What is the “Afrocentric” Movement?
Afrocentric Movement It is a vile racist movement predominantly found in the United States of America and some European countries where certain groups of African descent are present. As a reaction to modern Western cultural superiority, and due to the suffering of Africans from slavery, racism, and oppression in the West, especially in the United States, and given the greatness of ancient Egyptian civilization in comparison to modern Western civilization, and as a way of asserting their identity and cultural superiority, the proponents of this movement claim that the origin of Egyptian civilization is purely African, and that Africans are the ones who built ancient Egyptian civilization. They assert that our ancient Egyptian ancestors had no connection to it and played no role in building the venerable Egyptian civilization. They also claim that the original homeland of the ancient Egyptians was the Arabian Peninsula, and that we left it for Egypt, attacked the Africans, occupied Egypt, their land, expelled them, and that we—the Egyptians—are intruders on the land and its civilization, as they falsely and racially claim. These claimants call for a return to their roots, meaning a return to their original homeland, Egypt, our blessed eternal land. To convince the world of their claims, they alter the appearance of statues and ancient Egyptian depictions, showing the faces of ancient Egyptians in black to suggest their African origin with deceit and fraud. They spread these images of black-faced Egyptians in all their writings and exhibitions abroad.
The Afrocentric movement emerged years ago and is increasingly supported by American universities and hostile institutions. We must respond and defend our clear rights, expose their false claims against great Egypt and its eternal civilization, and clarify the historical facts to the whole world; to stop the hostile activities of the Afrocentric movement against Egyptian civilization. Recently, an antagonistic and distorted artistic work was broadcast, portraying Queen Cleopatra with dark skin, contrary to historical fact. It is well known that Cleopatra was not dark-skinned. This will not be the first time, nor will this work be the last, nor will this call be the final one to steal our great Egyptian civilization. Enough silence on the falsification, theft, and distortion of ancient Egyptian civilization and its most famous kings and queens. We must be ready to defend our ancient Egyptian civilization and all that pertains to it; so that one day, not far off, we do not wake up to find our great Egyptian civilization stolen from us without our knowledge.
The Black Pharaohs
Were the pharaohs black?
Did black pharaohs rule ancient Egypt?
What is the truth behind depicting ancient Egyptians with dark skin?
Firstly, I affirm that Egypt is an integral and active part of the African continent. There was no racism or racial or cultural arrogance from ancient Egypt towards its neighbors or the civilizations it interacted with.
Egypt is located in the north-eastern part of Africa. There are many distinguished African civilizations south of the Sahara. Ancient Egypt had geographical, historical, and cultural extensions in Africa through the Nile Valley in Upper Nubia, which is archaeologically known to us as “Kush,” extending to the sixth cataract in present-day Sudan, unlike Lower Nubia, which was within Egyptian borders between Aswan and Wadi Halfa.
Since ancient times, ancient Egypt had a significant presence and interaction in the African interior. This reached its peak during the New Kingdom, or the Empire era, when Egyptian borders extended to the fourth cataract in the land of Kush. The kings of the New Kingdom appointed an Egyptian governor to manage the land of “Kush” or Upper Nubia, bearing the title “Son of the King in Kush.” Long before that, Upper Nubia was Egyptianized, steeped in Egyptian culture, and well-versed in Egyptian administrative systems and all aspects of Egyptian civilization. The ancient Egyptians did this to secure the trade coming to Egypt from the south, which Egypt desperately needed. Diplomacy, trade, and military power played their roles between ancient Egypt and its African depths according to the nature of each era of ancient Egyptian history.
Some ancient Egyptians were depicted with dark skin in some artistic works for religious reasons linked to depicting the god Osiris, the lord of the afterlife, the world of darkness, and the world of the dead; this depiction was for doctrinal necessities. Ancient Egyptians were not dark-skinned as they appeared in some of those artistic works of sculpture, relief, and painting, which some have built false theories upon, claiming that the ancient Egyptians were of black skin.
Kushites participated in work within Egypt in various roles and were buried in Egypt. After the end of the New Kingdom, Egypt experienced the Third Intermediate Period, a time of extreme weakness on all levels. At the end of that period, the Kushites, or Upper Nubians, who were Egyptianized, descended to save Egypt and its eternal civilization from the decline it had experienced after its great golden age. The Kushite king Piye, or Piankhi, invaded Egypt and unified the country under a single Kushite ruler. He and his successors, the most important of whom was King Taharqa, controlled Egypt for a short period.
These Kushite kings knew the ancient Egyptian language, worshipped Egyptian gods like Amun, and after their death, buried themselves in small pyramids, imitating the ancient Egyptian kings whom they admired and emulated in building pyramids far from the size and time of the Giza pyramids, but close in philosophy, shape, and meaning.
The Kushite kings ruled Egypt for a short period estimated at about eighty-eight years. They were driven out of Egypt under the attacks of the Assyrians, who ended Kushite rule, and they returned to their southern capital in Napata. A native dynasty, the Twenty-sixth Saite Dynasty, was established in Sais, or Sa el-Hagar, in the central Egyptian Delta.
This is the true story in brief and with simplified answers to the questions. Long live Egypt, the land that has welcomed and still welcomes everyone, embracing all cultures, ethnicities, and sects.
Why did ancient Egyptians appear black?
The ancient Egyptians were one of the most advanced civilizations of their time. They were capable of creating beautiful works of art, including statues and scenes in both relief and painting. Some of their statues or depictions show them with black skin. Were the ancient Egyptians of black skin?
Ancient Egyptian statues were made from light-coloured stones such as red pink granite or limestone. Many ancient statues were also made of wood or other materials that could be painted or decorated with colours. Some ancient Egyptian statues were made from black granite and basalt, which are dark-coloured stones. Additionally, some of these statues or artworks were sometimes painted with a type of pigment called “Egyptian blue,” which, over time, gave them a blackish appearance after the pigment faded.
The colour black had great symbolism in ancient Egyptian religion. The ancient Egyptians firmly believed that black symbolized the fertile black soil of their land. They called their country, Egypt, “Kemet,” meaning black or dark, due to the fertility of Egypt’s land enriched by the silt from the eternal Nile River. “Kemet” meant the fertile black land. They also believed that black represented the Nile River itself, which was essential for ancient Egyptian life, providing water for irrigation and transportation. The chief god, Osiris, the most famous deity, was also the god of greenery, fertility, agriculture, rebirth, and the one capable of fertilizing and bringing forth Egyptian land; thus, he was depicted in black, symbolizing that. Black symbolized the primordial darkness that existed before the creation of the world, or in the afterlife, the world of darkness, or the underworld or afterlife belonging to Osiris, or Kimi, the black one, who was the lord of the underworld and the dead, the judge of the dead in the afterlife. The ancient Egyptians believed that by making their statues black, they could protect the deceased from evil spirits in the afterlife. Whatever the reason behind this artistic religious depiction in black, the ancient Egyptians created some of the most beautiful and intriguing statues in the world from the time they were discovered until now.
So, the ancient Egyptians appeared in some of their statues or depictions in some of their monuments in black for purely artistic and religious reasons, as previously mentioned, and they were not originally black-skinned people.
I nominate Queen Katimala
If someone wants to produce a documentary about a queen from Africa, I strongly nominate Queen Katimala.
Who is Queen Katimala?
We found a stela of Queen Katimala in the Semna area of Nubia. This stela is significant textual evidence of the origins of the rulers of Napata in Kush, located south of Egypt in present-day Sudan. This important stela contains a text and depiction presenting Queen Katimala or Karimala (sometimes written as Kaimalo) in Semna. The stela of Queen Katimala is currently housed in the Khartoum Museum in Sudan.
The stela was located west of the central gate on the facade of a temple dating back to the New Kingdom in Semna. The original scene was removed and replaced with another depicting a slender queen, with her entourage, presenting offerings to the Egyptian goddess Isis. She may have been the first queen since the time of Queen Hatshepsut to present herself as queen of Upper and Lower Egypt. This mysterious queen belonged to the late Meroitic civilization in Nubian history. The artistic style of the stela and the late Egyptian hieroglyphic text written on it indicate that the text precedes the language used before the Kushite king Piye’s conquest of Egypt at the beginning of the Twenty-fifth Kushite Dynasty. The text dates back to before Meroitic writing.
The name Katimala or “Kadi-Meleih” means “the beautiful woman” in the ancient Meroitic language. Katimala may have been the grandmother of the kings of the Twenty-fifth Kushite Dynasty. Her prominent appearance on the stela reflects the maternal nature of Nubian society, evident in the texts of the Napatan rulers and the Meroitic institution known as “Kan Kedhe” or “Kan Disse,” meaning “the ruling queen.”
The text records the outcome of violent events incited by an enemy named “Makaraash” after a peaceful period during the reign of the queen’s ancestors, who may have been the kings numbered from Alpha to Delta, buried in the early royal tombs of Kurru in Sudan. The unnamed king who fought with the enemy “Makaraash” might have been Queen Katimala’s husband. The genealogy of King Aspelta of Kush (reigned from 600 BC, died in 580 BC) refers to six generations of previous queens, ending with the title “Sister of the King and Lady of Kush,” likely referring to Queen Katimala, who ruled around 850 BC.
Queen Katimala likely lived during the period from the Twenty-first to the Twenty-second Dynasty of ancient Egypt. Despite the uncertain dating of the text, and thus Katimala, it can be assumed to belong to the Twenty-first or Twenty-second Dynasty. This period was a dark age in Nubian history, almost unknown. This text proves the continuity of some forms of authority.
Katimala held the titles of daughter of the king and great royal wife. She is depicted wearing the double-feathered crown, a long robe, and holding the insignia of authority in her hands. The stela shows her as a distinguished political leader and high-ranking military figure. She controlled at least Lower Nubia following failed military activities. The inscription on Queen Katimala’s stela is unreadable but serves as a good example of Nubian writing for a political and religious statement following many traditional textual conventions.
Queen Katimala came from Africa to represent Africa powerfully during an important period of Egypt and Nubia’s history, demonstrating the spread of ancient Egyptian civilization and culture across the eternal Nile Valley. This is a queen from great Africa. I strongly nominate her for a documentary film; to immortalize her story and narrate the coexistence and interaction in the emerging Nile Valley civilization.
Egypt is the land that taught the world.
*Dr. Hussein Bassir
Director of the Museum of Antiquities – Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Email: [email protected]
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عالم الآثار المصري الشهير الدكتور حسين عبد البصير يكتب : حركة الأفروسينتريك
