By: Takuan Amaru
A French historian named Count Constantine de Volney visited Egypt from 1783 – 1785 and viewed “Horem-Akhet” (a.k.a. The Great Sphinx) for the first time. He was amazed once he clearly recognized that he was looking into the face of a Black African.
He wasn’t shy in expressing his amazement:
“All Egyptians,” wrote Count Volney, “have a bloated face, puffed-up eyes, flat nose, thick lips—in a word, the true face of the mulatto. I was tempted to attribute it to the climate, but when I visited the Sphinx, its appearance gave me the key to the riddle. On seeing that head, typically Negro in all its features, I remembered the remarkable passage where Herodotus says:
‘As for me, I judge the Colchians to be a colony of the Egyptians because, like them, they are black with wooly hair…’ “In other words, the ancient Egyptians were true Negroes of the same type as all native-born Africans. That being so, we can see how their blood mixed for several centuries with that of the Greeks and Romans, must have lost the intensity of its original color, while retaining nonetheless the imprint of its original mold.”
Count Volney then made the statement that if really contemplated upon today, could very well smash the extremely fragile foundation that western academia rests on:
“Just think, that this race of black men, today our slaves and the object of our scorn, is the very race to which we owe our arts, sciences, and even the use of speech! Just imagine, finally, that it is in the midst of people (i.e. Catholic church, western gov’t, etc.) who call themselves the greatest friends of liberty and humanity that one has approved the most barbarous slavery, and questioned whether black men have the same kind of intelligence as whites!” ~Count Constantine de Volney; “Oeuvres” (Works), 1821
This could be the end of the article…what more need be said?
This is not an attempt to challenge anyone’s belief system. This is about posing some very simple “why” questions similar to how any bright-eyed, young mind does when faced with that which seems absurd, strange or phenomenal.
Why haven’t we heard this before?
How many of us think that melanin-rich people’s history somehow began as slaves, serfs or coolies? How many of us believe that ancient Egyptians were white people that look like Charlton Heston? (star of the 1956 movie, The Ten Commandments)
Does he look like an Egyptian named "Moses"?
If Count Volney were the only credible source (or one of a very few) giving us this type of shocking revelation, this could be simply written off or easily forgotten. However, far from being among the few, he is one of many distinguished intellectuals (especially prior to the 19th Century), who gives an historical account that differs greatly from the accepted “western man as the origin of it all” story.
Or more commonly dubbed, his-story.
The Jewish historian Josephus, the Frenchman Jean Francois Champollion (known as the “Father of Egyptology”), many of the great Greek classical writers such as Herodotus, Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, Diodorus, Strabo, and Plutarch among others, not to mention more modern academic giants such as Gerald Massey and Joseph Campbell tell us about the greatness of these “black-skinned” races of people.
They have no problem with clearly announcing the fact that their own civilization and technology (i.e. western civilization) are derived directly from these so-called, “frizzy, woolly haired people with black skin.”
Why is our history being hidden from us?
The very modest list of historians above does not even mention any scholars labelled “Afro-centric”. In other words, these are intellectuals whose work is recognized and accepted by modern, western academia…
That is, all of their work except for quotes such as the sample provided by Count Volney.
So, the challenge is to unearth and separate Truth from “Mis-information“. There are so many questions that could be posed, but let us suffice to conclude with this:
There is nothing to fear...
Why does the information in this article scare you?
This is just the intro to the “From His-story to Our-story” series…stay tuned for the 6th Edition of AfroAsiatic Perspectives…peace!
Note: There are many sources for the information contained in this article. Here is a brief list of scholars to check out: Dr. John Henrik Clarke, Dr. Chancellor Williams, Cheik Anta Diop, Dr. Yosef A.A ben-jochannan, Dr. Ivan van Sertima, Runoko Rashidi, John G. Jackson, Gerald Massey, J.A Rogers
AfroAsiatic Perspectives 