By Dr. Kwame Nantambu
March 09, 2007
Trinidad and Tobago News Blog
www.trinidadandtobagonews.com/blog
The purpose of this article is to examine the evolution of Freemasonry, its purpose, education process and communal way of life.
At the outset, one cannot talk about the origin of Freemasonry; the discussion must focus on the evolution of this system and the unique, original ancient Afrikan/ Kemetic/ Egyptian way of life.
The word “free” means “without hinderance”; the word “mason” refers to “one who builds, a bricklayer.” As such, Freemasonry is that system, craft or art of building, not a physical building but building spiritual, an edifice within the human being. The ancient Kemites/Afrikans/Egyptians refer to this spiritual concept as the “Temple in Man.”
In addition, one must reject the misnomer that has been bandied about for untold centuries known as the “Mystery System” or the “Egyptian Mysteries.” The fact of the matter is that if someone invents something, then how is that invention a mystery to the inventor? The invention is only a ‘mystery’ to the second-third party/onlooker/visitor/ outsider.
The ancient Kemites/Afrikans/Egyptians never called their system the “Mystery System.” The Greeks (world’s first Europeans) who went to Kemet to study at the Temple of Waset (world’s first university) in the B.C. era called this Afrikan/Kemitic system the “Egyptian Mysteries” because it was a ‘mystery’ to them, not the Kemites.
Afrikan peoples are the world’s original peoples with original ideas and the world’s original master-thinkers and teachers. This ancient Egyptian spiritual system evolved over 1,200 years and/or 50 generations. This system and way of life predates the highly organized groups of the Roman Empire or the Roman Collegia, the French Masons of the 17th – 18th century A.D. and the Masonic lodges in the early American colonies.
The ancient Kemites are the first to develop a communal way of life and being based on a moral code of ethics and human behavior with which to live by. These moral code of ethics existed thousands of years before the Holy Qur’an or Holy Bible. Hence, it is no small wonder that Jesus “The Christ” or “the anointed One” left home at age thirteen “to be about his Father’s business” and went to study these ancient Kemetic/Afrikan/Egyptian moral code of ethics at the Temple of Waset. Therefore, the teachings of Jesus “The Christ” came out of ancient Kemet/Afrika/Egypt.
The Holy Bible also stated in Acts 7:22 that Moses, an original Afrikan-Black man, “was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was mighty in words and deeds.” Therefore, the teachings of Moses, the original Afrikan-Black man, including his so-called Ten Commandments, came out of the moral code of ethics in ancient Kemet/Egypt.
During this ancient period, Afrika was known as the “land of the spiritual people” under this Masonic belief system and communal way of life and being.
So what does Freemasonry mean? It “is a system of morality and spiritual advancement”; it is a “science which is engaged in divine truth and employs symbolism as its method of instruction”; it seeks to erect “the human society based on the principles of truth, justice and morality.” Freemasonry means that before a person can become a Freemason, he must first be a “freeman”; a slave cannot be a mason – such a person must not be a slave to lust and avarice; such a person must not be a slave to chaos, conflict or confusion. Freemasonry deals with spiritual liberation, not physical emancipation.
Freemasonry deals with balance, order and justice in everyday life and human interaction – it is a way of life 24/7/365. It is a system of morality that is veiled/shrouded in allegory and illustrated by symbols. The use of this original, ancient Kemetic allegory was to be later called “parables” under the derived Christian religious belief system.
The spiritual way of life in ancient Kemet was directly related/connected to nature, cosmos, universe and a spiritual God-force, Amun-Ra. Amuna-Ra is the original Afrikan spiritual God-force whose birthday was celebrated on 25 December in ancient Kemet, 4,100 years before that of Jesus “The Christ” who was not born on that date.
This ancient Afrikan/Kemetic spiritual way of life and being was holistic in that the Pharaoh was also the high priest; in today’s religious way of life, a separation of church and state exists.
In ancient Kemet, balance, order and harmony or the system of Ma’at existed; in today’s world, the system of Isfet exits in which chaos, conflict and confusion are omnipresent – a system of full-blown European control and supremacy.
Freemasonry is “the activity of closely untied men (secret society) who work for the welfare of humankind, striving morally to ennoble themselves and others and thereby to bring about a universal league of humankind.” The Masonic belief is in One God; man is immortal; character determines destiny; moreover, it is pivoted on the principle of the Brotherhood of Man and a We communal value system and a way of life and being. The human being is central or the spinal cord of all such existence.
The original concept of One God or Monotheism has nothing whatsoever to do with Christianity. It was first introduced in Kemet during the 25th Dynasty 1270 B.C. by Pharaoh Akhnaton. At this time, this Pharaoh had a HighPriest named Moses. Therefore, the derived 1st Commandment of Moses: “Thou shalt have no other Gods before me” came directly out of the original ancient Kemeti/Egyptian/ Afrikan “Forty-two Negative Confessions,” not from Mount Sinai.
The fact of the matter is that Moses, the original Afrikan-Black man, married an Ethiopian woman named Zipporah; they had two sons named Gershom and Elieyer.
The purpose of education under Freemasonry was “to lead humankind to freedom and enlightenment, to assist in elevating the moral and intellectual level of society, to gain knowledge, to bring ideas into circulation and to cause the mind of youths to grow and bear fruit.” The system of education worked for human betterment – materially, morally and spiritually.
Freemasonry seeks “to bring humankind from darkness to light and to form mankind into a great redemptive brotherhood.” The endemic principle of Freemasonry is to achieve human perfectibility. The principles to achieve this genre of communal way of life and being 24/7/365 are truth, justice, balance, order, compassion, harmony and reciprocity.
In today’s world, when a person lives by these same ancient Afrikan/Kemetic Masonic principles on a daily basis, such a person is called a “good citizen.” These principles are directly linked to the education system. The ancient Kemetic education system had three grades/levels of students: (1) the mortals (2) the intelligences and (3) the sons of light (level of spiritual consciousness).
The most important objective of this system was the deification of man; the soul of man could become godlike in communication with the Gods. The ultimate aim of Kemetic education was for the Neophyte to become “one with God” or “become like God.” Centuries later in the A.D. era, the world was told that man was made in the image and likeness of God as one of the founding tenets/pillars of Christianity’s derived religious belief system.
The aim of education was achieved through the development of virtue – a person was seen as being spiritual in a finite human body. It is this specific, inherent spiritual component that is non-existent in Afrikan people’s education system – hence, the omnipresence of Isfet.
At this crucial juncture, it is vital to insert that the foundations of governance in the United States is based on and derived from, the original spiritual belief system of ancient Kemet/Egypt, especially the role of numbers 7 and 13 and the use of symbols.
By way of elucidation, the spiritual significance of number 7 is that it denotes completion, while 13 denotes transformation, resurrection, new life and rebirth.
Now, the United States achieved its independence on 4 July 1776. The choice of the month of July by the European founding fathers of the United States denotes that in July (7th month of the year), they completed their armed revolution/struggle for independence from Euro-colonial Britain. The choice of the 4th of July denotes that on that day, the United States was transformed from a colony of Britain to a sovereign independent nation-state; in addition, the 4th July falls within the summer solstice of ancient Kemet/Egypt which runs/lasts from 21 June – 4 July, a period of 13 days. It is no accident, therefore, that the European founding fathers of the United States specifically choose this day to coincide with the spiritual belief system/blessing/protection/guidance of ancient Kemet. Moreover, the choice of 1776 denotes that 7 plus 6 also equals 13. So the European founding fathers of the United States purposely veiled/shrouded their new State in the swaddling clothes of ancient Kemet/Egypt.
In addition, the 13th amendment of the U.S. constitution freed the slaves; this denotes that this amendment gave the slaves a “new life” as freed men; when the United States achieved its independence, there were only 13 colonies – accident? This denotes that there was a “rebirth” in this former colony of Britain.
Furthermore, the most powerful political weapon in the armory of the United States, namely, the official seal of the government, has 13 layers – accident? The most powerful economic weapon in the armory of the United States, the one dollar bill, bears a picture of the ancient Kemetic/Egyptian pyramid with 13 layers; there is also the eye of the Kemetic God Heru (called Horus by the Greeks and Jesus by Christians) as the all-seeing eye for protection -accident?
In terms of symbols, there is a stone monument in Washington, D.C. mistakenly called the “Washington monument.” Now, this monument has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the European founding father of the United States, George Washington. This stone monument is directly connected/related to the ancient Kemetic/Egyptian spiritual phenomenon known as the “Osirian Drama.”
In other words, in keeping with the ancient Kemetic/Egyptian spiritual belief system, the Washington monument denotes that even though President George Washington is physically dead, he is still spiritually alive to govern and oversee the nation ad infinitum – the lifetime of stone is infinite.
In terms of symbols, the colors red, white and blue of the US flag that symbolizes the American sign of global power and control are derived from the original ancient Kemetic/Egyptian Red Crown of the South, White Crown of the North and the Blue Crown of War that symbolized the Masonic system of governance, communal way of life and being as a result of the unification of Upper and Lower Kemet/Egypt by Pharaoh Narmer in 3200 B.C. The ideas of “government of the people, by the people and for the people” also came out of this ancient system and not from the thought process of President Thomas Jefferson. These original ideas/ideals came out of the system of governance and decision-making called Afrikan Communalism in ancient Kemet.
The Greeks who were studying at the Temple of Waset at that time in the B.C. era, renamed this system “Demos” from which is derived the modern A.D. concept Democracy.
In addition, the U.S. constitutional mandate/guarantee that each individual “has the inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” is ancient Kemetic in origin.
This ancient Kemetic/Egyptian/United States direct connection exists because all the founding fathers of the United States were masons steeped in the spiritual teachings and belief system of ancient Kemet. They are President George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Munroe, Andrew Jackson, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, William McKinely, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Warren G. Harding, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Trueman and Gerard R. Ford.
In addition, about one-third of the 56 signatories of the American Declaration of Independence were masons, including John Hancock, Lyman Hall, Benjamin Franklin and Robert Paine.
Truth be told: These Europeans have deliberately, viciously and completely dehumanized, contaminated and fleeced this original ancient Kemetic/Egyptian system of governance, spiritual belief value system, communal way of life and being in order to maintain, ossify and consolidate their global power control and dominance under the rubric of such geopolitical code words/slogans as “illuminati,” “Great Western Design,” “Manifest Destiny,” “La Mission civilisatrice,” “the white man’s burden,” “liberty, justice and fraternity,” “making the world safe for democracy,” “Atlantic Charter,” “New World Order,” cum “Third Reich,” via Mein Kempf, “Cold War,” “War on Terrorism” per “USA Patriot Act,” and finally “Globalization,” that is making the global economy safe for American Trans National Enterprises (TNE’s) and free movement and liberalization of international capitol.
Truth be Told: The ancient, original Kemetic/Afrikan/Egyptian Freemasonry is the system of governance and We communal way of life and being of yesterday and tomorrow; the derived European-capitalist system of governance and Me individual way of life ad being is only the global system of today.
Ancient Kemet will rise again!
Shem Hotep (“I go in peace”).
Dr. Kwame Nantambu is a part-time lecturer at Cipriani College of Labour and Co-operative Studies and University of the West Indies.
http://www.trinicenter.com/kwame/2007/0903.htm
Trinidad and Tobago News Blog’s URL for this article:
www.trinidadandtobagonews.com/blog/?p=202
Outstanding presentation, well organized and highly recommended for ALL serious citizens of mother EARTH. Read and study hard, there lots of “seeds” in this invaluable piece of writing, thanks Dr. Kwame Nantambu, you sir, are a true servant of the greater light and we are indeed very blessed to have one such as you to enlighten us with an eloquent and simple articulation of these great TRUTHS. My deepest thanks!
Nice one about the “Egyptian Mystery.” Even up to today some people cannot or refuse to comprehend how these Egyptian monuments were built – some even propose theories of extra-terrestrial involvement, proving people are more willing to believe fiction than truth.
I could not agree more with you brother, its just this type we need to get out to our young blood brothers,fraternal brothers and brothers of colour keep it up
Htp to all Afrikans here.
As a FORMER Prince Hall Mason and Pan Afrikanist-Nationalist, I must say that this article is really off the mark historically and conceptually. I say this with all due respect. This article seems to be a conglomerate of several of our so-called scholars (George G.M. James, Dr. Ben, etc.).
What we have to overstand that some of our scholars did not have the information that we have today. Many of them simply reworked the works of white authors like massey, blavasky, etc.
Just as the above author says that there was no “mystery system” there also was not a “university of Wa’set”. Wa’set was not a university. It was a spiritual “temple”. There is no such thing as an “original/Kemetic freemasonry”. We did not practice such childish things as freemasonry in Afrika. This is yet another european construct that is projected from their own lack of culture (europeans that is).
Also, the author of this article gives a reworked definition of freemasonry. This term or its equivalent cannot be found in Afrika. The europeans that founded this pseudo-society defined THEIR organization as:
“a system of morality, veiled in allegory, and illustrated by symbols”.
What I am saying is that we cannot continue to try to blackenize everything. As Afrikans practicing Afrikan culture we say that we let the others have their own thing even though it is plagiarized. Plagiarization does not mean that it IS Afrikan. I hope this is clear to the reader.
To say, as the author says, that
“all the founding fathers of the United States were masons steeped in the spiritual teachings and belief system of ancient Kemet.”
Is totally incorrect. How can europeans be “steeped” in anything Afrikan? They can only conceptualize Afrikan ideology (and I have not gotten into the SPIRITUAL aspect yet). Also, the whole concept of this mythological “jesus” character going to study in Kemet is false. “JESUS” NEVER EXISTED nor did “Moses”.
Amun-Ra was NOT celebrated “december 25th”. In fact, there were PERIODICAL celebrations for this deity and NONE of them seemed to fall on what is known as “december 25th”. We do not need to try to MAKE correlations with foreign/fake religions like islam and christianity. We do not NEED a “christ” figure. We do not need to have a “black moses”. Our traditions stand on their own. “jesus” is not Heru. “jesus” is a made up construct.
I could go on with this small discourse. However, I am assuming the Afrikans (black people only) get the gist. This is my contribution on this subject and this article towards cultural reconstitution.
Odabo
Baba Awotunde
Message from a Kindred Spirit
Ancient Kemet will rise again! An interesting concept especially when related to my occult and psychic initiation into the Egyptian Mystery School of Cheops in 1980, whereby in a spontaneous and altered state of consciousness, I was spiritually cleansed over a four-day period without sleep, subjected to a symbolic pilgrimage back to the cradle of mankind in Africa, made privy to the evolving intelligence of the universe, and perhaps more importantly made aware of the essential part that mankind is supposed to be playing in bringing this intelligence to a balanced state of conscious perfection – The fruition of the cosmic seed, no less! Well, Ancient Kemet most certainly rose in me; and as an important rider to my initiation I was tasked to record the experience and disseminate its edicts without getting persecuted in the process; since it would de facto cut across thousand of years of politicized, personalized and diversified religious and philosophical gerrymandering that seemed to have become almost cast in stone. Old habits, especially bad ones, die hard, and proponents of the ingrained divide-and-rule status quo are not likely to acquiesce to such radical edicts without invoking every diabolical means within their corrupted power to prevent them from usurping their otherwise specious authority. As was the case of the Kemet initiated Jesus before me, it was not intended that I suffer a similar fate – Hence, the whimsical nature of my packaged quartet ‘On the Square plus One’. It would be impossible to describe all aspects of this edition as part of this message, but details about it and my ongoing effort to propound the message by a dripping on the stone technique are given in my websites, http://www.vigiltrust.co.uk and http://www.cosmosclub.blogspot.com. All I’d like to add here is what I consider to be a concluding statement to this effort, which I hope will help to augment your own well-defined thoughts on the subject. It reads:
My Ongoing Mission – A Concluding Overview
After nearly thirty years of rigorous self-analysis, comprehensive religious, philosophical and psychical research, and the publication of copious associated literary works since my cosmication in 1980, I remain the unsung hero of my very own mythological quest to blaze a sensible trail through today’s minefield of conventional and mostly outmoded thought and deed. Not surprising, I guess, when the message I was cosmically tasked to disseminate is generally at odds with five thousand years of conventional divide-and-rule, specious, politically-motivated and partisan beliefs that have infected today’s world with the almost incurable cancer of competitive cultures and rabid extremism. And let’s face it – Who but a few would willingly deign to heed and acknowledge the psychically-inspired utopian vision and wisdom of an almost non-entity known as Brian, the Lambeth Pilgrim, and his symbolic Rainbow Men cosmic ambassadors? Nevertheless, I know full well that many folk talk a lot about me; but most choose not to talk to me; and I don’t have to be too psychic to understand why. Therefore, let me remain the unsung hero in the jaundiced eyes of a mainly deluded world, yet be happy in the knowledge that my Psychic Master’s most cogent resurrected message has been duly delivered and is slowly but surely being spread by bush telegraph. And this is the way the message was meant to be dispensed. ‘No more religions and no more martyrs, Brian’ was an important proviso relative to my extraordinary and very exacting introduction to the astral realm of the Psychic Master’s Cosmos Club.
That the Great Pyramid of Cheops was involved in putting me ‘On the Square plus One’ is beyond doubt, and all that has since happened to authenticate what was psychically fed into my mind in 1980 has now made me more and more convinced that I was then, over four days and nights without sleep, subjected to similar initiation process that would have been used to initiate far more spiritually-prepared adepts at the Ancient Egyptian Mystery School of Cheops into firmly believing in life-everlasting and death as just an illusionary aspect of one’s eternal journey towards conscious perfection. However, because I was not more spiritually-prepared before my own ‘crash course’ initiation into such mysteries, I conclude that the severe mental trauma I suffered as a result of my initiation, and the fact that it then took me ten years to sensibly equate with it, was not really to be unexpected. Fortuitously, though, I survived to fulfill the cosmic task expected of me. And this done, I now intend to conclude my written and verbal overtures to the public with the following bold statement, which has also been posted at the Cosmos Coconut Club in Sri Lanka. This said there seems little more worth my adding in the future, as in illumined Kundalini circles I once again have to repeat that to those who understand no further explanation is necessary but to those who do not no further explanation is possible. The statement reads:
COSMOS COCONUT CLUB INTENT FOR 2009 AND ONWARDS…
Psychically, I was initiated into the Egyptian Mystery School of Cheops in 1980 for it seems one reason – To impart spiritual wisdom and a reassurance of life-everlasting to all those who by self-experience within the sanctum of their own existence are desirous of heeding the message.
In this respect, explanation from the http://www.opencheops.org website seems in order – The initiate system, prevailing in Egypt, was based upon one tremendous point, that the individual should learn factually, actually, and beyond question through personal experience that death is an illusion. Immortality is the summit of man’s problem. They had developed a science by which they could communicate the fact, example, and circumstance of death directly to another person. In other words, the initiates of the Mystery Schools were persons who had lived, died and been born again in this world.
I WAS NO EXCEPTION TO THIS PROCESS.
The above statement as well as this article now concludes:
THE AWAKENING OF ANY INDIVIDUAL IS DEEMED A COSMIC EVENT.
Brian
Cosmos Coconut Club
Sri Lanka