African Culture is World Heritage

African Proverb

African Proverb
Distance diminishes the elephant

♥♥♥

African Writing Systems Before Europeans

-

Nearly 5,000 years before Christ was born, Proto-writing was well-established form of written expression in North and West Africa. 




The dominance of European languages through colonialism has led to the mistaken belief that the written languages in Africa did not exist before the arrival of Europeans. However, Africa has the world’s oldest and largest collection of ancient Symbolic and Writing Systems.




Here are five African symbolic and writing systems you should know about to dispel the myth that Africans were illiterate people before European colonialism.


5 Ancient African Symbolic and Writing Systems


Nearly 5,000 years before Christ was born, Proto-writing was well-established form of written expression near the near the Kharga Oasis in the Libyan Desert of Africa.
Proto-writing is symbolic communication 

Proto-Saharan

Dated 5000BC - 3000 BC
Before the Egyptian and Sumerian civilizations, there were inscriptions labeled proto-Saharan. Nearly 5,000 years before Christ was born, Proto-writing was well-established form of written expression near the near the Kharga Oasis in the Libyan Desert of Africa. Proto-writing is symbolic communication which the reader understands the symbol as a written expression.  

Egyptian 

Dated 4000 BC - 600 AD
Perhaps the most famous symbolic writing system in Africa is the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.
Egyptian hieroglyphs
Perhaps the most famous symbolic writing system in Africa is the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. Egyptian hieroglyphs were a formal writing system used by the ancient Egyptians that combined logographic and alphabetic elements. A logogram is a written character that represents a word or phrase. Egyptians invented three scripts: hieroglyphic 4000 BC – 600 AD, hieratic 3200 BC – 600 AD, and demotic 650 BC – 600 AD.

Proto-Sinaitic
Dated 2000 BC - 1400 BC
Proto-Sinaitic, also known as Proto-Canaanite, was the first consonantal alphabet.
Proto-Sinaitic was the first consonantal alphabet. 
Proto-Sinaitic, also known as Proto-Canaanite, was the first consonantal alphabet. In 1999, Yale University archaeologists identified an alphabetic script in Wadi El-Hol, a narrow valley in southern Egypt. Dating to about 1900 B.C., the Wadi El-Hol script bears resemblance to the Egyptian hieroglyphs, but also the much older writing system. A similar inscription that dates to 1500 B.C. was found in Serabit el-Khadim on Egypt’s segment of the Sinai Peninsula.

Tifinagh

Dated 300 BC - 300 AD
Tifinagh is the traditional writing system of the Tuareg people, who are scattered throughout different countries of northern Africa.
Tifinagh is the Berber name for the ancient Libyan Alphabet. 
Tifinagh is the Berber name for the ancient Libyan Alphabet. Tifinagh is the traditional writing system of the Tuareg people, who are scattered throughout different countries of northern Africa. The name Tifinagh maybe means the Phoenician letters, or perhaps, from the phrase tifin negh, which means 'our invention.

Nsibidi

Dated 400 AD - 1400 AD
Nsibidi script comprises nearly a thousand symbols.
Nsibidi script comprises 
nearly a thousand symbols.
Nsibidi comprises nearly a thousand symbols. Nsibidi is an ancient system of graphic communication indigenous to the Ejagham peoples of southeastern Nigeria and southwestern Cameroon in the Cross River region. It is also used by neighboring Ibibio, Efik and Igbo peoples. Aesthetically compelling and encoded, nsibidi does not correspond to any one spoken language. It is an ideographic script whose symbols refer to abstract concepts, actions or things and whose use facilitates communication among peoples speaking different languages.


Did you know?
Proto-writing is different from True writing. True writing is information of verbal sound sets that the reader must structure the exact sound written down in order to understand the meaning. In True writing systems, a person must understand something of the spoken language to comprehend the text.
"There are truths on one side of the world which are falsehoods on the other" - African Proverb

Popular posts from this blog

Beware of the naked man who offers you clothes African Proverb

-
Image
It is easy to talk the talk and give advice African Proverb African Proverb It's easy to talk the talk and give advice on love, careers or even recycling on how things should be done. But, the person giving the advice does not act in a way that agrees with the advice they are giving. The proverb implies that a person should back up their talking with action. It is easy to talk the talk and give advice Explore and Understand Africa Through Her Food and Culture 1-30-2015 Beware of the naked man who offers you clothes is a proverb used to call out hypocrites; people who are single but give advice on how to have a happy marriage, a person who is overweight supplying dieting tips, environmentalists who do not recycle, people on social media who want to show you how to become rich when they are poor, and politicians who send their children to private school while making speeches on the virtues of public school. Hidden Agenda of Gift-Giving Def
Discover more

Survival of the Fattest, obese Europeans starving Africa

-
Image
Survival of the Fattest Rich get richer Survival of the Fattest, obese Europeans starving Africa Survival of the Fattest is a sculpture of a small starving African man, carrying Lady Justice, a huge obese European woman who is a symbol of the rich world. Explore and Understand Africa Through Her Food and Culture 5-12-2016 Survival of the Fattest Meaning The copper statue Survival of the Fattest by Jens Galschiøt and Lars Calmar was created in 2002.  The fat woman is holding a pair of scales as a symbol of justice however; she is closing her eyes so the justice. Galschiot symbolized the woman as being blind, refusing to see the obvious injustice. For the rich people of the world the main issue in life is that of overeating while people in the third world are dying every day from hunger.  The misery of imbalanced wealth distribution is creating floods of refugees. However the rich only want to preserve their  privileges and take measures so hars
Discover more

South African Beef Curry Recipe

-
Image
Perfect South African Apricot Beef Curry Recipe South African beef curry recipe is a South African food recipe to share around the world while learning about South Africa rainbow nation food history and favorite recipes of Black African, Colored mixed race ancestry, White, and Indian. South African Beef Curry Recipe When it comes to quick and satisfying slow cooker crockpot meals South African Apricot Beef Curry recipe is at the top of the African food dinner recipe list. Use your slow cooker for this simple South African Apricot Beef Curry recipe, it is full of apricot jam, spices and tender beef to serve with rice and grilled bread. How to Make Perfect South African Apricot Beef Curry Recipe Explore and Understand Africa Through Her Food and Culture By Chic African Culture African food recipe South Africa food is one of the most diverse on the African continent. South African apricot beef curry is an easy delicious slow cooker dinner recipe to make on a weeknight
Discover more

♥

Meet the Author.

♥♥♥

Being African in America I have grown up learning about different ethnic cultures. My mother is a historian of African culture and history and her influence expanded my activities to several best-selling cookbooks, magazine columns, self-branded products, and a popular African culture and food blog.

Chic African Culture

Elegant but earthy The African Gourmet and Chic African Culture highlights African culture, food recipes, modern and ancient history.

Black African little girls in Kenya. Africans love themselves. Wisdom is praying. African Food Black African little girls in Kenya.