Smh...

It's nearly 2:00 p.m. and I've already had many "a-ha" moments. Engaging in the discussions in class, I find myself in confusion. I'm not confused at the information provided in the lectures and discussions. I'm confused at how people can overlook or even better, IGNORE, the obvious. How can you seek the truth, find it, and then, pretend it doesn't exist?

We discussed that there are two orders of religion. The first order is what you experience on a personal level. It incorporates your culture or ways of living. The second order is a process which includes being born in one religion, learning another, taking specific elements of the other religion to apply to your own, then rejecting that other religion as if it never existed or is completely wrong.

In analyzing the different components of various religions, we see a lot similarities of the beliefs in Ancient Kmt (Egypt, Kemet). Many of the rituals, symbols, and stories told in modern religions are copied from that of Ancient Kmt. People have taken particular parts of the Kemetic religion and made it their own. When we visit the temples and tombs, we clearly see stories and rituals that are used in our own religions.

Dr. Beatty explained that there are different levels in being a Priest in Ancient Kmt. In order to complete these levels, people of Ancient Kmt had to go through various stages and processes. Based on what level a Priest accomplished, he was allowed to enter specific areas of a temple. One needed to be pure to enter the most divine places of the temple.

This same requirement is seen in the Bible. After Moses led the Jews out of Egypt, they later build a temple. Aaron was the only High Priest that could enter particular area in the temple, Holy of Holies, that connects with the divine, God. It is also described in the Bible that if a Priest entered the Holy of Holies in the temple and was not pure, they would die. As a result, a rope would be tied to the foot of the Priest, so if he were to die, he could be dragged out.

This is one of many similarities, yet, there are no acknowledgements of Ancient Kmt. These Kemetic beliefs were adopted. There is an injustice because the Egyptians accepted others' religions and allowed people to learn their religion. In return, others changed their religion, influenced others, and did not give credit to the Egyptians.

The second order of religion is something we commonly see. Think about the movie "Avatar." It shows how to overcome a nation. You learn the ways of life of the people, modify it to make it your own, then take over.

Lastly, for now, we discussed something so shocking in class. We reflected on all of the places we've visited, thus far, and there is no question that the Ancient Egyptians who inhabited Kmt, build the pyramids, temples, created language, math and science, and served as Pharoah were all BLACK. That is without a doubt, but when Zahi Hawass came up with a virtual image of King Tutankhamun, he lacked African features. He actually described the Egyptians as "Caucasoid North Africans." I have one question..."What the hell is a Caucasoid North African?" That's almost as bad as an article I read that described a abductor as a "dark-skinned white man." Smh...

I'm glad I've returned to Kmt for a second time because I'm gaining a better understanding, one that transcends my previous experience. The process of sharing these truths is very important. No one is going to tell these stories, but the true descendants of Ancient Egyptians...US, people of African descent.