September 22, 2014 Garrick A. Farria The African Origins of Civilization: Myth or Reality, Cheikh Anta Diop; Chapter 10, Evolution of Ancient Egypt “From then on Egypt continually had to defend its borders against the immense thrust of white-skinned peoples from the North, from the sea, and from the East. After his victory over the Libyans west of the Delta, Merentptah set out an expedition to pacify Palestine, where the first migratory wave of “sea people’s” had arrived. A passage inscribed in the on the “Stela of Israel”, quoted by Pirenne, described those events. Incidentally, this was the first mention of the word “Israel” in history (1222 B.C.E.) Palestine owes its name to the Palestiou, or what the Egyptians called the Phillistines, Indo-Europeans, probably Achaen fugitives who settled in that region during that epoch. Pharaoh Merentptah speaks of all those peoples as rebellious vassals.”-Cheikh Anta Diop, 1956 “Lo, the vile Aamu; wretched is the place which he is from. Suffering from hidden water with barren trees and many dangerous paths because of the mountains. He is not from only one place only. His legs walk about circling. He has been fighting since the time of Hor (Heru, Horus) yet he does not conquer or be conquered. He does not announce the day of fighting like a robber who returns to the pack”-Instructions to Merikare, 10th Dynastic (First Intermediary) Period; circa 2150 B.C.E. In this chapter Diop returns to his critical analysis of Kemetic history and chronology proper with a focus on the concept of political evolution. For the ease of understanding, the 4, 500 year (by conservative estimates based off of the works of Breasted, Budge, Faulkner and others as opposed to the more liberal estimates of Petrie and others) history of Nile Valley civilization in KMT is broken down into 3 moments, Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, and New (later) Kingdom. Starting in the Old Kingdom, Diop explores the impact of the “Unification of the Two Lands” by Pharaoh Narmer (Menes) in roughly 3200 BCE as the demarcation of Kemetic History from Pre-History (or more specifically pre-dynastic History). And in keeping with one of the overarching themes, Diop takes great pride in elucidating the details of the African features of this Pharaoh especially his thick nose, the thick lips, and ears as evidenced in the statues, statuettes, and figurines that exist to this day which exist to this day; particularly the images found on the “Narmer Pallete”. Next Diop links the earlier dynasties to the rise of the reign of Pharaoh Zoser and the introduction of advanced technology, architecture, and philosophy. In fact, Diop argues that every element of Kemetic civilization was already established, nuanced, and in fact ancient by the dawn of the “Pyramid Age” (4th dynastic period, 2613 B.C.E.). In strict terms of the timeline, this all occurred at least 500 years before “wide spread contacts with white-skinned races from the North (and West)”. For the record, Asiatics began to settle in Northern KMT in the 8th dynastic period (end of the “Memphite Dynasty” circa 2160 B.C.E.) and maintained a presence in the nation through the times if Merikare (10th Dynastic period) until the eventual restoration at the dawn of the 11th (Theban) dynasty under Mentuhotep I (2130 B.C.E.). Diop used the evolution from feudalism, to a sense of federalism, and back to feudalism as a tool to explain the history. Diop credited the sense of ethics in KMT, the sheer size of the land mass of the Nation, and the lack of organization amongst the various hordes and invaders (Asiatics, Aamu, etc.) for the demise of the age of uncertainty and the eventual return to the historical social order (Kingdom age). And, Diop argued that with this return of the natural social order issues of lack of education, resources for the poor, were rectified and morale of the nation returned as well. Diop next turns his attention to the fabled Middle Kingdom which, according to this conglomeration, arose with the reign of Amenemhet I (12th Dynastic period, 1991 B.C.E.) through the 20th dynastic period which ended near 1080 B.C.E. This 900 year stretch of Kemetic history covers some of the most fabled reigns in world history, including the reigns of Sensuret I, II, and III; Ahmose I (the “Restorer”) and Queen-Mother Ahmose Nefertari; Thutmosis I, II, and III, Hatshepsut; Amenhotep I, II, III , and the IV (Akhentaon); Queen-Mother Tiye, Queen-Mother Nefertiti; Seti I, and the II, Ramses I, and II, Queen-Mother Nefertari, etc. And while this long stretch was marked by periods of economic growth, colonial expansion, advancement in architecture, technology, development, and literature it also saw the rule of the dreaded Hyksos (rulers from foreign lands, or “shepherd kings”). This was the only period, about a 200 year stretch from 1730 B.C.E. until 1560 B.C.E. in which non-African rulers reigned in KMT until the Persians assumed the throne in roughly 525 B.C.E. who eventually gave way to the Greeks (under Ptolemy I-Queen Cleopatra VII’s direct ancestor, probably her great-great- grandfather) in 323 BCE and eventually the Romans in 30 B.C.E. The ouster of these Hyksos, who the Kemtis described far worse than they did the Aamu, marked a renaissance in Kemetic civilization and culture. The Pharaoh’s in the direct line of Ahmose I each made a point of revitalizing the nation, highlighted by Hatshepsut’s early forms of Pan-Africanism and her pilgrimage to the lands of the South and Southeast (namely Punt or Puant, modern day Somalia/Eritrea) which had always been seen as a “Motherland, a Holy land” in the eyes of the Kemtic monarchy. During this stretch run, even as the Hyksos sat puppets on the throne, Kemet eventually rose to its height of military, technical, and philosophical prowess and reached the apex of its civilization. In fact, Diop makes the point that it was during this stretch where KMT became the world leader in all facets of political and social life, bar none. It was in this section of the chapter, his discussion of the Middle Kingdom, in which diop really deals with the issue of the white-presence in KMT and the various disruptions their presence (as invaders, slaves who gained freedom and began cross-breeding, or as interlopers such as the historical Haribu (“Hebrews”), etc.) and the need for the Africans themselves to engage in the process of restoring their historical continuity, cultural and social norms (religious, literary, etc.), and political stability once the Northerners, Westerners, or “Sea People” where driven out of the nation time and again. Lastly, Diop closes out this chapter with a detailed analysis of the rise of the “Kushite” kings and the ushering in of the 25th Dynastic period (what Dr. John Henrik Clarke often referred to as Egypt’s last great walk in the sun”) under the reign of Piankhy, Taharqa, and Shabaka (in 750 B.C.E). After yet another round of political instability, as Kemetic civilization began to breakdown at the end of the 20th dynasty, and periods of internal strife, civil war, and unrest took over the nation, Africans (this time from the South) rose up and restored stability and returned to the natural social order. Development once again ensued both in terms of revitalizing the spirit of the people as well as rebuilding the infrastructure that had fallen into neglect and in some cases, ruin. The military accomplishments of the Pharaoh’s of this era was painstakingly revisited by Diop especially the battles with the western Asiatics, which the Africans won, but as the story unfolds this reign gave way to the eventual over throw by the non-Africans and they have been in control of KMT ever since with the Arab’s taking over in the 7th century C.E. and followed by the thieving French and British, until the Arabs regained control at the end of World War II. Diop ends his chapter with a discussion on political stability, revolution, and how each of those forces riffed off of each other throughout the 4,500 year run of Kemetic history. This was probably Diop’s most brilliant chapter in the book. His astute knowledge of world history, and the role that Africans played in world history allowed him to concisely breakdown 5,000 years of ebb and flow, dates, events, and people in just a few pages. What really stuck out to me this time around was how much Kemetic civilization had developed by the time the non-Africans (white-skinned Asiatics, Aamu, Libyans, Philistines, Aryans, Haribu, Hyksos, etc.) came on the scene. I was reminded of something Dr. Clarke used to always say, that “Africans were living, thinking, fighting, writing, building, etc. before there was a shoe or a house with a window in all of Europe”. What also struck me was how much the Africans took it upon themselves Mentuhotep I, Amenemhet I, Ahmose I, Hatshepsut, Painky, etc, all took up the fight for the restoration of African consciousness after the people, the nation suffered so many years of non-African influence. This the fight that Diop took up, as it was said of him that he “lived and died on the battle field of African culture” and this is the fight that so many of us have been called to re-engage. Even today, as the last three or so years in this decade, have been marked with crisis after crisis that has grabbed our attention and forced us to bounce up and down like a yo-yo on a string. We are piped up, tuned up, and ready to bounce and pounce on the next great “tragedy” to befall our people (Trayvon Martin, Ferguson, #bringbackourgirls, Ray Rice incident, 12 Years Still a Slave, etc.). Instead of taking control of our emotions, taking a step back, taking the long view of history, and understanding the mission and what is really at stake, we are largely reactionary and stuck in a reactionary mode of thought and action. But the war we are engaged in is centuries old, at this point, and probably won’t be over anytime soon. With that being said, one of the ways we can fight back effectively in the here and now is to restore that which was lost, our culture continuity, or sense of community and common destiny, and our memory (or historical consciousness). In these 30 some odd pages, Diop does exactly that. And to me, that’s what makes this one of the most powerful chapters of the book.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Sep 2014 11:08:25 +0000
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