African glory and downfall in Asia

[BabaYaw]

from theblacklist@yahoogroups.com

From: Runoko Rashidi
Subject: FROM ASIA TO THE PACIFIC




This is the second and concluding part of Amani Olubanjo Buntu=12s
wide-ranging piece on the history of the African glory and downfall in =
Asia,
the merit of which is to question the white European scholars=12 view of
African civilisations. You may agree or disagree with the views =
expressed.
But they give food for thought:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Bangladeshi researcher Horen Tudu has devoted much of his work to =
the
Dalit * (or The Untouchables) question in Bangladesh and India. He =
explains
that the original inhabitants of modern-day Bangladesh were the
Proto-Australoid Kols, a Dravidian group, descended from Africa.

Kol, as a term, has been corrupted by Aryan-Sanskritic speakers to the =
word
kalu, meaning both =13black=14 and =13ugly=14 in almost all of the 16 =
languages of
the Indian sub-continent.

The indigenous people were =13long-headed, dark-skinned, broad-nosed and
=
short
in stature. Sometimes labelled as =11Negritos=12 and =11Negroids=12, =
their physical
features are unchanged to this day, among the lowest castes of =
Bengal.=14=20

As Muslims invaded North India and present-day Pakistan and Bangladesh
around the 8th century, their religion gained much support from the
=13Untouchables=14. Islam allowed them, for the first time in their =
lives, to
reach some form of upward mobility in society.

Similar to the lower-than-low status allocated to Dalits under Hinduism,
Arabs have also subdued the indigenous black populations to servant =
status.
In Bangladesh, even those of mixed Arab and Bengali descent look down on
=
the
black people and call them =13village kalus=14 (equivalent to =
=13nigger=14), and
remain highly bigoted with regard to skin colour.

West and Central Asia, Middle East*

The first civilisation in the region of Mesopotamia was established by =
the
Sumerians* between the Tigris and the Euphrates river valleys in the
southern part of today=12s Iraq. The first settlements of Sumer date =
from,
possibly, as early as 5,300 BC.

A major element in the Sumerian civilisation*, says the African-American
historian and researcher Runoko Rashidi, were black migrants from the =
Nile
Valley who called themselves =13Blackheads=14. Research suggests that =
the
biological make-up of the Sumerians was the same as that of the Ancient
Egyptians, the Dogon of West Africa and the indigenous Australians, the
Aborigines.

The city of Ur, from where Abraham and his family started their journey
=
to
Canaan in the Bible, was probably the most powerful Sumerian city of its
era. Prospering during the third millennium BC, Sumer set the guidelines
=
for
kingdoms and empires that followed it.

The Sumerians* built temples, were advanced in agriculture and fishing =
and
developed the first writing system known to Asia. Ur was fundamentally
destroyed around 2,000 BC by the Semites, who became the new masters in
=
the
land. This had a devastating effect, ending the era of Sumerian rule. =
Around
3,000 BC arose the ancient federal state of Elam, situated in Persia,
today=12s Iran. Iranian legends hold that the ancient Persians were =
black
people with short woolly hair. As with the Sumerians, the cultural =
forms,
the goddesses, art-motifs, weapons and scripts of the Elamites point =
back to
a Nile Valley origin. In fact, many scholars see both Sumer and Elam as
Kushite colonies. The ruling dynasties of these two cultures had many
significant female leaders and queens.

As with Sumer, Elam also fell victim to destructive Semitic invasions.
According to Rashidi, when the Assyrians took over the capital Susa in =
639
BC, they attempted to destroy it completely by =13the looting and razing
=
of
temples, the destruction of sacred groves, the desecration of royal =
tombs,
the seizure of Elamite gods, the removal of royal memorials and the
deportation of people, livestock and even rubble from the devastated =
city.=14

The anthropologist and historian Wayne B. Chandler explains how Africans
were once dominant over the entire Arabian Peninsula, and were the
=13original=14 Arabs. From what is today Yemen, several city-sates and =
kingdoms
spread throughout the region. Yemen and Saudi Arabia were part of the
ancient Kushite Empire.

The Sabean Empire, established in 700 BC, was an extension of Ethiopia =
and
was ruled by a line of queens, Kentakes/Kandakes (called Candace by the
Greeks). According to Drusilla D. Houston, this line of queens =
physically
resembled the San peoples.

The most famous was Queen Makeda (Bilqis in the Koran, Queen Sheba in =
the
Bible), under whose rule the empire flourished and became widely famous.
=
She
visited King Solomon of Israel (also of African descent) and placed her
=
son
with the king on the throne of Ethiopia, starting a line that was the =
last
until Emperor Ras Tafari, Haile Selassie I.

The family line of Prophet Muhammad, the Koreysh, were also from Saudi
Arabia. The Koreysh traced their lineage from Ishmael, son of Abraham =
and
his Egyptian (Hamitic) wife, Hagar. Ishmael has been ultimately called =
the
=13Father of Arabs=14. Being from a lineage of African blood, research =
suggests
that Prophet Muhammad was probably born to a black Arabic father and a
Semitic (racially mixed) mother.

Prophet Muhammad=12s descendants, the Arabs of the south, established =
the
advanced Abbasids Empire that conquered all of Arabia in 750 AD. This
empire, says Charles B. Copher, ushered in a period of wealth, knowledge
=
and
advancement at a time when Europe was entering its Dark Ages. Attacked =
by
Mongols, this powerful empire came to its end in 1,258 AD. This closed =
the
chapter of black people as a natural force in West Asia.

The Semitic Arabs, according to Drusilla D. Houston, were nomadic and =
did
not excel in agriculture and political organisation. They occupied the
harshest (northern) parts of Arabia and were involved in constant =
quarrels
over wells and grazing lands.

Apparently of mixed African, Caucasian and Asiatic descent, they claimed
descent from Heber, of the race of Shem, from whom also descends the =
line of
Abraham. They remained relatively obscure until 700 AD. Around the 6th
century (AD), they established a hierarchy built on what they had =
learned
from the Yemenites, but altered it to their own advantage.

The African-American historian Yusuf Ben-Jochanan has documented how =
both
Judaism/Christianity and Islam -- (in that order) -- are religions which
were crafted out of African religion; both in content (rituals, =
mythology,
dogmas), though distorted from the original, and by the many Africans =
who
were essential in the creation of these religions.

Prophet Muhammad also surrounded himself with other Africans who had a
profound impact on Islam. The most well-known is perhaps Bilal, the =
first
Imam (high priest), Muezzin (prayer-caller) and treasurer of the =
Mohammedan
Empire. Born in Ethiopia, he was captured by Arab slavers and taken to =
Mecca
before the birth of Islam in 622 AD. The first convert of Islam, Bilal =
was
responsible for the creation of much of the Muslim doctrines.

Another distinguished African-Arab was Ibrahim Al-Mahdi, who became =
Islam=12s
greatest singer, poet and Caliph of Baghdad. Also famous was the
African-Iraqi Al-Jahiz, who was born towards the end of the 7th century.
=
He
was an outstanding scholar and chronicled great achievements of the =
African
people.

Even before the advent of Islam, southern Arabia already possessed the
sacred Ka=12aba, with its black stone, and Mecca was considered a holy =
place,
a destination for Pilgrims. According to Ben-Jochanan, the Ka=12aba =
stone was
imported into Arabia by the Ethiopians as a symbol devoted to several =
female
deities.

But in the 7th century, Islamic Arabs introduced a form of chattel =
slavery
previously unheard-of in the history of Africa. This instituted a =
framework
for slavery which the Europeans would later copy and capitalise on. =
Africans
from East, South and Central Africa were captured, "bought" or kidnapped
=
and
shipped off to Saudi Arabia, Persia, India and East Timor to become =
slaves
for Muslim overlords.

In Iraq, African slaves came to be known as the Zanj, a word related to
Azania, which means =14land of the black people=14. In 868 AD, the =
African
slaves in Arabia staged the Zanj Revolt: a 15-year-long rebellion =
against
their oppressors, which reduced the slave trade.

The Arab slave trade, through the routes across the Red Sea and the =
Indian
Ocean, is estimated to have shipped 14 million Africans to Arabia, =
Persia
and India between 650 and 1,900 AD.

Many people in Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia today still carry the =
physical
characteristics of Africans, although few identify with these African
origins. Blackness there, as in so many parts of the world where =
Africans
have been forcibly migrated, carries a social stigma.

Pilgrims travelling to Mecca (the Hajj) have over the years resulted in
large numbers of Africans settling throughout the Middle East. Many =
never
returned to their native lands, and established themselves in =
present-day
Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Palestine/Israel, Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, the =
Persian
Gulf countries and Turkey.

There are also present-day descendants of ancient Africans who founded
civilisations in Turkey, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. The
historian John G. Jackson talks of the Colchis in southern Russia, where
there is still today a =13Black belt=14 of African people, descendants =
of
Ancient Egyptians who established a colony there under the Pharaoh
Sesostris.

The ancient coastal provinces of today=12s Lebanon, northern Israel and
=
Syria,
were named Phoenicia by the Greeks. The Phoenicians were a coastal =
branch of
the Canaanites, who, according to Biblical traditions, were members of =
the
Hamitic (Black) ethnic group.

The Phoenicians were the great seafarers of their time and dominated the
Mediterranean Sea. Phoenician inscriptions have been found as far north
=
as
central Turkey and as far west as Tunisia, where the famous ancient city
=
of
Carthage was founded.

Contrary to popularised images of Biblical characters, many, both in the
=
Old
and the New Testaments, were of African lineage. The physical =
characteristic
of Jesus Christ has been a controversial debate for a long time.

According to the historian-philosopher James C. Anyike, it is difficult
=
to
establish Biblical and historical consensus about the life of Jesus. =
Since
the early years of Christendom, however, depictions of the Black Virgin
=
and
Child, both with distinct African features, have been central. Many of =
these
sculptures are still found in ancient cathedrals of South and Eastern
Europe.

The British researcher J.A. Rogers has also substantiated claims that =
there
were several messiahs before the Biblical Jesus Christ. The stories of
Osiris (Horus) of Egypt, Krishna of India and Buddha of East Asia have
similarities: virgin birth, disciple followers, dying and rising from =
death.
All have been depicted as African in origin since ancient times.

The process of portraying Jesus and most Biblical characters as white =
was
not invented before the 15th century. As confirmed by the Biblical
researcher Walter Arthur McGray, his genealogy makes Jesus a descendant
=
of
African people, as the Hamites were African and most Semites were of =
some
African blood.

So who were the Hamitic and Semitic peoples? These terms are often used
without any further explanation. James C. Anyike and Charles B. Copher
attempt to clarify this question. According to the Bible=12s Table of =
Nations,
Noah had three sons, who have been seen to be the forefathers of human
races: Ham (Hamites/Africans), Shem (Semites/Asians) and Japhet
(Caucasians).

Early European historians identified all Hamites as =13Negroes=14 and =
associated
this with Noah=12s curse of Canaan, interpreted to be a curse of Ham and
=
his
descendants. But, according to biblical accounts, Ham was never cursed,
=
nor
is colour mentioned.

However, when 19th century European scholars increasingly came across
African civilisations and great kingdoms which were unmistakably black,
=
they
invented a curious =13twist=14 in their =13construction=14 of the races,
=
so that
they did not have to ascribe advanced achievements to the =13sub-human
Negroes=14.

This view removed colour from the criteria for determining racial =
identity
and re-invented the Hamites as =13dark-skinned whites=14, =
=13copper-coloured=14,
=13Eurafrican=14, =13Mediterranean=14 or =13Caucasoid blacks=14. The =
word =13Negro=14 was
removed from biblical history and the Hamites were made =13white=14.

According to Copher, research proves that wherever the Bible refers to
Hamites, these are people who, today, would be called Black/African. =
Both
Semites and Hamites probably belonged to the same (or similar) people. =
The
ancient Hebrew-Israelites were also of African blood. The Japhets we =
don=12t
hear much about in the Bible =05 It was apparently this feeling of being
=
=13left
out=14 that led Europeans to re-invent the biblical history with white =
images.

The Hebrews

The Hebrews, as portrayed by Charles B. Copher, claim their history =
starts
with Noah. It is unclear what =13race=14 they were originally, but they
certainly became Africanised as they advanced. Several scholars accept =
that
the Hebrews =13borrowed the flood myth=14 from Sumer (when they reached
=
Ur). It
was, also, as they drifted southward that they dwelt in Palestine =
(Canaan, a
black nation) and adopted a Semitic language. They probably spoke an
Indo-European language originally.

As James Anyike explains, Abraham was the son of Terah, who descended =
from
Heber. He and his family started the journey from Ur, a city-state in =
Sumer
(a region of black people), around 2,100 BC.

Abraham=12s children and grandchildren were largely of Egyptian/African
=
blood.
Abraham=12s grandson, Jacob, had several children by Egyptian and Syrian
=
women
... and hence gave birth to the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Around 1,700 =
BC,
Jacob and his family moved to Egypt. The people who would later be =
called
Jews actually became a nation during their stay in Egypt. They acquired
=
from
African people all elements of their future religion, tradition and =
culture.

The African-American historian John Henrik Clarke says: =13Whatever the
=
Jews
were before they entered Africa, they left, 400 years later, ethnically,
culturally and religiously, an African people.=14

The Israelites=12 Exodus, led by Moses, began around 1,491 BC. =
Essentially,
the Israelites left Egypt as Egyptian people (called Ethiopians by the
Romans). It was the Egyptians who introduced them to the custom of
circumcision and the practice of monotheism (the belief in one, supreme
God).

The Khazar Jews

Hebrews claim descent from Abraham and Sarah=12s son, Isaac, including =
family
lineage of David, culminating in Jesus. The majority of Jewish people =
today
are seen to be white, which might appear contradictory to research =
claiming
that the ancient Hebrews were Africans. James Anyike explains that the =
Jews
today are predominantly descendants of the Jews who lived in Eastern =
Europe.

As the Roman Empire adopted Christianity, Jews were persecuted, sparking
=
off
a Jewish dispersion. The Turkish Empire of Khazar adopted Judaism in 740
=
AD
to retain their alliances in a highly political climate. As they were
defeated by the Russians in 965 AD, many fled and settled in =
(modern-day)
Germany and Poland. These are the Khazar Jews, who are Jews by faith but
=
not
Hebrew or Israelites by descent.

The =13Falashas=14

In virtually all regions of Africa, there are people who claim Israel or
Palestine as their place of origin. White Jews in Europe, America and =
Israel
did not, for a long time, recognise the Black Jews as =13genuine=14. The
=
most
well-known Black Jews are probably the =13Falashas=14 of Ethiopia.

The word falasha (meaning =13gone=14 or =13gone into exile=14 in the =
ancient Ge=12ez
language) is a term imposed on the Jewish people of Ethiopia, seen as
derogatory; and the community prefers Beta Israel, a Hebrew term for =
House
of Israel. Their history goes back 2,500 years and they claim their =
lineage
from Menelik, the son of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon. They also
=
see
themselves as the descendants of the 10 lost tribes of Israel, the Dan.

Victims of persecution, discrimination and displacement in Ethiopia,
thousands of Ethiopian Jews were finally granted permission to return to
Israel in 1984 and 1991. The Israeli government had previously only
recognised the returning White Jews as Jews. However, discrimination
continues to dominate the lives of the 60,000 Ethiopian Jews in Israel,
where they face racism and segregation. Most live in poor, segregated =
towns
where unemployment is high (see New African, Nov. 2002; pp. 56-59).

There is also a growing number of African Hebrew Israelites, born in the
=
USA
and in the Caribbean, who are returning to live in Israel.

FAR EAST ASIA:

Runoko Rashidi has done extensive research on the African presence in
Ancient Asia, particularly South Asia and the Far East. His research is
thorough in that it builds on general history, notes by European and =
Asian
travellers, archaeological, biological and linguistic research and also
=
his
own travel experience. The following is largely a summary of his =
findings: -
...

CHINA

Africans called =13black dwarfs=14 appear in the early history of China.
According to the research of Rashidi, the first Chinese emperor, Fu-His
(2,953 =16 2,838 BC), was a woolly-haired black man. Also, the Shang =
Dynasty
(1,766 =16 1,100 BC) was largely a black dynasty. The Shang were given =
the
name of Nakhi (meaning =13black man=14) by the Moso, because of their =
very dark
complexions. The Chou, who conquered the Shang, described them as having
black skin.

There are also numerous other descriptions of African people throughout
Eastern and Southern China. In Taiwan, there are recollections of a =
group of
people now said to be extinct called =13little Black men=14. Rashidi =
writes:
=13They were described as short, dark-skinned people with short, curly =
hair.
These people, presumably Negritos, disappeared about 100 years ago. =
Their
existence was mentioned in many Chinese documents of the Ching Dynasty
concerning Taiwan.=14

JAPAN

As confirmed by many scholars, it seems indisputable that black people =
in
Japan played an important role from at least the earliest phases of
antiquity to (latest by) the ninth century.

In 1923, the anthropologist Roland B. Dixon wrote that the =13earliest
population of Japan was, in the main, a blend of Proto-Australoid and
Proto-Negroid types, and thus similar in the ancient underlying stratum
=
of
the population, southward along the whole coast and throughout =
Indo-China,
and beyond to India itself.=14

A hypothesis presented by the great Senegalese scholar Cheikh Anta Diop
argues that =13the yellow race must be the result of an interbreeding of
=
black
and white in a cold climate.=14 This view was supported by several =
Japanese
scholars and researchers. The former Senegalese president and scholar
Leopold Sedar Senghor maintained in 1987 that =13the first population of
=
Japan
was black =05 and gave to Japan their first language.=14

Of the black people of early Japan, the most picturesque single figure =
was
Sakanouyeno Tamuramaro (758 =16 811), a warrior, symbolised in Japanese
history as a =13paragon of military virtues=14.

According to the historian James Murdoch, Tamuramaro was =13the =
originator of
what was subsequently to develop into the renowned samurai class=14. He
=
was
not only the first to bear the title of Sei-i-tai-Shogun, the highest =
rank
to which a warrior could aspire, but he was also the first of the =
warrior
statesmen of Japan. An ancient Japanese proverb also states that =13for
=
a
Samurai to be brave, he must have a bit of black blood=14.

VIETNAM

Runoko Rashidi writes that early Chinese records make reference to a =
kingdom
in what is now central Vietnam, known as Lin-yi, which meant the =13land
=
of
black men=14. Its inhabitants possessed =13black skin, eyes deep in the
=
orbit,
nose turned up, hair frizzy.=14

The kingdom of Lin-yi was known in Sanskrit documents as Champa and =
remained
in close contact with India and China. Some hold that the Cham came in =
from
the Melanesian region; some say that they were colonists from India. =
Either
way, says Rashidi, it is clear that the Cham dominated the region for
centuries.

The Cham were great mariners and built ships, known to the Chinese as
kun-lun-bo (the =13vessels of black men=14), which navigated the =
currents of the
Indian Ocean ranging from Southeast Asia to Madagascar.

Visiting Vietnam in 2001, Rashidi wrote: =13The Cham Museum in Da Nang =
has
many of the finest objects of Cham art in the world and is just =
magnificent.
Many of the pieces are as Africoid (dark skin, full lips, broad noses) =
as
any art that you will ever see, and is a "must-see" for any African who
=
goes
to Vietnam.=14

PHILIPPINES

The original inhabitants of the Philippines are the Agta. They are =
African
people who, although presently in small numbers, still exist in the =
country
and are pejoratively referred to as Pygmies and Negritos and a variety =
of
other names, based upon their specific locale.=20

In regards to phenotype, broadly speaking, the Agta can be described as
physically small and unusually short in stature, dark-skinned, =
spiral-haired
and broad-nosed. Rashidi describes them as =13an extremely ancient =
people=14.
Small groups of similar black people reside on the many islands of the =
Bay
of Bengal, the Indian Ocean, the South China Sea and the East Asia =
mainland.
Related to the San, the Twa and the Khoi of Southern Africa, it is =
clearly a
human tragedy that the advanced contributions of these African people =
remain
essentially obscure.

CAMBODIA

Research of the Khmers* of the Cambodian kingdom of Angkor reveals some
interesting findings. John G. Jackson writes about the kingdom of Angkor
=
and
points out that =13these Asiatic black men were in fact the Khmers, who
=
were
the dominant people in south-eastern Asia for 600 years. The centre of =
this
culture was in Cambodia, and flourished from about 800 AD to 1432; =
although
the history of these Khmers may well be traced back to an earlier =
period.=14

Also, Western scholars have proved this point. In 1923, the Harvard
University anthropologist Roland Burrage noted that the ancient Khmers =
were
physically marked by distinctly short statures, dark skin, curly or even
frizzy hair, broad nose and thick Negroid lips. In remote antiquity, the
Khmers established themselves throughout a vast area that encompassed
portions of the modern countries of Myanmar (or Burma), Thailand, =
Cambodia,
Malaysia, Vietnam and Laos. According to Rashidi, the Khmers =13were
phenomenal builders. Among the major Angkor temple complexes were Angkor
Wat, Angkor Thom, Ta Prohm and Banteay Srei.=14

THAILAND

Rashidi also writes about =13the extremely ancient but little known =
black
population=14 of Thailand. The forest-dwelling people, called Sekai, are
=
black
people living in southern Thailand.

In addition to the Sekai, however, the black presence in Thailand is
apparent in the numerous images of the Buddha. The many sculptors of the
Buddha, clearly exposing African features, are well-documented. In =
Rashidi=12s
own words: =13I came to the conclusion a long time ago that only a very
ignorant person or a bigot could look at these beautiful sculptures and
=
not
see black people.=14

Many of these exceptional depictions of the African Buddha are exhibited
=
at
The National Museum of Thailand. Some go back to the cultural phase =
known as
Mon or Dvaravati, an independent kingdom that flourished in southern
Thailand from the 6th to the 11th centuries. Rashidi writes: =13The Mon
people, apparently highly Africoid, practised Theravada Buddhism, and it
seems that the present Thais adopted Buddhism from them. Indeed, more =
than
95% of the Thais today are Theravada Buddhists.=14

AUSTRALIA AND SOUTH PACIFIC

Researching the African origins of black or Aboriginal -- (the
first-inhabitant) -- Australians, Rashidi says they are distinguished by
straight to wavy hair textures and dark to near-black complexions.

Although the present-day Aboriginal Australians arrived in the land at
different times, their history goes back 50,000=16100,000 years! They
represent many different groups and languages. Aboriginal people regard
themselves as =13the custodians of the land=14, but apparently have no
commonly-known indigenous name for Australia (in pre-European times).

The dumping of British convicts into Australia from 1788 proved =
catastrophic
for the black population, which once numbered at least 300,000.

Rashidi describes how =13the blacks were butchered and murdered like =
animals.
They were victims of deliberate poisonings and systematic slaughters,
decimated by tuberculosis and syphilis, and swept away by infectious
epidemics. With their community structures and moral fibres shredded, =
the
black people there, by the 1930s, had been reduced to a pathetic remnant
=
of
30,000, and perhaps twice that number of mixed descent. Until the 1960s,
=
the
black people were not officially considered human beings.=14

The many atrocities committed against the Australian Aboriginals also
include the abduction of thousands of children from their families by
Australian government officials (as =13government policy=14).

Rashidi continues: =13Today, the black people of Australia constitute =
only
1.6% of the total population, but black men make up 70% of the prison
population. The life expectancy of a black man in Australia is less than
=
40
years. The infant mortality rate is among the highest in the world.=14

There is no consensus among the many groups of indigenous peoples as to
where the Aboriginal Australians came from. The majority seems to =
believe
that they have always been in Australia. But a growing number believes =
that
their roots are in Africa. Most Aboriginal Australians, says Rashidi, =
have
never met Africans from any other country, and know very little of their
struggles.

SOUTH PACIFIC

Little has been written about the African origins of the many peoples
scattered on the numerous islands of the South Pacific. It is believed =
that
they arrived by canoes from the west.

European colonialism divided the islands into three regions:=20


Melanesia (North and east of Australia)=20
Polynesia (Central Pacific)=20
Micronesia (East of the Philippines)


Largely ignored by Africans in other parts of the world, there seems to
=
be a
growing process of self-discovery between the islanders themselves.

Runoko Rashidi, after a visit to Fiji, wrote:

=13The brothers and sisters in Fiji, dark-skinned black people who wore
=
big,
natural-type hairstyles, don=12t merely identify themselves as black but
=
said
they came from Africa, and say it with great pride!=14

European scholars have long claimed that the island populations =
originally
came from South Asia. This view is now increasingly being challenged. =
The
Indian-born research specialist Rafique Ali Jairazbhoy has studied
variations in mythology, religious customs, oral history and iconography
throughout the entire Pacific region and concluded that there can be =
traced
an Ancient Egyptian origin. He has also proved that the Polynesians at =
one
time operated a direct sailing route to Madagascar.

As some of the Fijians, whom Rashidi met, said: =13We, the black people
=
in
Fiji, came here a long time ago to our present homes in Fiji from
Tanganyika, in East Africa. We don=12t know exactly when we came to =
Fiji, but
we know that we came from Africa.=14

The EPILOGUE:

Studying the African presence around the world is as enlightening as it
=
is
challenging. To see Africans as inventors, masters, builders, rulers and
founders of civilisations throughout the world certainly does not =
correspond
with the popular perception of African development today.

Dismissed by critics as (quote) =13authors of feel-good literature=14
constructed for Africans with a =13hurt self-image=14, African-centred =
scholars
encourage all Africans to study the facts for themselves. In the 21st
century, it is said that we live in the Information Age. But what kind =
of
information forms the essence of our time? This statement inherently has
=
an
*ironic twist* -- the more we experience the available information, the
=
more
we know it is biased, deceptive and politicised.

Those who believe in a practical Pan-Africanism -- {not only held up as
=
a
philosophical ideal} -- need to embrace the challenge of studying, =
learning
and imparting knowledge, as we seek a fuller and more truthful =
understanding
of the African people.

{Amani Olubanjo Buntu is a lecturer/consultant at the Institute of
Afrikology in South Africa}


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