into northern Africa and later further south beginning … (MSAFIRI 46).pdfinto northern Africa and...
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These writings describe some of the inhabitants living along this coast as tall, bearded, long-haired and 'red' in colour and they herded livestock. In his Races of Africa, published in 1930, C.G. Seligman stated that 'The civilisations of Africa are the civilisations of the Hamites'. These 'Hamites', supposedly the descendants of the biblical Ham, were thought to have originated in the land of Noah, Western Asia. They then purportedly migrated into northern Africa and later further south beginning several thousand years ago. Seligman said that these people were a dark variety of the Caucasian race. Some of these Hamites mixed with the black African inhabitants living further south to create what he called 'Nilo-Hamites', who today are the Maasai, Samburu and Rendille, who live in northern Kenya or near the Rift Valley. G.W.B. Huntingford, a British East African colonial administrator turned cultural historian, theorised in 1933 that an Azanian Civilisation existed in Kenya and northern Tanzania between the Stone Age and the early Islamic period. Huntingford proposed that the Azanians, as described in the early writings of the Periplus and Ptolemy, were Seligman's Hamites. They had been forced south from Ethiopia and Somalia by Muslim invaders in the 8th century, finally to disappear in Kenya and Tanzania in the 14th or 15th century, leaving behind their influences on the Nilo-Hamitic tribes. In 1959 the story was carried further by the American anthropologist George Murdock. He created the term 'Megalithic Cushites' to refer to ancient giants of the East African interior who constructed the colossal stone monuments. In the 1950s linguists created the term 'Cushitic' to describe a language family that included most of those present day peoples previously called Hamites. Murdock proposed that some Megalithic Cushites migrated to the coast, where they traded with maritime Greco-Romans, Arabs, Persians and Indians, becoming the Azanians. He noted that there are stone mound graves and stone phalli along the Somali coast like those seen further inland. Murdock goes on to suggest that these Cushites were eventually absorbed by the Bantu and Islamic immigrants who started settling along the Azanian coast from around the 9th century. These three diverse sources gave rise to the Swahili urban civilisation, which has left town, tomb and mosque ruins from Mogadishu to Mozambique. He thought that the famous Swahili pillar tombs, some obviously phallic in shape, were a Cushitic influence on coastal Islamic architecture. This style of tomb is seen nowhere else in the world and James Kirkman, the pioneer of Kenya coast archaeology, believed the pillar tombs to be the most fascinating architectural feature of the East African coast. I started my work around the fringes of the remote Chalbi Desert in Marsabit District. Logistics were difficult but, with the help of University of Nairobi staff and student assistants, we managed to collect information. We eventually excavated ten stone cairn graves near Kalacha and four early pastoral sites in sand dunes near North Horr. The results offered proof that more than one ethnic group made up the Megalithic Cushites, the ancestors of the Azanians. There is a barren, rocky hill just outside of the bleak village of Kalacha, located along the eastern margin of the Chalbi. They erected huge mounds of boulders and cobbles challenging genuine hills in size, built enormous stone rings and dug deep wells into the desert that are still used today. The Somalis call these mysterious people the Madanle and the Boran speak of the Wardai. European writers have called these ancient people 'Megalithic Cushites' or the 'Azanian Civilisation'. Many years ago I set off to northern Kenya to dig into the mystery of who these early pastoralists were by excavating their ancient stone graves and studying their descendants – the fierce warriors of the deserts of northern Kenya.A few years later I had some ideas. The term 'Azania' is from the Greco-Roman Periplus of the Erythrean Sea written in the 1st-2nd century CE and a 4th century CE section of Ptolemy's Geography.Azania was the coast from Somalia to Mozambique. written & photographed by Daniel Stiles Main picture: The skeleton buried under this mound grave dated to 3,500 years old, the oldest dated stone structure in East Africa. 1. The shape of a grave emerges during excavation of one of the large ring cairns. Was he a Wardai, a member of Huntingford’s Azanian civilization? 2. These Rendille women wear ornaments similar to those seen on neighbouring Samburu women. People who live closely together over long periods of time borrow cultural traditions from one another. I think that the stone cairn graves show this practice by the combination of Cushitic ring cairns with burials missing their lower incisors, a Nilotic trait. 3. A 14th century Islamic grave with a phallic pillar at Ishikani, on the Kenya-Somalia border. 00 Msafiri issue 46 Giants once roamed over the wind-swept bush plains and rocky expanses of northern Kenya. Azanian The Civilisation Revisited Azanian The Civilisation Revisited issue 46 Msafiri 00 2 3 1
Transcript of into northern Africa and later further south beginning … (MSAFIRI 46).pdfinto northern Africa and...
These writings describe some of the inhabitants living alongthis coast as tall, bearded, long-haired and 'red' in colourand they herded livestock.
In his Races of Africa, published in 1930, C.G. Seligmanstated that 'The civilisations of Africa are the civilisations ofthe Hamites'. These 'Hamites', supposedly the descendantsof the biblical Ham, were thought to have originated in theland of Noah,Western Asia. They then purportedly migratedinto northern Africa and later further south beginningseveral thousand years ago. Seligman said that these peoplewere a dark variety of the Caucasian race. Some of theseHamites mixed with the black African inhabitants livingfurther south to create what he called 'Nilo-Hamites',who today are the Maasai, Samburu and Rendille,who live in northern Kenya or near the Rift Valley.
G.W.B. Huntingford, a British East African colonialadministrator turned cultural historian, theorised in 1933that an Azanian Civilisation existed in Kenya and northernTanzania between the Stone Age and the early Islamicperiod. Huntingford proposed that the Azanians,as described in the early writings of the Periplus andPtolemy, were Seligman's Hamites. They had been forcedsouth from Ethiopia and Somalia by Muslim invaders in the 8th century, finally to disappear in Kenya and Tanzaniain the 14th or 15th century, leaving behind their influenceson the Nilo-Hamitic tribes.
In 1959 the story was carried further by the Americananthropologist George Murdock. He created the term'Megalithic Cushites' to refer to ancient giants of the East African interior who constructed the colossal stone monuments. In the 1950s linguists created the term'Cushitic' to describe a language family that included most of those present day peoples previously called Hamites.
Murdock proposed that some Megalithic Cushitesmigrated to the coast, where they traded with maritimeGreco-Romans,Arabs, Persians and Indians, becoming theAzanians. He noted that there are stone mound graves andstone phalli along the Somali coast like those seen furtherinland. Murdock goes on to suggest that these Cushites wereeventually absorbed by the Bantu and Islamic immigrantswho started settling along the Azanian coast from aroundthe 9th century. These three diverse sources gave rise to theSwahili urban civilisation, which has left town, tomb andmosque ruins from Mogadishu to Mozambique. He thoughtthat the famous Swahili pillar tombs, some obviously phallic in shape, were a Cushitic influence on coastal Islamic architecture.
This style of tomb is seen nowhere else in the world and James Kirkman, the pioneer of Kenya coast archaeology,believed the pillar tombs to be the most fascinatingarchitectural feature of the East African coast.
I started my work around the fringes of the remoteChalbi Desert in Marsabit District. Logistics were difficultbut, with the help of University of Nairobi staff and studentassistants, we managed to collect information.We eventuallyexcavated ten stone cairn graves near Kalacha and four earlypastoral sites in sand dunes near North Horr. The resultsoffered proof that more than one ethnic group made up the Megalithic Cushites, the ancestors of the Azanians.
There is a barren, rocky hill just outside of the bleakvillage of Kalacha, located along the eastern margin ofthe Chalbi.
They erected huge mounds of boulders and cobbles challenging genuine hills in size, built enormous stone rings and dug deep wells into the desert that are still used today. The Somalis call these mysterious people the Madanle
and the Boran speak of the Wardai. European writers have called these ancient people 'Megalithic Cushites' or the 'Azanian Civilisation'.
Many years ago I set off to northern Kenya to dig into the mystery of who these early pastoralists were by excavating their ancient stone graves and studying their
descendants – the fierce warriors of the deserts of northern Kenya.A few years later I had some ideas.
The term 'Azania' is from the Greco-Roman Periplus of the Erythrean Seawritten in the 1st-2nd century CE and a 4th century CE section of Ptolemy's
Geography.Azania was the coast from Somalia to Mozambique.
written & photographed by Daniel Stiles
Main picture:The skeleton buriedunder this moundgrave dated to 3,500years old, the oldestdated stone structurein East Africa.
1. The shape of agrave emerges duringexcavation of one of the large ringcairns. Was he aWardai, a member of Huntingford’sAzanian civilization?
2. These Rendillewomen wearornaments similar to those seen onneighbouringSamburu women.People who liveclosely together overlong periods of timeborrow culturaltraditions from oneanother. I think thatthe stone cairn gravesshow this practice by the combination of Cushitic ring cairnswith burials missingtheir lower incisors, a Nilotic trait.
3. A 14th centuryIslamic grave with a phallic pillar atIshikani, on theKenya-Somaliaborder.
00 Msafiri issue 46
Giants once roamed over the wind-swept bush plains and rocky expanses of northern Kenya.
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It looks like a huge longitudinal mound of volcanic rubble and is called Kokurmatakore by the local Gabbra inhabitants.This hill is dotted with 67 prehistoric stone graves on or aroundit, most of them just circular mounds, but others in the shape of rings or squarish platforms. Some of the tumuli are huge,and the largest ring is 17 metres in diameter with metre-highwalls. I found skeletons in most of these graves, five of which I had dated by the carbon-14 method.
Pioneering ethnolinguists such as Chris Ehret and Bernd Heine studied the languages of many of the livingnorthern Kenyan peoples and they have proposed datedoutlines of when and where the ancestors of today's pastoralisttribes first appeared on the scene in northern Kenya. I couldnow compare the archaeological dates with the hypothesisedimmigrations of the Cushitic and Nilotic speakers of thelinguists, who were the Azanians-Megalithic Cushites of theearly writers.
One of the mound cairns dated to 3,460 years before thepresent, the oldest known in East Africa, one platform dated to 960 years, and three rings dated to 585, 510 and 125 years(10-20 % possible error either way).
The ~3,500 year old (~1500 B.C.) mound cairn wasalmost certainly made by Southern Cushitic speaking 'StoneBowl' pastoralists.A stone bowl fragment was found buried at the base of the cairn, and obsidian stone tools and goatbones were found inside the cairn. The person buried insidemeasured 190cm tall (about 6'4"), an incredible height forsomeone of that antiquity.
The 1,010 year-old (~990 A.D.) platform cairn wasprobably made by a very early incursion of Oromo speakers,who today are the Boran and Gabbra. The only place I couldfind squarish stone graves reported in the literature was fromsouthern Ethiopia, and none of these has been excavated.
One of the two platforms I excavated contained a skeleton in good enough condition to measure. The individual was185cm (6'1") tall, again well above the average height seentoday in the area, or anywhere else, for that matter, 1,000years ago. Could this person, almost certainly male, havebeen a leader of the legendary Wardai? Today there areWardai or Wardaa living amongst the Orma pastoralists who live along the lower Tana River near the coast.They all speak the Boran language.
The ring cairns are the most intriguing.While travellingover much of Marsabit District by land and air I came across hundreds of the large rings, invariably associated with mound cairns. They are usually found near present orformer water sources. The heights of three of the ring cairnskeletons were 190cm (6'4") for two of them, and 167cm(5'6") for one.
The most puzzling finding was the fact that all four ofthe ring cairn burials were missing from two to four of theirlower incisors. The removal of incisors is a Nilotic initiationcustom. None of the burials in the mound or platform cairnshad incisors removed. This finding is puzzling because the ring style cairn is a uniquely Cushitic tradition.
Stone ring graves run from Somalia, through Ethiopia,to Kenya as far south as the Laikipia Plateau. It is unlikelythat any Nilotic speakers ever occupied this range. Nilotesoriginated, in the Nile Valley far to the west of where the ringgraves are seen.And no ring cairns are seen to the west ofLake Turkana, where the Turkana and Pokot Nilotes livetoday. So who made these mysterious rings?
I think the most likely ring-makers were ancestralRendille, who had close cultural ties with Nilotic neighbours,plausibly Maasai. Today the Nilotic Samburu and CushiticRendille have close interrelations. They both extract lower incisors.
The ring burials date to about the middle of the 14thcentury up to the early 19th century. Maasai were thought to be in central and northern Kenya during this period.The Samburu diverged from the Maasai when they settled in the dryland region of northern Kenya in the 19th century.The Maasai were removed from the Laikipia Plateau by theBritish in the early 20th century, leaving the Samburuseparated from them.
Although the terminology and some detailshave changed, Seligman, Huntingford andMurdock each held the kernel of truth in theirtheories. The Azanians of the 1st to 4th centuryA.D. were no doubt Cushitic speakers,and their descendants and related immigrantsfrom the north brought with them theirtraditions and funerary customs, some of which were passed on to the peoplesliving in Kenya at the time.And they were abnormally tall!
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4. The burial in thisprehistoric ring cairndated to about 635years ago. The personburied in it was a‘giant’ measuring 1.9metres tall. Was he aWardai, a member ofHuntingford’s Azaniancivilization?
5. The burial in thecentre of this ringcairn dated to about550 years old and theperson measured 1.9metres tall. The gravetype is EasternCushitic, but he wasmissing his lowerincisors. The personwas probablyancestral to thepresent day Rendille,but he has picked upincisor evulsion fromneighbouring Nilotes(ancestral Samburu?).
6. The Gabbra say that when theyarrived in northernKenya in the late 19th century theyfound deep wellsscattered over the dry country. Legendsays that they weredug by a race of giants called the Wardai.
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Stone ring graves run from Somalia, throughEthiopia, to Kenya as far south as the LaikipiaPlateau. It is unlikely that any Nilotic speakersever occupied this range.
