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The Cultural Unity of Black Africa: The Domains of Patriarchy and of Matriarchy in Classical Antiquity
Book by Diop, Cheikh Anta
235 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1959
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About the author
Cheikh Anta Diop
28 books371 followersCheikh Anta Diop was an Afrocentric historian, anthropologist, physicist and politician who studied the human race's origins and pre-colonial African culture.
Diop's first work translated into English, The African Origin of Civilization: Myth or Reality, was published in 1974. It gained a much wider audience for his work. He proved that archaeological and anthropological evidence supported his view that Pharaohs were of Negroid origin. Some scholars draw heavily from Diop's groundbreaking work, , while others in the Western academic world do not accept all of Diop's theories. Diop's work has posed important questions about the cultural bias inherent in scientific research.
Diop showed above all that European archaeologists before and after the decolonization had understated and continued to understate the extent and possibility of Black civilizations.
The Swiss archaeologist Charles Bonnet's discoveries at the site of Kerma shed some light on the theories of Diop. They show close cultural links between Nubia and Ancient Egypt, though the relationship had been acknowledged for years. This does not necessarily imply a genetic relationship, however. Mainstream Egyptologists such as F. Yurco note that among peoples outside Egypt, the Nubians were closest ethnically to the Egyptians, shared the same culture in the predynastic period, and used the same pharaonoic political structure. He suggests that the peoples of the Nile Valley were one regionalized population, sharing a number of genetic and cultural traits.
Diop argued that there was a shared cultural continuity across African peoples that was more important than the varied development of different ethnic groups shown by differences among languages and cultures over time.
His books were largely responsible for, at least, the partial re-orientation of attitudes about the place of African people in history, in scholarly circles around the world.
Diop's first work translated into English, The African Origin of Civilization: Myth or Reality, was published in 1974. It gained a much wider audience for his work. He proved that archaeological and anthropological evidence supported his view that Pharaohs were of Negroid origin. Some scholars draw heavily from Diop's groundbreaking work, , while others in the Western academic world do not accept all of Diop's theories. Diop's work has posed important questions about the cultural bias inherent in scientific research.
Diop showed above all that European archaeologists before and after the decolonization had understated and continued to understate the extent and possibility of Black civilizations.
The Swiss archaeologist Charles Bonnet's discoveries at the site of Kerma shed some light on the theories of Diop. They show close cultural links between Nubia and Ancient Egypt, though the relationship had been acknowledged for years. This does not necessarily imply a genetic relationship, however. Mainstream Egyptologists such as F. Yurco note that among peoples outside Egypt, the Nubians were closest ethnically to the Egyptians, shared the same culture in the predynastic period, and used the same pharaonoic political structure. He suggests that the peoples of the Nile Valley were one regionalized population, sharing a number of genetic and cultural traits.
Diop argued that there was a shared cultural continuity across African peoples that was more important than the varied development of different ethnic groups shown by differences among languages and cultures over time.
His books were largely responsible for, at least, the partial re-orientation of attitudes about the place of African people in history, in scholarly circles around the world.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 4, 2022
“The Cultural Unity of Black Africa”, written by the great Cheikh Anta Diop, is less a discussion of the specific cultural ties that bind various African societies together, and more of a juxtaposition between African societies (with a heavy emphasis on the Nile Valley Civilization of Egypt) and non-African societies. To that end, Diop spends almost the entirety of the book comparing and contrasting the various sociopolitical norms of the “Northern Cradle” (i.e. Eurasian peoples of Northern Europe / Asia who descended southward and eventually took over Europe and Western Asia) and the “Southern Cradle” (basically all of Africa, although he only really focuses on Egypt).
While Diop’s so-called “Two Cradle Theory” has great utility in understanding historical events and processes in given regions of the world, this book often left me wanting more. Specifically, while Diop spent much time discussing the differences between the two Cradles, he spent little to no time examining specific African societies outside of Egypt. He also failed to acknowledge the many examples of African societies that seemingly fit some of the definitions that he reserved for “Northern Cradle” societies, namely, those with nomadic lifestyles or anarchic sociopolitical traditions. Notwithstanding these criticisms, one can understand why Diop wrote the book the way he did if you take into account the political context of the time (20th Century “decolonization” and African statecraft). I recommend this book for anyone who wants a comparative cultural analysis of some European societies and some African ones, but not if you want a comprehensive account of African cultural unity.
While Diop’s so-called “Two Cradle Theory” has great utility in understanding historical events and processes in given regions of the world, this book often left me wanting more. Specifically, while Diop spent much time discussing the differences between the two Cradles, he spent little to no time examining specific African societies outside of Egypt. He also failed to acknowledge the many examples of African societies that seemingly fit some of the definitions that he reserved for “Northern Cradle” societies, namely, those with nomadic lifestyles or anarchic sociopolitical traditions. Notwithstanding these criticisms, one can understand why Diop wrote the book the way he did if you take into account the political context of the time (20th Century “decolonization” and African statecraft). I recommend this book for anyone who wants a comparative cultural analysis of some European societies and some African ones, but not if you want a comprehensive account of African cultural unity.
October 8, 2018
Pretty solid book. What drew me to this book was his views on their being two cradles of humanity. Diop does not disappoint. I wish it were an idea, hypothesis, that got more attention & research. He gives thorough definitions & examples of matriarchy & patriarchy & how they affect a people whose culture centered on one or the other. He also talks about how they might change or adapt upon contact with other civilizations & how one would imprint on the other, giving clear indications of which was native to a given group.
Was enjoyable to me because seeing it mentioned elsewhere is what got me excited. Diop always has thorough work, this book is no different.
Was enjoyable to me because seeing it mentioned elsewhere is what got me excited. Diop always has thorough work, this book is no different.
December 20, 2012
Excellent study of pre-colonial Africa's matriarchial societies.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews