Cleopatra’s tomb: Found at last?....So What!

Zahi Hawass is obsessed with finding Cleopatra’s tomb. She wasn’t even a queen during the time of the true Ancient Kemetic Dynasties. She is most likely part Ptomlemy, which means she is related to those conquered Ancient Kemet. All of this attention is being used to distract us from the fact that Ancient Kemet was ruled by Africans. Zahi’s goal is to continue the myth that Kemet was ruled by Europeans. Not even his own people (Arabs)! Talk about love for the conqueror. In his article, he associates Cleopatra with the “Egyptian Goddess, Isis”. When will we stop honoring the conqueror, Isis is the greek name for Ast, Osiris is the greek name for Ausar. As a linguist, I am deeply offended by those who use misnomers. And people, please stop using the term “cartouche” as Zahi continues to do. The term “cartouche” is a French term referring to the bullet cartridge of a gun. To the French, the Kemetic name holder resembled the cartridge. The Ancient Kemites referred to the name holder as “Shen”. It is a symbol of eternal life, not a symbol of death! It was used in ancient writings (known as Metu Neter- divine utterances, not “hieroglyphs”) to declare that your name will live on into eternity. We need to recognize the Ancient Kemites for who they were-- African people with African names. The Greeks destroyed monuments and created false images of their own. Let the Greeks honor their own people. Cleopatra is irrelevant to the history of the ancients. She is a biracial invader. The only thing that makes her famous is her complexion. It allows Europeans to continue to claim our heritage. Come on Zahi…let’s dig a little deeper and further back into the real history!

Articles on Cleopatra tomb:

Dispatch Online Article
http://www.dispatch.co.za/article.aspx?id=310728

San Francisco Chronicle Article
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/04/22/MNPH175IVL.DTL

Time Article
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1893329,00.html (make sure to click on pictures of Cleopatra through the Ages)

African Egypt, Part 2: Black Genesis by Robert Bauval

I know I promised that my Saturday posts would present the facts behind the African origin of Ancient Egypt. However, since I've neglected several Saturdays. I figured I'd post this one. Renowned author Robert Bauval's upcoming book, Black Genesis: The Quest for the Origins will make this case. While Mr. Bauval's book is not scheduled for release until next year, he has posted a brief video explaining part of his argument on YouTube.

Bauval's arguments include analysis of Nabta Playa, the monolith site approximately 70 miles west of Abu Simbel in the region between Egypt and Sudan (read Nubia/Kush). The site was initially considered irrelevant; however recent study has identified it as a stone circle calendar complete with the accompanying markers for the vernal equinox helical rising of several stars. The Ancient Khamites used these sorts of calculations to create the calendar which some argue is still more precise than the one in major use today. The creators of the site might have even been able to identify the 26,000 year cycle referred to as the Great Year. During this period, the stars seem to "reset" themselves in their positioning in our sky.

Why is all of this important you might ask? Well, the proponents of the argument of a European or Asian genesis to the amazing society of Ancient Egypt state that since the region demonstrated no sign of "high culture" prior to the unification of the two lands (Smai Tawi), the originators must have come from outside. This argument is rendered fallicious as signs of high culture in the region prior to Smai Tawi are unearthened. Carbon dating of the ancient camp fires around the Nabta Playa site have placed its creation at near 6,000 BCE. - around three millennia before the beginning of Ancient Kemet! Bauval even cites cave paintings in the region which are of people of African descent.

I must say I was surprised by Bauval's thesis. I would have expected him to follow the argument outlined by some of his collaborators (including John Anthony West). They argue that there must have been a foreign origin as well ... Atlanteans! Folks, we have seen bizarre arguments which refuse to give Africans credit for anything! Once again, our ancestors will continue to be vindicated. Until next time, Shem Hetep!

We're Back!

I have been so busy at work and pulled in different directions personally that I haven't posted in such a long time. I think part of my problem is that I approached this blog like the novice I am. I thought that I had to search far and wide to find new material for each post. Afterall, you just don't want to hear from me all the time, right?! Well, I think I might have resolved this problem. I won't give you all of my trade secrets, but I will tell you that I will now have much more material without all of the hand wringing. Stay Tuned! You're in for a wild ride!

The Fallicies of a Non-African Egypt

OK, I'll admit it. I broke an unspoken rule. I've spent parts of the last few weeks debating with a poster on YouTube. He is clearly motivated by racist ideas, as he has been posting videos which argue that the Ancient Egyptians were caucasian. He even tends to close most of his arguments by stating that when Europeans began to enslave Africans, we were still living in "the stone age".

I know. African Nationalists would do better not debating white racist. Particularly racists that don't have a basic grasp of world history. By our second email exchange, it occured to me that most of his arguments were sloppily culled from a few websites. A wise brother once told me that that wise men are better not arguing with fools ... onlookers have difficulty telling them apart.

I must say, however that I felt I needed to respond to his allegations as his videos registered thousands of hits as compared to dozens on my own. Clearly he understands what so many other racist propagandist understand. Scholarly researched articles don't reach the masses; poorly crafted arguments in public venues are much more powerful. In our modern technological world, there are few public venues more accessible than YouTube. This was the reason I offered to debate him in a neutral New York City location.

My racist poster keyed into a very powerful misnomer; the Ancient Egyptians could not be indigenous Africans. Actually, there are a blinding array of facts which prove a native African origin to the Khamites. Starting today we'll begin our weekly installments on The Udjat will make this case. This Saturday, we'll look at the incense burner found in a Nubian tomb at Qustal.

During excavations of royal tombs of Nubia's Ta-Seti in the early 1960s, archeologists were surprised to find clothing and funerary items which seem to prove cultural continuity with dynastic-Egypt. This find would be of little note if the tombs were from the 25th dynasty. However, the burials are from a period prior to the unification of Egypt.

One of the items of note from the royal burials is a carved-ivory incense burner which seems to display sacred animals and boating images reminicent to Kemet's splendid resurrection scenes. Most important, a royal seated figure (center of diagram) clearly wears the Hedjet, of White Crown of Upper Kemet. The burner also includes a image of a building structure meant to reference the entryway of a royal palace (first diagram image). The Qustul incense burner, which is on display at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, is proof of the native African origin of Ancient Kemet. Our African ancestors left the keys to reclaiming our splendor. We only have to retrace our steps to find them. Shem Hetep!

Hurricane Season Intensified by Global Warming, Study Finds

A study released by Kevin Trenberth and Dennis Shea of the National Center for Atmospheric Research reports that global warming is the cause of the massive increase in the number North Atlantic hurricanes. The study is in direct opposition to earlier studies which have posited that the increase was due to natural oceanic cycles of warming and cooling.

The study's detractors retort that scientists haven't been studying hurricanes long enough to make a true assessment, especially as several hurricanes were unreported in earlier periods. However, Trenberth and Shea factored on average 3 missed hurricane per year and still found the same scenario.

I wonder how the displaced citizens of New Orleans fell about the reality that our disharmony with our environment was the backdrop to racist governmental mismanagement of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Or what the families of victims of recent hurricanes in Haiti or the Dominican Republic would insist must be done. The most serious consequences of global irresponsibility are often foisted upon those least able to respond to them. As we continue to look at "nature" as an entity outside of ourselves, we'll continue to suffer. The Ma'atian ideal must be sought for remedy.

Welcome to The Udjat, the blog of the Center for the Restoration of Ma'at

Thanks for reading the first post of the new blog for the Center for the Restoration of Ma'at! I am ecstatic that you've found your way here. We believe that in the creation of our blog, we are attempting to fill a critical void in our public discourse. With so many indications that we have strayed far from our traditional values, it should be clear that we should be grasping for spiritual and ideological paradigms which can yoke us back from the brink of annihilation.

Why are so few looking to the example given to us by over two millennia of Ancient Egyptian civilization, the ideal of Ma'at? Unfortunately these teachings, when not maligned by the very spiritual systems that they spawned (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), remain in the monochromatic domain of "egyptology". The Center for the Restoration of Ma'at seeks to make the spiritual teachings of Kemet live once more. This blog and the accompanying website will continue to provide a practical, contemporary approach to living "The Legacy" as described by Chief Priest of the Shrine of Ptah, Heru Ankh Ra Semahj Se Ptah. Here is today's simple exercise to commence on this rewarding road. They will increase in complexity:

Try to schedule this exercise at precisely the middle of the day (12 noon). Think about how this time is an analogy for the balance and harmony that we must achieve in our lives. Find a quiet space for approximately 10 minutes. Sit in a comfortable position, close your eyes, and visualize an ostrich feather (or any other feather that might be easier to visualize). Imagine this feather and picture it's relative weightlessness as it is in free fall in a room without a floor and without definitive colors or boundaries. After 5 minutes of this exercise, clear this image from your mind and attempt to simply sit with a "quiet" mind. Try not to focus on any particular thought and attempt to completely distance yourself from the surrounding environment. Return to the great formless ocean which existed before creation, the Nun (pronounced like "noon" or "no-ooon"). After completing this meditative exercise, consider whether the balance (pun intended) of your day is more serene. More to come very soon! Shem Hetep!