the type of social and political structure.
structure. Most of
them don’t call it a form of alliance/commonwealth, but
328 Appendixes
as different than the western centralized-type govern-
ment, and therefore
therefore inferior and primitive
primitive.. The exact
exact
opposite of the
t he Western
Western thinking
thinkin g is the correct an
answer
swer..
More details and sources about the genious of the ancient

Egyptian/African model system, in later chapters.
Chapter 16
Greater Kanem
Primary sources: Curtin, Davidson, Fage,
Fage, Gailey
Gai ley,, Gray,
Gray, Grove,
Grove,
Hallett, Middleton, Oliver (all listed books), Skinner
( Peoples and Cultures of Africa), Meek (all five listed
books), A Country Study - Nigeria .
The Kordofan and Dar-Fur Peoples

Primary sources: Arkell, Meek ( A Sudane
Sud anese
se Kin
Kingdo m),
gdom
Middleton, and A Country Study
St udy - Sudan.
The Sa-u People and Pre-Islamic Bornu

Primary sources: Meek (five listed books), Middleton, Nelson
(Chad and Cameroon).
There are bits and pieces about these people.

people. Academicians
try very hard to ignore the Sa-u, and downplay their
historical significance.
significance.
Sa-u
The are related to all the Soudanic states along the Sahel.

Chapter 17
The Nok Culture

Primary sources: Meek (five listed books), Middleton, A
Country Study - Nigeria, Wesler.
Secondary sources: Curtin, Davidson, Fage, Gailey, Gray,

Grove, Hallett, Oliver ( History of Africa).
The Jukun
Primary source: Meek ( A Sudanese Kingdom).
Secondary sources: Meek (other four listed books),

Middleton, Wesler, A Country Study - Nigeria.
The Bantu
Fage, Gailey
Gail ey,, Gray
Gray,, Grove,
Grove,
books), Diop.
Chapter 18
Fage, Gailey
Gail ey,, Gray
Gray,, Grove,
Grove,
books), A Country Study - Nigeria, Budge (Osiris & The
Resurrection), Erman, Gadalla ( Egyptian Cos-
Egyptian Resurrection
mology), West, Wilkinson.

330 Appendixes
Chapter 19
Fage, Gailey
Gai ley,, Gray,
Gray, Grove,
Grove,
( Peoples and Cultures of Africa), A Country Study - Nige-
ria, Budge (Osiris & The Egyptian Resurrection), Erman,
Gadalla ( Egyptian Cosmology), West,
West, Wilkinson,
Wilk inson, Bovill,
Bovill ,
A Country Study - Guinea, Nigeria, Gramont, Hedges.
Chapter 20
Primary sources: Chu,
Chu , Gailey,
Gailey, McKissack.
Secondary sources: Curtin, Davidson, Diop, Fage, Gray,

Grovee, Hallett,
Grov Hal lett, Middleton, Oliver
Oliver,, Budge (Osiris & The
Resurrection), Erman, Gadalla ( Egyptian Cos-
Egyptian Resurrection
mology), West, Wilkinson.
Chapter 21
Trade Routes & Items

Primary Sources: Bovill, Crew, Curtin, Davidson, Fage,
Gailey, Gramont, Gray, Grove, Hallett, Middleton,
Nachtigal, Oliver,
Oliver, Skinner.
The States of Barbary

A Country Study - Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia, Nelson
( Libya and Morocco), Wright.
Moslem Doctrine & Practice
Suffice it to say that I am a born-Moslem. I have

have read the

Koran (The Moslem holy book) sever

several
al times, and lived
in Egypt, which is saturated with Islamic propaganda
in schools, media, etc.
etc.
Chapter 22
Almost all Western
Western academia is full
fu ll of Judeo-Christian preju-
dices, and they are totally ignorant of this superior an-
cient Egyptian/African system. As a result,
result, they berate
berate
it badly
ba dly..
Religious Beliefs
Primary sources: Budge (Osiris & The Egyptian Resurrec-
tion), Gadalla ( Historical Deception and Egyptian Cos-
mology), James, Newton, West, Wilkinson, A Country
Study - Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea,
Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone, Nelson (Cameroon
and Chad), Skinner (The Mossi of Upper V olta), numer-
Volta
ous books written in Arabic.
Secondary sources: Meek (all five listed books), Middleton.
Chapter 23
Almost all Western
Western academia is full
fu ll of Judeo-Christian preju-
dices, and they are totally ignorant of this superior An-
cient Egyptian/African system. As a result,
result, they berate
berate
it badly.
badly. They are
are all obsessed with centralized-type gov-
ernments, and see any different system as being “primi-
tive” or “chaotic”.
“chaotic”.

332 Appendixes
Primary sources: Gadalla ( Historical Deception and Egyptian

Cosmology), A Country Study - Cameroon, Chad, Côte
d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal , and Sierra
onee, Skinner ( The Mossi of Upper Volta), Nelson
Leon
Le
(Chad), Middleton.
Secondary sources: Meek (all five listed books), Skinner

( Peoples and Cultures
Cultures of Africa).
Chapter 24
Almost all Western academia cannot
can not make sense of this
t his su-
perior ancient Egyptian/African system. They berate
it badly.
Primary sources: Gadalla ( Historical Deception and Egyptian

Cosmology), A Country Study - Cameroon, Chad, Côte
d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra
onee, Skinner ( The Mossi of Upper Volta), Nelson
Leon
Le
(Chad), Middleton, McNaughton, Magel, Wilkinson.
Secondary sources: Meek (all five listed books), Newton,

Skinner ( Peoples and Cultures of Africa).
Chapter 25
Primary sources: Meek (all five listed books), Diop, Budge
(Osiris & The Egyptian Resurrection).
Chapter 26
Primary sources: Chu,

Chu , Gailey,
Gailey, McKissack.


Grove, Hallett, Middleton, Oliver.
Chapter 27
Primary sources: Chu, Gailey,
Gailey, McKissack.

Chapter 28
Primary sources: Chu, Gailey,
Gailey, McKissack.

Chapter 29
Fage, Gailey
Gail ey,, Gray
Gray,, Grove,
Grove,
books), A Country Study -Nigeria.
Chapter 30

Fage, Gailey
Gail ey,, Gray
Gray,, Grove,
Grove,

334 Appendixes

books), A Country Study - Nigeria, Skinner (The Mossi
of Upper
Upp er Volta ), Wesler.
Volta esl er.
Chapter 31
Primary sources: Arkell, Meek ( A Sudanese Kingdom ), and
Middleton. Additional related
related information came from
from
Meek (Tribal Studies in Northern Nigeria - two volumes,
Tribal Studies in Northern Nigeria - two volumes),
Nelson (Chad, Cameroon), and A Country Study - Sudan.
Chapter 32
Primary sources: Ajayi, Curtin (both listed books), Davidson,
Fage, A Country
Co untry Study - Cameroon, Chad, Cô
Côtete d’I
d’Ivoire
voire,,
Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone, Gal-
ley,, Gray,
ley Gray, Grove
Grove, Hallett, Lovejoy
Lovejoy (both listed books),
Middleton, Nelson (Cameroon and Chad).
Secondary sources: Meek (Tribal Studies in Northern Nige-

ria - two volumes, Tribal Studies in Northern Nigeria -
two volumes).
Chapter 33
Primary sources: Davidson, Fage, A Co
Coun
untt ry S tudy
tu dy -
Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria,

Senegal, Sierra Leone, Egypt , and Sudan , Grove,

Chapter 34
Primary sources: Davidson, Fage, A C oun
ou n tr
tryy S tudy
tu dy -
Chapter 35
Primary sources: Davidson, Fage, A C oun
ou n tr
tryy S tudy
tu dy -
Middleton, Nelson (Cameroon and Chad), Meek (all five
listed books), Budge (Osiris & The Egyptian Resurrec-
tion), and Newton.

Index
A Al Umari, on the
t he size of Keita
Abbasids, Caliphate,
Calip hate, 29; Egypt Clan (ancient Mali)
M ali) army
army,,
under, 107-08,
Abdullahi, Fulan i110-13
Fulani leader,
leader, 274- 249
24 9
Alexander the Great, 68, 69
6 Alexandria: ancient Egyptian
Abtu, during Ptolemaic
Ptol emaic Rule, attitude toward, 74; Chris-
74 tians, 90-4, 98-100, 101;
Abydos, see Abtu founding, 69; Greeks, 90-1;
Abyssinians, 86-7 Jewish population of, 70, 90-
Adams, William, 318, 323, 1; massacres of, 69-70; mobs
324, 325, 326 in, 92-3; political domina-
Adamawa,
Adamaw a, 276, 279 tion of Church, 98-100;
Africa, countries, 21; after population, 69-70; wealth
independence
ans, 290 from Europe- and property of Church, 91-
2, 98-9
Africanus, Leo, 162, 254 Almoravids, 29, 176; and
Afro-Asiatic languages group, Wagadu, 176,
1 76, 242-4
242- 4
see languages, Africa Aloma, Idris, 255-6
A-Group, 41-2 Ama/Amma, 238-9
Ahmadu, ibn Hammadi, 277-8 Amenemhet III, 55
Ahmose, 55 Amenhotep-Huy, see Huy
Al-Bakri, on Wagadu
Wagadu (ancient Amon, Amon-Ra, at Napata, 59
Ghana), 168-9, 170, 171 Amr, Ibn al As, and Egypt,
Al-Bari, Arab historian, 30 104, 105-06
Al writer,
Edrisi, 30-1;
MoslemonBerber
the gold at amulets,
2 function of, 196-7,
232
23
Wangara, 171 Anbu, 299
Al Fasher, see El Fasher ancestors, offerings to, 197;
Al-Fazari, on Wagadu (ancient
(an cient respect for, 193-7, 198-9,
Ghana), 166 211-12
Al-Kanemi, 274, 280 Animism,
Animi sm, 190-7,
190- 7, 211-2,
211-2, 310
Al Kawkaw,
Kawkaw, 158-60
158 -60 Anu, and Jukun, 145; also see
Al Masudi;
Masudi; on the subject of
of Onnu
“Bantu”, 150 Anubis, see Anbu
Al Muhallabi, on Kanem, 133 Arab: conquest of North
Al Sud, as an Arabic term, 27 Africa, 175; invasion and

Index 337
conquest of Egypt, 104; Egyptian and African

invasion of Kush, 105-06; languages,, 146-9; meaning
languages
Arabs, and slave
sl ave trade,
trade, 175 to academia, 146;
Archaic Period, and Kush Bantu peoples: 140, 146-51;
(Nubia), 51 and Mbum people,
people, 149; and
Arkell, Anthony
Antho ny,, 318, 323, 324,
32 4, Sa-u, 138; dispersion/spread
325, 326
artisans, 220, 222, 228-33 of,
150146-51,
146-51, 301-03; origin oof,
f,
Askia, Daoud, 264; Baqt treaty
t reaty,, 106
Mohammed, 249-50, 264 Baraka, meaning
meanin g and use, 239
Asyut, 48, 49; also see Darb el- Barbary, see Berbers
Arbeen bard,, see wordsmith
bard
Assyria, and Kushite-based Bari, 238
Kings of 25th Dynasty, 63-5 Barkal, see Gabal Barkal
Aswan, see Sunt Battuta, Ibn, on slave trade
Audaghost, 167, 242 during Keita (Mali) rule, 175;
Ausar, 88, 193-5, 204, 214, 216,
216, on Wangara/Wanjara, 171
217, 304, 310; variations of Bauchi, and the Fulani, 276
name, 236-7 Beja: and the Sahu/Sa-u, 136,
Auset, 86,88, 95-6, 204, 310; Beja now,
now, 118, 293, 303, 305;
also see Ama, Philae during Roman times, 87-9;
Axum (Axumites),
(Axumit es), and Meroe,
Meroe, resisting Arab occupation of
42, 86-7 Egypt, 112;
also see Blemmyes;
Belo, Mohammed: as leader of
Fulani Islamic jihads, 274-6;
B as Sokoto
Sokoto caliph, 279; on
Ba, 310 origin of Fulani, 270;
Baghdad, 29; and Egypt rule,
ru le, Benin City and Kingdom, 257;
107, 108, 110 affinities with ancient Egypt,
Baguirmi, 269, 295 262-3; and abundance of
Bahr-el-Ghazal, 131, 163, 268 artwork, 262; source of
Bakri, al-, see Al-Bakri copper and mode of casting,
Bambara, 274; and Fulani 262-3;
attacks, 277, 278 Bennu River, 138; early
Bamileke,, 295-6
Bamileke cultures around, 140-48;
Bamum/Bamoun/Ba-Amun, meaning, 140
295-6 Benue River,
River, see Bennu River
Bantu: and proto-Bantu, 147- Berbers: and Islamic jihads of
51; meaning in ancient 11th century, 180, 242-3, 248;

and Kanem, 252-6; and slave Byzantine rule, 95-7; estab-

trade, 177; and West
West Africa, lishmentt of Christi
lishmen Christianity
anity,, see
123-4, 178-9,
178-9, 180;
180; in Egypt,
Egypt, Constantine; rule in Egypt,
see Fatimids; 90-6, 98-104
also see Kanuri; Moors;
Berlin Conference
Conf erence,, 284
Bes, 54 C
B-Group, 41-2, 52
blacksmith
black smiths,s, see smiths Cairo, founding by Fatimids,
Blemmyes: activities during 114; meaning
m eaning of name
na me,, 114
Byzantine rule at Egypt, 95- Cambyses, 67
6; activities
activiti es during Roman Cameroon/Cameroun, 279,
Era, 87-9; 295-6
and Sahu/Sa-u, 136; men- caravans, see trade, routes
tioned in classical texts, 88-9; Cassius, Dio: on Meroe,
Meroe, 77; on
also see Beja Romans wars in southern
Book of the Dead, The, See Book Egypt, 80
of Coming Forth by Day caste system, 218-22
of Coming Forth by Day,
Book of Cataracts: Kush (Nubia), Land
188 of Nile,
Ni le, 312
Bornu, 29, 136, 138-9; and C-Group, 41-2
British colonization, 284; Chad, Lake
La ke,, see Lake Chad
and the Fulani Islamic Chalcedon, Council of, and
jihads, 279-80; Islam Monophysites, 100, 101
invades, 254-6 Champollion, Jean-Francois
Bowman, Alan, 318, 324-5 (the Younger), 39
Bozo, 299-300 Chari River, 136
brass,
bras s, see copper Chephren, see Khafra
bronze, see copper
bronze Christian Missionaries in
Budge, Wallis,
Wallis, 18,
18 , 318, 327, 330, Africa, 31
331, 332, 335 Christianity: and lack of
Buhen: and B-Group, 52; and development in Egypt, 94-5;
Old Kingdom Era, 52; at Alexandria, 90-5, 98-100,
copper smelting, 52; fortress, 101; factional fighting in
57;;
57 Egypt, 99-101; in Kush, 105;
Bulala resisting of Islam in intolerance of non-Chris-
Kanem, 254-6 tians in Egypt, 91-6;
91-6; political
Byzantine: and the
t he Persian
Persian importance, 91-2, 98-9;
occupation, 101; Church, and Chalcedon, 100; of
Egyptian resistance of Alexandria, 91-5, 98-104;

Index 339
Monophysite, property and Chronicles, 72-3

Demotic Chronicles
wealth in Egypt, 91-2, 98-9; Dendera, destruction of temple
circumcision, 200-01 by early Christians,
Christians, 93;
city state
stat e, see polity during Roman rule
rul e, 83
clans, see family lineage Dendi, 158, 263
Cleopatra VII Philopator
Philopato r, 69 descent: see Kingship and
colonies/colonists, see Euro- family
pean colonization Dinga, Dinka, 168
Congress of Berlin, see Berlin Diodorus Siculus (Diodorus of
Conference Sicily), 75, 76, 77, 78, 213,
Constantin
Const antine,
e, emperor, 91, 98 218
copper, manufacture of, 122, Diop, Cheikh Anta, 315, 324,
171 327, 330, 333
Coptic church, see Divine Kingship, see Kingship
Monophysites doctors, see healing
Coptic language, 40, 94 Dodekar
Dode karchy, The, 164
chy,The
cosmology: in ancient Egypt, schoinos, 80-2
Dodekaschoinos
Dodeka
185-9; in sub-Sahara Africa, Dogon, 298-9; meaning of
187-9 word in ancient Egyptian
creation myth, see cosmology language
langua ge,, 298
Cush, see Kush Dongola, Arab attacks of, 106;
Cyrus, Patriarch of Alexandria, under Islamic
Isl amic rule,
rul e, 117
101, 104 Duguwa, 132, 133, 135, 136,
252
Dynasties, Egyptian: 20th, 60;
21th, 60; 22th, 60; 23rd, 62;
D 24th, 62; 25th, 62-5; 26th, 66-
Dagomba, 264 7; 27 th, 67-8; 28th, 68; 29th,
th
Darb el-Arbeen, 47, 48, map 68; 30 , 68; also see Old
location, 47, 53 (also on Kingdom, Middle Kingdom,
more maps throughout New Kingdom
book); population swelling
at, 80, 89, 145
Dar-Fur: caravan trade,
trade, 47, 48;
history,, 266, 268-9; present-
history present- E
day status, 303; source of Egypt, Egyptians:
fighters, 89 and continued adherance to
Daura, 30, 154; as the spiritual ancient traditions, 304-5;
home of the Hausa,
Hausa, 155; and Mohammed Ali,Al i, 117-8;
117-8;
Queen of, 157 Arabs in 104;

Fatimid attacks
att acks and rule,
ru le, 110,
110, F
113-6; family lineage,
line age, 206
resisting
resist ing Arab rule, 110-13,
110-13, farming: 220, 227-8
115-6; secret societies
societi es in, Farouk,
Far ouk, King,
Ki ng, 118, 287
304; source of human
human Fatimids, Ifriqiyan and Egyp-
migration in the 1st millen- tian Dynasty,
Dynas ty, 110,
110, 1
113-6
13-6
nium, 125; firearms: increase in slave raids
under Abbasids
Abbasi ds rule, 10 107-
7- due to, 27
273;
3; introduction
108, 113-3; into Africa, 250,255-6, 272-3
under Ayyubid rule,
r ule, 116-7;
116-7; Fouta Jallon, and Fulani
under British
Brit ish rule, 118; attacks, 275; number of
under Ikhshidi
Ik hshididd rule, 110;
110; captured slaves, 282
under Mamluks
Mamlu ks rule, 117;117; Fouta Toro,
Toro, Fulani in, 272, 275,
under modern-day self-rule,
self -rule, 277-8
118; Fulani/Fulbe: and Bornu, 279-
under Omayyads
Om ayyads rule, 107-107- 80; and jihads, 25; as
08, 111;
111; destroyer of records, 29; as
under Ottoman
Ott oman rule, 118;
118; herders,, 270; char
herders characte
acteristi
ristics
cs
under Tulunid
T ulunidss rule,108,110;
rule,108,110; of, 270; origin, 270; other
Egyptian Church, see names of,
of, 270; religions oof,
f,
Monophysites 272; slave raids in West
West
El Fasher: location, 47, 53, also Africa by,
by, 273-80, 282-4,
282-4 ,
see Gabal Marra and many 293; West African views on,
maps throughout book; 272; work classification, 38,
strategic importance, 48; 270
also see Dar-Fur, Darb el- Fung Confederation, 117, 265-6
Arbeen Funj Kingdom, see Fung
Elephantine, see Sunt Confederation
Elephantine Road, see Sunt Fur kingdom, see Dar-Fur
Road
Ethiopian, as a Greek term, 27,
42
European colonization of G
Africa, 284-6; Ga peoples,257, 297
ending slave trade, 286; end Gabal Barkal, 59; priesthood of
of, 289;
289; farming policies, Amon, 59; Temple of Amon
286; forced labor policy,
policy, at, 59; temples at, 59;
286; political and social Gabal Marra, 267, 268
systems, 289-90 Gabal Meidob
Meido b, 135
Ezana, 42 Gadalla, Moustafa, 1, 319, 327,

Index 341
330-31, 332, 350-52 H

Gao: attacked by Berbers, 248; Haj, definition
defini tion of, 311
311
Commonwealth, 158,160; Hamites, 123, 127-8; definition
on trade routes, 49; of, 311
311
also see Songhai Hausa (Hausaland): affinity
Gardiner, Alan, 39, 319, 323 with ancient Egypt, 155-7,
Ghana (ancient): burial of 199; and ancient namenam e, 152;
kings in, 170; gold mystery and Fulani, 29, 274, 275-6,
in, 166, 171; in Arabic 279;
writing, 30, 166, 168-71; Belo on origin of, 154;
map of, 167; meaning of the history of, 29, 108, 249-50;
word, 168; oral tradition of, legend of founde
founders,rs, 157;
166, 168-70; origin of, 169; meaning of term, 152; on
also see W
Wagadu;
agadu; Soninke Bornu, 139;
139; origin of,of, 152,
Ginne, 128; affinities with 154-7; the seven bastard
Ancient Egypt, 164-5; as part states, 157; the seven
of Songhai, 158, 249; history legitimate
legitima te states
states,, 154-5;
and traditions, 164-5, 300; healing, 220, 222, 224-5, 226-7
meaning of name, 164, 195; Heb-Sed ritual
rituals,
s, 135, 217, 31
311;
1;
Gobir, 29; and Egyptian and the Hausa, 156;
immigration, 108; and and other sub-Sahara
Fulani attacks
att acks and takeover,
takeover, societies, 217
274-6; Belo on, 154; resis- Heliopolis, see Anu and Onnu
tance to Fulani rule
rul e, 279 Heraclius, 101, 102
gods and goddesses, see neteru herders
herders,, 220, 235
government: form in ancient heredity
hered ity,, significance in
Egypt and Africa, 62, 128-9, ancient Egypt and African
327-8, 331;
331; see more
more info. societies, 218-9, 221, 222
under related titles Herkhuf, 50, 52
Greenberg, Joseph H., linguist, Hermetica, prophecy,
prophecy, 307-09
34, 37, 147, 148 Hermopolis, see Khmunu
Grimm, Jacob, 36, Law,Law, 36-7 Herodotus, 49, 66, 224
griot, see wordsmith hieroglyphics
hieroglyphics,, see languag
languages,
es,
grove,, spirited/sa
grove spir ited/sacred
cred tree, 170, ancient Egyptian
200 history:
history: African,
African, sources
sources of, 25
guilds, see artisans human sacrifice
sacrifice in Judaism,
Judaism,
Guinea: meaning
meanin g of name,
name, 195; Christianity, and Islam, 182-
states, 257-8 3
Guthrie,, Malcom, linguist,
Guthrie li nguist, 148, Huy, 56
302 Hypatia, philosopher,
phil osopher, 93

I K
Ibn Battuta, see Battuta, Ibn Ka, definition of, 312
Idris Aloma, see Aloma, Idris Kanem: founding of, 132-4;
Ife, 258, 260, 262 Islam invades, 252; resis-
initiation,
initiat ion, male, 200-01
200-01 tance to Islam in, 254
intermediaries, 220, 223-7 Kanembu, 139
Isis, see Auset Kangaba, 244, 245
Islam: and slavery,
slavery, 175, 177-8,
177- 8, Kankan Musa, see Mansa
179-80, 234; Mousa
as an outer garment, 178; Kano: as a trade center, 48;
doctrine,
doctr ine, 177, 311-12;
311-12; history of, 154, 155, 157;
Islamic jihads, 24, 25, 29, 104, resistance to Moslem Fulani,
177-8, 180, 234, 244, 245, 279; under Moslem attacks,
246, 249, 256, 258, 273, 274- 249-50, 276;
80, 282-4, 306, 313; Kano
K Chroniclee, 155
ano Chronicl
definition of, 312 Kanuri, and Bornu, 29, 139,
254-6, 279
Kashta, King, 63
Katsina, 154, 157, 249-50, 276
Keating, Rex, 319,
319, 323, 324,
3 24, 325
Keita Clan: and trade in slaves,
slaves,
244-5; Arab accounts of,
J 245; fall of, 246;
Jebel Barkal: see Gabal Barkal government of, 247;
Jebel Marra, see Gabal Marra history
histor y of, 243-7
243-7;;
Jebel Meidob,
Meidob, see Gabal Meidob Islam in, 244-7; map of, 247;
Jenne,, see Ginne
Jenne onslaughtt on Wagadu
onslaugh Wagadu
Jews in Alexandria,
Alexandria, (ancient Ghana)
Gh ana) by,by, 243-4;
see under Alexandria,
Alexandria, and rule,, 245-7; rulers of, 245-6;
rule
West Africa,
Afri ca, 123-4 Kepler,, planetary
Kepler planeta ry laws, 203
jihads, see Islamic jihads Kerma, 48 48
Jos plateau,
plateau, 142-3 Khafra, 52
judges,
judge s, 220, 224 Kharga Oasis, see Darb el-
Jukun, 135, 140, 143-5, 293; Arbeen
and Meroe, 143-4; Khmunu, destruction of temples
and Hausa 144; by early Christians,
Christians, 93-4
Meek C.K. on the, 145 Khons, see Kush
Justinian,
Justin ian, Byzantine
Byzantine Emperor;
Emperor; King, Joan
J oan Wucher,
Wucher, 319, 325,
and closing of Philae 326
Temple, 96 Kingship, role, 44, 63, 126, 133,

Index 343
135, 145, 160, 170, 212-6; linguists 32-4; Ancient

Kisira, meaning, 237 Egyptian, 39-40; Egyptian
Kom Ombo, ini n Roman times, indigenous language, 40,
83; and the Bozo, 300 304-05; also see Bantu
Kordofan: present-day status, language
lang uages;
s; Bantu;
Bantu; sou
sound
nd shift
shift
303; slave-raiding in; under in, 36-7; spelling variations,
Fung hegemony, 265-6 19-20; also see linguistic
Kotoko, 136, 294 similarities
Koumbi/Koumbi
Koumbi/K oumbi Saleh,
Sal eh, 243 leatherw
leatherwork
orker
er,, 220,
220, 232
Kukya, 158; location, 159 Leo Africanus, see Africanus,
Kush: after closing of Philae Leo
Temple,, 105; and Christian-
Temple Christian - Libya, Libyans, 27 also see
ity, 105;
105; and Islam,
Isl am, 105; and Berbers
Islamic rule,
r ule, 117;
117; and so-
so - linguistic similiarities:
similiarities: between
called Baqt , 106; as part of ancient Egypt and African
Egypt, 41, 51-9; description societies, 236-240; and
of, 312; during Archaic Wolof,
olof , 240, and YYoruba
oruba,, 240
Period, 51; during Old Logone R., 131, 137
Kingdom, 52, 54; during Luxor,, see
Luxor see Ta-Apet
Middle Kingdom, 55; during
New Kingdom, 55-9; history
of, 44, 51-9, 60-8; present-
day Kush, 118,
118, 305; repulses M
the Arabs, 105-6; resisting Maa Ngala, 187, 228
Arab occupation of Egypt, Ma-at, 18, 197-8, 202, 224
111-3; temples
tem ples in, 50-1,
50 -1, 56-9; MaBa-u, see Hausa
viceroys, see viceroys of Macedonians in Egypt, 69
Kush Macina, Fulani in, 272, 277,
Kwararafa,
Kwararafa, 144
144 278
Magha, 168
magic, 225, 226-7
Magumi, 132, 133, 134, 135,
L 136, 145
Lake Chad, 46, 47, 48, 163; on Mali (ancient), meaning of
trade routes, 46; increase in word, 244; also see Keita
population around, 130-4, Clan rule
136-9; Malinke, 243, 245, 247, 312-3;
languages:
langu ages: African,
African, 26, 32-40; also see Keita Clan
African language families Mamluks,, in Egypt, 117
Mamluks
according to Western Mande,, people and language(s),
Mande

243, 247, 312-3 Meroe, 86-7; founding

Meroe, foundi ng of, 66,
Mandingo, see Malinke 75, 77; in classic texts, 75-8;
Mandinka, (Malinke or in Diodorus writings, 75-8;
Mandingo), 162, 243, 244; invasion of, 86-7; location
see also Keita Clan of, 66; origins of, 66, 75, 77;
Mansa Mousa, 246; Middle Kingdom, trade activi-
and Songhai, 248 ties, 48, 55
Mark, St., and the Alexandria Meroitic, cursive writing, 44
Church, 90 Mohammed, Islam founder,
Massawa, 49, 266 102, 104: and Christian
Masudi, al-, see Al Masudi Mary, 102;
102; and Fatimids,
Fatimi ds,
matriarchal/matrilineal
matriarchal/matriline al system: 113-4; and Monophysites,
and European’s attitude,
attit ude, 205; 102
definitions of, 312-13; Mohammed Ali, 117-8
in ancient Egypt and Africa, Mohammed Bello, Caliph of
63, 124, 155, 170, 203-06, Sokoto, see Belo, Mohammed
215; Monophysites: and Chalcedon
Mbum, 38, 139, 295 Decree, 99-100;
Decree, 99- 100; and
Mecca, 29, 177, 242, 245, 246, Constantinople,
Constanti nople, 99-101;
99-101; and
248, 249, 256, 274, 311,
311, 312 cozy relationship with
Meek, C.K., 317, 327, 328, 329, Arabs, 101, 103; and Cyrus,
332, 333, 334, 335; 101, and Melkites, 99-101; in
on Jukum, 145, 329 Egypt, 99-104
Melkitee (Royalist),
Melkit (Royalist), 99-101 monotheism, in ancient Egypt
Memphis, see Men-Nefer and African beliefs, 184
Menkaura, 52 Moors: Songhai
Son ghai invaded by,
Men-Nefer, during Ptolemaic 250
era, 70, 73-4; Morocco/Moroccans,
Morocco/Moroccan s, 114;
114; also
in the 25th Dynasty, 62-5, see Moors, Berbers,
Merenra, 50, 52 Almoravids and Fatimids
Meroe: abandonment of, 135; Moslem, see Islam
absence of name in
i n history, Mossi, 192, 212, 213, 248, 249;
42; and ancient Egyptian origin of, 263-4; Askia
beliefs, 78-9; Mohammed and the, 264;
and cozy relationshipwith Askia Daoud andan d the,
the, 264;
Ptolemies, 75-9; and cozy founding of kingdoms of,
relationship with the Ro- 263-4; history of, 263-4;
263-4;
mans, 86-7; resistance to Islam, 264
and Napata region, 77-8; Muhammad al-Amin al
artistic style, 79; collapse of Kanemi, see Al-Kanemi

Index 345
N meaning of, 142

name, significance in ancient
name, Nu/Ny, 191
Egypt and sub-Sahara Africa, Nu/Ny-Ama, 191-2, 201, 220,
188-90 229-33
Napata: Amon center,
cent er, 59; Nuba, see Noba
and the 25th Dynasty, 62-5; Nuba Mountains, see Noba
as Kushite capital, 63; Mountains
location of, 59; Nubades, see Nobatae
in Meroitic period 77-8; Nubia/Nubians: origin of name,
name,
in New Kingdom, 59; 42, 51; also see Kush
Roman attack on, 80; Nupe Kingdom, 135, 257; and
Necho, King, 49, 64, 65 the Fulani, 276, 279
neteru, 184-5, 213-4, 223; Ny, see Nu/Ny
in Kush, 44
New Kingdom, trade activities
during, 48-9, 55-9
Niger Kordofanian languages O
group, see languages, Africa oases, in Egypt, see Darb el-
Niger River: Arbeen
and Lake Chad, 163; O.A.U., 290
and the River Nile 162-3; offerings to departed spirits,
Delta, 158, 160; 197
Herodotus on, 162; Old Kingdom, trade activities
in historical records, 162-3; during, 52
migration from the Nile to, Omar ibn Talal, al Haj, 274,
158; 277-8; and enend
d of his
names of Niger River, 162-3; empire, 284; extent of his
Pliny on, 163; empire
empi re,, 278
Nile River, in El Edrisi writing, Omayyad Caliphate: Egypt
31;;
31 under,
und er, 107, 110-11
110-11
and the Niger River,
River, 162-3 Onnu(Heliopolis), significance
Nilo-Saharan languages group, in ancient Egypt and sub-
see languages, Africa Sahara societies, 140, 214;
Njoya, 296 during Ptolemaic
Ptole maic rule, 74
Noba/Nuba (southern Oracle of the Potter , 74
Kordofan), 89, 97, 134-5 Orisha, 187
Nobatae, 88-9, 95-97 Osiris, see Ausar
noble/nobles, 220, 222, 227-8; Osman dan Fodia, 274-6Otto-
meaning of word, 227-8 man Turks, see also Turks
Nok Culture 140, 142-3; Oyo, and the Fulani, 276

P with Meroe, 75-6;

patriarchs of Alexandria, 98- Ptolemy
Ptol emy V:
V: and Rosetta Stone,
101 73
Pepi II, 54, 162
Persians: during Byzantine
Byzantin e rule,
101; occupation of Egypt, 67-
8, 70; R
Petronius, Roman governor, 80 Ra, 237, 238
Philadelphia, village, 85 races and skin color, 26-27
Philae: closing
clo sing of Auset temple, Rabeh, 284
96, 105; Kushite attacks on Reisner,, George
Reisner Geo rge Andrew, 62,
Byzantine occupied, 95-6; 63; on the X-Group, 96-7
Meroitic inscriptions
inscription s at, 86; religious beliefs: ancient Egypt
Temple of Auset at, 95-6, and traditional African, 184-
310; treaty of, 95-6; 201
Piankhi, 62-3, 65 Roman Rule, and cozy relation-
relat ion-
Pliny the Elder:
Elde r: on the Roman ship with Meroe, 86-7; and
wars in southern Egypt, early Christianity in Alexan-
80,82; on the Niger River,
River, dria, 90-1; and the
163 Dodekaschoinos, 80-2; and
polity,
poli ty, 207-10
207-10 depopulation records in
polytheism in Judaism, Chris- Egypt, 85-6; and expeditions
tianity, and Islam, 183 to Napata, 80, 82; and food
population: demography,
demography, 120, supply,, 82; frontiers, 80; and
supply
125; ethnic characteristics, government
governme nt of Egypt, 82-3;
120, 122, 125; movement in overtaxation, 84-6; and
western Africa, 126-8 takeover of Egypt, 69, 80;
priests/priesthood, in ancient and ancient Egyptian
Egypt and sub-Sahara Africa, temples, 83; Egyptian
see intermediaries resistance,, 80, 82; of Egypt,
resistance
Procopius (Byzantine histo- 80-9;
rian), on Blemmeyes and Rosetta Stone, 73
Nobatae, 88-9
proto-Bantu language and
people, 148-9
Ptah, 228-31
Ptolemaic Dynasty: decline of,
S
73; Egyptian resistance,
resistance, 72- Sahara desert, description of
5; in Egypt, 69-79; relations African boundaries, 313
Sahel, 120, African regional

Index 347
description of, 313-4 see servile bondsmen;

Sahu, as Sa-u, 136 increase due to firearms, 273;
Sais, in Late Kingdom Period, also see Islamic jihads
62-5, 68 smiths, 220, 222, 229-31
Saladin and Ayyubid Dynasty So, see Sa-u
in Egypt,
Egypt , 116
116 Sokoto caliphate, 275-7, 279,
Sao, see Sa-u 284
Sa-u, people,
people, 136-9, 140; and Somali, 293
Bantu, 138 Songhai:
Sara, 169 decline and fall of, 250;
Savannah, description of, 314 early history of, 158, 160,
Sayfuwa, of Kanem, 252, 254-6 248-50; Islam and, 249-50;
Segu, and Fulani attacks, 278 language
langu age,, 37;
Selima, 48 map of, 159, 251; reign of
Semna, 48,55, 56, 58; map Askia Mohammed, 249-50
location, 57 Soninke (or Sarakulle): and the
Senegal, see Wolof Mande, 243, 312-13;
312-13; and the
Sennar,, 49, 265-6
Sennar Sa-u people, 169; founders
Senwarset III, 55, 58 of Songhai Commonwealth,
Septuagint, 70 158, 160; founders of
Serakole,, 169, 237,
Serakole 23 7, also see Wagadu (ancient
(anci ent Ghana),
Ghan a),
Soninke 166, 168-71; similarities with
serpent, significance in ancient Ancient Egyptians, 160-1,
Egypt and sub-Sahara Africa, 170, 171; various names of,
199, 299 169;
servile bondsmen, 220, 234 Sonni Ali, Ber,
Ber, 249; rulers, 249
Shabaka, 63-5 sorcery, 226-7
Shabataka, 64, 65 Sorko, as founders of Songhai
shadouff, 160-1, 227 Commonwealth, 158;
Shendi, 49 see also Soninke
Sheshonq I, 60 Sosso, see Sisse
Sheshonq III, 62 Soudan, 20; definition of, 314;
Shilluk, 131, 135 also see under different
shrines, 220, 223-4, 225-6; regions of the Soudan
attendance in present-day sound shift in languages, 36-7
Egypt, 304 spelling variations, 19-20
Sisse, 168-9 Strabo, geographer:
slave trade:
trade: abolition of, 284; Geographica, Book 17, 74-5;
trans-Atlantic, 282 on the Egyptian southern
slavery: 220, 235, 282-3; also rebels, 80; on Meroe
Meroe,, 77

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Egyptian Cosmology: The Animated Universe - 2nd ed.

Egyptian Harmony: The Visual Music

Egyptian Rhythm: The Heavenly Melodies

Exiled Egyptians: The Heart of Africa

Pyramid Handbook - 2nd ed.

Tut-Ankh-Amen: The Living Image of the Lord

Egypt: A Practical Guide

This book is dedicated to

Book Production: Moustafa Gadalla & Faith Cross

Tehuti Research Foundation

Copyright © 1999 and 2003 by Moustafa Gadalla, All rights reserved.

Gadalla, Moustafa, 1944-

DT61.G34 1999 299’.31

I. Clearing Academic Confusion

1. The Days After 24

3. Dependency on Written History 28

4. Western Linguists & Africa 32

6 Exiled Egyptians: The Heart of Africa

Linguistic Classification Falsehoods

II. Egypt: The

6. Ancient Egypt & Interior Africa 46

7. Kush: The Egyptian Frontier 51

8. The Aftermath of the New Kingdom Era 60

10. Roman Rule 80

11. Byzantine Rule 90

12. Byzantine & Christians Self-Destruct 98

8 Exiled Egyptians: The Heart of Africa

Kush Repulses the Arabs

14. Egypt: The Arab Colony 1 07

III. Dispersing the Egyptian

15. Populating Western Africa 12 0

The Nok Culture

Soninke (founders of Ancient Wagadu

21. Trading With the Devil 172

Trade Routes in the Sahara & Western

10 Exiled Egyptians: The Heart of Africa

IV.. The Egyptian Model & The New Societies

22. Religious Beliefs 182

24. Division of Labor 218

25. Linguistic Similarities 236

V. The Islamic Onslaughts

12 Exiled Egyptians: The Heart of Africa

27. Keita Clan (Mali) Islamic Rule 245

30. The Southern Exodus 25 7

The Sennar(Fung) Confederation

VI. The Last Two

33. European Colonialism 282

34. Independence & A Dark Future 287

14 Exiled Egyptians: The Heart of Africa

35. Fragmented But Never Forgotten 2 92

36. Let Freedom Ring 30 6

16 1 31 Between the Nile and Lake Chad (1st millen.)

Throughout our lives, each one of us hears numerous

This is odd! Western academicians are telling

I followed up with extensive research, turning over ev-

The more I learned about sub-Sahara Africa, the more I

I became convinced that a satisfactory explanation of the

I followed Ma-at, The Way, who is repre-

It is expected that each biased self-pro-