ORISHA OR NETERU?
ORISHA, NETERU AND KEMET © ALASHE MICHAEL OSHOOSI, 2017
The “Neteru,” from which we derive the word “nature,” are the deities of ancient Egypt (KMT). They are believed to have been instrumental in creating the Universe and are associated in many cases with the fundamental for- ces and phenomena of nature (e.g., water, air, fire and earth). They were depicted as human in form but with the heads, wings and body appendages of animals. And they could be appealed to for aid in life to overcome adversities and to gain advantages. This could be called the "animalistic" principle in the KMT religion called the "Shetaut Neter."
Mortuaries during the whole of KMT's history were embellished (spiritually lit up) with hundreds of thousands of mummified animals. It has been estimated that there were over seventy million mummies left over from the an- cient classical Egyptian period of 3,500 to 0 BCE (obviously, mostly animals). Similarly, in Orisha-Ifa religion (Yoruba), there are deities that are central to the creation and to the advent of humanity that are called “orishas” ("selected heads"). And they too are considered ‘forces’ or phenomena of nature. Now, while they are not usually depicted nor carved as animals, per se, they are associated with favored animals (avatars, oriles) that reflect some of their characteristics. In KMT, the names “Heru,” “Aset,” “Ausar,” “Ra,” “Set,” “Nun,” “Shu” and so on, are quite familiar to the students of KMT culture. Similarly, in the Yoruba-Ifa ("or- isha") religion of west Africa and the African diapora the names “Obatala," ”Yemoja,” ”Oshun,” ”Shango,” ”Osho- osi,” “Elegua,” and “Ogun,” for example, are known to its practitioners, among many others. It is probable that our west and central true African ancestors--speakers of the Kwa-Benue tongues of the Chadic language branch of the Niger-Congo mega-language group (from whence, for example, the Yoruba language and names arise) share common central African ancestors along with our Nilotic (Nubian) African "first cousins" of the Sudan. The cultural history and the precursors to today's "Ife-Yoruba" civilization (Nok and Igbo culture) in west Africa go back 9,000 years and as much as 40,000 years in the view of some scholars. (Please see Endnote #1), but most of it is unaccounted for in writing because written recording--ineffective there--does not last in riverine and damp tropical environments. Thus, both the Bantu and Chadic language groups like those of the Niger-Benue confluence (near what is now Abuja, Nigeria) and the coastal heavily rain forested areas of west Africa, on the one hand, as well as the ancient peoples of KMT (who, by the way, were further away from our joint central African and Sudanic areas of origin- ation--the White Nile--than were west Africans), on the other,both derive from the ancient cultures, religions and languages of the ancient peoples of the Great Central Lakes regions of Central Africa (Uganda and the Congo).
Because linguistic etymology is exceedingly tricky there is no telling which way word stocks actually moved between cultures--especially if migrations are involved--without serious authentication among linguists, ar- cheologists, and anthropologists. These then are the people who birthed the prescient cultures of the south Sudan and west-central Ethiopia, as described above, and who, in turn, bifurcated into those that went west into west Africa and those (Nubians) who went northeast into north Africa (KMT). To complete the circle, additionally, many cultural ideas and trade made their ways from west and central Africa to the horn of east African (now Somalia) and, from there, by further trade, into Punt, Nubia, and (ultimately) into KMT and the Levant. This reflected a multi-thousand year history of trade and expropriation of gold, textiles, minerals, and mercenaries (e.g. the Pitati archers used by Weni of the 6th Dyn- asty of KMT around 2,300 BCE). The Nubians for at least 8,000 years were known to be the "Ta Seti" (land of the long bowmen), and archery itself goes back 70,000 years. (See Wikipedia on Nubian Archers).
In fact, a spokesman for the Ooni of Ile Ife (the spiritual capital of Yoruba's Orisha/Ifa religion) says in the narration of a publicity video entitled "The House of Oduduwa," which celebrates the life and mission of the current Ooni of Ile Ife HRH Ooni Adeyeye Ogunwusi Ojaja II, in commenting on the grand cultural history of Ife civilization, shows maps describing the putative theory that ancient civilization started in Ile Ife and moved eastward into the south Sudan (and from there to other places like Kemet) and, only later, received back from the east return cultural in- fluences. (See Endnote #2) (See https://mail.yahoo.com/d/folders/1/messages/AODiOR4wrZCkXhq69QBdw AfUih0?.src=fp). *For example, back to our Nilotic (Nubian) cousins, we can find in their area of the Sudan the neolithic site of Nabta Playa (as well as Wadi el Akhdar and Saruab). . This 10 mile square area of religious ritual venues (stone formations) was constructed by nomatic cattle and goat-herding people from 13,000 to 7,000 years ago. Their sites contain stone markers that point to Thuban (the then "North Star") in the constellation Draco which was the only stable celestial point-of-reference for their calendars. Ptah was associated with the North Pole and Khonshu, of the south pole, served equally as the creator God of Man and the universe. Both had seven sons--the Universe's architect apprentices. One must remember that the people saw their source in the south; i.e., lower and upper Nubia, with the Mediterranean coast as sort of the "back door" or even "back water" of the culture--where things flowed into eternity (and from whence Mediterranean-rim invaders had to be repulsed). Flowing from this, but later for the ancient priests of KMT, the North Star was considered near the entry-way into the Duat (the Afterworld) because Polaris was moving into the celestial north pole because of precession. And was thus connected to the idea of immortality. Similarly, the regular disapperance and re-appearance of celestial con- stellations gave rise in these cultures to the ideas of reincarnation and astrology. In KMT, for example, the rein- carnated soul might come back into the "Ta" (the World) as a re-born person or might be re-born into the paradise of Eternity of the Duat itself. In ancient times, these proto-Nubian-Nilotics also revered the cow and buried ritually sacrificed cows in under- ground graves. These are the true sources of KMT religions. And their sacred cow (Mother-Goddess), Mut, gave rise to the KMT cults of Mehurt-Hathor; the first of its classical religious cults--worshipping the mother cow and bull son (Hapi or "Apis" bull--of KMT's five major religious trends that connected Ptah in Memphis to Osiris). The people here in Nabta Playa, re-discovered in 1974, also constructed the world's first underground sacred architect- ured chambers. This is why I believe that the more accurate depiction of African history regarding KMT and west Africa would show that we both have common cultural roots in deep Central Africa and in the Sudan. And, therefore, that these peoples are our historical cousins (our "second " cousins); not our direct (Yoruba or African-American) an- cestors as many who romanticize their identifications with "classical societies Egypt"--as great as they were--are inclined to do. (See linguistic map--Endnote 2, and Endnote 4 for why Egyptian culture was not highly sig- nificant to west and central African history). Connoting periodic migrations in the westward direction along the savannah, Yoruba lore also suggests that some of their legendary cultural forebearers brought culture and religion from the southern Sudan into west Africa. That is, they brought them as recently as a thousand years ago from the area at the latitude of Nabta Playa (pre-Kemetic Sudan) that was, itself, once temperate and fertile grassland instead of the stark desert that it is now. So west African culture had both direct (i.e., directly from central Africa) and indirect sourcing from across the savannah from east to west across Africa. This is the nature of the legendary story of"Oduduwa," who is said to have fled the "east" (i.e., Sudan, not "Arabia" nor "Egypt")--chased by Muslims--and conquered Ife civilization in "Nigeria," and founded modern Yoruba culture. Of note too is that into Nigeria there also came far west African culture--i.e., culture from the upper Atlantic coast of today's Senegal, Gambia, Liberia and Guinea regions. The famed anthropologist Melville Herskovits described this third source coming from the far Atlantic and Guinean areas, into the Ivory, Gold and Slave coast traditions as Africa's "Atlantic (coast) culture" that, as mentioned, also contributed to the history of the areas now called "Niger- ia." For example, west-central African languages like Yoruba, Wolof, Dogon, etcetera, share many words with the Egyptian language speakers of ancient KMT and they with us.* For instance, from “Shu” (a KMT deity of the air, atmosphere, breath and fluidity we) in Yoruba, share a common root in the names “Eshu,” or “Oshun.” Or, as with the word “Nefer” we share the word “Ifa” which refers to the divination practice and oral corpus (the oral library) of Yoruba literature and religion. And divination for God, Olodumare (yes, even God goes to Ifa for in- sight at times) occurs in the "House of Olodumare" which in Yoruba religious discourse is said to be the "Apata Olodumare"which is associated with "house" or "apa," and "ta" which could be connected to the "house of Ptah" lin- guistically. In a similar vein, it has been urged that the word "Buddha" also comes from "Ptah." (Incidentally, some claim that the word Ifa comes from the Arabic word "fa'l " which means "omen" in Arabic astrological divin- ation practices). Similarly, the word "odu" or "odus," familiar to Orisha-Ifa practitioners, probably is related to the KMT word "atts." An explanation is in order: In the Egyptian Afterworld (Daut) there were twelve zones that corresponded to the twelve hours that the boat of Ra (and its dead souls) traversed its river-of-the-dead. (See the text "Shat Am Taut"). Each zone had different challenges and monsters to contend with. But they also had helpful deities and protector animals that could be invoked if the dead soul knew the right incantations. Such deities as these were in the 9th hour of the Afterworld. These twelve deities were called "atts"--who were among the helpful ones on the sojourn--and were encountered as one proceeded to eternal judgment before the throne of Ausar (Osiris). Linguistically, these atts became "otts" then "ods" and then--in west Africa--"odus"; either twelve or sixteen major ones of them (depending on the local culture). These odus--as helpful deities guiding us into the future--are what Yoruba olorishas (priests), babalawos and iyan'ifas are invoking the guidance of when they do Yoruba-Ifa divination (whether the African continental--"Isheshe Alagba'ye--or the Cuban or the Brasilian versions) for their clients. But, consistent with our thesis, it may be that the dispersion of this word "atts" or "ods" went from west to east (and northeast) across Africa just as well! The roots of "ods" or "otts" may just as well have originated outside of KMT, e.g., in west Africa and the Sudan and was later incorporated into ancient Egytian. We also shared similar deities: "Ogun" and "Obatala" with Ptah, "Orunmila" with Tehuti or Thoth (and with Fa, a KMT neter of destiny), "Oshun" with Anat, Bast, and Aset, '"Ori" with Horus, "Yemoja" with Mehurt, Mut and Hat- hor, "Iku" (death) with Seker, " "Shango" with Set (former king of upper KMT who was given thunder by Ptah as a consolation for losing his battle with Horus; in order to keep earthlings in fear when needed. See the text "The Con- tending of Horus and Set" from a 12th dynasty story), and "Oshuosi" ("Oshoosi") with Osiris, Shu, and Shesera (Ra's protector archer in the Duat). Also, the Yoruba word for descending into Underworld is sokale which is rel- ated to the KMT god of death "Sokar" and the Greek "sokaris." (See, Yoruba Religious Discourse, infra, ft. nt # 4). Powerfully righteous speech is called "ofo ashe" in Yoruba-Ifa religion and corresponds with "medhu neter," "neter mehdu," and "khu hekua" (magical incantations) in the ancient KMT language. "Hekua" (and Eepaa) is still a salutation to Yoruba king-of-the-orishas Obatala. Our word "awo" is the equivalent of "sheti" (mystery) in KMT terms. And, quite common in Yoruba religion is the word "to" (pronounced "taw"), meaning "truth" or "otito" (truth) that is often said to be related to the KMT deity "Thoth,"the penultimate scribe or author of the God of Truth, Wisdom, Ethics and Science. Finally, the neter Sekhmet (aka Mut, Nut. Mehurt, and Hathor--depending on the era), "B'at" (or "Baalit, the wife of the Canaanite god of thunder, Ba'al), and "Isis" (in the New Kingdom), is a lioness warrior protector of the Gods; a consort of Ptah, and the daughter of Amun-Ra. Clarifying her identities goes a long way in understanding the Nub- ian depictions of this--the original (and later, Theban)--"Holy Trinity" wherein the father is Amun-Re, the mother is Mut, and the son is Khonshu. Thus, all of KMT's "Queen Mother" icons shared the headdress icon of the "half moon" feminine uterus or bowl holding or containing a "sun." This icon was used by the Catholics and became the "crescent and moon" icon of the Muslims. Sometimes "Hathor," as a single cow (or a group of seven cows) is also incestuously associated with her bull son (i.e., the "sun"), as her fertilizer--the "Bull of the West" --or "Set" or "Mont"; again; depending on which dynasty and location was involved. Though originating in upper Nubia, this version of KMT religion was based in Thebes. Mut is sometimes described in lower KMT's "Memphisian" version of the Egyptian religion(s) "as "Nu" or "Nut"; the watery mother of the universe who procreated it with (or, in some versions, without) Amun-Ra. To my way of thinking, these KMT female grand maternal archetypes have more in common with (or similarities to) the Yoruba irunmole or primoidal orisha called Odu than to anyone else. Others may reasonably differ, as they may regard the orisha "Yemoja" in their role. Language Since no one knows how KMT language actually sounded--with the few pockets of people speaking Aramaic in Palestine or in present day Egypt or Ethiopia probably being the closet sounding to it (though still 5,000 years removed from the actual original speakers)--though it now can be read quite easily, it may be the case that the best oral and practical repository of ancient Egyptian rituals, incantations, curses, liturgy, verbal spells (i.e., the actual ritual verbal sounds of speech practice of ancient Egyptian religion) yet lie in practices and languages of tradit- ional African religions like those of Nubia or even Yoruba-Ifa. That is, from among people for whom there has remained a constantly spoken and understood linguistic legacy that goes back to the latter period of dynastic KMT--at least three thousand years ago--to a time that embraced ancient Nubia-Sudanese, Sumeria (north Semitic and Elamitic), Hebraic--and all related languages--as well. (See End Note #3)_______________________________________________________________________*For understanding connections between the Yoruba language and that of ancient KMT see Lucas, J. Olomide, The Religion of the Yorubas, CMS Bookshop, Lagos, Nigeria, 1948 and Modupe Oduyoye, The Vocabulary of Yoruba Religious Discouse, for the etymological connections between Yoruba and ancient "Omotic" (and Cushitic) and Egyptian languages. The language dispersion map at End Note #2 illustrates what the true bases of languages and culture in the northeast quadrant of Africa actually was prior to prior to the dynasties of KMT. Endnote #2 This is the critical linguistic map (courtesy Wikipedia) that shows the dis- tribution of languages in the northeast quadrant of the African continent in the predynastic period of KMT. Ancient Language Dispersion, Bronze Age, in Africa. Notice that there are no lines of language migration from KMT in prehistoric times except to the areas that would, during the Middle Kingdom, become the "Semitic" languages of Mesopotamia around 2,500 BCE. In the Common Era (i.e., since the putative birth of Christ) there were linguistic and cultural migrations across the Sahil and savanah areas bordering the Sahara desert from east-central Africa into far west Africa (e.g., into the Wolof language of Senegal) but not nearly as much into the forested areas of the lands that are now called Nigeria. Similarly, during the Common Era there were massive "Bantu" migrations from the area that is now now called "Cameroon" over the entirety of central, southwest and southwest Africa. As important, this map shows that all modern languages (and, by proxy, all neolithic cultures, originated in the east and west-central "Afro-Asiatic"language groups 10,000 years or more ago. That is, the important thing to rem- ember is that all of the linguistic and cultural groups of current relevance originated in central Africa--around the continent's "great lakes" (depicted in the map below as the Omotic- Cushitic homeland). Africa has 56 countries comprised of an estimated 3,000 ethnic groups and between one to two thousand languages (many, of course, have extinguished or are marginal at this point). It is this nexus that people who believe that KMT culture was the source of the culture of west Africans are mis- sing. KMT and west Africa both derived from the same source--central Africa--with one leaving permanent writ- ten records, in respect of the former, and the other leaving permanent oral records, in respect of the latter.
In fact, a spokesman for the Ooni of Ile Ife (the spiritual capital of Yoruba's Orisha/Ifa religion) says in the narration of a publicity video entitled "The House of Oduduwa," which celebrates the life and mission of the current Ooni of Ile Ife HRH Ooni Adeyeye Ogunwusi Ojaja II, in commenting on the grand cultural history of Ife civilization, shows maps describing the putative theory that ancient civilization started in Ile Ife and moved eastward into the south Sudan (and from there to other places like Kemet) and, only later, received back from the east return cultural in- fluences. (See Endnote #2) (See https://mail.yahoo.com/d/folders/1/messages/AODiOR4wrZCkXhq69QBdw AfUih0?.src=fp). *For example, back to our Nilotic (Nubian) cousins, we can find in their area of the Sudan the neolithic site of Nabta Playa (as well as Wadi el Akhdar and Saruab). . This 10 mile square area of religious ritual venues (stone formations) was constructed by nomatic cattle and goat-herding people from 13,000 to 7,000 years ago. Their sites contain stone markers that point to Thuban (the then "North Star") in the constellation Draco which was the only stable celestial point-of-reference for their calendars. Ptah was associated with the North Pole and Khonshu, of the south pole, served equally as the creator God of Man and the universe. Both had seven sons--the Universe's architect apprentices. One must remember that the people saw their source in the south; i.e., lower and upper Nubia, with the Mediterranean coast as sort of the "back door" or even "back water" of the culture--where things flowed into eternity (and from whence Mediterranean-rim invaders had to be repulsed). Flowing from this, but later for the ancient priests of KMT, the North Star was considered near the entry-way into the Duat (the Afterworld) because Polaris was moving into the celestial north pole because of precession. And was thus connected to the idea of immortality. Similarly, the regular disapperance and re-appearance of celestial con- stellations gave rise in these cultures to the ideas of reincarnation and astrology. In KMT, for example, the rein- carnated soul might come back into the "Ta" (the World) as a re-born person or might be re-born into the paradise of Eternity of the Duat itself. In ancient times, these proto-Nubian-Nilotics also revered the cow and buried ritually sacrificed cows in under- ground graves. These are the true sources of KMT religions. And their sacred cow (Mother-Goddess), Mut, gave rise to the KMT cults of Mehurt-Hathor; the first of its classical religious cults--worshipping the mother cow and bull son (Hapi or "Apis" bull--of KMT's five major religious trends that connected Ptah in Memphis to Osiris). The people here in Nabta Playa, re-discovered in 1974, also constructed the world's first underground sacred architect- ured chambers. This is why I believe that the more accurate depiction of African history regarding KMT and west Africa would show that we both have common cultural roots in deep Central Africa and in the Sudan. And, therefore, that these peoples are our historical cousins (our "second " cousins); not our direct (Yoruba or African-American) an- cestors as many who romanticize their identifications with "classical societies Egypt"--as great as they were--are inclined to do. (See linguistic map--Endnote 2, and Endnote 4 for why Egyptian culture was not highly sig- nificant to west and central African history). Connoting periodic migrations in the westward direction along the savannah, Yoruba lore also suggests that some of their legendary cultural forebearers brought culture and religion from the southern Sudan into west Africa. That is, they brought them as recently as a thousand years ago from the area at the latitude of Nabta Playa (pre-Kemetic Sudan) that was, itself, once temperate and fertile grassland instead of the stark desert that it is now. So west African culture had both direct (i.e., directly from central Africa) and indirect sourcing from across the savannah from east to west across Africa. This is the nature of the legendary story of"Oduduwa," who is said to have fled the "east" (i.e., Sudan, not "Arabia" nor "Egypt")--chased by Muslims--and conquered Ife civilization in "Nigeria," and founded modern Yoruba culture. Of note too is that into Nigeria there also came far west African culture--i.e., culture from the upper Atlantic coast of today's Senegal, Gambia, Liberia and Guinea regions. The famed anthropologist Melville Herskovits described this third source coming from the far Atlantic and Guinean areas, into the Ivory, Gold and Slave coast traditions as Africa's "Atlantic (coast) culture" that, as mentioned, also contributed to the history of the areas now called "Niger- ia." For example, west-central African languages like Yoruba, Wolof, Dogon, etcetera, share many words with the Egyptian language speakers of ancient KMT and they with us.* For instance, from “Shu” (a KMT deity of the air, atmosphere, breath and fluidity we) in Yoruba, share a common root in the names “Eshu,” or “Oshun.” Or, as with the word “Nefer” we share the word “Ifa” which refers to the divination practice and oral corpus (the oral library) of Yoruba literature and religion. And divination for God, Olodumare (yes, even God goes to Ifa for in- sight at times) occurs in the "House of Olodumare" which in Yoruba religious discourse is said to be the "Apata Olodumare"which is associated with "house" or "apa," and "ta" which could be connected to the "house of Ptah" lin- guistically. In a similar vein, it has been urged that the word "Buddha" also comes from "Ptah." (Incidentally, some claim that the word Ifa comes from the Arabic word "fa'l " which means "omen" in Arabic astrological divin- ation practices). Similarly, the word "odu" or "odus," familiar to Orisha-Ifa practitioners, probably is related to the KMT word "atts." An explanation is in order: In the Egyptian Afterworld (Daut) there were twelve zones that corresponded to the twelve hours that the boat of Ra (and its dead souls) traversed its river-of-the-dead. (See the text "Shat Am Taut"). Each zone had different challenges and monsters to contend with. But they also had helpful deities and protector animals that could be invoked if the dead soul knew the right incantations. Such deities as these were in the 9th hour of the Afterworld. These twelve deities were called "atts"--who were among the helpful ones on the sojourn--and were encountered as one proceeded to eternal judgment before the throne of Ausar (Osiris). Linguistically, these atts became "otts" then "ods" and then--in west Africa--"odus"; either twelve or sixteen major ones of them (depending on the local culture). These odus--as helpful deities guiding us into the future--are what Yoruba olorishas (priests), babalawos and iyan'ifas are invoking the guidance of when they do Yoruba-Ifa divination (whether the African continental--"Isheshe Alagba'ye--or the Cuban or the Brasilian versions) for their clients. But, consistent with our thesis, it may be that the dispersion of this word "atts" or "ods" went from west to east (and northeast) across Africa just as well! The roots of "ods" or "otts" may just as well have originated outside of KMT, e.g., in west Africa and the Sudan and was later incorporated into ancient Egytian. We also shared similar deities: "Ogun" and "Obatala" with Ptah, "Orunmila" with Tehuti or Thoth (and with Fa, a KMT neter of destiny), "Oshun" with Anat, Bast, and Aset, '"Ori" with Horus, "Yemoja" with Mehurt, Mut and Hat- hor, "Iku" (death) with Seker, " "Shango" with Set (former king of upper KMT who was given thunder by Ptah as a consolation for losing his battle with Horus; in order to keep earthlings in fear when needed. See the text "The Con- tending of Horus and Set" from a 12th dynasty story), and "Oshuosi" ("Oshoosi") with Osiris, Shu, and Shesera (Ra's protector archer in the Duat). Also, the Yoruba word for descending into Underworld is sokale which is rel- ated to the KMT god of death "Sokar" and the Greek "sokaris." (See, Yoruba Religious Discourse, infra, ft. nt # 4). Powerfully righteous speech is called "ofo ashe" in Yoruba-Ifa religion and corresponds with "medhu neter," "neter mehdu," and "khu hekua" (magical incantations) in the ancient KMT language. "Hekua" (and Eepaa) is still a salutation to Yoruba king-of-the-orishas Obatala. Our word "awo" is the equivalent of "sheti" (mystery) in KMT terms. And, quite common in Yoruba religion is the word "to" (pronounced "taw"), meaning "truth" or "otito" (truth) that is often said to be related to the KMT deity "Thoth,"the penultimate scribe or author of the God of Truth, Wisdom, Ethics and Science. Finally, the neter Sekhmet (aka Mut, Nut. Mehurt, and Hathor--depending on the era), "B'at" (or "Baalit, the wife of the Canaanite god of thunder, Ba'al), and "Isis" (in the New Kingdom), is a lioness warrior protector of the Gods; a consort of Ptah, and the daughter of Amun-Ra. Clarifying her identities goes a long way in understanding the Nub- ian depictions of this--the original (and later, Theban)--"Holy Trinity" wherein the father is Amun-Re, the mother is Mut, and the son is Khonshu. Thus, all of KMT's "Queen Mother" icons shared the headdress icon of the "half moon" feminine uterus or bowl holding or containing a "sun." This icon was used by the Catholics and became the "crescent and moon" icon of the Muslims. Sometimes "Hathor," as a single cow (or a group of seven cows) is also incestuously associated with her bull son (i.e., the "sun"), as her fertilizer--the "Bull of the West" --or "Set" or "Mont"; again; depending on which dynasty and location was involved. Though originating in upper Nubia, this version of KMT religion was based in Thebes. Mut is sometimes described in lower KMT's "Memphisian" version of the Egyptian religion(s) "as "Nu" or "Nut"; the watery mother of the universe who procreated it with (or, in some versions, without) Amun-Ra. To my way of thinking, these KMT female grand maternal archetypes have more in common with (or similarities to) the Yoruba irunmole or primoidal orisha called Odu than to anyone else. Others may reasonably differ, as they may regard the orisha "Yemoja" in their role. Language Since no one knows how KMT language actually sounded--with the few pockets of people speaking Aramaic in Palestine or in present day Egypt or Ethiopia probably being the closet sounding to it (though still 5,000 years removed from the actual original speakers)--though it now can be read quite easily, it may be the case that the best oral and practical repository of ancient Egyptian rituals, incantations, curses, liturgy, verbal spells (i.e., the actual ritual verbal sounds of speech practice of ancient Egyptian religion) yet lie in practices and languages of tradit- ional African religions like those of Nubia or even Yoruba-Ifa. That is, from among people for whom there has remained a constantly spoken and understood linguistic legacy that goes back to the latter period of dynastic KMT--at least three thousand years ago--to a time that embraced ancient Nubia-Sudanese, Sumeria (north Semitic and Elamitic), Hebraic--and all related languages--as well. (See End Note #3)_______________________________________________________________________*For understanding connections between the Yoruba language and that of ancient KMT see Lucas, J. Olomide, The Religion of the Yorubas, CMS Bookshop, Lagos, Nigeria, 1948 and Modupe Oduyoye, The Vocabulary of Yoruba Religious Discouse, for the etymological connections between Yoruba and ancient "Omotic" (and Cushitic) and Egyptian languages. The language dispersion map at End Note #2 illustrates what the true bases of languages and culture in the northeast quadrant of Africa actually was prior to prior to the dynasties of KMT. Endnote #2 This is the critical linguistic map (courtesy Wikipedia) that shows the dis- tribution of languages in the northeast quadrant of the African continent in the predynastic period of KMT. Ancient Language Dispersion, Bronze Age, in Africa. Notice that there are no lines of language migration from KMT in prehistoric times except to the areas that would, during the Middle Kingdom, become the "Semitic" languages of Mesopotamia around 2,500 BCE. In the Common Era (i.e., since the putative birth of Christ) there were linguistic and cultural migrations across the Sahil and savanah areas bordering the Sahara desert from east-central Africa into far west Africa (e.g., into the Wolof language of Senegal) but not nearly as much into the forested areas of the lands that are now called Nigeria. Similarly, during the Common Era there were massive "Bantu" migrations from the area that is now now called "Cameroon" over the entirety of central, southwest and southwest Africa. As important, this map shows that all modern languages (and, by proxy, all neolithic cultures, originated in the east and west-central "Afro-Asiatic"language groups 10,000 years or more ago. That is, the important thing to rem- ember is that all of the linguistic and cultural groups of current relevance originated in central Africa--around the continent's "great lakes" (depicted in the map below as the Omotic- Cushitic homeland). Africa has 56 countries comprised of an estimated 3,000 ethnic groups and between one to two thousand languages (many, of course, have extinguished or are marginal at this point). It is this nexus that people who believe that KMT culture was the source of the culture of west Africans are mis- sing. KMT and west Africa both derived from the same source--central Africa--with one leaving permanent writ- ten records, in respect of the former, and the other leaving permanent oral records, in respect of the latter.
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ANCIENT UPPER NUBIA
ANCIENT UPPER-NUBIAN ("NILE CUSHIDIC") LANGUAGE BECOMES "CHADIC" AND MIXES WITH
NIGER-BENUE LANGUAGES OF NIGERIA THUS PROVIDING BASIS FOR "YORUBA" LANGUAGE
*Afro-Asiatic" is modern jargon for "Hamitic"--the language of Nubians, Kemites, Ammonites and
Libyans as far as the ancient Hebrews were concerned; the progeny of Ham.
Endnote 3 What did ancient Egyptian language sound like? No one knows. But intelligent conjectural approximations have been made. The issue is which vowels go into which places inside words that are written only with consonants. Some scholars did this in order to imagine the answers. They took the known sounds of the related languages and put their vowels into written Egyptian words. They then made corrections, e.g., in many cases, changing many "a's" to "o's" and "u's" because the Coptic vowels did not match the ancient KMT equivalent words. This, for example, is how "atts" became "otts" and then later to "ods" and, finally, in Yoruba to become (or started out, if the reverse cul- tural trajectory is presumed to be the reverse!) as "Odu." See the authoritative texts by the Yoruba linguist and baba
lawo Modupe Oduyoye in "Traditional Religion in West Africa" and "The Vocabulary of Yoruba Religious Discourse,"
Daystart Press, Univ of Ibadun, 1983 and 1971. respectively, for comparisons of Yoruba, KMT, Canannite, and Hebrew
languages.
KMT LANGUAGE RELATIVES Amazigh Chadic EGYPTIAN Cushidic Omotic (Northwest Africa) (Lake Chad area) (KMT) (Southern Sudan) (Ethiopia) Somalia) KMT LANGUAGE DESCENDANTS Old KMT Middle KMT Late KMT Demotic Coptic (Related to Greek and Aramaic)
See "What Ancient Egyptian Sounded Like" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-K5OjAkiEA
CNN News misleadingly reported that "the voice" of a 3,000 year old mummy was reproduced by scientists. In fact, an MRI of the voice box of a mummy was"3-D printed" using modern computer and audio technology (similar to the technique where artificial voices are manufactured for recordings) and then subjected to a forced air stream so that the sound "a-eh"(uttered as a single vowel) was made. And that was it. Making such a sound from an inanimate object--e.g., such as a dead chicken the chest of which is compressed or a human corpse passing gases through the vocal apparatus after death--is hardly spoken "speech." See https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/23/world/egyptian-mummy-voice-from-the-dead-scn/index.html It remains unknown and impossible to ever know how actual Egyptian speech sounded given how complex is speech production (especially from a corpse who's tongue had also rotted away). Endnote #4 The best argument for why and how "black west and central African cultures were not highly influenced by KMT culture lies in the theses that go some like this: '...There are no camels. Camels came into Egypt around 500 BCE...The directions to the western Sahara were considered by the Egyptians as a place of death, and a place where evil spirits lived. Generally, the Egyptians could not travel more than 125 miles into the Sahara or less in the great desert sea, because donkeys could only make 9 miles a day, and carry a burden of 136 pounds. And they had to drink water at least every three days and, therefore could carry no loads more than 125 miles past the last oasis (Kharga, Dakia, Siwa, Bahareeya, and Farafra). Please see "Black Genesis: The Prehistoric Origins of Ancient Egypt." Robert Bauval’s thesis is this. Also, it is noteworthy is the belief that the oldest "kingdoms" on earth were Nubians and date back to 5,900 BCE. (See Boyce Rensberger, The New York Times, March 1, 1979). The headline: “Nubian Monarchy Called Oldest”. Much of this history--at least its northern borders, was inundated by the Aswan damn in southern Egypt in 1959. Endnote #5 Relegated to the realm of archaeological heresy, despite a wealth of hard scientific evidence, the theory that an advanced civilization of black Africans settled in the Sahara long before Pharaonic Egypt existed has been dismis- sed and even condemned by conventional Egyptologists, archaeologists, and the Egyptian government. Uncov- ering compelling new evidence, Egyptologist Robert Bauval and astrophysicist Thomas Brophy present the an- thropological, climatological, archaeological, geological, and genetic research supporting this hugely debated theory of the black African origin of Egyptian civilization. Revealing these "Star People" as the true founders of an- cient Egyptian civilization, this book completely rewrites the history of world civilization, placing black Africa back in its rightful place at the center of mankind's origins. Building upon extensive studies from the past four decades and their own archaeoastronomical and hieroglyphic research, the authors show how the early black culture known as the Cattle People not only domesticated cattle but also had a sophisticated grasp of astronomy; created plentiful rock art at Gilf Kebir and Gebel Uwain-at; had trade routes to the Mediterranean coast, central Africa, and the Sinai; held spiritual and occult ceremonies; and con- structed a stone calendar circle and megaliths at the ceremonial site of Nabta Playa reminiscent of Stonehenge, yet much older. (This) reveals black Africa to be at the genesis of ancient civilization and of the human story . He examines extensive studies into the lost civilization of the "Star People" by renowned anthropologists, archaeo- logists, genetic scientists, and cultural historians as well as the authors' archaeo-astronomy and hieroglyphics research deciphers the history behind the my sterious Nabt-a Playa ceremonial area and its stone calendar circle and megaliths. The hunter-gatherer peoples of what was called, prior to about 1,500 BC, the "Green Sahara" (located in the area of the south-central Sahara desert and its bordering savannah and sahel transversi- ble grasslands and wooded zones) totally dominated west and central Africa's humanity throughout the entire neolithic age. Depending on the extent of the aridization of the desert, various groupings of them migrated throughout west and far west Africa. And also from there, i.e., from the shrub and grassland savannah of western central Africa, back down into central Africa (from whence they had come during the stone ages and again during the pastoral neolithic period). These migrations took place between 10,000 and 6,000 BCE and gave rise to the great Ba'Ntu migrations from the (now) eastern Nigeria and Cameroonian reas onward throughout all of central and southern Africa. (see "Pre-Historic West Africa," Wikipedia).
KMT LANGUAGE RELATIVES Amazigh Chadic EGYPTIAN Cushidic Omotic (Northwest Africa) (Lake Chad area) (KMT) (Southern Sudan) (Ethiopia) Somalia) KMT LANGUAGE DESCENDANTS Old KMT Middle KMT Late KMT Demotic Coptic (Related to Greek and Aramaic)
See "What Ancient Egyptian Sounded Like" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-K5OjAkiEA
CNN News misleadingly reported that "the voice" of a 3,000 year old mummy was reproduced by scientists. In fact, an MRI of the voice box of a mummy was"3-D printed" using modern computer and audio technology (similar to the technique where artificial voices are manufactured for recordings) and then subjected to a forced air stream so that the sound "a-eh"(uttered as a single vowel) was made. And that was it. Making such a sound from an inanimate object--e.g., such as a dead chicken the chest of which is compressed or a human corpse passing gases through the vocal apparatus after death--is hardly spoken "speech." See https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/23/world/egyptian-mummy-voice-from-the-dead-scn/index.html It remains unknown and impossible to ever know how actual Egyptian speech sounded given how complex is speech production (especially from a corpse who's tongue had also rotted away). Endnote #4 The best argument for why and how "black west and central African cultures were not highly influenced by KMT culture lies in the theses that go some like this: '...There are no camels. Camels came into Egypt around 500 BCE...The directions to the western Sahara were considered by the Egyptians as a place of death, and a place where evil spirits lived. Generally, the Egyptians could not travel more than 125 miles into the Sahara or less in the great desert sea, because donkeys could only make 9 miles a day, and carry a burden of 136 pounds. And they had to drink water at least every three days and, therefore could carry no loads more than 125 miles past the last oasis (Kharga, Dakia, Siwa, Bahareeya, and Farafra). Please see "Black Genesis: The Prehistoric Origins of Ancient Egypt." Robert Bauval’s thesis is this. Also, it is noteworthy is the belief that the oldest "kingdoms" on earth were Nubians and date back to 5,900 BCE. (See Boyce Rensberger, The New York Times, March 1, 1979). The headline: “Nubian Monarchy Called Oldest”. Much of this history--at least its northern borders, was inundated by the Aswan damn in southern Egypt in 1959. Endnote #5 Relegated to the realm of archaeological heresy, despite a wealth of hard scientific evidence, the theory that an advanced civilization of black Africans settled in the Sahara long before Pharaonic Egypt existed has been dismis- sed and even condemned by conventional Egyptologists, archaeologists, and the Egyptian government. Uncov- ering compelling new evidence, Egyptologist Robert Bauval and astrophysicist Thomas Brophy present the an- thropological, climatological, archaeological, geological, and genetic research supporting this hugely debated theory of the black African origin of Egyptian civilization. Revealing these "Star People" as the true founders of an- cient Egyptian civilization, this book completely rewrites the history of world civilization, placing black Africa back in its rightful place at the center of mankind's origins. Building upon extensive studies from the past four decades and their own archaeoastronomical and hieroglyphic research, the authors show how the early black culture known as the Cattle People not only domesticated cattle but also had a sophisticated grasp of astronomy; created plentiful rock art at Gilf Kebir and Gebel Uwain-at; had trade routes to the Mediterranean coast, central Africa, and the Sinai; held spiritual and occult ceremonies; and con- structed a stone calendar circle and megaliths at the ceremonial site of Nabta Playa reminiscent of Stonehenge, yet much older. (This) reveals black Africa to be at the genesis of ancient civilization and of the human story . He examines extensive studies into the lost civilization of the "Star People" by renowned anthropologists, archaeo- logists, genetic scientists, and cultural historians as well as the authors' archaeo-astronomy and hieroglyphics research deciphers the history behind the my sterious Nabt-a Playa ceremonial area and its stone calendar circle and megaliths. The hunter-gatherer peoples of what was called, prior to about 1,500 BC, the "Green Sahara" (located in the area of the south-central Sahara desert and its bordering savannah and sahel transversi- ble grasslands and wooded zones) totally dominated west and central Africa's humanity throughout the entire neolithic age. Depending on the extent of the aridization of the desert, various groupings of them migrated throughout west and far west Africa. And also from there, i.e., from the shrub and grassland savannah of western central Africa, back down into central Africa (from whence they had come during the stone ages and again during the pastoral neolithic period). These migrations took place between 10,000 and 6,000 BCE and gave rise to the great Ba'Ntu migrations from the (now) eastern Nigeria and Cameroonian reas onward throughout all of central and southern Africa. (see "Pre-Historic West Africa," Wikipedia).
"RA" or "RE" AS THE SUNRISE KHEPERA or KHEPRI
"SHU" or"AIR" OVER THE LUSH "NILE" VALLEY (THE "HAPI" RIVER) AT SUNRISE
"GEB" or EARTH IN KMT (THE LAND OF BLACK SOIL)
ENTERING A NUBIAN VILLAGE NEAR ASWAN, EGYPT, ON CAMEL-BACK
KEMETIC YOGA DEPICTING CHILD-BIRTH
NUBIAN KIDS AT PLAY, ASWAN, EGYPT
HAPI, THE GOD OF THE WATERY "NILE" RIVER (THE UPPER NUBIAN NETER RESPONSIBLE FOR
THE FLOODING OF THE LAND OF KMT WAS CALLED "ANUKIS," WHILE IN UPPER KMT SHE WAS CALLED "SATIS."