The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams - Politics (5) - Nairaland
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| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 10:29pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]In 332, Alexander the Great arrived and, having broken the imperial power of Persia elsewhere, had no trouble taking over Egypt . A Greek was crowned Pharaoh in 334 B .C ., as Ptolemy I . The Greeks ruled Egypt for almost 300 years before the expansion of the Roman Empire into Egypt ended their dominion in 30 B.C . This, was our "flashback" point of departure, but before returning to the Ethiopian churches, the significance of what we have been reviewing as flashbacks should again be emphasized as a great issue . For we have been reviewing the last phase of the processes of Caucasianization in Egypt that were so thoroughgoing that both the Blacks and their history were erased from memory : the Jewish rule, 500 years; the Assyrian interludes ; the Persians, 185 years ; the Greeks, 274 years ; the Romans, 700 years ; the Arabs, 1,327 years-the long, long struggle to take from the Blacks whatever they had of human worth, their land and all their wealth therein ; their bodies, their souls, and their minds, was a process of steady depersonalization, dehumanization . Yet Greece and Rome, having made :he exclusion of the Blacks from Egypt permanent, appeared to have no conquest ambitions in the black country to the south . And Pax Romany checked the constant warfare between the two regions . The great wealth-producing trade with Ethiopia was promoted and what appeared to be a general detente prevailed . Indeed, whoever held the sea-coasts, whether Asian, European or Egyptian, controlled world trade and put Ethiopia in a state of economic dependence, no matter how vast the flew of goods was from the south . Egypt was the middleman with the greater control over both volume and prices . Both the Greek and Roman rulers of Egypt left Ethiopia to play its own role . And we have seen what that role was during a thousand years of unbroken progress directed from Meroe . THE SEMITIC STORM FROM AXUM Yet a storm cloud was threatening farther south as the Roman Legions withdrew from Egypt to help check the erosion of an overextended world empire . We have noted that the Ethiopian Empire at the height of its greatness extended southward into Abyssinia (present day Ethiopia) and further, that as time passed, the Blacks were being hemmed in from almost all directions essential for survival . Now, for[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 10:31pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]some centuries Arabs and Jews (the latter called "Solomonids" by most historians) had been swarming into this southeastern region, pushing through the middle in such a way that even in Abyssinia the Blacks were pressed southward, always southward! Egyptian history was repeating itself: The Asians and Mulattoes held Northern Abyssinia, with the center of power in the strategic kingdom of Axum . From Axum the Arabs prepared their forces for the destruction of a now weakening Ethiopian empire . The weakness, as usual, came from separatist movements struggling for power . It was the old-time factional fights among leaders who felt they must "rule or ruin"-a drive so well known that is needless to recount. But it was the situation for which the Axumite Arabs and their Coloured and Jewish allies were waiting . In 350 A .D ., their armies destroyed Meroe, and an epoch in history ended . Ethiopia was now split into three major states : Nobadae, bordering Egypt at the First Cataract ; Makuria, the more powerful kingdom in the middle with its capital at Dongola ; and Alwa, another strong state south of Makuria or between Makuria and Axum . After the collapse of the central black empire in the fourth century, the Christian churches spread more rapidly through the now independent kingdoms . Even in the division of Ethiopia into smaller states, the process of ethnic transformation was obvious as it pressed southward from Egypt . Greek and Roman presence had been heavy and marked in Nobadae . Since no one now questioned that Nobadae (Nubia) was Ethiopian, the mixed breed could not be called Egyptian as was the previous case of First Cataract . The population in this kingdom bordering Caucasianized Egypt was now predominantly Afro-European and Afro-Asian . The problem was solved very neatly by calling them the "Red Noba" and the Africans were called "Black Noba ." The other two kingdoms were allblack and presented no classification problems . The churches seemed to be firmly rooted in Alwa and Makuria . Churches seemed to be everywhere . There were several in every large town, one in just about every small village, some in rural areas away from villages, and churches scattered over large urban centers, along with those of greater splendor in the "Cathedral Cities,' the seats of bishops . White administration and control of African Christianity was assured by establishing the head of the Church in Lower Egypt (the Patriarch of Alexandria) with power to appoint all bishops in Africa . The bishops appointed were always white or near-white until token appointments of Blacks to lesser posts, such as deacons, had to be made[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 10:34pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]following protests by black church leaders, supported by their kings . And while the "Red Men" of Nobadae, caught in the middle, tended to identify with the Blacks of Makuria and Alwa, the split between the Western and Eastern churches over doctrine was reflected in the three Ethiopian kingdoms . This meant that the religious strife tended to alienate Monophysite Nobadae from Orthodox Makuria . This competition for ascendency may have had a great deal to do with the expansion of churches in Egypt and the former Ethiopian empire in the South . THE GROWTH OF STATES These southern kingdoms also carried on much of the old Ethiopian tradition of rapid reconstruction after destruction . They continued the expansion of caravan routes for external trade across the Sahara to the western black world to offset the Egyptian seacoast monopoly . They replaced the vast temple-building programs with equally vast churchbuilding programs, and they continued the development of the iron industries and better equipped armies . Egyptian, Asian, Greek and Roman influence was as marked on African institutions in Nobadae as it was on the complexion of most of the people living in this fringe kingdom . Nobadae, then, is a classic example of external influence on African institutions just as it had been on Egypt . It is an influence that could be praised to high heaven as the eclectic process of civilization itself had not the Caucasians resorted to thefts and lies in their vain and ignoble attempts to preempt the whole field of human progress as being theirs and theirs alone . In the fourth century A .D ., the areas of black power had been pushed out of Egypt down to where the kingdom of Makuria formed its borders with Nobadae . Here the concentration of Blacks began, just as though a southward movement of the race was a decree of providence. Here, once again, they took their stand ; here again, even in the lands which were officially Christian, black battle lines had to be formed again for defense . The Axumite Coloured "Solomonids" and Arabs had retired after the destruction of the black empire . The more immediate danger was still Egypt . This was true also from the viewpoint of Christiandom, for "white" Egyptian control over the churches reflected the same policies that were to follow through the centuries into our own times : No church sponsored theological schools for the training of African[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 10:36pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]clergy . By thus preventing educational opportunities, they could always maintain that the Blacks were simply "not qualified" for this or that high post . In religion, as in every other field, the system deliberately prevented qualification in order to declare the lack of qualification on the part of Blacks in all regions under white control or in all institutions, in this case the Church, over which white power prevailed . There were situations, however, in which some Blacks overrode the obstacles to become bishops in either all-black or predominantly black countries . In discussing mass migration from Egypt, I hope no one has forgotten the countless thousands of Blacks left behind, in both Upper and Lower Egypt ; not only then, they are present there today, but as a submerged group . That there were exceptions to this general status has also been emphasized . The people who accepted a slave or inferior status as their lot in the society were the kind Aristotle had in mind when he referred to men who were born to be slaves . On the other hand, those Blacks who migrated or fought to the death rather than accept slavery were those who were born to be free-the most important point missed by many quoting this most-quoted passage from Aristotle . It was these born-to-be-free Blacks who, as we have seen, not only beat back the enslaving invaders over and over again, but just as many times either conquered their would-be-enslavers or drove them back into Asia . The fall of the black empire did not mean that the Blacks had surrendered . The fragmented kingdoms were still to carry the fight to the enemy, and they were still to fight their way again across Egypt as far as to where their ancient city of Memphis once stood . Still others remained in the conquered regions simply because they refused to leave their ancestral homes, come what may . By the seventh century, the Blacks had achieved a major goal by incorporating Nobadae with Makuria and thus reestablishing what had become the recognized boundary between Ethiopia and Egypt at the First Cataract . The precise manner of this amazing achievement is unknown: Did the "Black Noba" of Makuria overrun the "Red Noba" of Nobadae, or was it a union of kingdoms by agreement? We do not know. What we do know is that the black kingdoms of Alwa and Makuria were stronger than ever since the fall of Napata and Meroe[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 10:37pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]A DECISIVE BATTLE OF HISTORY Egypt, on the other hand, was undergoing one of her periodic convulsions from an invasion, the most fateful one to which we have already referred as the Muslim invasion of 639-42 A .D . This conquest, as was usually the case, had been made easier by still a previous Persian invasion (619-629 A.D .) . Some sources suggest that the new wave of Persian invasions that began in 619 A.D . determined the course of the Blacks in conquering Nobadae and reestablishing their frontier at the great system of fortifications at the First Cataract . From there the Blacks had been raiding various areas in Egypt and attacking garrisons throughout the ten years of the last Persian occupation . In this and other similar instances, the picture that emerges clearly is that the Blacks, even after being pushed out of Egypt, were more upset by foreign invasions and resisted them more courageously than the "new" Egyptians who, by comparison, appeared to be an easily conquered and rather cowardly lot . Otherwise, how could Amr-ibn-al-As, the Muslim general, conquer all Egypt so easily with only 4,000 men? The conquering Arab general apparently knew the difference between the fighting qualities of the Blacks in the south and those of the Egyptians and their mercenary troops ; for despite the continued raids by the Blacks, he chose not to extend his operations into their land . But not so disposed was Abdullah, the new Arab governor-general (viceroy) of Egypt . The year following the complete takeover by the Muslims, 643 A.D., he decided to bring the whole Heartland of the Blacks under Muslim control at once . He knew, however, that this would really be a war, not like the easy conquest of Egypt with an army of only 4,000 men. With a larger and better equipped army, the Arab expedition invaded the black country with a confidence that was heightened by what appeared to be hasty and confused retreats by frightened warriors . This Ethiopian strategy of pretended fright and wild retreat was so well-known in Egypt that it is difficult to understand how it could have been unknown to Abdullah and his generals . Or had this too, like everything else that was African, been blotted from memory? If so, for once they were going to pay dearly for ignoring an African invention . They were allowed to advance deeply into black territory before 100,000 "retreating" and "frightened" Blacks turned in frontal and flanking onslaughts that almost completely wiped out the entire Arab[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 10:39pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]army. An Arab historian of the period felt compelled to admit that it was the most devastating defeat ever suffered by an Arab army . There were other eye-witness reports from the scene of battle dealing with the remarkable training and dashing courage of the Black forces with the King of Makuria in personal command . (Those were the days when "king" meant leader. The leader led from the front, and not from some hill miles away from the fighting .) This immediate presence of their leader in the midst of danger with them may have had much to do with the courage and expertise of the African soldiers . The units that amazed the ancient world that memorable day between the First and Second Cataracts were the bow and arrow corps . These were so skillfully trained that they could aim their arrows at the eyes of the enemy and shoot with unbelievable accuracy . For reasons which by now must be obvious, this battle not only does not appear as "one of the decisive battles of history" in any of your history books, but it is not even mentioned . Yet it was in fact one of the decisive battles of the world : The defeat of the hitherto undefeated Arab forces was so disastrous that it took them eight years to recover, reorganize, and regain the necessary courage to attack the Blacks again and thereby avenge that awful defeat and near-annihilation on the plains of Makuria in 643 A .D. This African victory, furthermore, delayed the Arab conquests in the black South and spurred the development of subsequent events in both of the southern kingdoms . In 651 A .D ., the Arab Viceroy of Egypt decided that he had the unbeatable armed might and was ready to avenge the disaster eight years before and bring the Blacks to their knees in the process . The Arab generals proceeded boldly but cautiously in order to avoid the traps and surprise tactics of the black generals, which arrogance probably caused them to ignore before . Yet the same African strategy was used : They were allowed to invade the Nobadaen state in depth with only "token" opposition . Hell broke loose only when they crossed the former Makurian border (before the union of the two kingdoms) and headed for the capital of Dongola . However, the Arabs captured it, and destroyed all of the principal public buildings, including the great cathedral . They had brought along huge catapults for the express purpose of razing all brick and stone edifices that were the pride and glory of black civilization . With the fall of their capital city, the seat of government, the Blacks were expected to surrender . But King Kalydosos, the African leader, and his generals had no thought about surrendering or[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 10:41pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]any doubt that they could defeat the Arabs again . The spirit of their decisive victory over the Arabs in 643 A.D . still fired the black armies . The King withdrew from his burning capital only to regroup and plan strategies for a "no-surrender" war . As the fighting continued with increased fury on both sides, it became clear to the Arab generals that victory over the Blacks could never be won on the field of battle . Again, their previous defeat by the Blacks was still playing a determining role in Arab-African relations . An armistice was declared, and a treaty of peace was signed by the now undefeated equals, Abdullah for Muslim Egypt and Kalydosos for the Christian kingdoms of Ethiopia-Makuria and Kalydosos for the Christian kingdoms of Ethiopia - Makuria and Alwa . The Arabs had in fact lost the war . For with carefully trained and overwhelming forces filled with vengeance for the previous disaster, they were still unable to defeat the Blacks and bring their country under Muslim control . The historic significance is twofold : (1) The psychological effects of being defeated by the Blacks twice on broad national fronts caused the Arabs to adopt a peaceful relationship with these countries that lasted 600 years . (2) The treaty included provisions that were the basis for the expansion of slavery and the "peaceful" conquest of the Sudan . Goals which could not be achieved directly on the battlefield were to be achieved indirectly by Arab traders and Muslim missionary brotherhoods. In a previous discussion, I wondered out loud whether the black race is lacking in one quality that seems to distinguish Caucasians and explain the reason for their long domination of the earth : Their deep concern about their posterity, the future role and welfare of their white offsprings to the farthest generation . Their plans and policies for today's world are often based on expected outcomes centuries hence . The Blacks as a race, on the other hand, have been so split up and preoccupied with current problems that they seem to have lost this deep concern about the future of their descendents . This matter calls for serious reflection particularly on the part of Blacks in their relations with long-range planning whites . For from the earliest times and in almost every period of history, we find the whites carefully developing plans for future results which none expect to see realized in their lifetime . And so it was here in the Sudan in 652 A.D., when the peace treaty between Arabs and Blacks was signed . First the Arabs had to make their failure appear to the world as a victory of some sort . An annual tribute,[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 10:44pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]the conquerors' Baqt, became an important provision in the treaty . The terms called for the annual delivery of 360 slaves near the frontier and forty extra slaves as a gift to the Egyptian viceroy .' In order to induce the Ethiopians to accept what at first appeared to be a tribute in fact, the Arab leaders presented it as a treaty of trade and commerce, agreeing to pay in exchange wheat, barley and wine at a value in excess of the gifts by the Africans . More important than this, however, was the provision for building a great mosque in the restored Dongola and allowing Arab traders in only as traders, not settlers . Since it was a treaty "between equals," the provisions of the treaty were reciprocal : black traders could operate in Egypt and have a church on the same terms. Even if the Africans had not known that the Arabs in Egypt were busily converting churches and temples into Muslim mosques, there would still be no occasion for building a church for their traders in Egypt . They had no long-range plans for the eventual control of Egypt through the trade and religion routes . But the Arabs did have such a plan for the eventual conquest of the Sudan through mosques and traders . The Caucasians, unable to conquer the Blacks directly, were contented when they had set in motion the process of gradual infiltration and expansion that would eventuate in victory even though it was to take 600 years . I am saying that the Blacks seem not only to have lost the grand vision of the future, but also (what should have been) the unforgettable lessons of their past . The pattern of Caucasian conquest had been cut out and made clear through thirty-seven centuries of their history . After they had allowed the Asians first to infiltrate and then to overrun all Lower Egypt, the Blacks drew a firm boundary line between the Two Lands beyond which the whites were not allowed to settle . Those were the days when the Africans were not so trusting that they were unable to perceive that the Caucasians were eternally restless unless they were the masters in every situation whatsoever . They were therefore barred from settlement in Black Upper Egypt until Narmer and Menes united the Lower and Upper Egypts . If there was ever a Pyrrhic victory in history, it could not have been more disastrous than that of Menes over ---------------------------------------------------- Notes 2. A "slave" was a captured prisoner of war, and in early history the term was no more degrading than that of prisoner of war today .[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 10:45pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]the Asians in 3100 B .C., for the decline of black civilization, not only in Egypt but throughout Africa, can be traced to that period despite all of its monumental achievements afterwards . The termites of its destruction, slow but steady, had been let in under the laudable dream of blackwhite brotherhood . The long, drawn-out process of penetration and eventual domination was both visible and invisible . Yet from these tiny footholds, the Asian population grew and grew until the Blacks were not only outnumbered by Asians but overwhelmed . Substantially the same scheme was followed in every black city, town and village throughout Egypt . The record of the 5,000 years that ended with the European conquest of the whole continent in the nineteenth century shows that every African state remained relatively secure and independent as long as it maintained a strict policy of excluding foreigners from settlement within its borders . That same record makes clear that wherever this policy was abandoned and whites were admitted under any pretext whatsoever, the eventual doom of that state was certain . The single point that is being made here is that King Kalydosos and the other Black leaders already had, as early as 652 A.D ., thirty-seven centuries of this record before them when they allowed the Arabs to establish a permanent base of operations in their land . They ignored the record, as other black leaders were to continue to do until Muslim Asia and Christian Europe swept the continent and left the whole black world prostrate at their feet . In the seventh century this tragic outcome was still far away . The fall of Meroe and the break-up of the Ethiopian empire into kingdoms did not check the flowering of black civilization in these states . Indeed, Makuria and Alwa seemed determined not only to maintain the ancient tradition of progress, but to overcome the imperial breakdown by pushing forward more aggressively than ever on all fronts . The 600-year detente with the Arabs in Egypt was a period of such reconstruction and progress that the criticism made regarding the leadership above would seem to be unjustified unless viewed from the long backward perspective of history . Even church and cathedral building expanded from this center of black culture over the Western regions of Chad and adjoining states. The limited excavations have revealed this much . Future archaeological work may reveal whether the Ethiopian empire in its heyday extended westward to the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 10:47pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]Guinea . It was a great surprise recently to find buried structures in the Chad region similar to those in the heart of the Empire along the Nile . BLACK MAKURIA Between 700 and 1200 A.D ., Makuria was more empire than kingdom . It was organized into thirteen major states with a subking over each and the "King of Kings" over all. The traditional African Council was the final authority no matter how powerful the king might seem to be . The great and colorful parasol of the "King of Kings" had to be wider than those of the divisional kings and theirs was larger than any lesser officials . Cyriacus was "King of Kings" in 745 when Omar, the governor of Egypt, stepped up the persecution of Christians in Egypt in what amounted to a Muslim Holy War, destroying churches or converting them into mosques and even putting the Patriarch in prison . Since the Patriarch in Egypt was the head of all Christian churches in Africa, the Africans regarded this latest onslaught against the churches as an insult as well as a breach of the peace treaty, now almost a hundred years old . Strangely, the Muslims made Lower Egypt the area of greatest church destruction . When the arrogant Omar ignored all protests and pleas, the African king headed an army of 100,000 men and marched on the Arab center of power in Lower Egypt . The governor of Egypt quickly freed the Patriarch and promised to leave the Christians and their churches alone . Cyriacus accepted these assurances and withdrew his army from Egpyt . It was during this period that an extensive body of church literature developed in the African language and the remarkable pottery industries were expanded ; painting, like writing, was stimulated by the Church, just as had been the case in temple art . Mining was a principal source of wealth, but agriculture was the basic national activity and there is evidence of the people's battles with the encroaching deserts . They followed the system of the "Mother Empire" and overcame certain arid areas by developing the system of terrace farming that was irrigated by water wheels constructed for high places . They were successful enough to produce -a surplus of agricultural commodities for export trade . Cotton had been produced from ancient times, and cloth making and other weaving arts were among the oldest crafts . That glass was made is[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 10:48pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]certain, but the extent of this enterprise is not indicated by the archaeological findings . The reports of Arab scholars on the cities of the Blacks during these early centuries are significant for two important reasons . The first is that, like the European explorers, "geographers" and others referred to earlier, they were not concerned with writing African history and nothing could have been farther from their intentions than glorifying the achievements of the Blacks . But their mission was to make factual reports on the conditions and exploitable possibilities of Africa to their home countries . Such reports would be the basis for future penetration, exploitation and conquest . The second highly significant fact about the accounts of Abu Salih, Ibn Salim and other scholars between the seventh and fifteenth centuries A .D . is that, unlike the case of Egypt, none questioned either the greatness or the origin of this black civilization . It was so clearly all- African that it did not seem to occur to these Arab writers that any other position was tenable . Those familiar with the traditional African religion might question whether Christianity was in fact external to Africa . In any case, the beautiful churches they saw spread over the "Land of the Black Gods" had become almost completely Africanized for those gods . The prosperity the Arab visitors reported -the magnificent stone and brick palaces, temples, churches, cathedrals, wide avenues lined with palm trees, government buildings, public baths, water supply systems, beautiful gardens, countless craft industries, huge farms with extensive pastures where camels, horses, oxen, cows, sheep, goats and pigs could be seen grazing lazily-all this was reported as messages with an unwritten message : Such is this Black Paradise, Brothers of Islam . Come! The prosperity in this center of the black world represented one of the last great epochs in the history of the Blacks . If near the final, it was also one of their finest hours on the stage of human progress . Here the measure of a people's genius could be taken without speculation . Here the message of who Blacks were was wrought in stone and iron for the succeeding generations of Blacks who were to lose their very identity in the blood and tears of unbroken oppression. The Arab scholars were properly amazed at a way of life so superior to that of their own homeland . It was something to be amazed about . For there were not only public baths but public latrines, drainage and central water systems, but the most remarkable evidence of prosperity[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 10:50pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]and progress was reflected in the advanced standard of living among the masses . The massive brickmaking industry had led to homes of brick and stone in cities, towns and villages-brick houses, and larger houses for the great common people . In the eighth century this was something for the visiting Arab scholars to write home about . (It would be something to write about anywhere in this last part of the twentieth century .) THE ARAB HORDES However, they really did not need to report all this, so well was it already generally known . The treaty barring Arab settlement in the allblack countries had been ignored almost from the beginning, and certainly treated as non-existing after the death of Kalydosos . The Arabs came in steady streams year after year, but in an inch-by-inch system over widely scattered areas that appeared not to cause immediate concern. But they came in unchecked and alarming waves when the great schisms in Islam led to bloody wars in the Arab world . The character of the refugee movements out of Arabia and other Arab centers of power depended upon what sect had captured the Caliphate . Let the record show, therefore, that all the Arabs that swarmed into Africa across the Red Sea and Indian Ocean were not bent on either conquest or domination . Countless thousands were fleeing there for refuge, fleeing for their very lives . Once settled there, however, they formed the ever-increasing population base for the Muslim leaders whose aim was to establish Islamic rule over the whole black world . They were to follow the Christian strategy of concentrating on the conversion of African kings and leaders in the belief that as the king goes, so goes the nation, a theory that did not work in Africa, except in a superficial way for expediency . However, the black kings were already dropping their African names for "Christian" names, the first step towards self-effacement . So as early as the ninth century, (831 A.D .), King Zakaria, alarmed at great incursions of Arabs into the Sudan, sent a delegation headed by his nephew (heir to the throne) to the Caliph at Bagdad, asking that the Treaty of 652 be respected and Arab migrations halted . This meant that a weak black king now held the destiny of the race in his hands . That he was so naive as to suppose that the Caliph could stop the Arab hordes even if he desired to do so was itself a sign of incompetence .[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 10:52pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]The highest ranking of the thirteen kings under the "King of Kings" was the Eparch of Faris, Lord of the Mountain . He was the commander of the frontier forces at the Egyptian border and his special mission was to bar Arab migration and settlement in the Land of the Blacks . Only the limited number of traders were permitted to pass and the time limit for their stay was fixed . The Eparch, therefore, had indeed been the most important official next to the "King of Kings," for he was directly responsible for the security and independence of the nation. Under strong kings and strong eparchs the mission was carried out and Arab incursions southward were checked .' That was now long ago . The Arabs had been passing the Lord of the Mountain and his garrisons for so many decades that by the ninth century Arabic was generally spoken below the First Cataract . HOW SLAVERY CAME TO BE CONFINED TO BLACKS ALONE In the latter part of the thirteenth century David, King of Makuria, seeing no other way to forestall Arab occupation of his country, stepped up his raids in Upper Egypt . The raids were easier to carry out because of the chaos that followed the triumphs of the Mamelukes in Egypt . But in 1272 the Blacks, in what I have attacked as the pattern of their own self-destruction, made the first major step to that end . The usual impatience of heirs to the throne soon enough found full expression in Shakandu, the King's nephew . He hastened to the Sultan of Egypt to secure an alliance and plan an invasion of his country that would assure his ascendancy to the throne . The Sultan had every reason to grasp this wonderful opportunity handed to him through the Blacks themselves . Not only would he be able to even scores with them, but he would also be able to create conditions for Mameluke hegemony over their land . Moreover, the African king had not only been raiding Egypt with impunity, but he had denounced the Treaty of 652 and refused to pay the Baqt. Sultan Baibars, therefore, did not hesitate . He organized a strong invading expedition with Shakandu at its head and entered the ------------------------------------------------ Notes 3. Because of the repeated emphasis on the fact, it should be quite clear now that reference to Egyptian, Asian or Arab invasions always include black slave armies as well as Mulattoes classified as "white ."[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 11:06pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]Black Land . The struggle was long and bitter, as the Sultan's strategy in using his black army, along with Shakandu's own followers, made it appear to be civil war between Blacks . In the end the Sultan won through the black heir to the throne, and allowed him to be crowned king as his protege . The dismemberment of the black kingdoms in the Sudan had begun . Now a rival tribute was exacted and almost doubled without any pretense of being an agreement of mutual exchange . The tribute exacted was harsh and the Blacks were promised nothing . The kingdom was then divided into two parts, the Sultan taking the northern region as his personal fief. Muslim rule now extended over Egypt and into the Sudan. The pattern was set that was to continue into our times and probably beyond : The Arabs in the Northern Sudan, while the Blacks were pressured into smaller and smaller areas in the Southern Sudan . Once again, learning nothing from even just yesterday, the black leadership paved the way for further Arab advances into their country . The black leadership's struggle for personal power and, above all, their own personal security and welfare, precluded their concern for the welfare and future of their people . They were quite willing and ready to welcome the Arabs arid to surrender their people to them in exchange for "high" office and limited consideration . The days of the black immortals seemed to have passed forever . Mental pygmies again occupied the throne once held by Menes, Piankhi, Shabaka, and Kalydosos . In 1304, still another self-seeking black leader journeyed to Cairo to have himself crowned as the servant-king of the Blacks by the Sultan al Nasir . The Sultan sent an expedition to Dongola-a task now easier than before-and his new servant was crowned as King Amai . It should be noted here that the Mameluke rulers' effective power was confined to Lower Egypt and that independent Arab tribes, of which the Bani Kanz were the most powerful, held all Upper Egypt . They were only nominally the sultans . In order to put an end to the endless coups and counter-coups among the Blacks, the decision was reached to overwhelm the South with united armies from both Upper and Lower Egypt and step up the Islamization of the Blacks, putting Muslim kings on the throne . In 1316 A.D., the objectives were realized when Dongola was again razed for the fifth time and Kerembes, the last black Christian king, was put to flight. A black Muslim, Abdullah, was made king temporarily while awaiting the pleasure, not of the Sultan, but of the powerful Chief[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 11:08pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]Kanz ad-Dawlah of the Bani Kanz Arab tribe . His pleasure was to put the Black Muslim king to death and assume the kingship over the Blacks himself. Over the Blacks? This statement is misleading . This was no longer the "Land of the Blacks ." White and coloured Arabs now constituted the majority. Without this population base, the triumph of the Arabs in the Sudan could not have happened . Yet the Arab chieftain's rule as king was short-lived because the Mameluke rulers played one group off against the other in an effort to defeat Arab objectives in one way or another . For one thing, they had been unable to break the autonomy of the Arab tribes in Upper Egypt, and these tribes were spreading over the Sudan and setting up their own kings . This was a further challenge to Mameluke rule in Egypt. Who, then, were the Mamelukes? The Mamelukes were the whites who had been enslaved by the Arabs in their wild and amazing sweep out of their desert homeland to conquer all adjacent countries and establish a world empire with a speed that shocked the world . Theirs was the original blitz . The enslavement of prisoners of war, which was the way general slavery began, was the order of the day . Race had no bearing on the matter then . Whites, blacks, browns or yellows, all were made slaves if captured . The Arabs also made a practice of creating strong slave armies . The white slave armies were the Mamelukes . These, when stationed in Egypt, revolted, overthrew the government, and established their own line of ruling sultans . For this they were hated by the Arabs and looked upon with scorn, even though they had been converted to Islam . The white ex-slaves hated their former masters even more . This white slave revolt and its historical significance are underplayed . Yet its impact was such that it influenced the course of modern history in black-white relations . The effect of that revolt on the black world was tragic . For the murderous onslaughts of the white slaves against their erstwhile masters so shocked the white world that the general enslavement of whites ended forever . On this the record is clear : White slavery ended after the Mameluke rebellion . Thereafter Black Africa became the exclusive hunting ground for slaves, a situation made easy by the developments outlined in this work . All the theories of inherent black inferiority stemmed from the urgently felt need to justify the success in confining slavery to the African race . The answer to the riddle of the centuries can be traced right here, for that great change in human history when only Blacks were enslaved led[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 11:10pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]to the general degradation of a whole people . The way was now open and easy for all the relevant branches of science and scholarship to proclaim theories on the inherent inferiority of Blacks . Far worse than this, since black populations were everywhere under white control, they could actually be forced into inferiority by a dehumanizing program "silently" structured in all institutions and phases of white national life . The Blacks were the immediate victims of those diseases born of poverty and planned deprivation . Undernourished and diseased mothers carried and brought babies into the world who were both physically and' mentally handicapped even before birth . The Mameluke Sultan sent another expedition in 1323 to put the African king, Kerembes, on the throne, again, after his brother, himself, had deposed the Arab king only to die a few days later . The coups and counter-coups still seemed to be endless and not at all the presupposed political phenomena characteristically confined to the Blacks . Therefore, as soon as the Mameluke forces withdrew from the South, Kanz al- Dawlah returned, overthrew Kerembes a second time, and became king again . Meanwhile, another strong Arab tribe, the Guhayna, had been pouring into the Sudan in such great waves that they rapidly became the dominant Arab group below the Second Cataract . The kingdom known to history as Makuria was no more . It was the kingdom that, together with its more southern neighbor, battled to maintain and expand the glorious civilization of the Motherland for another thousand years after the fall of the imperial city of Meroe . That was why it was close to the fifteenth century before an Ibn Khaldun or anyone else could report that the Guhayna Arabs were the complete masters of the Land of the Blacks from the First Cataract to the highlands of Abyssinia . The history of Black Egypt had been repeated in the Black South : The coming of the Caucasian, whether from Asia or Europe, or whether in the name of peace, trade, an "integrated society," or in the name of the Allah of the Arabs or the God and Jesus Christ of the Jews and Christians, no matter under what pretext they came it meant the destruction of the highly advanced civilization of the Blacks and their total degradation as a people . And the same ethnic phenomenon that accelerated the process of racial disintegration in Egypt also operated in the Sudan . This was, simply stated, the widespread sexual activities on the part of Arab men and black slave girls, the outcome of which was a new breed of Afro-Arabs, the same sexual process that produced "Egyptians" as a nationality group neither Asian nor African . In the[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 11:13pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]Sudan Arabization and Islamization had another outcome : Not only did the Afro-Arabs consider themselves Arabs and bitterly resented being called Sudanese (Black), but thousands of the jet-black, unmixed Africans insisted on being classed as Arabs . They still do (this fact was settled beyond question during my field studies in the Sudan in 1964) . This fact also confuses and frustrates the black world both in and outside of Africa . For who, now are our "African brothers?" AND NOW-ALWA With the capture and control of the biggest remaining kingdom of the Ethiopian empire completed through peaceful infiltration of waves of Arab refugees over centuries, the triumphant Arabs were not disposed to follow the same long drawn-out procedure in taking over the last keyi kingdom of the formerly black empire . This was Alwa . The Arabs decided on a full-scale war against this last citadel of black power in the Southern Sudan . Although Makuria was most in the spotlight of the wars against the Arab incursions, she was ably supported by Alwa . Makuria had to .carry the brunt of the burden because it was right next door to the enemy and it alone had the awesome responsibility of holding the floodgates above the First Cataract through which the Arab tides ebbed and flowed . Meanwhile Alwa, with ruins of the imperial cities of Napata and Meroe in its very midst, had a more direct responsibility for restoring and maintaining the glories of a black civilization that had refused to die with the fall of the Ethiopian Empire a thousand years before . Alwa had replaced Meroe with its beautiful capital city of Soba, and had developed its other towns and cities along such advanced lines that foreign writers could never fail to comment on the architectural designs, the wide streets lined with palm trees, the spacious homes and, in fact, all of the things they had observed in Makuria : the thriving industrial crafts, large scale cattle raising, a surplus-producing agriculture that kept alive an export trade in dates, wheat and garri, cotton fabrics and other produce not easily perishable, and an efficient administration, a strong army headed by formidable cavalry regiments . Alwa had made its defense system more secure by maintaining more walled towns and cities than Makuria. These walled places were rebuilt primarily as centers of refuge against the constant Arab slave raids . Now they were to serve as freedom's final bastions of defense against local enslavement . Alwa was ready for what everyone knew was its last war as a nation .[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 11:15pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]For the Arabs had formed a great confederation of its feuding tribes . These, while perpetually at war among themselves, could always be counted on to unite quickly against non-Arab and non-Muslim peoples . Before the United Arab armies entered Alwa, the black leadership had ordered a general evacuation of the country by all women and children and the aged . The men, warriors all, remained to face the foe . It is not known whether the traditional Black Women's Army Corps existed in Alwa. In any event, the Arabs did not find, and indeed, did not expect the conquest to be easy . They knew well the courage of the Blacks in battle and their unwillingness to surrender even when defeated . They had to take Alwa city by city, town by town, hill by hill and bush by bush. The Blacks were dying and fighting for the high order of life they had built . They fought nobly on the plains of Alwa in 1504, while their people, some never to be seen again, joined other countless thousands in the great migrations toward East, West, Central, and Southern Africa . THE SURPRISE KINGDOM During the same period these two black states were being destroyed, the history of the rebirth of destroyed African states was being repeated just beyond their borders by migrating Africans who had decided to make another stand in the midst of death and danger . These Blacks were called the Funj people . They gathered in strength and, with consummate daring, quickly formed a new nation the very year Alwa passed from the scene as a state . Under the leadership of the strong king, general and statesman, Amara Dunqas, they established their capital at Sennar on the Blue Nile and at the very outset they assumed an aggressive stance that put the world on notice that black power in Africa had not yet been completely destroyed, that another fighting state had emerged from the ashes of those which had been destroyed . Indeed, the Funj state arose with such suddenness and with policies and programs so daring that it shocked both the Arabs and the nowencroaching Ottoman Turks . The latter, after overthrowing Mameluke rule and taking~over Egypt, quickly built and expanded defensive fortifications against possible Funj invasions . For these Blacks had turned the tables of history by annexing and bringing under control the Arab tribal states in the Lower Gezira region and the areas around the present Khartoum. The Funj king appointed an Arab as his governor over Arab provinces, emphasizing the Arabs' status of tributary vassals by giving the office of governor an African title . All this proved to be just too[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 11:19pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]much for our Western historians . Characteristically, and even today, they refer to the Funj as a "mysterious people," and wonder from whence they came . They debate, with the usual air of deep scholarship, whether or not these Blacks of the Funj Kingdom were really Blacks! When it is suggested that they "probably came from the east," it is a repeat of the overworked canard that plants the idea that all such people must have come from Asia . In his recent Modern History of the Sudan, P.M. Holt concludes that "A rigorous investigation of the problem of Funj origins has yet to be made ." Why is there a problem? And what is the problem, if there is one? Both questions are integral parts of the great issues in this work . They have been rather fully answered in different contexts . As to this particular case, therefore, the "problem of Funj origins" is a problem for Caucasians only, with the possible exception of those Negro scholars whose skewed vision of reality is through eyes of blue . People not concerned with the distortions of history, but desiring the truth about the past as honestly as it can be determined, will have no difficulty in understanding that the people who were called Funj were one of the uprooted and countless groups we have been describing, driven from one place and reorganizing to settle in another until uprooted again and again, and resettling and rebuilding again and again, on and on, until the Europeans swept the whole continent and, then, afterwards . Some wandered to the utmost parts, as stated before ; and some, like the Shilluks who bult the Funj Kingdom, did not leave their general region . If they "came from the east," it was from the east bank of the Nile . In the interest of trade and foreign commerce, Funj kings, as many African kings were to do later, began to accept Islam and take the Arabic title of sultans. Thereafter, writers called the kingdom the "Funj Sultanate ." In this matter of commercial activities, it should be specially noted that in early times the Blacks equaled the Semitic peoples in their interest and drive in the fields of finance, industry and foreign trade. All over Africa there were whole societies that were distinguished, enjoying fame for their skill and success in one of these business areas . That interest and drive in large scale economic endeavors were generally lost along with other institutions that had been the basis of their advanced culture . This was the major tragedy in the history of the Blacks, and one about which they have not even yet been fully awakened. Funj (or (Shilluk) traders roamed far and wide in the great game of buying and selling . The continued prosperity of the country depended[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 11:23pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]largely on their selling activities in neighboring states, in Egypt and over the all-important caravan trade routes to distant lands . This trade was the forceful stimulus that kept the people at home, busy and happy, producing the necessary surplus in agriculture, mining and in the craft industries of various kinds . Having become Muslims, if only in name, the Funj merchants were readily received everywhere in the increasingly Islamized world in Africa and Asia . The fact that they came from a proud and war-like state may have had more to do with the deference shown them than the fact of their being Muslims . Non-Muslim Makuria and Alwa had a most flourishing trade with the Muslim world . Their traders had also been received with respect and honor by the Arabs . It is ironic that one has to be a fighter to command greater respect . Unlike Makuria and Alwa, the Funj Kingdom did not resist Islamization but welcomed it . Yet its African nationalism clearly transcended Islam . The number of sultans and notables who rejected Arabic names is impressive and significant . Their open-door policies, however, were to speed up the pace of Arabization not only in the Funj kingdom but all over the Sudan. And as Arabization spread among the Blacks so did slavery and slave raiding . The Arabs' insatiable and perpetual demands for slaves had long since changed slavery from an institution that signaled a military victory by the number of caputred prisoners to an institution that provoked warfare expressly for the enslavement of men, women and children for sale and resale . Human beings had now openly become very profitable articles of trade and the slave dealers had found shorter routes to quicker riches . The Funj, like many other Black states then and since, found added wealth in the slave trade, and a new reason for waging war on their neighbors for "prisoners of war" to further the trade .' Today it is difficult to find even a small region that does not have a history of inter-tribal conflicts stemming directly from one group's raiding another for slaves, or attempting to either conquer another group, annex it or enslave the whole society that was overrun . The Funj, then, become just another example of a role played by the Blacks that not only guaranteed their own damnation, but also made their reunification for nationhood or anything else a most difficult undertaking . The -------------------------------------------------- Notes 4. One account states that the Funj Kingdom joined Arabs in the destruction of Alwa . This, too, is possible .[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 11:25pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]difficulty becomes impossible for solution when as soon as the yoke of white oppression had been removed, the descendants of former black oppressors come forth as the rightful rulers as before, just as though nothing at all had happened to change the overlord status of their proud slave-selling ancestors . The Funj kingdom, because of its Muslim shield and "war-making machine," survived as a black state, in what otherwise would have been an impossible environment, for three hundred years . These centuries were characterized by all the ups and downs, internal power struggles, coups and counter-coups that beset other states . Sometimes an Arab dynasty ruled, sometimes it was an Afro-Arab line, and at other times, most often it was a black dynasty, or what the Arabs called the Hamaji . The end came at the beginning of the nineteenth century when the Ottoman Turks began their reign of terror in the Sudan with the seizure of Sennar by Muhammad Ali -the same Muhammed Ali who was the greatest murderer of Blacks that ever set foot on the African continent . His massacre of men, women and children was on such a scale that even the white world protested . A brief summary of the history of the three black states we have mentioned would be much longer than what we have said about Makuria, Alwa and Funj . Recounting the details of their history was not intended . Rather the case-study approach is being used, as announced in the Preview . Each of the states represents additional concrete documentation of the positions I have taken, often in what might appear to be overly generalized declarations . In each case, beginning with Egypt, the main focus was on the significant data on the history of the black people, and not on the great masses of equally interesting details . A few more states will be presented as further illustrations of all that is being said in connection with the history of the African people . We started in the "Heartland of the Race" where its history clearly extended from the Sudan over Egypt. The antiquity of Black Civilization ; the amazing heights it reached before recorded history; the early problems of Asian invasions, amalgamation and the new breed, the Coloured Egyptians ; Caucasian penetration into royal black lineages, the increasing pressures on the Blacks and their southward migrations ; the Afro-Asian wars ; the blackout of black history in Egypt ; the long drawn-out process of Caucasianization of Egypt as it was de-Africanized ; the withdrawal of the Ethiopian border to the First Cataract ; the concentration of Blacks below that line ;[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 11:28pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]the confusion of black history through the confusion of names, color and dynasties ; integration and amalgamation as brotherhood myths ; the great black migrations ; the splitting up of states and languages and their role in the decline of Black African civilization-all of these historical factors were set forth before the final collapse of the Ethiopian empire in the fourth century A .D., before we began the analyses of the three "children" states that were born as their imperial mother passed, bequeathing to them her own deathless spirit to carry on . The main characteristics of the history of the Blacks are reflected in those states : Building an advanced system of life, then having it destroyed ; building again, destruction again, migrating and building somewhere else, only to be sought out and destroyed again ; moving, moving, moving, always moving, rebuilding and moving, again and again ; countless thousands giving up the struggle as utterly hopeless ; internal strife increased as external pressures and threats to existence increased ; an every-man-for-himself philosophy replacing that of eternal brotherhood in some societies ; and, through it all, new states forming even during the most destructive centuries when death seemed to be a rider on every stream and passing breeze, new states trying to restore, yet, once again their lost civilization, their written languages, their forgotten arts and sciences, the organization and study of their oral history that had come down unbroken in its main outlines from generation to generation, and the chance to remain in one area long enough to live again under an African constitutional system that is unrivaled by that of any people, these efforts were still being pushed in every region of the African continent long after the undermining operation had been set in motion to pave the way for the conquests by Europe. The Africans were still rebuilding their own civilization when that of Asia and Europe was imposed.[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 11:34pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
''When, if ever, black people actually organize as a race in their various population centers, they will find that the basic and guiding ideology they now seek and so much need is embedded in their own traditional philosophy and constitutional system, simply waiting to be extracted and set forth . And while the 'Work in this field has yet to be advanced further, some of the most fundamental principles of African political science and philosophy of life are to be found in the pages which follow'' .(Chancellor Williams) [b] The African Constitution : Birth of Democracy IN OUR INTRODUCTORY PREVIEW OF AFRICAN HISTORY references were made to the common origin of the people the white world prefers to call "Negro ." That we are here studying a single race, not races, and a single people, not peoples, is a major theory and fact of black history and one of our principal guidelines . We are, therefore, primarily concerned only with those things which were characteristically African, practically universal among them from one end of the continent to the other and which thereby indicated an ancient common culture in a common center of Black Civilization . On this we stand . In this light the African Constitution is discussed as a body of fundamental theories, principles and practices drawn from the customary laws that governed Black African societies from the earliest times . The first task was to divorce traditional African institutions from those influenced by later Asian and European incursions ; to determine what is truly African in origin and what is in fact either Asian or European or a reflection of any other external influence . Another task was to determine whether an institution called "African" was in fact African in the sense of being universal among the Blacks, a continent-wide institution in contra-distinction to something peculiar to one or more tribes,[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 11:37pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]nations or African regions . This distinction is important here, for too often things are characterized as "African" which apply only to certain societies. These represent the development of the whole complex of cultural variations about which Western writers declaim in emphasizing the "great ethnic differences" among the people . (This is not accidental or without design . Caucasian fears about the possibility of Blacks developing a sense of oneness and unity of action is deep and centuries old . Many subtle schemes are used to maintain divisiveness, and with success .) *** A student of comparative history can see without difficulty that various peoples scattered all over the world often develop similar institutions wihout ever having had any contacts whatsoever . This is equally true of the most isolated groups . Similar circumstances may produce similar ideas and culture patterns, all of which may confirm the Cartesian theory about the equal distribution of common sense among all mankind . By simply "doing what comes naturally," one society may evolve a life system not unlike another society ten thousand miles away across distant oceans . Therefore, neither the "External Influence" theory nor that of the common origin of a widely segmented people should be hastily affirmed . We hold this to be true even in the study of one race in the generally same environment of one continent. The evidence must still be conclusive . ORIGIN OF AFRICAN DEMOCRACY The foregoing observations suggest that the constitution of any people or nation, written or unwritten, derives from its customary rules of life ; and that what we now call "democracy" was generally the earliest system among various peoples throughout the ancient world . What was a relatively new development was absolute monarchy . Among the Blacks, democratic institutions evolved and functioned in a socio-economic and political system which Western writers call "Stateless societies" or "Societies without chiefs." When these societies were referred to as "primitive" democracies, the writers are in fact doing the very opposite of what they intended . Far from being just a descriptive term for backward peoples, "primitive" also means "the first," the beginners . Moreover, many of these "stateless societies" were states in[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 11:41pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]fact without necessarily conforming to a predetermined Western structural pattern of state . Indeed, what is called a "stateless society" in Africa would hardly be classified as such in the West, for the Western definition of a state does not include the requirements of one man as its executive head-a state being any collection of people occupying a given territory, and living under their own government independently of external control . These facts are set forth at the outset because both the constitutional system and its offspring, African democracy, originated in "chiefless societies." And, what is even more significant, democracy reached its highest development here where the people actually governed themselves without chiefs, where self-government was a way of life, and "law and order" were taken for granted . The basic structural outline of these states remained the same throughout Africa . There were the usual variations and exceptions. The amazing thing was and is the uniformity-amazing how the most basic elements of ancient black civilization could have been held on to, continent- wide, by all of these dispersed and isolated groups in spite of the continuing impact of unimaginable forces of destruction . The lineage ties and responsibilities and the age-grade or age-set system were the earliest institutions through which the African constitution functioned, and out of which its democracy was born . It was a network of kinsmen, and alleged kinsmen, all of whom descended from the same ancestor or related ancestors . All might live in the same community or state, but they were often scattered far and near in separate and independent societies . The ancestor from whom they claimed descent was always "great" because of some outstanding deed or extraordinary achievements . These generally grew in magnitude as time and the generations passed, thus causing the true achievements to be overlaid by the false claims growing out of praise songs . Each generation of poets and storytellers gave the imagination full range in Romantic glory . Myths were born in this manner, and the later concepts of both royalty and divinity gained support from the same source . In contiguous independent chiefdoms the lineage was the powerful factor in providing the basis and incentive for the later formation of kingdoms and empires . No people in African history used the concept of kinship ties more effectively than the Lunda in the remarkable expansion of their empire . Even more remarkable[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 11:44pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]than the territorial expansion of the Lunda empire was their idea of a nation as one big brotherhood . Accordingly, instead of first attempting to conquer and annex by force, they would approach independent states and seek to demonstrate from oral history that all of them were merely segments of a common lineage, all brothers in fact. It appears that the majority of states believed in the principle of a common ancestry and readily became members of the empire . Some required more facts before they were convinced, still others were not convinced or preferred to remain separate and independent . These were generally conquered and given a lower status in the nation than those who united voluntarily . But we are considering lineage before the rise of kingdoms and in particular, the lineage as the governing and organizing force in states without chiefs or kings, where community consensus was the supreme law that anyone could ignore only at his peril . There were interesting aspects to the many situations where a large number of these chiefless states were scattered over a wide territory, each independent of the others, yet all fully aware (and unlike in Lundaland, had to be convinced) that they belonged to a common lineage . Kinship found expression in trade and in temporary confederations when attacked by external foes (those not considered to be members of their lineage) . There were quarrels and warfare between these member states of the common lineage . The highly humane aspect of African warfare that puzzled many Western visitors doubtlessly developed from the widespread recognition of lineage or kinship ties . For in the much heralded "tribal wars" the main objective was to overcome or frighten away the adversary, not to kill at all if it could be avoided . Hence the hideous masks and blood-curdling screams as they charged . Even when the enemy was defeated or completely surrounded, escape routes were provided, the victors pretending not to be aware of them . Indeed, there are reports of "rest periods," called when neither side seemed to be winning. At such times the warriors on both sides might meet at the nearest stream to refresh themselves, kid each other, and laugh at each others' jokes until the drums, gongs or trumpets sounded for the resumption of the battle . This was traditional Africa . How did it change to a warfare of killing, lineage or no lineage? How did it happen that even now in our modern and "advanced" civilization some of the most murderous and inhuman of wars are fought by Blacks against Blacks,[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 11:47pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]and this in the face of their increasing awareness that they are in fact one people? It is quite clear that in early Africa "war" was not much more than a frightful game when among themselves . Was the radical change brought about by the death-dealing incursions from Asia and Europe? This raises other questions of great urgency : Are we really civilized today? Have we not substituted the trappings of civilization-our triumphs in science, technology, and the computer "revolution" -for civilization ties? Suffice it to say that the steady weakening of lineage ties and its spirit of unity was also a weakening of the sense of brotherhood and unity among the Blacks . Today it finds little expression except in various languages or tribal groups, and these maintain it more and more as a cohesive force to be used against all others . Lineage, then, was the most powerful and effective force for unity and stability in early Africa, and this was so true that a state could be self-governed without the need for any one individual as ruler, chief or king . Everyone was a lawyer because just about everyone knew the Customary laws . The age-grade or age-set (also called "class"  was the specific organizationalstructure through which the society functioned . Classification was determined by the period in which one was born . All persons born in the same year, or within a general but well-defined period before or after a given year, belonged in the same age-grade . Each grade covered a block of years : Age-grade one might include all children up to age twelve ; grade two, from thirteen to eighteen ; grade three, nineteen to twenty-eight ; grade four, twenty-nine to forty ; and grade five, forty and above . There was seniority within each grade according to age and intelligence . Intelligence and wisdom were supposed to match one's age . Stated another way, the African philosophy that accorded so much deference to elders was based upon the assumption that, call other things being equal, those who were living in the world and experiencing life before others were born should know more than these others . This qualification is important because it was later applied in the election of chiefs and kings . Being heir to the throne was not enough . One had to meet other qualifications or be passed over . Therefore, being older or the oldest in one's group did not command the usual respect if one was lazy, a troublemaker or a fool .[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 11:48pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]EARLY EDUCATION The interlocking responsibilities of the various grades accounted for the smooth functioning of the chiefless states. Each grade had its own social, economic and political role . The children's set covered the years of game and play . Around the ages of six and seven, however, general training and some little jobs began to be mingled with play . Primary education included storytelling, mental arithmetic, community songs and dances, learning the names of various birds and animals, the identification of poisonous snakes, local plants and trees, and how to run and climb swiftly when pursued by dangerous animals . Child training also included knowing and associating with members of one's age-group as brothers and sisters, and to regard them as brothers and sisters until death and beyond. Little chores around the house became routine, such as gathering sticks of wood for fuel, bringing water, tending the cattle, feeding the chickens or, if a girl, looking after baby or younger ones, imitating mother at cooking and trying to learn how to sew and knit . The nearest thing to the boy's political role in childhood was when he carried his father's or uncle's stool to village council meetings and listened to the interminable debates . The next grade above childhood was teenage through age eighteen . (These periods, of course, varied in different societies .) Now, both training and responsibilities were stepped-up . Play time was either over or very much limited . Education and training became more complex and extensive . The youths' entire future depended upon their performance at this age level. He or she was marked for success or failure in this second age-set that began at age 13. The boy was now required to learn his extended family history and that of his society, the geography of the region, names of neighboring states and the nature of the relations with them, the handling of weapons, hunting as a skilled art, rapid calculation, clearing the bush for planting, the nature of soils and which kinds grew what best, military tactics, care and breeding of cattle, the division of labor between males and females, bartering tactics, rules of good manners at home and abroad, competitive sports . He was required to provide leadership examples for the childhood age group below and responsibilities to the age-group above . The apprenticeship system in which one became a skilled craftsman was one of the most important of the second level age-set activities . This is another reason why this age-grade was the most crucial of all . At its[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 11:50pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]end one went through the initiation rites for the exalted level of manhoood. The girls age-group differed from those of the boys . Introduction to womanhood roles, for example, was earlier . They had the same intellectual training as the boys : history, geography, rapid calculation, poetry, music and dance . The training in child care, housekeeping, gardening, cooking, marketing-social relations with particular stress on good manners, these were some of the essentials in the age-grade education and training of young people at this level . Housekeeping, mentioned above, does not reveal the important kind of training that came under that heading, for its most important aim was "how to be a successful wife"-an everlastingly desirable wife . In many societies, this training by older women away from the community included the art of exciting sexual intercourse, position variations, cleanliness in the relationship and, in short, the do's and don't's in intimate relations . These early black societies were in many ways far in advance of the modern . The first two grades may be designated as A and B, the third as C, the fourth as D, and the final and highest as grade E. Grade C, ages 19 through 28, was the manhood and first-line-of-action group . Its members led in the hunting, community construction, preparing the fields for planting, forming the various industrial craft guilds (secret societies, each of which guarded the processes of its art), protecting the farranging grazing cattle, the upkeep of roads and paths between the villages, policing areas when necessary, and forming the bulwark of the fighting force . The young women in grade C, were generally wives . They were responsible for the planting and care of the farms (the heavy work of bush clearing, etc ., having been done by the men), the operations of the markets (hence the stress on mental arithmetic in their training), visiting and care of the sick and the aged, formation of women's societies (the media for women's social, economic and indirect but very real political influence), and they were responsible for and in supreme control of all matters concerning the home . In those societies that had female fighting forces, the women's armies were formed almost entirely from age-grade C . In terms of constitutional rights and duties (the two were inseparable in early Africa), there was not much difference between age-group C and age-group D . Seniority was the significant difference, since D was from age 29 to 40 . If otherwise qualified, members in this class, upon reaching the age of 36, were eligible for election to the most highly[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 11:52pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]honored body in the society, the Council of Elders-an honor and privilege specially reserved for those 40 years old and above, group E . THE EARLIEST JUDICIAL SYSTEM In the chiefless states the function of the elders was wholly advisory . For this reason they rarely ever met as a council . A council meeting might be called by the Senior Elder in case of extreme emergency . Matters involving members of the same family or clan could be settled by the family council, each family or clan having its own elder . Conflicts between families or clans could be brought before any mutually acceptable elder for settlement . The elder's judgment was not binding on the parties to the dispute . This was the constitutional theory . If the case was "big" and serious and the disputants were dissatisfied with the elder's decision regarding it, they could call in one or more additional elders to hear and pass on the case . Their decision was also advisory and could be disregarded by the parties to the action . Yes, the elders' advisory judgments could be ignored under ancient African constitutional law . Yet under practical operation of that same constitution, the disputants could ignore their elders' judgment only at their peril . For to ignore the elders was considered to be ignoring the community itself. The only exceptions to this were those cases where the elder or elders rendered an obviously bad decision . Even then it was not left to the contestants to say whether the judgment was good or bad . The community decided, because the community was thought to be represented in the everpresent crowd at such hearings . They, the people present, always indicated their attitude by expressions and nods of approval or disapproval of decisions reached . The constitutional theory and principle here are especially significant because of the important form they took in all African societies in every part of the continent as they evolved from societies without chiefs to centralized states under chiefs, kings, and emperors . In this continentwide constitutional development the chief or king became the mouthpiece of the people and the instrument for carrying out their will . They still had no "ruler" in the Asian and European sense . On questions in dispute, he was in the same position as litigants in the chiefless states . Like them, under the constitution, he had absolute power in theory, and in theory he could ignore the Council and do exactly as he pleased . But in practice, like the disputants, he did not dare defy the Council of[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 11:56pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]Elders, which also had evolved and become "the people"-their direct representatives . Africans generally prefer to dwell on the constitutional theories and not the constitutional practices . They proudly speak of the freedom and absolute powers of the chief or king .' Some will even tell you that the king "owned all the land" in the country . They are not trying to deceive . Words of another language often fail to translate the people's concepts or meaning . When they say the king is supreme or has absolute power they mean that he has absolute power to carry out the will of the people . It was so well understood that supreme power rested in the people that it was never thought necessary to state such a fact . Likewise, they would say, and say proudly, the king "owns all the land in the country" since everybody but a fool knew that he didn't, that nobody owned the land (again in the Western sense), and that the king's role was that of custodian and overseer, his principal duty being to see that the land was fairly distributed among all families . In the chiefless society the elders were the overseers of land distribution to families . Finally, nothing contributed more to the efficiency and success of self-government without governors than the system wherein each age grade was responsible for the conduct of its members, and that before any misconduct could reach one's age-grade council it was handled by his family council . This never meant leniency . It meant the very opposite, because each family was jealous of its honor and image in the community, and any member whose behavior reflected unfavorably on the family would be in trouble with their own family first of all . The result of this was that the age-grade councils rarely ever had a case and, obviously, this self-government, beginning with the basic social unit, the family, radically reduced the number of cases that went before the elders . Stated another way, each family policed itself, each age group policed itself, so that there was little or nothing that the community as a whole had to do . Each group elected its own leaders . These met with other age-grade leaders on community matters that cut across age-grade lines. It was therefore in the societies without chiefs or kings where African democracy was born and where the concept that the people are sovereign was as natural as breathing . And this is why in traditional -------------------------------------------- Notes 1. The Mossi were a specific example .[/b] |
| Re: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams by Tochi3(m): 11:58pm On Feb 24, 2012 |
[b]Africa the rights of the individual never came before the rights of the community. Individual freedom was unlimited until it clashed with the interests or welfare of the community . This is also why the evolution to a highly centralized state still found the king under communal law, not above it, and definitely unable to do as he pleased . These self-governing people did not have a Utopian society in any idealistic sense . Theirs was a practical society in every way . The laws were natural laws, and order and justice prevailed because the society could not otherwise survive . Theirs was, in fact, a government of the people; theirs was, in fact, not a theory, but a government by the people; and it was, in fact, a government for the people . That this kind of government did "pass from the earth" is another fact we now call "modern progress ." We shall note later the impact of some of the developments previously mentioned on the traditional constitution, particularly as it operated in the reestablished, centralized "migratory" states . Meanwhile, it might be well if we single out some of the key provisions of that constit5tion ; for, again, the aim is to set forth-and set forth in specific terms-the actual all-African institutions that all Africans lost and of which their descendants do not have even a memory . One of the world's greatest constitutional systems was one of their tragic losses . SOME POLITICAL THEORIES AND PRINCIPLES OF ANCIENT AFRICAN CONSTITUTION LAW AND THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF THE AFRICAN PEOPLE (Drawn from African Traditional Constitutional and Customary Laws . Different versions and modifications of the same laws occurred in different societies .) 1. The People are the first and final source of all power . II. The rights of the community of people are, and of right ought to be, superior to those of any individual, including Chiefs and Kings (a) The Will of the People is the supreme law ; (b) Chiefs and Kings are under the law, not above it .[/b] |
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