Four Points that Proved that Nsukka Civilized Egypt - Onyeji Nnaji

 Copied from Reminiscence, by Onyeji Nnaji

One of the issues that had given researchers on the ancient Egypt much concern had been issues connected to the origin of her civilization. Egypt civilization seemed to emerge suddenly like a germinated plant and spread branches across space. In this regard, Egypt had been studied as the cradle of civilization in Africa and the base where relatively all that should be known about Africa had been studied. This situation sometimes assigned impetus to the claim by Egyptian writers that Egypt was the place of African genesis. All these suggestions may be considered indisputably true, but with issues discussed in this chapter and the next chapters with varying evidences which eyes could see, one may be able to place a better judgment over what he presumed or had drawn conclusion on, in the past. The question therefore is, whether the globally known Egyptian civilization was the product of western culture. Diop Anta, a committed writer on the contribution of Africa to the global civilization, gave a useful suggestion that would help us arrive at the answer.

To explain the settlement and civilization of Egypt, specially invoke four hypotheses, corresponding to the four points of the compass. The most natural of all – a local origin – is the one most often challenged. The latter hypothesis, in turn, could be localized in two different places: Upper and Lower Egypt. In the case of Lower Egypt, it would be a question of what is now called the “preponderance of the Delta.” (Civilization 85).

One concrete fact that may hardly be disputed is the fact of the Delta. Egypt as a nation of people, considering her origin and civilization, has several instances of influences from the Nile region. Evidences covering these influences are obvious in the various activities for which the ancient Egyptians were known. We found them in the Egyptian language, the formation of Hieroglyphics writing, symbols of their gods and the monuments that characterized the ancient Egypt. Drawing from Petrie’s explanation of Sequence Date (SD), Alexander Moret & Georges Davy made the following assertions.

In any case, Lower Egypt eventually became the seat of a higher civilization with definitely Asiatic, as opposed to African, affinities, and this civilization ultimately dominated Upper Egypt as well. In fact, it is only known directly from the latter region, though its presence in the north may be inferred with confidence. In Upper Egypt there is no sharp break between American civilization and the Gerzean; the latter gradually trickled in, mixing with, but dominating, the older elements. New types of vases, weapons with ornaments intrude in ever greater number until they predominate or even oust the old entirely (Civilization, 86).

It is universally agreed that the new elements which distinguish the culture of Upper Egypt in the Meddle Predynastic phase are derived from the north or northeast. And it is almost certain that the authors of these innovations had been living in touch with the Upper Nile for a considerable time prior to S.D. 39, since before that date isolated decorated vases had occasionally found their way into Upper Egypt (Empire 132-133).

This numerical scale was worked out by Petrie, going from 30 to 80. The period between S.D. 30 and S.D.77 is ordinarily called Predynastic. S.D. 30 is assumed to equal 5000 B.C. this, probably, was the period when Egypt was still in tribal divisions, according to the title of Alexander Moret & Georges Davy book on the study of Egyptian civilization. With this information we can suggest the early part of Egypt before her civilization. What appears interesting here again was the comparison of the Egyptian civilization of the Upper part with the American civilization. This does not suggest that they occurred at the same time, according to the discussion in New Light on the Most Ancient East by Gordon Childe. It should be reasoned that Sumer civilization may have influenced the Egyptian civilization of old than American civilization of the recent time. But Moret and Davy, giving clear information based on the dating of the Sumer civilization, it may be argued that Egyptian civilization did not originate from the West.

Nowhere else had natural condition favoured the development of a human society to the same extent as in Egypt? Nowhere else do we find a chalcolithic industry comparable in its technical perfection? Moreover, apart from some stations of uncertain age in Palestine, no trace of man earlier than 4000 B.C. exists in Syria or Mesopotamia. By that date the Egyptians had their feet on the threshold of their history proper. It is, then, reasonable to attribute this precocious development of Egypt’s first inhabitants to their own genius and to the exceptional conditions in the Nile Valley... The very existence of such, or at least of their civilization, remains to be proved (Empire.122)

Archaeologist rated Sumer civilization to have taken place around 3,500 B.C and 4000 B.C. by this time; Africa of the eastern Nigeria had gone far in their production of iron. In other words, whatever civilization around the world suspected to be older than Egypt civilization and probably had informed the nature of organized structure of government that reigned in Egypt should have its evidence shown broadly. This is the suggestion of Diop Anta.

Here, as in all that had proceeded, it is important to establish between what can be deduced from a strict examination of historical documents and what is claimed over and beyond those documents, contrary to their testimony. To assign egyptian civilization an Asiatic or any foreign origin whatsoever,we must be able to demonstrate the prior existence of a cradle of civilization outside of egypt. However, we cannot overemphasized the fact that this basic, indispensible condition has never been met  (Civilization, 100).

Having provided us with a compass, our duty in this chapter is to “demonstrate the prior existence of a cradle of civilization outside of egypt.” These is actually a herculean task, but as long as we are made up to treat issues related to ancient civilizations, mainly in Africa, we shall not neglect this task. We hope to buttress our analyses using four practical approaches. All these are discussed under the subheadings below. Our belief is that African civilization as well as global civilizations has one motherland. We also believe that this one motherland has certain marks in the different civilization globally. We are therefore made up to find this/these historical marker(s) through which evidence we may successfully demonstrate the prior existence of a cradle of civilization outside the base country.  And be reminded, our discussion in this chapter has nothing to do with the origin of Egypt. Should one see any reason to characterize Egypt as having originated from any of the sources of our information, such interpretation may be considered personal and sacrosanct to whatever purpose he needed it for.

(i) The First Instance:

Pharaohs’ Crowns Were Brought by the Civilizers

The history of the civilization of ancient Egypt started from the Nile Valley where a group of peasants and hunters who had travelled from the Inner Africa settled. Many sources on the civilization of Egypt accepted this view. In the explanation of the origin of the name “Africa,” Ivan Van S. revealed that the Kammiu (ancient Egypt) used the word “Afr-ui-ka to designate beginning, referring to the Inna Africa where the ancestors of the ruling class came from.” The term Ka in Egypt meansa home. It may be understood in two ways like the Igbo do. Apart from its meaning as the physical home, it may refer to the eternal resting place at death.

The reference to Inner Africa by ancient Egyp twas not without a purpose here. The purpose was simply to demonstrate without recourse the abode of the ruling class of the ancient Egypt. The fact that the Pharaohs of ancient Egypt were not Egyptians was not the suggestion of Ivan Van only. Petrie, one of the devotees of the history of the peasants who settled first at the Nile Valley; also unearthed evidences to this fact and openly asserted that members of the ruling class of the ancient Egypt were all foreigners. Some of the potteries unearthed by Petrie are shown below.

Our findings about these potteries show that they have a common origin. And if our assertion here is correct, then the potteries must have originated from the Igbo mythology where the geometry, “four,” is conceptualized as quadrangle. This could serve as a reliable source towards tracing the origin of the ancient Egyptian civilization. Igbo Ukwo to whom the shape is associated, due to the excavation carried out in Oreri, was explained by UNESEF to have experienced bush fire as far as 22,000B.C.

The potteries above and many other  things unearthed in Egypt is shading more light on the proof that the civilizers of Egypt were not Egyptians. It also indicates Citing Petrie (1939, p.153) on the history of Egyptian civilization, Teeter asserts thus,

Petrie was a devotee of the “dynastic race” theory, believing that the founders of Egyptian civilization came from outside the country. In 1893/1894, he obtained from the Service des Antiquites permission to excavate at Koptos, where he believed the “dynastic race” would have first settled in the Nile Valley after entering Egypt… He was rewarded with the discovery of three larger-than-life-size statues of local gods Min decorated with emblems (the same with Igbo Ukwu emblem) in low relief which where unlike typical “pharaonic” motifs. Petrie felt sure that those statues were very early in date –“prehistoric as he described them – and was pleased when two of the statues were assigned to him in the division of antiquities at the British Museum, but they were rejected as being “unhistorical rather than prehistoric” (Before. 18).

Petrie’s role in the discovering of early Egypt cannot be overestimated, although he did not have explicit information regarding the date or period of the things he founded. At last he concluded that “Egyptian civilization was the product of Predynastic race who had entered Egypt in the Predynastic period and became her rulers.” (Petrie 1939: 77-78)

A careful study of the structure of the earliest pharaohs of Egypt revealed certain irrefutable facts about the history of the civilizers. Taking a good look on the crowns of the different Pharaohs of the old kingdom, one finds that the crown was not different from the cap universally identified with the Igbo traditional setting. It was unfortunate that history did not record the colour of the ancient Pharaohs’ crowns; it would probably show that they were either red or black reflecting the dual-colours of the traditional Igbo cap. Take a good look at the cap shown below before we examine the statue of the Pharaohs of Egypt that belonged to the old kingdom. 

Our findings show that the pharaohs of tha ancient egypt used the different designs of this cap in their days of civilization. We strongly believed that Narmer, who was the first Pharaoh, used this cap as his crwon. Narmer was proven by both facial structur and other tests and concluded that he was a negro. He, of course, cannot be of egypt origin since several evidences had earlier proved that the Pharaohs were foreigners. Narmerused his influence in the lower region as the lord of the settlers in the Nile Valey to supermount the ancient Egypt, unified the Upper and Lower Egypt in order to establish himself as a king. According to Diop Anta, “Narmer was an unquestionably Black”.

Pharaoh Narmer

                                                              

It is obvious, as one may argue that the crown did not have the usual little projection at the centre of the Igbo traditional cap. Such observation was proper for a mere observer. The little projection was not shown because of the position of the statue. Buy the position, the little projection should be covered by the front position of the image. The focal point of the person who took the picture unintentionally eluded the little projection as we observed with Pharaoh Narmer above. We can still examine the image of the succeeding Pharaohs after Narmer, which crown did they were? Cheop, the Fourth Dynasty Pharaoh of old Egypt proved us correct. Cheop was the Pharaoh who built the Great Pyramid.

The Igbo have this cap in varying forms representing different traditional functions. There is another that is used by elders in particular. These two apart, there is still another that is used by a special set of people in the Igbo traditional society. This set of people is the Ozo title holders. They formed the political elite of the traditional Igbo society. The female folk also had their own cap. The female cap is significantly used to celebrate virginity and wealth of one’s parents. In the traditional Nkalaha society (North-east of Igbo land), the female cap is used when a girl celebrated before moving to her husband’s home. This celebration is only reserved to virgins. In Nkalaha, the cap is called Kpongogo, reflecting on its oblong structure. Our argument is that Mycerinu (the Fourth Dynasty Pharaoh of Egypt) fashioned his crown to reflect these crown. He was the builder of the third Giza pyramid. Samples of these caps are shown below.

                   
This situation inspires one crucial and critical question such as, who actually borrowed from whom; Egypt or Igbo? Without looking back, a shallow mind would conclude that the Igbo rather borrowed from Egypt. But such would be the conclusion of a-one-eyed fellow who chooses to tell lies where the truth shines like light. What do we say, comparing the civilization that started in 2700 B.C with the seeming ageless civilization the showed evidence of its decay stone age at 500,000 B.C. and immediately proceeded to the world earliest metallurgical work as early as 4005 B.C. (according to the Oxford University Spectrometry Laboratory Date, 2008); several centuries probably Egypt may not have existed? It is very obvious that the later age had borrowed this civilized lifestyle from the former.

This new fashion of the Pharaohs crowns, beginning with Pharaoh Mycerinu, has remained till the twelfth Dynasty of the Egyptian kings. At this period we found a little modification of the Pharaohs’ crows. In the reign of Pharaoh Sesostris I, the crown included symbol that represented the presence of serpents.

                                    
From all this, it is apparent that the nomadic hunters who settled at the Nile Valley had acquired experiences from the civilization which existed elsewhere before even Egypt was found. The same experience fired the desire to rule in them which was made practical with the attempt of Pharaoh Narmer to unify the entire Egypt via his political strength.

(ii) The Second Instance:

Pyramid Culture Was Brought by the Civilizers

The old kingdom was clearly known as the age of pyramids. It may be explained as the age when the building of pyramids was remarkable. Building of the great pyramids made names of the Pharaohs of the old kingdom to excel. Extoling the contribution of the first pyramid sited in Saqqara, the document in the Canadian museum intoned that “the feature of the pyramids (in Egypt) was shaped like the sacred mound where the gods first appeared in the creation story”.

The stepped pyramid was built by Djoser, the third dynasty king of Egypt, in 2,630 B.C. Djoser ordered for a monument to be constructed in commemoration of his days when he might have passed on. From the detail surrounding the building of the pyramid, it was clear that Djoser only requested for the construction of a monument that would leave after him. It was Imhotep who instructed him to construct a pyramid. Researches proved that the designer left a label (script) in the pyramid which contained a message, probably, bothering on the history of the builders or that of the pyramid. Emily Teeter later revealed that,

The label conveys its message through a combination of writing and pictorial elements, as well as formalized divisions of space. These include the use of register lines, which became increasingly standard for royal display at this time. Among the captioned inscriptions is the name of a particular oil press. The top register on the right-hand side contains a complex pictorial scene: an abbreviated version of more monumental forms of depiction, of a kind perhaps already rendered in stone relief, but hardly preserved from these early periods (Alexanian 1998). It depicts part of a ceremony later enacted in the step pyramid complex of Djoser at Saqqara (Before, 101).

The history of the Saqqara pyramid is no longer hidden. Considering the highlighted sentences, it is completely obvious that the idea of the pyramid was derived from a civilization that had existed elsewhere. Teeter even asserts vividly that the “direct evolution of civilization in the Nile Valley from the Paleolithic time through Predynastic Egypt to a fully-fledged monumental civilization was already well attested.” Now, let us break the excerpt above

The label conveys its message through a combination of writing and pictorial elements, as well as formalized divisions of space. These include the use of register lines, which became increasingly standard for royal display at this time.

The use of “register lines” was not at any time standard for royal display. It was rather the first form of writing that emanated in Igbo land in the ancient time and used till the days of the Whiteman in Nigeria. We have discussed this form of writing in chapter three of this book, and in that chapter we mentioned the name of this form of writing as Akala (marks). Akala existed before Nsibidi. Unlike Nsibidi,Akala is not pictorial and is not restricted to a particular cult of scribes. Akala was known to everybody and could only be interpreted by the writer. In other words, each person can only interpret his own Akala since he alone knew what activity he had used it to document. Found in label kept by Imhotep in the step pyramid in Abydos, Saqqara are tablets of Akala shown below.

Practical enough, Nnaji noted in two of his books, The Historical Foundation of Nkalaha and Aspects of the Ancient African Metaphysics the uses of Akala. The first book contains certain evidence that his grandmother, who died in 1986, used Akala to document activities that involved her. In the second book, he gave the interpretation of the grandmother’s Akala according to her explanations. Achebe experimented this same form of writing in Things Fall Apart when he demonstrated the intellectual prowess of Okonkwo’s father. He used Akala to document his creditors’ names and the number of tubers each creditor had given him .Akala used to record events, time and the individuals involved.

In the study of the development of scripted language, Akalawas succeeded by Nsibidi which was used by members of the cult of scribes. The interpretation of Nsibidi lies only within members of the cult. The complexity of this form of writing lies on the multiple images used to express certain descriptions known only to members of the cult. It was because it was not known to the indigenous Egyptian that they described it as containing cultic symbols. Pharaoh Narmer, for instance, was explained to have inscriptions that fit this description. 

Another relevant material discovered along in the pyramid at Saqqara is

A complex pictorial scene: an abbreviated version of more monumental forms of depiction, of a kind perhaps already rendered in stone relief, but hardly preserved from these early periods.

These images are shown below,

These are sea creature, but only significant because of its distinct shapes. The shape is distinctively attractive because of the idea it represented. One of the bronze unearthed in Igbo Ukwu has this same structure and represented the same idea.

The idea they represented was “later enacted in the step pyramid complex of Djoser at Saqqara”. A pyramid of five distinct layer or steps with an indication of optimality and termination at the top; constructed at a stone cleft in Nsude. The hope of its preservation was stressed here, due to the fact that it was built of well knitted clay. The sea creature was significant because it served as a link between the Saqqara pyramid and its original source in Igbo land.

This is the second proof that the civilizers of ancient Egypt were Igbo and probably had come from the Nsude/Nsukka civilization of 500,000 B.C. and beyond.

(iii) The Third Instance:

       The Civilizers Brought Igbo Language to Egypt

The third reason that gives substantial proof about the origin of the civilizers of Egypt is the presence of Igbo related words among Egyptians. As the passage way to the western part of this world, the survivor of the flood had the Sahara planes as their uninterrupted route out of Igbo land. Igbo popularized the language of ancient Egyptian because, by the explanation above, it formed a part in the political culture in the land. A later crusade was occasioned by the civilizer who was suspected to have traveled to Egypt with the prevailing culture in the east. To this end, Egyptian words with Igbo sounds and meanings are numerous. Citable among them are in the table below:

It was amazing to read Diop Anta’s best seller book, African Origin of Civilization (P.184), pointing out that Egyptian word for water is Miri. As mentioned on the table above, fire was called Ahku in Egypt. Akhu is also the sacred vernacular name for the Giza Pyramid. Its native Igbo related name tries to suggest that an Igbo-speaking team of ancient engineers possibly constructed it. Of course, the mystery in the Giza pyramid lies on its reference to Ra “sun-god”. We are of the suggestion that the architects who may have masterminded the issues of the pyramids in Egypt must have been metaphysics of the sun mystery. If this is true about the pyramids in Egypt, we may associate these mystic views to the highest contributor of the Egyptian metaphysical books collectively entitled the Egyptian Book of the Dead, Ani. Ani wrote virtually all the mystic information about the sun, both as a body and as a venerable concept. The Egyptian Book of the Dead even associates Ra to Ani; he was called Osiri Ani.  It is indicative from this point that Ani is duly Igbo. Ani was described in the Egyptian records thus:

The papyrus of Ani is undated, and no facts are given in it concerning the life of Ani, whereby it would be possible to fix its exact place in the series of the illustrated papyri of the Theban period to which it belongs. His full titles are:--

suten in maa an hesb hetep neter en neteru nebu (Royal scribe veritable, scribe and accountant of the divine offerings of all the gods.)

mer tenti en nebu Abtu an hetep neter en (The governor of the granary of the lords of Abydos, scribe of the divine offerings  of) nebu Uast. (the lords of Thebes);

… He is said to be "beloved of the lord of the North and South" and to “love him”. The name of the king thus referred to cannot be stated. That Ani's rank of “royal scribe” [2] was not titular only is shown by the addition of the word “veritable,” and his office of scribe and accountant of all the gods was probably one of the highest which a scribe could hold.[3] His other offices of “governor of the granary of the lords of Abydos,” and “scribe of the sacred property of the lords of Thebes,” further prove his rank and importance, for Abydos and Thebes were the most ancient and sacred cities of Egypt.(Book of the Dead, 120).

The Egyptian word for gods is NTR or Neter. It means “Guardian or Watch person”. This word was originally derived from the semantic corroboration of the acts of the gods. The role of the gods is primarily the service of a guardian. The Igbo have the equivalent of this word in the connotation of the same actions, role or duty/function. Its Igbo equivalent is Onetara/neta. The meaning is the same; “He who guards and watches” or “to watch” over a thing on behalf of someone else. The Igbo idea is more explicit, for it shows that these lesser gods are answerable to a Higher Being, the Almighty God. The highest and oldest of the known gods of Egypt was Ptah. He was the father of all the other gods. His name, Ptah, means in Egyptian, “He who fashions things by carving and opening up”.

The Igbo form of this word is Okpu-atu; meaning “He who moulds/fashions things by carving and opening up”. Igbo word tuo/atu means both the same thing, “to carve and to open a hole”. Researches reveal that Ptah’s rule over Egypt began as early as 21,000 BC. If his name and the collective name for the gods of Egypt, Neter, were Igbo in origin, it implies that an ancient civilization of Igbo extraction existed in West Africa, where the gods ruled, (not particularly men) by a time far beyond 22,000 BC. Then, it is apparent that Egypt was an originally Igbo-speaking civilization and that early Egyptians were Igbo. These linguistic pieces of evidence suggest that the earliest Egyptian civilization (at the time when the gods ruled Egypt) before the advent of Pharaohnic rule; in 3,100 BC. You could imagine that Ptah’s son was called Ra, meaning ‘Sun/Daylight’. Its Igbo equivalent in Afa (the cult language of Igbo native priests) is still Ra which means ‘Sun/Daylight’.

The grandson of Ra was called Osiris by the Greeks and Asar by the Egyptians. Osiris was associated with the number “seven”. This same view is given recognition by the Igbo among whom Asaa means “seven”. Osiris is associated with horrific cosmic energy (seven). In the Igbo geometry, the number “seven” is associated with the highest cosmic energy. From Nnaji’s detailed explanation of this meaning of the mystic number (seven) in the Igbo cosmology, we shall cite a little to broaden our understanding of the term.

The Igbo have various esoteric ideas associated with the figure seven. Seven is usually the climax of some mystic activities that are connected to energy and forces. Some folktales recognized this mystery of seven.

Seven means the climax of power. It marks the completion of a revolutionary cycle in different mystic schools. It identifies the realm (position) where the highest power lies and a height almost unattainable. One of the ancient Igbo proverbs says thus, aria ugwu asa, erie nri asa, when one climbs seven hills (seven mystic heights), he eats seven food (attains higher state of consciousness). From ancient time, the Igbo associated the terminal height or mystic realms with the number seven. To become a member of Ndi Ichie in Agulu, the undertakers are made to chew seven seeds of Ose Nshi (Alligator pepper) to be launched into the spirit of the ancestors.        Except the seeds are up to seven, he would not see aught.  (Aspects, 149, 152)

Egypt’s most ancient god is called Amun/Amen/Ammun. He is a god residing under the earth; an abode known to ancient Egypt as Aemnta. The name of this god implies “Hidden inside the bowels of Earth”. According to Martin Bernal,the word Amen is derived from imn which is pronounced Amana. These two words have Igbo origins. Igbo equivalent of imn is ime ana, and means “inside the earth”, while amana is equally an Igbo word referring to the Earth religion, further supporting an originally Igbo-based Egyptian religion and civilization. It means original, main, integral or son of the soil. Egyptian borrowings from Igbo are in two groups: words borrowed from Orlu/Okigwe dialectal family are far older in chronological time than those borrowed from the Anambra dialectal family or Nsukka. The reason for their chronological order might be because Orlu/Okigwe are held by Igbo historiansto belong to the autochthonous (non-migrant descendants of Homo erectus) group. This implies that the earliest roots of Egyptian civilization, when the gods and not men ruled Egypt, began among the autochthons of Igbo land, but did not end there. Latter-day migrant Igbo priest-kings continued to exert influences in Pharaohnic Egyptian civilization.

(iv) The Fourth Instance:

Certain Mystic Emblem in Egypt Belonged to Nsude/Nsukka Civilization

Our concentration in the Nsude/Nsukka civilization discussed in the two chapters above was basically on the socio-technological strength of that civilization because of the surprise it creates to know that at a time, deep beyond reckoning; the ancient fathers have had such incomparable experience. It was a big surprise. Being carried away by such unexpected findings, we gave little or no attention to the theological structure of the ages. We did not see any need for this, probably, because such theological conceptions did not seem too strange to us since we were to it, inheritors. It rather became crucial when it was discovered that this theological conception formed the historical marker for the origin of many ancient civilization; call it Sumer or Egyptian. Religion becomes expedient here as the most credible makers of ancient history. The ancient communities were dominantly idol worshipers, whose gods served several functions as they were designed purposefully. Therefore, to study the historical relationship of the ancient communities, the names and functions of these gods are needed. This was the situation with the ancient Egypt as discussed below.

The problem in identifying issues related to the abodes and names of the Egyptian gods is occasioned on the nature of translation in the written scripts in Egypt which we suspected had been heavily influenced by the newly invented Hieroglyphics after the first five to seventh dynasty of pharaohs. Because of this reason, many of the civilizers’ word of Igbo origin underwent changes by replacement or clipping of some letters, while others were joined with new letters of Egyptian origin. All these showed that language changes, but gradually as Dr Pegel opined. The information in the Egyptian Book of the Dead directly points to the ancient Nsude/Nsukka civilization as the origin of the gods of Egypt and the source of the entire mystery known to Egypt about life in the afterlife.       

A vital pointer to the home of the Egyptian Tuat is revealed in the Book of the Dead in the following ways,

Round in a circle; the space enclosed by it represents the Tuator Egyptian underworld, wherein dwelt the gods of the dead and the departed souls. This view is supported by the scene from the sarcophagus of Seti I. (Fig. 1). In the watery space above the bark is the figure of the god bent round in a circle with his toes touching his head, and upon his head stands the goddess Nut with outstretched hands receiving the disk of the sun.[2] In the space enclosed by the body of the god is the legend, "This is Osiris; his circuit is the Tuat."[3] Though nearly all Egyptologists agree about the meaning of the word being "the place of departed souls," yet it has been translated in various ways, different scholars locating the Tuat in different parts of creation. Dr. Brugsch and others place it under the earth,[4] others have supposed it to be the space which exists between the arms of Shu and the body of Nut,[5] but the most recent theory put forth is that it was situated neither above nor below the earth, but beyond Egypt to the north, from which it was separated by the mountain range which, as the Egyptians thought, supported the sky.[6] The region of the Tuat was a long, mountainous, narrow valley with a river running along it; starting from the east it made its way to the north, and then taking a circular direction it came back to the east. In the Tuat lived all manner of fearful monsters and beasts, and here was the country through which the sun passed during the twelve hours of the night; according to one view he traversed this region in splendour, and according to another he died and became subject to Osiris the king, god and judge of the kingdom of the departed (P.88).

The Tuat was given different pages of the Book of the Dead, but all the explanations are captured in the excerpt above as we shall discuss in detail pointing at the different pages. We may summarize the abode of Tuat through the highlighted parts of the excerpt.

Round in a circle; the space enclosed by it represents the Tuat or Egyptian underworld, wherein dwelt the gods of the dead and the departed souls.his (this) circuit is the Tuat.It was situated neither above nor below the earth, but beyond Egypt.The region of the Tuat was a long, mountainous, narrow valley with a river running along it.

The fact that the Tuat is circular in form and that it is situated beyond Egypt: not above or below the earth, shows that it points to a place not well known to Egyptology. The Heart of the Tuat, called Restau,is translated to mean“underworld”.It is located on the south of Naarutf,and it is the northern door.

Naarutf, (also called An-rutf) is a section or door of the Tuat which lies to the north of Re-stau; the meaning of the word is "it never sprouteth." (Dead 110-111)

NaarutforAn-rutf means ‘It never Sprouteth’ or Place where there is neither Sprouting of Seeds nor of growth. Apart from the two words being cognates of Igbo words ana erutefu and Naerutefu which mean “Land that Supports no Growth” and which CannotSprout, respectively, there is an obvious instance of the place in Nsukka till date. Looking at the Igbo equivalents of the word, Naarutf, a conscious user of the language would deduce two different phrases that have the same/similar ideas.An erutefu directly means “less sprout land”, means “at less spout.”In the chapter four above, we discussed issues connected to Enunu-Ebe tree in Nsukka; the tree of the gods which forbids birds from perching and grass growing under it. Round about the position of the tree and within the boundary of its shed, no living plant grows. This is an obvious reference to the plane of no sprout. The northern door of the place where the sun rises implies in this case the northern area of Igbo land, which is Nsukka. Nsukka is located in Northern Igbo land.particularly, the position of the tuat is directly opposite to the forest of Enunu-Ebe which lies at the northern part of the land.

Waddell in his comparative study of Sumerian symbol-writing and Egyptian hieroglyphics found that the Egyptian word for ‘desert’ occurs in Sumerian inscriptions under the name Du or Dun, which is written in Egyptwith the three hills and two hills hieroglyphic letters. He stressed that, over the years, the Three Hills and Two Hills hieroglyphics letters have been read by Egyptians as ‘Desert’. He noted that the actual Sumerian meaning for ‘desert’ is “mound, earthworks or sand hills (in other words, these hills were piled up sand)” (P.320). On the road to Nsukka University town, one is shocked to actually see on both sides of the road, one after the other, the actual Two Hills and Three Hills illustrated above, looking every inch with no trees and high foliage on any of them. This confirms the Sumerian explanation for the Three Hills and Two Hills as “sand mounds”, is in the ancient Igbo of the Nsude/Nsukka civilization.

The Egyptian City of the Sun was known by the ancient name An.Egyptian texts used three phrases to explain An. They are:

            -The mouth of the earth.

            - The eastern door of heaven.

            - The Gateway to Heaven.

The Igbo word for ‘Hole’ is Onu. There is a hole in the ground in the Lejja shrine at Dunu Oka. The hole is covered with a mound of black iron slag. The villagers claim that the hole is endless and thatritual offerings are made to it at annual festivals to the Dead ancestors. A similar explanation of this tuat by the Egyptian Book of the Dead (P.88) maintains that the tuat is,

Round in a circle; the space enclosed by it represents the Tuat or Egyptian underworld, wherein dwelt the gods of the dead and the departed souls.

This of course is “the mouth of the earth” that leads into the home of the ancestors known in Egypt as Tuat. On the same page, the book revealed that the Egyptian tuat is not above the world or under the world; it is within the earth planet. But, amazing enough, the place is beyond Egypt (i.e it is not in Egypt). The image of the tuat is shown below.

The Egyptian Book of the Dead reveals that,

Egyptian tradition made the sun to end his daily course at Abydos, and to enter into the Tuat at this place through a "gap" in the mountains called in Egyptian peq. These mountains lay near to the town; and in the XIIth dynasty it was believed that the souls of the dead made their way into the other world by the valley which led through them to the great Oasis, where some placed the Elysian Fields (P. 110).

This idea was borrowed to give explanations to the bowel of the earth as shown above, a concept which ancient Egypt referred to as Amenta. “The Christian Egyptians or Copts used the word Amend to translate the Greek word Hades, to which they attributed all the ideas which their heathen ancestors had associated with the Amenta of the Book of the Dead.” In Greek mythology, Hades was the king of the underworld and god of the dead. He presided over funeral rites and defended the right of the dead to do burial. Hades was also the god of the hidden wealth of the earth, from the fertile soil with nourished seed-grain, to the mined wealth of gold, silver and other metals. The deciphering of Peq or Hades in Lejja proves Nsukka the home of the gods.

Another crucial aspect of Egyptian mystic emblems found in Nsukka is the original Benen which sits on a mound. Benben is associated with the sun god, basically that of fertility. According to the Book of the Dead,

Benbent, the name given to many sun-shrines in Egypt, and also to one of the places in the other world where the deceased (structure) dwelt (P.111).

There is an ancient dilapidated model of the Benben in Lejja. It is a conical structure made of mud, with huge round blocks of slag piled around its base in a graded step-pyramid style. The Lejja example of the Egyptian Benben is called Odegwoo. Inhabitants of Lejja related that Odegwoo is associated with fertility and procreation, and that all children born in the town are ritually registered and dedicated to it by the shrine priests. This in fact links the Lejja conical structure with the phallic sexual and procreative Benben of Egypt’s Heliopolis, for both are procreative and are associated with the process of sexual siring of children in both cultures! In both cases the Benben is understood to be a representative with conical structure.

The entry on Ancient Egyptian Heliopolis says its Egyptian vernacular name also meant “Place of Pillars”. We took special notice of the fact that almost every single slag at the Dunu Oka Shrine in Lejja is shaped like a pillar. This gave the immediate impression of a broken down fortress.    

Finally, the continuation of the civilization of the ancient time from one hand, people and nation was to showcase, not only historical contiguity, but to show in another case how one led to the other. We have examined four features of these historical markers and relationship among similar emblems. No other civilization can truly prove more accurate than these. That is why we concluded that ancient Egypt was civilized by the departed hunters and gatherers who finally settled at the Nile Valley because of constant supply of water.