W.E.B.

Du Bois Institute

Review: Cheikh Anta Diop and the New Light on African History
Author(s): John Henrik Clarke
Source: Transition, No. 46 (1974), pp. 74-76
Published by: Indiana University Press on behalf of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute
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REVIEWS
IMI[ I II
CHEIKH ANTA DIOP AND THE NEW LIGHT
ON AFRICAN HISTORY
THE AFRICANORIGINOF CIVILIZATION:MYTH OR
REALITY,by Cheikh Anta Diop. Edited and translated
by Mercer Cook. Laurence Hill and Company. New
York, New york, and Westport, Connecticut. 316 pages.
Paperback,$5.95. Hardcover, $12.95.
CheikhAnta Diop, one of the most able of present day
scholars writing about Africa, is also one of the greatest
living Black historians. His first major work, NATIONS,
NEGRESET CULTURE
(1954) is still disturbingthe white
historianswho have made quick reputationsas authorities
on Africanhistoryand culture. In this book Dr Diop shows
the interrelationshipsbetween African nations, north and
south, and proves, because in this case proof is needed
again and again, that ancient Egyptwas a distinct African
nation and was not historicallyor culturallya part of Asia
or Europe.MoremythsaboutAfricaare put to rest in another
one of his books,THECULTURAL UNITYOFNEGROAFRICA,
(1959). Thepublicationof his first bookin the UnitedStates,
THEAFRICAN ORIGINOF CIVILIZATION, MYTHOR REA-
LITY,is a cause for celebration.This book and others of
recent years, all by Black writers, have called for a total
reconsiderationof the role that Africanpeople have played
in history and their impact on the developmentof early
societiesand institutions.
CheikhAnta Diop was born in the town of Diourbel,in
Senegal, on the West coast of Africa in 1923. His birth-
place has a long tradition of producingMuslim scholars
and oral historians.This is wherehis inspirationand interest
in history,the humanitiesand social sciences froman African
point of view began. After the publicationof his first book
NATIONS, NEGRESET CULTURE, that had been rejectedas
a Ph.D.thesis at the Sorbonnein Paris,he becameone of the
most controversial of present day African historians.
NATIONS,NEGRESET CULTURE is both a reassessment
of the Africanpast and a challengeto Westernscholarship
on Africa. He refutes the myth of Egypt as a white nation
and shows its southernAfricanorigins. It is his intentionto
prove that, throughEgyptiancivilization,Africa has made
the oldest and one of the most significantcontributionsto
worldculture. This is not a new argumentthat startedwith
CheikhAnta Diop's generationof Africans. The Ghanaian
historian,JosephB. Danquah,in his introductionto the book,
UNITEDWESTAFRICA AT THE BAROF THE FAMILY OF
NATIONS, by LadipoSolanke,publishedin 1927, three years
after CheikhAnta Diop was born, said exactly the same
thing. His statementreads:
"By the time Alexanderthe Great was sweeping the civilized world
with conquest after conquest from Chaeronia to Gaza, from Babylon
to Cabul, by the time the first Aryan conquerors were learning the
rudimentsof war and governmentat the feet of the philosopherAristotle;
and by the time Athens was laying down the foundations of European
civilizatton, the earliest and greatest Ethiopian culture had already
flourishedand dominatedthe civilized world for over four centuries and
a half. Imperial Ethiopia had conqueredEgypt and founded the XXVth
Dynasty, and for a century and a half the central seat of civilization in
the knownworld was held by the ancestors of the modern Negro, main-
taining and defending it against the Assyrian and Persian Empires of
theEast.
-This, at the time when Ethiopia was leading the civilized world in
culture and conquest. East was East, but West was not, and the first
European(Grecian) Olympiad was yet to be held. Rome was nowhere
74
TRANSITION 46
I I
to be seen on the maP, and sixteen centuries were to pass before Charle-
magne would rule in Europeand Egbert became first King of England.
Eventhen, historywas to drag on for anotherseven hundredweary years,
before Roman Catholic Europe could see fit to end the Great Schism,
soon to be followed by the disturbing news of the discovery of America
and the fateful rebirth of the youngest of world civilizations."2
Here Dr. Danquahis showingthat Africanhistoryis the
foundationof world history. In the present book by Cheikh
Anta Diop, and in most of his other works, his objective is
the same. Inhis first majorworkon history,Dr. Diophas said:
"The general problem confronting African history is this: how to
reorganizeeffectively, throughmeaningful research, all of the fragments
of the past into a single ancient epoch, a common origin which will
re-establish African continuity... if the ancients were not victims of
a mirage, it should be easy enough to draw upon another series of argu-
ments and proofs for the union of the history of Ethiopian and Egyptian
societies with the rest of Africa. Thus combined, these histories would
lead to a properlypatternedpast in which it would be seen that (ancient)
Ghana rose in the interior ( West Africa) of the continent at the moment
of Egyptian decline, just as the Western Europeanempires were born
with the decline of Rome."
While using Africaas the vantage point and the basis for
his thesis Dr. Diop does not neglect the broaderdimensions
of history. He shows that history cannot be restricted by
the limits of ethnic group,nation, or culture.Romanhistory
is Greek as well as Roman, and both the Greek and the
Romanhistoryare Egyptianbecausethe entireMediterranean
was civilized Egypt;and Egyptin turn borrowedfrom other
parts of Africa,especiallyEthiopia.
Africa came into the Mediterranean world mainly
through Greece, which had been under African influence.
Thefirst Greekinvasionof Africawaspeacefulandscholarly.
This invasion brought in Herodotus. Egypt had lost its
independenceover a centurybefore his visit. This was the
beginning of the period of foreign dominationover Egypt
that would last, in differentforms, for two thousandyears.
THE AFRICANORIGINOF CIVILIZATION, MYTH OR
REALITY is a one-volumetranslationof the major sections
of the first and last of the books by CheikhAnta Diop, i.e.,
NATIONS,NEGRES,ET CULTURE and ANTERIORITE DES
CIVILIZATIONS NEGRES. These two works have challenged
and changed the directionof attitudes about the place of
African people in history in scholarly circles around the
world. It was largely due to these works that CheikhAnta
Diop, with W. E. B. DuBois, was honoredas "the writer
who had exerted the greatest influenceon African people
in the 20th century,"at the WorldFestivalof Arts held in
Dakar,Senegal,in 1966.
The main thesis of the present work is a redefinitionof
the place of Egypt in African history in particular and
in world history in general. Dr Diop calls attention to the
historical, archeological, and anthropological evidence
that supportshis thesis. The civilizationof Egypt,he main-
tains is Africanin origin and in early development.In his
book Dr Diop says:
"The history of Africa will remain suspended in air and cannot be
written correctly until African historians connect it with the history of
Egypt."
Dr Diop approachesthe historyof Africanfrontally,head
on with explanations,but no apologies.In locating Egypton
the map of humangeographyhe asks and answersthe ques-
tions: who were the Egyptiansof the ancient world?
TheEthiopianssay that the Egyptianswere one of their
colonies which was broughtinto Egypt by the deity Osiris.
TRANSITION 46
The Greek writer Herodotus repeatedly referred to the
Egyptiansas being dark-skinnedpeople with woollyhair.
"They"he says, "havethe same tint of skin whichapproaches
that of the Ethiopians."The opinionof the ancient writers
on the Egyptians is more or less summed up by Gaston
Maspero(1846-1916), when he says, "By the almost unani-
mous testimonyof ancient historians,they, (the Egyptians),
belong to an Africanrace which first settled in Ethiopiaon
the Middle Nile followingthe course of the river they gra-
duallyreachedthe sea."
"TheGreekwriter, Herodotus,may be mistaken,"Cheikh
AntaDioptells us "whenhe reportsthe customsof a people,
but one must grant that he was at least capable of recogni-
zing the skin colorof the inhabitantsof countrieshe visited."
His descriptionsof the Egyptianswere the descriptionsof
a Blackpeople.At this pointthe readerneeds to be reminded
of the fact that at the time of Herodotus'svisit to Egypt
and otherparts of Africa(between480 and 425 B.C.)Egypt's
Golden Age was over. Egypt had suffered from several
invasions,mainlythe Kushiteinvasionsocoming fromwithin
Africaand starting in 751 B.C.,and the Assyrians'invasions
fromWestern Asia, (called the MiddleEast), startingin 671
B.C. If Egypt, after years of invasionsby other people and
nations was a distinct Black Africannation at the time of
Herodotus,shouldn'twe at least assumethat it was more so
beforethese invasionsoccurred?
If Egyptis a dilemmain Westernhistoriography,it is a
created dilemma. The Western historians,in most cases,
have rested the foundationof what is called " Western
Civilization"on the false assumptions,or claim, that the
ancient Egyptianswere white people. To do this they had
to ignore great masterpieces on Egyptian history written
by other white historianswho did not supportthis point of
view, such as Gerald Massey's great classic, ANCIENT
EGYPT,THE LIGHTOF THE WORLD,(1907), and his
other works, A BOOK OF THE BEGINNINGS, and THE
NATURAL GENESIS. Other neglected works by white
writers are POLITICS,INTERCOURSE, AND TRADE OF
THE CARTHAGINIANS, ETHIOPIANS, AND EGYPTIANS,
by A. H. L. Heeren (1833), and RUINS OF EMPIRES, by
CountVolney(1787).
In the first chapter of his book, Dr Diop refers to the
Southern African origins of the people later known as
Egyptians. Here he is on soundgroundwith a lot of support
coming from another group of neglected white writers.
In his book, EGYPT,Sir E.A. Wallis Budge says: "The
prehistoricnative of Egypt, both in the old and in the new
StoneAges, was Africanand there is every reasonfor saying
that the earliest settlers came fromthe South."
He furtherstates: "Thereare manythings in the manners
and customs and religions of the historic Egyptiansthat
suggeststhat the originalhome of their prehistoricancestors
was in a country in the neighbourhoodof Uganda and
Punt." (Some historians believe that the biblical land of
Punt was in the area knownon modernmaps as Somalia.)
Europeaninterest in ETHIOPIAAND THE ORIGINOF
CIVILIZATION dates from the early part of the nineteenth
centuryand is best reflectedin a little known,though im-
portant, paper in "Karl RichardLepsius'INCOMPARABLE
SURVEYOF THE MONUMENTAL RUINSIN THE ETHIO-
PIAN NILE VALLEY IN 1843-1844."
The recordsfound by Lepsiustend to show how Ethiopia
was once able to sustain an ancient populationthat was
numerousand powerful enough not only to challenge, but
on a numberof occasionsto conquercompletelythe populous
land of Egypt. Further,these recordsshowedthat the anti-
quity of Ethiopiancivilizationhad a direct link with civiliza-
tion of ancientEgypt.
Many of the leading antiquariansof the time, based
largely on the strengthof what the classical authors,parti-
cularly DiodorusSiculus and Stephanusof Byzantiumhad
to say on the matter were exponentsof the view that the
ancientEthiopiansor at any rate, the Blackpeopleof remote
antiquitywere the earliest of all civilized peoples and that
the first civilizedinhabitantsof ancientEgyptwere members
of what is referredto as the Black race who entered the
countryas emigrantsfrom Ethiopia. A numberof Europe's
leadingwriters on the civilizationsof remoteantiquityhave
written brilliant defenses of this point of view. Some of
these writers are Bruce, CountVolney,Fabre,d'Olivet,and
Heeren. In spite of the fact that these writers defended
this thesis with all the learning at their command,and
documentedtheir defense, most of the present-daywriters
of Africanhistorycontinueto ignoretheirfindings.
In 1825, German backwardnessin this respect came
definitelyto an end. In that year, ArnoldHermannHeeren
(1760-1842), Professorof Historyand Politicsin the Univer-
sity of Gottingenand one of the ablest of the early exponents
of the economicinterpretationof history,published,in the
fourthand revisededition of his great work IDEEN UBER
DIE POLITIK, DEN VERKEHR UND DEN HANDELDER
VORNEHMSTEN VOLKER DER ALTEN WELD,a lengthy
essay on the history,culture, and commerceof the ancient
Ethiopians,which had profoundinfluenceon contemporary
writers in the conclusionthat it was among these ancient
Blackpeopleof Africaand Asia that internationaltrade was
first developed,and he thinks that as a by-productof these
internationalcontacts there was an exchange of ideas and
cultural practices that laid the foundationsof the earliest
civilizationsof the ancientworld.
The Frenchwriter Count C. F. Volney,in his important
work, THE RUINS OF EMPIRES,3 extends this point of
view by saying that, the Egyptianswere the first people to
"attainthe physicaland moralsciencesnecessaryto civilized
life." In referringto the basis of this achievementhe states
further that, "it was, then, on the borders of the Upper
Nile, among a Black race of men, that was organizedthe
complicatedsystem of worship of the stars, consideredin
relation to the productionsof the earth and the labors of
agriculture;and this first worship, characterizedby their
adoration under their own forms and national attributes,
was a simple proceedingof the humanmind."
Over a generationago African-American historians such
as: Carter G. Woodson, W. E. B. DuBois, Willis N.
Huggins,J. A. Rogers,and CharlesC. Seifortread the works
of these radical writer historiansand began to expand'Oi
their findings. This traditioncontinuedand is refleced in
the works of present-dayBlack historians such as: John
G. Jacksons' INTRODUCTIONTO AFRICAN CIVILIZA-
TIONS,1970, Yosefben-Jochannans' BLACKMAN OF THE
NILE,1972, and Chancellor Williams'THE DESTRUCTION
OF BLACKCIVILIZATION: GREATISSUESOF A RACE
FROM4500 B.C. TO 2000 A.D., 1971.
Until the publication of James G. Spadys' article NE-
GRITUDE, PAN-BENEGRITUDE AND THE DIOPIAN
PHILOSOPHY OF AFRICANHISTORY, in A CurrentBiblio-
graphy on African.Affairs, volume 5, number I, January,:
1972, and the recent interviewby Harun Kofi Wartnara,
published in Black World Magazine, February, 1974,
Dr CheikhAnta Diop was knownto, onl a-small group of
75

Black writers and teachers in the UnitedStates. for over
seven years his books were offered to Americanpublishers
with no show of interest. Now, two of his books will be
publishedin the UnitedStates within one year. The THIRD
WORLD PRESS,in Chicago, is preparingto publish his
book THE CULTURAL UNITYOF NEGROAFRICA.All of
his books were originallypublishedby PresenceAfricaine,
the Paris based publicationarm of the InternationalSociety
of AfricanCulture.
Egyptologydevelopedin concurrencewith the development
of the slave trade and the colonial system. It was during
this period that Egypt was literally taken out of Africa,
academically,and made an extensionof Europe. In many
ways Egypt is the key to ancient Africanhistory. African
history is out of kilter until ancient Egypt is looked upon
as a distinctAfricannation.
The Nile Riverplayed a major role in the relationshipof
Egyptto the nations in SoutheastAfrica. Duringthe early
historyof Africa, the Nile was a great culturalhighwayon
which elements of civilization came into and out of inner
Africa. Egypt's relationshipwith the people in the South
was both good and bad, dependingon the period and the
dynastyin power.
In his chapter called, " What were the Egyptians?",
Dr Diop explains the rise and fall of Egypt's GoldenAge
and the beginnings of the invasions, first from Western
Asia. that turnedthis nation'sfirst age of greatness into a
nightmare. Thiswas the periodof the Hyksos,or Shepherd
Kings. During this time seventy Jews, grouped in twelve
patriarchal families, nomads without industry or culture,
entered Egypt. TheseJews left Egypt four hundredyears
later 600,000 strong, after acquiring from African people
all of the elements of their future religion, tradition, and
culture, includingmonotheism. Whosoeverthe Jews were
whenthey enteredAfrica,whenthey left, fourhundredyears
later, they were ethnically, culturally, and religiously an
Africanpeople. In this part of his book, CheikhAnta Diop
leaves no roomfor argument.
In the chaptercalled, "Birthof the NegroMyth,"Dr Diop
shows how African people, whose civilizations were old
before Europewas born,were systematicallyread out of the
respectfulcommentaryof humanhistory. This examination
is continuedin the chaptercalled, "ModernFalsificationof
History." Here, CheikhAntaDiop deals with how Western
historians,for the last five hundredyears, wrote or rewrote
history glorifying the people of Europeanextraction and
distortedthe history of the rest of the world. Those who
read this bookseriouslyare in for a shock and a rewarding
experience in learning. This is a major work by a major
Blackhistorian. I munity; and the last is a general look at the politics of
JOHN HENRIKCLARKE
THE IDEOLOGY OF BLACKNESS. Editedby RaymondF Betts. D. C. Heath and
Company,Lexington,Massachussetts,1971. pp. 127-133.
2. UNITED WEST AFRICA(OR AFRICA)AT THE BAR OF THE FAMILY
NATIONS.By LadipoSolanke. First published 1927, reprinted 1969 by African
PublicationSociety,London,England.
3. THE RUINS OR MEDITATION ON REVOLUTIONS OF EMPIRES:AND THE
LAW OF NATURE, by C. F. Volney.PeterEckler,New York,1890.
76
TRANSITION46
A PAN-AFRICANIST SOLUTION?
Z. CERVENKA (ed): Land-lockedCountries of Africa
(Uppsala:The ScandinavianInstitute of African
Studies, 1973)
Out of the world's total of 28 countries without a sea
coast, Africa's disproportionate share is 14, including
the yet to be freed Zimbabwe. To be underdeveloped
in the present system of world politics is hard enough.
To belong to the category of hard-core underdeveloped
countries, the UN-designated poorest 25 nations in the
world, and to be land-lockedas well, is to be particularly
handicapped, even for the obstacle race that all under-
developed countries run. Ten of Africa's 14 land-locked
countries are also among the UN-identified poorest 25.
To the long list of familiarquestions which we have come
to ask of the OAU, this must also be added now: What
can the OAU do for its land-locked members? The
focus of this very useful collection of Seminar papers on
Africa's land-locked countries is unquestionably wider
than the above question by itself would warrant. But
the question provides a convenient peg on which to
hang the variety of contributions that Zdenek Cervenka
has put together, with the blessing of the Scandinavian
Institute of African Studies.
There are twenty five papers, including the Editor's
wide-ranging introduction and concluding chapter. At
least five of the papers could have been omitted without
any great loss. In what ways, for instance, do T. M.
Shaw's and Tamaz Szentes' papers add to the value of
the book? Or Larry Bowman's second contribution on
Problems of Labour Migration in Southern Africa?
These, one suspects, were the rather ad hoc comments
on papers which an over-generous Editor had no heart
to exclude. Other candidatesfor elimination by a harder
Editor would have been those that attempt to impose
fanciful theories on recalcitrant facts: for instance,
Pederson and Leys' laughable attempt to impose a
systems analysis on the problems of land-locked states:
a daring experiment whose results however are far
from impressive.
Roughly a third of the book is given to an elaboration
of problems of land-locked countries in West Africa and
in Southern Africa. The latter area expectedly takes a
lion's share of the attention. This middle section is
preceded by five general articles of uniformly high
quality; two on the law of access to the Sea; one on air
transport and land-lockedness in Africa; one on the
transit problems of Uganda in the East African Com-
transiting in Southern Africa, where the normally
delicate and difficult problems of transit are sharply
aggravated by basic ideological differences between the
land-locked territories and the coastal states. The re-
pressed anger, hostility, fear and frustrations in the
relations between these OAU members and the white
ruled coastal states who can so easily strangle them on
account of their land-lockednessare factors which receive
detailed analysis here. The final section, of general
studies apparently searching for new policies for land-
locked countries, is of very uneven but generally poorer
quality. Only Robert McKinnell's contribution on
Land-locked Countries and the UNCTAD matches the
quality of the essays in the first section.