Here’s a pretty interesting Afro-centric documentary on the history of my people, the Nubians and the forgotten civilization they built, one which at one point in time ruled Nubia and all of Egypt under the Nubian Pharaoh Taharqa, (who is mentioned in the Bible by the way). I found it by complete accident on YouTube and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I highly recommend you watch it and learn something about a civilization that is only recently starting to gain the recognition it deserves.
Here’s part 1.
Here’s the rest of it.
Apparently Will Smith is working on a movie in which he’ll play Taharqa.
SudaneseThinker
SudaneseThinker
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Thanks a lot for great article.I think we Africans forgot our glorious ancient black african History and instead intellectually tilted to the west.If we had embraced this great heritage in our literature ,instead of ‘colonial literature’,perhaps our minds could have taken a different turn…
Someone needs to be careful not to get into this bandwagon of proud afrocentrism just because there was the great Nubia kingdom. Every African American now (or then when the TV series were shown on Public television three years ago) seems to beleive that he/she is a descendent of Nubian kings. I am sorry to remind my dear friends that I can count many african kingdoms worthy of elaborate and grandiose social institutions and cultural sophistication.
I can name the golden empire of Ashanti kingdom, the Dogon kingdom, the Banbaras of Timbucktu, and the very beautiful kingdom of the Wadabee, and without forgeting the mighty and sophisticated kingdom of Zimbabwe. And the forgotten mighty kingdom of Kush (not to be confused with the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan). It is this Kush empire (way before Egypt became a household name in antiquity) that extended from Southern Egypt to Ethiopia that started to build small sarcaphegal pyramids to bury their leaders and individuals of notoriety. This is this Kush empire that was replaced by the Nubian kingdom when the Egyptian pharos started their hegemonic rule of the nile river. Yet I do not hear anyone saying that they are pround of the Kush empire.
With the exception of Kush and Zimbabwe, the other kingdoms did not leave great architectural edifices to remind themselves and us that they were great because they did not have to. One had to be reminded that pyramids were build for the elite pharaonic personalities only in order for them to be BURIED and consequently immortal in the after life. Granted that the pyramids are great technological marvels (that could tell us how technologically advanced they were) one has to be reminded that they were tombs and not the great city halls, senate buildings, or people assemblies halls, or common theaters or senior centers for that matter.
I think African American should not fall into the trap of ethnic or racial belonging just because the Nubian where contemporaries of the mightier Egyptians pharos, because it has this sense of “us” and “them” dichotomy which the “us” is better and the “them” is the other less worthy one.
As for the western educational institutions not teaching the contributions of these African empires to the world or not telling african americans of their heritage that’s another story.
I once spent a month going from Cairo to Abu Simbel with some friends on an absolute low budget. We considered going further south, but that was more complicated and we ran out of money. Watching this video makes me want to look for new adventures around the next corner. Hope to come back for the beauty of the Nile and the desert some day.
ochanji,
me pleasure.
Zaki,
the reason Nubia has more prominence than Kush is because it rose to greater heights. It’s that simple. Either way, both Kush and Nubia are in modern day Sudan anyways. As for the whole “proud Afrocentrism” thing you’re right to a certain extent, but there’s nothing wrong in having humble pride in one’s heritage. (And no, humble pride is not an oxymoron, just as arrogant/supremacist pride isn’t an oxymoron either).
By the way dude, where are you from if you don’t mind me asking?
Peter,
save up some cash and let me know when you’re ready for another adventure, cool?
Drima,
I am not sure where I am from. My nationality background in Moroccan/Algerian/French. Lived in all three countries. But now definetely a US citizen for more than 15 years. My ethnic background in even more twisted: Amazighen, Arab, Frencho-Arab crypo-jew.
How is that for a North African atheist? Defying categorization and labeling. I love it.
All the best,
“…As for the whole “proud Afrocentrism” thing you’re right to a certain extent, but there’s nothing wrong in having humble pride in one’s heritage…”
I did not insinuate that people should not be proud of their heritage, I am just weary of reverse ethnocentrism, although we all know it is not as vicious and virulent type of ethnocentrism usually reversed to white anglo-conformity trend that we all know about.
As I said, Nubian civilization is not alone as one of the greatest heritage. People should look for all the others (less known) one if they trully want to grasp to it means to have an African heritage, not simply looking for great edifices left by well known civilizations. The greatness of civilizations is their survivals not their ruins. Although do not take me wrong by assuming that I do not care about the relics of the past which can bring a sense of pride and joy. Let that to modern greeks.
I trully respect the work of Alex Haley’s searching his ancestry in the bushes of Guambia. He was the first one who genuinely open the geneological interests of African Americans. Another African American Jazz music legend who searched all his life for his ancestry while resting from countless recording and concerts, his search led him to tiny village in Ghana (part of the gold kingdom of Ashanti. The music legend was none other than Louis Armstrong.
Zaki -
AfricanAmericans are already there. We know not to be “Nile-centric” - there is difference between being afrocentric and nile-centric.
I am not sure that we have even tapped the civilizations of Africa yet. The Sahara which at time resembled to climate of the interior has to be researched as well. We also need to do research in the Sahara.
Please give African Americans more credit. We heard these criticism from everyone so you should know that we are aware of ethnic chauvanism.
In addition, AfricanAmericans spend most of their time and resources in West Africa our land of origin.
Salaam
Hi Zaki, thanks for info about those african civilization.. don’t forget to add the Axum empire to that list.. it also left some monuments.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Aksum
Is this from the National Geographic special I told you about some weeks (or months) ago? Nah, this isn’t it. Can’t be. They didn’t do a film on the subject. Why didn’t you reference the National Geographic special feature on ancient Nubia? The NatGeo piece is very informative and educational with lots of photos and graphics.
Did Omar (Sudanese President Hassan Ahmed Al-Bashir) stop the dam project that will flood the last remaining Nubian archaelogical sites in northern Sudan? No? Don’t matter, ’cause he is Going Down just like I told you several years ago.
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