They came before columbus - Essay Example

Both methodologically and hypothetically, these arguments run the scope from the somber to the bizarre. One of such entries of Africa into the pre-Columbian is a forerunner of Mansa Musa to the Mali Empire’s throne, who accredited two fleets to research the Atlantic in the early fourteenth century. However, legion propositions of pre-Columbian contact among the continents have been invoked, citing linguistic similarities, botanical, cultural traits and other manifests to affirm their hypotheses.

“They Came Before Columbus” by Ivan Van Sertima, is the first treatise treatment of the above mentioned problem since “Africa and the Discovery of America” by Leo Weiner (1920). While M. D. W. Jeffreys (1953) has cluttered the interposing fifty years with various articles on its different aspects, often depicting heated reactions from more systematic and cautious scholars. The emergence of Sertima's book could be considered an incident to review the main questions bordering this issue (Davis, 1978).

A brief Summary Van Sertima, Rutgers anthropologist and linguist, reasons definitely for pre-Columbian connections between South/Central America and Africa. Using evidence strained from various disciplines including philosophy, oceanography and serology, he examines beyond the superficial similarities like Negroid featured artifacts and green stones within the mouths of the dead to explore ideological similarities like Mandingo components in the rituals of Mexican religion. Derivative symbolization, linguistic approximations, carbon dating and pyramids similar to Egypt helped in building up a case for leading contact instead of cultural coincidences and parallels, and such evidences have been credited by Egyptian documents, Mall’s oral history and other sources.

According to Sertima, The Indian themselves provided the initial evidence of the presence of black in America to Columbus as they gave concrete proof to the Spanish that they were doing business with the black people. “The Indians of this Espanola said there had come to Espanola a black people who have the tops of their spears made of a metal which they called gua-nin, of which he [Columbus] had sent samples to the Sovereigns to have them assayed, when it was found that of 32 parts, 18 were of gold, 6 of silver and 8 of copper.

The origin of the word guanin may be tracked down in the Mande languages of West Africa, through Mandigo, Kabunga, Toronka, Kankanka, Banbara, Mande and Vei. In Vei, we have the form of the word ka-ni which, transliterated into native phonetics, would give us gua-nin” (Sertima, 1977, p.11). It was one of the various instances quoted by Professor Sertima, where the cultures, rituals and names of the Mandigos meeting with those belonging to the ancient Americans. Therefore the Bambara werewolf cult, the head of whom is referred as amantigi (heads of faith) came along in the rituals of Mexico as amanteca.

The ceremonies employed in these rituals are very similar and can’t be considered to have an independent origin. Conclusion A famous classic, “They Came before Columbus,” covers numerous contacts, both accidental and planned in various historical eras between