Aaluja: Rescue, Reinterpretation and the Restoration of Major Ancient Egyptian Themes, Vol. 1

Thoughtful and challenging, Aaluja: Rescue, Reinterpretation and the Restoration of Major Ancient Egyptian Themes Vol. I is a collection of essays which seek, in part, to situate current discourses concerning major Egyptian conceptual themes within their proper African contexts. Much of the reality as expressed in the ancient Egyptian writings has been distorted due, in part, to Eurocentric biases in interpreting the texts. Instead of drawing from the pool of shared African traditions from which emerged the Egyptian civilization, researchers have instead sought inspiration outside of Africa among a (yet to be discovered) mythical Hamito-Asiatic race as the bringers of civilization to Egypt (ciKam). Drawing from an array of modern African languages and cultures, Asar Imhotep illuminates the primary assumptions, principles and concepts upon which African culture(s) and world-view are structured. He then utilizes these characteristics—which are shared among the ancient Egyptians (rmT, luntu, lome)—to provide us with the necessary conceptual grounding for a critical reassessment and reinterpretation of the major concepts and ideas that gave Egypt its salience. Topics range from understanding the dynamics of the God Ra, the African origins of the word God, to reinterpreting the nature and function of the Ankh (anx, nkwa) symbol, to how “ropes” were used in ancient Egypt to convey the concepts of “knowledge” and “wisdom.” This stimulating book will be appreciated by students, scholars and general readers alike and is a major contribution to the fields of Egyptology and Africology.