Customer Reviews

Egypt, Trunk of the Tree, Vol. 1: The Contexts

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I found Mr. Najovits's book extremely interesting. His knowledge in this field is thorough and his analysis penetrating. His conclusions are disarmingly simple. If it is true that knowledge is the understanding of relationships, and conversely that understanding is the knowledge of relationships,
Mr. Najovits stands out on both counts. He draws connections I had not seen before and gives me a deeper understanding of this most important history.
I look forward to volume two.

This is one of the finest books I've read to date on the evolution and foundations of religious thinking in ancient Egypt. It is a "must read" for anyone who seriously wishes to comprehend the mind and motivations of the ancient Egyptian. The text is detailed but never cumbersome, and often extremely insightful. Najovits pulls no punches; he states the facts that other authors ignore and provides enlightening insight into the meaning behind and implications of those facts.

A special plus for the non-scholar is the fact that Najovits does not simply use the traditonal Greek names that have become so familiar to Westerners due to their nearly ubiquitous contemporary usage. He provides the correct ancient Egyptian names of royal figures as well as the ancient names (when known) of the locations being discussed. The ancient names/words are transliterations rather than as confusingly cryptic combinations of letters from the English alphabet interspersed with symbols that indicate or estimate the sounds of missing vowels or non-Western vocables. I commend Mr. Nojavits highly for using this highly informative yet easily fathomable technique.

Once I'd read the last pages of this first volume, I felt compelled to plunge into the second volume. Although I have so far read only 100 pages of the second volume, I find it as fascinating and well-written and thought-provoking as the first volume.

This comment is offered from the perspective of a "general public" reader. Having experienced much frustration over the years trying to acquire some knowledge about ancient Egypt, I have found an excellent source that provides an understanding of the complicated systems of gods and totems in "Egypt, Trunk of the Tree", Vol. 1.

Simson R. Najovits provides a comprehensive picture of the gods and their functions, and crystallizes their complex interrelationships that existed over time. In addition, the changing attributes assigned to various gods in different areas of the country and throughout the ages are presented in clear, relevant contexts. This enables the reader to grasp the complexity and meaning of an ancient religion.

The book also provides an understanding of the changing nature of ancient Egyptian religion, including shifts toward mnonotheism.

If an interest in ancient Egypt is initiated through Museum Tours, interest in the history of religion, T.V. History Channels, etc., then this book is a must to provide a clear and comprehensive understanding!

Najovits has written a 2 volume fantasy about ancient African culture. We all know that modern Egypt is not African. But "ancient Egypt"(Kemit) was a series of completely black African ancient civilizations ! We also know that the mainly Arab populations of Modern Egypt had absolutely nothing to do with classical ancient Egyptian civilization.
Modern Egyptians are mainly the descendants of Arab invaders who arrived with Islam and Arabic culture centuries after the fall and decline of the indigenous ancient black African Egypto-Nubian civilization we now call "ancient Egypt".
Najovits remains captive to the Euro-centic intellectual paradigm which places Africans outside of human history. According to this intellectual paradigm , the series of ancient African cultures, commonly called "Ancient Egypt", had its origin in the "East". It further claims that the Egyptians were , unique and mysterious. In the first few pages, Mr. Najovits struggles desperately to fabricate an origin for the Egyptians that is divorced from the Great Lakes area in the heart of Africa. Ultimately, his pseudo-scholarships fails....
The Egyptians looked to the south as the land of their ancestors. The world's first Holy Land was far south of Egypt in the heart of Africa. The first rulers came from the south. The last native African king fled back to Nubia as the Persians advanced, Nectanebo ll.
Any African, or anyone familiar with African culture would know that the religion of the Egyptians is very much like the African religions of today. For example, the concepts of the ka and the ba can be found almost every where in Black Africa today!The cosmology of black Africa and ancient Egypt are essentially the same.
Any African would instantly know that the hair styles of the Egyptians were totemic. The head rest is found almost everywhere in Africa today! The farm instruments are the the same or very similar, so are the musical instruments. Any reader who doubts this can simply study seriously African culture. See C. A. Diop, T.Obenga or A.M. Lam. Anyone who can read the writings of the ancient Egyptians in the original will quickly come to the conclusion that the South was their place of origin, and that the culture was purely African! The last native African pharaoh Nectanebo ll fled to NUBIA to escape the Persian invasion .
It is interesting to note that all the hieroglyphic signs are African. All the animals and plants are found in Africa. The ox was unknown in Mesopotamia.
The language of ancient Egypt was a Black African language,genetically related to African languages spoken today!! Theophile Obenga and C. A. Diop have demonstrated, time and time, again that the language spoken by the ancient Egyptians is related Wolof, Dinka,Nuer,and many other modern day Black African languages. In fact, many unclear points concerning ancient Egyptian grammar can be clarified by refering to modern Black African languages and cultures. The same is true of word meanings.
No linguist, using modern scientific linguistic methods, can demonstrate that the language of the ancient Egyptians is genetically related to the Semitic family;it has not been done because it can not be done. Mr. Najovits seems confused on the linguistic issues.
In fact, the ancient Egyptian language agrees with the black African language Wolof(spoken in Senegal)on just about every level of the grammatical structure! Najovits seriously misleads his uninformed readers on the linguistic points. The language of ancient Egypt is NOT genetically related to ANY SEMITIC LANGUAGE NOR IS IT RELATED TO ANY FORM OF BERBER. See the linguistic works of Dr. Theophile Obenga or Cheikh Anta Diop.
Mr. Najovits again misleads his readers when he writes that Dr. Diop simply "declares" that the ancient Egyptians were black. Dr. Diop has produced numerous books and articles on the history,culture and language of ancient Egypt. It was his life's work. Diop's declaration is based on strong valid linguistic facts. The "ancient Egyptians" never referred to themselves as "Egyptian". These ancient African people used several terms to designate themselves. R. O. Faulkner translates one of the words KMT or KMT(collective) as "EGYPTIAN". This translation of the term , while correct,completely ignores the etymological meaning of the term. The term is composed of the glyph for the word "black" (KM) with the "cake"(t) glyph underneath the KM(black) glyph. Next are the glyphs of a man followed by the glyph of a woman. Under the man and woman glyphs we have the PLURAL MARKERS, three vertical lines. See R. O. Faulkner, Middle Egyptian,Griffith Institute 1962, p286. The word has to be translated as THE BLACK PEOPLE, or The Negros or THE BLACK MEN AND WOMEN. This is what these ancient African peoples called themselves in their own language!! As you know the term "black" does not have to literally mean black, literally as black paint. Black can also refer to cultural identity and racial affinity. African peoples come in various shades and colors, from jet black to brown. The word "white" is used the same way. We have the pale Swede and the dark Italian from the southernmost islands of the Italian peninsula. Are they not all "white"-yet not white like a sheet of paper. So lets not play the game Mr. Najovits seems to be playing.
Najovits carefully avoids tackling the massive and solid scholarly linguistic and cultural evidence produced by African scholars such as Dr. C. A. Diop. Instead he engages in ad hominem attacks, suggesting that Dr. Diop may be "a little racist". We wonder if Mrs Diop, a white French woman would agree with Mr. Najovits.
What we get from Mr. Najovits is the slinging around of cliches and the manipulations of centuries old European dogmas about ancient African Egypto-Nubian cultural complexes that developed along world's first cultural highway, the 4,000 long Nile River.
Perhaps Najovits fears the wild fury and ceaseless criticism that will surely be heaped upon him if he dared reject the so-called "norms of Egyptological scholarship". Mr. Najovits has remained a serf to his intellectual lords to the detriment of his endeavor.
The attempt to separate ancient Egypt from its African origins has led Mr. Najovits to create this 2 volume fantasy of Euro-centric speculation upon speculation on an African culture that he does not understand in the least.
Most scholars of Egyptology agree that ancient Egypt can not be properly understood outside of its indigenous black African cultural context. To do so is to engage in myth making and fantasy.
If one wants to stay well within the euro-centric intellectual paradigm and read heart warming Eurocentic myths,fantasies,speculations and outdated opinions that ignores the black African reality of these ancient African civilizations that we now call "ancient Egypt"-then Mr. Najovits has written just the book for you.

THUMBS DOWN!!

The work invested in these 2 volumes simply boggles the mind. I cannot imagine (and have not encountered) any work in anthropology, archeology, and/or history that touches on the evolvement of the ancient peoples and cultures from this part of the world that demonstrates greater scholarship and intellectual perception. The genius here is that it allows for a reader's non-academic grounding in this area without in the least compromising the level of the study..

Simson Najovits's extremely interesting book will be welcomed by those planning a trip to visit the sites of ancient Egypt. It is clearly-written and accessible, without succumbing to simplifications and sensationalism. Heartily recommended!