REBUTTAL OF THE AFRIKAN ORIGIN OF FRATERNITIES AND SORORITIES
My understanding of the information presented in the video indicates that, with all due respects, it does not prove its the case for the African origin of fraternities and sororities.
Although not germane to the discussion, the libation ceremony at the beginning of the video was not in keeping with Afrikan ancestral libation precepts because there was no liquid poured into the earth or a living plant. The word libation itself refers to a pouring of a liquid that can range from water to schnapps to liquor as attribute to the ancestors.
More on point though, I believe it was stated that ancient KMT had 27 Black dynasties. Actually, many Afrikan scholars who study KMT, including some of the ASCAC scholars, only recognize 15-20+/- Afrikan dynasties of the 30 dynasties allegedly identified by the early KMT priest Manetho, which are KMT dynasties 1-12 (in which many of the signature KMT monuments including the pyramids were constructed, as well as the founding of KMT, development of its wisdom schools, etc. was put into place), Dynasties 18 - 20 (in whole or part), Dynasty 25 called the Last Great and Mighty Walk, by Dr. Clarke, and a few others, more or less, but certainly not 27 Black dynasties. Other Afrikan scholars claim a few more, but most seem to agree that there were at least 7+ non-Afrikan dynasties starting with the 2 Hyksos dynasties, the Saite dynasties, the Persian dynasty, the Tanite dynasty and the Ptolemaic dynasty as well as the dynasties in which rule was split between the KMT and others.
But back to the central issue at hand. My understanding of the video is that it is equating KMT craftsMmasonry systems during the legendary Imhotep's time with fraternities.
Merriam Webster-dictionary define fraternity as –"Men's student organization formed chiefly for social purposes having secret rites and a name consisting of Greek letters."
Definitionally, KMT cradts masonry cannot be equated with fraternity because KMT crafts masonry was not identified by Greek letters! We know this because Imhotep lived during the 3rd KMT dynasty, approximately 4,700 years ago. Greece as we know it did not exist then, so KMT masonry could not have had Greek letters! Dr Ben said that Greece came online not much before 3,000 years ago. We know that the precursor city-states and territories that would later be considered pre-Greece existed, such as Crete which was regularly visited by Afrikans from then-Black Libya and Carthage, who were a part of the early population base ("Egypt Revisited" & "African Presence in Early Europe".) That early Afrikan presence in pre-Greece, for this purpose, has no real impact since it was a part of the ancient Afrikan travels that took them to early pre-Spain, Britain, Asia, Russia (then called Colchis), pre-America over 40K years ago [U.Ca-Riverside 'pygmy skulls}, the Pacific Islands and more. But, when Greece came on the world scene, roughly 3,000 +/- years ago, it was a majority non-Afrikan -white state.
Further, KMT masonry was not a repository of college students in the western sense. In fact, KMT masonry is not even reflected accurately in European freemasonry. KMT crafts masonry was predicated on 360 degrees of wisdom/knowledge (full circle, traditional Afrikan holistic concepts) while euro-based masonry only ascends to 33rd degree. What we are seeing in the claims that fraternities and/or euro freemasonry are reflections of KMT crafts masonry is what Dr. Ben has called "distorted history". This distortion of ancient KMT history takes many forms. For instance, it has been demonstrated by Dr Ben and others, that the Christian "cross" symbol has been distorted from its original meaning in ancient KMT. This symbol is carved in stone in the Tomb of King Teti, founder of the 6th KMT dynasty over 4, 50 years ago {at least 2,000 years before Christianity} and it symbolizes the King's metamorphosis/transition into the spiritual realm (symbolic of the KMT concept of moving from life to life). In Christianity, the cross is a symbol of death on a tree! Even if we concede, for the sake off conceding, that KMT masonry had some similarities to fraternities, (secrecy/oaths, etc) that concession would in essence be meaningless since similar things are not the same things, any more than an elephant which has many similarities to humans, such as a head, eyes, mouth, skin, ears, feet, legs, etc, but it can be readily seen that the two creatures are vastly different. But, KMT masonry of Imhotep's time could not have had Greek letters as pointed out above, and there were other differences between KMT masonry and fraternities as we will show.
If we went even further just for the sake of illustration, and agree that fraternities had a KMT origin, what would it mean? Probably little. Because to do so would mean that Greek letter frats came from Afrika after Greece itself came into existence approximately 3,000 +/-years ago. At that time KMT was essentially old and decaying and had been invaded by foreigners several times with a consequent deterioration of its traditional Afrikan-based culture. This cultural shift mitigates against the Afrikan authenticity of practically anything that comes out of Afrika after this point so that we would have to carefully examine its cultural norms to determine if the claimed event truly reflected traditional Afrikan/KMT cultural concepts or if they had been tarnished, corrupted by the invaders culture.
Continuing, anything that comes out of Afrika after it was invaded by the Hyksos, approximately 3,700 years ago, {which includes the time frame for Greece's beginnings 3,000 +/- years ago}must be viewed for authenticity through the lens of traditional KMT/Afrikan culture that existed prior to the invasion! We know that KMT changed in many ways from its traditional Afrikan/KMT cultural value system after it was first invaded by the Hyksos foreigners in the 15th dynasty. Manetho, the ancient KMT priest said that the Huksos "easily overpowered the rulers of the land, " Some scholars maintain that the Hyksos lived among the KMT people in the Delta area of lower (northern) KMT, infiltrating KMT traditional culture to the point that when they mounted their invasion, it was accomplished with little difficulty. KMT had changed! The Hyksos ruled in the low lands (north) while the remnant of the KMT leadership and people retreated up south, back home. There , one of the kings took as a part of his Heru ("royal") name, the title "Whmy Msw" (Carruthers, Hilliard) which means "repitition of the birth'' as a means of rallying the defeated KMT people by challenging them to return to the source, Afrikan origins, to the traditions, to their ancient culture, that made KMT the greatest and longest-lived nation on earth. He recognized that KMT had strayed from its indigenous cultural, social, spiritual ways which led to its defeat. He was motivating the KMT people to a renaissance, a return to its roots. After rallying the people, they were able to defeat the Hyksos and drive them from the land and then they established the Black 18th KMT dynasty. But still, the foreign influences had set in. So that over 700 years+/- later and after several other foreign invasions, when Greece came on line and it also invaded KMT, we can not assume that even if KMT was the source of fraternities, that it really reflected true, traditional Afrikan culture that existed prior to the invasion of the Hyksos, or could such changes have been merely the passing on of distorted foreign cultural trash?
Now we know that in the education of primarily the KMT Priesthood in what is called the mystery system, that the priests and selected other initiates were carefully screened, tested, observed and sworn to secrecy prior to them being admitted to their studies. The secrecy requirement was necessary because of the very high level of the knowledge that they would be exposed to. Diop said that the selection process focused primarily on the very exceptional person who were screened extensively especially to determine whether they could be trusted with the very advanced knowledge they would receive. Particularly, the chief priests wanted to be very certain that the priest/students would not use this advanced knowledge in any inappropriate way. The knowledge according to James/Ampim was not only very high level training in the hard physical sciences, but also included training in the metaphysical/occult science arena, what some call "magic", psychic phenomena, dream engineering, etc. so we can readily see the need for security in the dispensing of this type of world-ruling knowledge, particularly during the very early period when many non-Afrikan cultures still believed the earth was flat! But, in contrast, what profound knowledge are Greek letter Black frats protecting that swears them to secrecy?
Parallel to, and perhaps a part of the KMT priestly training system was the education of the high level crafts/masons who built the various mastabas of Imhotep's period and later the follow-on pyramids. One such "grandmaster mason/craftsman" was Mereruka who lived during the 6th KMT dynasty period, approximately 4, 350 years ago. These masons/craftsmen/priests also typically trained for 40 years reaching 360 degrees of wisdom/knowledge/enlightenment. Here we see the depictions carved on the walls of the tombs and temples of KMT of the crafts masons wearing the apron, sitting on the square, or walking with left foot forward, all depictions that euro masons from George Washington on attempt to copy. Like Mereruka, all craftsmen overseers/master masons/priests were sworn to secrecy due to the very high level of education that they were entrusted with. This secrecy was evident as late as 1978 when Japanese engineers tried without success to replicate the building of a pyramid in present day Egypt using what they thought were the techniques the ancient KMT civilization used over 4,600 years ago. The Japanese utterly failed to build a very small 30-foot tall pyramid in the very early stages of attempting to cut stone from the quarry without power tools as the ancestors did. (Browder)
However, according to Carruthers, in KMT, the typical non-priest educational system was either crafts/skill based or scribe-based. The scribes were educated to a level approaching today's Ph. D level. They not only learned the Mdw Ntr writing/language system but also were taught history, math, science, engineering, botany, metallurgy and so forth. When they wrote the language in stone or papyrus and depicted an animal, for instance, that drawing was not a generic one, but botanically correct of the species they were showing. From the scribal level, student could progress on to be diplomats, doctors, engineers, government officials, etc. They were not typically sworn to secrecy nor took an oath.
Thus, the KMT general education/college system did not approach the system of the euro –based Greek letter fraternity. And further, despite the euro masons use of aprons , and the fraternities use of sworn oaths/secrecy and perhaps other symbols of ancient KMT crafts masonry, they are NOT the same. KMT masonry was not a socially-oriented/party-phi-harty system with secret handshakes and the Greek letters of a culture that hadn't even begun, and which would later invade, enslave, devastate and plunder the enormous wealth and immense knowledge of KMT for its own devious and greedy purposes! KMT crafts masonry had a much more profound purpose, a much more spiritual orientation. Indeed they were as the ancestors said, "building for eternity", replicating in their structures on earth the spiritual essence of "as above, so below, and as below, so above."
It appears that, despite some of the Black Greek letter fraternities and sororities societal contributions and educational activism, a prominent reason that they catch hell is because of their obedience to the Greek letter tradition they inherited from the first US white Greek letter fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa. The history behind the choice of Greek letters revolves around the euro perception that early Greece was the fountain head of both the world's first civilization and educational supremacy. Both perceptions are totally false, when one examines the accurate historical record of the world. There was no civilization genesis that preceded Afrkan civilization, none, period!. There was no education genius prior to Afrikan educational intellectualism! The Afrikan TWA people of southern Afrika are regarded widely as the very first humans on the planet and had the world's first civilization that still exists today. ( T'Shaka). They traveled widely, including visits to what is now Europe, Asia and are credited with having a role in the building of Stonehenge in England (Churchward), and visited pre-America over 40,000 years ago (Dr. D. Imhotep ). The ancient people of what is now Botswana in southern Afrika were the first to smelt iron over 40,000 years ago. Uncivilized and uneducated people would not even have the scientific understanding to know that they could obtain a hard metal from stones, and use those metals to make tools and implement to assist them in farming and other purposes. The people of what is now the Congo area had developed a mathematical calculating tool analogous to a slide rule over 25,000 years ago known as the Ishango Bone. Of course, the pre-KMT Afrikans of ancient Kush/Nubia had developed the very early civilizations along the Hapi (Nile) River thousands of years prior to their birth of KMT (without a doubt the world's highest civilization. All of these civilization s and educational developments by indigenous Afrikans happened before Greece or Europe, as Dr Clarke has said, "had a shoe to wear or a house with a window in it". Later, the KMT culture would provide the higher education for many of the early Greek scholars including Pythagoras (apprx. 2,700 years ago {Rashidi}), followed by Euclid, Thales, Plato (James) ,and many others. It is said that every Greek who could afford it, traveled to KMT for their higher education (James), and that those who could not come to KMT altered their educational credentials to show that they also had studied in KMT (Hilliard). KMT was so many light years removed from Greece in both civilization and educational prowess that KMT called the Greeks "children" in educational attainment. Further, the KMT priests told the Greek Herodutus (the so-called father of history) that there was not anything under the sun that KMT did not know! (Diop)
There is so much more documented KMT/Afrikan history that we can bring to bear on this issue if we choose to do so. But, given this summary background, it becomes even more unlikely that KMT would have generated a Greek letter fraternity tradition! It may be understandable, in consideration of the racial bias of Europeans, that they would look to Greece as their source of civilization and educational enlightenment, even though the early Greeks called the euros "barbarians." But, KMT Afrikans, or present day Afrikans–In-America revering Greece and following their white Greek letter frats is absurd!
By following the lead of the euros, they are seen as mere imitators, rather than creators, and are not only on the wrong side of history, more seriously, they are disgracing their own people, their own great history, their own elders, and them selves. Instead of training to be leaders, they are already acclimating themselves to follow their euro oppressors traditions without question. What does it take to drop the Greek letters? As an oppressed people, we are always changing to seek identification, Kugichagulia (self-determination). From nigger to colored, to Negro, to Black, to Afrikan American. We changed our personal names from European ones. We've changed the name of Thanksgiving, we are even changing the name of 'mentors', we no longer talk of the ghetto, we changed our politics from the party of Lincoln (the so-called Great Emancipator) to the Democrats and some are changing back, and even some previously Black Greek fraternities and sororities have seen the light and have changed their Greek letters for Afrikan–based nomenclature.
We hear of a Black non-Greek letter fraternity called "KMT" that was formed by Dr Charles Finch in the 1980s that had chapters at several colleges. As well as the "Order of Kush", formed in 2005. Both of these Black fraternities are steps in the right direction.
Kwasi
Brother Seko Varner, formerly of the Imani Foundation of Hamton Roads Virginia speaks to students at Norfolk State University in 1997 about his research on the African Origins of Frats & Sorors. This event was sponsored by the men of Alpha Phi Alpha from Norfolk State University. This is a speech originally developed for Seko's fraternity, Omega Psi Phi, in 1994 for an Achievement Week Lecture explained Brother Seko.Seko Varner was contacted prior to the internet posting of this video on 11/12/2011 obtaining his reluctant permission. Seko wishes to emphasize that this lecture was done in the "youth of (his) consciousness."; While he would present the same information today if asked, (he) "would change language to better reflect the times and current enviroment of our great country America. There ar e some things that will be taken out of context when viewed through the lens of the ultra-politically correct and overly sensitive paradigm of our so-called 'Post Racial" America." Seko further emphasized that while many of his "Conscious" and "Christian" peers have gone to reject affiliations with their Greek Lettered Organizations, he has chosen to remain active in Conscious, Christian, and Greek Lettered organizations - much to the dismissal of many of his former peers. "It's a bit sad to have backs turned upon you, but as my 'Calling'-'Incarnation Objective'-'Placement'-'Mission", whatever one wants to call it becomes clearer to me. I know I am going to have some disown me. The goal, My Goal is Improvement. Black Improvement, American Improvement, World Improvement, Self Improvement........ not amassing a group of peers."Seko also admitted that this was one of his worst lectures and he wishes he could do it over to better provide correct i nformation and clarity. Seko is now involved in the promotion of a concept he calls "Black Improvement" which he considers an extension of the fight against White Supremacy and Black Inferiority.
Video #1: http://vimeo.com/32118016Video #2: http://vimeo.com/32482988Sister Imani Virginia
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