HOW AFRICANS BROUGHT CIVILIZATION TO THE AMERICAS
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Baba no regret, I'll start with the Egyptians. Note that in ancient times black Africans called 'Ethiopians':
To the ancient Greek and Latin writers contemporary with the ancient Egyptians the physical classification of Egyptians posed no problems with them: the ancient Egyptians were negroes, thick-lipped, kinky-haired and thin-legged.
Ancient Text Sources (Primary):
"They (the Ethiopians) say also that the Egyptians are colonists sent out by the Ethiopians, Osiris having been the leader of the colony . . . they add that the Egyptians have received from them, as from authors and their ancestors, the greater part of their laws."
(1st century B.C., Diodorus Siculus of Sicily, Greek historian and contemporary of Caesar Augustus, Universal History Book III. 2. 4-3. 3)
"Those who are too black are cowards, like for instance, the Egyptians and Ethiopians. But those who are excessively white are also cowards as we can see from the example of women, the complexion of courage is between the two."
(Aristotle (384-322 B.C.), Greek philosopher, scientist, and tutor to Alexander the Great, Physiognomy, 6)
"Why are the Ethiopians and Egyptians bandy-legged? Is it because of that the body of itself creates, because of disturbance by heat, like loss of wood when they become dry? The condition of their hair supports this theory; for
it is curlier than that of other nations . . ."
(Aristotle, Problemata 909, 7)
The evidence of Lucian (Greek writer, 125 B.C.) is as explicit as that of the previous writers. He introduces two Greeks, Lycinus and Timolaus, who start a conversation.
Lycinus (describing a young Egyptian): "This boy is not merely black; he has thick lips and his legs are too thin . . .
his hair worn in a plait behind shows that he is not a freeman."
Timolaus: "But that is a sign of really distinguished birth in Egypt, Lycinus, All freeborn children plait their hair until they reach manhood. It is the exact opposite of the custom of our ancestors who thought it seemly for old men to secure their hair with a gold brooch to keep it in place."
(Lucian, Navigations, paras 2-3)
I went as far as Elephantine [Aswan] to see what I could with my own eyes, but for the country still further south I had to be content with what I was told in answer to my questions. South of Elephantine the country is inhabited by Ethiopians...Beyond the island is a great lake, and round its shores live nomadic tribes of Ethiopians. After crossing the lake one comes again to the stream of the Nile, which flows into it. ...After forty days journey on land along the river, one takes another boat and in twelve days reaches a big city named Meroë, said to be the capital city of the Ethiopians. The inhabitants worship Zeus and Dionysus alone of the Gods, holding them in great honor.
(Herodotus: The Histories, c. 430 BCE, Book III);
Herodotus, The History, trans. George Rawlinson (New York: Dutton & Co., 1862)
The opinion of the ancient writers on the Egyptians is more or less summed up by French egyptologist Gaston Maspero (The Dawn of Civilization (1894), when he says, "By the almost unanimous testimony of ancient historians, they [the Egyptians] belong to an African race which first settled in Ethiopia on the Middle Nile: following the course of the river [heading up to north Africa] they gradually reached the sea."
The German scholar, Eugen Georg, in his book The Adventure of Mankind (1931) p. 121, tells us about the ". . . world-wide dominance of Ethiopian representatives of the black race. They were supreme in Africa and Asia. In upper Egypt and India they erected mighty religious centers and mastered a perfect technique in the molding of bronze--and they even infiltrated through Southern Europe for a thousand years."
The Senegalese Physicist and African Egyptologist Cheikh Anta Diop tells us in his book The African Origin of Civilization Myth or Reality (1974), that the Greek writer, Herodotus, may be mistaken, when he reports the customs of a people. "But one must grant that he was at least capable of recognizing the skin color of the inhabitants of countries he visited." His descriptions of the Egyptians were the descriptions of a Black people.
At this point the reader needs to be reminded of the fact that at the time of Herodotus's visit to Egypt and other parts of Africa (between 480 and 425 B.C.) Egypt's Golden Age was over. Egypt had suffered from several invasions, mainly the Kushite invasions, coming from within Africa, and starting in 751 B.C., and the Assyrians' invasions from Western Asia (called the Middle East), starting in 671 B.C.
If Egypt, after years of invasions by other people and nations was still a distinct Black African nation at the time of Herodotus, shouldn't we at least assume that it was more so before these invasions occurred?
If Egypt is a dilemma in Western historiography, it is a created dilemma. The Western historians, in most cases, have rested the foundation of what is called "Western Civilization" on the false assumptions, or claim, that the ancient Egyptians were white people. To do this they had to ignore great masterpieces on Egyptian history written by other white historians who did not support this point of view, such as Gerald Massey's great classic, Ancient Egypt, The Light of the World, (1907) and his other works, A Book of the Beginnings and The Natural Genesis. Other neglected works by white writers are Politics, Intercourse, and Trade of the Carthaginians, Ethiopians, Egyptians, by A.H.L. Heeren (1833), and Ruins of Empires, by Count Volney (1787).
In the first chapter of his book, Dr. Diop refers to the Southern African origins of the people later known as Egyptians. Here he is on sound ground with a lot of support coming from another group of neglected white writers. In his book, Egypt, British scholar Sir E.A. Wallis Budge says: "The prehistoric native of Egypt, both in the old and in the new Stone Ages, was African and there is every reason for saying that the earliest settlers came from the South." He further states: "There are many things in the manners and customs and religions of the historic Egyptians that suggests that the original home of their prehistoric ancestors was in a country in the neighborhood of Uganda and Punt." [/i
European interest in "Ethiopia and the Origin of Civilization" dates from the early part of the nineteenth century and is best reflected in a little known, though important, paper in German egyptologist Karl Richard Lepsius' Incomparable Survey of the Monumental Ruins in the Ethiopian Nile Valley in 1842-1844. The records found by Lepsius tend to show how Ethiopia was once able to sustain an ancient population that was numerous and powerful enough not only to challenge but, on a number of occasions, to conquer completely the populous land of Egypt. Further, these records show that the antiquity of Ethiopian civilization had a direct link with civilization of ancient Egypt.
Many of the leading antiquarians of the time, based largely on the strength of what the classical authors, particularly Greek historian Diodorus Siculus (1st century B.C.) and Stephanus of Byzantium, had to say on the matter, were exponents of the view that the ancient Ethiopians, or at any rate, the Black people of remote antiquity were the earliest of all civilized peoples and that the first civilized inhabitants of ancient Egypt were members of what is refereed to as the Black race who entered the country as emigrants from Ethiopia.
A number of Europe's leading writers on the civilizations of remote antiquity have written brilliant defenses of this point of view. Some of these writers are Brice, Count Volney, Fabre, d'Oliver, and Heeren. In spite of the fact that these writers defended this thesis with all the learning at their command and documented their defense, most of the present-day writers of African history continue to ignore their findings.
In 1825, German backwardness in this respect came definitely to an end. In that year, Arnold Hermann Heeren (1760-1842), Professor of History and Politics in the University of Gottengen and one of the ablest of the early exponents of the economic interpretation of history, published, in the fourth and revised edition of his great work Ideen Uber Die Politik, Den Verkehr Und Den Handel Der Vornehmsten Volker Der Alten Weld, a lengthy essay on the history, culture, and commerce of the ancient Ethiopians, which had profound influence on contemporary writers in the conclusion that it was among these ancient Black people of Africa and Asia that international trade was first developed. He thinks that as a by-product of these international contacts there was an exchange of ideas and cultural practices that laid the foundations of the earliest civilizations of the ancient world.
The French writer Count C. F. Volney, in his important work, The Ruins of Empires, extends this point of view by saying that the Egyptians were the first people to "attain the physical and moral sciences necessary to civilized life." In referring to the basis of this achievement he states further that, "It was, then, on the borders of the Upper Nile, among a Black race of men, that was organized the complicated system of worship of the stars, considered in relation to the productions of the earth and the labors of agriculture; and this first worship, characterized by their adoration under their own forms and national attributes, was a simple proceeding of the human mind."
Western Egyptology developed in concurrence with the development of the slave trade and the colonial system. It was during this period that Egypt was literally taken out of Africa, academically, and made an extension of Europe.
In many ways Egypt is the key to ancient African history. African history is out of kilter until ancient Egypt is looked upon as a distinct African nation. The Nile River played a major role in the relationship to Egypt to the nations in Southeast Africa. During the early history of Africa, the Nile was a great cultural highway on which elements of civilization came into and out of inner Africa.
In John D. Baldwin's book Pre-History Nations or Inquiries Concerning Some of the Great Peoples and Civilizations of Antiquity and Their Probable Relation to a Still Older (1869) he wrote "The old notion that Africa is chiefly a land of black savages arose from ignorance of the country, which could not be removed, but, on the contrary, was heightened by slave-trading communication . . . They could not descibe truthfully what came under their observation, but they sought to excuse their own frightful savagery by describing Africa as a land of negroes in the darkest and most hopeless condition of debasement. When this had been repeated many times, they ventured to represent their kidnapping villians as missionary agencies, intent on transferring savages to Christian countries for their own good."
Turning to the major falsification of the history of mankind, as he puts it, Cheikh Anta Diop underlines that the time has come to bring justice to the Black African race, to give black people their due credit for leading the march, and blazing a trail for humanity to follow.
To the ancient Greek and Latin writers contemporary with the ancient Egyptians the physical classification of Egyptians posed no problems with them: the ancient Egyptians were negroes, thick-lipped, kinky-haired and thin-legged.
Ancient Text Sources (Primary):
"They (the Ethiopians) say also that the Egyptians are colonists sent out by the Ethiopians, Osiris having been the leader of the colony . . . they add that the Egyptians have received from them, as from authors and their ancestors, the greater part of their laws."
(1st century B.C., Diodorus Siculus of Sicily, Greek historian and contemporary of Caesar Augustus, Universal History Book III. 2. 4-3. 3)
"Those who are too black are cowards, like for instance, the Egyptians and Ethiopians. But those who are excessively white are also cowards as we can see from the example of women, the complexion of courage is between the two."
(Aristotle (384-322 B.C.), Greek philosopher, scientist, and tutor to Alexander the Great, Physiognomy, 6)
"Why are the Ethiopians and Egyptians bandy-legged? Is it because of that the body of itself creates, because of disturbance by heat, like loss of wood when they become dry? The condition of their hair supports this theory; for
it is curlier than that of other nations . . ."
(Aristotle, Problemata 909, 7)
The evidence of Lucian (Greek writer, 125 B.C.) is as explicit as that of the previous writers. He introduces two Greeks, Lycinus and Timolaus, who start a conversation.
Lycinus (describing a young Egyptian): "This boy is not merely black; he has thick lips and his legs are too thin . . .
his hair worn in a plait behind shows that he is not a freeman."
Timolaus: "But that is a sign of really distinguished birth in Egypt, Lycinus, All freeborn children plait their hair until they reach manhood. It is the exact opposite of the custom of our ancestors who thought it seemly for old men to secure their hair with a gold brooch to keep it in place."
(Lucian, Navigations, paras 2-3)
I went as far as Elephantine [Aswan] to see what I could with my own eyes, but for the country still further south I had to be content with what I was told in answer to my questions. South of Elephantine the country is inhabited by Ethiopians...Beyond the island is a great lake, and round its shores live nomadic tribes of Ethiopians. After crossing the lake one comes again to the stream of the Nile, which flows into it. ...After forty days journey on land along the river, one takes another boat and in twelve days reaches a big city named Meroë, said to be the capital city of the Ethiopians. The inhabitants worship Zeus and Dionysus alone of the Gods, holding them in great honor.
(Herodotus: The Histories, c. 430 BCE, Book III);
Herodotus, The History, trans. George Rawlinson (New York: Dutton & Co., 1862)
The opinion of the ancient writers on the Egyptians is more or less summed up by French egyptologist Gaston Maspero (The Dawn of Civilization (1894), when he says, "By the almost unanimous testimony of ancient historians, they [the Egyptians] belong to an African race which first settled in Ethiopia on the Middle Nile: following the course of the river [heading up to north Africa] they gradually reached the sea."
The German scholar, Eugen Georg, in his book The Adventure of Mankind (1931) p. 121, tells us about the ". . . world-wide dominance of Ethiopian representatives of the black race. They were supreme in Africa and Asia. In upper Egypt and India they erected mighty religious centers and mastered a perfect technique in the molding of bronze--and they even infiltrated through Southern Europe for a thousand years."
The Senegalese Physicist and African Egyptologist Cheikh Anta Diop tells us in his book The African Origin of Civilization Myth or Reality (1974), that the Greek writer, Herodotus, may be mistaken, when he reports the customs of a people. "But one must grant that he was at least capable of recognizing the skin color of the inhabitants of countries he visited." His descriptions of the Egyptians were the descriptions of a Black people.
At this point the reader needs to be reminded of the fact that at the time of Herodotus's visit to Egypt and other parts of Africa (between 480 and 425 B.C.) Egypt's Golden Age was over. Egypt had suffered from several invasions, mainly the Kushite invasions, coming from within Africa, and starting in 751 B.C., and the Assyrians' invasions from Western Asia (called the Middle East), starting in 671 B.C.
If Egypt, after years of invasions by other people and nations was still a distinct Black African nation at the time of Herodotus, shouldn't we at least assume that it was more so before these invasions occurred?
If Egypt is a dilemma in Western historiography, it is a created dilemma. The Western historians, in most cases, have rested the foundation of what is called "Western Civilization" on the false assumptions, or claim, that the ancient Egyptians were white people. To do this they had to ignore great masterpieces on Egyptian history written by other white historians who did not support this point of view, such as Gerald Massey's great classic, Ancient Egypt, The Light of the World, (1907) and his other works, A Book of the Beginnings and The Natural Genesis. Other neglected works by white writers are Politics, Intercourse, and Trade of the Carthaginians, Ethiopians, Egyptians, by A.H.L. Heeren (1833), and Ruins of Empires, by Count Volney (1787).
In the first chapter of his book, Dr. Diop refers to the Southern African origins of the people later known as Egyptians. Here he is on sound ground with a lot of support coming from another group of neglected white writers. In his book, Egypt, British scholar Sir E.A. Wallis Budge says: "The prehistoric native of Egypt, both in the old and in the new Stone Ages, was African and there is every reason for saying that the earliest settlers came from the South." He further states: "There are many things in the manners and customs and religions of the historic Egyptians that suggests that the original home of their prehistoric ancestors was in a country in the neighborhood of Uganda and Punt." [/i
European interest in "Ethiopia and the Origin of Civilization" dates from the early part of the nineteenth century and is best reflected in a little known, though important, paper in German egyptologist Karl Richard Lepsius' Incomparable Survey of the Monumental Ruins in the Ethiopian Nile Valley in 1842-1844. The records found by Lepsius tend to show how Ethiopia was once able to sustain an ancient population that was numerous and powerful enough not only to challenge but, on a number of occasions, to conquer completely the populous land of Egypt. Further, these records show that the antiquity of Ethiopian civilization had a direct link with civilization of ancient Egypt.
Many of the leading antiquarians of the time, based largely on the strength of what the classical authors, particularly Greek historian Diodorus Siculus (1st century B.C.) and Stephanus of Byzantium, had to say on the matter, were exponents of the view that the ancient Ethiopians, or at any rate, the Black people of remote antiquity were the earliest of all civilized peoples and that the first civilized inhabitants of ancient Egypt were members of what is refereed to as the Black race who entered the country as emigrants from Ethiopia.
A number of Europe's leading writers on the civilizations of remote antiquity have written brilliant defenses of this point of view. Some of these writers are Brice, Count Volney, Fabre, d'Oliver, and Heeren. In spite of the fact that these writers defended this thesis with all the learning at their command and documented their defense, most of the present-day writers of African history continue to ignore their findings.
In 1825, German backwardness in this respect came definitely to an end. In that year, Arnold Hermann Heeren (1760-1842), Professor of History and Politics in the University of Gottengen and one of the ablest of the early exponents of the economic interpretation of history, published, in the fourth and revised edition of his great work Ideen Uber Die Politik, Den Verkehr Und Den Handel Der Vornehmsten Volker Der Alten Weld, a lengthy essay on the history, culture, and commerce of the ancient Ethiopians, which had profound influence on contemporary writers in the conclusion that it was among these ancient Black people of Africa and Asia that international trade was first developed. He thinks that as a by-product of these international contacts there was an exchange of ideas and cultural practices that laid the foundations of the earliest civilizations of the ancient world.
The French writer Count C. F. Volney, in his important work, The Ruins of Empires, extends this point of view by saying that the Egyptians were the first people to "attain the physical and moral sciences necessary to civilized life." In referring to the basis of this achievement he states further that, "It was, then, on the borders of the Upper Nile, among a Black race of men, that was organized the complicated system of worship of the stars, considered in relation to the productions of the earth and the labors of agriculture; and this first worship, characterized by their adoration under their own forms and national attributes, was a simple proceeding of the human mind."
Western Egyptology developed in concurrence with the development of the slave trade and the colonial system. It was during this period that Egypt was literally taken out of Africa, academically, and made an extension of Europe.
In many ways Egypt is the key to ancient African history. African history is out of kilter until ancient Egypt is looked upon as a distinct African nation. The Nile River played a major role in the relationship to Egypt to the nations in Southeast Africa. During the early history of Africa, the Nile was a great cultural highway on which elements of civilization came into and out of inner Africa.
In John D. Baldwin's book Pre-History Nations or Inquiries Concerning Some of the Great Peoples and Civilizations of Antiquity and Their Probable Relation to a Still Older (1869) he wrote "The old notion that Africa is chiefly a land of black savages arose from ignorance of the country, which could not be removed, but, on the contrary, was heightened by slave-trading communication . . . They could not descibe truthfully what came under their observation, but they sought to excuse their own frightful savagery by describing Africa as a land of negroes in the darkest and most hopeless condition of debasement. When this had been repeated many times, they ventured to represent their kidnapping villians as missionary agencies, intent on transferring savages to Christian countries for their own good."
Turning to the major falsification of the history of mankind, as he puts it, Cheikh Anta Diop underlines that the time has come to bring justice to the Black African race, to give black people their due credit for leading the march, and blazing a trail for humanity to follow.
the sad thing is that many Africans still believe the "White" history that presents us as debased savages. In fact it was the opposite as the author says. The Europeans were the savages.In John D. Baldwin's book Pre-History Nations or Inquiries Concerning Some of the Great Peoples and Civilizations of Antiquity and Their Probable Relation to a Still Older (1869) he wrote "The old notion that Africa is chiefly a land of black savages arose from ignorance of the country, which could not be removed, but, on the contrary, was heightened by slave-trading communication . . . They could not descibe truthfully what came under their observation, but they sought to excuse their own frightful savagery by describing Africa as a land of negroes in the darkest and most hopeless condition of debasement. When this had been repeated many times, they ventured to represent their kidnapping villians as missionary agencies, intent on transferring savages to Christian countries for their own good."
they just really messed us up.
I'm taking nothing away from the great feats of our forefathers. However, I insist whilst it is nice to know these wonderful things, these great feats of yesteryear mean nothing today becasue somewhere along the way Africa let it go!
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing - Edmund Burke (1729 – 1797)
Among a people generally corrupt liberty cannot long exist - Edmund Burke (1729 – 1797)
Said Rudeboy:
This is a ridiculous argument.
It's like saying, let's not teach our people mathematics, since they don't know it. Or let's not inculcate the spirit of integruty in our political life, since we don't have it.
Are you sure you're reasoning correctly here?
The fact that we've lost it, ie knowledge of our true history, is ALL THE MORE REASON WHY we should resuscitate it, promote it, learn from it, and grow by it.
There's an old Igbo saying that you'll never recover from a misfortune until you know were the rain started beating you.
I think the rain started beating us when we decided to jettison the numerous gains of our historical development, and retain merely superficial expressions of our culture, such as dress, traditional dances, etc..
It is worth our study, the manifestations of our historical culture that pertained to more momentous things such as political organization, statehood, statecraft, economic prosperity, spirituality, etc, with a view to emulating aspects of our ancient way of doing things, that are likely to have a beneficial impact on today's Africa.
Rudeboy, your logic seems to be: No need to discuss it since we've lost the knowledge of it.these great feats of yesteryear mean nothing today becasue somewhere along the way Africa let it go!
This is a ridiculous argument.
It's like saying, let's not teach our people mathematics, since they don't know it. Or let's not inculcate the spirit of integruty in our political life, since we don't have it.
Are you sure you're reasoning correctly here?
The fact that we've lost it, ie knowledge of our true history, is ALL THE MORE REASON WHY we should resuscitate it, promote it, learn from it, and grow by it.
There's an old Igbo saying that you'll never recover from a misfortune until you know were the rain started beating you.
I think the rain started beating us when we decided to jettison the numerous gains of our historical development, and retain merely superficial expressions of our culture, such as dress, traditional dances, etc..
It is worth our study, the manifestations of our historical culture that pertained to more momentous things such as political organization, statehood, statecraft, economic prosperity, spirituality, etc, with a view to emulating aspects of our ancient way of doing things, that are likely to have a beneficial impact on today's Africa.
Rossike I agree it would be a ridiculous argument to say that no need to discuss it since we've lost the knowledge of it. Thankfully that is not my argument!
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing - Edmund Burke (1729 – 1797)
Among a people generally corrupt liberty cannot long exist - Edmund Burke (1729 – 1797)
Ohsee and his Bomboys(RudeBoy and Anikulapo): no wonder we are going nowhere in Africa. In any discussion of Western culture, philosophy, and history, we are always taken to Greece and Rome even though the people making the noise were running around Northern Europe caving their skulls in at the time. When oyibo people sing about western civilization and the classics I don't see any of you rushing out to tell them to forget the past.
We can never see ourselves positively thru anothers' eyes which is why we must examine our History. Look around, which non-western cultures have thrived by mimicking the west and accepting the History of their antagonists as fact? Children in Japan are not taught that they attacked the USA without provocation "in a day that shall live in infamy". Chinese children are not taught that the Chinese government leased Hong Kong to those nice British men so they could make sure they could introduce China to free trade(and British grown Indian opium). It is important we seek the highlights of our own civilization so we can build on them and have an accurate sense of self.
For people like Ohsee that say all this(prehistoric African civilization) is fabu, where will I start? The suppresion of the widespread homosexuality in ancient Greece?
Great Britain and the Bobo of King Arthur, the "invitation" of William of Orange, the crusades? Then we can go to the declaration of American independence-"All men are created equal..."(except our slaves) , George Washington and the Apple tree-"father, but I cannot tell a lie...", the "liberation" of Panama from Columbia, the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima? These are all known myths and folklore that are accepted as National History, abeg if na fabu be the problem we should start with the biggest offenders.
We can never see ourselves positively thru anothers' eyes which is why we must examine our History. Look around, which non-western cultures have thrived by mimicking the west and accepting the History of their antagonists as fact? Children in Japan are not taught that they attacked the USA without provocation "in a day that shall live in infamy". Chinese children are not taught that the Chinese government leased Hong Kong to those nice British men so they could make sure they could introduce China to free trade(and British grown Indian opium). It is important we seek the highlights of our own civilization so we can build on them and have an accurate sense of self.
For people like Ohsee that say all this(prehistoric African civilization) is fabu, where will I start? The suppresion of the widespread homosexuality in ancient Greece?
Great Britain and the Bobo of King Arthur, the "invitation" of William of Orange, the crusades? Then we can go to the declaration of American independence-"All men are created equal..."(except our slaves) , George Washington and the Apple tree-"father, but I cannot tell a lie...", the "liberation" of Panama from Columbia, the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima? These are all known myths and folklore that are accepted as National History, abeg if na fabu be the problem we should start with the biggest offenders.
\Kneedeep wrote:Ohsee and his Bomboys(RudeBoy and Anikulapo): no wonder we are going nowhere in Africa. In any discussion of Western culture, philosophy, and history, we are always taken to Greece and Rome even though the people making the noise were running around Northern Europe caving their skulls in at the time. When oyibo people sing about western civilization and the classics I don't see any of you rushing out to tell them to forget the past.
We can never see ourselves positively thru anothers' eyes which is why we must examine our History. Look around, which non-western cultures have thrived by mimicking the west and accepting the History of their antagonists as fact? Children in Japan are not taught that they attacked the USA without provocation "in a day that shall live in infamy". Chinese children are not taught that the Chinese government leased Hong Kong to those nice British men so they could make sure they could introduce China to free trade(and British grown Indian opium). It is important we seek the highlights of our own civilization so we can build on them and have an accurate sense of self.
For people like Ohsee that say all this(prehistoric African civilization) is fabu, where will I start? The suppresion of the widespread homosexuality in ancient Greece?
Great Britain and the Bobo of King Arthur, the "invitation" of William of Orange, the crusades? Then we can go to the declaration of American independence-"All men are created equal..."(except our slaves) , George Washington and the Apple tree-"father, but I cannot tell a lie...", the "liberation" of Panama from Columbia, the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima? These are all known myths and folklore that are accepted as National History, abeg if na fabu be the problem we should start with the biggest offenders.
Kneedeep: Jokes apart, cancel my name Kia kia for you opening statement for this thread before trouble erupt..... Wetin dey worry you, can't you deal with humor....We go fight ohhhh
"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.....
"“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.”
MLK.
"“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.”
MLK.
-
cic old boy
- Flying Eagle
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- Joined: Mon Dec 22, 2003 7:59 pm
"The greatest weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed" - Steve Biko.
"Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds" - Bob Marley.
White people recognise this, that's why they spent so much time and energy trying to re-write history. This is why they whitewashed the contributions of black people since man first walked on earth in order to justify the theory of black inferiority that they used to justify slavery.
That theory agains manifested itself during colonisation in which they cloaked rape, plunder and theft with the veneer of a "civilising mission". The pervasiveness of this theory cannot be overestimated and is evident in all the excuses wheeled out to explain the current misery of a majority of Africans - "they've always been like that", "they can't rule themselves", "we shouldn't have given them independence", "we can't keep bailing them out", "something must be wrong with them", etc. All lies that are designed to mask the truth that our condition is a direct product of their devious policies to enrich a few at the expense of many.
So our history is very crucial to expose the lies that are a by-product of an oppressive system. Our history shows we have not always been poor. We did not have money in the bank or an elaborate banking system, but we were able to feed ourselves. We were able to overcome natural disasters and still remain self-sufficient. Now we have thousands of banks and millions of people starving.
It is only with a full understanding of our history, that we can be able to place what is happening in the continent in the right context. And then be able to find ways out of the mess.
"Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds" - Bob Marley.
White people recognise this, that's why they spent so much time and energy trying to re-write history. This is why they whitewashed the contributions of black people since man first walked on earth in order to justify the theory of black inferiority that they used to justify slavery.
That theory agains manifested itself during colonisation in which they cloaked rape, plunder and theft with the veneer of a "civilising mission". The pervasiveness of this theory cannot be overestimated and is evident in all the excuses wheeled out to explain the current misery of a majority of Africans - "they've always been like that", "they can't rule themselves", "we shouldn't have given them independence", "we can't keep bailing them out", "something must be wrong with them", etc. All lies that are designed to mask the truth that our condition is a direct product of their devious policies to enrich a few at the expense of many.
So our history is very crucial to expose the lies that are a by-product of an oppressive system. Our history shows we have not always been poor. We did not have money in the bank or an elaborate banking system, but we were able to feed ourselves. We were able to overcome natural disasters and still remain self-sufficient. Now we have thousands of banks and millions of people starving.
It is only with a full understanding of our history, that we can be able to place what is happening in the continent in the right context. And then be able to find ways out of the mess.
http://www.naijiant.com/
Kneedeep wrote:Ohsee and his Bomboys(RudeBoy and Anikulapo): no wonder we are going nowhere in Africa. In any discussion of Western culture, philosophy, and history, we are always taken to Greece and Rome even though the people making the noise were running around Northern Europe caving their skulls in at the time. When oyibo people sing about western civilization and the classics I don't see any of you rushing out to tell them to forget the past.
We can never see ourselves positively thru anothers' eyes which is why we must examine our History. Look around, which non-western cultures have thrived by mimicking the west and accepting the History of their antagonists as fact? Children in Japan are not taught that they attacked the USA without provocation "in a day that shall live in infamy". Chinese children are not taught that the Chinese government leased Hong Kong to those nice British men so they could make sure they could introduce China to free trade(and British grown Indian opium). It is important we seek the highlights of our own civilization so we can build on them and have an accurate sense of self.
For people like Ohsee that say all this(prehistoric African civilization) is fabu, where will I start? The suppresion of the widespread homosexuality in ancient Greece?
Great Britain and the Bobo of King Arthur, the "invitation" of William of Orange, the crusades? Then we can go to the declaration of American independence-"All men are created equal..."(except our slaves) , George Washington and the Apple tree-"father, but I cannot tell a lie...", the "liberation" of Panama from Columbia, the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima? These are all known myths and folklore that are accepted as National History, abeg if na fabu be the problem we should start with the biggest offenders.
Abeg yarn
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cic old boy
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Nna, see me eye o! Kneedeep, na wetin? See as I siddon jeje dey mine my own business, and na so di bobo just dey fine my trouble everywhere, dey claim say I say di thin wey I no say? Na because I neva send you all those CD wey I promise? Nna be patience, di thin dey come.Kneedeep wrote:Ohsee and his Bomboys(RudeBoy and Anikulapo):
For people like Ohsee that say all this(prehistoric African civilization) is fabu, where will I start? The suppresion of the widespread homosexuality in ancient Greece?
Great Britain and the Bobo of King Arthur, the "invitation" of William of Orange, the crusades? Then we can go to the declaration of American independence-"All men are created equal..."(except our slaves) , George Washington and the Apple tree-"father, but I cannot tell a lie...", the "liberation" of Panama from Columbia, the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima? These are all known myths and folklore that are accepted as National History, abeg if na fabu be the problem we should start with the biggest offenders.
Where did I say that all this ancient African history na fabu? You no see me say I dey "agnostic?" Hm! Make una look o! I have said before that it does not matter to me whether my ancestors were kings and queens of Egypt, or were primitive barbarians wearing dirty loincloths and chopping bushmeat in the bushes of Igboland--which is the more likely scenario, since I am told that Igbo means bush, and I don see piksho for book and for home.
Eniwe, if una wan follow ROSSIKE dey claim say una great-great granpapa na Pharaoh, dat na una saka. Wetin consain me? The truth is that African Americans have been teaching their children this stuff for donkey decades, and they are still licking the bottom of the pot. So obviously getting from the bottom to the top involves much more than believing that your ancestors were the real inventors of mathematics.
I have no objection to useful myths. I just object to people devoting all their energies to creating the myth and forgetting that other work needs to be done.
Well said, Ohsee but you missed my point.
I think your problem is you have read too much that you think you know more than our forefathers whether they were Bush-rangers or Pharaohs. The point is that both Pharaoh & Bush ranger had (& also shared) valuable secrets that even the Oyinbo does not know. We can learn just as much from the Bush-ranger as the Pharaoh unless we believe the Oyinbo's lies.
Ohsee, the power of the Chinese lies in their social organization which lies in their culture. There is nothng the White man can teach them about culture & life. The White man can teach them about 15 year old technology but he cannot teach them about life & living from thousands of thousands of milleniums ago till today.
I think your problem is you have read too much that you think you know more than our forefathers whether they were Bush-rangers or Pharaohs. The point is that both Pharaoh & Bush ranger had (& also shared) valuable secrets that even the Oyinbo does not know. We can learn just as much from the Bush-ranger as the Pharaoh unless we believe the Oyinbo's lies.
Ohsee, the power of the Chinese lies in their social organization which lies in their culture. There is nothng the White man can teach them about culture & life. The White man can teach them about 15 year old technology but he cannot teach them about life & living from thousands of thousands of milleniums ago till today.
Said Ohsee:
It is easily BOTH, with the former following the latter.
History never stands still. The mighty have always fallen. The current dominant western civilization you appear to worship has only been dominant for the better part of 3 or 400 years old - a mere SECOND in the great Clock of Time.
Egypt lasted 10,000 years.
History is a continuous cycle. The dominant civilization in 200 years time may have not an iota of western blood in them.
Do not be fooled by current conditions into illusions of permanence.
With regard to ancestry, it is not a matter of choosing to believe your ancestors were either 'loin-cloth wearing primitive barbarians', or kings and queens in Egypt.it does not matter to me whether my ancestors were kings and queens of Egypt, or were primitive barbarians wearing dirty loincloths and chopping bushmeat in the bushes of Igboland--which is the more likely scenario
It is easily BOTH, with the former following the latter.
History never stands still. The mighty have always fallen. The current dominant western civilization you appear to worship has only been dominant for the better part of 3 or 400 years old - a mere SECOND in the great Clock of Time.
Egypt lasted 10,000 years.
History is a continuous cycle. The dominant civilization in 200 years time may have not an iota of western blood in them.
Do not be fooled by current conditions into illusions of permanence.
Ohsee, do you know that these people, eating bushmeat in the bushes are said by most accepted Anthropologists as the progenitors of a large number of peoples from cameroon to South Africa? Why is that not taught instead of the "eating bushmeat in the bushes"? I cannot imagine the change in the psyche of the Africans down South if they relize that Chike and Obi the traders and scholars are their kin down the line instead Nigerian invaders. Besides, as Omotori said by studying our history we can unlock more knowledge that will be beneficial to us. How we organize ourselves politically for one.
Little acorns grow into big trees; it's not my fault you have littered this forum with landmines for yourself. Anyway I am glad that you are familiar with the concept of "settlement"
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Little acorns grow into big trees; it's not my fault you have littered this forum with landmines for yourself. Anyway I am glad that you are familiar with the concept of "settlement"
.Una dey make me laugh sef with dis una simplistic conception of "history." OK, I don join una, I am now "educated." I now believe history to be anything that makes me feel good, and blames the Other.
ROSSIKE,
I agree with you: My great-great granpapa was chopping bushmeat, but then ma granpapa evolved into a king of Egypt.
Kneedeep,
See as I come dey think say na you dey plant all dis landmine for me, which, like most things made in Naija, dey explode two hours afta my armoured moto done drive pass. Keep it up. Na so di thing go explode for ya hand one day.
ROSSIKE,
I agree with you: My great-great granpapa was chopping bushmeat, but then ma granpapa evolved into a king of Egypt.
Kneedeep,
See as I come dey think say na you dey plant all dis landmine for me, which, like most things made in Naija, dey explode two hours afta my armoured moto done drive pass. Keep it up. Na so di thing go explode for ya hand one day.