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Portland Observer DECEMBER 20,1989 Page 3
IÜH
Scripture
o f the ‘Weefi
Beyond Kwanzaa
* / Professor McKinley Burt
In last w eek's description o f the mag
nificent Kwanzaa holiday and the celebra
tions o f thanksgiving, regeneration and
affirmation, I provided some details of a
past that illuminates the ages-old African
genesis o f such spirituality as the world still
possesses. It was emphasized that there is
no lack o f evidence or documentation, of
preserved manuscripts, papyri, stone tab
lets or religious icons - but that what we do
have are arrogant and racist attempts to
revise eternal truths and verities. W e fmd
that the G re a t Seals and coins o f might but
arrogant nations no longer feature black
doves grasping olive branches but, instead,
present the fierce visage o f the Eagle, a
refined killer.
Thus, the meaning has been lost from
the m essage o f hope and truth that the
biblical prophet Isaiah saw rising out of
Ethiopian on "buzzing wings.” And under
standing has been stripped from the tradi
tion o f the ancient Greeks who stated that
their moat sacred o f temples at Dodona was
founded by two Black priestess who in the
farm o f doves flew there from the original
temple in Egypt. And who is it that is so
devoid o f feeling and passion that they
could listen to the earthy, sing song chants
of the black Preacher (King, Jackson, et al),
or to the tear-bringing truths o f existence
imbedded in the soaring lyrics o f the Black
spiritual—and not wonder how many thou
sands o f years it took to forge these voices.
Indeed, it is true that * ‘In the beginning was
the w o rd ." And that pronouncement is
recorded in Africa, long before the Greeks,
and long before the Hebrews.
One o f the most revered and earliest
religious icons is the cross, though by the
Judaic period it was being used as an instru
ment for the torture and crucifixion o f
criminals and religious dissidents. In the
reliable "Archaeology o f Christian Art"
we find the cross described as "chiefly
representative o f the ideas prevalent among
the Egyptians, namely the source o f life,
and o f hope o f a world to com e. " B u t when
this cross (tau or patibulary) was brought
over into the early church around A.D. 377,
it was no longer carried th African concept
o f an "A nkh,” the symbol o f life. The
church fathers added their endowments and
we find such inscriptions as this from Rev.
1, 8, "I am Alpha and Omega, the begin
ning and ending, saith the Lord, which is
and which was and which is to come, the
almighty. The African version o f this eter
nal sym bol, the Ankh, has been found in
excavations all through Egypt, Nubia, Ethio
pia and in Western Arabia. On page 141 o f
the "Metropolitan Museum o f Art” com
panion piece to the King Tut E xhibition,
w e find exquisite reproductions o f copper
and bronze hand mirrors in the shape o f the
Ankh.
icon is exactly as described in details o f the
Tem ple o f Solom on--but these arks came
several thousand years earlier.
When we speak like this o f rituals and
ceremonies I am always brought to mind of
the extraordinary and m agnificent harvest
festival which celebrates an annual reunion
o f the sym bolic goddess Hathor with her
bridegroom , Horus, who awaits her at the
6,000 year old city o f Edfu, 30 m iles down
stream on the N ile from the staging area.
Satellite television broadcasts may have
thrilled you with their coverage o f m assive
religious ceremonies at the Vatican, and
you may have been more than impressed by
helicopter view s o f the last royal wedding
in England- -but these contemporary scenes
o f western pomp and ceremony are simply
beggared when one contemplates the stag
gering logistics required to stage the fantas
tic panorama offered by the yearly celebra
tion o f the m arriage o f Hathor o f Dendera
to Horus o f Edfu (Horus is the African god
whose eye is shown just above the trun-
acated pyramid o f the great seal o f the
United S ta tes-A symbol devised by Tho
mas Jefferson to portray “ the concept upon
which America is founded, truth and jus
tice.” In Africa the concept was known as
Maat; see reverse o f dollar bill).
This harvest celebration o f the cycle o f
man, nature and spirit began 6,000 years
ago and lasted almost 2,000 years. It would
begin at Dendera with a week o f joyous
celebration and praiseful thanksgiving ritu
als, and then the brides party embarked in
beautifully decorated boats for the weeklong
journey downstream. At each nightfall there
would be stop at a chosen city where the
waterborne throng would be joined by more
boats, more singers, dancers and m usi
cians, and where more festivities would
take place. At each city the local mayor and
his officials would join the pilgrimage, all
beautifully robed and gowned. M agnifi
cently costumed crewmen rowed the craft
to the beat o f enthusiastic but disciplined
drummers. There was only room for some
many boats on the river so hundreds of
thousands accompanied the procession by
land the entire thirty m iles. By journey's
end the festive throng could not have fitted
In (Memory O f .........
into a dozen Basilicas or Buckingham pal
aces. For one o f the best descriptions o f this
African Festival, sec “ Lamy, Egyptian
M ysteries.”
We are indebted to J.A. Rogers the
noted historian for the following informa
tion; his quotations have been verified many
times.
When the whites cam e into pow er
they shifted the colors. But as late as
1500 the Ethiopians still depicted their
goods and heroes black, an d their devils
and villains, white. Father Fernandez, a
Catholic missionary, who worked amongst
them at this time, says, "They paint
Christ, the B lessed Virgin, an d other
saints in black form ; an d devils and
w icked men, white. Thus Christ and his
apostles are black and Judas, white.
Annas, Calphas, Pilate, H erod and the
t
(Continued to Next Page)
RICKY DARNELL CARTER
Son of Geneva Knauls, Stepson of Paul Knauls
Jesus Loves You!
W ho was born in Portland, Oregon on February 14, 1954, to Geneva Knauls and
Robert "R ocky" C arter, died M onday, December 18, 1989 at Portland Adventist
Convalescent Center. Ricky died from injuries he sustained in an automobile accident
on A p ril 14,1985.
Funeral Service
New Hope Baptist Church
Saturday, Dec. 23,1989 at 10:00 A.M.
4236 N.E. Eighth Avenue
(corner of 8th & Skidmore)
Portland, Qregon 97211
&
ñ
r
(503) 287-0261
r
Phillip S. Nelson, Pastor
Egyptian Ark.
*
St. John: Chapter 1 & 2
Strengt fien fo u r f a i t fi ‘Through (Prayer A n d d(eguiaf Cfiurcfi ‘Worship
I '-'-r ^ 'l
Psalm
I— ,— 34:3
(—
ARANATHA
—
|
(XVilkinaua, A n e. E g y p t.}
CORRECTION
hurch
4222 N.E. 12th Avenue
Portland Oregon
Do to the over sight o f the com posi
tion dept. o f the Portland Observer,
we failed to add caption lines to two
pictures that was in Professor M cK
inley Burt's story on "KWANZAA:
Time To Celebrate African-Ameri
can Roots, December 13th issue. The
two names are Joyce Harris and Gloria
Phillips, '
Sunday Services
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ATTENTION RENTERS
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J IM M Y DEAN SAUSAGE
jnJMDein
Interestingly, in the older books o f
religious history (written before the turn o f
the century—and before the A frican Exclu
sion), you find that the authors rather hon
estly and forthrightly present most facts as
they are. An excellent case in point is found
in "Sm ith, Dictionary o f th bible,” pub
lished in 1865. Here, we find that whenever
illustrations accompany the text, the en
graving is always o f the African original.
Especially significant is the entry, "Ark o f
the C ovenant.” The accompanying picture
is that o f an Egyptian Ark (after W ilkin
son, Ancient Egypt), the exact same vessel
found in King Tut's tomb, and as portrayed
on temple walls and furnishings tiiroughout
the ancient land. Look-alike models are
shown as part o f African rituals, and other
huge examples are replicas o f warships or
freighters. Another illustration on the same
page (from Lamy, Egyptian Mysteries) shows
groups o f pall bearers carrying arks in a
funerary procession. The appearance o f the
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116 N.E. Schuyler
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