Catherine Acholonu: Igbo Traditions Reveal Ancient “Genetic Engineering”
Posted on July 22, 2009 by Richard Bartholomew
Also: accuses me of racism

Prof. Catherine Acholonu has a new book out: They Lived Before Adam: Prehistoric Origins of the Igbo The Never-Been-Ruled. Acholonu is Nigeria’s Country Ambassador for the UN Forum of Arts and Culture (UNFAC), and according to this profile:

The UNFAC team of culture researchers- linguists, anthropologists, historians, IT specialists, folklorists – led by Prof. Acholonu, are conducting research aimed at unearthing the hidden meanings of ancient Nigerian rock art/inscriptions known as Ikom Monoliths of Cross River State, which thanks to Acholonu’s research findings and nomination application, have now been listed by the World Monument Fund in its 2008 list of 100 Most Endangered Sites as “a ancient form of writing and visual communication … dating before 2000 B.C.” Acholonu is seeking international support and funding for her monoliths research by which she has proved that Sub-Saharan African Blacks possessed an organized system of writing before 2000 B.C. (more than 4000 years ago) and a Pre-History recorded on 350 stones which she and her team of researchers are now transcribing and translating. (See The Gram Code of African Adam, the first in a series on the monoliths research.) She believes that the contents of these stone records will prove that Black Africans were the midwives of human civilization, and will change human history as we know it.

The inflated claim in the last sentence should set off alarm bells, and here she is in full flow on C-SPAN’s BookTV, speaking recently at the Harlem Book Fair:

Our research includes the origin and meanings of symbols used in every religion and sacred literature all over the world. In these, we found that the Hebrew Bible, the Kabbalahs of the Hebrews and the Chinese, the Hindu Vedas and Ramayana, and the recently discovered Egyptian Crystal Bible called the Nag Hammadi are of immense importance in revealing lost knowledge. Wherever we looked we found evidence confirming the claims by geneticists who have been conducting mitochondrial DNA research in four leading universities here in the USA that all mankind came from sub-Saharan Africa, that Eve and Adam were black Africans.

…Igbo oral traditions confirm the findings of geneticists, that by 208000BC – 208000 BC – human evolution was interrupted and Adam, a hybrid, was created through the process of genetic engineering. However, our findings reveal that the creation of Adam was a downward climb on the evolutionary ladder, because he lost his divine essence, he became divided, no longer whole, or wholesome. All over Africa and in ancient Egyptian reports, oral and written traditions maintain that homo erectus people were heavenly beings, and possessed mystical powers such as telepathy, levitation, bi-location, that their words could move rocks and mountains and change the course of rivers. Adam lost all that when his right brain was shut down.

Listening to that is enough to shut down both sides of the brain. It’s all nonsense, of course - the texts she cites contain no “lost knowledge”, and her description of the Nag Hammadi library (Nag Hammadi is the name of a place) as the “Egyptian Crystal Bible” is simply bizarre. The concept of “Chinese Kabbalah” can be found in a couple of dusty tomes about Freemasonry, but the term has no sensible academic application. The “lost knowledge” she has supposedly discovered is just the latest formulation in a long tradition of pseudo-scientific and mystical speculations that feed parasitically off scientific work. The purpose of all this is apparently to show that the Igbo of Nigeria are the true “kings and queens of the earth”.

Remarkably, as well being broadcast by C-SPAN, this farrago was also recently presented at an Igbo Studies Association conference at Howard University; her speech there can be seen here. It’s more of the same:

Leaning on Archaeology, Linguistics, Historical, Anthropological and Paleontological sources, but also using Igbo, Yoruba and Benin Oral Traditions (for all these peoples are related), Biblical and extra-Biblical sources such as the Hebrew and Chinese Cabbalas, our researchers trace the presence of Igbo-speaking, ichi-bearing god-men world civilizers all the way from the ancient Nok region of Nigeria, to the Sahara Desert of North Africa and to Pre- and Post-Deluge civilizations around the world, all the way to Egypt, China, India, Greece, Babylon, Assyria, Palestine, etc.; their Pre-Deluge connections to the lost continent of Atlantis where the Igbo language was also spoken; their contributions to the shaping of Hebrew culture, Judaism, the Cabbala and ultimately, Christianity; and their role in ancient Egypt in shaping world Democracy and Philosophy as inventors, architects, philosophers and masterminds of Theocracy and of the egalitarian society known in Greece and the world over as Democracy. Indeed Ndi Igbo have never ceased to be world travelers. As they populate the remotest parts of the planet today, so have they done since at least 500,000 B. C.

However, she doesn’t react well to criticism; I blogged about her previous book Garamma: Stone writings of African Adam in 2005, and her response has been to assert that I am a racist:

Dear Bartolomew and co,
I promised you I would be on C-Span on the 18th of July, 2009 to discuss my latest book and discoveries – the sequel to The Gram Code of African Adam which you have been insulting and casting racist slurs at. Well my lecture came up on the 17th but was out on U-Tube by the 18th. You can obtain copies of the lecture on C-Span Online Library and you can watch part of it on The Daily Beast U-Tube site.

Clearly, the civilized world is listening, Bartolomew. Hardly anyone is still jumping around in the jungle of human error thinking racist thoughts like you and your KKK-sounding kind,

For someone who has many tuning into your site, you would do your image a world of good by coming out of your 10th Century fixation with racial stratification of the human intellect. We would be glad to welcome you into the 21st Century.

Of course I’m not a racist – I’ve written against racism numerous times on this blog, and I’ve been proud to carry a guest-post by the Nigerian intellectual Leo Igwe. Acholonu’s theory is a grandiose fantasy, and it would be patronising to say otherwise. It’s rather pathetic to see someone who wants to be taken seriously hiding behind a bogus accusation of this kind.

Acholonu’s complete C-SPAN talk can be seen here. I’ve also blogged on a religious movement in the UK that uses Igbo identity – see here.



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http://barthsnotes./2009/07/22/catherine-acholonu-igbo-traditions-reveal-ancient-genetic-engineering/


Ndipe's comment: When I saw this woman on television making this absurd claims, I flipped the channel.

Why will you say she makes absurd claims? You sit behind a computer refuting her work, and i bet you are not a researcher or a scientist. For once dont be a rebel to reason. Be open minded and find out if her claims might have some truth in it.
I use to think Acient Egyptians were arabs until i came across a post here on NL that shows Acient Egyptians were Black. I would have said oh its an absurd claim but from then on i've been researching on this,though i aint a scientist or archeaologist, my findings have opened up new worlds i always thought never existed. I'll post various links on this matter later on.
And please dont brand her unprofessional for her response to her critics. Branding you a racist is equal to saying you are a murderer. Different people with different attitudes have different ways of responding to criticsm.
I think if you set out to disprove her claim,and do some research on your part, you will be surprised at what you will find. Seek and you shall find, the World past and present is bigger than what you basically think.
You can start with the Nazca Lines in Peru.

I use to think Acient Egyptians were arabs until i came across a post here on NL that[b] shows [/b] Acient Egyptians were Black.

so you're quite convinced thanks to NL.

People have started writing thesis about this forum I guess. For their Masters and Phds.

@babaearly

Egyptians were Egyptians, Neither black or Arab

@topic

These Igbo people can take things too far, Adam was Igbo now? ok

If an Igbo Man is Adam therefore a Hausa Man must have been God

Gamine:



@topic

These Igbo people can take things too far, Adam was Igbo now? ok

A typical and rather idiotic response instigated by inherent desire to hate anything with Igbo originality.

The last time I checked, even mere hypothesis are works of men.

blacksta:

If an Igbo Man is Adam therefore a Hausa Man must have been God

An unwarranted analogy concocted by a retarded stream of thought.

Why attack me , why not attack the sole intention of the poster


Mugu

The lady didnt say Adam was an Igbo man even if that's what she's implying.

If I read the first paragraph right, she's saying Igbos preceded Adam.

They Lived Before Adam: Prehistoric Origins of the Igbo

the woman issues these news releases every once in a while.In the one before this, she said Igbos preceded Jews in Isreal as the original inhabitants. Meaning Jews are Igbo, not the other way round, if I understood her correctly. Most of the time I dont.

I actually dont know if she means for her work to be regarded as fiction or research. I'm also not sure why she makes the headlines every so often?

blacksta:

Why attack me , why not attack the sole intention of the poster


Mugu

If there is any “mugu” trait on this discuss, you have clearly demonstrated to have such attributes since it was your idiotic self that have leaped into an imbecilic analogy.

tpia.:

The lady didnt say Adam was an Igbo man even if that's what she's implying.

If I read the first paragraph right, she's saying Igbos preceded Adam.






the woman issues these news releases every once in a while.In the one before this, she said Igbos preceded Jews in Isreal as the original inhabitants. Meaning Jews are Igbo, not the other way round, if I understood her correctly. Most of the time I dont.

I actually dont know if she means for her work to be regarded as fiction or research. I'm also not sure why she makes the headlines every so often?

You are bomb young lady. It is nice and very refreshing to read from folks such as you with solid comprehensive pedigree.

lmao

Dede1:

You are bomb young lady. It is nice and very refreshing to read from folks such as you with solid comprehension pedigree.

Ah?

Gamine:

@babaearly

Egyptians were Egyptians, Neither black or Arab

@topic

These Igbo people can take things too far, Adam was Igbo now? ok

That's the politically correct answer given by the Egyptian minister of anquities/culture, but we know better. Even in Egypt, we still have very dark skin people today.

So every Dark skinned person = African ?

Egypt has been influenced by blacks and arabs(whites), they are highly mixed.
no one is saying there arent dark-skinned people there.

Egyptians were Egyptians

Lets Egyptians be Egyptians. why do we have to define their ethnicity and skin color for them?

Gamine:

So every Dark skinned person = African ?

Yes, every dark skin person, born in Africa, with nappy hair, and broad nose as depicted by many Egyptian status and drawings from antiquity is very definitely an African. Quote me.

bawomolo:

Lets Egyptians be Egyptians. why do we have to define their ethnicity and skin color for them?

Let's not forget the historical and anthropological context here. No need to turn this topic into a contemporary tribalistic Nigerian debate.

I'm still waiting for real scholarly views that oppose Prof. Achalonu's theory.

I do take kindly to constructive criticism. But no Nigerian likes to be told they can't say their mind, or that any field of human endeavour is off limits for them. Bartholomew has to get used to that. Then he has to challenge my work on issues, not on my being African, which is the only reason he keeps saying his mind shuts down at the preposterous nature of my conclusions. To disprove my conclusions he must read my work or at least the many reviews of it on the internet. Anything short of that is an insult on his readers' intelligence. Surely he wouldn't have any problem reading me if I wasn't an African. And if I was a Western Scholar, talking about Adam being a Westerner, he wouldn't be flinging hate mails at me. So for him to suggest he is not a racist, is like he doesnt know his intentions are all too obvious and that Africans are not children, but very, very intelligent people.

okey. . .

I quite understand why acholonu heated up in her response. It is a well known fact that 'white' people will rush quickly to dispell the fact that blacks took part in the early civilisation. In fact I remember quite well that Phillip Emeagwali got the same response when he postulated that some of the ancient scientists and mathematicians were blacks. Didn't a racist professor recently tell us that white brains are superior to that of black people?

However, I do not intend that this generates into a race issue. Let everyone believe whatever he wants to believe.

Look at these clowns. If Oyibo man did research and said Adam was Russian, we'll readily agree. The truth is being told now and we're crying all over the place. The moral of the African has been so battered they they believe nothing can originate from them except evil.

By the way, the Arabs invaded Egypt during the spread of Islam about 700 AD so I don't know why some fellows argue that ancient Egyptians had Arab features.

We were here before anyone else whether we like it or not, It's the truth.

Well what does it matter now?

Gamine:

Well what does it matter now?

It matters a lot if only you can open your eyes. Uuuhm, but I doubt it

Open my eyes?

So 'Adam' was Igbo.

ok, accepted.

*Suddenly, hunger, pain and suffering in the world disappears*

acholonu:

I do take kindly to constructive criticism. But no Nigerian likes to be told they can't say their mind, or that any field of human endeavour is off limits for them. Bartholomew has to get used to that. Then he has to challenge my work on issues, not on my being African, which is the only reason he keeps saying his mind shuts down at the preposterous nature of my conclusions. To disprove my conclusions he must read my work or at least the many reviews of it on the internet. Anything short of that is an insult on his readers' intelligence. Surely he wouldn't have any problem reading me if I wasn't an African. And if I was a Western Scholar, talking about Adam being a Westerner, he wouldn't be flinging hate mails at me. So for him to suggest he is not a racist, is like he doesnt know his intentions are all too obvious and that Africans are not children, but very, very intelligent people.

Prof. we're so very proud of your work!
Most racist/tribalistic attitudes are displayed rather subconsciously, so don't be too upset at Bartholomew. Actually, I'll advice you to be more prepared for such unacademic diatribe as your work gets more recognition. The truth will always bail you out.

N/B: In your description of man's origin you mentioned Ugwuele. I don't know if it's a typo or something, but I think you meant Ugwueme, which is a hilly town along the mountain ridge you described in your work. Ugwueme straddles the Udi/Awgu hill complex that extends to Okigwe, it's a boundary town in Awgu local government in Enugu state, but boards Lokpa (Abia state) and Isuochi (Imo state), and within an ear shot/ walking distantce to Isiagu and Uburu(Ebonyi state).

Ugwueme is the only town I know where you come get up in the morning, bicycle for 30 minutes to Owerre-Ezukala(Anambra state) to buy palm wine, stop at Isuochi, and return home before lunch. After lunch, you could stroll down the rolling hills to Lokpa-Nta, and then go to buy rock salt at Uburu before dinner time, and thereby covering all the 5 Igbo states of the country within a few hours.

Gamine:

Open my eyes?

So 'Adam' was Igbo.

ok, accepted.

*Suddenly, hunger, pain and suffering in the world disappears*

Do you know when skeptism becomes unhealthy? When it is not balanced with any objective, academic, or realistic criteria; that's when it becomes unhealthy.

Here's another thread to help you see the light.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-326177.0.html

Its not about being skeptic,

It doesnt matter to the world of now
whether Adam was Igbo or Inuit.

It would only matter to those who prefer to widen the divide
and im not one of them, there are bigger issues.

Gamine:

Its not about being skeptic,

It doesnt matter to the world of now
whether Adam was Igbo or Inuit.

It would only matter to those who prefer to widen the divide
and im not one of them, there are bigger issues.

I agree that there're bigger issues than making Adam Igbo or not. Just for purely academic purposes, I do know that language/tribe/religion and even culture changes over time, so, what we call Igbo today, definitely was not Igbo 2000-3000 years ago. Same things goes for Hausa, Yoruba, etc. While it's surprising to shock our senses with the possiblity of a sub-saharan/black Adam, the discuss ought not be limited to the constrictive geo-political divide of contemporary Nigeria.

Sure,
But academical, these will only lead to other complex matters.
because this Adam story would only be valid, if the creation story is proven true.

While we still have the origins of the world being vague (big bang and other theories)
The black Adam is limited to the confines of the Bible

Gamine:

Sure,
But academical, these will only lead to other complex matters.
because this Adam story would only be valid, if the creation story is proven true.

While we still have the origins of the world being vague (big bang and other theories)
The black Adam is limited to the confines of the Bible

Confusing astrophysics with religious beliefs have always turned out to be wrong.

@naijaking1

It seems you are a very good tipper. How could you associate Gamine with astrophysics? It is no gainsaying that Gamine, if given 20 options, could not comprehend the ancient historical intrigue the esteemed Professor Catharine Acholonu was trying  to uncover. Yet Gamine has displayed a foolish intent to tow the plank of a mad and deranged fellow called Richard Bartholomew.

I still can not fathom which of these dolts, Richard Batholomew or Gamine, is brazenly imbecilic. Who cares if the imaginary Adam is Igbo or Saxon?

lol!