The Old Temple Rock Inscriptions

The inscriptions at the Old Temple were discovered by اسامة علي ابومدين  Osama Ali Abu Medin. This Temple provide us information about the religious beliefs of Nile Valley people.

Osman Ali Abu Medin, wrote that: “The archaeological temple found in a sound oasis was built with super skill that shows the greatness of that civilization to which it belongs...Walls tendency allows sunshine to enter the temple only through very small balconies up the building. Maybe to give the atmosphere inside more terrifying and still.  The gateway to the corridor is also overlooked in front of the rooms in the oasis, where it was old, a large spring or a miniature lake of single water and also asked for river water from volcanic rocks loaded with gold and gems. And this place with these features confirms the sanctity of the site for that civilization”.

Osama Ali Abu Medin’s description of the Old Temple, makes it clear the Temple had chapels where the Believers could pray and communicate with the God. The Nile Valley people worshipped God at the Old Temple in the Nile Valley. At sites in the Sahara temples were built. At these sites people inscribed rocks with testimonies to their gods. One of the mysterious to gods venerated at these religious centers was “Igai” Lord of the Oasis.

The adherents to the Temple religion left many inscriptions in the area around this Oasis temple. The temple inscriptions are related to the “figural graffiti”.  Dr. Pope discussed the  figural graffiti, which are in reality the Thinite signs that were used in the Nile Valley since pre-Egyptian times.

Thinite or figural graffiti are etched into stone at Kurru and Philae Island. Researchers like F. L. Griffith when they survived many Meroitic sites ignored these signs. Although, they collected Demotic, Greek and Latin graffiti or Thinite signs.

Thinite signs have been found on Kurru 1 pyramids and the Kurru funerary temple. The Thinite signs at Philae are found upon the Gateway of Hadrian, so they date to the reign by Hadrian.

The Kurru site is very old. Construction at Kurru and Philae began with Taharqo. The Taharqo line of Pharaohs was interred at Kurru.

Before Egypt the major civilization in Africa was the Maa Confederation. The Maa Confederation or Proto-Saharan civilization was made up of many ethnic groups including Dravidian, Malinke-Bambara speakers, Sumerians and Elamites as I note in my book Before Egypt: The Maa Confederation, Africa?s First Civilization . The first mention of the Maa Confederation was M. Desplanges, in Origines des Populations Nigeriennes in the journal Anthropologie (17, 1906, pp.525-546).

The Maaites wrote their inscriptions in Thinite. I discuss many of the Thinite inscriptions in my book African Origin World Writing Systems .

The Maaites used a lingua franca of the Su people. The Su people were Malinke-Bambara.  Su founded the Minoan, Xi civilization of China and the Elamite civilization.

The inscriptions around the Oasis Temple are text that were meant to help the Believer organize their response to existence.  They saw these grounds as sacred territory.  In Figure 6, Illustration 6, we see To ni  “This raising ground the principle of Life” ;  and Illustration 10, we read Tu I fe gyo Ka , “Thine subjects, to the Order, in the Company of Love consecrated [in] this locatity”. In Figure 2, Illustration 2, we read Po fe I gyo , “Pure Love in the company of this sacre [place] of the Divinity”.

The text were meant to help the Believer organize their response to existence. The inscriptions on the rocks around the Oasis Temple, they did not believe you needed a priest to be the intermediary between man and God.

At the Temple site worshippers have engrave Thinite testimonies on local rocks. The inscriptions are dedications by worshippers acknowledge their allegiances to their local cult and God.

We do have some inscriptions where  Igai was probably mentioned. In Illustration 12, we see two inscriptions that were probably aimed at Igai. There we read I ga gyo gbe pa Iga(i),  ‘Thine House of the congregation [an] unblemished talisman of Igai’; and  Iga gyo ka I gbe pa I fe pa ii , “Igai  I ga gbe I [is] consecrated to the cult [in] this unblemished land is a mark of admiration here [there is] much Love in the company of [this mark of admiration]”. Igai is also mentioned in Illustration 15, Iga gbe I fe da , “ Igai thou unblemished Love in these environs.”

There are a number of selected words used by the worshippers at the Temple. These words illustrates the Believer’s veneration of their God.

The temple text provide us with the principles held by the Believers of the Temple. The most common term on the rocks  include gbe ‘unblemished, conviction, white, clear and virtue’; plus the word gyo “Divinity of the cult, talisman effective in providing one with virtue, or an object consecrated to the cult”.

The Believers at the Temple so the site as a talisman for “Goodness” In Illustration15 we read le li gbe I gyo I gyo , “Indeed unbleimished Goodness. The unblemished talisman [the house] is consecrated to the cult”. In Figure 1, Illustration 1 we see Gyo Fe , “This [place] a talisman effective in providing one with Virtue and Love”. In Illustration 16, we see Fe I gyo ba I ba yo su gyo ko gyo I gyo li , “Robust Love in the company of the Divinity, the Vigorous vital spirit [exist] in this domicle. The Object consecrated to the Cult, is an object of Respect in the company of this talisman consecrated to Goodness”.

The idea of Goodness is a predominate theme in the Temple inscriptions. It illustrates  that the Believers sought to be Good, at the Temple. In Figure 3, Illustration 3, I gyo su fe I ,  “In the company of the Divinity of the cult this domicile of Thine Love [Oh] God”.

The Temple was seen as a place where God dwelled  ko i , “in the company of God”.They recognized the site as a place of Unity, Love and the ‘vital spirit’ bequeath to man by God. In Figure 2 and Illustration 2, it was written Be lu fe , “[Here] Unite and hold up right Love”; and Illustration 13, Be po gyu , “Unite purity and the spirit of tranquility”.  The Believer saw the Temple as a site where the presence of God, existed as a vital spirit, noted in Figure 2, Illustration 2: Po yu gyo , “[The] Pure vital spirit [is] this Object [Temple] consecrated to the cult”; and Illustration 9, Fe lu po yo , “Hold upright the pure spirit [of the Divinity]”.

To followers of the cult had firm conviction that the Temple was seen like a Raising Star, as noted  in Figure 1 Illustration 1, ki gba ta ,” [Like] the raising star the terrain is sacred”. The Temple  was a place where man could learn much about the cult at  this abode of God  Ti i ba gba Ko , [Knowledge] delivered here [at] the vigorous abode of God”( see Illustration 9). At the gba Ko ‘abode of God’ the adherents to the cult were I tu ,’ obedient to the Law [of] the cult” (see Illustration 9). It was at the Temple the Believer would find Tranquility . In Figure 2 Illustration 2 we see Lu gyu fe , “Hold upright the spirit of tranquility and Love”; because the Temple was a place with Gyu I , “In the company [of] the Spirit of Tranquility”.

The adherent to the Temple faith was to be excited about his faith and show zeal in support of the cult. And in Figure 1 Illustration 1, it was written Pa ka ngbe , “much excitement and virtue”, and Ba I gyu , “Thine Powerful base [of] zeal [for God]” (see Illustration 8).

Thusly the Believer was acknowledged as an envoy of the Divinity and the Mystic Order.. In Figure 2, Illustration 2, Ki tu le i , “Envoy on a mission [to support the cult] obedient to the Order indeed in Thine Company”, and le I ta ,  “Certainly in the Company of the Mystic Order” or “Thine [God] envelopes the sacred entrance”.

It was demanded by the cult, that one remained obedient to the Order, Figure 6 Illustration 6, To ni , “Obedience to the Order is the principle of Life”, and  I to ni , “Thine obedience to the Order is the principle of Life”.

Th e testimonals often made it clear that le , enveloping of the entrance to the temple. In Illustration14, Fe le I yo gyo fe be le gyo I , “Love envelopes the entrance to the house [of God] the vital spirit of the Divinity and Love United in [land] consecrated to the cult”. There is frequent mention of ga , house of the family, used in the testimonials on the rocks. In the case of ga , in relation to these inscriptions probably means’ house of the congregation’. In Illustration 12, we see two inscriptions that were probably aimed at Igai. There we read I ga gyo gbe pa Iga(i),  ‘Thine House of the congregation [an] unblemished talisman of Igai’.

The Temple was recognized as the house of the Divinity. In Illustration 10, we see Pe lo gyo , “The infinite [house] consecrated to the cult”. In Figure 4, Illustration 4, Ga Gyo “[Here] the House of the Divinity of the cult”.

The Temple lands were recognize as a superior location. In Figure 3, Illustration 3 we see Ka se gyo , “The narrow superior entrance [to the Temple] is an Object consecrated to the Divinity”. It was also seen as a place of rest as illustrated in Figure 4, Illustration 4, Gyo to , “The Object consecrated to the Cult is a place of rest”. In general the Temple grounds were considered Holy Ground, as noted in Figure 6, Illustration 6, Le gyo , “Indeed an area consecrated to the Divinity”.

The Temple inscription often call on the Believer to su , make libations to Ko ‘God’: Su Ko , Offer the libation to God”, and in fact the Temple was seen as  Ge su gba I , “to live as a sacrifice fixed in the ground”.

The writers of the Temple text, made it clear that Believers should lu , hold upright Fe ‘Love’. Sharing Love  to others was recognized as a Libation to God. In Illustration 12, we see Ka fe su I , “The zeal of Love is thine Libations”. As a result, Fe ‘Love’ was a major request of the cult followers. In Figure 4 Illustration 4, we read Lu  ge Fe Gyo , “Hold upright and sprout Love [ of the Object consecrated to the Divinity”. A Temple Believer noted in Illustration 12, is I gyo gyo fe i , “Thine unblemished Divinity of the cult [is] Loved here”.It was at this Temple the cult follower was to Fe po lu , “Pure Love Hold it upright.”

Another interesting term used in the Temple text is Ka . Ka means ‘zeal’. . In Illustration 12, we see Ka fe su I , “The zeal of Love is thine Libations” . It become visible that the Believer felt the followers of the cult should be active worshippers of the cult.

The cult followers were working to further the cult and belief in God because it was recognized as a mark of Admiration. Thusly we have in Illustration Gyo pa pa be , “This Object of Respect [the Temple] consecrated to the Divinity is a mark of Admiration and much subsistence”.  The Believer was to present a character of Goodness . In Illustration 13, we read li fe  yo pe I gyo , “Goodness, Love and the vast vital spirit [of the Divinity] in the company of the Divinity of the cult”. A Good character was  considered the normal behavior of the adherent to the cult Po lu se , ‘Extensive superior Good’ (Illustration 8); and    Fe  li lu , “To desire to hold upright moral approval (see Figure 3 Illustration 3).

In summary, the Temple text were meant to help the Believer organize their response to existence. To these followers of the Temple the Divinity was usually nameless and recognized as just  Ko ‘God’.

Ko , God was not hidden. Temple cult followers saw God as a living God. They did not not give a particular name to their God,because it was assumed that everyone in the cult knew God. And God , to the cult followers was ever present in the consciousness and world of the Believer, and therefore since they knew God personally, they did not have to represent their God iconographically, because he was alive in the heart of the Believer.

The Temple text allowed the Believer to communicate intimately with God. The Temple text were meant to help the Believer organize their response to everyday living. As a result, the text suggest that Temple Believers did not need a priest as the intermediary between man and God.

Finally, the Temple text , were life manuscript, because they sought from God guidance in communicating and interacting with your fellow man. These text indicate that it was accepted by all, that God exist and was known by every member of society. As a result, they did not have to give their God a specific name. To the Temple Believer it was recognized that God was a vital spirit infused inside each Believer.

References:

Pope,J.(2019). Figural Graffiti from the Meroitic Era on Philae Island. In Along the Nile and Beyond, Eds Geoff Emberling and Suzanne Davis. Kelsey Museum Publication 16, pp.71-86.

M. Desplanges,M. (1906).  Origines des Populations Nigeriennes ,  Anthropologie ,17: pp.525-546.

 Winters, C. (2013). Before Egypt: The Maa Confederation, Africa?s First Civilization .

Winters, C. Archaeological Decipherment of Ancient Writing Systems .

Winters, C. African Origin World Writing Systems .

Below are the Old Temple Inscriptions.

Figure 4

Illustration 2

The Etymology of ḫЗšt and k3š= Kush

I don't know the etymological meaning of Wawat. The etymology of kushite: ḫ_s, is determined by geography and ethnicity. The vowel associated with K_sh can be an /a/,/e/ or /u/. The root word is interpreted as a geographical term probably meaning hilly area.

The surrounding non Kush populations usually refered to the people living in these hilly areas as "blacks" or Nehesy. Thusly, Kush would mean "hilly land where the Nehesy [from the Sudan] live. I have not been able to determine what the etymology of Kush is based on the Kushite languages up to now.


The Kushites were originally called ḫЗšt ,Ta-Seti, Nehesy and Tehenu by the Egyptians The Kushites were called ḫ3s.t(j) beginning in Narmer’s time, and k3š in Middle Egyptian beginning with the 18th Dynasty.



The Kushites were called ḫЗst from Nubia and Taleh (Lower Egypt) into the Levant. Kushites had early settled in the Levant since Narmer times. We find Narmer's name on jars and serekhs from excavations in Israel and Palestine , for example Tel Erani, Arad, 'En Besor, Halif Terrace/Nahal Tillah and more(4). A bulla dating to this period makes it clear that this part of the Negev was called ḫЗts.t ("Kush") or ḫ3s.tj ("Kushite").
The Old Kingdom rulers also referred to the Kusites in Nubia as ḫ3st .





Most researchers accept the contemporary meaning of Gardiner's N25 symbol as "Rulers of foreign lands" not Kush”. But this was not the first meaning assigned this sign. Breasted translated N25, as "heqa ḫ3st ". In my book the Kushites, Who, What, When, Where, I explain that the Hyksos were Blacks native to Lower Egypt.

Semantically reading N25 as "Rulers of foreign land" is unintelligent, for example “Wawat Rulers of foreign lands” , is incorrect, because Wawat was the name of a nation, not a king. As a result, ḫ3st, was used to identify the nationality of the Wawat, Kau and other Kushite = ḫ3st.

Thusly, the inscription of Weni line 46 : “His majesty made war on the Asiatic Sand-dwellers and his majesty made an army of many ten thousands; in the entire South, southward to Elephantine, and northward to Aphroditopolis [Busiris]; in the Northland on both sides entire in the [stronghold], and in the midst of the [strongholds], among the Irthet "heqa ḫ3st [Kusites], the Mazoi "heqa ḫ3st [Kushites], the Yam "heqa ḫ3st [Kushites], among the Wawat "heqa ḫ3st [Kushites], among the Kau "heqa ḫ3st [Kushites], and in the land of Temeh.”
The Hyksos were also referred to as ḫ3st. The Hyksos ruled from 1650-1550.

The New Kingdom lasted from 1549-1292. During the New Kingdom Egyptians used the name Aamw, as a generic name for the Asian, the term : Habiru, was ethnonym for one of the Asian tribes. It is clear that if the Habiru and Heqa Khasut were the same people, they would have had the same name given the fact the New Kingdom, began at the end of the Heqa Khasut Dynasty.



There are many Hyksos inscription where they were identified as ḫ3st . The Hyksos door jamb signs reads “King of the Kushites. ḫ3st is also found on the Hyksos scarabs. These scarabs often begin with the title Heqa ḫ3st and the plural marker III, and should read “King of the Kushites”.
This is obvious when we look at the Khnumhotep II, inscription. Here we see above a Nubian ibis heqa ḫЗst, under the ibis is the name Abisharie. This inscription reads: "The Kushite King Abisharie".


The Greeks called Kush: Ethiopia.

The earliest mention of the term k3š , is mentioned on the Buhen stela from the Sety1 (1294-1279). Kush was also written “KSH” in Egyptian text dating between 1550-1069 BC.
The native name of the Kingdom was recorded in Egyptian as k3š, based on the New Kingdom-era Akkadian transliteration as the genitive kūsi.

It is also an ethnic term for the native population who initiated the kingdom of Kush. The term is also displayed in the names of Kushite persons, such as King Kashta (a transcription of k3š-t3 "(one from) the land of Kush"). Geographically, Kush referred to the region south of the first cataract in general. Kush also was the home of the rulers of the 25th dynasty.

Some researchers believe Kush was derived from Qvs. Kush can not be derived from Qevs, there is no 'v', in Meroitic.


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The Meroites called themselves Qus, but we may never know the exact meaning of Kush. L. Torok and J. Leclant have found In the Meroitic text that the Meroites referred to themselves as Qeš. I noted that in the Tanyidamani Stelas the Meroites called themselves Kushites/Qoshites. In the Tanyidamani inscription we read Qor ene Tañyidamani ne al e Qosne I bl p mni , “The Monarch, the Commander, the good and noble Tañyidamani, give [this] Kushite leave to praise and to supplicate Amani”.

The Handbook of Oriental Studies (New York:Brill,1997) out lines the history of the term Kush in relation to the Kushites on pages 2-3. Torok points out that the name for the first ruler of the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty, Kashta, probably meant "the Kushite" his nomen was k3š-t3 "of the land of Kush". He also noted that Kush, also appears as the ancestral kingdom of Piya in his Sandstone Stela and King Arqamani in the Second Century BC received the mortuary Horus name "The Kushite whose-coming-into-being -is divine".

The textual evidence make it obvious that the people of Meroe, and earlier rulers of Kerma and Napata from the same region, may have called themselves Kushites.




The people of Upper Nubia and the Sudan were known in Egyptian as k-'-s and k-'-s-I, as ḫЗts.t or Khasut which corresponds to Kashit and k3š-t3. The Hebrew people called the Kushites kus. In the cuneiform inscriptions the Sudanese were called Kusiya. In the Ethiopic inscriptions of Ezana, the Kushites were called Kashi or Kasu. In Sumerian the Kushites were called Melukha = Kasi and Kasi = Kush. The Meroites identified themselves as Qoš, Qes, Qos.

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In conclusion, the presence ḫ3st in Line 46 of the Weni Inscription and the Narmer bulla indicates that since this area was called ḫЗts.t or Kush, since Narmer ruled the area he was a Kushite.

The k3š seems to have been used to refer to the Kushites during the New Kingdom.

The modern interpretation of Gardiner’s Egyptian sign N25 as ḫЗts.t is wrong. There is no evidence that /t/ should be added to ḫЗts.t, as a result I believe N25 was originally ḫЗs, not ḫЗst . Writing just Heqa ḫЗst means Kushite King, while adding three lines makes the plural: King of the Kushites.

Thusly on the Semqen scarab we have Semqen king of the Kushites. On the Khnumhotep II Beni Hassan inscription we have Heqa ḫЗst in front of the lead Hyksos above the Nubian ibis, and the name Abisharie below heqa ḫЗst.

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Pioneering study proves Olmec DNA is African DNA

The Olmec people were Mande speaking people who migrated to Mexico around 1200 BC. This was supported by the fact that they called themselves Xi and the textual evidence found in Izapa  Stela #5.  Izapa Stela # 5  shows the Olmecs sailing on a boat to Mexico.

This reality was further confirmed by Olmec skeletons , and inscribed Olmec artifacts excavated on Olmec sites. The decipherment of the Olmecs text indicated they spoke a Malinke-Bambara language that belongs to the Mande family of languages.

We now have Olmec DNA. Enrique  Villamar Becerril (1),  has found that the Olmec carried mtDNA  A, which is a subclade of the Macrohaplogroup N. Haplogroup N originated in Africa.

Enrique wrote: "The pioneering study of ADNMT carried out on Olmec individuals, one from San Lorenzo and the other from Loma del Zapote, resulted, in both cases, in the unequivocal presence of the distinctive mutations of the “A” maternal lineage. That is, the origin of the Olmecs is not in Africa but in America, since they share the most abundant of the five mitochondrial haplogroups characteristic of the indigenous populations of our continent: A, B, C, D and X. “

The discovery that the Olmec carried haplogroup A does not prevent the Olmec from being African as claimed by Villamar Bercerril , because foundational Blacks in the United States and Africans, including the Mande speakers carry mtDNA A, X and etc.

There are no “pure” Mexindians. Lisker (5) noted that between 5-50% of Indian genes are African genes. The Mixe, Zenu , Wayuu and other Mexican groups with YAP+ associated A-G transition at DYS271. Haplotype DYS271  is of African origin. In addition,  The Maya speaking Ch’ol and Chontal at Campeche carry R-M173, E1b1b, K and T. These are DNA haplogroups common to Africans.

 

Indian y-chromosome haplogroups C and D show African admixture at locus DYS271.  The American mtDNA haplogroups A and B are part of the haplogroup N macrohaplogroup.

African people carry mtDNA A common to mongoloid Native Americans and  y-chromosome R, so they probably passed on these genes to mongoloid Native Americans

The mtDNA A haplogroup common to Mexicans is also found among the Mande speaking people and some East Africans (2-4). Haplogroup A is found among Mixe and Mixtecs (2).The Mande speakers carry mtDNA haplogroup A, is common among Mexicans (4). In addition to the Mande speaking people of West Africa, Southeast Africa Africans also carry mtDNA haplogroup A (3).

In addition to DNA, the Spanish explorers reported many Africans in Mexico. The Spanish explorers mentioned Black Nations and Black tribes in the Americas, they met, even before African slaves were landed in America. The Spanish said the Aztecs were Negroes.

 Paul Gaffarel noted that when Balboa reached America he found "negre veritables" or true Blacks. Balboa noted "...Indian traditions of Mexico and Central America indicate that Negroes were among the first occupants of that territory." This is why so many Mexicans have "African faces".

In conclusion, Olmec have left us many skeletons, and textual evidence indicating that they were Mande speakers. We have also illustrated that The Spanish found many African communities when they came to America. As , a result, it is only natural that the Olmecs carried African genes like mtDNA haplogroup A. Moreover the presence of haplogroup A among the Olmec, result from Mande speakers carrying this haplogroup in Africa.

References:

1.                 Villamar Becerril Enrique, “Estudios de ADN y el origen de los olmecas”, Arqueología  

Mexicana, núm. 150, pp. 40-41.

2.                    Bonilla C, Gutierrez G, Parra E J, Kline C, Shriver M D. (2005). Admixture of a rural population of the State of Guerrero,Mexico, Am J Phys Anthropol. Dec;128(4):861-9.

3.                   Salas A, Richards M, De la Fe T, Lareu M V, Sobrino B, Sanchez-Diz P, Macaulay V, Carracedo A. (2002). The making of the West African mtDNA Landscape, Am J. Hum. Genet, 71:1082-1111.

4.                   Jackson B A, Wilson J L, Kirbah S, Sidney S S, Bassie L, Alle J A D, McLean D C Garvey W T.(2005). Am J Phys Anthropol. 128:156-163.

5.                   Suarez-Diaz,(2014) Indigenous populations in Mexico. Medical anthropology in the Work of Ruben Lisker in the 1960’s. Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 47 (p.117)