Ancient African Kings Of India
By
Dr. Clyde Winters
Ethiopians have had very intimate relations with Indians. In fact, in antiquity the Ethiopians ruled much of India. These Ethiopians were called the Naga. It was the Naga who created Sanskrit.
A reading of ancient Dravidian literature which dates back to 500 BC, gives us considerable information on the Naga. In Indian tradition the Naga won central India from the Villavar (bowmen) and Minavar (fishermen).
The Naga were great seamen who ruled much of India, Sri Lanka and Burma. To the Aryans they described as half man and snake. The Tamil knew them as warlike people who used the bow and noose.
The earliest mention of the Naga, appear in the Ramayana , they are also mentioned in the Mahabharata. In the Mahabharata we discover that the
Naga had the capital city in the Dekkan, and other cities spread between the Jumna and Ganges as early as 1300 BC. The Dravidian classic, the Chilappathikaran made it clear that the first great kingdom of India was
Naganadu.
The Naga probably came from Kush-Punt/Ethiopia. The Puntites were the greatest sailors of the ancient world. In the Egyptian inscriptions there is mention of the Puntite ports of Outculit, Hamesu and Tekaru, which corresponds to Adulis, Hamasen and Tigre.
In Sumerian text, it is claimed that the Puntites traded with the people of the Indus Valley or Dilmun. According to S.N. Kramer in The Sumerians, part of Punt was probably called Meluhha, and Dilmun was probably the ancient name of the Indus Valley. (Today some scholars maintain that Oman, where we find no ancient cities was Dilmun and the Indus Valley may have been Meluhha).
Ancient Ethiopian traditions support the rule of Puntites or Ethiopians of India. In the Kebra Nagast, we find mention of the Arwe kings who ruled India. The founder of the dynasty was Za Besi Angabo. This dynasty according to the Kebra Nagast began around 1370 BC. These rulers of India and Ethiopia were called Nagas. The Kebra Nagast claims that ” Queen Makeda “had servants and merchants; they traded for her at sea and on land in the Indies and Aswan”. It also says that her son Ebna Hakim or Menelik I, made a campaign in the Indian Sea; the king of India made gifts and donations and prostrated himself before him”. It is also said that Menalik ruled an empire that extended from the rivers of Egypt (Blue Nile) to the west and from the south Shoa to eastern India”, according to the Kebra
Nagast. The Kebra Nagast identification of an eastern Indian empre ruled by
the Naga, corresponds to the Naga colonies in the Dekkan, and on the East
coast between the Kaviri and Vaigai rivers.
The presence of Meluhhaites/ Puntites in India may expain the Greek tradition of Kusites ruling India up to the Ganges. It would also explain the Aryan traditions of Mlechchas ( Sanskrit name for some of the non-Aryan people) as one of the aboriginal groups of India. Many scholars associate the name Mlechchas with Meluhha.
The major Naga tribes were the Maravar, Eyinar, Oliyar, Oviyar, Aru-Valur and Parathavar. The Nagas resisted the invansion of the Cholas. In the Kalittokai IV,1-5, the Naga are described as being “of strong limbs and hardy frames and fierce looking tigers wearing long and curled locks of hair.” The Naga kings of Sri Lanka are mentioned in the: Mahawanso, and are said to have later become Dravidians, as testified to by the names of these people: Naganathan, Nagaratnam, Nagaraja and etc.
The major gift of the Naga to India was the writing system: Nagari. Nagari is the name for the Sanskrit script. Over a hundred years ago Sir William Jones, pointed out that the ancient Ethiopic and Sanskrit writing are one and the same.
William Jones, explained that the Ethiopian origin of Sanskrit was supported by the fact that both writing systems the writing went from left to right and the vowels
were annexed to the consonants. Today Eurocentric scholars teach that Indians taught writing to the Ethiopians, yet the name Nagari for Sanskrit betrays the Ethiopia origin of this form of writing. Moreover, it is interesting to note that Sanskrit vowels: a,aa,’,I,u,e,o, virama etc., are in the same order as Geez.
The Ethiopian script has influenced many other writing systems. Y.M. Kobishnor, in the Unesco History of Africa, maintains that Ethiopic was used as the model for Armenian writing, as was many of the Transcaucasian scripts. Dravidian literature indicate that the Naga may have introduced worship of Kali, the Serpent, Murugan and the Sun or Krishna. It is interesting to note that a god called Murugan is worshipped by many people in East Africa.
It is interesting that Krishna, who was associated with the Sun, means Black, this is analogous to the meaning of Khons of the Kushites. Homer, described Hercules as follows: “Black he stood as night his bow uncased, his arrow string for flight”. This mention of arrows identifies the Kushites as warriors who
used the bow, a common weapon of the Kushites and the Naga.
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Kumarinadu
The Naga or Ethiopians were defeated by Dravidian speaking people from Kumarinadu. Kamarinadu is suppose to have formerly existed as a large Island in the India ocean which connected India with East Africa. This landmass is mentioned in the Silappadikaram, which said that Kamarinadu was made up of seven nadus or regions. The Dravidian scholars Adiyarkunallar and Nachinaar wrote about the ancient principalities of Tamilaham, which existed on Kamarinadu.
Kumarinadu was ruled by the Pandyans/Pandians at Madurai before it
sunk beneath the sea. The greatest king of Kumarinadu was Sengoon.
According to Dravidian scholars the Pandyans worshipped the goddess Kumari Amman. This Amman, probably corresponds to the ancient god Amon of the Kushites.
The Kalittokai 104, makes it clear that after the Pandyans were forced to migrate off their Island home into South India, “to compensate for the area lost to the great waves of the sea, King Pandia without tiresome moved to the other countries and won them. Removing the emblems of tiger (Cholas) and bow (Cheras) he, in their place inscribed his reputed emblem fish (Pandia’s) and valiantly made his enemies bow to him”.
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Some think it very likely that India’s Sadhus inspired the Rastas. The Sadhus give up all worldly posessions, grow their hair in dreads (the hair of Shiva) smoke ganga, shun alcohol and devote themselves to spiritual realisation. They’ve lived like this for millenia and they’re very healthy people.
I really respect you.
I find it the other way around. The ancient indians influence was far spread, and africa had several indian trade posts along its cost and near egypt. The rastas were and are inspired by the sadhus of india. There was no such aryan invasion in india. India is a melting pot, I am northern indian and my grandmother is dark and I her daughter my mother is very fair skin. Color has nothing to so with orientation of a people. India is a vast nation with as many different creatures as people and as the mango.
We know Eurocenteic terms,norms,and prejudices have crept into the academia studies of a great many nations who have an aboriginal connection to those lands of antiquity(civilization) so history/his story will be slanted in favor of the “johnny come latelys’ of Europe. I love to agree or disagree with truth and not conjecture tinged with a little bit of ignorance , bias , and erroneous theories in the fields of archeology,anthropology , and ethnology to arrive to the truth of a thing. My studies have shown me while the present day populations of India, Egypt, Middle East, Australia , and even EUROPE! has claimed achievements of those great peoples of antiquity some extinct, assimilated, and misnamed to belong to the Caucasian Race, which is superficial science will prove that the Negroid Race, which is also superficial is truly the only so-called race on the planet which mutations (variations of types,colors, and features) from Black has brought about so much controversy and hated on this subject . I compare the differences of the human race(variations of BLACK GENES) to differences of flowers, trees, dogs, and cats – IT’S STILL A FLOWER, TREE, DOG, AND CAT AAAAAAAAAAAAND HHHHHHUUUUUMMMAN RRRRRRRRRRRRRACE( a variation of the original)!!! Will the true Adam and Eve please stand? 4 give me 4 being such long winded
Hello Dear
Is there any name i Indian language pronounced as SERAYE/SERAIE word …?
If so , please drop me a line?
VINAY’s reply is typical of most modern thinking racially, culturally, and historically ignorant Northern Indians. To deny or say that there was no “Aryan invasion” in India (against India’s Aboriginal Dravidian Races), and that pigment (skin colour) has nothing to do with the (Indian) orientation of a people; is shamefully ridiculous and is completely negated by India’s still existent and predominate “Varna”- Caste System.
This has become an organized and propagated false doctrine in an effort of covering over and denying the extreme racist and sexist history of India, The Great Classic and Epic Battles (Mahabhrata, Ramayana, and Bhagavad-gita were each and all conflicts between the invading Aryans and the Indigenous Dravidian Peoples.
I would suggest that my Brother do a lot more (unbiased) research and study of Indian Vedic and (especially) pre-Vedic history.
OM Hreem Namaha Sivaya
VINAY’s reply is typical of most modern thinking racially, culturally, and historically ignorant Northern Indians. To deny or say that there was no “Aryan invasion” in India (against India’s Aboriginal Dravidian Races), and that pigment (skin colour) has nothing to do with the (Indian) orientation of a people; is shamefully ridiculous and is completely negated by India’s still existent and predominate “Varna”- Caste System.
This has become an organized and propagated false doctrine in an effort of covering over and denying the extreme racist and sexist history of India, The Great Classic and Epic Battles (Mahabhrata, Ramayana, and Bhagavad-gita were each and all conflicts between the invading Aryans and the Indigenous Dravidian Peoples.
I would suggest that my Brother/Sister do a lot more (unbiased) research and study of Indian Vedic and (especially) pre-Vedic history.
OM Hreem Namaha Sivaya
You might want to check out the association between Queen Makeda and the phenomenon of “Makara” which is a sea creature similar to half man-half fish, and associated with crocodile.
http://www.khandro.net/mysterious_makaras1.htm
Bernard Sergent in various places has also verified the link between East Africa and Dravidian.
http://www.svabhinava.org/AITvsOIT/Sergent-AfroDravidian.htm
And as far as the two-headed snake symbolism of Murukan, the ear rings of the Swahili speaking peoples has had two headed animals since ancient times (but sorry don’t have time to look up date at moment).
There is a definite link between East Africa and Dravidian/Tamil indiginous peoples of India, but the question is how far back in time, certainly the possibility of of ancient TWO WAY trade DRAVID/EAST AFRICA is likely. Though everywhere was essentially colonized by Africa, the argument that East Africans were at the kickoff of technological colonialism (writing being the first important technology) needs to be thoroughly investigated.
It is also possible that early scripts were developed in South East Asia by Austronesians who used solely perishable materials like palm leave and bamboo by Black Asiatic Austronesian types.
We’re all getting closer to the truth, but can we not ask the question that the so called “Northern” Indians (Arya were never ONE ethnicity) have stolen DALIT history, must East Africans now colonize the Dalits all over again?
Just a question.
And there is no denying huge foreign influences coming into India, but there is also an argument that the so called Arya were from as close as Pakistan.
The DNA and linguistics will vette some of this, but I agree that the Eurocentric viewpoint has to be challenged for its various garbage and baggage.
And as far as Vedic, pre-Vedic, much original philosophy has always survived in India, and much of it is actually Dravidian poking through. Although the WHITE view needs to be overturned, as well as the evil of untouchable status, Hinduism itself is largely African though, and deeper than that all tantra (shamanic realization of nondual mind) and vedic thought is based on the essential component and blueprint of all humanity, and cannot be patented by any one people.
Enlightenment can happen spontaneously in the remotest jungle, far from the reaches of so called “civilization” (i.e. Pratekya Buddha).