Page 16 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 23
P. 16
History
ntr” or “medu neter” (God’s Demotic (650 B.C.–600 A.D.)
words). The word “hieroglyph” The term demotic was used
comes from the Greek by Greek writer-historian
“hieros” (sacred) and “glypho” Herodotus (484–425 B.C.) to
(inscriptions) and was first used distinguish it from the hieratic
by Clement of Alexandria (c. script.
200 A.D.) The hieroglyphic
script was confined mainly to Whereas hieratic connotes Igbo and Uyanga people.
formal inscriptions on the walls “priestly,” the term demotic is
of temples and tombs. derived from the Greek word The nsibidi set of symbols is
demos, which means common independent of Roman, Latin
people. or Arabic influence, and is
believed by some scholars to
The demotic script is the only date back to 5000 B.C., but the
ancient Egyptian script that oldest archaeological evidence
was used by just about every ever found (monoliths in Ikom,
Egyptian. It is potentially the Nigeria) dates it to 2000 B.C.
world’s first cursive or flowing
Hieratic (3200 B.C.–600 AD) script, and was mostly confined Similar to the Kemetic medu
Ancient Egyptian hieratic to pottery and papyri. neter, nsibidi is a system of
writing was a simplified form of standardized pictographs.
the hieroglyphics, used for day- It is very important to note In fact, both nsibidi and the
to-day business, administrative that demotic was introduced in Egyptian hieroglyphs share
and scientific documents Kemet’s 25th Dynasty, which several of the same characters.
throughout the dynastic history had Nubian or Kushitic origins.
of both Kemet and Kush (3200 Nsibidi was divided into sacred
B.C.–600 A.D.). Some linguists Nsibidi (5000 B.C.–present) and public versions, however,
have also shown similarities Nsibidi is an ancient script Western education and Christian
between hieratic and the used to write various languages indoctrination drastically
alphabetic proto-Saharan in West Central Africa. Most reduced the number of nsibidi-
writing. notably used by the Uguakima literate people, leaving the
and Ejagham secret society version as the last
(Ekoi) people surviving form of the symbols.
of Nigeria and Still, nsibidi was transported
Cameroon. to Cuba and Haiti via the
Nsibidi is also Atlantic slave trade, where the
used by the anaforuana and veve symbols
nearby Ebe, derived from the West African
Efik, Ibibio,
16 | we tell the true afrikan story
