CLASSICAL AFRIKAN LITERATURE

[Olùkọ́ Ọbádélé]

CLASSICAL AFRIKAN LITERATURE
Mukasa Afrika

AP copyright [ch63721] 2004
All Rights Reserved
“Let us recover and restore our classical civilization so that it serves us
like the classical civilizations of other people serve them”
(Jacob Carruthers, Intellectual Warfare, 273).
Introduction
My first serious study of classical Afrikan literature was in the classroom of Baba
Jedi Shemsu Jehewty (otherwise known as Jacob H. Carruthers). I distinctly remember
extended discussions covering several class periods on Sinhue, the Instructions of Ptah
Hotep, Khun Inpu’s Good Speech (“Eloquent Peasant”), and the Mdw Nfr of Neferti.
Baba Jedi taught me the first lessons I had in reading and understanding Mdw Ntr
(hieroglyphs). After those initial lessons under his guidance, my understanding of the
value of the content has grown with time. I never knew until after Baba Jedi made his
transition into the home of the ancestors that he was teaching the contents of a major
work he intended to publish, but never did. The work deals with the classical literature of
Afrika. I mention Baba Jedi for several reasons. He labored for years teaching the
community the lessons of the ancestors from classical Nile Valley civilization. He would
only want us to continue the work to which he dedicated his life. Baba Jedi often gave
credit to his elders / ancestors, such as Cheikh Anta Diop, John Henrik Clarke, and Yosef
ben-Jochannan. These men, the men and women of ASCAC (Association for the Study of
Classical African Civilization), and many others are part of the historic lineage which is
rebirthing our culture. This rebirth, Baba Jedi called the Whmy Msu, the Kemetic term
which means “repetition of the birth” or “renaissance.”
Allow me to quote the great teacher:
Let us recover and restore our classical civilization so that it serves
us like the classical civilizations of other people serve them. Every great
European institution is molded in part in the image of the ancient Greek-
Roman civilization… Every great Jewish project is enriched by the idea of
the classical culture of the Torah… Every organization in the Moslem
world harkens back to the classical Islamic civilization of the Middle
Ages…
Our classical Nile Valley civilization is even more appropriate for
us. In the first place it is more ancient and achieved greater
accomplishments than any of the others. In the second place, it was an
inspiration and model for later cultures. In the third place, it brought the
African world to the highest point of perfection thus far.
It is therefore fitting and appropriate that we restore our classic
civilization. It is the deep well from which we must draw the waters of
African revitalization… (Carruthers, Intellectual Warfare, 273-274)
The word “classical” is defined in dictionaries as literature, art, or music related to
European culture. In particular, dictionaries and works that deal with “classics” are works
about Greece, Rome, or Latin literature, music, and art. Also, European 18th and 19th
century music are considered classical. The opera and symphony are considered
“classics” as if other cultures do not have classics, or as if the European were the only
culture to reach such a level of art and culture. In opposition to this, some have called
Jazz music a form of classical “Black” music. I don’t totally agree with that analysis.
Classical music for our people can be found on the shores of Afrika and in the continent.
This music, danced to with the sacred rhythms of the drum and various instruments, has
been passed down for many generations. Afrikan classical music is older than the
European classics by centuries, and it is much older than Jazz. The very recent music
form called Jazz is simply too young to be considered classical by Afrikan standards.
Jazz has its origin in the classical Afrikan rhythm and dance from the continent. I would
agree that Jazz is classical “Afrikan American” music.
There continues to be a small growing documentation of classical Nile Valley
literature. Yet, discussions about the significance of classical Afrikan art and literature
are topics all but entirely ignored, and no efforts are made to include this great literature
in the curriculum while Afrikan children sit in classes and learn about the classics of
Europe. There is a reason for this erasing and distorting of cultural history which will be
detailed. First, all cultures have a classical tradition of music, art, dance, architecture, and
literature. To ignore that in the educational process and only teach European classics is
criminal. From the elementary to the university levels, Afrikan classics are marginalized
at best or completely ignored at worst.
The reason Afrikan classics are ignored is the same reason that captured Afrikans
were denied their history and culture and given the history and culture of Europeans in
the Americas. For the same reasons that our Afrikan ancestors resisted slavery and
European cultural hegemony, is the same reason we must do so today. Afrikans will only
open the doors to freedom and liberation when we live and learn our distinct cultural
personality, and that cultural personality has its foundation in the classical antiquity of
our continent.
A classic is by definition from an ancient or earlier period. It laid an influencing
foundation on later art forms, be they in art, music, dance, literature, or architecture. A
classic would bare the cultural print of a civilization, or its internal support structure.
While acknowledging the cultural significance of Afrikan oral traditions, those oral
traditions do not represent classical Afrika because of the greater antiquity of the Nile
Valley culture. Also, the greater emphasis on “oral” tradition has left many students with
the myth of the “preliterate” Afrikan past. Afrika was not “preliterate.” On the contrary,
literature was born in Afrika.
The Nile Valley is the cultural cradle for the rest of Afrika. In fact, from the years
of labor Cheikh Anta Diop made of the Nile cultures, we can see the cultural print that
Kemet gave to the rest of Afrika. This does not mean that Kemet was Afrika’s first
civilization because it was not. Kemet grew from the origins of the Nile in Ta-Seti or
Nubia, but the crystallization of the classic culture, the highest point of the civilization
occurred in Kemet (Egypt) or the land known as Tawi (the Two Lands of Upper and
Lower Kemet).
As a college student, I’ve seen countless professors who could proudly quote the
European classics from Homer and Plato to Shakespeare. I’ve only known very, very few
who had any idea of the Afrikan classics, or who could even name one of them. I’ve
known college students, and unfortunately children, who believed that Afrikans did not
invent any writing. High art in the American educational system has been wholly
narrowed into a false European worldview, and it does not fit. The myth is furthered as
many believe Afrika had no classics or “philosophers.” By the countless millions,
students are thoroughly miseducated on the history of Afrikan classics of literature. No
one can claim a competent educational system that lacks Afrikan classics, and to and fro
throughout this country they all are lacking.
. I must raise a very important issue that deals with the crisis in the educational
process. The teacher is as miseducated as the student. The student and the teacher must
be re-Afrikanized in our schools. In addition to that, the reinforcement of Afrikan
education and Afrikan values must take place at home and in the community. The parent
must be re-Afrikanized and learn that they must be the first teachers of the Afrikan child.
A greater challenge is the re-Afrikanization of the community. Our religious institutions
and community institutions are headed by people who have been taught the great myth of
Egyptians enslaving the Hebrews, and it is only a myth that never happened. The great
Exodus and Pharaohs army drowning in the Red Sea are only myths. The problem is that
Afrikans have been taught these myths, and so they have a predisposition to devalue the
classics of their own cultures which predate the Hebrew myths by thousands of years. A
re-Afrikanization and a new educational process must occur if we are to save the minds
of Afrikan children and our own future.
The facts are altogether contrary to the myths taught about Afrikan people. We
not only have classics, we have the world’s first classics. We not only invented writing,
we taught writing to the ancient world. From the great land of Afrika came the world’s
first written poems, stories, teachings, epics, and sacred texts. All cultures have classics,
and Afrika has the world’s first classics. The educational process that denies the classic
heritage of a people is denying their civilization and indeed their humanity. The Afrikans
of the Nile Valley invented the world’s first paper, and placed their literature in enormous
stone temples in the world’s first libraries at cities like Mennefer, Waset, and Abju. This
was the building of Afrikan classical literature which is the subject of this essay.
Mdw Ntr
A brief note on Mdw Ntr, what is often call hieroglyphs, should be made. Mdw
Ntr means Divine Language or Sacred Speech. The Afrikans of Kemet, like all Afrikans
with their worldview based on their ancestral Spirituality, have a thorough understanding
of the universe as being fundamentally spiritual and alive. People were conceived of as
children of the great ancestor, and a great ancestor was the Creator represented by the
Sun. Thus, people were considered divine by nature. This meant that any righteous
expressions, especially art, were a work of and to the Creator. Thus, writing in Kemet
was thought to be the invention of a spirit (netcher) named Djehewty. Writing was a
sacred process, as much as speaking words of truth and goodwill.
Mdw Ntr is the world’s first written language going back to over 5,000 years ago,
and deserves much more attention if not for only that reason. Also, because it is an
Afrikan language and for so long we have been taught that Afrikans did not invent a
written language, we must study the works of our ancestors. There were three main Nile
Valley scripts from Kemet, the hieroglyphic, hieratic, and demotic. I refer the reader to
Middle Egyptian by James Allen and How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs by Mark
Collier and Bill Manley.
Hieroglyphic is often called picture writing, but it is so much more than pictures
consisting of ideograms, phonograms, and determinatives. The language has its own set
of rules and regulations. Hieroglyphic is the very artistic form of the writing. It was so
artistic that the writing of words was very often abbreviated for space. This form of
writing was used for carving inscriptions on stone or in metal such as gold.
The hieratic (cursive) script developed very early in Kemet, and it is not as old as
the hieroglyph which predates it by several centuries. There was a closer cursive script to
hieroglyph that was not as cursive as hieratic. This type of writing occasional used a
period to separate thoughts (Allen, 6). Hieratic was used when writing letters, accounts,
or when the scribe did not have time to spare for the artistic hieroglyph. In schools, often
the cursive script would be used, but one can imagine the tired student sitting down to
enjoy the artistic drawing of hieroglyphs after a long day of cursive and lecturing in the
school-temples called Per Ankhs (Houses of Life).
Very late in Kemetic history, the demotic script would develop out of the hieratic.
Demotic was even more cursive than hieratic and thus facilitated more rapid writing. In
administrative functions this would be necessary. It is very logical to study the cursive
scripts in addition to the hieroglyph to see their relationship to other writing scripts that
developed near that part of the world around the Mediterranean, such as cuneiform,
Greek, Arabic, and Hebrew. The research will prove insightful about the Afrikan origin
of letters. What we know is that Kemet gave the world its first classics, and the writings
of Kemet were profoundly spiritual.
The Issue of Religious Texts
As was stated, all cultures have classics. The problem is that Afrikan people have
been miseducated into seeing the classics of other people as their own. Part of the
classical texts of all cultures includes the ancient sacred texts of those cultures. They are
in fact the core of a cultures literature, often reflected in other works to varying degrees.
Due to the cultural damage from centuries of slavery and colonialism, by Europeans and
Arabs, we Afrikans have been wrongly taught that our classical religious texts reside in
two books, the Koran and Bible. Afrikans of the Hebrew/Jewish religions believe that the
Torah is our core religious text, Afrikan Christians believe it to be the New Testament,
and Afrikan Muslims believe it to be the Koran. The fact is that Afrikan classical sacred
text is thousands of years older than the Koran and Bible.
We must consider the ignored chronology, although there is much disagreement
about the exact dates. Abraham was born around 1770 BCE, Moses around 1600 BCE,
Jesus around 1 ACE, and Mohammed in 570 ACE. Regardless of the disagreement about
the historical dates for the founders of the so-called “world’s religions,” what is certain is
that Afrikan Spirituality existed in the world over 150,000 years ago when Afrikans were
the only Humans walking the Earth. In regards to classical sacred text, I have to refer the
reader to several very important works: Jacob Carruthers’ Mdw Ntr: Divine Speech, John
G. Jackson’s Christianity Before Christ and Pagan Origins of the Christ Myth, Yosef
ben-Jochannan’s African Origins of the Major “Western Religions,” Amon Saba
Saakana’s African Origins of the Major World Religions, and my work The Redemption
of Afrikan Spirituality. It has been thoroughly documented that Judaism and Christianity
have their origin in the Nile Valley Afrikan culture of Kemet. Islam has its origins in
Christianity and Judaism, and less directly in the Nile Valley.
What is the central concern? All cultures teach their religious texts alongside their
classics. Look at the Hebrew school, the Catholic school and other Christian based
schools, the Islamic school, and you will see the use of religious text used to teach the
core values of a people. Even in the public schools, regardless of the “separation of
church and state,” children do not totally escape lessons in textbooks and from teachers
about religious texts. Now, what is the Afrikans of the world to do? Are we to teach the
sacred texts of those cultures as our own? Should we continue to ignore the great library
of the Nile Valley?
To begin with the study of classical Afrikan literature, we must understand the
necessity to begin the widespread study of reading and translating at least sections of
Mdw Ntr (the proper name for hieroglyphs). Just as studies in other cultures grabble with
translating and reading ancient classical text, Afrikans must do the same with Mdw Ntr as
this language is the classical language of our people. Let us consider a few themes from
Kemetic Spiritual text, which predate the religious text of other cultures by thousands of
years and is their origin.
Collier and Manley translate three revealing lines from Mdw Ntr that deal with
the sacred obligation of giving and helping those in need to benefit the whole. The lines
are as follows:
I buried the old [the dead].
I gave bread to the hungry and clothes to the naked.
I ferried the boatless in my own ferry. (1998, 73 and 167)
While only three lines from the workbook, they give a fundamental insight into
the Afrikan worldview of Kemet. That worldview taught through its’ literature that in
righteousness the order of a society would prevail. There was one very famous text that
dealt with this theme.
Sbayt of Ptah Hotep
Do not be proud and arrogant with your knowledge. Consult and
converse with the ignorant and the wise, for the limits of art are not
reached. No artist ever possesses that perfection to which he should aspire.
Good speech is more hidden than greenstone (emeralds), yet it may be
found among maids at the grindstones (Hilliard, Williams, Damali, The
Teachings of Ptahhotep, 1987).
This statement is from the Teachings of Ptah Hotep. Some scholars believe the
writing to be from the Fifth Dynasty under the reign of the Pharaoh Issi well over four
thousand years ago. Others believe it to date from the Twelfth Dynasty and was written in
honor of what was a more ancient and inspirational period in Kemetic history. This
would make the document about 3,500 years old. Either way, the Teachings of Ptah
Hotep was a classic Afrikan text in its’ own time and should even more so be in our time.
Ptah Hotep was a 110 year old elder who chose a life of service for the nation as a
priest and a teacher. “What good is old age?” the elder seems to ask. He answers that the
purpose is to create a “Staff of Old Age” for the purpose of teaching the words of the
Creator, the ancestors, and the spirits (Netchers) to bring order (Maat) into the world.
This is Mdw Nfr (Good Speech). The Classical Afrikan text of Ptah Hotep discusses the
value of Scared or Divine Speech which is so much more than mere talking or rumbling.
Mdw Nfr does not belong to the royal or the rich, it can be found among servants
at grindstones. Although it can be found among the servants, Mdw Nfr is more hidden
and more valuable than precious jewels. From the classical text we learn that Mdw Nfr is
speaking Maat, and Maat is universal order. The power which sustains nature and rotates
the Earth is Maat. In Kemet, spirits governed the universe, as in other forms of Afrikan
Spirituality. According to our Nile Valley ancestors, for people, universal order is
speaking and living truth. For Ptah Hotep, there was no higher service than bringing Mdw
Nfr into the world.
Ptah Hotep’s Sbayt or instruction is not often considered “religious text,” but
there is no sole “religious text” in Kemet as even the so-called “secular” is sacred. That
is, thoughtful language is sacred, and therefore so is the written language. The writing
often called hieroglyph or hieratic is properly known as Mdw Ntr or (Divine Speech).
One text that may be considered almost strictly of the spiritual genre is a story about a
man’s inner conflict with his soul.
“The Dialogue of a Man and his Soul”
One aspect of the soul of man and woman in Kemetic was his or her Ba. The Soul
had several parts, such as the Ba, Ka, Khu, Sekhem, Sahu (Budge, Gods of the Egyptian,
vi 1969, 162-163). The Ba is one part of the soul endowed with its own intelligence and
judgment, and it is able to separate from the person at will. The Ba, as we can see from
the text, can be reasoned with by the person, and strong disagreement can lead to serious
inner turmoil.
In the text, the man desires to reach the West, the Valley of the Dead on the side
of the Earth where the sun sets. The world of the living is on the East. Ready to die,
disappointed with life, and ready to transition into the spirit world is “like the smell of
flowers” the man says to his Ba (Parkinson, The Tale of Sinhue and Other Ancient
Egyptian Poems, 1997, 160). Yet, almost as if another person, the man’s soul talks to him
about missing the joys of life, not over indulging but loving life. Of course, the man is
torn, and he attempts to convince his soul to understand his readiness to transition. In the
end a healthy compromise about life and transition is reached with the man and his soul
(Ba). The man’s soul ends the dialogue by saying desire the West, but love life today.
The soul has done his job by giving direction and balance to the man in a time of need,
and the man has done his job by listening to his soul. The soul and man are both enriched.
Balance is reached in the end.
This text and many others should be read not only for their educational quality,
but also as sources spiritual inspiration in everyday life. The Kemetic text are timeless
lessons that we must infuse throughout the educational process of the Afrikan child.
Pert m Heru
Mistakenly referred to as the “Book of the Dead,” the Pert m Heru is translated as
“Coming Forth by Day” or “Coming Forth Into Light.” If there is any literature in the
world that we could consider a classic among all classics, this is it. This is the oldest text
known to the world. It has predynastic origins in the Nile Valley, before Mena or Narmer
founded the First Dynasty, older than five thousand years ago. Later, in dynastic times,
verses of the Pert m Heru were buried with the deceased, engraved in the Coffin Texts
and the Pyramid Text. The Coffin Text was particularly from the Middle Kingdom’s
Eleventh and Twelfth Dynasties, or what is the Second Golden Age (or Whmy Msu).
This is significant because the Second Whmy Msu continued and expanded on the classic
works of their ancestors from centuries before their time. The Coffin Text of this period
continued and expanded on the writings from the First Golden Age’s Pyramid Text which
was found primarily in pyramids. The pyramid of the Pharaoh Unas of the Fifth Dynasty
has the earliest surviving Pyramid Text from about 2350 BCE. However, it seems that the
Pyramid text reached its’ zenith with pyramid construction itself.
It was Snefru’s son, [Khufu], who carried the process to its
ultimate conclusion by erecting the Great Pyramid. This is 756 feet square
at base and is the most ponderous building ever set up by man, consisting
of about 2,3000,000 stone blocks, averaging 2 _ tons each. The inner
blocks were once covered by a smooth casing of fine-quality polished
Tura limestone, which must have glittered in the sun. The detail of the
Great Pyramid was as impressive as its bulk. The casing was later covered
in hieroglyphic graffiti; over the centuries it was stolen, but even at the
end of the twelfth century AD, an Arab writer, Abd el Latif, declared that
the remaining inscription on the outside of the Great Pyramid would fill
10,000 pages (Johnson, The Civilization of Ancient Egypt, 1999, 55).
The “graffiti” that Paul Johnson mentions was classical Afrikan literature in the
form of Pyramid Text likely from the Fourth Dynasty of over 4,500 years ago. Foreigners
who invaded the Nile Valley would destroy much of the classical literature and the Arab
Muslims in particular removed tons and tons of stone to build mosques and palaces. Yet,
as Johnson notes, as late as twelfth century AD, there was still enough Mdw Ntr of the
Pert m Heru on the Great Pyramid alone to fill 10,000 pages!
In recovering the classical literature of Afrika, we are turning the tides of the
cultural wars waged by foreigners against Afrika and Afrikan civilization for over 3,000
years. We have a sacred obligation to restore Afrikan literature and education to the
classrooms and homes of our children, that obligation we owe to our ancestors and we
must fulfill it. Fortunately, the Afrikans of Kemet wrote in stone to pass their words
down through time. Centuries after the building of the massive Great Pyramids, the Pert
m Heru was still being written and some of the many, many pages and verses have
survived into the present despite the long assault against Afrika.
Below are three lines from Budge’s The Egyptian Book of the Dead (lvii-lviii).
The transliterations are altered, but his translations are basically the same.
Ba ir pt sht ir ta - Soul to Heaven, body to Earth.
Mu-k r pt ka-k r ta - Thy essence is in Heaven, thy body to Earth.
Pt kr ba-k ta kri tut-k – Heaven hath the Soul, Earth hath thy body.
From the Papyrus of Ani, found in the ruins of the great city of Waset (Thebes) in
Tawi (Kemet), we can further see the Afrikan Spiritual integrity of the classical literature.
Again, the transliteration and translation are slightly altered.
I3w n R’ Nb pt ity ‘nkh dja snb –
Praise Ra, the Lord of Heaven, the Prince: Life Strength, Health (Budge, 2).
The Pert m Heru was intended as sacred words that would accompany the
deceased into the world of the ancestors to help them with a safe passage. They would of
course serve as a reminder for those on top of the Earth to live Maat and righteousness.
The reward of righteous living, and assistance from the sacred book, was life forever. The
Pert m Heru is extensive, and it was a function of the culture throughout all of Kemetic
history. Without credit being given, the text was copied into the scriptures of other
cultures.
Good Speech of Khun Inpu
For extended study, I must refer the reader to Miriam Lichtheim’s three volume
work entitled Ancient Egyptian Literature. Lichtheim has documented classics of Kemet
from all of the Golden Ages, that is the Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom,
and Late Kingdom.
Another classic that we must labor to include in the educational process of
Afrikan children and adults is often called “The Eloquent Peasant.” Yet, Baba Jedi
Jehewty (Carruthers) taught us for years that the title does not capture the essence and
meaning of this text. One of the most serious works that deal with the restoration of
classical Afrikan literature is Mdw Ntr: Divine Speech by Jacob Carruthers. I strongly
recommend the book for anyone who takes this issue with any depth of seriousness. The
text is more properly called the Mdw Nfr of Khun Inpu.
Khun Inpu was a common man, a farmer and countryman (sekhety), who supports
his family and lives Maat. He is no wealthy person, but he possesses Mdw Nfr (Good
Speech). “This connects us with the first instructions of Ptahhotep which teaches that
good speech, though extremely rare, may be found among the humblest little girls,” says
Carruthers (148). The farmer, an honest and hard working man, loads his donkeys with
items to trade which is how he feeds his family, and in route to his destination he crosses
paths with a man named Nemtynakht whose name means “Strong Robber,” and yes the
farmer is beaten and robbed of his property.
The farmer first appeals to the heart of the robber to no avail. Then he appeals to
an agent of the High Stewart Rensi, whose name means “Shuffler.” True to his name,
Rensi orders Nemtyakht to repay Khun Inpu, but he shuffles around giving out due
justice by not punishing for the crime. Then the humble man who speaks Mdw Nfr
appeals to the Stewart himself pleading that Maat is not ignored.
Nb.i iw gm.n.i w‘ m nn n skty nfr mdw n wn m3‘
“My lord I have found one among those farmers whose speech is good, of
true essence” (Carruthers, 144).
This is what Rensi said when he approached the Pharaoh Nebkaure to inform him
about this man with speech that is rare as greenstones. This was at a time when the nation
of Kemet was in an intermediate period and not prosperous as in one of the Golden Ages.
Baba Jedi states that “the nation was ‘sick’ and required a healing.” Maat is universal
order and social order, thus, the farmer whose speech is true and sacred speaks words
capable of healing a nation. As a result, the more profound meaning of the literature goes
well beyond Khun Inpu receiving his goods and justice being given to the Strong Robber.
There are lessons of hard work, patience, protocol, and honesty in the text, but the
paramount lesson is that Mdw Nfr can heal the nation. As Khun Inpu is a complete and
stable person, despite his very humble lifestyle, the nation can be made stable again
through Good Speech.
The Pharaoh orders that the farmer is held to keep him speaking, that he and his
family are feed, and that his Good Speech is written down. The Pharaoh orders that
everyone remains silent so that the farmer keeps talking. Khun Inpu makes 9 appeals
about justice and truth. At one point he appealed to the goodness of the Shuffler:
“For you are a father to the orphan,
A husband to the widow,
A brother to her who has been cast out,
The clothing of him who has no mother”
(Simpson, The Literature of Ancient Egypt, 2003, 29).
Khun Inpu speaks against the evils to which society has fallen. He strongly
admonishes those of authority who have not upheld Maat. He states:
“Nobles perpetuate crimes…
Judges steal what has already been stolen…
The arbiter is (now) a thief…” (Simpson, 31).
Although being beaten again, the farmer holds true to Maat. We see him
suffering, but maintaining to what is right and just for society. In another petition, he
speaks to the need to uphold truth and order to keep chaos away when he states:
“Let your eyes see! Let you heart be instructed!
Do not be tyrannical in your power,
That evil may overtake you.
If you ignore one incident, it will become two” (37).
On the last appeal, Rensi was finally brought around, and he stated to the farmer,
‘On my life! Shall I eat of your bread and drink of your beer forever,’ meaning that he
would never forget the words he heard. Also, the words were recorded and sent to the
Lord of Tawi, the Pharaoh Nebkaure, whose heart was full of joy. He allowed Rensi to
pass the judgment which he did, and Khun Inpu received the justice he was due. Khun
Inpu means “Protected by Inpu;” Inpu being the final judge of the deceased.
The Drama of Dramas
The most enduring story from Tawi (Upper and Lower Kemet) is one that is not
found in its entirety in the land of its birth. The story of Asar and Set is predynastic, was
told throughout the history of Kemet, and is properly the most well known classic from
the Nile Valley. Reverence to Asar, Aset, and Heru were very widespread in Kemet, and
today in our times this trinity attracts a great deal of attention. Some reconstruction of the
story from Kemetic fragments is necessary because the most extant version of the story is
from Plutarch’s Isis and Osiris.
The drama of Asar and Set is literally the classic story of good against evil
because this story is one of the very first examples of good against evil on written record.
Asar, the rightful ruler was deceived by his evil brother who killed him and eventually
chopped his body into pieces. His wife, Aset, having found his body then assembled the
pieces, all except the phallus. In Plutarch’s version of the story the son was born before
the reassembling, but from descriptions in Kemet it is clear that Heru was born after the
reassembling which gave the drama a virgin birth. Virgin births were very common in the
literature of Kemet, so this was not unusual. Aset was impregnated with the Ankh (Breath
of Life) with the savior-child Heru. After growing older, Heru avenged the death of his
father by defeating his uncle Set and claiming the throne. Aset plays a very central role
throughout the story. This story was central in Kemetic literature. It underlined several
important concepts. The role of woman as an equal player in society is seen in Aset’s
significance throughout the story. The foundation of sacred kingship is validated as every
king was considered a Heru. The concept of Asar being the great judge of the deceased is
found in this story. The eventual defeat of evil and the triumph of good is the overall
direction of the drama. For several reasons, this is the drama of dramas.
The Good Speech of Neferti
The Good Speech of Neferti, sometimes called the Prophesy of Neferti, is
definitely a classic Afrikan text. It displays the value of Mdw Nfr, wisdom, and tradition.
It is believed to have been composed in the Twelfth Dynasty with a setting in a much
earlier period, in the Fourth Dynasty under Snefru several centuries earlier. This would
make the literature about 4,000 years old. This text is ultimately about the prophesy of a
liberator and savior 2000 years before Jesus.
It begins with a bored Pharaoh asking that someone be summoned to speak some
Mdw Nfr in the court for his entertainment. Neferti is summoned, and he asked the
Pharaoh if he wanted to hear things of the past or things that were to come in the future.
He chose the future, and Neferti begins his prophesy. Although “bored,” the Pharaoh
writes down the words of Neferti. The foremost person in the land takes notes from a
man who is before him only because of his Good Speech and wisdom.
Neferti speaks of doom and gloom, a period when Tawi would fall from the
Golden Age into a long period of chaos, warfare, draught, and famine. After going on
about this doom and gloom, Neferti then suddenly foretells of a liberator, a savior who
would deliver the people and the nation from evil and fight off all the enemies of the
land. A King from the South “son of a woman from Ta-Seti (Nubia)” would come to
restore Maat and destroy Isfet (chaos and evil), and his name would be “Ameny,” the
abbreviated and affectionate name of Amenemhet I. Ameny also means the “Hidden
One,” which is significant because Neferti describes the liberator appearing out of
nowhere. Neferti ends by saying that future sages will pour libations to him when
everyone see that his words became true. Amenemhet would become the founder of the
Twelfth Dynasty. Again, the classical texts are abundant with valuable lessons.
Sinhue
There are scores of Afrikan classics from the Nile Valley, yet we must
acknowledge the painful fact that we are only glimpsing at a small reflection of an
immense literary past, most of which has been lost in ruin and war. Fortunately, the
writings which have survived are definitely enough to give us an appreciation of the Nile
Valley antiquities. In the above overviews, we have barely scratched the surface of the
deep literary past that includes narratives, dialogues, epics, poems, teachings, hymns, and
scriptures. Before concluding this section, there is one piece of literature which must be
discussed.
The story of Sinhue is also from the Twelfth Dynasty, nearly 4,000 years old.
Sinhue was composed in the first half of the Twelfth Dynasty, probably
shortly after the end of the reign of Senwosret I (c. 1875 BC). The earliest
surviving manuscript date from the reign of Amenemhat III, and late
copies show that it was read for at least 750 years (Parkinson, 21).
Carruthers begins the chapter in Intellectual Warfare where he discusses the significance
of Sinhue by quoting a statement from the text made by the Pharaoh Senwosret to Sinhue
while he was in self-imposed exile from the land of his ancestors:
Come back to the Black Land
Come back to the place
where you were born
Kiss the ground at the great gate
Mingle with the officials (61)
Sinhue worked in the royal court of the Pharaoh Amenemhet I. While away on a
military expedition with the heir to the throne the Pharaoh is assassinated. Sinhue
overhears the oldest son and soon-to-be Pharaoh Senwosret being informed of the tragic
news about his father. For reasons exactly unknown, Sinhue went into a panic and fled
Tawi (Kemet).
He traveled for many days and nights until he reached a land of the Asiatics.
There he would find a new home, become well-known, marry and have children who all
grew up to become as prosperous as he was in this new land. Sinhue became an
administrator and a military leader. Yet, in all of his success, Sinhue longed for the land
of his ancestors throughout the years.
In this foreign land, attaining great success, Sinhue was challenged in a death
match. Unable to avoid a contest of unnecessary violence, he defends himself and defeats
his opponent. This scene is widely thought of as the source of the Hebrew encounter of
David and Goliath.
As a result of coming close to death, and the continued longing for the land of his
ancestors, Sinhue prays for the day he can return home. His prayers are answered when
the Pharaoh sends a decree to him stating, among other things that he need not roam from
country to country and should return home to be treated like royalty. The Pharaoh says
that Sinhue has grown old and he should be planning a proper transition to the ancestors
in his own land. The Neb Tawi (Lord of the Two Lands) Pharaoh Senwosret, promises
that Sinhue would receive a royal burial with gold, semi-precious stones, sacred oils,
singers and dancers. He would be placed in a great limestone tomb with the proper linen
wrappings, ceremony, and mummification process as opposed to the burial in animal skin
he would receive away from home. In other words, Sinhue would have the proper
transition to the ancestral world, and this could not happen if he remained and died in a
foreign land.
Sinhue returned to his ancestral land where he lived the remainder of his life as a
member of the royal family. He was clothed in fine linen and anointed with oils. He
deserved these things because, as the Pharaoh said, he was a righteous man and his
speech was good. He enjoyed his last days, and he was eventually buried in a pyramid of
stone to live forever.
Carruthers felt that the Sinhue classic was one of the most significant pieces of
literature for Afrikans today. It is the story of a man who loses touch with his ancestral
land for a great period of time, but royalty was waiting for him all along. He roamed
country to country like a nomad without a home, but he would eventually go home where
he was buried in a pyramid of stone. Sinhue is similar to Afrikans who have lost touch
with their cultures and classic literatures. Sinhue receiving a royal burial in Kemet is not
our desire to become financially rich, but rather our regaining of Afrikan consciousness
and Afrikan content based education which is greater than riches. Let us not settle for an
improper home and an improper burial; let us return to the royalty of Afrikan
consciousness.
The Blossoming of Afrikan Literature Beyond Kemet
This essay has dealt with the classical literature of the Nile Valley, which is the
classical literature of Afrika. The Nile Valley was the root and stem of Afrikan world
literature that blossomed after the last Golden Age of Nile Valley civilization. Due to the
massive wars that swept across North and East Afrika, replacing populations, the people
who survived the catastrophic period would migrate closer to the heart of the continent.
These migrations are discussed in Chancellor Williams’ The Destruction of Black
Civilization, and are the topic of the chapter he entitled “The Scattering of the People:
Routes to Death and Resurrection.” The migrations are also discussed in Cheikh Anta
Diop’s African Origin of Civilization in the chapter “Peopling of Africa from the Nile
Valley.” Due to the nature of these sporadic migrations over centuries and millenniums,
due to the constant attacks against Afrikan people and Afrikan civilization, due to the
outlawing of Afrikan culture by the Europeans, Assyrians, and Arabs, the transmission of
the world’s first written language was lost for two thousand years until its recent
deciphering our times.
Although the course of history was altered, the classical written language was not
allowed to properly spread throughout the continent; many imprints from the Nile Valley
remained in the spoken languages, art, religion, and the general social structure of
societies throughout Afrika. This is where the oral traditions become of utmost
importance. Traditional Afrika is rich in oral traditions, histories, proverbs, epics, and
stories. The classical literature is absolutely necessary in the curriculum of the Afrikan
child, but the oral tradition must not be left out as an important source of the literary past.
The oral tradition has a total history of Afrika in itself about the founding of nations,
great ancestors, lessons, proverbs, and a wealth of insights about the Afrikan worldview.
The oral traditions of the Nigerian, the oral history of the Ghanaian, Sundiata’s founding
of ancient Mali, the South Afrikan stories of creation, the wise sayings of the East
Afrikans, the oral Spiritual text throughout the continent, and more are all necessary in
the literary curriculum of Afrikan based education.
Protest Literature
With the rise of the European enslavement era came another phase of Afrikan
literary history and Afrikan history in general. Resistance literature was born of this new
period. Poems, autobiographies, pamphlets, articles, newspapers, and speeches became
vehicles of protest against slavery. The Afrikan student must learn about the great
writings of Olaudah Equiano, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, David Walker, Frederick
Douglass, Martin Delany, and so many others. The protest literature is just as important
as learning about the great revolts and wars fought against slavery. It is absolutely critical
to the mind of the Afrikan child that knowledge of the history and literature of resistance
is properly taught. Also, if we understand that Dessalines of Haiti, Nanny of Jamaica,
Zumbi of Brazil, and the Afrikans who waged wars, guerrilla war, maroon activity, slave
mutinies, and resisted evil in the Americas are great histories that can be told through the
creative writing of short stories, we realize that we have not done enough writing of the
types of books our children should be reading. The valorization of a people’s ancestors is
necessary in the cultural transmission of not only values but as well a racial competence
of the group. “We can succeed because our ancestors have succeeded,” or “We will fight
injustice because we have always fought injustice,” or “We can build nations because our
people have always built nations,” is the idea of racial competence. If the memory of past
accomplishments is lost, then you can teach a person that he or she is a slave, or you can
teach them anything. When children are disconnected from their traditions, we get the
social ills that everybody often complains about, that so few understand how to solve.
Protest literature went into a new phase with the rise of colonization in Afrika.
The Afrikan world responded to the European colonization of Afrika with the Pan-
Afrikan movement. The anti-colonial literature, speeches, and writings of George
Washington Williams, Marcus Garvey, Kwame Nkrumah, Amilcar Cabral, Patrtice
Lumumba, and George Padmore are as important as the protest literature from the Civil
Rights era in the United States. In discussing protest literature, we would be incomplete
to leave out the literature of the Black Power movement from Malcolm X and SNCC to
the Black Panthers. The speeches, autobiographies, books, and articles are all necessary
in a sound literary curriculum for the Afrikan child. The way many students and teachers
are familiar with Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech is the way they must
become familiar with the great protest literature of the last few centuries. If our children
are not familiar with the protest literature that sprang from their history, they will only
assume that the battles against hypocrisy and injustice were never waged. They will not
understand the sacrifices made by so many for them, and these same children will not
understand their role as change-makers in the society they live in today. Worse still, they
may continue to sink into the ills and misfortunes that so many of them encounter.
Conclusion
.
The classical text of any culture is the core of their literary curriculum, and it must
be so for Afrikan people. The protest literature must be taught because many of the same
injustices still exist in society. Above all, Afrikan children must receive an education of
competence. This is the powerful role that history and literature must play in the
educational process. Literature and Reading classes / courses are not just the study of
sentence structure and parts of speech. Education is a weapon for liberation and a tool to
build not only the individual, but also the family and society. This process includes
literature. We must not sit by the sidelines and leave our children to a system of European
modeled miseducation which has consistently failed them.
Education is a tool of propaganda, but the question is propaganda for what? We
need only look to the purpose of education among other groups to find that answer.
Regardless of the subject, education among all nations in the world has one central
objective. If education is not set up to build and maintain nations, pass on traditions and
culture, create the tools for a people to prosper, then that is not education at all. This is
why only someone who considers their group a “minority” would discuss education
without discussing the objectives it should achieve. Most of our children will respond that
they believe that the purpose of education is to get a job. What they have been taught is
that you get a job and make some money, buy a car, get some nice clothes, and wear
expensive shoes. Many are happy when they become adults and are able to do just that,
especially without creating a great deal of debt. In other words, our children grow up
thinking that education is meant to help them be more successful consumers in the retail
market.
The purpose of education is nation-building and nation maintenance. This is what
our children must learn. Education is not for selfish gains, but rather the uplifting of a
people. In reading the classical literature of Afrika, our children will see a nation, a
government, a people, and a society based on Afrikan values and concepts. They will see
a fully functional community. They will see the nation that held the standard of
civilization for over 3,000 years. Our children will see an Afrikan nation based on the
universal order of truth and justice. They will see a world class civilization second to
none, then or now. Finally, they will see what they are capable of achieving today, and
they will understand that they are the proud and dignified bearers of Afrikan culture and
civilization.
Mukasa Afrika is the author of The Redemption of Afrikan Spirituality, and he formulated
the Miamba Tano or Five Pillars of Afrikan Spirituality. He is an African-Centered
activist, instructor, and lecturer. Life Against All Odds: the Autobiography of Mukasa
Afrika is forthcoming. Speaking engagements can be arranged at the toll free number
(866) 581-2944 PIN# 8400. Please see http://www.mukasa.info

[aziza]

Thank you for this article. I have not even read all of it yet, but I had to stop and tell you how emotional I feel reading the excerpts from the books cited in the article. Wow. The words hit somewhere so deep within me yet are as light as a feather.

thank you Brother Okyeame... Now back to reading

[Olùkọ́ Ọbádélé]

Originally Posted by aziza

Thank you for this article. I have not even read all of it yet, but I had to stop and tell you how emotional I feel reading the excerpts from the books cited in the article. Wow. The words hit somewhere so deep within me yet are as light as a feather.

thank you Brother Okyeame... Now back to reading

M'ani agye s¢ w'ani regye ho. Nkuranhy¢ ne "de¢-¢b¢tumi-asi"-kyer¢.

I'm happy that you're enjoying it. Inspiration is showing people possibilities!

[ch390]kyeame Kwame