Last Sunday, we published an article of the era of gods. This era started with King Rumeza, nicknamed Rumezamilyango. He was nicknamed so, for his role in developing families that became the Rwanda, Uganda and Sudan today.

Also in one of the previous articles, the writer explained how the African map was during this era, a period that coincides with great achievements by our fore fathers.

The southern part of Africa, including Tanzania and the all part southern of Tanzania was known as Buha. Buha was divided into Northern Buha (Buha bwa Ruguru) and Southern Buha (Buha bw’efo). Bungererengere was a part of Tanzania and Kenya, near Kilimanjaro.

Earlier, Rwanda was known as Buhanga; Buganda was known as
Bungeri; Toro, Ankole and Nyoro were in Gala. Gala also was divided into Gala of Ndorwa (Including Northern Rwanda, Nkole and Mpororo) and Ndorwa of Butumbi (Northern part of Uganda). Butumbi was in today’s Sudan.

The part of Africa that includes Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea was known as I Bwega (Abega’s home), the famous Beja civilization. What we know today as Egypt was known by Rwandan oral history as I Kami and its people as Abanyakami.

Contemporary scholars believe that all sciences originated from Egypt; although many old scholars believed that all sciences originated from the Greeks.

This is so common that almost all books we read start with Greeks or Egypt, every time a science topic comes up.

When you read these books, they usually imply that the Greeks and Egyptians pre- dated all other people when it comes to science.

However, I believe that if Cheick Anta Diop and Theophile Obenga (scholars) had been born in Rwanda and learnt about our Ibitekerezo and our Imigani and Rwandan folklore, they would have written books that bring the birth of civilization in our countries, especially in Rwanda, and Uganda. Since Sudan civilization came after Buhanga (Rwanda) and Bungeri (Ugandan), while civilization Egyptian civilization rose Sudan.

If fact, in Kinyarwanda Buhanga means residence of science; Butumbi means residence of black, while Bungeri means residence of pastoralists.

All this part of the African Continent was under the era of God’s kings. The first Gods King was Rumezamilyango and one of the last kings was Rugambanabato. (Refer to our last issue)

The birth of civilization is not actually in Egypt, but in what is known as Rwanda and Uganda today.

A prominent historian called Yosef ben Jochanan, in his article untitled the Nile Valley Civilization and the Spread of the African Culture wrote in a document (The Papyrus of Hunifer) that "we came from the beginning of the Nile, where God Hapi dwells, at the foothills of the mountains of the moon.”  "We” meaning the Egyptians, came from the beginning of the Nile.

Where is the beginning of the Nile? Where God does dwells? It was believed that the farthest point of the beginning of the Nile was in Uganda.

Today, researchers have found that the farthest point of the beginning of the Nile is in Rwanda. The discovery was made by a team led by South African Peter Meredith and Hendri Coetzee in April 2005.

This team became the first to navigate the most remote source of the Nile.

They said that the farthest source of the Nile was Akagera River, which starts as the Rukarara in Nyungwe forest in Rwanda.

On March 31, 2006, a second group of explores from Britain and New Zealand led by Neil McGrigor confirmed these findings and claimed to be the first to sail the River Nile, its mouth (Egypt) to its true source deep in Rwanda’s Nyungwe rainforest.

Another important thing to note here is, Rwanda is the only country in the world where God Hapi dwells (Imana y’u Rwanda); the Supreme God and the God of gods.

This Empire governed by God’s kings is today known as the Batembuzi Empire. It seems that this empire was still in existence by 1589, perhaps with another name. Giovanni Botero says that it was named the Nyamwezi Empire.

Here is what George Sandrart wrote in his "Court de droit coutumier”: "We know that, according to Botero, Portuguese heard for the first time in 1589 about the existence of a vast Empire of a triangular form and having Abyssinia as the Northern boarder, Monomatapa as its Southern boarder and the Congo as the Northern East boarder.”

We are not sure that these boarders cited by Botero were right, but, what we are certain of is that this Batembuzi Empire dominated most part of Africa described by Giovanni Botero.
 
Kibariro, as the father of knowledge
 
After Cheick Anta Diop proved that the civilization started in Africa, especially in Egypt, there is a belief that the Egyptian Pharaoh named Thoth was the first to teach calculations concerning heavens, that he taught the science of the stars and the earth; that he is the reckoner of times and of seasons. He is the one who balances every work on every branch of knowledge.

However, in the previous articles, the writer has written about a man known in Rwanda as Kibariro. He is known in Rwanda as Thoth as described by Egyptian literature.

Kibariro taught people all the science attributed to Thoth. Thothis also known as Djehuty, Djouti, Tehuti and Zehutu.
Is there any similarity with the Rwandan "Intiti?” Yes, it has.

In a discussion the writer had with one elder who was at the National University of Rwanda by the time Father Kagame Alexis was a lecturer there, this elder told him that one day, all intellectuals of that period met at Sierra Hotel in Kigali, today Sierra restaurant.

The meeting aimed at discussing a subject entitled "Tresor de la Nation Rwanda” or the treasure of the Rwandan nation.

It was found out that the Egyptian Dhehuty, the real name of Thoth was linguistically the same as Intiti and that the animal representing Thoth was used in the ancient Rwanda to represent science.

Whether there is any linguistic relation between Djehuty and "Intiti” or not, what is known in Rwanda is that Kibariro is the founder of all sciences. He is the founder of Mathematics; he founded the calendar; he is the master of all names. He gave people names; he named all animals and he is he author of all knowledge for Rwandans.

Another important thing to know is that the oral history of Rwanda has it that Ibis; the representation of Pharaoh Djehuty, is also a representation of knowledge in Rwanda. Those who are familiar with the Rwandan tradition know a song called "Nyirabarazana”.

Nyirabarazana is a Kinyarwanda word for Ibis. This song is about a father who is talking to a child named Nyirabarazana. The father tells the child that her mother died.

That when the mother died, she carried something named ikinyoro. Young men liked to touch it, while young girls feared it.

The father tells his child (possibly a daughter), that he is going to travel in far to study science. And at that period, science was studied at Buhanga (home of knowledge.) The daughter waited for his father, who never came back.

Since then, the bird " Nyirabarazana” represents knowledge. It is said that when a child is born and this bird visited, the newborn became a master of knowledge.

Kibariro is a word that came from the verb "kubara”, meaning to count. Actually Kibariro is a nickname to recognize his innovation. His real name was Gahiriro.

He taught people to count; he taught them to use the calendar. In Kinyarwanda, the calendar bears his name.

"Inyuguti” (which also has a linguistic similarity with the name Djehuty) meaning number and is related to Kibariro, the founder of numbers.

As we said early in our previous article, Kibariro made the first mummification. He mummified King Gahima thousands of years before the Egyptians mummified their pharaohs. Kibariro taught our women to count their menstruation cycles using the calendar he founded many years before Egyptians founded their lunar calendar.

Historians generally ignore the history of sub Saharan countries. It seems that all science, by surprise emerged from Egypt for some historians and in Greece for others.

However, the truth is that Egypt marks the end of African civilization and the beginning of the Greek civilization.

This is very important for any historian to understand because most of Egyptologists forget about other countries, especially Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Sudan.

In fact, the beginning of sciences and civilizations starts with Kibariro, nicknamed, Icyotamakara cy’i Buhanga; meaning the great black living at the residence of sciences.
By the way, Djehuty was given the name of Thoth by the Greek. His original name is Djehuty not Thoth.

The first pyramids

We always hear that pyramids were constructed only in Egypt. Rarely do we hear that there are pyramids in Sudan, formerly Butumbi, because before the coming of Arabs, there was no Sudan.

Egyptian pyramids are the largest, but they are not the first pyramids. The first pyramids were built in Butumbi by our ancestor. Remember our article about the rise of Babanda.

Butumbi was developed by Sabugabo, when he met there a King named Kajuga. Kajuga is a name we still give people here in Rwanda.

The first mathematic sign

Mathematics and Geometry are wrongly attributed to Greeks. Especially Pythagoras and Thales.

But, Cheick Anta Diop succeeded in destroying that myth. He was able to show that the Greek scientists xeroxed all what they wrote from Egypt.

What Cheick Anta Diop did not know is that Kibariro was then copied by Egyptian and named him Djehuty. and that Kibariro is the father of all the science attributed to Djehuty. Kibariro preceded the existence of Djehuty.

One of the ancient sign of mathematics is not in Egypt but in our region. It is the Ishango Bone. Ishango Bone is the oldest table of prime numbers.

It was discovered in the African area of Ishango, which was centered near the headwaters of the Nile River at Lake Edward (now on the border between modern-day Uganda and Congo) (Remember also that this part of Africa has been founded by Rucyaba, the grand son of Gihanga.)

The lakeside Ishango, with a population of 20,000 years ago may have been the first counting societies, but it lasted only a few hundred years before being buried by a volcanic eruption.

The artifact was first estimated to originate between 9000 BC and 6500 BC. However, the dating of the site where it was discovered was re-evaluated, and is now believed to have been more than 20,000 years old.

The first fortresses built on earth

When you discuss with historians, it seems that the first fortresses were built in Europe. It seems that Africa has never built fortresses.

However, the first fortresses built on the earth are said to be found in Africa. Think about Bigo bya Mugeni and the Buhen fortresses, just to name few. The two fortresses are achievements of our forefathers.

One was built in Bungeri by the grand son of Musindi. The second was built in Butumbi (Remember that it is Gihanga’s son named Sabugabo who helped this part of Africa, when he met there a King named Kajuga.

Kajuga is a name still given to Rwandan people) in the early time of the world civilization.

Both fortresses predate the construction of the first Egyptian pyramid and before the Great Wall of China. In Europe, there was no single fortress in this era. By the way, the first oldest boat is the Dufuma Dugout, found in Northern Nigeria.

"I would like to say that Rwanda’s history I am writing about today is our history. A history that doesn’t show our forefathers as primitive.

Not the history that will enslaves our minds, but the history that will set us free. It is the history that once Patrice Lumumba said that was full of glorious achievement”.

The writer emphasises.

The author is a Rwandan Independent Researcher, historian and writer.
 amthr@yahoo.com