Monday, December 24, 2007

Rwanda: The origin of humanity

BY AMANI ATHAR
Last Sunday, we published an article of the era of gods. This era
started with King Rumeza, nicknamed Rumezamilyango. He was nicknamed
so, for his role in developing families that became the Rwanda,
Uganda and Sudan today.

Also in one of the previous articles, the writer explained how the
African map was during this era, a period that coincides with great
achievements by our fore fathers.

The southern part of Africa, including Tanzania and the all part
southern of Tanzania was known as Buha. Buha was divided into
Northern Buha (Buha bwa Ruguru) and Southern Buha (Buha bw'efo).
Bungererengere was a part of Tanzania and Kenya, near Kilimanjaro.

Earlier, Rwanda was known as Buhanga; Buganda was known as
Bungeri; Toro, Ankole and Nyoro were in Gala. Gala also was divided
into Gala of Ndorwa (Including Northern Rwanda, Nkole and Mpororo)
and Ndorwa of Butumbi (Northern part of Uganda). Butumbi was in
today's Sudan.

The part of Africa that includes Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea was
known as I Bwega (Abega's home), the famous Beja civilization. What
we know today as Egypt was known by Rwandan oral history as I Kami
and its people as Abanyakami.

Contemporary scholars believe that all sciences originated from
Egypt; although many old scholars believed that all sciences
originated from the Greeks.

This is so common that almost all books we read start with Greeks or
Egypt, every time a science topic comes up.

When you read these books, they usually imply that the Greeks and
Egyptians pre- dated all other people when it comes to science.

However, I believe that if Cheick Anta Diop and Theophile Obenga
(scholars) had been born in Rwanda and learnt about our Ibitekerezo
and our Imigani and Rwandan folklore, they would have written books
that bring the birth of civilization in our countries, especially in
Rwanda, and Uganda. Since Sudan civilization came after Buhanga
(Rwanda) and Bungeri (Ugandan), while civilization Egyptian
civilization rose Sudan.

If fact, in Kinyarwanda Buhanga means residence of science; Butumbi
means residence of black, while Bungeri means residence of
pastoralists.

All this part of the African Continent was under the era of God's
kings. The first Gods King was Rumezamilyango and one of the last
kings was Rugambanabato. (Refer to our last issue)

The birth of civilization is not actually in Egypt, but in what is
known as Rwanda and Uganda today.

A prominent historian called Yosef ben Jochanan, in his article
untitled the Nile Valley Civilization and the Spread of the African
Culture wrote in a document (The Papyrus of Hunifer) that "we came
from the beginning of the Nile, where God Hapi dwells, at the
foothills of the mountains of the moon." "We" meaning the
Egyptians, came from the beginning of the Nile.

Where is the beginning of the Nile? Where God does dwells? It was
believed that the farthest point of the beginning of the Nile was in
Uganda.

Today, researchers have found that the farthest point of the
beginning of the Nile is in Rwanda. The discovery was made by a team
led by South African Peter Meredith and Hendri Coetzee in April
2005.

This team became the first to navigate the most remote source of the
Nile.

They said that the farthest source of the Nile was Akagera River,
which starts as the Rukarara in Nyungwe forest in Rwanda.

On March 31, 2006, a second group of explores from Britain and New
Zealand led by Neil McGrigor confirmed these findings and claimed to
be the first to sail the River Nile, its mouth (Egypt) to its true
source deep in Rwanda's Nyungwe rainforest.

Another important thing to note here is, Rwanda is the only country
in the world where God Hapi dwells (Imana y'u Rwanda); the Supreme
God and the God of gods.

This Empire governed by God's kings is today known as the Batembuzi
Empire. It seems that this empire was still in existence by 1589,
perhaps with another name. Giovanni Botero says that it was named
the Nyamwezi Empire.

Here is what George Sandrart wrote in his "Court de droit
coutumier": "We know that, according to Botero, Portuguese heard for
the first time in 1589 about the existence of a vast Empire of a
triangular form and having Abyssinia as the Northern boarder,
Monomatapa as its Southern boarder and the Congo as the Northern
East boarder."

We are not sure that these boarders cited by Botero were right, but,
what we are certain of is that this Batembuzi Empire dominated most
part of Africa described by Giovanni Botero.

Kibariro, as the father of knowledge

After Cheick Anta Diop proved that the civilization started in
Africa, especially in Egypt, there is a belief that the Egyptian
Pharaoh named Thoth was the first to teach calculations concerning
heavens, that he taught the science of the stars and the earth; that
he is the reckoner of times and of seasons. He is the one who
balances every work on every branch of knowledge.

However, in the previous articles, the writer has written about a
man known in Rwanda as Kibariro. He is known in Rwanda as Thoth as
described by Egyptian literature.

Kibariro taught people all the science attributed to Thoth. Thothis
also known as Djehuty, Djouti, Tehuti and Zehutu.
Is there any similarity with the Rwandan "Intiti?" Yes, it has.

In a discussion the writer had with one elder who was at the
National University of Rwanda by the time Father Kagame Alexis was a
lecturer there, this elder told him that one day, all intellectuals
of that period met at Sierra Hotel in Kigali, today Sierra
restaurant.

The meeting aimed at discussing a subject entitled "Tresor de la
Nation Rwanda" or the treasure of the Rwandan nation.

It was found out that the Egyptian Dhehuty, the real name of Thoth
was linguistically the same as Intiti and that the animal
representing Thoth was used in the ancient Rwanda to represent
science.

Whether there is any linguistic relation between Djehuty
and "Intiti" or not, what is known in Rwanda is that Kibariro is the
founder of all sciences. He is the founder of Mathematics; he
founded the calendar; he is the master of all names. He gave people
names; he named all animals and he is he author of all knowledge for
Rwandans.

Another important thing to know is that the oral history of Rwanda
has it that Ibis; the representation of Pharaoh Djehuty, is also a
representation of knowledge in Rwanda. Those who are familiar with
the Rwandan tradition know a song called "Nyirabarazana"

.

Nyirabarazana is a Kinyarwanda word for Ibis. This song is about a
father who is talking to a child named Nyirabarazana. The father
tells the child that her mother died.

That when the mother died, she carried something named ikinyoro.
Young men liked to touch it, while young girls feared it.

The father tells his child (possibly a daughter), that he is going
to travel in far to study science. And at that period, science was
studied at Buhanga (home of knowledge.) The daughter waited for his
father, who never came back.

Since then, the bird " Nyirabarazana" represents knowledge. It is
said that when a child is born and this bird visited, the newborn
became a master of knowledge.

Kibariro is a word that came from the verb "kubara", meaning to
count. Actually Kibariro is a nickname to recognize his innovation.
His real name was Gahiriro.

He taught people to count; he taught them to use the calendar. In
Kinyarwanda, the calendar bears his name.

"Inyuguti" (which also has a linguistic similarity with the name
Djehuty) meaning number and is related to Kibariro, the founder of
numbers.

As we said early in our previous article, Kibariro made the first
mummification. He mummified King Gahima thousands of years before
the Egyptians mummified their pharaohs. Kibariro taught our women to
count their menstruation cycles using the calendar he founded many
years before Egyptians founded their lunar calendar.

Historians generally ignore the history of sub Saharan countries. It
seems that all science, by surprise emerged from Egypt for some
historians and in Greece for others.

However, the truth is that Egypt marks the end of African
civilization and the beginning of the Greek civilization.

This is very important for any historian to understand because most
of Egyptologists forget about other countries, especially Rwanda,
Uganda, Tanzania and Sudan.

In fact, the beginning of sciences and civilizations starts with
Kibariro, nicknamed, Icyotamakara cy'i Buhanga; meaning the great
black living at the residence of sciences.
By the way, Djehuty was given the name of Thoth by the Greek. His
original name is Djehuty not Thoth.

The first pyramids

We always hear that pyramids were constructed only in Egypt. Rarely
do we hear that there are pyramids in Sudan, formerly Butumbi,
because before the coming of Arabs, there was no Sudan.

Egyptian pyramids are the largest, but they are not the first
pyramids. The first pyramids were built in Butumbi by our ancestor.
Remember our article about the rise of Babanda.

Butumbi was developed by Sabugabo, when he met there a King named
Kajuga. Kajuga is a name we still give people here in Rwanda.

The first mathematic sign

Mathematics and Geometry are wrongly attributed to Greeks.
Especially Pythagoras and Thales.

But, Cheick Anta Diop succeeded in destroying that myth. He was able
to show that the Greek scientists xeroxed all what they wrote from
Egypt.

What Cheick Anta Diop did not know is that Kibariro was then copied
by Egyptian and named him Djehuty. and that Kibariro is the father
of all the science attributed to Djehuty. Kibariro preceded the
existence of Djehuty.

One of the ancient sign of mathematics is not in Egypt but in our
region. It is the Ishango Bone. Ishango Bone is the oldest table of
prime numbers.

It was discovered in the African area of Ishango, which was centered
near the headwaters of the Nile River at Lake Edward (now on the
border between modern-day Uganda and Congo) (Remember also that this
part of Africa has been founded by Rucyaba, the grand son of
Gihanga.)

The lakeside Ishango, with a population of 20,000 years ago may have
been the first counting societies, but it lasted only a few hundred
years before being buried by a volcanic eruption.

The artifact was first estimated to originate between 9000 BC and
6500 BC. However, the dating of the site where it was discovered was
re-evaluated, and is now believed to have been more than 20,000
years old.

The first fortresses built on earth

When you discuss with historians, it seems that the first fortresses
were built in Europe. It seems that Africa has never built
fortresses.

However, the first fortresses built on the earth are said to be
found in Africa. Think about Bigo bya Mugeni and the Buhen
fortresses, just to name few. The two fortresses are achievements of
our forefathers.

One was built in Bungeri by the grand son of Musindi. The second was
built in Butumbi (Remember that it is Gihanga's son named Sabugabo
who helped this part of Africa, when he met there a King named
Kajuga.

Kajuga is a name still given to Rwandan people) in the early time of
the world civilization.

Both fortresses predate the construction of the first Egyptian
pyramid and before the Great Wall of China. In Europe, there was no
single fortress in this era. By the way, the first oldest boat is
the Dufuma Dugout, found in Northern Nigeria.

"I would like to say that Rwanda's history I am writing about today
is our history. A history that doesn't show our forefathers as
primitive.

Not the history that will enslaves our minds, but the history that
will set us free. It is the history that once Patrice Lumumba said
that was full of glorious achievement".

The writer emphasises.

The author is a Rwandan Independent Researcher, historian and writer.