it's so important that africans tell their own stories, promote their cultures/histories and brand themselves. ilike this and i'll be looking for this book.
One thing I notice about youtube. Whenever someone african or of african descent has something positive to say about their heritage or history, out of nowhere you get all these hate filled bigots posting all kinds of insults and degrading comments. I mean, if you hate us that much why even watch a video that does not concern you or your kind of people? It would seem logical to steer clear of something you don't like. It just seems weird to me to put all this energy into hate.
Bolle Trie White supremacy is a religion followed by hundreds of millions of people including Africans. The central belief of this religion is everything African of associated with African/melenated people is negative. These people are mentally deranged by being socially conditioned from their parents to hate Blackness.
I'm so proud of you Papa! You make young Afrikans such as myself proud of our continent. Yes African designers should be looking closer to home for ideas, it is the exportation of talent that is slowing our progress. If we can find a way to bring the flow of ideas back home, Afrika will rediscover its past glory!
I think the information has tremendous value. These writings discuss what we know was the advanced state of African Agriculture, Science, Astronomy, Metallurgy, Medicine, Trade Transactions, and Industry. Even how to make black soap or the paper and the ink/dye the scripts were created with, and probably many other surprises once they are fully read . . etc. You get a solid picture of our African societies in these urban trading centers like Ghana and Mali and Nok, Kemet, Nubia, Zimbabwe when you can see what they were making, trading, selling, buying, observing, cooking, mining, smelting and etc. Africa was in its 3rd golden age just before the slave trade,(Arab and European) depopulation, and then colonialism sent her into a very dark age. These manuscrips, as well as the truly ancient ones written in ORIGINAL AFRICAN SCRIPTS (Medu Neter, Mende' & Nsibidi) let us see trough a great window before the invasions into Africa's independent past, and FORCE us to recognize that Africa has a literary history, that the Ancients have already written Africas pre-colonial history for us, regardless of what the 19th century historians and mainstream academia can say . . . . Thanks for sharing
From my early childhood, I was socially engineered to think we, Africans, have no a proud history, but I had an internal feeling that tells me there must be a hidden truth about Africa, something was missing to give me a full picture. Lucky me, my love for our society is very intense that, I started to research to prove that we have a history of glory, and through time, I found that we not only did we had history of glory, we were more than that warriors, inventors, creative, natural, humanistic, ....etc. As a result I found myself wondering what more is hidden for me to know. We have much to learn. Thank you, you have summed our history beautifully.
True. Responsibility must be taken. First, a whole culture can't see themselves as "individuals owned by someone" which they were taught during colonization. A culture becomes powerful when they see themselves as a unit that must succeed at all costs. The people that are conscious to this must nudge the other awake.
This presentation is one the greatest lectures given: Dr. Thoephile Obenga (Dr. Diop's student) has been speaking these truths for 35 years. Now, the world has to listen!
He's not saying that all of modern society is based on Ancient African society. He's just trying to teach us about the different writings systems that have originated there. When he talks about knowing African history, he's saying that Africans need to be more aware of their own history in the same way that people in other continents are aware of theirs. He's not bashing your culture or it's accomplishments, he's just trying to demonstrate the importance of knowing the history of where you live.
Fantastic Talk. Very key for global designers who are interested in increasing their visual vocabulary. Beyond that, this history is awesome. Would love to tour his school.
Brilliant talk. Just brilliant. I would like to see this talk as essential material for discussion in schools around the world, (especially around Black History Month). 🌍🙌🏾
Excellent talk. I dont know why people bother to try to rubbish Africa. Its the motherland of entire mankind. Africans are lucky to occupy the motherland permanently. Poverty and wealth are transient phases. He who is reach shall be poor and he who is poor shall be rich. This is the cycle of nature. Nothing in the world or haevens can stop that.
I disagree. Africa is geographical poor in many ways, and unless you are talking on a geological time-scale, nothing will change that. Insufficient water, the wrong kinds of animals, and tribal thinking make it likely that it will remain, as it has for thousands of years, a victim to the weather, greed, and the impossibility for large parts of it to be used for agriculture. That's not a cycle of nature, nor a phase.
Mat Broomfield you do know that Africa has some of the fastest developing and growing cities in the world (for example Lagos), with more and more people every day coming online, using smartphones etc? Africa is changing much faster than is being reported. it's kind of bizarre how little positive news are reported from the whole continent.. i think BBC has done a decent job in recent years, but many other news organizations most certainly have not. for example, i live in Finland and pretty much every bit of news you get from Africa is endless doom and gloom, which makes people think it's a lost cause and Africans should just starve away so they're not a burden... seriously effed up.
Mat Broomfield I notice you are God. You obviously have worked out the world in such a way that Europe will remain rich FOREVER. Wow! If only Europe had always been rich for (say 2000 years) I would believe you. Sir Broomfield God I bow to you.
Then what was the motivation for Europeans to go there? Why would they establish permanent civilian settlements or military settlements long after the decline of the Trans Atlantic Trade? If not for resources then why did they stay if their humanitarian efforts were wasting time and money? Were they pulling the same deal in the Americas? Why were they willing to spare money to help out "the natives" before having solved the major widespread social and economic conflicts within British, French, and other European societies? Were Marx et al complaining about problems which had spontaneously appeared or were imaginary or were these real serious problems which had plagued Europe for centuries before?
@@Martial-Mat I mean you get all your silicon...gold diamonds emeralds ruby's silver and other precious metals from here... The republic of the congo has the cost of about american and Brittains GDP combined in precious metals
lovely. i never knew but it makes sense that all humans have been capable. many great societies have risen and fallen and surely many now will also rise and fall in cycles.
Wow, I am haitian and I am just discovering this. In haitian voodoo religion, we have something called "Veve", but never knew it was a form of writing language. It's very interesting to see how my ancestors kept on the tradition. Until today, not anyone can translate these symbols. It's only known by the voodoo priests and people who are deep in voodoo. I used to hate voodoo I must confess. Now I understand how dump and stupid I was. It's crazy what christianity does to black people arround the globe. We must remember who we are.
The symbol of Jokwe pictograph looks really like the Chinese knot which represents happiness and auspicious. It’s interesting to find similar visual element in diverse cultures especially when they convey completely different meanings.
The farming techniques they used in the USA came from Africa. The Portugese when they traveled there said African textile production and farming techniques beat their own. Plus inventions are at a exponential curve, combine that with Africa being conquered and torn apart, it stands that they might of missed a portion of time when inventions were coming to light.
This is an awesome delivery of great scholarly work on Africa's contribution to writing systems, some dating back to the BC era by our very own "Mzee/Mwalimu" Saki Mafundikwa, a Zimbabwean. His research into Africa's various ancient writing systems is meant to inspire both graphic and architectural designers from Africa to look within our own African heritage and not ape western designs which are, in most cases, also inspired by the ancient African symbolic languages but presented in a European/western context. The presentation is thus an awakening, an inspiration, a story of Africa's journey into civilization presented by an African brother to the world.
I am native European and feel very embarrassed by such comments! Your comment is so damn narcissistic. If you don't know what narcissism is, please consider one thing - it is contagious. The man in the video was talking about Africa and its culture. It was quite interesting and aesthetic too. Why do you have to downplay it and start boasting about yourself? There are also other similarly stupid comments here. Why such competition and downplaying of the Africans? Did they do anything bad to you?
It is obvious that the impulse to communicate in written form is endemic to humanity in all its racial groups and was not limited to the indo-european experience. That drive to speak to listeners at a distance is worth acknowledgement. Have any of those languages survived? Have they adapted their ancient languages to include new words for new things?
Basically? When european's invaded/colonised Africa, they ripped a lot of the kingdom's down, and divided Africa up into arbitrary states, leading to conflict.
looking inwards.. when you look inwards he means expression, that inner creativity, not to copy someone else, even looking inwards could use an outward idea but express it from that witch is within from that individual. good thing he said that, its personal, meaningful, expression of the everything that makes them african. if your not looking within, i reckon the person could be running out of ideas soon lool
Regardless of whether or not africa has been "exploited" whether it be by religion or empires...you can still get a very authentic view of it if you know where to look.
Greater things come easy if you know where to look. Remember that is the emptiness in the middle that makes possible for the wheel to do the work for you.
The scripts of Jokwe, Ekpe, Ethiopia and Ituri are very ancient probably some centuries before Europe laid foot on the continent while the rest seems have came about 400 years ago.
Its because much of African history and achievements have been suppressed from the slavery and colonial days which has caused many misconceptions even today. Much of us dont know about our own history and culture as a byproduct of this and so in a way we do have something to prove, to ourselves and the world as still today there are many misconceptions about Africa
This is one of my favorite TED talks, because I love the subject of linguistics and the history of languages. I looked up his book, Afrikan Alphabets: The story of writing in Afrika, and HOLY CRAP IS THIS BOOK EXPENSIVE. Used on Amazon is around $200. New on Barnes & Noble is over $2,000!! I really just wanted it as an eBook, but can't find it in that format... Ah, well. :\
Recently, one question has been bugging me. Why do we write our indigenous languages using the English alphabet? IsiZulu, isiXhosa, Tsonga, tshiVenda, isiNdebele, Sotho, Pedi,etc...So this video is a good place to start.
having pride in your continents early writing systems after hundreds of years of misinformation and oppression of culture is not racist. what exactly was racist about this?
Indeed, if it weren't for the diseases the Native Americans, as well as the South Americans the Europeans would have had a very difficult time. Bare in mind that in South America there were in the region of 30 million people before the Europeans arrived, with a multitude of cultures and religions. A massive percentage of this population was wiped out by disease in a short period. At the end of the day the victors write the history, however having lived in South America I've heard the other side.
As a graphic designer, educator, and historian, I appreciate new discoveries and research that broaden understanding of writing and typographic history-especially those presented here by Mafundikwa, which help de-center the European/American narrative. For me, all knowledge is good... and evidence is evidence; it leads wherever it leads. There are, however, some issues to consider in the material Mafundikwa offers here: - As far as I am able to understand, the Bantu, Eljagham, Akan, Yoruba, and Npalo signs are not writing, per se (according to accepted scholarly definitions of writing): they are logographs, and there are not enough characters to be able to replicate all human thought and activity (as there are, for instance, in Asian logograph-based writing). they are more akin to the late Paleolithic signs studied now by Dr. Genevieve Von Petzinger (see her book, "The First Signs"); they are meaningful symbols, certainly, but they each signify one concept as a unit and thus do not seem to allow recombination to generate new or different unanticipated thoughts. If there is scholarship around this particular issue, I would love to know about it so I can add to my research. - The Wadi el Hol inscriptions are indeed located in the Sinai Peninsula (so: yes, in Africa); but the writers were of Semitic origin (Canaanites, most likely Phoenician mercenaries and day laborers); and they are phonetic, initial-letter-sound simplifications of Egyptian hieroglyphic words (and based loosely on the corresponding hieroglyphs), created using a kind of rebus method. They do date to around 1800 BCE, but.... - Mafundikwa's timeline for the invention of writing by the Sumerians and the Egyptians is off by about 1,000 years. Proto-Cuneiform (pictogram-based) originates around 3400-3300 BCE; it evolves into refined syllabary Cuneiform by around 2700 BCE. Egyptian Hieroglyphics emerge around the same time, with the supplementary Hieratic Script appearing about 3100 BCE.
Well that's the problem. Most people don't want to learn. Most people just want to know. What most people know is what has been told to them or shown to them mixed with and coupled with their own preconceived stereotypes and biases. It is rare that people scratch beyond the surface of what they know.
Really? Where have you been? That debate is settled. 2017 GNOME project tested 151 mummies from 3000 years old to the Roman period.www.nature.com/news/mummy-dna-unravels-ancient-egyptians-ancestry-1.22069 This was the largest project ever on Egyptian DNA.
@@vinrusso821 that test is baswd of the mitochondrial dna of 3 mummies in the later part of Egyptian history from one region. There ate plenty of ither dna studies that say the ancient Egyptians were black. Look up the amarna mummies who were closer to the first dynasty and were in the south and tell me what you find
@@halohair1118 Wrong, you need to read better. The mummies were from 3000 years old up to the Roman era. Face it, they looked basically like Egyptians today. They're art always had Nubians black, and they reddish. Why?
@@vinrusso821 actually it is you who needs to read better. There is a difference between 3000 BCE and 3000 years ago. 3000 years ago is late in Egyptian history buddy. Egyptian history started around 3000 BCE, 5000 years ago. Lets do the math shall we? We live around 2000 AD and Egypt began around 3000 BC, so 3000 BC is negative because it is before christ. 2000 - -3000 becomes 2000 plus 3000 which equals 5000. So either you can't read or do basic Algebra ill let you pick your poison. Between the time those mummies were made and the first Egyptian dynasty it is literally equal to the time between us now and the days of Christ. Egypt had changed drastically by then. You also ignored how i said it was based off of mitochondrial DNA, which accounts for a very small part of your DNA. As i also said, there are ither studies that say the mummies had mostly african dnam using dna tests are not conclusive and they don't all agree. And there are PLENTY of paintings where they painted themselves the same color as Nubians, literally black often times. As a matter of fact they painted themselves different from hittites and other near eastern people such as the famous picture of the battle of kadesh. But yall wanna focus on one or two paintings where they are slightly darker than nubians, ignoring the fact they painted themsleves and Nubian the same color. Many of the Nubian were painted "red"
Those who know do not talk. Those who talk do not know. Stop talking, meditate in silence, blunt your sharpness, release your worries, harmonize your inner light, and become one with the dust. Doing this is the called the dark and mysterious identity. Those who have achieved the mysterious identity cannot be approached, and they cannot be alienated. They cannot be benefited nor harmed. They cannot be made noble nor to suffer disgrace. This makes them the most noble.
Y'all should look at Veve designs related the voudou. Haitian people use it today and it was passed down from Africa. I do not do voodoo, but I was always fascinated by the designs. Google Veve voodoo
+Jess JayEel It's nobody's business if you do vodoo or not so there's no need to remove yourself from it. It was good enough for your ancestors so respect it and make no apologies or excuses. Thanks for the info.
MultiSciGeek Because what is promoted always has negative connotations. My grandmother thinks my grandfather died from a curse because of jealousy. Also Haitians are big on spirits, so the perception is that voodoo is associated with evil spirits while Christianity is associated with good spirits. I don't know much about voodoo but what i heard is that it is a combination of good and evil. What you direct your focus is what will manifest.
And did you not hear the whole portion about the first alphabet in human history, did that just pass you by as well? The Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza are monumental achievements not just for the Ancient Egyptians but also antiquity as a whole, but they are not all Africa has to offer, pay attention to the video, and you WILL learn something new.
just a sidenote - 4:20 Mafundikwa says that Liberia had a long tradition of literacy long before their first contact with Europeans in the 1800s. Thing is the nowadays Liberia territory was probably visited countless times from the fithteenth century onwards. Since the Portuguese navigation era started late 1400s and by 1498 the sea route to India was first completed. That meant navigating along most of the African coast, and along their way, portuguese soldiers, merchants and priests built colonies and made contact with the local peoples.
Sérgio Torres A great talk! It is always tempting to imitate others. It's a much harder task to take a long good look inwards and find what lays within
Sérgio Torres A great talk! It is always tempting to imitate others. It's a much harder task to take a long good look inwards and find what lays within
As Oberonjames said, progress is not linear. Compare the US and Japan from 50 years ago to today for example. Going back several thousand years and Africa and the middle east had many of the most advanced states of their time, empires have risen and fallen and to the victor have gone the spoils, as much in economic/cultural/technological as political, and so progress has been made. In the past several centuries a European influence has been the dominant; yet today a more global society grows.
01:00 The alphabet is already based on images. All letters are abstractions of Egyptian Hieroglyphs. For instance A is the abstraction of a cow's head with two horns, called Aleph in Phoenician, which became Alpha in Greek.
I feel some people have some misguided jealousy and/or envy when it comes to talking about African achievement and positivity. It is social programmed and engineered into many people in Europe (subsequently around the world), through the media and bias/negative historical writings, but thankfully not all, because individuals like yourself refuse to subscribe to such a mentality.
i didn't know about them not creating a language for those reasons, actually sounds interesting. do you have a link to it anywhere? i'd love to read up on it
I must get his book. I do have one question, i am reading the comments here and i am wondering why are white people so triggered about African history, culture, tradition and achievements, its almost pathological with you guys, why?
I was thinking the same thing. The way I like to look at it is this: the same way Afrikans like myself are unlearning the idea of Western superiority and colonial indoctrination, is also exactly what white people need to unlearn (since their cultural history/identity is built on it). So instead of responding with hate and feeling anger towards them, I realise that they too are victims of a false narrative. The only difference is some are not willing to unlearn it because they've woven it into their identity, and it became a platform for their self esteem. To dismantle these narratives would be to break down their pride (which I don't think is a bad thing), while reinstating our own pride as Afrikans. Naturally, that causes friction. I hope that with time we all realise the beauty that comes in cherishing other people without the need to think ourselves better than them.
Africans had writing systems. But it needs to be pointed out the difference between those systems that used symbols to represent concepts or ideas vs those that could be used to record events. It is true that many sub Saharan Africans in west,central and southern Africa had writing that represented ideas or concepts but not many had the type of writing that allowed them to leave written records. This is one of the main reasons not as much is known about pre-colonial sub Saharan history because not enough people left written records that recorded events in their histories.
Well 1) These concepts actually can communicate and record history, for example, we’ve found been plenty of Nsibidi writings pertaining to court cases , and Vai writings about sacrifices. 2) The reason why history wasn’t typically written down however was not because they couldn’t, but rather because we used jeli/griots (musical historians) to do it instead.
@Crowd Pleeza actually archaeologist,and linguist only just now starting study pre-colonial history, so you cant make that statement with certainly, and frankly its dismissive.
Sorry, I was talking about narcissism not in some mythological sense, but as it exists in the real life. It is a complex phenomenon and has more depth and consequences than one initially could imagine. With it being contagious I meant that it is contagious to the people AGAINST whom it happens to be directed. Which is of course pretty sad. Ultimately, everyone is (!) or will be a victim this way.
Actually they were united as one nation, that's why the vulture and the crown are pieced together to show that the country lies under one rule, one king, one throne.
Ancient Africa=great, because it was untouched by colonialism. Modern Africa-raped of resources. People gold and resources (1400s-1860) these racial comments damn. Greece and Rome stole half their greatness. The hunter always tells the lions story.
They can't help it, Science has demonstrated their are pathological, psychological and biological deficiency of melanin which makes one Human, Humane and capable of embracing HUMANITY!!!
Helena Blavatsky and the Alice A Bailey teachings, and recently Benjamin Crème who has elaborated a little more on these teachings, personally the Benjamin Crème information is easier to understand, all these people have a telepathic rapport with a Master of wisdom or in Christian terms Saints of Old.
Yes that was the case and of course there was/is something that as gone on that was/is not right but it does not give any other person the right to take full advantage and poke their noses into another person business
I need a 2 hour lecture from this man
it's so important that africans tell their own stories, promote their cultures/histories and brand themselves. ilike this and i'll be looking for this book.
EXACTLY
Mr. Saki Mafundikwa hits the nail right on the head. Love this post. Thankful that it was available!
One thing I notice about youtube. Whenever someone african or of african descent has something positive to say about their heritage or history, out of nowhere you get all these hate filled bigots posting all kinds of insults and degrading comments. I mean, if you hate us that much why even watch a video that does not concern you or your kind of people? It would seem logical to steer clear of something you don't like. It just seems weird to me to put all this energy into hate.
They're race voyeurs. Not satisfied with getting on with their lives so they look to get their fix by trolling videos on non-whites.
The person above is clearly one of those lol. A study from the 80s...lmao, how laughable.
C Mayne you have no clue of what you’re talking about, none at all.
Bolle Trie White supremacy is a religion followed by hundreds of millions of people including Africans. The central belief of this religion is everything African of associated with African/melenated people is negative. These people are mentally deranged by being socially conditioned from their parents to hate Blackness.
@@NonameWriter So every study from the 80s is wrong?
I'm so proud of you Papa! You make young Afrikans such as myself proud of our continent. Yes African designers should be looking closer to home for ideas, it is the exportation of talent that is slowing our progress. If we can find a way to bring the flow of ideas back home, Afrika will rediscover its past glory!
I think the information has tremendous value. These writings discuss what we know was the advanced state of African Agriculture, Science, Astronomy, Metallurgy, Medicine, Trade Transactions, and Industry. Even how to make black soap or the paper and the ink/dye the scripts were created with, and probably many other surprises once they are fully read . . etc. You get a solid picture of our African societies in these urban trading centers like Ghana and Mali and Nok, Kemet, Nubia, Zimbabwe when you can see what they were making, trading, selling, buying, observing, cooking, mining, smelting and etc. Africa was in its 3rd golden age just before the slave trade,(Arab and European) depopulation, and then colonialism sent her into a very dark age. These manuscrips, as well as the truly ancient ones written in ORIGINAL AFRICAN SCRIPTS (Medu Neter, Mende' & Nsibidi) let us see trough a great window before the invasions into Africa's independent past, and FORCE us to recognize that Africa has a literary history, that the Ancients have already written Africas pre-colonial history for us, regardless of what the 19th century historians and mainstream academia can say . . . . Thanks for sharing
From my early childhood, I was socially engineered to think we, Africans, have no a proud history, but I had an internal feeling that tells me there must be a hidden truth about Africa, something was missing to give me a full picture. Lucky me, my love for our society is very intense that, I started to research to prove that we have a history of glory, and through time, I found that we not only did we had history of glory, we were more than that warriors, inventors, creative, natural, humanistic, ....etc. As a result I found myself wondering what more is hidden for me to know. We have much to learn. Thank you, you have summed our history beautifully.
DUB SHAK i
True. Responsibility must be taken. First, a whole culture can't see themselves as "individuals owned by someone" which they were taught during colonization. A culture becomes powerful when they see themselves as a unit that must succeed at all costs. The people that are conscious to this must nudge the other awake.
It's good to see Continental Afrikans promoting the motherland and dispelling the myths and lies that have held us back for so long. Great job!
Watch the channel Hometeam History for more African history.
What is “ African “ history? Are Africans one civilization or what?
Many THANKS for these writting values of African trasures. Many respects to our mother "Africa".
Is North Africa and subsaharan Africa one ?
This presentation is one the greatest lectures given: Dr. Thoephile Obenga (Dr. Diop's student) has been speaking these truths for 35 years. Now, the world has to listen!
I think this is my favorite TEDtalk.
He's not saying that all of modern society is based on Ancient African society. He's just trying to teach us about the different writings systems that have originated there. When he talks about knowing African history, he's saying that Africans need to be more aware of their own history in the same way that people in other continents are aware of theirs. He's not bashing your culture or it's accomplishments, he's just trying to demonstrate the importance of knowing the history of where you live.
OMG I recognized and understood everything he said!
Fantastic Talk. Very key for global designers who are interested in increasing their visual vocabulary. Beyond that, this history is awesome. Would love to tour his school.
Brilliant talk. Just brilliant. I would like to see this talk as essential material for discussion in schools around the world, (especially around Black History Month). 🌍🙌🏾
Excellent talk. I dont know why people bother to try to rubbish Africa. Its the motherland of entire mankind. Africans are lucky to occupy the motherland permanently. Poverty and wealth are transient phases. He who is reach shall be poor and he who is poor shall be rich. This is the cycle of nature. Nothing in the world or haevens can stop that.
I disagree. Africa is geographical poor in many ways, and unless you are talking on a geological time-scale, nothing will change that. Insufficient water, the wrong kinds of animals, and tribal thinking make it likely that it will remain, as it has for thousands of years, a victim to the weather, greed, and the impossibility for large parts of it to be used for agriculture. That's not a cycle of nature, nor a phase.
Mat Broomfield you do know that Africa has some of the fastest developing and growing cities in the world (for example Lagos), with more and more people every day coming online, using smartphones etc? Africa is changing much faster than is being reported. it's kind of bizarre how little positive news are reported from the whole continent.. i think BBC has done a decent job in recent years, but many other news organizations most certainly have not. for example, i live in Finland and pretty much every bit of news you get from Africa is endless doom and gloom, which makes people think it's a lost cause and Africans should just starve away so they're not a burden... seriously effed up.
Mat Broomfield I notice you are God. You obviously have worked out the world in such a way that Europe will remain rich FOREVER. Wow! If only Europe had always been rich for (say 2000 years) I would believe you. Sir Broomfield God I bow to you.
Then what was the motivation for Europeans to go there? Why would they establish permanent civilian settlements or military settlements long after the decline of the Trans Atlantic Trade? If not for resources then why did they stay if their humanitarian efforts were wasting time and money? Were they pulling the same deal in the Americas? Why were they willing to spare money to help out "the natives" before having solved the major widespread social and economic conflicts within British, French, and other European societies? Were Marx et al complaining about problems which had spontaneously appeared or were imaginary or were these real serious problems which had plagued Europe for centuries before?
@@Martial-Mat I mean you get all your silicon...gold diamonds emeralds ruby's silver and other precious metals from here... The republic of the congo has the cost of about american and Brittains GDP combined in precious metals
Proud to see my heart President Cheikh Anta Diop :D Nice speech sir
lovely. i never knew but it makes sense that all humans have been capable. many great societies have risen and fallen and surely many now will also rise and fall in cycles.
Wow, I am haitian and I am just discovering this. In haitian voodoo religion, we have something called "Veve", but never knew it was a form of writing language. It's very interesting to see how my ancestors kept on the tradition. Until today, not anyone can translate these symbols. It's only known by the voodoo priests and people who are deep in voodoo. I used to hate voodoo I must confess. Now I understand how dump and stupid I was. It's crazy what christianity does to black people arround the globe. We must remember who we are.
The symbol of Jokwe pictograph looks really like the Chinese knot which represents happiness and auspicious. It’s interesting to find similar visual element in diverse cultures especially when they convey completely different meanings.
>Before the invasions you had one culture worldwide...
The farming techniques they used in the USA came from Africa. The Portugese when they traveled there said African textile production and farming techniques beat their own. Plus inventions are at a exponential curve, combine that with Africa being conquered and torn apart, it stands that they might of missed a portion of time when inventions were coming to light.
Watch the channel Hometeam History for more African history.
This is an awesome delivery of great scholarly work on Africa's contribution to writing systems, some dating back to the BC era by our very own "Mzee/Mwalimu" Saki Mafundikwa, a Zimbabwean. His research into Africa's various ancient writing systems is meant to inspire both graphic and architectural designers from Africa to look within our own African heritage and not ape western designs which are, in most cases, also inspired by the ancient African symbolic languages but presented in a European/western context. The presentation is thus an awakening, an inspiration, a story of Africa's journey into civilization presented by an African brother to the world.
Watch the channel Hometeam History for more African history.
There are literally no sub-Saharan writing systems
@@jimmynegatron4619 there are literally no west european writing systems LOL
@@NoRockinMansLand Nice one mega mind, what's the one you are using?
@@jimmynegatron4619 latin isn't derived from your people, western europeans took it
FASCINATING!
I am native European and feel very embarrassed by such comments!
Your comment is so damn narcissistic. If you don't know what narcissism is, please consider one thing - it is contagious.
The man in the video was talking about Africa and its culture. It was quite interesting and aesthetic too. Why do you have to downplay it and start boasting about yourself?
There are also other similarly stupid comments here. Why such competition and downplaying of the Africans? Did they do anything bad to you?
amazing info. respect the past and embrace the ancient
Ohhh I want more of this desperately!
Oh yeah there is also Gicandi of the Kikuyu peoples who also had a system of writing which was also pretty ancient.
It is obvious that the impulse to communicate in written form is endemic to humanity in all its racial groups and was not limited to the indo-european experience. That drive to speak to listeners at a distance is worth acknowledgement. Have any of those languages survived? Have they adapted their ancient languages to include new words for new things?
Basically? When european's invaded/colonised Africa, they ripped a lot of the kingdom's down, and divided Africa up into arbitrary states, leading to conflict.
Flying the flag! I'm interested in finding a "historically enlightened" form for contemporary African architecture. This is very inspiring. Thanks
looking inwards.. when you look inwards he means expression, that inner creativity, not to copy someone else, even looking inwards could use an outward idea but express it from that witch is within from that individual. good thing he said that, its personal, meaningful, expression of the everything that makes them african. if your not looking within, i reckon the person could be running out of ideas soon lool
A Great Initiative indeed
Ageless wisdom teachings takes us back over 18 million years ago, so who knows when anything such as writing began exactly.
Regardless of whether or not africa has been "exploited" whether it be by religion or empires...you can still get a very authentic view of it if you know where to look.
Greater things come easy if you know where to look. Remember that is the emptiness in the middle that makes possible for the wheel to do the work for you.
Forgot to mention Kurshive (cursive) developed in Kush.
The scripts of Jokwe, Ekpe, Ethiopia and Ituri are very ancient probably some centuries before Europe laid foot on the continent while the rest seems have came about 400 years ago.
Thanks so much, this was very inspiring! I am going to learn one those alphabets.... (Sankofa)
It's nice to see the continent that gave rise to our species getting better and better.
Interesting talk and a good start in inspiring the designers.
Its because much of African history and achievements have been suppressed from the slavery and colonial days which has caused many misconceptions even today. Much of us dont know about our own history and culture as a byproduct of this and so in a way we do have something to prove, to ourselves and the world as still today there are many misconceptions about Africa
This is one of my favorite TED talks, because I love the subject of linguistics and the history of languages. I looked up his book, Afrikan Alphabets: The story of writing in Afrika, and HOLY CRAP IS THIS BOOK EXPENSIVE. Used on Amazon is around $200. New on Barnes & Noble is over $2,000!! I really just wanted it as an eBook, but can't find it in that format... Ah, well. :\
Those prices are meant to limit access to this knowledge; author needs to find other channels to sell his book
I like the designs and the carvings.
Thanks for the sources.
beautiful designs, love them!
Excellent talk.
I Have Adinkra symbols on my facebook cover page, my friends thought they were Japanese Naruto ninja signs XD
So awesome. I have not read about the alphabet before Mesop or Egypt.
Quite right. Because he is speaking about Africa as a continent
Recently, one question has been bugging me. Why do we write our indigenous languages using the English alphabet? IsiZulu, isiXhosa, Tsonga, tshiVenda, isiNdebele, Sotho, Pedi,etc...So this video is a good place to start.
very good thanks
Sososo fascinating
having pride in your continents early writing systems after hundreds of years of misinformation and oppression of culture is not racist. what exactly was racist about this?
@C Mayne Sankofa
@C Mayne So.....African people (and the diaspora) are not supposed to research and learn about their own history? 😐 That makes NO sense.
Indeed, if it weren't for the diseases the Native Americans, as well as the South Americans the Europeans would have had a very difficult time. Bare in mind that in South America there were in the region of 30 million people before the Europeans arrived, with a multitude of cultures and religions. A massive percentage of this population was wiped out by disease in a short period. At the end of the day the victors write the history, however having lived in South America I've heard the other side.
corimOspie True but this isn't really about the native Americans.
This is for all those who claim us African had no written Alphabet before the Europeans romanised our languages or influences from the Arabs.
Indeed!
roland pihlakas love you bro, blessed love!!!!!!!!!!!
Great topic!
Greetings.
Powerful.
OL.
As a graphic designer, educator, and historian, I appreciate new discoveries and research that broaden understanding of writing and typographic history-especially those presented here by Mafundikwa, which help de-center the European/American narrative. For me, all knowledge is good... and evidence is evidence; it leads wherever it leads. There are, however, some issues to consider in the material Mafundikwa offers here:
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As far as I am able to understand, the Bantu, Eljagham, Akan, Yoruba, and Npalo signs are not writing, per se (according to accepted scholarly definitions of writing): they are logographs, and there are not enough characters to be able to replicate all human thought and activity (as there are, for instance, in Asian logograph-based writing). they are more akin to the late Paleolithic signs studied now by Dr. Genevieve Von Petzinger (see her book, "The First Signs"); they are meaningful symbols, certainly, but they each signify one concept as a unit and thus do not seem to allow recombination to generate new or different unanticipated thoughts. If there is scholarship around this particular issue, I would love to know about it so I can add to my research.
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The Wadi el Hol inscriptions are indeed located in the Sinai Peninsula (so: yes, in Africa); but the writers were of Semitic origin (Canaanites, most likely Phoenician mercenaries and day laborers); and they are phonetic, initial-letter-sound simplifications of Egyptian hieroglyphic words (and based loosely on the corresponding hieroglyphs), created using a kind of rebus method. They do date to around 1800 BCE, but....
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Mafundikwa's timeline for the invention of writing by the Sumerians and the Egyptians is off by about 1,000 years. Proto-Cuneiform (pictogram-based) originates around 3400-3300 BCE; it evolves into refined syllabary Cuneiform by around 2700 BCE. Egyptian Hieroglyphics emerge around the same time, with the supplementary Hieratic Script appearing about 3100 BCE.
great video, some of those graphics would make awesome tattoos...
Well that's the problem. Most people don't want to learn. Most people just want to know. What most people know is what has been told to them or shown to them mixed with and coupled with their own preconceived stereotypes and biases. It is rare that people scratch beyond the surface of what they know.
Nice, so you can basically accept or deny anything despite the evidence. Good job.
3:02 to 3:25!!! Whaaaaat!!!! That is so awesome!!❤️❤️
Africa wow!
I seeCeltic symbols too, Egyptt, Amaharic, Mesopotamia, Phoenician, etc. Wow!!!
Their is no debate , the original ancient Egyptians are black.
Really? Where have you been? That debate is settled. 2017 GNOME project tested 151 mummies from 3000 years old to the Roman period.www.nature.com/news/mummy-dna-unravels-ancient-egyptians-ancestry-1.22069 This was the largest project ever on Egyptian DNA.
@@vinrusso821 Vous êtes libre de croire ce que vous voulez vous pouvez pouffer la merde si ça vous chante!
@@vinrusso821 that test is baswd of the mitochondrial dna of 3 mummies in the later part of Egyptian history from one region. There ate plenty of ither dna studies that say the ancient Egyptians were black. Look up the amarna mummies who were closer to the first dynasty and were in the south and tell me what you find
@@halohair1118 Wrong, you need to read better. The mummies were from 3000 years old up to the Roman era. Face it, they looked basically like Egyptians today. They're art always had Nubians black, and they reddish. Why?
@@vinrusso821 actually it is you who needs to read better. There is a difference between 3000 BCE and 3000 years ago. 3000 years ago is late in Egyptian history buddy. Egyptian history started around 3000 BCE, 5000 years ago. Lets do the math shall we? We live around 2000 AD and Egypt began around 3000 BC, so 3000 BC is negative because it is before christ. 2000 - -3000 becomes 2000 plus 3000 which equals 5000. So either you can't read or do basic Algebra ill let you pick your poison. Between the time those mummies were made and the first Egyptian dynasty it is literally equal to the time between us now and the days of Christ. Egypt had changed drastically by then. You also ignored how i said it was based off of mitochondrial DNA, which accounts for a very small part of your DNA. As i also said, there are ither studies that say the mummies had mostly african dnam using dna tests are not conclusive and they don't all agree.
And there are PLENTY of paintings where they painted themselves the same color as Nubians, literally black often times. As a matter of fact they painted themselves different from hittites and other near eastern people such as the famous picture of the battle of kadesh. But yall wanna focus on one or two paintings where they are slightly darker than nubians, ignoring the fact they painted themsleves and Nubian the same color. Many of the Nubian were painted "red"
Those who know do not talk.
Those who talk do not know.
Stop talking,
meditate in silence,
blunt your sharpness,
release your worries,
harmonize your inner light,
and become one with the dust.
Doing this is the called the dark and mysterious identity.
Those who have achieved the mysterious identity
cannot be approached, and they cannot be alienated.
They cannot be benefited nor harmed.
They cannot be made noble nor to suffer disgrace.
This makes them the most noble.
Y'all should look at Veve designs related the voudou. Haitian people use it today and it was passed down from Africa. I do not do voodoo, but I was always fascinated by the designs. Google Veve voodoo
+Jess JayEel
It's nobody's business if you do vodoo or not so there's no need to remove yourself from it. It was good enough for your ancestors so respect it and make no apologies or excuses. Thanks for the info.
Interesting thanks... design wise I mean. Also why is voudou considered a bad thing? Isn't it a belief similar to other religions and cultures?
MultiSciGeek Because what is promoted always has negative connotations. My grandmother thinks my grandfather died from a curse because of jealousy. Also Haitians are big on spirits, so the perception is that voodoo is associated with evil spirits while Christianity is associated with good spirits. I don't know much about voodoo but what i heard is that it is a combination of good and evil. What you direct your focus is what will manifest.
Jess JayEel
Hmmm that's kind of true. Thanks for explaining
Jess J : This isn't about Vodou, it's about Haitian Vodou retaining a peice of Ancient West Africa's traditional writings in a present form.
I need this
And did you not hear the whole portion about the first alphabet in human history, did that just pass you by as well? The Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza are monumental achievements not just for the Ancient Egyptians but also antiquity as a whole, but they are not all Africa has to offer, pay attention to the video, and you WILL learn something new.
just a sidenote - 4:20 Mafundikwa says that Liberia had a long tradition of literacy long before their first contact with Europeans in the 1800s. Thing is the nowadays Liberia territory was probably visited countless times from the fithteenth century onwards. Since the Portuguese navigation era started late 1400s and by 1498 the sea route to India was first completed. That meant navigating along most of the African coast, and along their way, portuguese soldiers, merchants and priests built colonies and made contact with the local peoples.
Sérgio Torres A great talk! It is always tempting to imitate others. It's a much harder task to take a long good look inwards and find what lays within
Sérgio Torres A great talk! It is always tempting to imitate others. It's a much harder task to take a long good look inwards and find what lays within
As Oberonjames said, progress is not linear. Compare the US and Japan from 50 years ago to today for example. Going back several thousand years and Africa and the middle east had many of the most advanced states of their time, empires have risen and fallen and to the victor have gone the spoils, as much in economic/cultural/technological as political, and so progress has been made. In the past several centuries a European influence has been the dominant; yet today a more global society grows.
01:00 The alphabet is already based on images. All letters are abstractions of Egyptian Hieroglyphs.
For instance A is the abstraction of a cow's head with two horns, called Aleph in Phoenician, which became Alpha in Greek.
Do you know what systems of writing came before Egyptian Hieroglyphs?
@@littlegothgirl8869 probably one from the middle east
I feel some people have some misguided jealousy and/or envy when it comes to talking about African achievement and positivity.
It is social programmed and engineered into many people in Europe (subsequently around the world), through the media and bias/negative historical writings, but thankfully not all, because individuals like yourself refuse to subscribe to such a mentality.
i didn't know about them not creating a language for those reasons, actually sounds interesting. do you have a link to it anywhere? i'd love to read up on it
i’m my primary school back in SA we use to have them
I must get his book. I do have one question, i am reading the comments here and i am wondering why are white people so triggered about African history, culture, tradition and achievements, its almost pathological with you guys, why?
I was thinking the same thing. The way I like to look at it is this: the same way Afrikans like myself are unlearning the idea of Western superiority and colonial indoctrination, is also exactly what white people need to unlearn (since their cultural history/identity is built on it). So instead of responding with hate and feeling anger towards them, I realise that they too are victims of a false narrative. The only difference is some are not willing to unlearn it because they've woven it into their identity, and it became a platform for their self esteem. To dismantle these narratives would be to break down their pride (which I don't think is a bad thing), while reinstating our own pride as Afrikans. Naturally, that causes friction. I hope that with time we all realise the beauty that comes in cherishing other people without the need to think ourselves better than them.
Africans had writing systems. But it needs to be pointed out the difference between those systems that used symbols to represent concepts or ideas vs those that could be used to record events. It is true that many sub Saharan Africans in west,central and southern Africa had writing that represented ideas or concepts but not many had the type of writing that allowed them to leave written records. This is one of the main reasons not as much is known about pre-colonial sub Saharan history because not enough people left written records that recorded events in their histories.
Well 1) These concepts actually can communicate and record history, for example, we’ve found been plenty of Nsibidi writings pertaining to court cases , and Vai writings about sacrifices. 2) The reason why history wasn’t typically written down however was not because they couldn’t, but rather because we used jeli/griots (musical historians) to do it instead.
@Crowd Pleeza actually archaeologist,and linguist only just now starting study pre-colonial history, so you cant make that statement with certainly, and frankly its dismissive.
These two goin at it
Os alfabetos de origens africanas são muitos variados.
I can't believe that this got so many negative votes. Its true.
Always wanted to learn about Africa too bad rich nations are always exploiting the countries of this continent
well said! Thank you :)
why do haters hate?
he left out the dogon and proto-saharan but good presentation.
Bolle Trie hopefully the changes made to comments will lessen that noise.
Sorry, I was talking about narcissism not in some mythological sense, but as it exists in the real life. It is a complex phenomenon and has more depth and consequences than one initially could imagine.
With it being contagious I meant that it is contagious to the people AGAINST whom it happens to be directed. Which is of course pretty sad. Ultimately, everyone is (!) or will be a victim this way.
No, thats pretty much the absolute truth.
I miss his wit and wisdom
Actually they were united as one nation, that's why the vulture and the crown are pieced together to show that the country lies under one rule, one king, one throne.
Ancient Africa=great, because it was untouched by colonialism. Modern Africa-raped of resources. People gold and resources (1400s-1860) these racial comments damn. Greece and Rome stole half their greatness. The hunter always tells the lions story.
Are there classes I can take in college that just cover odd/not commonly spoken languages?
Only 248 language geeks?! This was great!
Can I ask which teachings you're talking about? I've never heard of something like this.
Who's TED?
Lots of hate(fear) coming from the comments
They can't help it, Science has demonstrated their are pathological, psychological and biological deficiency of melanin which makes one Human, Humane and capable of embracing HUMANITY!!!
@@khonsuwerk9757 White people have melanin... lol dumbass
Helena Blavatsky and the Alice A Bailey teachings, and recently Benjamin Crème who has elaborated a little more on these teachings, personally the Benjamin Crème information is easier to understand, all these people have a telepathic rapport with a Master of wisdom or in Christian terms Saints of Old.
Sbonge 🙌🏾
Yes that was the case and of course there was/is something that as gone on that was/is not right but it does not give any other person the right to take full advantage and poke their noses into another person business