African secret societies were and still are common. They were an integral part of society and served several functions. Firstly they served as rituals of adulthood. It was these societies that would declare one a man or woman after having endured both mental and physical testing. An even greater task of these societies was the upliftment of the soul. It was through these societies that one's soul could seek salvation and rise from the dead level of a man to that of a living god. And thus in Africa's societies it was held that when the indwelling intelligence (soul) was allowed to extend its functions to the external life of the individual and society, harmony and prosperity was attained.

Though these secret societies can be found throughout all of Africa, no place better illustrates their greatest achievements moreso than the ancient Nile Valley. Some of the oldest spirtual beliefs come out of the Nile Valley Region of Africa. Here is the land where golden pyramids and the great Her-Em-Akhet still stand as everlasting devotion to spirituality. Here is the land where great temples such as the Ipet-Isut were erected to Amen, Auset, and Ptah. It was here that Ta-Seti, Kemet, Puanit and Itiopi rose to glory. It was here that man and woman first learned that they could die, be resurrected and live again. Here was the land that gave birth to the most ancient and secret societies. Here is the "Land of Beginnings"---If-rui-Ka.

The racial make-up of the ancient Nile Valley and of the people of Kemet (Egypt) in particular, continues to be a topic of controversy. Within the media and scholarly world, there has been and continues to exist an attempt to make the ancient Kemetans anything but the Africans they were.

Supporters of the Mediterranean Race or Hamitic hypothesis label this man a Caucasian for he does not fit the phenotype of the "true African" (i.e. his nose is too straight and his lips are not thick enough). In reality the "true African" does not exist as the continent holds a variety of different Black Africoid types. So ridiculous is the Mediterranean Race hypothesis, if globally applied it would label most Africans and nearly all Blacks throughout the Diaspora Dark Whites or Eurafricans.

When all is said and done it is actually easier to prove the Kemetans Black Africans than anything or anyone else. Here are several items of proof regarding the peopling of Ancient Kemet.

Kemet can be roughly translated as "Land of the Blacks." It was the Greeks who would rename it Egypt.

There was no 'Egypt' before the black king from whose name it was indirectly derived. Before that the country was called Chem (Khem) or Chemi (Khemi)- another name indicating its black inhabitants, and not the color of the soil, as some writers have needlessly strained themselves in asserting. Chancellor Williams, African Historian

The ancient Kemetans state continually that they originated in the south.

Eyewitness accounts describe the people of Kemet as Blacks.

...several Egyptians told me that in their opinion the Colchians were descended from soldiers of Seosteris. I had conjectured as much myself from two pointers, firstly because they have black skins and kinky hair...alone among mankind, the Egyptians and Ethiopians have practiced circumcision since time immemorial.

Greek philosophy is somewhat of a drama, whose chief actors were Alexander the Great, Aristotle and his successors in the peripathetic school, and the Emperor Justinian. Alexander invaded Egypt and captured the Royal Library at Alexandria and plundered it. Aristotle made a library at Alexandria and plundered books, while his school occupied the building and used it as a research centre. Finally, Justinian, the Roman Emperor, abolished the Temples and schools of philosophy, i.e., another name for the Egyptian Mysteries, which the Greeks claimed as their product, and on account of which, they have been falsely praised and honored for centuries by the world, as its greatest philosophers and thinkers. This contribution to civilization was really and truly made by the Egyptians and the African continent, but not by the Greeks and the European continent.

This excerpt was taken from the late George GM James' now historic work "Stolen Legacy." In it James proposed that the origins of Greek philosophy lay within Egyptian theology, what the Greeks called the Mysteries. His objectives, as he clearly stated, were as follows: 1.) To prove that Greek philosophy was a misnomer; 2.) To demonstrate the African origin of the Mysteries Schools; and 3.) To create a social reformation through the new philosophy of African redemption. The far reaching implications of Professor James' brilliant work is staggering. For if the origins of Greek/Classical/Hellenist thought originated in Egypt then the foundation of Western Civilization (from Greece to Rome to Europe to America) lays in Africa. Further still do the implications go when one journeys to the heart of Africa to find the origins of Egyptian civilization. Pictured above is the Greek conqueror Alexander the Great. A student of the famed Aristotle, he invaded Egypt and plundered her libraries. So impressed was the young Alexander with Egypt that he renounced his own father and claimed descendancy from the Black Egyptian god, Amen. In this coin he goes as far as to wear the ram horns, symbolic of Amen.

Within ancient Kemet (Egypt) these institutions, which the ancient Greeks would call "Mystery Schools," flourished. Pictured above is the Great Temple of Abu Simbel built by the Pharaoh Rameses II in Nubia as a dedication to Amen. These age old African rights of passages were usually done in a gender segregated manner; men had their own groups and women the same. The initiates were separated from their family and society in general. Though the rituals varied, their multi-faceted purpose of preparing one for manhood/womanhood, the maintenance of societal structure, and the salvation/purification/upliftment of the soul remained ever present. Thus when one first began on this path of self transformation one was said to "die" in an effort to shed one's self of his/her former life. Selected teachers/elders took one through the rituals which may have lasted days, weeks, months, or years. During this period secrecy was a must. And the initiate was taught as much by obtaining a new secret name, handshake, passwords and the like which would help him/her along his/her journey. The rituals were of a mental and physical nature. Various tasks and obstacles were put in front of the initiated in an effort to strengthen his/her resolve. Thus was the initiate expected to overcome struggle, overcome fear, remain steadfast in his/her goal, find understanding, experience triumph and earn the right of manhood/womanhood, societal acceptance, spiritual salvation, etc.

It is from these great and ancient sarced and secret societies that the modern African-lettered fraternities and sororities were founded. Like George GM James stated of Greek philosophy, the Greek letters used by Black fraternities and sororities is a misnomer. For though the letters used were Greek, the founders of these organizations understood well their African lineage and origins. Thus the letters masked an even deeper meaning rooted in Africa itself. One need only look at the mystic Sphinx (Her-Em-Akhet) of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.; the sacred ivy of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.; the magical blue of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.; the pyramids and elephants of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.; the magical lamp of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. and a host of other sacred symbols shared by all Black fraternities and sororities. When all is said and done we are Africans sharing in a heritage that reaches back to the beginning of time itself.

Writtten By

Bro. Kwame Alberts

This has been a presentation of the Iota Xi Chapter of Alpha phi Alpha Fraternity Inc

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