The God Imn in the Kongo: A Paper in Honor of

Dr. Kimbwandende kia Bunseki Fu-Kiau

By Asar Imhotep (January 13, 2014)

The MOCHA-Versity Institute of Philosophy and Research

luntu/lumtu/muntu

Dr. K. Kia Bunseki Fu-Kiau

Abstract: In this essay we attempt to make a connection between the Bantu-Kongo concept of
sîmbi, with that of the ancient Egyptian nTr (god) Imn. By doing a cross cultural and linguistic
analysis between Central Africa and the lower Nile-Valley, we come to discover striking parallels
which would suggest a common ancestral heritage. The works of the late Dr. Kimbwandende kia
Bunseki Fu-Kiau provides us with the necessary cultural keys that help us to unlock many of the
philosophical mysteries of ancient Egypt fossilized in the hieroglyphic writing script. We seek to
demonstrate the vitality of utilizing the Bantu languages as tools for interpreting many of the
obscure concepts of ancient Egypt. The works of Fu-Kiau grounds us authentically in the African
world-view and the Bantu-Kongo becomes a launching pad to speculate more systematically ideas
expressed in ancient Egypt. As a result of our Kongo engagement, we come to discover that Imn is
still worshipped in central Africa under the name Nzambi.

Page 1 of 39
A mighty tree had fallen on November 29, 2013. This is when the eminent scholar of Kongo culture and
history, Dr. Kimbwandende kia Bunseki Fu-Kiau, transitioned and began his journey to the land of the
ancestors (Egyptian Hrw; ciLuba kuulu ―heaven, home‖). Dr. Fu-Kiau is unique in the realm of African
historiography because he is one of the few scholars of African philosophy and culture that spoke from
the inside out as an initiate of his culture‘s sacred wisdom. As an initiate of the Kongo institutes of life,
Fu-Kiau was able to provide information not privy to European cultural anthropologists who were not
grounded in ‗Bantu‘ world-views. Fu-Kiau‘s indigenous education provided him with the cultural keys
necessary to unlock the conceptual doors that guarded the rooms which held the accumulated knowledge
of African wisdom traditions since time immemorial.1
Kimbwandende Fu-Kiau was born in 1934 in a village in Manianga province of the Democratic
Republic of Congo. His indigenous education began as a young boy, but his formal initiations into the
higher institutes did not begin until the 1960‘s. He was initiated into Lemba starting in 1964 in Manianga
region of Congo-Kinshasha and the Lari region of Congo-Brazzaville by his grandfather and his paternal
and maternal uncles. Starting in 1966, he was initiated into Kinkimba (aka Kimba) in the Yombe and
Mtadi regions of Congo-Kinshasha and Cabinda Province, Angola and Luanda Province of northern
Angola.2 Kinkimba, like many African initiatory centers of wisdom, uses a secret language to preserve
and protect the accumulated body of wisdom.3 Also in 1966, Fu-Kiau was initiated into Kimpasi in the
Madimba areas of Inkisi and Ngungu in Congo-Kinshasha. He was instructed in Kimpasi by local
ngangas (masters, specialists, doctors). Kimpasi teaches youth, both male and female, how to endure in
impossible situations, how to become moral fighters for the community.
Dr. Fu-Kiau's western academic background includes degrees in the areas of Cultural
Anthropology (B.A.), School Administration (M.Ed.), Library Science (M.S.), and Education and
Community Development (Ph.D.). He has published numerous books and articles in English including:
African Cosmology of the Bântu-Kongo (1980, 2001), Kumina: A Kongo-based Tradition in the New
World (1983), Kindezi: The Kongo Art of Babysitting (1988), Self-Healing Power and Therapy, Old
Teachings from Africa (1991), Mbongi: An African Traditional Political Institution (2007), and Sîmba
Sîmbi: Hold Up That Which Holds You Up (2006).
I was first introduced to Fu-Kiau in the year 2000 in an attempt to learn more about the martial art
Capoeira, which I had been practicing since high school. Because Capoeira is a Brazilian martial-art that
originated in the Kongo, researchers turned to Fu-Kiau to gain insights into the term and how the art was
used in Africa before travelling with enslaved Africans into the new world. He informed us that Capoeira
comes from a Kikongo word kipura (kipula), which means to ―fly, flutter‖ like a rooster or zebra
(Egyptian xpr). I‘ve already been interested in Kongo culture as a result of my participation in Capoeira-
Angola and this bit of information only deepened my interests. A year later he was to release his seminal
work African Cosmology of the Bantu Kongo (2001).4 I was introduced to this text by the late Dr. Asa
Hilliard, III (Baffour Amankwatia II) who came to Texas Southern University (Houston, TX) to do a
lecture titled ―Mdw Ntr (Divine Speech): Africans and the Word - Continental and Diaspora Bringing

1
I would like to give a heartfelt and special thanks to Dr. Mubabinge Bilolo (Belgium), Dr. Jahi Issa (Deleware),
Nikala Asante ( Houston) and Dr. Kimani Nehusi (London) for reviewing this text, providing valuable commentary,
critiques and additional resource material for me to evaluate. You are very much appreciated. Any errors of
commission and omission that may be found here are solely my own, though certainly unintended.
2
The principle ngangas who initiated him were Simon Muyinu and Ntungulu, his uncle. Kinkimba is a society or
discipline that deals with the value, understanding and use of herbs, particularly those from the Yombe forest.
3
More about this will be discussed in the upcoming text - Aaluja: Rescue, Reinterpretation and the Restoration of
Major Ancient Egyptian Themes, Vol. III.
4
This is an expansion of his 1980 book titled An African Book Without Title, which more fully explained Bantu
cosmology of Central Africa.

Page 2 of 39
Maat Into Being." The points Dr. Hilliard brought out of this book intrigued me so much that I just had to
get my hands on it.
Once I got a hold of this text, I was immediately hooked. It began to answer many of the
questions I had lingering in my head about African philosophy. At this time in my life (undergrad) I was
also studying pretty heavily ancient Nile Valley civilizations, especially BuKam (Egypt). I began to
notice parallels between ancient Egyptian and Bantu-Kongo philosophy and culture. Fu-Kiau‘s work did
not attempt, consciously, to connect the two cultures, but in my mind he was explaining certain things
about Egypt without overtly doing so simply by explaining Bantu-Kongo phenomena.
The works of Fu-Kiau inspired me to look into the Bantu-Kongo more deeply. The more I looked
into the culture of Bantu speakers in general, the more and more ancient Egyptian philosophy began to
make sense. It is because of Fu-Kiau that I began to do serious comparisons between the two cultures:
although distant in time and space. What I lacked at the time were the linguistic tools to really unlock the
mysteries of the two traditions. Fu-Kiau informed us that studying African languages was vital if we were
to get at the heart of African cultures.

Africans, including those of African descent, must love the study of their languages if they wish to
talk honestly about themselves and about what they are, for all systems‘ codes of their society are
coded (tied) in these languages [makolo mamo ma bimpa bia kimvuka kiau makangwa mu ndinga
zozo]. . . To study language is the most important process of learning the art of coding and
decoding social systems of human societ[ies] in the world [kinkete kia kanga ye kutula makolo ma
fu bia kimvuka kia muntu mu nza]. Learning is an accumulative process of coding and decoding
cultures, therefore, it is necessary to study the language that expresses those cultures [longuka i
nzila yangyumbikila ku nsia n‘kingu wa nkangulu ye nkutudulu a makolo manzayila ma muntu].
(Fu-Kiau, 2001: 9-10)

Thus, it was imperative for me to begin learning more about Bantu languages and seriously engaging the
ancient Egyptian writing script, mdw nTr. After many years of study, I was able to make more definitive
connections based on sound linguistics. Bantu cultures became the ground by which certain obscure
concepts in Egypt could possibly be explained. This is possible because of the deep cultural unity of
Africa as demonstrated by the likes of Homburger (1929), Diop (1974, 1977, 1987, 1989, 1991), Obenga
(1991, 1992, 1995, 2004), Oduyoye (1984, 1986), Bilolo (1986, 2009, 2010, 2011), Lam (1994),
Campbell-Dunn (2006a, 2006b, 2007, 2008, 2009a, 2009b) and others. By comparing Ancient Egyptian
with modern Bantu cultures, with positive results, it helped to resituate Egypt back into its proper African
context.
One of the last books written by Dr. Fu-Kiau in English is titled Sîmba Sîmbi: Hold Up That
Which Holds You Up (2006). It is 22 pages in length: half written in English and the other half in
Kikongo. Although the book is small, it is packed with valuable information. The objective of this text is
to explain the God-force known as Sîmbi in the Kikongo language. After doing some external
examinations in the Niger-Congo languages in general, and the ancient Egyptian language in particular, I
have concluded that the word sîmbi is cognate with the word jmn ―(the God) Amen‖ in the ancient
Egyptian language. Fu-Kiau‘s work helps to explain how the ancient Egyptians may have possibly
viewed and understood the Creator under the epithet of Imn/Jmn. This paper is an attempt to clarify
certain conceptual aspects of the ancient Egyptian God Imn by interpreting him through a Kongo-cultural
lens, using Fu-Kiau‘s 2006 work as a conceptual foundation. Before we get into our comparison, it would
be of benefit to first provide a brief examination of Imn based on the accumulated data from the field of
Egyptology.

Page 3 of 39
 Imn

The name Imn is attested as early as the Old Kingdom period in pyramid text (PT) 446 (Wilkinson, 2003:
92).5 He first appears as a local deity in the town of wAs.t (ciLuba ciBanza), where in the 11th dynasty
four rulers took the name Imn-m-Ht or 'Amun is pre-eminent'. A century and a half later Imn began to
overshadow the other local deity known as mnTw ‗Montu‘. He was later associated with two other nTrw
(ciLuba ndelu(a): divinities, powers, creative forces) who together made up the local divine triad of wAs.t:
his consort mw.t (ciLuba ciMau/ciMao/CiMawu or CiMamu "mother, great-lady"; ―mother par
excellence"; "primordial mother")6 and the lunar deity xnsw ‗Khonsu‘ who was worshipped
as their son (see illus. from Wilkinson, 2003: 21, 47; see also Bard, 1999: 477).
As time progressed, the rmTw (Egyptians) called him Amun asha renu or 'Amun rich in names'.
This informs us that Imn can be better appreciated if we understand the many names he is associated with
(Wilkinson, ibid.). The name Imn is written in many different ways in the Egyptological
literature: e.g., Amun, Amen, Amon, and Imen. It is unclear how the Egyptians pronounced this name as
they did not write out their vowels. A look into African languages, however, will help us to get some idea
of the possible vocalization.
The Greek writer Plutarch quotes the Egyptian chronicler Manetho who states that the name Imn
means "that which is concealed" or "invisible." There is a word in Egyptian, jmn, which means "secret,
hidden, conceal." This suggests that Imn, in total, is imperceptible to human-beings; his very nature is
concealed and out of reach of human understanding. Imn is also a creator god. There is a word in
Egyptian, jmn , which also means "to create, to shape." As we can see here, there is some punning
going on with the two words. In linguistics we call this paronymy; that is to say that there is a perceived
relationship between words that sound the same or similarly that may not be cognates historically.7 This is
a common practice in the Egyptian writing and we will see the extent of this practice as it was applied to
the name Imn throughout this essay.
Imn was also considered a solar deity. In the pr.t-m-Hrw (book of going forth into day), Imn is
called "the eldest of the gods of the eastern sky," an epithet reflecting both his primeval character and
solar associated nature. An 18th dynasty hymn to Imn, preserved on a stela in the British Museum, refers
to Imn when he 'rises' as Horakhty, directly fusing him with the visible sun (see stela in Wilkinson, 2003:
201). We argue here that he is associated with the sun because the m-n consonant root is also associated
with the sun. The Tower of Babel (TOB) online database for Afro-Asiatic provides us with the following
information that supports the above:

Proto-Afro-Asiatic: *(ʔV-)man-
Meaning: sun, day
Egyptian: ỉmny 'Sun-god' (reg)
Western Chadic: *myan- 'day'; Montol: mene [Fp]
East Chadic: *myan- 'day'; Dangla: mena [Fd]; Migama: méènè [JMig]
Notes: *ʔi- may be a prefix.

5
In James P. Allen‘s work, The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts (2005: 55), he has it as recitation number 206
under the heading ―Spells for leaving Akhet.‖ His translation for this section is as follows: ―You have your bread-
loaf, Nu and undersky, you pair of the gods, who joined the gods with their shadow; you have your bread-loaf,
Amun and Amaunet, you pair of the gods, who joined the gods with their shadow…‖
6
See Bilolo (2010: 67) for an expanded discussion.
7
See Imhotep (2013) for an expanded discourse on this subject and accompanying reference material.

Page 4 of 39
As we can see, this association is not present in Semitic. This would seem to go against the claim made
by William F. Albright in his article ―Notes on Egypto-Semitic Etymology,‖ in the American Journal of
Semitic Linguistics and Literature Vol. 34 (1918: 85), which states that:

The Egyptian Religion is the syncresis of African totemism and animism with Semitic nature
worship . . . such divine names as . . . Ra, Amun, Ptah, Min are almost certainly Semitic.

If he would have examined the inner African languages, he would have not made this baseless claim. As
this article will demonstrate, Imn and Mn are indigenous African names for the Divine and are not
‗Semitic.‘ The question of Ra and PtH have (Imhotep 2013) and will be answered in other publications
respectively.
It is because of this solar association that Imn was later merged with the god Ra in the form of
Imn-Ra. This merger is seen in the epithet Imn-ra nsw nTrw ―Amun-Ra King of the Gods.‖ Both
transcendent and immanent, Imn-Ra was believed to be all things at once. Having brought about his own
existence at the beginning of time, he was called the ―Kamutef‖ (bull of his own mother), and he presided
over the creation of all things. Imn-Ra was sometimes termed the ―unique one‖ as well (Bard, 1999: 480).
As we can see here, the god Imn is associated with being ―hidden, a creator and the visible sun.‖
All of these meanings in Egyptian carry the m-n consonant root and are being applied in a paronymic way
in association with the Divine. Much more could be said about the god Imn in Egypt, but space will not
allow us to go into much depth here. We just wanted to give a brief outline of some of his major
characteristics. Other aspects of Imn will be introduced throughout the remaining of this essay. For now,
we will take a closer look at the Kongo concept of sîmbi in preparation for our larger discourse.

In 2006, Dr. K. Bunseki Fu-Kiau released a very small but powerful work titled Sîmba Sîmbi: Hold Up
That Which Holds You Up. The focus of this work is to discuss the term sîmbi and how this concept is
applied in the lives of the Bantu-Kongo. As stated previously, I argue that there is a connection between
the concept of sîmbi and the god Imn of Ancient Egypt. Before we can discuss how this is so, we must
first familiarize ourselves with this ancient African principle of sîmbi. What is to follow is a summary of
its major concepts as expressed in Fu-Kiau (2006).
The key term under examination is the Kikongo word sîmbi, which derives from a verb sîmba: "to
hold up, to keep (a thing), to bless, to treasure, to touch, to retain." As to the word sîmbi itself, it has these
primary meanings: "a keeper, a watch over, someone with the power to protect, a living power/energy that
holds up everything." Sîmbi can be rendered in the English language as, ―That which holds ‗things‘ up.‖
Sîmbi is the power behind all life.8 It is considered the food or the ingredient to all success.
Behind all growth and development lies the secret of sîmbi. It is the unseen, the limitless power beyond

8
Dr. Karyn Kleiman, in her work The Pygmies Were Our Compass (2003: 150-153), discusses a set of ―nature
spirits‖ in the Kongo called bisimbi. The bisimbi are always associated with features of the earth (e.g., the bush,
forest, rivers, caves, rocks, etc.). They are the power behind phenomena. These spirits are also considered ―the
original ancestors.‖ Luc de Heusch (2000) argues that the bisimbi are conceived of not simply as spirits of the dead,
but rather, ―The mysterious ancestors from the beginning of history.‖ I equate this term with Yoruba adamu in
adamu òrìṣà ―the first of the ancestors long dead but come back to celebrate with the living,‖ which is present in
Hebrew as the ri‟sown „adam in Job 15:7. This word is present in the Shona-Bantu language as mu-dzimu ―ancestral
spirit‖ (pl. miDzimu); Ndebele ama-zimu ―human-like creatures believed to be inhabiting thick forests‖; Ibibio
(Nigeria) n-dem ―clan deities,‖ i-dem ―masquerade‖; SeTswana MoDimo ―God‖; Hebrew adam. In Mesopotamia, a
corresponding myth is with the figure Adapa. The /p/ and /m/ sounds interchange in Semitic. See, for instance, A.
Murtonen (1990). Hebrew in its West Semitic Setting: A Comparative Survey of Non-Masoretic Hebrew Dialects
and Traditions: Part Two, Phonetics and Phonology; Part three Morphosyntactics. Studies in Semitic Languages
and Linguistics, no 16. pp. 84-85. Njambe/sîmbi are cognate with Adam (MuDzimu) and refers to ―spirit‖ and more
specifically, the primordial spirits from which all derived. The word Niombo (Congo) and Nommo (Dogon), the

Page 5 of 39
human imagination. It is the 'mothering principle' that nurtures all things. Without this fundamental
principle, one could not conceive of an expanding universe. When one neglects this core principle of life,
it can become the cause of all failures.
The sîmbi is the principle of life itself; it is that which is. In African spirituality, it is the God-
principle; it is the living-principle that holds up everything. "Things" are the way they are because of this
principle of life. It is said that it is the conscience that feeds our sub-conscience. It is the divine presence
in and around us. No field of study can define it: neither science, philosophy, magic or 'tricknology' (to
use Fu-Kiau's words).
To accept and recognize this principle is to accept life itself; it is to accept the divine presence as
the Totality of Totalities (T.o.T). It is to be. To ignore this principle is to not be. Lying, killing,
oppression, misleading and exploitation wounds this living principle, the source of everything present and
that yet to come. A good leader stands on the foundation of that which holds it up. A leadership that
stands on the sîmbi does not need eyes, ears, or a mouth because it sees all around without looking; it
hears all without listening; and it teaches to all without opening its mouth. Sîmba Sîmbi, for the Bantu
people, is a living spiritual principle, which is their true concept of what God is: a bodiless, voiceless
living energy that holds up everything that is. To sîmba sîmbi is to take the bold standing posture of a true
master (an nganga; Egyptian anx ).
Sîmba Sîmbi is focusing on the source of living seed-energy and standing by one's beliefs which
are connected to that source. It is also the ability to allow the wealth of that living seed-energy to flow and
circulate in our body to bless, heal, protect and transform it. Any community leader trusts and stands upon
this living principle. He appreciates seeing his people do the same because his people's eyes are his eyes;
his people's ears are his ears; his people's mouths are his mouth as well. The sîmbi (the life holding-
power, God), is present in all his people to regenerate not only their living, but also their healing and
protecting powers as well.
The sîmbi is the birthing power of all. All life and its aspects would be impossible without this
living principle: the sîmbi (holding power). The sîmbi is not a deity, but a living force of many in one.
These forces can be seen like invisible channels through which the living, divine power (the natural
law/order) operates. There is no need to worship it or build temples in its honor because it is the life
principle itself. Once the Muntu (human being) has reached the age of reason, he is obligated to his sîmbi,
the life principle that holds up everything. One must learn how to know it, accept, become and live like
it, i.e., mature to its purest nature, its "itness."
At this level of understanding, the initiated accepts that he/she is one with the life principle,
which is everything in everything seen and unseen; past, present or to come. He is, therefore, one with
nature, the "living-seed energy" in and around him. All entities have their own individualized sîmbi
energy: e.g., families, villages, forests, rivers, cities or institutions. All entities will crumble, brake, die or
cease to exist if the potential of the sîmbi can no longer function as an agent of living, natural order within
a given entity. In the womb, our mother's sîmbi, living energy, takes care of us all. It nurses us like the
greater Sîmbi nurtures all.
SÎMBA SÎMBI: Holding Up That Which Holds You Up [no matter what that is to you] is keeping
this living divine order to bless us and to hold us up to justice, to success, to life and to happiness for all,
collectively. The sîmbi that holds up the whole of life is the only Eternal-Living-Principle, the source of
all in all. This eternal living principle is neither for the living or for the dead; it is not for the powerful or
for the weak; it is not for the faithful or for the sinner; it is not for the rich or for the poor; it is not for the
green or for the gray; it is not for the clergy or for the laity; it is not for the night or for the day. The
sîmbi/god-living-principle just is. It is for all that is. Whoever challenges it, by going outside the ―live and
let live‖ principle, will severely be challenged by it.

great ancestral spirits that gave birth to us all, may also come from this same root. It appears that we have a great D-
M (Supreme-Being) and the lesser d-m that are linguistically built off the same root. It is equivalent to the Nwn as
the great NTR, and the other deities as the nTrw among the Egyptians.

Page 6 of 39
 As human beings, we cannot understand it because we, ourselves, are "it." The cosmos itself is
"it." Our life as we know it cannot define it because life itself is "it." The nature of this principle, its
essence, is incomprehensible to our human minds because the mind is "it." To just be is to begin to learn
about this living principle and its presence in and around us: it is to live it and let it live. A true muntu
lives his/her life while humbly practicing this living principle and others that are similar. Although it
cannot be seen, remember that it is a principle of living energy that holds up all things seen, unseen, and
yet to come. To Sîmba Sîmbi is to glorify and hold up life and peace in the world. This is the "live and let
live" principle; the key principle of life and living, the sîmba sîmbi in practice.

Imn

The connections between the concept of Imn and that of the sîmbi will be made clearer in this section. Our
aim now is to attempt to define Imn in the ancient Egyptian context. We noted that Imn is commonly
defined as the ―hidden one.‖ But is this his primary meaning? If secondary, is this the result of
consequence? I argue here that the ―hidden‖ aspect of Imn is characteristic, but it is not primary. I argue
that it has the same meaning as sîmbi in Kikongo for reasons which we will explore below.
Because the ancient Egyptian records are not clear as to the primary meaning of the name Imn,
we must look to related languages and cultures to get a better understanding of this term. The great
Senegalese scholar, Dr. Cheikh Anta Diop, in his seminal work African Origin of Civilization: Myth or
Reality (1974: 137), informs us that "Amon is likewise the god of all Black Africa." If this is so, then we
should be able to find this name, and/or its variants, scattered across the continent. We do, in fact, find
Imn across all of Africa.
There are many publications that deal with the meaning of the word Imn (e.g., Scranton 2010,
Karenga 2006, Sambu 2009, Sambu 2007). A few other sources have already been cited above. But there
are a few that stand out from the school of Africalogy. The first is the work by Drs. Jahi Issa and Salim
Faraji: The Origin of the Word Amen: Ancient Knowledge the Bible Has Never Told (2006). Issa and
Faraji are actually contributing editors to this work, which was originally written by a Mr. Osepetereku
Kwame Osei of Ghana in 1996. The geographical area of focus for this text is modern Ghana where this
name Imn is common-place. As valuable as this work is, it does not attempt to define Imn within the Kwa
language group of Niger-Congo for which the Akan, Anyin, Nzema and Ga/Dangme languages belong.9
Although Osei has degrees in linguistics, he did not attempt to do a comparative linguistic analysis of the
term for which his otherwise valuable work could have greatly benefited. This way we could assess
whether the terms are genuine cognates or chance look-alikes. A comparative analysis also helps to
prevent folk-etymology by doing a monolingual analysis.
The most comprehensive work on the meaning of the name Imn comes from Dr. Mubabinge
Bilolo in his 2010 text, Invisibilite et Immanence du Createur Imn (Amon-Amun-Amen-Iman-Zimin):
Example de la Vitalite de l‟Ancien Egyptien ou CiKam dans le Cyena Ntu. The geographical area of focus
for this text is modern Congo among the Tshiluba-Bantu speakers of Southwest Democratic Republic of
Congo. Dr. Bilolo‘s text reaffirms that the name Imn is multi-layered and that it would be erroneous to
interpret Imn as ―the hidden one‖ at each entry within an Egyptian text. We will draw much of our
comparative work from Bilolo‘s text, with some additional insights by me. Although this work is pretty
extensive, it does not get to the ultimate root and inspiration for the term in a larger context beyond
ciLuba. However, he does supply evidence for the ultimate root throughout the text, which will be
supplied throughout our discourse. I hope my contribution extends Issa, Faraji, Osei and Bilolo‘s
analyses.

9
To see a list of related languages within this family, see Bernd Heine and Derek Nurse (Eds.) (2000), African
Languages An Introduction (Cambridge University Press: UK), pg. 29. See also, Vic Webb & Kembo-Sure (Eds.)
(2000), African Voices: An Introduction to the Languages and Linguistics of Africa (Oxford University Press: South
Africa); G. Tucker Childs (2003), An Introduction to African Languages (John Benjamins Publishing Company:
Amseterdam).

Page 7 of 39
 My first clue to the root for the origin of the word Imn did not come from Akan, ciLuba or even
ciKam (Egyptian), but through the Dogon of Mali. The Dogon language is frequently referred to as a
single language of the Niger-Congo language family. However, Bertho (1953) showed that there is
considerable diversity, and proposed that at least four languages should be recognized (Heine & Nurse,
2000: 23).

Table 1: Linguistic Features of Dogon

Noun classes Remnant; no prefixes; human nouns take distinct plural suffix
Verbal extensions Few, mostly new formations
Pronouns One basic set, with object, possessive and ‗embedded‘ sets derived
Sentence order SAOVM, ASOVM
Noun phrase N + Poss; N + Adj; N + plural; N + Num; N + Dem; N + Definitive

Many of us are familiar with the extensive cosmology and theology of the Dogon from the principle
works The Pale Fox (1986) by Marcel Griaule & Germaine Dieterlen, and Conversations with
Ogotemmeli: An Introduction to Dogon Religious Ideas (1965), also by Marcel Griaule.
The name of the Supreme Being among the Dogon of Mali is Amma. Other African researchers
have connected Amma with Imn based on a few shared features and the similarity of the way the names
sound. A brief comparison of features is below.

Imn Amma
Symbol: ram ram
Sex: androgynous androgynous
Number: birthed 8 living principles gave birth to the 8 ancestors of humanity
Element: sun light
Body: eye eye

Unlike in the Egyptian sacred texts, The Pale Fox actually gives us a definition for the name Amma.

It is said: ―Amma‘s clavicle resembles the form of the yu,‖ for ―Amma holds life, therefore
millet‖; it is white, for ―Amma is all white‖ (amma pili vo). The word amma means: to hold
firmly, to embrace strongly and keep in the same place. ―One calls Amma‘s name all day long,
one calls him when the day begins; he is Hogon (chief) of the scheme, Hogon of wasters; Amma
arranges the scheme of things after he had wasted. Amma one is space fourteen (-fold). To
pronounce the name of Amma is to preserve all space. The name of Amma is preservation
and safe keeping of all things.” (Griaule & Dieterlen, 1986: 82) (bolded emphasis mine)

Immediately we see parallels with the Bantu-Kongo concept of sîmbi ―the holding power‖ that holds up
the universe. Remember that sîmbi derives from the Kikongo verb sîmba "to hold up, to keep (a thing), to
bless, to treasure, to touch, to retain." A reflex in Egyptian is sbj ―to attain.‖ The name Amma
means ―to hold firmly, to embrace strongly and keep in the same place.‖ The extended meaning of Amma
is ―preservation.‖ In relation to the god Imn, we note the word mn in ciKam, which means ―establish,
press (with fingers), be firm, enduring (of king).‖ We also have the variant smn ―make firm,
establish, endure, perpetuate, fasten, make fast, be steadfast.‖ But if Amma can linguistically be equated
to Imn, how do we explain the added -n ‗suffix‘ in Imn and the s- ‗prefix‘ in sîmba? We argue here that
Amma, sîmbi and Imn derive from a monosyllabic root -m-.
In the Jamsay dialect/language of Dogon, Amma is pronounced ámà ―God.‖ We also have ámáŋá
―hold (baby, sack) in one‘s arms.‖ The latter aligns well with Imn in Egyptian. The Nanga
dialect/language of Dogon doesn‘t use Amma for God, but dènjè or jènjè. However they have émbí "hold
(something) by pinching it (with tweezers, etc.)" They also have kɔmbí "cling to, hold on tightly to (e.g.

Page 8 of 39
tree branch, while hanging)" that is of relevance here.10 The Walo dialect/language of Dogon doesn‘t use
Amma either for God, but has the word ámbí "hold (e.g. bag, child) against one's chest." Islam has
recently penetrated Dogon country and may be the reason for the abandonment of the name Amma for
God in certain regions. As we can see here, the root is either -m- or -mb-.
The verb meaning to ―hold,‖ I argue, derives from a primal noun ―hand.‖ In early African
languages, verbs derived from nouns. In this case, the word for ―hand‖ came to denote the ―actions of the
hand,‖ i.e., ―to hold‖ (Imhotep 2013, Campbell-Dunn 2009a, 2009b). Campbell-Dunn, in his Sumerian
Comparative Dictionary (2009b), provides us with the following lexemes in African languages.

HAND Sumerian šu...bar ―to release‖

TU “hand”, “take”
BA “hand”, “put away”, “not” -r

PWS nú ―hand‖ < *tu

PWS nú ―five‖, Yoruba m-a-nu ―five‖, a-nu ―five‖ (passim)
PWS tú ―to take‖ (action of hand)
PWS búá ―arm‖ etc
PWN BA ―put away‖ Sumerian šu ―hand‖
PWN TU ―pound‖, TU ―shoot‖ (actions of hand)
Bantu tiud ―take‖
Swahili twaa ―take‖
Mande bolo-ba ―hand‖, bolo-muso ―left hand‖
Mangbetu ebara ―to flatten‖, ―to extend‖ (hand)
Mangbetu osua ―to chase clapping the hands‖, ésu ―to pierce‖, ―to pour‖ (action of hand)

*T = š *U = u *B = b *A = a

HOLD Sumerian dab5 ―to hold‖

TA “hold” -b

PWS ta ―to hold‖

PWS búá ―hand‖
PWS ta ―hand‖, Temne ka-ta ―hand‖
Bantu bamb ―to hold‖
Lolo kita ―to hold‖
Mande dye, de ―to hold‖
Mande ta ―to carry on head or shoulder‖
Mangbetu ota ―to carry on head or shoulder‖

*T = d *A = a *B = b

We argue that the root derives from the same source as Proto-Western-Sudanic (PWS) *bua ―hand, arm‖;
Bantu bamb ―to hold‖; Sumerian dab ―to hold.‖ Compare with Ewe abɔ ―arm,‖ Mbochi (Bantu) ebɔ
―arm‖ (Obenga, 1992: 128). We assume /b/ went through a nasalization process: i.e. b > mb > m. As it
regards the actions of the hand, ciLuba has the devoiced variant -pya "grasp, grip, hold on to"; -pyekela
"seize, take." The root -b-, as we can see, has many affixes depending on language as seen in Sumerian

10
Note that Proto-Bantu has *-bókò ―arm, hand, front paw.‖ We would assume metathesis on the consonants in
Nanga kɔmbí. We know -ko- is an affix and therefore could simply be prefixed in Nanga (Dogon) and suffixed in
Bantu.

Page 9 of 39
dab ―to hold.‖ The following entries from the TOB database for Afro-Asiatic (AA) have the following
supportive entries.

Proto-Afro-Asiatic: *ṭab-
Meaning: catch, seize
Western Chadic: *taḅ- < *ṭab- 'touch' 1, 'catching fish with hand' 2, 'hold, catch' 3
Central Chadic: *tVḅ- < *ṭVb- 'take' 1, 'hold' 2, 'touch' 3
East Chadic: *taḅ- < *ṭab- 'rob, plunder'
Notes: Cf. Eg dbdb (21) 'grasp, take back' in *dib- 'take away'

Proto-Afro-Asiatic: *gabaʔ-
Meaning: joint of a limb; arm
Borean etymology:
Semitic: *gubb-at- 'wrist, ankle' ~ *gibār-at- 'wrist'
Egyptian: gbʔ (ME) 'arm' (<*gabaʔ/y)
Western Chadic: *gaḅ- < *gabaʔ- 'joint, limb'
Beḍauye (Beja): gún/mba 'knee'
Saho-Afar: *gab- 'hand'

Proto-Afro-Asiatic: *ka/u(n)p-
Meaning: palm of hand, sole of foot
Semitic: *kapp- 'palm, flat of hand or foot'
Egyptian: kp (NE) 'sole'; 'enemy's hands separated from his arms; cut off hand' (n)
Low East Cushitic: *kunuf- 'claw' 1, 'nail' 2, 'finger' 3, 'hoof' 4
Notes: Cf. Bla Review 502. Related to *ka(n)P- 'wing' (195)?

The TOB database provides the following entries for ―hand‖ in the Afro-Asiatic languages that match
more closely our forms in Dogon.

Proto-Afro-Asiatic: *?am-
Meaning: forearm, arm, hand
Borean etymology:
Semitic: *?amm-at- 'elbow, forearm'
Western Chadic: *?am- 'hand' 1, 'arm' 2, 'branch' 3
11
Central Chadic: *yam-ay- 'hand'

The ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs provide support for Amma‘s root in ―hand.‖ The D49 "closed
hand‖ glyph is given the consonantal root value Amm. In Egyptian, the A and j/i sounds interchange, so this

may have also been pronounced jmm. We are supported by the very Egyptian dictionary entry
jmm ―grip, grasp‖ (Vygus); Am ―to seize, to grip‖ (Budge 6a). Compare this to Proto-
Western-Chadic *?/yama(n) ―arm, westwards,‖ Hausa yammaa ―arm, westward,‖ Bade ám-ɘn ―arm,
westward.‖ The same set of glyphs in the Vygus dictionary is also given as Ammt / jm ―fist,
grasp,‖ thus confirming its monosyllabic root. We see this form is closer to central Chadic *yam-ay-
'hand'. We noted earlier that the word jmn also meant ―to create.‖ One creates with one‘s ―hands‖ and the

11
Notes [from TOB]: Cf. HSED, 33 *?am- 'hand, arm': Sem; WCh. ( also quoted are Bgh am-s^i and Geji wom-z^i,
but without any evidence demonstrating that the -s^i/z^i element is a suffix or part of a composed stem). Actually
'arm', not 'hand'. The comment "Related to *?am- "catch, seize" (for the semantic development cf., for example, Lith
ranka "hand" ~ rinkti "grasp, seize")" is wrong as the meaning of both Semitic and WCh. nominal roots points not to
'hand', but to 'arm/forearm/elbow'. The meaning 'hand' is ascribed to the reconstructed root by the authors under the
influence of their own idea of relation with "catch, seize". A typical vicious circle of argumentation.

Page 10 of 39
monosyllabic root is also found in Egyptian as jm ―form, shape.‖ The Vygus dictionary also has
jm ―form, shape, size,‖ but I think this may also be written as jmm because of the two different
<m> graphemes. However, these are nouns.12 We know -m- is the root because it is present in other
related words in Egyptian: e.g., mj "take, hold"; HAm "to keep hold of, possess"; mH "seize, lay hold of,
grasp, capture" (<mH ―forearm, ulna, hand, claw, paw); xma "seize, grasp"; Yoruba (Nigeria) mu "take,
hold."
The Egyptian glyphs further reinforces Imn‘s association with ―hand‖ with the Gardiner sign R13
. This symbol is of a hawk on top of the t ‗loaf‘ symbol, which itself is on top of two vertical lines
of uneven length, with an ostrich feather sticking out of its front. It is given the consonant sound value of
jmn.t and Vygus has this symbol meaning both the God Imn and ―right hand.‖ Because the ancient
Egyptian orientation was toward central Africa, the ―right hand‖ signaled the West (place of sunset) and

the left hand signaled the East (place of sunrise). The R14 glyph (jmn.t, wnmj), without the hawk on
top, is also used to mean ―right hand‖ and ―the West‖ (ciLuba amanda "That which belongs to the west,
to the valley"). A matter of fact, it is almost exclusively used in words for the right or west. Even Hebrew
has reflexes with this root: yaman ―right, be right handed‖; yamar ―to exchange, to change places‖
(exchange hands?); yamash ―to touch, feel.‖ The Hebrew word yaman/yamin, although meaning ―right
hand,‖ also means ―south‖ instead of ―west‖ like in Egypt. This is evidence that this was not a borrowing
from Semitic as there are two different orientations conveyed here.
What is worthy of further examination is the hawk or falcon in the R13 glyph. Normally
is rendered as either ra or Hrw. But given our correspondences in ciLuba, we have the word ciMinyì
―eagle, hawk or tercel‖ (Kikongo kimbi ―hawk, falcon‖) that should be considered. As noted previously,
the -t suffix in Egyptian is prefixed in ciLuba as ci-, ti- or tshi- and Egyptian jmn.t is more so pronounced
t.jmn > ciMinyì in ciLuba. So this may inform us that the hawk symbol in Egyptian was also pronounced
jmn.t or Imn.
There is more support outside of Egypt for a conceptual and linguistic root in ―hand.‖ Whereas
the Dogon calls the Divine Amma/Ámà, in other parts of West Africa they call the Divine Nyame. This is
especially true among the Akan of Ghana. Ron Eglash, in his seminal work African Fractals: Modern
Computing and Indigenous Design (1999), discusses a board game played in this region called owari. The
word wari is Twi and means ―he/she marries.‖ The game is played by scooping pebble or seed counters
from one cup, and placing one of those counters into each cup, starting with the cup to the right of the
scoop (Eglash, 1999: 101). The objective of the game is to have the last counter land in a cup that has
only one or two counters already in it, which allows the player to capture these counters.

12
Given our ciLuba word -pya ―grip, grasp, hold on to,‖ compare to Egyptian pjpj (reduplicated) ―to make (bricks),
to shape, to form, to knead.‖ All are actions of the hands. The word msj "create, construct"; "give birth, bring forth
(of field); "to form, to fashion" may be of relevance if it is discovered -m- is the root. I could not locate -sj with any
relevant meaning in Egyptian. We also note with Sumerian dim "to form." The word dima is old Niger-Congo for
"right hand" (Campbell-Dunn, 2009b: 53).

Page 11 of 39
Above is an image of the outside of an owari board that has an adinkra symbol in the center called Gye
Nyame ―Except God‖ or ―It is only God‖ as a symbol of God‘s omnipotence and immortality. The two
outer curves of the adinkra symbol above represent a spiral coil that represents the infinite expansion of
the universe. The outer spirals are the coming together of two ram‟s horns. The Baluba of the Kongo
conveys this idea of a spiral universe with a snail shell (see image in Eglash, 1999: 148). We can better
understand probably why the ram is both sacred to Amma and Imn; as the horns display this spiral shape,
a shape central to African cosmology.

Figure 7.14 (Eglash, 1999: 107): God holding the power of life

This symbol is reminiscent of the old Christian church song: ―He‘s got the whole world, in his hands!‖
This is implying that all things are orchestrated by the ―hands‖ of God. God is therefore the director of all
movement, expansion, coming into being and non-being. God, then, is interpreted as the unseen force that
holds all things together (that preserves life). The action of the hand, conveyed by the -m- root, is given in
several epithets in Akan.

Page 12 of 39
 AmOwia The Giver of sun
AmOsu The Giver of water (rain)13
AmoAmee = AmoAmen The giver of enough (Giver of repletion; sufficiency of Good)14
OtweiDuAmpon NyanKopon The All-embracing (Akanba, 2010: 450)

The act of ―giving‖ is an action of the ―hand,‖ which is represented by am in Akan. The following is a
short list of the variants of Amma/Nyame/Imn in African languages.

Adjuru (Cote d'Ivoire) Nyam; Akan (Ghana) Nyame, Onyame, Amowia, Nyaamanekose; Asante
(Ghana, Côte d‘Ivoire): Nyame; Bakongo (Angola) Nzambi; Banyarwanda (Rwanda) Imana,
Bizimana; Barotse (Zambia) Byambe; Burundi (Burundi) Imana; Jukun (Nigeria) Ama or Ma;
Kuba (Congo) Njambe; Lele (Congo) Njambi; Lozi (Zambia) Nyambe; Luimbe (Angola) Nzambi;
Lunda-Luena (Angola, Congo, Zambia) Nzambi; Pare (Tanzania) Kyumbi; Twi (Benin, Ghana):
Onyankopon; Vili (Congo) Nzambi Mpungu; SafHwi/Sanwe (Ghana) Nyamene; Baluba (Congo)
Nzambi; Bokudu (Gabon) Ngimbi/Ngembe/Nzimbi ―God.‖

Here we can see that the /y/ sound in Nyame has the following sound mutations in various African
languages where the word is present: y, i, j, z, and g. We argue that z became s in the variant sîmbi
(Mitsogho diSumba15 ―the force from which all things emanate‖). The sound /dz/ is also a variant, which
itself morphes to /d/ (e.g., Shona MuDzimu; Hebrew Adam) and /t/ (Egyptian jtmw ―Atum‖).
We argue, therefore, that Atum and Amun are variants of each other; probably
introduced from different related cultural groups into the main Egyptian pantheon. Proto-Bantu
reconstructions are given as follows (from the BLR3 database):

MAIN God
LH (N 1a/2)
3196 Dieu
Total Distribution: Regions: 3: NW SW Ce Zones: 6: A B C H K L
MAIN 3196 LH N 1a/2 God ABCHKL

INC 1564 LH N (1a/2), God

(9/6), (9/10)
REF 1565 LLH N (1a/2), God
(9/6), (9/10)
VAR 3197 LH N 1a/2 God; spirit ABCK

See also:
8392 LH N3 belief C

The PB forms above has survived in places like Guyana and Trindad in the Diaspora as the word jumbie
―spirit‖ or ―ghost‖ (Allsopp, 2003: 317-318). Christopher Ehret supports our hypothesis of a
13
It is my argument that the Akan epithet for god AmOsu ―Giver of water,‖ may be the origin of the name Moses in
the Biblical tradition, which folk etymology argues it means ―drawn from the water.‖ This would make sense given
that Moses (Moshe) drew water from a rock in Exodus 17:6; ―I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb.
Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink. So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of
Israel.‖ This happens again later in Numbers 20:1-13. The first time YHWH commands Moses to ―strike‖ the rock
for water to come out, and the second time to ―call‖ out to the rock for the water to come out. The point here is that
Moses is associated with the ability to bring forth water (even split a sea in half in Exodus 14). Thus, Moses
(AmOsu) would be, for the Israelites, the giver of water. The Hebrews are known for taking African deities and
demoting them to ordinary human-beings (e.g., Yoruba Ògún > Hebrew Qayin/Cain). Cf. Oduyoye (1984, 1996).
14
In essence, the one who makes provisions for the primary economies of life; making the day-to-day life possible
for all beings. He is therefore the one who opens up for man an appetite for life; He makes life worth living.
15
See Kleiman (2003: 136).

Page 13 of 39
monosyllabic root for Nyambe, stating that nyambe derives from a root -amb-, with an -e suffix needed in
order to make the verb into a noun, and the ny- prefix which signified a category for animals and things
that don‘t fit into any category. So we have, according to Ehret, ―the beginner of all things‖: literally,
―The origin of all things.‖16 Given the information above, I think we have a more accurate root concept in
―hand‖ than in ―beginnings,‖ although conceptually this would not be incorrect (as you create with your
hands). The word sîmbi in Kikongo is just a variant of *jàmbé ―god‖; Nzambi ―god.‖ The word Imn in
Egyptian is just a variant of Amma, Nyame/Nyambe, and Nzambi.
The word zombie, in the American imagination, is just a corruption of the word nzambi brought
over into the New World by enslaved Africans. A zombie is a person who has been resurrected from
death. Because African concepts of God are vilified in the Western world, the zombie has been demonized
and associated with death and destruction. Such television shows and films as World War Z, Night of the
Living Dead, The Walking Dead, etc., are mockeries of African divine concepts. This vilification comes
as a result of misunderstanding African concepts of spirit and its animating forces. One wonders why the
title of zombie is not attached to Jesus the Christ of the Christian tradition. As a result of him rising from
the dead, is he not an Nzambi/Zombie/PB *nyàmbé ―spirit?‖
Continuing, as noted by Drs. Adama & Naomi Doumbia, in their work The Way of the Elders:
West African Spirituality & Tradition (2004: 5), nyama17 [sîmbi?] is a power/energy that emanates from
Spirit and flows throughout the universe. ―It is the life force that links all of existence together; humans,
animals, plants, and minerals. The power of creation and destruction, nyama commands everything from
bountiful harvests to droughts and plagues; it directs the twinkling stars and the rippling tides‖ (ibid). As
one reads further into the text, it, in essence, repeats all of the attributes of sîmbi as expressed by Fu-Kiau
(2006). This is a testament to the deep cultural unity of African cultures, and how well African people
have preserved religious concepts, although they have been separated by thousands of years and
thousands of miles over time. These ideas are present in the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and we will see
below just how the Egyptians preserved these concepts in their iconography.

As a result of grounding Imn in a word for ―hand‖ and the ―actions‖ of the hand, we can better appreciate
the logic of the symbol used primarily to represent his name: Y5 mn. The sign is of a rectangular
base with several vertical projectiles rising from the foundation. Every aspect of this symbol can be
represented by the m-n consonant root in African languages. As we will come to see, the underlying
current of the symbol means to be ―placed, fixed, and aligned on a base or foundation.‖ The connecting
concept is ―holding‖ or ―planting‖ or to remain ―fixed.‖
Our first order of business regards the vertical projectiles in the Y5 glyph. Mubabinge Bilolo
(2010: 78) provides us with a table with the names in ciLuba for such projectiles. I have modified his
table and given the English translations of the terms given in ciLuba.

Table 2: Projectile and base names in ciLuba

imana, imanika, mwimane, dimanin Erect (cimana = wall, partition). Remain standing in
a fixed position. Stable
munwe, nyomwe, umwa ||

▬ munana; dimonu; mulala, muladika Obesity, swollen (derived from nana meaning
―stretch, extend‖). Mulala = palm branch, palm
frond.

16
See ―A Conversation with Christopher Ehret‖: http://www.scribd.com/doc/91975268/A-Conversation-With-
Christopher-Ehret (retrieved June 6, 2013).
17
Nyama is also present among the Dogon and is considered the ―life-force‖ of man (Griaule & Dieterlen, 1986:
55).

Page 14 of 39
▬ ala, alolola, shinda, shama ololoka, nema »
┴ shalama, zalama/ jaalama : shindamana, shindika,
shadika ; shikamina ; shikama, shikamina ;
shika/zika/jiika, asa, dishikamina
┬ fufuma, andamuna, talamuna,
Bend, bow, spring, bulging belly
Grow, stand up, stay, dwell, place, to complete, be
finished, to be fixed on a base. Support (of
existence).
Out of isolation, to be noticed, to stand out.

As we can see here, we have various terms to denote ―erection, standing, growth‖ as well as ―stay, dwell,
place, be fixed on a base,‖ which has some variation of our m-n root. When we understand that the m-n
consonant root applies to the projectiles on a fixed base, then the following terms in ciLuba will begin to
make sense:

mana "toes"
menu "teeth"
minu / munu "fingers"
mwani / mwanya ―gap between teeth‖
(lu) mona ―dart, sting‖18

Notice that each term refers to objects or aspects of items that rise, project or stands out from a solid
base: toes from foot, teeth from gums, fingers from hand, etc. With this information, we better understand
the conceptualization and meaning behind the name of the god Mnw ‗Min‘ who is often depicted
with an erect phallus (Hnnw ―phallus, circumcised penis‖). We find support in ciLuba which
19

gives the following: numa ―bulge‖; imane ―standing, vertical‖; mena ―push, grow, germinate.‖ Mnw is
also a fertility principle in the Egyptian imagination. The following table displays some cognate terms
between Kalenjiin (Nilo-Saharan) and Egyptian.

Table 3: M-N root in Kalenjiin (Nilo-Saharan)

Glyph Egyptian Kalenjiin
Mn Monyiis ―of Penis‖
Munyas ―of lust‖
Mnw (Amsu)

mnw Meenyjo ―place of circumcision‖

miin/men ―seed‖ (Coptic) Miin ―plant‖ (seed)

If we look carefully at the Y5 glyph, mn, we see that in between the projectiles is a gap/space and
the ―gap‖ is also spoken of with an m-n consonant root in ciLuba: mwani/mwanya. The symbol is often
referred to as a game board (see Amen, 2010: 44), but it may also simply be a brush or comb as a comb
also has the protruding projectiles. We find the word for comb in ciLuba with the same consonant cluster.

Table 420
Comb cisaamuna, cisaamwina < s-amuna, s-amwina smn
Comb cisaku, cisakulu < saka
Fork nsomo, cisomonu < somona = sobola smn

18
Think of a stingray, for example. It is the ―sting‖ which extends from its body, the tail.
19
Looking at the hieroglyphs for ―penis,‖ we notice an ―herb‖ symbol in the mix. One wonders if this is a sign that
points to an herb that would help in erectile dysfunction. It should be noted, however, that the M2 herb glyph carries
the Hn sound value.
20
Bilolo (2010: 58).

Page 15 of 39
 Comb cisamuna < samuna smn(t)
< samwina

Thus, Imn/mn refers to the ―base‖ or ―foundation‖ of a thing, and it refers to that which arises from it.
This is probably why Wilkinson (2003: 94) noted that Imn was a ―Universal God‖ as he is one that ―exists
in all things‖ (being both producer and product). This is possible if one is conceived of as the base as well
as that which emanates from the base. A base is a support for things to stand on and this is reflected in
ciLuba:

Eyama be at rest, be up against, be based on

Eyamena be based on or against, supported/is supported/rests
Cyeyamenu support, point of support, fulcrum, backbone, prop, staff, brace, boost, uphold
NgEyamina support, bearing

This idea of ―support‖ is reflected in ciKam (Egyptian) as mnty ―mast support‖; rmnj
―shoulder, carry, support, match, equal; Bearer, Supporter." Note that in the latter term, the arm/hand
glyph is used to reinforce this notion of support.
We can see here the various affixes to the -m- root that give us different shades of meaning. We
note that in Egyptian, the mn root can also carry the s- ‗prefix‘. This is not a causative, but a radical. In
ciLuba we have simama, mana: ―stand, be standing, stand up, rise, come to a stand, stop, remain
stationary, keep in a particular place, be erect, high, steep, be steadfast, be established, be steady, be
immovable.‖ The concept of ―support‖ is also rendered in ciLuba as shindamena, shinama, shindamana,
shindamina. This is reflected in Egyptian as smn "stay, linger, to establish, to set on record, make
firm, endure, perpetuate, fasten, make fast, confirm (office), leave to stand, take station, affix, put on
(crown), make definite, set in place (parts of the body), set up (stela), put, set aside, remainder." Bilolo
(2010: 59) provides some other reflexes for the s-m-n consonant cluster in ciLuba, a few which are
relevant to this section.
Table 5:
camun sneeze, blow, breathe
cimini eagle, vulture; swallower
cimun defeat, overcome; put in route, to route
cimana partition, wall, walled, hiding
samin aspire to, to burn with envy, desire, or to suffer because of
samin rumble, to shout, excise
samin support the head against, lay his head on (e.g. on a MuSamu "cushion".)
samun praise, mention the names of someone, glorify
samun comb, detangle, sort, discern, emphasize among
semen towards and away from
shamin be secured, get bogged down; remain seated
shamun/jamun disclose, discover, expose
shimin/jimin disappear, become invisible, get lost, stop being, extinguished
shimini/zimini (bu-/ma-) invisibility
shimun/zimun evoke, remind, reignite things / mistakes / forgotten memories
shimun rekindle, light again
shimun walk moderately
shamon/jomon pull or tear a plant / tree with hands
showmen/jomwen wide-eyed (= -pò-n-zomona. –pòn-zomwena, -pòn-zamana)
somen load (a gun); measure a charge of powder
somon select / sort / prick between; tingling
somon(son-) poke (= Shimuna)
sumin to bite, sting / pinch / bind / seize with teeth
sumin be serious, taken seriously; allow, permit, enable

Page 16 of 39
 sumun wean
zimin disappear, become invisible, get lost, stop being

We were told by Fu-Kiau that the sîmbi is a ‗mothering principle‘ and that it is the ‗birthing power‘ of all
things. The m-n root in Egyptian reflects this principle. We observe the following:

Table 6:
mna.t ―Nurse, Guardian‖

mna ―Nurse‖

In ciLuba we have ci-muna/ndami ―educator, teacher, nurse.‖ All throughout Africa, carvings or
depictions of a woman breast-feeding a child is not only a symbol for nursing, but also represents
―teaching/initiation.‖ The mother is the child‘s first teacher. The first ‗throne‘ a child sits on is its
mother‘s lap. This is why the throne in African societies is considered a ―feminine‖ object. It is also at the
core of the practice of ―matrilineal‖ descent to the throne of African kingdoms.
Another hieroglyphic form of this term is given as mna.t ―nurse‖ with a picture of a
woman‘s breast as the determinative. We see the following reflexes in ciLuba:

mna (Egyptian) = amwina ―wean, breastfeeding‖

amwa> amwin, amwisha ―action of breastfeeding, weaning‖
CyAmwina, CyA-mwinu ―source / place of breastfeeding/suckling ―

Compare nzambi to ciLuba ndami "nanny" (bonne d'enfant) in relation to the nursing/mothering princple.
We also have the following reflexes in ciLuba (Bilolo, 2010: 68):

Dimi / Dime Pregnancy, being pregnant

Cima Heart, liver, life, soul
CiMaye Chrysalis/pupal, nymph
CiMayi Primordial Egg, mother of eggs
Cima live in herds
CiMuna Conquer, master (of a) defeated (army?)

This mothering characteristic of Imn is supported in the Egyptian texts. As noted in a hymn to Imn-Ra by
the twin brother Suti and Hor, Imn-Ra is the, ―Maker of the earth‘s yield, Khnum and Amen of
humankind, Beneficent Mother of divinities and people‖ (Urk IV, 1943-1949; cited in Karenga, 2006:
81).21 This notion of ―mothering‖ extends into the occupation of herdsman; just like a mother nurtures and
protects her young, a herdsman—towards his cattle—possesses the same characteristics. Paronymy plays
a big part in this as the word for herdsmen (shepherd) in Egyptian is mnjw (ciLuba Mu-Moni, mu-Muni, mu-
Mune ―breeder, pastor‖). A hymn to Imn-Ra describes his mothering/pastoral character.

O Amen Ra, you shepherd who cares for your flock in the early morning, and leads the hungry to
pasture. As the shepherd leads the flock to green meadows, Amen so do you lead me the hungry to
food. For Amen is indeed a shepherd, a shepherd who is not neglectful. (Karenga, 2006: 224)

21
Urk IV = Kurt Sethe. (1906-1958). Urkunden des agyptischen Altertums, Abteilung IV, Urkunden der 18 Dynastie
Fasc. 1-22. Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs‘sche Buchhandlung.

Page 17 of 39
Remember that sîmbi means "a keeper, a watch over, someone with the power to protect, a living
power/energy that holds up everything." This word is present in Egyptian as the word sbj
―watch over‖ (Vygus 1464).

Imn

Fu-Kiau (2006) noted that the sîmbi was an ―invisible force‖ that holds up creation and is existence itself.
Since we have connected the sîmbi with Imn, we would expect this ―hidden‖ aspect of sîmbi to be
prominent. This is supported by the hieroglyphs as there is a reflex in ciKam given as sbj ―to
vanish, perish, be faint‖ (Kikongo sîmbi). Compare to ciLuba -jimba ―remove, kill in secret‖; -jimbaja
―delete, remove, lose‖; -jimbala ―disappear, get lost, clear‖; Dogon obia ―hidden.‖ As noted previously,
the dominant interpretation of Imn in the Egyptological literature is ―the hidden one‖ (< jmn
―hidden, secret‖). The ciLuba language supports this interpretation as well as the following table
demonstrates.

Table 7:
Imn hidden Mamina
Cimuni/ CiMoni ―what I do not see‖;
Cimwenibu "Let no one see me / I remain invisible‖; Soko-Mena.
invisible Ka-Amoni, Ka-Amonu, Kamwenibu; Ka-Mwene; Ka-Mweneki; Cimwenibu;
Cimonyi
Zimin / Shimin
unknown Ka-Amani ; Ka-Amani-bu; Ka-Manyi-ki; Cimanyi

pneuma22 Anyuma; Nyuma

One will not find in the Egyptian dictionaries a root s-m-n that means ―hidden,‖ but I think this is due to
ignorance of the proper value of some of the glyphs. As noted in Imhotep (2012, 2013), the a ―arm‖
glyph was originally pronounced with a /k/ sound value. The k and s sounds often interchange. We note in
Egyptian the following from the Vygus dictionary pg. 187: am ―hidden‖ (Vygus has jmn). This
should properly be pronounced km(n) (ciLuba ka-amoni ―invisible‖; ka-amani ―unknown‖; Kikongo ke
moneka ko ―be invisible‖).
My research has shown that Egyptian almost always has alternative spellings for major concepts
and this is no different. A reflex of am ―hidden‖ is xm ―know not, be ignorant of, be unconscious
of, to forget, not learn, not care for‖; in other words, to see (understand) not. We note the determinative
which is a hand gesture sign implying ―I don‘t know.‖ This same determinative is used in the word jmn
―hidden, secret‖ (Vygus 1060). The D35 glyph has the consonant values of n, smx and
xm. It is a symbol of negation. When information is kept secret or hidden from others, those not in the
know are ―ignorant, unconscious‖ of that information (they cannot see; knowledge is invisible). There are
other aspects of ―hiddenness‖ that is expressed in ciLuba by the s-m-n root, where j > s > z.

Table 823
Zimina/shimina/jimina "Disappear", "get lost"; "Evaporate"
Zima/shima/jima die
buZimini/buShiminyi/buJimini invisibility, disappearance

22
Soul, spirit.
23
Bilolo (2010: 82).

Page 18 of 39
 maZimini/maShiminyi/maJimini invisibility, disappearance
Nzimu/nshimu/njimu Sudden disappearance
nsàmu disappearance

Imn

Although Imn is hidden, there are aspects of him that are concerned with ―revealing, making known,
making conscious‖ that which is unseen. As I discussed in Imhotep (2013), the association of Imn with
the sun was to highlight this revelatory quality of the Divine as only light can symbolize. As argued
previously, Imn derives from a monosyllabic root and we find support, in this aspect, from the TOB
database.

PAA *yam- "day"; Semitic *yawm "day"; Egyptian jmy (Middle Egyptian) "sun (as an eye)";
Western Chadic *yam(m) "evening (before sunset)" (Hausa yàmmā ―west; afternoon [when the
sun is in the west]); East Chadic *yam- "day"

The god Amma of the Dogon is also associated with ―light,‖ and like Imn of Egypt, this is associated with
an ―eye.‖ In the Pale Fox (1986) Griaule and Dieterlen revealed that when Amma opens his eye, a
whirlwind came into being and out came a bright light.

Amma, having thus positioned the yala for the prefiguration of the universe, acted upon them. He
―opened his eyes.‖ This act provoked the emergence of the yala from the spiral which, turning in
the other direction, will prefigure, inside the egg, the future expansion of the universe. Because of
this, it is said that Amma ―pushed aside the yala of the gaba and of the anu,‖ in order that the
spiral turning on its axis might be able to reverse itself. Thus Amma had pierced the envelope of
his own womb, and his “eye,” as it burst forth from the hole, had become a light that
illuminated the universe and revealed the existence of all things in formation. (Griaule and
Dieterlen, 1986: 125-126) (emphasis mine)

Compare the above statements, and the word Amma, with the term from the Walo (Dogon)
dialect/language: ambi "(fire) be lit" (ciLuba shimun ―rekindle, light again‖). We can see how paronymy
is being used here.
In later Egyptian times, the god Imn was merged with the god Ra to give us Imn-Ra. This, I argue,
was to highlight the revelatory aspects of the Creator and to emphasize the characteristic of one who
―sees, watches‖ and therefore ―is knowledgeable‖ about things. We observe the following in ciLuba:

Table 9: Imn-Ra among the Baluba24

Egyptian Pronunciation CiLuba Meaning
Sign
Imn-ra Amanda "That which belongs to the west, to the valley",
(n+ra=nda) "what is below/downstream."25 Nb. For the Nile-
Delta, manda is the mutu "head" of the Great Lakes
region.
mwindila "He/She is expected" (and on whom rests the hopes)

24
Kalamba and Bilolo (2009: 127-128)
25
I posit that this phrase Amanda is also cognate with Egyptian imnt "the west, the western, secret, hidden place,
crypt, right side, realm of the dead."

Page 19 of 39
 (babala) Ra-Imn Alamina ―Watch, be on the watch, spy, monitor the
movements of the enemy‖; ―hatching‖ (of eggs) [in
other words ―revelation, revealing, coming into
being‖]
lamuna Drawn from sleep, awake, raise up, be careful
Lamina ―Monitor, ensure, maintain, keep, observe, be in a
constant manner, to have a habit‖
muLaminyi ―He / she who guards, watches, monitors and is
protected for‖
lemena ―Bend‖ (bow or spring); paste, fix, bulging, nail, tie,
take (someone) to the ground after terrace‖

lumina ―Eater, swallower ―

lumwenu ―Mirror, glass, spectrum‖
Imn-bai Amwenibwa; "Whether it is seeing", "Whether it is to know‖
Amenyibwa

It is our contention that Imn-Ra, based on the name, is the one who ―watches over, monitors, spies,
ensures, protects by monitoring, observes, reveals, and knows.‖ These same attributes are present in the
word sîmbi, which means: "a keeper, a watch over, someone with the power to protect, a living
power/energy that holds up everything."
We further note some interesting correspondences in Dogon that is instructive for our discourse
as it regards Imn-Ra. In the Walo dialect/language of Dogon, we have the term ámbí:rì ―(political) chief,
boss.‖ One could argue that Imn-Ra was considered the great ―chief, boss,‖ ―head‖ or ―owner‖ of all
things: in other words, he is God who controls, with his hands, all dealings of the Universe (see Imhotep
2013 for other examples along these lines). We also have in Walo ámbí‟rí ―ignite, light (fire),‖ which
would be an attribute of any ―sun-god‖ who used fire to spark creation. Compare with the Walo word
ámbírí ―turn on‖ (lights). Using paronymy as our framework, we can see why when the God Amma
opened his ―eye,‖ a great ―light…illuminated the universe and revealed the existence of all things in
formation.‖ In other words, when Amma (ámà, ámbí, ámáŋá) opened his eye, he ámbírí (Imn-Ra) ―turned
on the lights.‖ In the Akan language we have AmOwia ―The Giver of Sun,‖ where O-wia (Ra) is ―sun‖
(Ankaba, 2010: 450).26 I would argue more so the ―Giver of light‖ as a more fitting meaning. The same
root with a different prefix, a-wia, means ―sunshine‖ (> Awia abo ―It is day time‖).
Even without the -ra extension (in ciLuba or ciKam), the m-n root still operates within the
domain of ―revelation, sight, and experience.‖ If our insights are correct, and we think they are, this may
demonstrate that the sun glyph in jmn-ra may at times be considered as a determinative and not part of the
core word.

Table 10:
m mn.t ―daily‖
mn.t munya Solar light or clarity, warmth, day

mn.t Dya munya Day of solar heat; clarity of day; solar light-heat

Compare to Kikongo mwini "light of sun"; minika "show a light." Other reflexes are notable for the m-n
consonant root that speaks to this aspect of being ―seen.‖

26
Issa & Faraji (2006: 40) has Amon-Wi. There is also Ja-AmenRaWa (Jamerawa, Gyamerawa) in Akan.

Page 20 of 39
 Table 11: mnw27
Egyptian Sign ciLuba Meaning
(<-mwena) "things (Bi-) views (mweni)", the verb -Mwena = -monena,
monyina
=mnwj28
= malu "Business/problems (malu) encountered, experienced
maMona (maMona)"
= bi- "visible monuments, visible memories, statues"
mwe(ne)nu

= Cimwenu "monument, memories", "by which we continue to see a

person, has something to remember her by," "mirror,
manifestation"
= Bi-monu "property, possessions," "property we saw (bi-Mwena) = one
possesses"
= mnw
= Bi-moni "those who see it, watch"; "the beings who possess = who see"
= mnwj

We note that the sun glyph can also carry the Hrw consonant values. Instead of saying Imn-Ra, we
could also say Imn-Hrw (Budge 51b) and this would provide meaningful concepts in ciLuba that
may have been present in the ancient Egyptian imagination.

Table 12: Imn-Hrw29

Egyptian Pronunciation CiLuba Meaning
Sign
Imn-Hrw mwenekela appear, being seen, become visible,
perceptible; to reveal a/ for; to show

mwenekelu appearance
di-mwenekela Emergence, birth, occurrence, shape,
color, vision

mumwenekedi / Whoever shows, turns out, appears

umwenekela to / for.
Imn-Hrw Imane-Kulu Snaps upright, he straightens
upright, he climbs up

Imn-Hrw Ammwena-Kulu He looks at me/ seen from above/ up

there

Mwena-Kulu Lord of Heaven, Master of the Sun,

of all that is above
Mwinangila Batamine = he looks attentive
Imn-Hrw Amwenekela He shows

Ammwenekela He appears, he shows me

27
Kalamba and Bilolo (2009: 120)
28
The final -j (yy) in Egyptian is often the bi- prefix in ciLuba.
29
Bilolo (2010:75)

Page 21 of 39
The name jmn is pronounced in various ways across Africa. It is used among the Igbo of Nigeria as a
conceptual extension to the name of the Divine (Chukwu). God is known among the Igbo as Chukwu
Abia-ama ―God the revealer of Knowledge and Wisdom.‖ In other words, it is God—the knowledge and
wisdom—that reveals himself (Umeh, 1997: 135). It should be noted that Chukwu is also represented by
the sun. The word ama ―know, be familiar with‖ among the Igbo is comparable to the word used for God
among the Dogon: Amma. To ―know‖ or ―be aware‖ in ciLuba is pronounced manya ―to know,
awareness, knowledge‖ (di-Manya, bu-Manyi). It should be noted that in practically all world languages,
to ―know‖ is metaphorically associated with ―having a grasp/grip‖ on things. Therefore, this level of
understanding would be in alignment with our contentions as it regards Amma/Nzambi/Imn being rooted
in a word for ―hand.‖

Imn

In Imhotep (2013: 183), I discussed a phenomenon in African wisdom centers where the priests would
deliberately switch around the syllables to certain words to conceal its meanings, or to create expanded
concepts on an underlying theme. This may be the case here with the names of the god Xnmw and
the god Imn. Here we posit that the /n/ and /m/ values, representing individual syllables, were switched
with each word gaining a different prefix: i.e., X- and j- respectively. There appears to be some shared
characteristics between the two nTrw that are worth exploring here.
Khnum was a very important deity among the ancient Egyptians. He was associated with the Nile
River and with the creation of life. He was said to control the inundation of the Nile and was closely
linked to the first cataract. He was indeed the personification of the creative force (Wilkinson, 2003: 194).
His association with the Nile and with its fertile soil perhaps contributed to his portrayal as a
potter who was said to have shaped all living things upon his potter's wheel. Khnum was also considered
to be the spirit of Ra. This is probably because the word for "ram" (bA) was similar to the word for "soul,
spirit" (bA). Like Imn, Khnum also merged with Ra and became Xnmw-ra.
Khnum was depicted most often in anthropomorphic form as a ram-headed deity wearing a short
kilt and a long tripartite wig. Originally, he was depicted with the horizontal, undulating horns of Ovis
longipes (the first species of sheep to be raised in ciKam). However, as time progressed, he was also
depicted with the short curved horns of the Ovis platyra ram: i.e., the ram of Imn. Like Imn, Khnum also
wore two high plumes atop his head.
With Xnmw being associated with ―creation,‖ we are reminded of the word jmn ―to create, to
shape.‖ Indeed, Xnmw‘s association with the ―potter‘s wheel‖ and forming human-beings from wet clay
(the Nile silt?) puts it in alignment with the term jmn. We also note for the record the word Xnm ―to
create,‖ which has essentially the same consonants as jmn ―to create, to form.‖ We also consider Xnmt
―to embrace‖; Xnm ―join, unite, endue (with); be united, associated (with), be provided,
endowed (with).‖ All crafts involve the bringing together of materials to create a product (e.g., weaving).
We are also reminded that the sîmbi energy is a ―mothering‖ and ―birthing‖ principle. Because
Xnmw was responsible for molding the shape of human-beings (he is often seen molding a child on his
potter‘s wheel), he was widely recognized as a god associated with childbirth and is often depicted in the
pr ms or ―birth houses‖ (Wilkinson, 2003: 194-195). Therefore, the connection with xnm.t
―Nurse, Guardian, Foster Mother,‖ xnm ―to treat, to comfort, gratify‖ would be in alignment.
With this example, we see a different prefix: i.e., x-. The x- and X- prefixes, I argue, are an infinitive
marker on the verb in many cases. The infinitive prefix marker approximates to the ―to‖ of the English
infinitive. This infinitive is present in Kalenjiin (Nilo-Saharan) and Bantu (Niger-Congo) languages.

Kalenjiin: kee-cham ―to love, like

Swahili: ku-penda

Page 22 of 39
 Kalenjiin: kii-kat ―to salute, greet‖
Swahili: ku-salimu (Toweett, 1979: 117)

This feature in Egyptian is fossilized in many words and was not very productive.
There is a term in ciKam xnm ―breathe (air), inhale, smell (odours), make sweet
smelling, belabour (with blows)‖ that is of great interest for us here. Ciluba-Bantu has the terms nyuma
―air, breath; pneuma, anemos, Mupepe (wind), spirit‖; nemoi/ne-moyi ―with the breath of life, the living,
living breath‖; camun ―sneeze, blow, breathe.‖ All over the world life is signified by the ―breath‖ or ―air,
wind.‖ Indeed, the sîmbi is the very life-principle. Therefore, Xnmw was not only the force that shaped
things into being, he was also the very life principle itself. With Xnmw and Imn sharing many of the same
attributes, including a similarity in name, they may ultimately be two local variations of the same
fundamental principle articulated in slightly different ways. We should note also the term jnm
―shape, form, nature‖ [noun] in ciKam, which may support our assumption above.
The ram is a kind of cattle, and we see this reflected in the Egyptian records. We have the term
Xnmw ―herd‖ that is of interest. In comparison to the god Imn, whom the ram was also a sacred
association, the word mnmn.t ―herd, group of animals, group of cattle‖ is of relevance.
As we can see by the glyphs, we know the ram is considered part of the cattle as it is used as a
determinative in the word for cattle. In the ciLuba language, this word is reflected as ciMuna ―domestic
animal‖ derived from muna ―livestock.‖ The m-n root in Egyptian is reduplicated for emphasis as a way
to denote a large quantity. The root word is simply mn.t, not mnmn.t. The -t suffix (so called feminine -t)
is prefixed in ciLuba.30 This word can also be written as diMuna (ngomba, miKoko/ mPanga ne mbushi).
Muna is also the word for ―breeding‖ in ciLuba (syn. Lumunyinu). We can see that this is a common word
for cattle in African languages. The following is taken from different locations in Campbell-Dunn
(2009b):

ANIMAL Sumerian am ―wild ox‖, ―bull‖

NA ―animal‖, ―cow‖, ―meat‖ -m

MA ―mass‖

PWS na, nak ―cow, bull‖, Alagiang nama ―cow‖ Sumerian am-si ―elephant‖
PWN JAM, NAM ―animal‖ Sumerian am-gud ―wild bovid‖
Bantu (ny)ama ―animal, meat‖ Sumerian na ―human being‖ ?
Lolo, Ngala, Poto, Soko, Kele, Swahili nyama ―animal‖
―Holoholo‖ nyama ―animal, flesh‖
Mande M ku-nyã ―animal‖
PCS *ja ―meat, animal‖
ES Barea no ―meat‖
CN Kunama nya ―meat‖31

The West African word nyama ―spirit‖ (Doumbia & Doumbia, 2004: 5) could also be a play on words
with the word for cattle in African languages; if not them being one and the same. Cattle were often
simply seen as ―meat‖ and food is life.32 To eat an animal is to also eat the spirit of the animal: its
essence. The same -n- root is used for the word for ―spirit.‖ As noted by GJK Campbell-Dunn, in his

30
The Egyptian -t corresponds to ciLuba ci-, ti-, di-, and tshi- prefixes.
31
PWS = Proto-Western Sudanic (Bender); PWN = Proto-Western Nigritic (Mukarvosky); PCS = Proto central
Sudanic (Greensberg); CN = Chari-Nile (Greenberg).
32
See also Webb & Sure (2000: 62) for other examples in Bantu: e.g., Chibemba –nama ―animal,‖ and Lamba –
nyama ―animal.‖

Page 23 of 39
Comparative Linguistics: Indo-European and Niger-Congo (2006b: 40), the word -ni- ―spirit‖ of Niger-
Congo is fossilized in Latin as anima ―soul‖ (whence animal). This term can be further analysed as a-
(prefix) ni (soul) ma (suffix). This word has cognates not only in Latin animus ―spirit, courage‖ but in
Greek anemos ―wind,‖ Sanskrit anilas ―breath,‖ and Irish anal ―breath.‖
Remember our Egyptian term xnm ―breathe (air), inhale, smell (odours), make
sweet smelling, belabour (with blows),‖ as well as ciLuba nyuma ―air, breath, pneuma, anemos, Mupepe
(wind), spirit‖; nemoi/ne-moyi ―with the breath of life, the living, living breath‖; camun ―sneeze, blow,
breathe.‖ One can argue that Xnmw was not only the ―potter‖ but the ―bellows,‖ the blowing fire
that hardened the pots. This is why he was later connected with Ra whose origins, conceptually and
linguistically, is in fire (raj ―flame, light, fire‖; Budge 419a). Compare this concept to the Kikongo word
fula, for which MacGaffey notes is in association with the bellows in iron production. Its broader sense
means "to breathe on, or animate" (Kleiman, 2003: 150). The "breath" of the bellows is the key element
of the reduction process, thus the word fula eventually took on the meaning "to forge" and we posit the
same for Xnmw, whose name is similar to xnm (different prefixes).
Both the Greek anemos and Latin animus share the mo/mu suffix. This suggests a common source
rather than a localized substrate. With animals seen as ―spirits,‖ one can see why the African world
depicts the spirits in zoomorphic form. The word Xnmw could derive from the same source as Mande M
ku-nyã ―animal,‖ assuming loss of the -m suffix in Mande. The ~ sign over the /a/ sound signifies a
nasalized vowel. In this case, the Niger-Congo data offers an explanatory achievement in relation to
Egyptian. Again, the use of Xnm(w) ―animal, cattle, meat‖ is used paronymically to convey other concepts
that sound similar or the same. I do not find Xnmw ―animal, etc.,‖ in the Egyptian dictionaries, but the
comparative data informs us that this should be the case, at least as it regards the god Xnmw.
We noted earlier xnm.t ―Nurse, Guardian, Foster Mother,‖ xnm ―to treat, to
comfort, gratify.‖33 We can compare Latin anus ―old woman‖ with Niger-Congo ni ―mother,‖ Ajulo
anum ―mother,‖ Kasima enu ―mother,‖ Bamana nu ―mother,‖ Bantu ngoko ―your mother (Meeussen
1980), Bola, Pepel ani ―mother,‖ often ni. PWN NINA, NINU ―mother‖ (Campbell-Dunn, 2006b: 41).
The root -ni- is used for ―man‖ as well as a herdsman in Egyptian. The following table is informative in
relation to Imn.
Table 13:
ciKam Meaning ciLuba Meaning
mniw ―herdsmen‖ Mu-Moni, mu-Muni, mu- breeder, pastor
Mune
mniw ―herdsmen‖ muna domesticator, breeder

mn ―a man, someone‖ muntu a person, human being

munu / mwunu Man, human-being (<Munu Kam=

black man)

muena/mwena Person
mnw ―a kind of priest, mumanyi learned
ministrant‖

We note the Egyptian word mn ―a man, someone, so-and-so‖ (Faulkner, pg 107). We posit that it
is a potential cognate with Nanga (Dogon) à'má:nì "so-and-so, such-and-such" (substitute for name). The

33
The -t suffix in xnm.t is used to turn verbs into nouns. Thus xnm ―to treat, to comfort, to gratify‖ becomes xnm.t
―Nurse, Guardian, Foster Mother.‖ The final -t is not ―feminine.‖

Page 24 of 39
m- morpheme is the noun class marker denoting ―human being‖ in the singular. This tword mn is now a
global term. The English word ―man‖ derives from this term. The -n- morpheme is the root in this case.
We see this in Niger-Congo nir ―man,‖ Kele nir, Dagomba nire, Gba niri, Konkomba o-nir, Yoruba e-ni,
Gbari u-nu, Ekoi ni ―man.‖ The following from Campbell-Dunn (2009b) is instructive as well.

MAN Sumerian nitah, ni ―man‖

NI “man”
TA “man” ? -h

PWS ni, Wolof nit ―man‖

PWN NINTU, NITU ―man‖
Bantu –ini, ―master‖, ―owner‖
Swahili mtu ―man‖
―Holoholo‖ ntu ―man‖
―Holoholo‖ nĭ,, baanĭ, ―who‖
Mande kyè-ni ―young man‖

[Afro-Asiatic (Ehret ): Cushitic: EC: Soomaali – II, *zat ―person‖ (stem + *t [n. suff.] ) perhaps explains
the –tah. Sumerian has tab ―companion‖, and da ―arm, to be at the side of, to protect‖ however, which may
be a better explanation.]

[Greek a-ne-ros, a-n-d-ros (genit.) ―man‖ is prefixed and suffixed.]

*N = n *I = i *T = t

MAN Sumerian mulu ―man‖

MU “man”
LU “head”

PWS lu ―head‖
PWN TÚI ―head‖
Bangi mutu ―head‖
Kongo muntu ―man‖, Ngala, Poto, Ngombe motu ―man‖, Swahili mtu ―man‖
Mande mu ―person‖
Mangbetu mu ―friend‖, dru ―head‖

[ Prefix mu-. Bantu tu means ―head‖].

*L = l *U = u *M = m *U = u

MAN, WOMAN Sumerian mu,(mulu, munus)

MU “person”
NU “person” -s
Sumerian mu10 ―woman‖
PWS nu, ni ―person‖
PWN NINTU (NITU) ―person, man‖
―Bantu‖ (Johnston 1922: 343) mui ―man‖
―Bantu‖ (Johnston 1922: 418) ωmuntu ―woman‖
Mande M musu ―woman‖
Mande mòg.ò, M moko ―man‖, mu ―person‖
Mangbetu mu ―friend‖

Page 25 of 39
 Afro-Asiatic : Chad : Musgu muni ―woman‖

*M = m *U = u

MAN Sumerian nu ―man‖

NU “person”

PWS nu ―person‖, ―man‖ Sumerian nu ―statue‖

PWS ti ―head‖ Sumerian nun ―prince‖
PWN NINTU, (NITU) ―person, man‖
Bantu túe ―head‖
Bantu ntu ―person‖
Mangbetu ndro ―woman‖
Mangbetu noto, noro ―third personal pronoun‖
Mande ni ou ni ―this‖

[ Nasal grade of *tu ―head‖]

*N = n *U = u

There has been a lot of debate as to the meaning of one of the names for God, YHWH ‗Yahweh‘, in the
Hebrew tradition. Although this is a very important name for practitioners of the Hebrew faith, it turns out
that the word itself is not inherently Hebrew. This fact has compelled scholars to speculate far and wide
as to the meaning of this name. Robert H. Pfeiffer, a Biblical scholar, discusses the difficulties for Semitic
scholars when trying to ascertain the meaning of this name:

The name Yahweh in the Semitic dialect spoken by the Kenites must have had a meaning and thus
characterized the deity. If we could discover this meaning we would have a good idea of the
original character of this god. But the efforts of modern scholars, who have suggested numerous
etymologies of this name, have failed to supply a convincing solution to the mystery. The word
belongs to a lost language. Nor does Ex. 3:14 supply a clue to the meaning…None of the sources
of the Pentateuch had the slightest inkling of what ‗Yahweh‘ meant originally.34

Not much headway has been made since this publication in mainstream Biblical studies. This is primarily
because they do not think that the Hebrew tradition is linked with inner Africa in any meaningful way.
Thus, they have not sought out solutions for understanding Biblical names and cultural nuances by
examining these foundations on the continent of Africa. As a result, they have had to do a lot of
guesswork trying to understand concepts that are common place in Africa. I suggest here that the name
YHWH is cognate with Nzambi, Nyame, Sîmbi, Amma and Imn. Before we can speculate any further, a
few notes on YHWH are in order.
There has been an attempt to link the name YHWH to a Semitic stem hwh (originally hwy)
meaning ―being‖ or ―becoming.‖ This same word in Ashanti is yeh ―to be.‖ For now, West African
languages may offer a solution to the original meaning of the terms for God in the Bible, including
YHWH.

34
Religion in the Old Testament (1961). Harper & Row. pp. 52-53 (cited in Saakana 1991: 62-63)

Page 26 of 39
 Table 14:35
Hebrew Yorùbá
„el Divine being Elu/Olu God
„eloah God Oluwa (-l-w) Lord, master
„el šadday God Almighty Jukun Tsido God
„el „eley-own God Most High Ibibio Abasi Enyon The Supreme God
„ele-yown Topmost enyon ―peak‖
YHWH Ewe, Fon Yehwe ―the power in lightning
and thunder‖

The Hebrew term given as YHWH (Yahweh) is known in Fon as Yehwe ―spirit‖; Ewe Yeve ―spirit, the
power of lightning‖36 and in Gun Yihwe, Yehwe ―God.‖ These are not loan words from some benevolent
wandering Hebrews who decided to teach West Africans the name of their God. These are inherited
terms. As shown above, all of the Old Testament names of God are reflected in this area of West Africa,
thus showing a deep historical relationship.
The question becomes, ―Can every instance of the term YHWH in the Bible be translated as
God?‖ In Genesis 4:1 it states ―I have acquired a man „et YHWH.‖ Could Hawwah (Eve) be saying, in
regards to the birth of Qayin (Cain), that qaniy-tiy „iyi „et YHWH, ―I have acquired a man and God?‖ The
interpreters of the Bible who translate this passage as ―I have acquired a man with the help of God,‖ are
not translating the Hebrew word „et ―and, with‖ (Yorùbá ati ―with‖) or the particle preceding the direct
object (Oduyoye, 1984: 98). The resultant version would pose a problem in meaning. This would not be
the case if they did not assume that the word YHWH always meant ―God‖ instead of ―divine spirit.‖
Yehwe among the Fon and Ewe represents the power of ―thunder‖ (and lightning). Did the
Hebrew recognize YHWH in this same manner? It appears so. In Psalm 29 it states:

The qowl of YHWH is (heard) upon the flooded waters – „el of Kabowd causes thunder…
The qowl of YHWH is in power. The qowl of YHWH is in majestic splendor.
The qowl of YHWH breaks the cedars – YHWH causes the cedars of Lebanon to be broken.
The qowl of YHWH makes the lightning flash.

We suggest here that YHWH is associated with storms, and more specifically, storms caused by volcanic
eruptions.37 The Hebrew word qowl (q-l) means ―voice‖ (Arabic qawel ―voice‖). It is cognate with
Egyptian xrw ―voice‖ and English ―call.‖38 It is a global term. This spirit among the Igbo of south eastern
Nigeria is known as Kalu (k-l) whom you hear in the crack and boom of thunder. The Biblical character
Qayin (Yorùbá Ogún) is the patron of blacksmiths and farmers. When Hawwah mentioned that her
blacksmith of a child was a YHWH (Yehwe), she was comparing the fire in the forge to the fire of
lightning.
Another picture of Kalu (qowl) in the Hebrew text can be found in Job 36:30, 37:5:39

Listen to the boom of his qowl. A rumbling goes out of his mouth.
He lets it roll under the whole sky, and his „owr40 reaches the ends of the earth.
After it he booms his qowl and thunders his majestic qowl.
35
Oduyoye, (1984: 98).
36
Among the Ewe, the Yehve spirit is really a class of spirits. A few notable ones are Heviesso, god of thunder and
lightning, and Avle, a goddess who sometimes impersonates men.
37
More of this will be discussed in an upcoming publication Aaluja Vol. II.
38
The Egyptian word Dwj ―call upon (God), to address (someone)‖ may also be cognate. The /D/ sound derives from
/g/ and the /j/ often interchanges with /r/, thus Dwj <#gwr.
39
See also Psalm 18:14; 2 Samuel 22:14; 1 Samuel 7:10
40
The Hebrew word „owr means "to be (cause, make) luminous (literally and metaphorically); break of day,
glorious, kindle, (be, en-, give, show) light (-en, -ened), set on fire, shine" (Strong Dictionary, SH215). This is a
clear indication that, just like Nyame/Amma/Imn, YHWH is associated with the ―sun‖ or fire in general (from a

Page 27 of 39
There may be an indirect correlation between YHWH and lightning in Kings 18:24. Here Eliyahu tells the
prophets of Baal41, ―You will then invoke your god by name, and I will invoke YHWH by name. Let us
agree the god who responds with fire is the God.‖ Could this be the result of a lightning flash, or the result
of a volcano? Lava?
As suggested earlier, we posit that YHWH is cognate with Nzambi (sîmbi) or Nyame. There are
some other attributes of Nyame not discussed previously that would be helpful here to show the
correlation between Nyame and YHWH. As noted by Myth Encyclopedia.com, Nyame is also associated
with ―storms.‖ In his role as the ―sun,‖42 he appears as a king known as Nyankopon. As the moon, Nyame
represents the queen mother. Lightning that flashes during a storm is considered to be Nyame‘s
thunderbolts, also called God‘s axes.43 As we can see here, the same associations we find with Nyame, we
find with YHWH among the Hebrews. A word of interest for us, given the above information, from
Egyptian is the word nhm ―thunder (of sky), shout, cheer‖; nhmhm ―roar, thunder.‖44 Compare to Kikongo
bumini ―thunder.‖
As suggested by Sambu (2011: 75-76), the [n] grapheme in Egyptian may have also had a
[ɲ] sound value (e.g. Coptic nui ―draw near,‖ Kalenjiin nyoo(n) ―come‖ (here)). If we posit a borrowing
into Hebrew from Egyptian, one could possibly argue: nyhm > yhm > yhw with parasitic -h added to the
consonant final position.45 We could also get the second /h/ by way of nyhmhm > nyhwhw > yhwh(w) with
loss of final -m/-w (partial reduplication). As Hebrew does not have the /ny/ sound in its inventory, the /y/
sound may have been heard as the dominate sound feature. As noted by Obenga in his essay
―Morphological comparisons between ancient Egyptian and Dagara,‖ /m/ and /b/ can evolve into /w/. An
example can be seen in Egyptian with the word jHw ―a form of Thoth,‖ which is also rendered

as jHm (Budge 76b).46 This could also be a case of interchangeable suffixes as well.
Dr. Yosef Ben-Jochannan, in his book Black Man of the Nile and His Family (1972: 344), asserts
that the name YHWH was a minor ancient Egyptian divinity . He traces it to the 26th dynasty
(663-527 BCE). However, he does not provide a source for this set of glyphs in his text. I couldn‘t find it
in the standard Budge dictionary either, which is one of his go to dictionaries. Outside of the foreign land
determinative [N25] on top of the standard [R12] glyph, it has the same glyphs as our ―form of Thoth‖

volcano?). Thus, in many respects, YHWH can be considered a ―sky-god‖ to use common anthropological
languages. In this case, it is his ―lightening bolts‖ that reach the ends of the earth. This could be interpreted also as
his ―light.‖
41
The feminine form Balat in Ethiopic is a term for gods or goddesses of fire or the sun (Bekerie, 1997: 70).
42
Remember that Imn is associated with the sun and Amma is associated with light in general. Akanba (2010) seems
to be unaware of Nyame‘s association with the sun, but admits an association with nyam, which deals with ―light‖
and brilliance.‖
43
Myth Encyclopedia: http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Ni-Pa/Nyante.html (retrieved January 5, 2014). See also
the Mythology Dictionary: http://www.mythologydictionary.com/nyame-mythology.html (retrieved January 5,
2014); The Encyclopedia of African Religions (Asante & Mazama, 2009: xxvi, 294, 464-466); Encyclopedia of
Ancient Deities (Turner & Coulter, 2000: dclii); African Traditional Religion (Lugira, 2009: 35).
44
It is interesting the possible paronymic correspondences in the Egyptian language with a root h-m: e.g., hm ―beat,
strike, injure, hit‖; hm ―be burning, be hot, to burn‖; hm ―a magic word, cry of satisfaction, a shout.‖ All of these
could, on some level, correlate conceptually with storms (thunder and lightning); especially storms that derive from
volcanoes as YHWH is believed to be a volcanic god.
45
The glottal fricative [h] is often considered a semi-vowel (Hayes, Ornstein, & Gage, 1997: 44).
46
The Egyptian variant jHm sounds close to the Hebrew name ―Jaheem‖ that is alleged to mean ―raised up.‖ One
source argues that it is Arabic and means ―to light and stir up a fire; to stare with sharp eyes; a pit with blazing fire.‖
The word ajham is to mean ―someone with red eyes.‖ (http://tayyibaat.wordpress.com/2008/11/18/names-of-naar-
jahannam-and-jaheem/) More investigation is needed here. These meanings would fit in nicely with a deity
associated with a volcano or storms. See next footnote and compare to Egyptian hm ―be burning, be hot, to burn‖
without the j- prefix.

Page 28 of 39
(DHwty) above.47 If all of our speculations above were to pan out, I would argue that these were derived
meanings by way of association with lighting and thunder, initially referring to the spirit behind powerful
phenomena such as storms, volcanoes and possibly earthquakes.
While I would like to think that I was the first to connect Nyame to YHWH, there are other
scholars who have suggested a linguistic connection between the two. My analysis was independent of
theirs, but their discourses provide some valuable intel for our current analysis.
The first scholar to make a suggestion along these lines was Dr. Joseph J. Williams in his work
Hebrewisms of West Africa: From Nile to Niger with the Jews (1930). Father Williams believed that the
Jews travelled from Palestine into West Africa and settled in Ghana. The similarities in culture and
language intrigued him so much that he was convinced of a relation. However, instead of the relation
coming from Africa to Asia, he posits the other way around, which was typical in his day. As it regards
our subject under examination, on page 81 Williams asserts that ―the Ashanti Nyame is but another form
of the Hebrew Yahweh.‖ He goes on further to state that:

Professor Clay, who assures us that ―in the Murushu archives found at Nippur, belonging to the
reigns of Artaxerxes and Darius, the divine element in Hebrew names is written Ja-a-ma for
Jawa.‖ Clay also mentions a tablet found at Ta‘anach which ―contains the divine name of Israel‘s
God written Ja-Mi.‖ (ibid.)48

―Professor Clay‖ is none other than Dr. Albert Clay, a specialist in Semitic languages and cultures at Yale
University. He is citing Clay‘s book The Empire of the Amorites (1919: 54). He is important because he
notes a particular sound correspondence in Semitic that is instructive for us here. In his text, he notes that
―some Semites used M and others W to represent the same sound‖ (Clay, 1919: 72). This is informative
as Johann Gottlieb (1827-1895) noted this same sound interchange in the Ashanti language in his book A
Dictionary of the Asante and Fante language called Tshi (Chwee, Twi) (1881). He goes on to state:

The consonant m, when radical or original, is united with nasal vowels (ã, ẽ, ĩ, õ, ũ):
whenever it is followed by pure vowels, it is a transformation of b, caused by a preceding
m (or orig. n, ṅ) or by negligent pronunciation. – It interchanges with b, w, n, ṅ.
(Gottlieb, 1881: 291)

This confirms what was said by Obenga regarding the sounds b and m morphing into w. In ciLuba m and
b interchange and so does b and w (Imhotep, 2013: 327).49 We see now how Nyame in Ashanti becomes
Yeve in Ewe,50 Yehwe in Fon and Yihwe/Yehwe in Gun (Gen).51 This information, along with the

47
An honorable mention is the title jHy "a name of Seth, Apophis," a god associated with violent storms. Couple this
with the word jHy "to darken" (sky).
48
We should note that the name Jâmi‟ in Arabic means ―the gatherer, the uniter.‖ Hebrew sources argue jami means
―supplanter.‖ The Hebrew word jamin (<yamiyn) means ―right hand, right side, or right quarter‖ in the Bible. This,
of course, is found in Egyptian as jmn ―right hand, the west.‖ The Hebrew word jamin is the root of the name
Benjamin, which consists of ben ―son of‖ + yamin ―right hand,‖ also ―south‖ (in an East-oriented culture). To me
this name makes little since. But when one considers the meaning ―Son of Amen,‖ then the name has a bit more
historical significance.
49
See John M. Stewart, (2002) ―The potential of Proto-Potou-Akanic-Bantu as a pilot Proto-Niger–Congo, and the
reconstructions updated.‖ In: Journal of African Languages and Linguistics, 23, 197-224, for correspondences
between m/mb and v. There is also Proto-Bantu /p/ corresponding with Proto-Akanic /v/ > Akan /w/. Page 215 also
shows PAk /v/ > Akan /m/.
50
The ethonym Ewe is also pronounced Evhe and Eve. See ―The Ewe Language‖: www.let.leidenuniv.nl/verba-
africana/ewe/c-wew-language.htm (retrieved January 8, 2014).
51
The Ewe, Fon and Gun (Gen) languages are classified under the Gbe family of languages in Niger-Congo. They
were historically classed under the Kwa branch of Niger-Congo, for which Akan belongs, but is now classified as
Volta-Niger.

Page 29 of 39
conceptual correspondences between Nyame and YHWH, strengthens our case for a correspondence
between the two traditions. Given our analysis here, we argue that the flow was from inner Africa to the
Levant and not vice versa.
The next person to suggest that Nyame = YHWH is Dr. Nana Banchie Darkwah in his book The
Africans Who Wrote the Bible: Ancient Secrets Africa and Christianity Have Never Told (2005). He
asserts that YHWH is an Akan god and that the Hebrew people (Afrim) recreated him in their own image.

There is biblical and historical evidence that the ancient Afrim people went to great lengths to redesign
Yahweh to their liking and in their own image. . . However, the Afrim people took this Akan God,
renamed him Yahweh, and personalized him in the image of a God of the Afrim people, a God that
would fight for the Afrim people against all enemies. They needed a fighting God to survive in a
belligerent world in those ancient times. (Darkwah, 2005: 222)

The Hebrews (Afrim; Iber‟iym) redesigned Nyame (YHWH) to make him as human in personification and
characterization in every conceivable way.52 This would account for the emotional rollercoaster of
YHWH in the text, whose emotions range from ―loving‖ god, to ―jealous‖ and ―vengeful.‖ This is also
evidence that YHWH was not originally considered a Supreme Being, but was a lesser being that was
elevated to Supreme Being status; but retained all the characteristics of a divinity, which have human
characteristics.53
A more recent source also argues that the Akan name for God Nyame is cognate and the source of
the Hebrew YHWH. In his book Revelation: The Movement of the Akan People from Kanaan to Ghana
(2010), the author who simply goes by Akanba, like Darkwah before him, argues that the Akan ultimately
derived from ancient Canaan and that the name YHWH is an Akan deity (< Nyame). However, Akanba
(2010: 454) suggest that Onyame derives from Akan ye (to be) + am (am), for which he gives the
definition "I am." Akanba bases his theory on what he calls "internal evidence," which he thinks is the
"best form of evidence." But as we can clearly see here, this is how folk-etymology arises. We must
always check with related languages to get the full spectrum of cognate terms so we can get a more
accurate meaning of the word and its application in all its contexts (Cf. Oduyoye 1996).
However, his suggestion of a connection with the Akan word nyam "glory, dignity, majesty,
grace," I think, is on more solid ground if we keep in mind the African practice of paronymy. The word
nyam is used in the Kanan word anuonyam (Fanti, anyim-nyam), literally, "splendor, of the face," glory,
splendor, brilliancy, Excellency, celebrity, honour, dignity." Remember that Nyame is also associated
with the "sun," which would be our concrete referent which directs us to these other abstract concepts.54
The fundamental conceptualization of Nyame is that he is a shining living being elevated above, beyond
the ordinary reach of man, [jmn "hidden"], but manifest to them through His light which is visible even to
a child. We also have in Akan anyimnyam, which is connected to nyinam "to glimpse, to appear by
glimpses, to flash, to glitter, gleam," giving the noun anyinam "lightning." Now we can understand how
the Ewe and Fon variants Yehwe, Yihwe, Yeve are associated with "lightning and thunder," and by
extension, YHWH of the Hebrews.
The Niger-Congo languages and cultures offer an explanatory achievement in relation to the
Biblical evidence as it regards the name YHWH. We posit an evolution in pronunciation, something akin
to nyame > yame > yeve > yehwe > yhwh. With Imn (Nyame) also considered ―the hidden‖ one, in relation

52
See for instance Gen. 21:11-12; Gen. 28; Ex. 7; Ex. 12:7; Ex. 13; Ex. 23:19; Ex. 3323; Ex. 15:3; Ex. 23: 27-30;
Ex. 14:18; Lev. 25:23; Num. 14:13-18; Deut. 38: 16-28.
53
For a full discussion on the difference between a Supreme Being and a divinity within the African context, see Dr.
Ahati N. N. Toure‘s analysis in his article ―Unmasking Hegemonic Monotheism: An Africalogical Assessment via
Indigenous Afrikan Cosmology.‖ In: The Journal of Pan African Studies, vol.3, no. 10, September 2010.
54
These are the attributes I argue (Imhotep 2013), in part, is meant by the term Ra in the ancient Egyptian
imagination that is symbolized by the sun. The sun is just a visual metaphor to convey the concepts of ―brilliance,
glory, splendor, etc.‖

Page 30 of 39
to YHWH among the Hebrews, compare the following reflexes in Egyptian: wHwH
―disappear‖; s-wH ―to disappear, vanish, to miss.‖
It is a known fact that Niger-Congo speakers in ancient times moved from the central Sahelian
belt into Mesopotamia (Hermstein 2012, 2013; Campbell-Dunn 2006, 2008, 2009a, 2009b; Wagner 1935;
Darkwah 2005). This, I argue, is the result of the drying of the Sahara (Kikongo Kayinga) after 6000
B.C.55 In search for new game and water, the Africans who once lived in the then green Sahara, migrated
in all directions in search of a stable area to settle. This led them to places like Minoa, Spain, Iraq and the
Levant, as well as south, which may be the cause of the southern push of Bantu speakers. These African
people took along with them a cultural package which included their name for the Creator
Nyame/YHWH. This name was adopted by the Semitic speakers in the land of Canaan and subsequently
adopted by the Hebrews who made it their supreme deity, which was originally relegated to a lesser deity
among the Canaanites.

Dr. Kimbwandende kia Bunseki Fu-Kiau was a pioneering researcher of African culture and philosophy
who left a body of work that will be treasured for years to come. He introduced us to the intricate details
of a concept called sîmbi: ―the eternal living-God-energy that holds everything up.‖ After broadening out
from the Kikongo language, we came to discover that the sîmbi is a variant of the word for God or spirit,
Nzambi, and that this term was itself a variant of the ancient Egyptian God by the name of Imn. The
Dogon of Mali gave us a promising lead to the ultimate meaning of these terms, and this lead was later
confirmed by a cross cultural, philological, and comparative linguistic analysis.
We now interpret, on one level, Imn to be the holding force in the universe that keeps creation
stable (preserves it). One could compare this living energy to the Laws of Conservation in the realm of
physics.56 In physics, a conservation law states that a particular measurable property of an isolated
physical system does not change as the system evolves.
We are reminded of the conclusion derived by the physicist Dr. Gabriel Oyibo of Nigeria in his
Highlights of the Grand Unified Theorem: Formulation of the Unified Field Theory or the Theory of
Everything (2001). In this text, Oyibo argues that ‗God‘ is essentially an infinite unified force field of
energy in motion that can be described by the formula Gij,j=0 for which matter is just a concentration of
this field. Oyibo posits, mathematically, that as time (t) approaches infinity, G approaches a wave
function. Oyibo‘s GOD Almighty‘s Grand Unified Theorem (GAGUT), which is represented by an
absolute exact mathematical equation Gij,j=0, can be interpreted as GOD (Gij), in GOD‘s Material (i) and
Space-Time (j) Dimensions, does not change, where the comma symbolizes change in tensor notation. In
simple language, GAGUT states that GOD or everything including the Unified Force Field or any
fundamental force or particle interactions, is conserved within a transformation process over space and
time, which cannot be disputed by any logical process (Oyibo, 2001: 96). This formula is rooted in a
number of Maxwell conservation equations. Creation therefore becomes a transformation of God, the only
entity that was in existence at the beginning of creation (if there ever was a beginning). That is to say that
nothing can exist outside of infinity, so all that exist exists as a component of the infinity.
Since part of God transformed into the material universe in an ongoing creative process, we
understand that God existed in Non-material form before creation (at least a form recognizable to human
consciousness). One version of that Non-material form is Waves, what the ancients called Spirit (nyama).

55
See discussion by Dr. S.O.Y. Keita, ―Geography and Climate‖:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/geopedia/Ancient_Egypt. See also W.F. Petrie Prehistoric Egypt (1917:3).
56
A few of the exact laws, laws that have yet to be violated, are: Conservation of mass-energy, Conservation of
linear momentum, Conservation of angular momentum, Conservation of electric charge, Conservation of color
charge, Conservation of weak isospin, Conservation of probability, CPT symmetry (combining charge, parity and
time conjugation), and the Lorentz symmetry.

Page 31 of 39
The Egyptians called this ―spirit‖ Nwnw, ―the primordial water waves of pre-creation‖ (ciLuba Munene,
Mununu; Mvidi-MuNene "Spirit/God (eminently) Great").57 The wave component of the Force Field in
Oyibo‘s formula is given by the equation F(η0).
As we can see here, far from being the creation of primitive adolescent minds, the concepts
expressed by Amma, Nyame, Nzambi, Sîmbi, Imn, Imana, etc., are scientific concepts that are expressed
poetically for a lay audience. God, in Its aspect as ―preserver‖ (holder of life‘s unity), is the overall
conservation law, or unified field theorem. These types of scientific discourses are possible when we
engage African languages and cultures.
These scientific observations and mythic associations have not escaped the astute researcher
versed in the study of Egyptian texts. James P. Allen (Egyptologist), in a book written by Jonathan Cott
titled Isis and Osiris: A 5000 Year Love Story, in a chapter called ―A Conversation with James P. Allen,‖
provides us with a commentary regarding Egyptian deities that is very instructive.

It might be said that the Egyptian gods are very close to what we today would consider scientific
theories that are continually refined, the way Newtonian physics moves toward quantum physics.
We‘ve separated our understanding of the universe from religion, but to the ancient Egyptians they
were one and the same thing. We speak of the four force fields of the universe – the weak force,
the strong force, gravity, and electromagnetism. The Egyptians came up with nine (the Ennead, a
group of nine gods) or ten (if you want to include Horus). (Cott, 1994: 30)

Imn and Imnt was part of that ennead. Although highly speculative to some, we may be able to argue, that
on one level, Imn is the indigenous word for ―gravity‖ (Kikongo yindama ―gravity,‖ demo ―weight‖;
ciLuba shindama ―to be determined, to decide, to be secure, definite, certain, established‖).58 Gravity, in
the scientific sense, is a force that gives weight to objects.‖ It is the natural force by which masses are
drawn together by mutual attraction. In other words, it is that force that holds things down. This is
reflected in ciKam as mn ―be fixed, stick fast (in), be attached (to), remain.‖
Imn (Nyame, Nzambi, Sîmbi, Amma, etc.), in this case, would be that invisible force that holds
things down and secures things in its place. The concepts of ―holding up‖ or ―holding down‖ are
essentially the same notions; both connected by a sense of holding, fixating or securing. In ciLuba we
have simama, mana: ―stand, be standing, stand up, rise, come to a stand, stop, remain stationary, keep
in a particular place, be erect, high, steep, be steadfast, be established, be steady, be immovable‖; imana,
imanika, mwimane, dimanin; munwe, nyomwe, umwa "erect (cimana = wall, partition), remain standing in
a fixed position, stable." These are related to the concept of ―support,‖ which is also rendered in ciLuba as
shindamena, shinama, shindamana, shindamina. Bantu languages provide a confirmatory achievement
from what is known in the Egyptoglogical records and offers an explanatory achievement for what is not
known in Egyptian studies regarding the conceptualization and application of the God Imn. Planets and
satellite orbits are fixed and stable and this is due, in part, to gravity (Imn?).
With Imn potentially representing gravity, and definitely representing the sun (light), it can be
argued that he is in fact the Egyptian conceptualization of space-time; in other words, before Einstein in
the early 1900‘s, the Egyptians came up with the concept of the theory of relativity.59 Imn-Ra is in-fact
57
The Egyptian nw/nwnw is present in the ciLuba language and can be found in the following forms: mene ―true
(absolute) being‖; munene ―grand, great‖ (<nene); nunu ―eternal‖ (also ―old, ancient‖); nene, nan ―pure limitless
expanse, universal, without limit‖; dinana ―stretch‖ (<nana ―extend, stretch, lie‖). This concept of ―length‖ and
―space‖ is also associated with ―time.‖
58
The word gravity is defined by the Online Etymological Dictionary as ―weight, dignity, seriousness,‖ from Middle
French gravite ―seriousness, thoughtfulness,‖ and directly from Latin gravitatem (nominative gravitas) ―weight,
heaviness, pressure,‖ from gravis ―heavy.‖
59
The theory of relativity is the theory of the relative rather than absolute character of motion and mass, and the
interdependence of matter, time and space. Albert Einstein‘s relativity theory was expressed in two phases. The first
was in 1905 (special theory), which starts with the premises that 1) the laws of nature are the same for all observers
in unaccelerated motion, and 2) the speed of light is independent of the motion of its source. In the general theory of

Page 32 of 39
the theory of general relativity. Within the concepts of relativity is the notion that space and time should
be considered together and in relation to each other. The Egyptians combined these dimensions and
personified it as Imn-Ra. Remember our term in ciLuba mwani / mwanya ―gap between teeth.‖ This would
be the word for ―space‖ and this is signified in Egyptian by the Y5 glyph mn in reference to the
space in between the projectiles coming from the base. This can also be represented by the space inside
the rectangular base. The sun glyph is associated with all words for ―time‖ in the Egyptian hieroglyphs
and is vocalized as ra and Hrw ―sun‖ (and we argue also mn). In ciLuba, r > d in the word diba (DiLu;
LiLo) ―sun (star), demonstrate, time, hours.‖ The word muunyà (m-n) means ―sun, heat of the sun,
daylight, day and daytime.‖ The sun glyph, as mentioned previously, is also rendered as Hrw in Egyptian,
which is kuulu in ciLuba: ―above (in the atmosphere), in the air, standing, time, stand, God (Mwena-
Kuulu).‖ Thus, mwanya-kuulu (Imn-Hrw) or mani-diba (Imn-Ra) should be interpreted as ―Space-
Time‖ (and the general relativity theory). The formation of Imn out of the Nwnw (MuNene/MuNunu) was
the creation of the Space-Time continuum and gravity and thus existence as we know it.60 By examining
the glyphs we can get a better understanding of the theory as articulated in ancient times by the Egyptians.
We suggested earlier a possible correlation between jtm and jmn; both ultimately deriving from
the same linguistic sources and being variants of the same conceptual reality. In regards to the
characteristic of being ―hidden‖ (jmn), Egyptian has a reflex: mn "there is no, nonexistent; it is not, there
is no, is not; to remove, to displace."I argue the related term can be found in tm "perish, cease, not do;
close the mouth, be silent"; tm wnt "nonexistent, those who exist not" (Bantu dzimu ―ancestral spirit‖;
those who no longer exist in human form). In one context, Imn is all of existence (the universal
dimension). This is reflected in the word tm "be complete, complete, entire, all, everything." Recent
advances in astrophysics now show that the universe is actually a closed system (Finch, 1998: 246), and
Oyibo (2001: 44) argues this system is conserved by a number of generic universal conservation of mass
or energy and momentum equations. The fundamental general relativity principle stipulates that physical
quantities should preserve their mathematical form as they transform between or from one space to
another. As noted previously, this conservation or preservation equation is represented by Imn, Sîmbi, or
Amma. God, the Supreme-Being, is ultimately the Grand Unified Field for which matter is simply a
concentration of that field of waves (spirit) in motion in a given geographical space. That transformation
process is known in Egyptian as xpr and the space-time dimensions, we argue, are represented by Imn-
Ra or Ra- Itm.
Thanks to the work of Dr. Fu-Kiau (2006), we have a more grounded way by which to speculate
how possibly the ancient rmTw (Egyptians) viewed the Creator under the title of Imn. Imn is indeed, as
Diop (1974) argued, the ―God of all Africa‖ as we can see variants of his name across the continent
indigenously. I would argue that a close pronunciation of Imn (j-m-n) in central Africa would be given by
ciLuba Eyamena (y-m-n) ―build on or against, supported/is supported/rests‖; Cyeyamenu (c-y-m-n)
―support, point of support, fulcrum, backbone, prop, staff, brace, boost, uphold‖ (= jmn.t > t.jmn);
SafHwi/Sanwe (Ghana) Nyamene ―God.‖ Dr. Fu-Kiau was an individual who helped to bridge the gap

relativity (1915) the geometrical properties of space-time were conceived as modified locally by the presence of an
object with mass. For instance, a planet‘s orbit around the sun (as observed in three-dimensional space) arises from
its natural trajectory in modified space-time. These theories, which modified Newtonian laws of physics, resulted in
the now famous E = mc2, which expresses an equivalence between mass (m) and energy (E), c being the speed of
light in a vacuum.
60
For details of Space-Time and the theory of relativity (both general and special), see Morris H. Shamos (1959).
Great Experiments in Physics. Henry Holt and Company, Inc. pp. 315-328; John Clark (1994). Matter and Energy:
Physics in Action. Oxford University Press, Inc. pp. 41-44, 142-143; John North (1995). The Norton History of
Astronomy and Cosmology. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. pp. 477, 510-515, 527; Charles S. Finch (1998). The
Star of Deep Beginnings: The Genesis of African Science and Technology. Khenti, Inc. pp. 235-276; Gabriel A.
Oyibo (2001). Highlights of the Grand Unified Theorem: Formulation of the Unified Field Theory or the Theory of
Everything. Nova Publishing. pp. viii, 9, 10, 14-16, 18, 48, 74, 76-80; Lawrence M. Krauss (2012). A Universe
From Nothing: Why There is Something Rather than Nothing. Atria Paperback.

Page 33 of 39
between Africa and its Diaspora and he definitely inspired this author to sîmba sîmbi ―Hold up that which
holds him up‖ in all areas of life. He has shown this author new more satisfying dimensions of being
human. He is now one of our deified warrior ancestors who have now joined the ranks of Chancellor
Williams, Drusilla D. Houston, John G. Jackson, John H. Clarke, Asa Hilliard III, Cheikh A. Diop, Jordan
Ngubane, and Mazisi Kunene in the Hall of Undying Stars. To him I say Ume Njalo61 ―May you stand for
ever‖ and may your work continue to ignite the hearts and minds of all who read them.

Ancestrally,

Asar Imhotep
Madu-Ndela Institute for the Advancement of Science and Culture
Email: info@asarimhotep.com

Dr. K. Kia Bunseki Fu-Kiau

April 4, 1934-
November 29, 2013

61
The Amazulu phrase Ume Njalo can be broken-down as follows: -ma ―stand; stand still, stop; halt‖ + njalo
―always; all the time; continually; continuously; constantly; so; thus; accordingly; in that manner.‖ The word u-me
(< subjunctive of -ma) means ―you‖ or ―it stands.‖ This word ume derives from the same root as Imn in
Egyptian. The word njalo is cognate with Egyptian nTr (Lingala ndele ―forever, continuance, perpetuate‖; ciLuba
cyendèlèèlè ―forever‖; Cendelele / Tyendelele ―eternity, eternal, eternally‖), which, on one level, is associated with
an ―immortal‖: one who lives continuously, without ceasing. More on this will be discussed in Aaluja…Vol. III,
which is focused on the word nTr.

Page 34 of 39
Page 35 of 39
AKANBA, AkanBa (2010). Revelation: The Movement of the Akan People from Kanaan to Ghana. AuthorHouse. London.
ALLEN, James P. (2005). The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts. Society of Biblical Literature.
______ (2010). Middle Egyptian: An Introduction into the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 2nd Edition.
Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.
ALLSOP, Richard. (2003). A Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage. University of West Indies Press.
AMEN, Rkhty. (2010). The Writing System of Medu Neter: Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs. Institute of Kemetic Philology.
ASANTE, Molefi and Mazama, Ama. (Eds.). (2009). The Encyclopedia of African Religion. Sage Publications, Inc. Thousand
Oaks, CA.
BA, Amadou Hampate. (1981). The Living Tradition. In: General History of Africa Vol. 1: Methodology and African Prehistory.
Heinemann/UNESCO. University of California Press: 166-205.
______ (2008). A Spirit of Tolerance: The Inspiring Life of Tierno Bokar. World Wisdom.
BARD, Kathryn A. (Ed.). (1999). Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt. Routledge. London.
BATES, P., Chiba, M., Kube, S. & Nakashima, D. (Eds.). (2009). Learning and Knowing in Indigenous Societies
Today. UNESCO: Paris, 128 pp.
BENGTSON, John D. (Ed.). (2008). In Hot Pursuit of Language in Prehistory: Essays in the four fields of
anthropology. John Benjamins Publishing Company. Amsterdam and Philadelphia.
BERTHO, Jacques. (1953). ―La place des dialects dogon de la falaise de Bandiagara parmi les autres groups linguistiques de la
zone soudanaise.‖ In: Bulletin de „Ifan 55: pp. 405-441.
BILOLO, Mubabinge. (2010). Invisibilite et Immanence du Createur Imn (Amon-Amun-Amen-Iman-Zimin):
Example de la Vitalite de l‟Ancien Egyptien ou CiKam dans le Cyena Ntu. Publications Universitaires
Africaines. Munich-Kinshasa-Paris.
______ (2008). Meta-Ontologie Egyptienne du –IIIe millenaire Madwa Meta-Untu: Tum-Nunu ou Sha-
Ntu (APA. I.8). Munich-Kinshasa-Paris.
BLENCH, Roger. (1995). ―Is Niger–Congo simply a branch of Nilo-Saharan?‖ In: R. Nicolai and F. Rottland
(Eds.), Proceedings: Fifth Nilo-Saharan Linguistics Colloquium, Nice, 1992. RüdigerKöppe. Köln.
pp 83-130.
______ (1993). ―New Developments in the Classification of Bantu Languages and their Historical Implications.‖ In: D.
Barreteau, & C. v. Graffenried (Ed.), Datation et Chronologie dans le Bassin du Lac Tchad. pp. 147-160.
Paris: ORSTOM.
BOWEN, T.J. (1858). Grammar and Dictionary of the Yorùbá Language. Smithsonian Institute. Washington, DC.
BUDGE, E.A. Wallis. (1904). The Gods of the Egyptians: or Studies in Egyptian Mythology. 2 vols. Open Court.
London and Methuen and Chicago.
______ (1908). The Book of the Kings of Egypt: Dynasties I-XIX. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd.,
London.
______ (2003). Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary, Vol.1 and II. Kessinger Publishing, LLC. New York, NY.
BUNSON, Margaret. (2002). Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Revised Edition. Facts on File, Inc.
New York, NY.
CAMPBELL-Dunn, GJK. (2006a). Who Were The Minoans: An African Answer. Author House. Bloomington, IN.
______ (2006b). Comparative Linguistics: Indo-European and Niger-Congo. Author House. Bloomington, IN.
______ (2007). Maori: The African Evidence. Penny Farthing Press. Christchurch, NZ
______ (2008). The African Origins of Classical Civilization. Author House. Bloomington, IN.
______ (2009a). Sumerian Comparative Dictionary: Sumerian Part I. Penny Farthing Press.
Christchurch, NZ
______ (2009b). Sumerian Comparative Grammar: Sumerian Part II. Penny Farthing Press.
Christchurch, NZ.
CHILDS, George T. (2003). An Introduction Into African Languages. John Benjamins Publishing
Company. Amsterdam/Philadelphia.
CHRISTALLER, Johann G. (2012). A dictionary of the Asante and Fante languages called Tshi (Chwee,
Tw̌i) With a Grammatical Introduction and Appendices On the Geography of the Gold Coast and Other
Subjects. Nabu Press.
CLAY, Albert T. (1919). The Empire of the Amorites. New Haven Yale University Press. London.
COTT, Jonathan. (1994). Isis and Osiris: A 5000 Year Love Story. Doubleday. New York, New York (prepublished addition)
DARKWAH, Nana Banchie. (2005). The Africans Who Wrote the Bible: Ancient Secrets Africa and Christianity
Have Never Told. Aduana Publishings. Russellville, AR.
DIOP, Chiekh A. (1991). Civilization or Barbarism: An authentic anthropology. Lawrence Hill Books.
Brooklyn, NY.
______ (1974). African Origin of Civilization: Myth or Reality. Lawrence Hill & Co.
______ (1977).Parenté génétique de l'égyptien pharaonique et des langue snégro-africaines: processus de
sémitisation. Les Nouvelles Éditions Africaines. Ifan-Dakar.

Page 36 of 39
______ (1987). Precolonial Black Africa: A Comparative Study of the Political and Social Systems of Europe and
Black Africa, from Antiquity to the Formation of Modern States. Lawrence Hill Company. Westport, CT.
______ (1989).The cultural Unity of Black Africa: The Domains of Patriarchy and Matriarchy in Classical
Antiquity. Karnak House. UK.
DOUMBIA, Adama and Doumbia, Naomi. (2004). The Way of the Elders: West African Spirituality & Tradition.
Llwellyn Publications. St. Paul, MN.
EGLASH, Ron. (1999). African Fractals: Modern Computing and Indigenous Design. Rutgers University Press.
New Brunswick, NJ and London.
EHRET, Christopher. (2002). The Civilization of Africa: A History to 1800. University of Virginia Press.
______ (2000). ―Language and History.‖ In: B. Heine and D. Nurse African Languages: An Introduction.
Cambridge University Press. United Kingdom. pp. 272-297.
ERMAN, Adolph & Grapow, Hermann. (1971). WÖRTERBUCH DER AEGYPTISCHEN SPRACHE im Auftrage
der deutschen Akademien hrsg Bd. I-V. Unveränderter Nachdruck. Berlin.
FAULKNER, R.O. (1962). A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian. Griffith Institute, Ashmolean Museum.
Oxford.
FU-KIAU, K. K Bunseki. (2006). Simba Simbi: Hold up that which holds you up. Dorrance Publishing, Inc. Pittsburgh, PA.
______ (2001).African Cosmology of the Bantu Kongo: Principles of Life & Living. Athelia Henrietta Press. Brooklyn, NY.
______ (1991).Self Healing Power and Therapy: Old Teachings from Africa. Inprint Editions. Baltimore, MD.
GARDINER. Alan H. (2007). Egyptian Grammar: Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs,
3rd edition. Friffith Institute Oxford. Cambridge.
GONZALES, Rhonda M. (2008). Societies, Religion and History: Central East Tanzanians and the World They
Created, c200 BCE – 1800 CE. Columbia University Press.
GREENBERG, Joseph. (2005). Genetic Linguistics: Essays on Theory and Method. Oxford University Press.
Oxford, NY.
GREGERSEN, Edgar A. (1972) 'Kongo-Saharan'. Journal of African Linguistics, 4. pp 46-56.
GRIAULE, Marcel. (1965). Conversations with Ogotemmeli: An Introduction to Dogon Religious Ideas. Oxford
University Press. Oxford and New York.
GRIAULE, Marcel and Dieterlen, Germaine. (1986). The Pale Fox. The Continuum Foundation. Chino Valley,
Arizona.
______ (1949). ―L‘Image du monde au Soudan.‖ In: Journal de la Societe des Africanistes, tome n°2,
vol.19, Paris. pg 81-87.
HERMSTEIN, Hermel (2012). Black Sumer: The African Origins of Civilisation. Pomegranate Publishers.
HOMBURGER, Lilias. (1929). ―Africa‖ in EB ps. 333f [cited in R. van Bulck, Les RecherchesLinguistiques au
Congo Belge, Libraire Falk fils, Burxelles. 1948: 63].
IMHOTEP, Asar. (2011a). Passion of the Christ or Passion of Osiris: The Kongo Origins of the Jesus Myth.
MOCHA-Versity Press. Houston, TX.
______ (2012). Ogun, African Fire Philosophy, and the Meaning of KMT. MOCHA-Versity Press.
Houston, TX (unpublished).
______ (2012b). ―Egypt in its African Context Note 3: Towards a Method for Vocalizing mdw nTr Symbols.‖
ISSA, Jahi and Faraji, Salim (2006). The Origins of the Word Amen: Ancient Knowledge the Bible Has Never Told.
Amen-Ra Theological Seminary Press. Los Angeles, CA.
JOCHANNAN, Yosef ben. (1972). Black Man of the Nile and His Family: African Foundations of European Civilization and
Thought. Alkebu-Lan Books Associates. New York, NY.
JOHNSTON, Harry H. (1919). Bantu and Semi-Bantu Languages. Oxford University Press. London.
KAJANGU, Kykosa. (2006). Wisdom Poetry. Blooming Twig Books. East Setauket, NY.
KALAMBA, Nsapo and Bilolo, Mubabinge. (Eds). (2009). Renaissance of the Negro-African Theology: Essays in
Honor of Professor. Bimwenyi-Kweshi. Publications Universitaires Africaines. Munich, Freising, Kinshasa.
KAMALU, Chukwunyere. (1998). Person, Divinity & Nature: A Modern View of the Person & the Cosmos
in African Thought. Karnak House Publishings. London.
KLIEMAN, Kairn A. (2003). The Pygmies Were Our Compass: Bantu and Batwa in the History of West Central
Africa, Early Times to c. 1900 C.E. Heinemann Press. Portsmouth, NH.
LUGIRA, Aloysius M. (2009). African Traditional Religion. Infobase Publishing. New York, NY.
MADAN, AC. (1902). English-Swahili Dictionary 2nd Edition. Oxford at the Clarendon Press. London.
MBITI, John S. (1989). African Religions & Philosophy. Heinemann Educational Publishers. Oxford.
MEEUSSEN, A.E. (1967), ―Bantu Grammatical Reconstructions‖ in Africana Linguistica, 3 (*), ps. 79-121).
MORRISON, W.M. (1906). Grammar and Dictionary of the Buluba-Lulua Language: As Spoken in the
Upper Kasai and Congo Basin. American Tract Society. New York, NY.
NGARA, Constantine. (2007). "African Ways of Knowing and Pedagogy Revisited." In: Journal of Contemporary
Issues in Education, 2(2), pp. 7-20., University of Alberta,
http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/JCIE.
OBENGA, Theophile. (2004). African Philosophy: The Pharaonic Period 2780-330 BC. Per Ankh
Publishing. Senegal.

Page 37 of 39
______ (1992). Ancient Egypt & Black Africa: A Student‟s Handbook for the Study of Ancient Egypt in
Philosophy, Linguistics & Gender Relations. Karnak House. London
______ (2007). Ancient Egyptian and Modern Yorùbá: Phonetic Regularity. In Ankh Journal #16. Per
Ankh. Paris, France.
ODUYOYE, Modupe. (1996). Words and Meaning In Yorùbá Religion: Linguistic Connections Between
Yorùbá, Ancient Egyptian and Semitic. Karnak Publishing. London.
______ (1984). The Sons of the Gods and the Daughters of Men: An Afro-Asiatic Interpretation of Genesis
1-11. Oribis Books. Maryknoll, MY.
OREL, V. and Stolbova, O. (1995). Hamito-Semitic Etymological Dictionary. Leiden: Brill.
RA, Ankh Mi. (1995). Let the Ancestors Speak: Removing the Veil of Mysticism from Medu Netcher. JOM
International INC. Temple Hill, MD.
SAAKANA, Amon Saba. (Ed.) (1991). African Origins of the Major World Religions, 2nd Edition. Karnak House
Publishers. UK.
SAMBU, Kipkoeech A. (2008). The Kalenjiin People‟s Egypt Origin Legend Revisited: Was Isis Asiis? 2nd
Edition. Longhorn Publishers. Nairobi, Kenya.
______ (2011). The Misiri Legend Explored: A Linguistic Inquiry into the Kalenjiin People‟s Oral Tradition of Ancient Egypt.
University of Nairobi Press. Nairobi, Kenya.
SCRANTON, Laird. (2006). The Science of the Dogon: Decoding the African Mystery Tradition. Inner Traditions.
Rochester, VT.
______ (2010). The Cosmological Origins of Myth and Symbol: From the Dogon and Ancient Egypt to India,
Tibet, and China. Inner Traditions. Rochester, VM.
STEWART, John M. (1976) Towards Volta–Congo reconstruction: a comparative study of some languages of
Black-Africa. (Inaugural speech, Leiden University) Leiden: UniversitairePers Leiden.
______ (2002) ―The potential of Proto-Potou-Akanic-Bantu as a pilot Proto-Niger–Congo, and the reconstructions updated.‖ In:
Journal of African Languages and Linguistics, 23, 197-224.
THOMPSON, Robert F. (1995). ―Faces of the Gods: the Artists and their Altars.‖ In: African Arts, Vol. 28, No. 1,
(Winter). pp. 50-61
______ (1984). Flash of the Spirit: African & Afro-American Art & Philosophy. First Vintage Books. London.
TORREND, J. (1891). A Comparative Grammar of the South African Bantu Languages: Comprising those of
Zanzibar, Mozambique, the Zambesi, Kafirland, Benguela, Angola, the Congo, the Ogowe, the Cameroons,
the Lake Region, etc. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., LTD. London.
TOWEETT, Taaita (1979). A Study of Kalenjiin Linguistics. Keyna Literature Bureau. Nairobi, Kenya.
TURNER, Patricia and Coulter, Charles. R. (Eds.) (2000). Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers.
London.
UMEH, John A. (1997). After God is Dibia: Igbo Csmology , Divination & Sacred Science in Nigeria, Vol. I. Karnak Publishing.
London.
VYGUS, Mark. (2012 – July). Ancient Egyptian Dictionary. (downloadable .pdf).
WALKER, Robin. (2006). When We Ruled: The Ancient and Medieval History of Black Civilizations. Black
Classic Press. Baltimore, MD.
WANGER, W. (1935). Comparative Lexical Study of Sumerian and Ntu (“Bantu”): Sumerian The “Sanscrit” of
the African Ntu Languages. W. Kohlhammer. Stuttgart. Berlin.
WESTERMANN, D. (1927), Die westlichen Sudansprachen und ihre Beziehungen zum Bantu, de Gruyter, Berlin.
WINN, Shan M. M. (1995). Heaven, Heroes, and Happiness. University Press of America, Inc. Lanham, MD.
WILKINSON, Richard H. (2003). The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson.
New York, NY.
WILKINSON, Toby. A. H. (2001). Early Dynastic Egypt. Routledge, Inc. New York, NY.
______ (2003).Genesis of the Pharaohs: Dramatic new discoveries that rewrite the origins of ancient
Egypt. Thames and Hudson, Ltd. London

Websites

Beinlich Egyptian Online Dictionary

http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/er/beinlich/beinlich.html (German)

Canaanite Dictionary
http://canaanite.org/

Dictionnaire ciLuba
http://www.ciyem.ugent.be/ (French)

Dogon Dictionaries
http://www.dogonlanguages.org

Page 38 of 39
Kalenjiin Online Dictionary
http://africanlanguages.com/kalenjin/

Kinyarwanda Dictionary
http://www.freelang.net/dictionary/kinyarwanda.php

Kiswahili
http://africanlanguages.com/swahili/index.phpl=en

Luganda Dictionary
http://www.gandaancestry.com/dictionary/dictionary.php

Meeussen‘s Proto-Bantu Reconstructions

http://linguistics.berkeley.edu/CBOLD/Docs/Meeussen.html

Online Etymological Dictionary

http://www.etymonline.com

Proto-SBB (P. Boyeldieu, P. Nougayrol & P. Palayer 2004); La liste de Swadesh pour le proto-SBB (Sara-Bongo-
Bagirmi, branche Soudan Central des langues Nilo-Sahariennes)
http://sumale.vjf.cnrs.fr/NC/Public/pdf/swadesh_SBB.pdf

isiNdebele Dictionary
http://africanlanguages.com/ndebele/

Sesotho sa Leboa Dictionary

http://africanlanguages.com/sdp/

Setswana Dictionary
http://africanlanguages.com/setswana/

Sheng-English Dictionary
http://africanlanguages.com/swahili/sheng/index.php?l=en

The General Shona Dictionary

http://www.dokpro.uio.no/allex/gsd.html

Tower of Babel
http://starling.rinet.ru/

Wikipedia
http://www.wikipedia.com

Yorùbá Dictionary
http://www.Yorùbádictionary.com/

Page 39 of 39