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Daily Life And Work Of A Racist Ideologue, December 20, 2009
This review is from: Daily Life of the Nubians (The Greenwood Press Daily Life Through History Series) (Hardcover)
This book was not written to recount history but to advance a myth and an ideology - i.e. that "White civilization preceded Black civilization, that Kemet (Egypt) is a White civilization, and that Nubia by all accounts was inferior to and, apparently, in service to Kemet.
There is nothing here in this book about the day to day, much less millennium to millennium life about Nubia and Nubians. The author is actually ignorant of the subject, and I do not say this lightly. There is no information, let alone any understanding of the cultural and economic orientation of the Nubian society and why it persisted for thousands of years. Nothing about the 'Way of Life' - i.e. religion, cosmogony, etc. Instead it became apparent to me that this book was not written to recount the history of the Nubians, but, to advance a particular image of Nubia - the book was written as a propaganda treatise.
The crux of the matter has to do with the archaeological findings, and supported by other fields of study, that have come to light evidencing the fact that ancient civilization, including the political monarchy, began in Nubia (inner Africa)- not Kemet (Egypt), Sumer, Harappa, etc.
The evidence shows that animal domestication and agriculture began in Nubia, facts cited on pages 17, 25, 26 in this book. A corollary to these developments was the development of a socio-political hierarchy (p.24) - including the monarchy in Nubia. These essentially are the foundations of sedentary and urban society, and civilization (i.e. the historic period). These facts have created a stir among ideologues who have worked diligently to spin the details to suggest that these facts of 'little meaning'. However, what has caused a proverbial earthquake under the foundation of the racist ideologues is the discovery of a PreDynastic 'Royal Cemetery' in Qustal Nubia that included among other supporting evidence of a Nubian priority, an 'Incense Burner' depicting a seated individual wearing the white crown of 'Upper Egypt', also including the motifs and archetypes later associated with Dynastic Kemet (Egypt). In other words the crown is of a 'Pharaoh' (i.e. leader) of Nubia.
All of these and other factors make it clear just what the Kemetians (Egyptians) have stated in their writings all along - that the origins of Kemetic (Egyptian) civilization emanated from Nubia (inner Africa). In light of these facts the racist myth and ideology - i.e. that "White civilization preceded Black civilization, that Kemet (Egypt) is a White civilization, and that Nubia by all accounts was inferior to and, apparently, in service to Kemet" collapses.
However the racist ideologues have decided to launch an 'evidence manipulation' and PR campaign to 'drown out' the facts - enter Bianchi. To the evidence he states and concludes: (P 37) "No single example of Nubian art has caused such a furor in recent times as a stone vessel with relief decoration from Grave 24 of Qustul's Cemetery L, which is now in the collections of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago...
"It has long been recognized that the material from which this vessel, suggested to have served as an incense burner, is crafted is a limestone indigenous to Egypt..." - A Lie.
"There is no doubt that the Qustul vessel is a deluxe object and one that could only have belonged to an elite leader of Nubia's A-Group oligarchy, perhaps the king of the city itself..." - True.
"The resulting controversy, initially passed over a detailed study of the Qustul incense burner itself, soon degenerated into a vigorous debate about the primacy of Nubia in the formation of the emerging Egyptian state" - A Lie - there was no debate only denials and attacks against the person of the White researcher Bruce B. Williams. I state his race (complexion) so that propagandist do not cast this as an Afrocentric vs Eurocentric debate. This is a battle of true-history (a la Bruce Williams) versus propaganda-as-history (Robert Bianchi).
"In the intervening period of time, the controversy has disappeared, notably because the Egyptian character of the Qustul incense burner had been firmly established." - A Lie, the battle has heated up as more researchers acknowledge the evidence. What is more, the racist ideologues have rushed to publish more books entitled 'Nubian History' with the expressed objective of decrying the evidence and casting Nubia in a 'dimmer light'.
"The vessel can now be shown to be an Egyptian product imported into Nubia, as evidenced from comparison with numerous slate palettes, mace heads, and stone vessels in the material culture of contemporary Egypt." - A Really Big Lie - recall the 'Royal Graves' and the 'Incense Burner' is older than Predynastic and Dynastic Kemet (Egypt).
"There is no comparable corpus of stone in the material culture of the A-Group Nubians..." - A lie - Nubian artifacts are replete with the use of stone materials.
"It is advisable therefore, to regard this object as a royal Egyptian gift, sent to a chieftain of Qustul, in order to cement mercantile relationships between the two courts..." - The Lie to be told about the evidence.
"Attempts by some to describe it as more lavishly supplied burials as royal tombs is ill advised." - In other words: "Let's diminish the status of the 'Royal Graves' to something less".
Conclusion: In addition to the above the book does not offer information on 'the daily life of the Nubians', the book is actually skewed to reflect the ideology and pseudo-science the author wished he could get the Kemetians (Egyptians) to have exhibited in their relationship with Nubia. There is no indication of what the Nubians called themselves - really; just what others supposedly called them; no distinction of the life-style of the Nubians, just that they lived differently from the Kemetian (Egyptian) - i.e. they did not build massive building and did not develop a script until very late; which is an untruth (if you rely on the facts which shows that the Kemetic script and language [MDW NTR] came from Nubia) and not myth-making.
I could go on, however, trust me if you must read this book, and you should, borrow it from a library; no, borrow it from someone who already has it, for the book does not belong in libraries.
A short bibliography of related history grounded in evidence:
For Bruce B. Williams findings see: Egypt Revisited - Ivan Van Sertima, ed. (read the entire publication as all articles are related)
Egypt Revisited (Journal of African Civilizations,)
Civilization or Barbarism: An Authentic Anthropology - Cheikh Diop
Civilization or Barbarism: An Authentic Anthropology
Kush - The Jewel of Nubia: Reconnecting the Root System of African Civilization by Miriam Ma'At-Ka-Re Monges
Kush - The Jewel of Nubia: Reconnecting the Root System of African Civilization
NUBIAN PHARAOHS AND MEROITIC KINGS: THE KINGDOM OF KUSH by Necia Harkless
NUBIAN PHARAOHS AND MEROITIC KINGS: THE KINGDOM OF KUSH
Excavations Between Abu Simbel and the Sudan Frontier, Part 1: The A-Group Royal Cemetery at Qustul, Cemetery L (The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago) by Bruce B. Williams
Excavations Between Abu Simbel and the Sudan Frontier, Part 1: The A-Group Royal Cemetery at Qustul, Cemetery L (The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago)
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