Review: Theophile Obenga. African Philosophy the Pharaonic Period: 2780 330 BC.

Popenguine, Senegal: Per Ankh, 2004. Translated from French by Ayi Kwei Armah. Introduction Even for the comparatively short time African Philosophy the Pharaonic Period: 2780 - 330 BC has been in existence, this work has had an interesting history. First published in 1990, it remained inaccessible to the English speaking audience until Ayi Kwei Armah translated it from French. It was then published in 2004 by Per Ankh, a collective of African writers based in Popenguine, Senegal. African Philosophy is a culmination of Theophile Obengas research that he started as a student of Cheikh Anta Diop. Most of the comments he makes in the text about the silencing of African history are a product of his own observations and personal experience, especially after the 1974 Colloquium in Cairo which located publicly and unequivocally the achievements of the ancient Egyptian civilization in black Africa. Significantly, African Philosophy is dedicated to Osiris Diop. The focus of Obengas research is on laying the foundation of African knowledge through a demonstration of how to retrieve knowledge from the past by exploring the Pharaonic period covered between 2780 and 330 BC. It is Obengas concern that we move the debate about the origins of African knowledge beyond the achievements of the Cairo Colloquium in order to lay the foundation for legitimate research in African universities and research institutions. African Philosophy sets out to demonstrate that the retrieval of the Egyptian heritage in all disciplines is a first, necessary step on the way to the reconciliation of Africas civilizations with history. The value of this publication is, therefore, not in just linking indigenous and authentic African scholarship to its roots in ancient Egypt, but more importantly, it is to help provide a direction for present-day African research which seems to be trapped in knee-jerk reflexive actions determined by non-African interests. Of that much maligned indigenous African knowledge, the author provides contemporary examples: [T]he ways in which traditional Africa, in its furthest reaches reveals direct linkages ancient Egypt, in vocabulary, customary practices, rites, ideas, and, in this case, in the multimillenial corpus of burial rites. The heritage of pharaonic Egypt lives on in black Africa in a variety of ways, in societies that have not yet lost their ancestral soul, that quality sometimes referred to as cultural identity and historical consciousness (p. 238).
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Organization of the Work: As a starting point in this task of restoration, Obenga first presents us, in the introduction, with a valuable outline of the major time periods of African philosophy for approximately the last five thousand years: (1) The Ancient Egyptian Philosophy, (2) The Philosophers and Thinkers of Alexandria, Cyrene, Carthage, and Hippo, (3) The Philosophy of the Maghreb, (4) The Medieval Philosophical Schools of Timbuktu, (University of Sankore), Gao, and Djenne, (5) Modern Contemporary African Philosophy. This timeline makes coherent sense out of the many bits and pieces of African achievement/ civilization that have been pointed out by scholars in various disciplines. This outline is not the final say on how the history of philosophy in Africa can be or should be organized. It is a starting point that will allow us to examine more familiar terrain with the purpose of locating it within the larger frame of African knowledge. The rest of African Philosophy is divided into two major parts: The first part is a presentation and analysis of the philosophy of the Pharaonic period (2780-330 BC) demonstrating, with examples from numerous African communities, how this continues to make itself apparent in various disciplines. The second part, Supplement, consists of significant original texts and their sources that African scholars need for further exploration of ideas outlined in the first part of this valuable work. The first thirteen chapters of African Philosophy are the major section of this work; they form the analytical section where Obenga meticulously gleans evidence from the past by use of judiciously selected tools and languages so as to restate the arguments for the African origin of ancient Egyptian civilization. In presenting and discussing the philosophy of the Pharaonic period, Obenga divides his ideas into thirteen sections whose headings are worth reproducing here for they give an insight into his intentions. Purely for purposes of this review, I have divided them into three clusters. The first cluster of five chapters consists of: Introduction, Egyptian Language and Writing, Ancient Egyptian Grammar: An Overview, The Cosmos Before the Present Universe, Ontology and Cosmogenesis, and On Time and the Heavens. This cluster addresses issues of language and its shaping of philosophical thought in ancient Egypt. More significantly, it is in this section that Obenga begins to demonstrate with convincing examples the existence of the links between the ancient Egyptian language and the various African languages today. A close reading of this section also denotes how Obenga, by situating the beginning of the discussion of African philosophy in ancient
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Egypt, demonstrates that African philosophy has an ancient lineage. This idea, first articulated clearly by Cheikh Anta Diop in his oeuvre, receives further treatment from Obenga by his examples. The Introduction (p. 9-19) outlines of the history of African philosophy, from its ancient origins to the present, coherently placing it within the intellectual tradition of the African continent. The Egyptian Language and Culture (p. 20-8) describes this ancient language for purposes of later demonstrating through textual evidence that this language belongs to the African language groups. There is a striking passage in this section that is worth repeating for the way it impacts linguistic studies in Africa today: Without ancient Egyptian, the restoration of the authentic tradition of black African philosophy, in its most ancient chronological aspect, its most fundamental manifestation, remains impossible (p. 16) This section also briefly touches on the ancient Egyptian writing system, concluding with an overview of its grammar. On the history of writing, Obenga maintains: The fact is that writing was an extraordinary human invention. Not only did writing give permanent form to human speech; it also opened up the way to the universe of ideas across time and space. Writing is the basic social and intellectual process subtending our entire modern civilization. For that reason, the history of writing is identified with the narrative of human intellectual progress. Against that background, and on the precise issue of human civilization, we can assess the full measure of the important role played by black African people of ancient Egypt (p. 258). At the same time, he shows by use of original documentation from the Phoenicians, ancient Greeks, and Latins how hieroglyphics were the source of not just momentous Middle Eastern writings but more significantly, for today, the Western writing systems. Concerning this indebtedness of Europe to African genius, Obenga asserts: Scientifically speaking, the objective facts are as (sic?) follows: The cuneiform (nail-shaped) writings of Mesopotamia left no historical progeny. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics have had an entirely different history, being the source of the Phoenician alphabet. The Bible of Sanchoniathon, which, luckily for us, is a Phoenician book, explicitly acknowledges the fact that writing was invented by ancient Egyptians, and was later handed down to the Phoenicians. Equally well known is the fact that the Phoenician alphabet was the source of the Greek alphabet Rome gave world civilization the Italic alphabet we use now, but that alphabet was itself derived from Greek (p. 257-8).
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This is a statement that will have far-reaching consequences for many disciplines in any African university or research institution. The second cluster of three chapters is concerned more with the application knowledge on social issues: Ethical values, on Death and Mortality. The difference between the Egyptian myth of creation and others such as the Indian, Mayan, or Greek ones is that whereas the mythic creators in these other cultures are said to be born or to appear independently of their creation, in the Egyptian one, [t]here is no independent Creator, no Demiurge standing over and apart from Creation, born already before the birth of the universe (p. 32-3). Obengas lucid presentation of this idea helps the reader situate the discussion in contemporary explorations of different cultures ideas about creation and their impact on the way these societies organize themselves socially and politically today. He suggests that the democratic inclinations to be found in many African communities arise out of their understanding of justice as the universal law that everyone, human and god, must obey. The part on ethical values (p. 164-226) explores how ancient Egyptians use literary works to highlight socially accepted values that help to maintain standards of civilization. Some of these stories are The Myth of the Destruction of Humanity, the Maxims of the Prime Minister Ptahotep, and The Maxims of Kagemni. We also find similar ideas encapsulated in the concept of Maat as an icon of justice and truth. What is unique and fresh about Obengas treatment of these works that are well known to Egyptologists is the way he locates them within an African cultural and intellectual matrix, making sense of what at times are treated as incoherent statements about the nature of a civilized society. Ideas in Ethical Values are presented as ancient Egyptian religion, a religion, however, where Ra and Hathor are fallible and the rectification of their mistakes depends on how we, as humans, hold them to the divine definition of justice. Divine justice is a democratic institution presided over by Ra (p. 178). Comparisons with Yahwehs isolationist stance highlight how Ra could only have been conceivable in a democratic system that believed in social peace maintained by a strong belief in the voluntary participation of everyone in decision-making. Power and authority are interrogated, and it is salutary to note that these institutions of power are not automatically assumed to be sources of justice. Indeed, justice, as the Goddess Maat, is presented as a synonym of truth. These two values are not separated as in present day practice
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among Western influenced jurisprudence. Justice is the maintenance of truth in all our practice, whether personal or social. Other issues concern gender values, defining civilization as the salvation of humanity by highlighting peace and feminine beauty as its essential components (p. 165-78). The African womans modern contribution to scholarship in this area (cf. jendajournal.com) provides a legitimizing to Obengas ideas on ancient Egypt that clearly demonstrate what has been there all along: African women have been the essential building blocks of their societies in a time when we had a better control over our destiny. An understanding of traditional African womens institutions will help retrieve the very routes of regeneration that Obenga is striving for in this work. Also, this ancient philosophy postulates order as both a moral and social ideal. These are familiar ideas that are traceable in classical African literature of indigenous linguistic self-expression. Kagemnis insistence on prudence, courage, self-mastery, and self-effacement is also a familiar line of thinking in what can be termed as traditional African thinking. Obenga notes that all these ideas can be found in present-day African society. The third cluster, comprising of four chapters, is a demonstration of the existence of an intellectual tradition whose ideas, applied to problem-solving conditions, helped lay a foundation whose impact is still felt in all African cultures. This chapter consists of: The Intellectual Vocation, Mapmaking, Navigation, Textile Chemistry; and Astronomy, Medicine, and Mathematics. This section illustrates how intellectual aspirations were accepted as part and parcel of ordinary ancient Egyptian life. The young are encouraged by their parents to cherish study (p.243) for them to advance socially. Writing, continues the advice, is far better than all other professions (p. 244). From this culture came discoveries in the sciences and the arts that continue to impact modern-day society, as Obenga demonstrates in Egypts Civilizing Role (p.253-70). This cluster produces clear evidence of ancient Egyptian achievements in mapmaking, navigation, and textile chemistry (p. 272-8). In an explanation of why this would seem to be new in our age, Obenga indicts Western scholarship: Western historiography buries such facts under a lethal haze, as if the Western consciousness would be damaged by the simple recognition of historical realities, all verifiable from genuine written documents, paintings and sculpture (p. 300). Modern-day racism passing for scholarship contributes to the distortion of African history: The fact is that Egypt has played an immense part in the advancement of civilization. So Orientalists, whenever they fly off from the
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accurate study of archeological artifacts into highly tendentious, become manipulators of a technique of violence in the service of a destructive enterprise. Similarly, Africanists have never made any worthwhile contributions to the study of black Africa, proffering instead their hypotheses of Hamito-Semitic peoples, Afro-Asiatic languages, animist religions and prelogical thought (ibid.). This manipulation of history is deadly violence directed at the African, maybe not with guns, but with equally deadly effect. African Philosophy also brings out evidence of achievements in astronomy and how this is not accidental but part of an intellectual tradition that pervades the whole continent (p. 323-70). In Chapter IX, entitled Medicine, we are given evidence from ancient texts of Egyptian medical advances by looking at their medical terms (p. 383-91) and some of the problems they wrote about. Examples of these are: Concussion And Bleeding In The Petrosal Bone (p. 407-11), A Lesion Of The Spinal Column (p. 412-14), Dissection: An Ancient Egyptian Practice (p.415-17), and Impaired Comprehension And Speech Due To Brain Damage (p.418-20). Chapter X on Mathematics (p. 421-421-98 is this a mistake?) should lay to rest all the doubts about ancient Egyptian mathematical achievements. Obenga does not lose sight of the purpose of his research: to illustrate that there is an intellectual tradition in Africa that is founded on analytical thinking. For example, on ancient Egyptian mathematics, he notes: We see then the concept of proof as well as the practice thereof, existed in mathematical systems of Africans in ancient Egypt. This is a matter of some resentment among detractors of Egyptian mathematics, a dying breed these days, it must be said (p.498.). This cluster of chapters forms a very sound basis for any researcher who is interested in studying the history of sciences and mathematics on the continent. In explaining the need for the supplement (p. 499-671), Obenga goes to the core of his motivation for this research: Libraries at our African universities and research centers contain practically no scholarly works in the field of Egyptology. So we thought it both useful and necessary to provide, as a supplement to the texts provided in this book, a further set of miscellaneous passages ranging from philosophy to the arts and crafts all original internal sources providing information on ancient Egyptian civilization (p. 499).

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This section is made of original texts from ancient Egypt which are to assist scholars who may not be familiar with research in Egyptology. The section also includes Obengas own translations of Herodotus, Diodorus Siculus among others, because they provide reliable information on Egyptian antiquity (ibid.). Not to be overlooked is the bibliography Obenga compiles (p. 611-64). It is instructive to learn reading through it just how many African scholars have contributed to the field of philosophy. The bibliography clarifies just how necessary it is to look for African sources to some of the questions we may raise during our research on the African intellectual tradition. African Philosophy contributes to the continuing discussion of what the focus of African education should be, suggesting a guide into its prioritization and decision-making. Dismissing as irrelevant the false dichotomy of tradition vs. modern as a distraction, African Philosophy suggest that the African past located in the achievements of ancient Egypt is the rightful starting place or the reorganization of the investigation of knowledge systems of the African continent. There is an urgent need to relocate our peoples intellectual achievements at the center of our research concerns by reexamining seriously what they have retained in time and how it links up with other knowledge from different parts of the Continent. Obenga seems to go back again to the old maxim of the need for the African scholar to know himself/herself and his/her audience so as to refine the tools of investigation. Obengas methodology demonstrates required linguistic competence in several languages for effective research. Apart from demonstrating this competence, the author returns to the debate of language in African scholarship, not by raising it theoretically, but by demonstrating how it should be done. Translation across several languages seems to be a standard requirement. Also, if, as demonstrated in this work, ancient Egypt is the legitimate foundation for African scholarship in all its dimensions, how valid is our research that continues to ignore this fact and perpetuates the fragmentation of the continent? The most important role this work plays is to place at the center of our research concerns of the African people. This work lays the foundation for making sense of the African history of knowledge by creating a rational history of African knowledge for approximately the last five thousand years. It also provides us with an organizational framework within which we can begin to comparatively
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investigate the temporal and spatial generation and dispersal of ideas on the African Continent. Perhaps we can then begin to address the perennial question: what happened? The authors adopted methodology provides an insight into what Obengas research concerns are and the audience that he targets. He avoids the fruitless debate of whether or not ancient Egyptian achievements are African. This, as the author points out in the introduction, was settled once and for all in the Cairo Colloquium in 1974 (p.15). Currently debates on this issue are a sad waste of valuable research time and skills for the African scholar. Obenga utilizes all available African and non-African sources in his research. These concerns of retrieving and reconstructing African, and indeed, human history, cannot engage in the luxury of racism. In this connection, the work frequently uses ancient Greek and Latin writings as sources on this ancient African society. The results, as he time and again demonstrates, are surprising: many of the well known ancient Greek and Latin sources, unlike their modernday counterparts, were comfortable in acknowledging their intellectual indebtedness to their black neighbors. Herodotus, Plato, Socrates are brought in through their writings to remind us that the Egyptians were the most ancient people (p. 164) whereby ancient they meant a recognized lineage in establishing human knowledge and civilization. Obengas quotes note: Here, on the precise issue of knowledge of the universe, the ancient Egyptians were in a position to say to the Greeks: Solon, Solon, you Greeks are perennial infants. Not a single Greek is an elder. What the ancient Egyptian priest meant was that the Greeks of that age, unlike the Egyptians, had no body of thought bequeathed by antiquity, no ancient tradition, no knowledge hallowed by time (Plato, Timmaus, 22b in Obenga p. 144). Ancient Greek works are indeed legitimate sources of the history of African philosophy. Expounding on this he further states: [I]t requires nothing less than a fluent knowledge of ancient Egyptian, Greek, Latin and (Arabic), in addition to the mastery of the techniques and methods associated with the history of philosophy (p.16). Obengas multilingual analytical technique is only accessible to researchers with a command over relevant languages. The people most likely to benefit from this methodology are the many African scholars for who mastery of several languages is a normal part of their growing up experience. African
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Philosophy is one of the very few texts that demonstrate unequivocally that firsthand knowledge of a peoples language is the correct place to begin if meaning is to be made of their knowledge systems, for their philosophy is only accessible in their language. More importantly, this text returns to the center the primacy of African languages in exploring systems of thought created by African people from ancient times to the present. Obengas challenge goes further: he demonstrates competence in his mastery of the various scripts including the Middle Egyptian, and ancient Greek necessary for his research. In this text, as he has done before, Obenga urges the serious study of comparative linguistics when working on African research as per the urgings of the Cairo Colloquium of 1974.) One of the most valuable sections of this work is the sources and translations of hitherto unavailable texts. This is a valuable serve that will save a lot of time for many a scholar. Back in 1972, the Cameroonian Jesuit E. Mveng published an excellent volume on Greek sources of African history. We need to undertake similar collections of Indian, Latin, Arabic, and other sources of African history. Historians need such primary, authentic documentation if they are to produce solid analytical works based on verifiable texts (p. 499) The ancient door opens and reveals riches far grander than we imagined; what is more, these are not stolen, borrowed or purloined: they are incredibly and rightfully ours. Amazing! Ramenga Mtaali Osotsi James Madison University

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