Black Genesis: The Prehistoric Origins of Ancient Egypt
Black Genesis: The Prehistoric Origins of Ancient Egypt
Black Genesis: The Prehistoric Origins of Ancient Egypt
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ole, he was known as Hor-Akhti, Horus <strong>of</strong> the Horizon, and later, when the cult <strong>of</strong> Ra, the Heliopolitan sun god, came<br />
to power in the fourth dynasty, the two solar deities were united as Ra-Hor-Akhti—literally, Sun God Horus <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Horizon. This union was specific to the morning sun, leading <strong>Egypt</strong>ologists such as Richard Wilkinson to assert that<br />
when Ra was “coalesced” with the more primitive Hor-Akhti, this caused the combined deities to become “Ra-Horakhti<br />
as the morning sun.” 79<br />
From the many mentions <strong>of</strong> Hor-Akhti in the Pyramid Texts and other ancient texts, it is clear that the time at which<br />
this sun disk was most observed and venerated was not merely at sunrise, but especially at sunrise at summer solstice.<br />
This is confirmed in the Pyramid Texts, which say that Horakhti is in the “eastern side <strong>of</strong> the sky . . . the place where the<br />
gods are born [that is, the place where they rise].” 80 It was at the summer solstice, as we have already seen, that the flood<br />
season began. <strong>The</strong> very existence <strong>of</strong> <strong>Egypt</strong> depended on the flood—its agriculture, its ecology, and the survival <strong>of</strong> its<br />
people. It is therefore totally understandable that the sunrise at summer solstice would have a very special meaning to the<br />
ancient <strong>Egypt</strong>ians—as it had thousands <strong>of</strong> years before to the prehistoric people <strong>of</strong> Nabta Playa, who lived by the<br />
monsoon rains. If the floodwaters were too low or worse, failed to come, strife and eventually famine would follow. <strong>The</strong><br />
flood was, quite literally, the jugular vein <strong>of</strong> <strong>Egypt</strong>. Nothing frightened the pharaohs more than the possibility that the<br />
gods would fail to bring forth the flood. <strong>The</strong> early warning signal came from Elephantine, where the nilometer was<br />
carefully monitored at the time <strong>of</strong> the summer solstice. As <strong>Egypt</strong>ologists Peter Shaw and Paul Nicholson explain:<br />
“<strong>Egypt</strong>’s agricultural prosperity depended on the annual inundation <strong>of</strong> the Nile. For crops to flourish it was desirable that<br />
the Nile should rise about eight meters [26 feet] above a zero point at the first cataract near Aswan. A rise <strong>of</strong> only seven<br />
meters [23 feet] would produce a lean year, while six meters [20 feet] would lead to famine.” 81<br />
<strong>The</strong>re was, however, another factor that required careful observation: the heliacal rising <strong>of</strong> Sirius, which also<br />
occurred around the time <strong>of</strong> the summer solstice. *61<br />
<strong>The</strong> ancient astronomer-priests paid avid attention to the celestial events that took place at dawn at this important<br />
time <strong>of</strong> year, and they waited for the heliacal rising <strong>of</strong> Sirius. We get a glimpse <strong>of</strong> the importance <strong>of</strong> this event—the<br />
conjunction <strong>of</strong> the summer solstice, the heliacal rising <strong>of</strong> Sirius and the summer solstice—in some passages <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Pyramid Texts.<br />
<strong>The</strong> reed-floats <strong>of</strong> the sky are set in place for sungod Ra that he may cross on them to the horizon; the reed-floats are<br />
set in place for Horakhti that he may cross on them to Ra; the reed-floats <strong>of</strong> the sky are set in place for me that I<br />
may cross on them to Ra; the reed-floats are set in place for me that I may cross on them to Horakhti and to Ra. <strong>The</strong><br />
Fields <strong>of</strong> Rushes are filled [with water] and I ferry across on the Winding Waterway; I [the Osiris-king] am ferried<br />
over to the eastern side <strong>of</strong> the horizon, I am ferried over to the eastern side <strong>of</strong> the sky, my sister is Sothis [Sirius] . . .<br />
82<br />
<strong>The</strong> king will be the companion <strong>of</strong> Horakhti and the king’s hand will be held in the sky among the followers <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Sun god Ra. <strong>The</strong> fields are content, the irrigation ditches are flooded for this king today . . . receive this pure water<br />
<strong>of</strong> yours which issues from Elephantine . . . O King, your cool water is the Great Flood . . . 83<br />
<strong>The</strong> reed-floats <strong>of</strong> the sky are set in place for me that I may cross to the horizon, to Ra and to Horakhti. <strong>The</strong> nursecanal<br />
is open, and the Winding Waterway is flooded, that I may be ferried over to the eastern side <strong>of</strong> the sky, to the<br />
place where the gods were born . . . 84<br />
<strong>The</strong> above quotes clearly show the conjunction <strong>of</strong> the start <strong>of</strong> the Nile’s flood and the appearance <strong>of</strong> Sothis (Sirius).<br />
Although the summer solstice is not specifically mentioned, it is definitely implied, because, <strong>of</strong> course, both the “birth”<br />
(rising) <strong>of</strong> Sirius and the start <strong>of</strong> the flood occurred at that time <strong>of</strong> year when the sun rose to its extreme northern<br />
position. Another passage in the Pyramid Texts does imply this by having the departed king say: “I ferry across [the river<br />
Nile] that I may stand on the eastern side <strong>of</strong> the sky when the Sungod Ra is in his northern region . . . 85<br />
With all this textual, astronomical, and archaeological evidence, we must include the Shemsu-Hor, Those Who<br />
Followed the Sun—those ancestral kings—as being the people who followed the direction <strong>of</strong> the summer solstice<br />
sunrise in 3200 BCE . . . namely the prehistoric <strong>Black</strong> people <strong>of</strong> Nabta Playa (see chapter 5). Further, it could also be the<br />
Shemsu-Hor who brought with them an astronomical plan drawn on a leather roll, which was used for the layout <strong>of</strong> the<br />
temple <strong>of</strong> the cow goddess Hathor. In spite <strong>of</strong> the obstinacy <strong>of</strong> <strong>Egypt</strong>ologists who continue to see the Shemsu-Hor as