Black Improvement Blogging (BIB) is a resource to improve our lives 'edu-culturally', financially, and practically. We are sparking the Black Improvement Movement. May the world be improved and blessed by our struggles. The term 'Black' here refers to people of any level of recognized African descent.
American Indians do Birthright Theft and Institutional Racism on So-called Blacks.
#GetOnCode - "Is it the money?" - Too many of the "Indian Tribes" have excluded and removed "Indians" who have African ancestry, while maintaining those who also have Caucasian ancestry, when receiving benefits from the Federal Government. The Indian Problem -Birthright Theft & Institutional Racism Being Practiced on So-called Black Americans By Federally Recognized Indian Tribes. Moorish Science Temple of America's Frederick Jones El teaches US on the problems caused by OUR #NativeAmericans family in the Pumunkey Nation, the Creek Nation, and the Muscogee Creek Nation on US. Join US in the lesson, and participate with yOUR questions. #TheFlyGuysShow
(Photo: American Spoken Word Artist and Social & Cultural Revolutionary Queen Sheeba sporting attire that strongly affirms that she is a BLACK person, or a person of African descent.) Let's build a tremendous future together. Here is an excerpt from Chapter 2 of FUTURENOMICS: The Grass is Greener on Both Sides of the Border:
Black-Majority Nations Outside of Africa
There are today more than 70 Black-majority nations in the world, more than 20 of these groupings outside of Africa. This number looms even larger as we consider that many Pacific Islander nations are majority-populated by Melanesians and Papuans, both of whom are of predominantly African genetic heritage, their genetic roots being mixed with Asian and European voyagers in recent centuries. Culturally, many Pacific Islanders have retained significant resemblance to root African social patterns.
Twenty western hemisphere nations, several of them territorial protectorates of the U.K, U.S. and Netherlands, have Black-majority populations ranging from as high as Haiti's 95% to a majority Black/mixed Brazil with 50.7%. Toward our aim of creating robust transnational relationships with national populations whose cultural heritage most closely matches our own, creating deeper economic ties with these nations would be a bold and productive strategic move.
These twenty western hemispheric nations with Black-majority populations are: • Anguilla - 85.3% • Antigua & Barbuda - 87.3% • Bahamas - 90.6% • Barbados - 92.4% • Bermuda - 53.8% • Brazil - 50.7% Mulatto (mixed black/white) and Black • British Virgin Islands - 76.3% • Cayman Islands - 60% (includes creole mixed) • Curacao – “Afro-Caribbean majority” • Dominica - 86.6% • Grenada - 82.4% • Haiti - 95% • Jamaica - 92.1% • Montserrat - 88.4% • St. Kitts & Nevis - 92.7% • Saint Lucia - 85.3% • Saint Marten - Majority Creole (mixed black/white) and Black • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines - 66% • Turks and Caicos Islands - 87.6% • Virgin Islands (US) - 76%
On the African continent there are five countries identified as Arab Maghreb (Includes Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Tunisia), four of which are of “Berber” majority populations; considered a mix of predominantly Arabs, Blacks and Mediterranean. Of these Maghreb nations only one, Mauritania has a 70% black majority. Egypt, which is not listed as a Maghreb partner, has a dominant population that does not consider themselves “black Africans,” referring to themselves simply as “Egyptian.” The genetic mix of modern Egypt includes an ancient blend of Arab, Mediterranean, Black African and western Asia.
There is a large population dispersed across the Pacific Ocean region inhabiting regions of island groupings called Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia. From visual as well as genetic evidence of their ethnicity, we can determine that a number of these Pacific Islanders are essentially African with ancient origins dating back 50,000 years and quite likely much earlier.
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A first legally recognized day of thanksgiving was ordered by the Governor in Massachusetts Bay to celebrate the the victory of Indians. A second day of Thanksgiving was ordered by the church in Standford Connecticut to celebrate the victorious slaughter over the heathen Indians. Numerous days of thanksgiving developed after each slaughter. President George Washington ordered that all these celebrations be celebrated on one day. President Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national Holiday on the day he order the slaughter of the Sioux Indians. Today we celebrate family and friends and the blessings we have enjoyed. Let us not forget the lives who paved the way for our luxury.
Enjoy the video: The True History of Thanksgiving by Susan Bates: http://youtu.be/C4nQPI0AV7Q
Enjoy an historic analysis of the tradition of Thanksgiving, documenting the only written document that describes the original feast.: http://youtu.be/QZRI1BIaER4
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Giving Thanks ! From family destruction to family and friends dinner !
As we give thanks today, pour a libation for our ancestors whose lives became the fertile soil for today's American celebration.In our festivity we will not forget.
For sacrifices of the Indians stolen and taken to England and enslaved in 1614 we remember you. Ashee !
For the Pautuxen Indians murdered English small pox clearing land for Pilgrims, we remember you. Ashee !
For the enslaved yet optimistic Squanto who fought for and brokered peace, we remember you. Ashee !
For the nation who didn't agree to Squanto's peace treaty and were slaughtered, we salute you. Ashee !
Your slaughter became the first legally recognized American Day of Thanksgiving celebration.
The success of the slaughter led to numerous Day of Thanksgivings. We remember you. Ashee !
The people were enslaved and sent to England.
The lands were systematically taken, as the people were systematically diminished.
And Now today America has become a leading Nation neglecting the soil of your blood.
May we never forget, may we not get stuck in the despair of the past.
May we move forward together, being aware and conscious. Ashee
Food for thought:
Umoja Karamu- Giving thanks to Afrikan Culture
The cultural creativity of Afrakan people is ever redemptive.
Afrakans in America continue in the ways of their continental ancestors
in conceiving ongoing methods of institutionalizing our unique heritage.
This is the time of the holiday tradition of Umoja Karamu. This
celebration was initiated in 1971 by Brother Edward Simms, Jr. of
Philadelphia, Pa. Umoja Karamu is a Swahili term that translates as
“unity feast.” As practiced in The Temple of the Black Messiah, Umoja
Karamu is held on the fourth Sunday in November.
Its purpose is to instill a sense of unity and appreciation of
Afrakan heritage into Afrakan families. This is done through prayers to
the traditional deities of Afraka, libations to honor our Afrakan
ancestors, historical Afrakan centered readings and Afrakan centered
films all of which culminates in a healthy, nutritious feast. In his own
words Brother Edward Simms, Jr. states “[Umoja Karamu] injects new
meaning and solidarity into the Black Family through ceremony and
symbol. It is unique in that it bridges the gap between diverse
religious persuasions through a ritual which is easily understood and
appreciated by all the participants. Moreover, it draws on the
collective Black experience with which most Black Folks are familiar.”
The Umoja Karamu celebration is based on five major epochs in the lives
of Afrakans in America and each represented by a distinct color. The
feast should include foods representing the color of each epoch.The
prayers, libations, historical readings and films should also center
around these events:
1st Epoch – Afrakans prior to the invasions and influence of
Europeans and Arabs. The color Black, is used to delineate the unity of
the Afrakan people.
2nd Epoch – Captivity of Afrakans during which the Maafa occurs. The
color white symbolizes the adversary and their role in the attempted
destruction of Afrakan culture.
3rd Epoch – Self Emancipation. The fight against forced labor and
captivity in the United States of America through revolts, Civil Rights
and the Black Power movements. The color red is used to represent those
who lived and died in service of freeing captive Afrakans.
4th Epoch – National Liberation. The fight for decolonization of
Afrakan countries the formation of the Organization for Afrakan Unity
and the diasporac Afrakan liberation movements. The chosen color is
green, symbolic of land and all that comes from it.
5th Epoch – The Future of Afraka and Afrakans. The Afrakan Union, The
African Socialist International, The Sankofa Movement. Afrakan centered
perspectives for the future. The color gold is chosen for the future is
a most valuable asset.
Kwanzaa, Umoja Karamu, Odunde. Afrakans in America – earnestly
engaged in the reclamation of their culture and its
institutionalization.
http://www.shahamaasi.com/18.html
This page is dedicated to the investigation and presentation
of historical data that indicates the reality of an ancient connection
between the warrior disciplines of Africa and Asia. There is irrefutable
evidence pointing toward common cultural elements linking Africa and
Asia in this regard.
The Bantu migration from the Kongo or Niger
Delta Basin began about 1000 A.D - 1800 A.D. , and is recorded as one
of the largest migrations in human history. The migration carried Bantu
influence to East and Southern Africa where they introduced crops such
as millet and sorgum, yams, bananas and plantains. There are also many
indications that iron smelting, and the production of iron tools and
weapons, can be attributed to Bantu influence. Iron technology was
practiced in Nigeria, The Kongo, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and the Great Lakes
Area from about the sixth century B.C. However, the apex of Bantu
influence may possibly be found in metaphysical elements introduced
during the migrations.
The Bantu also spread the knowledge of a
divine force that created the world, and empowered human beings to
conduct their lives according to universal principles. These principles
found in nature could be employed as allies in the human quest for
survival. Through an analysis of language, archeology, and anthropology,
historians have determined a Bantu influence 250 miles of the coast of
East Africa, on the Island of Madagascar. Studies show that twenty
percent of the of the vocabulary of modern Malagasy contains words of
Bantu origin. Some historians indicate that Bantu tribes settled on the
west coast of Madagascar contributing to the culture of the island.
Others indicate that in fact, Madagascar came into being as a result of
splitting off from a land mass that joined Africa, India, Australia and
South America 65 million years ago. (see maps below) In any case,
Madagascar can also be included as "a Land of the Blacks".
NGOLO (kongo)
BANTU MIGRATION SOUTH AND EAST {3}
THE MELTING
POT
CHILDREN OF MADAGASCAR
Many anthropoligists believe that the
people of Madagascar descended from Africans and Indonesians who mixed
before their arrival on the island. There is obviously a fusion of Bantu
and Asian culture on
Madagascar.
FIGHT OF THE
ANCESTORS (Madagascar)
AFRICANS OF MADAGASCAR
MADAGASCAR
ELDER
DESCENDANT OF THE PEOPLE KNOWN AS INVINCIBLE*
MORENGY
EARLY CAPOEIRA (Senegalese laamb inset)
MFUNDISHI MALIK MAASI (neo ngolo
drill)
CAPOERIA ON ZANZIBAR ISLAND
MORENGY
CAPOERIA
ALL ROOTED IN KONGOLESE NGOLO
Morengy
is a traditional Malagasy boxing art. It is based in Sava though other
surrounding areas practice or imitate it. All blows are allowed and it's
just a striking art, no weapons. They direct all their attacks on vital
points on the body. It is not rare to have one of the combatants die
from a blow even in sparring. There are laws that refer to this because
it's so common. On the Isle of Reunion (a neighboring island of
Madagascar), the art is spelled Morenque and has a configuration
resembling Capoeira (see photo below
right).
YOUNG MORENGY
WARRIOR( Sakalava )* MORENGUE
(Reunion)
DANMYE
(Martinique)
LAAMB (Senegal)
*Sakalava group in a market town in Madagascar’s ‘Wild West’.
Ruling
them was always, as the Merina proverb says, like even today their
lordly pride still makes them the least approachable and most mysterious
of all Madagascar’s eighteen tribes. carrying mud: if you hold it
lightly in your open palms, it spills over, and if you close your hands
firmly, it slips through your fingers.
(This is characteristic of
African people worldwide, we adapt, reconfigure and synthesize, thereby
recreating the foreign culture
thrust upon us by circumstances...Shaha Mfundishi Maasi)
TAMIL MARTIAL CULTURE
"The
Indian sub-continent was once connected with Madagascar of East Africa
and Australia by the sunken Lemurian continent of the Indian Ocean. On
the African continent itself are numerous fighting styles some also in
forms of dances which resemble various Kung-Fu kicks and maneuvers. In
Brazil, there is a martial art called Capoeira. It is a fighting style
in a form of a dance brought to South America by slaves alomg with the
Yoruba religion of West Africa. These ideas of combat must have crossed
both Africa and Australia through Lemuria to the Indian sub-continent
which may have had an influence on the scientific Tamil martial arts
thousands of years ago".... Alex Doss, Thamizar Martial Arts.
At
the turn of the 6th century A.D., martial arts spread from Southern
India to China by a Tamil prince turned monk named Daruma Bodhidarma.
From China, martial arts have spread to Korea & Japan. In South East
Asia martial arts was introduced during the naval expansion of the
Chola and Pallava Empires of the Tamil Country between the 2nd and 12th
centuries A.D.
In Partap Sharma’s book called ‘Zen Katha: Inspired by the Life of Bodhidarma, founder of Zen and Martial Arts’, it states that it was the art of Vajramushti Bodhidarma had introduced to Shaolin
KUTTU
VARISAI
TAMIL MONKEY POSTURE
Tamil
Nadu means "the Tamil homeland." The capital of Tamil Nadu is Chennai,
formerly known as Madras. The Tamils that I have talked to do not see
themselves as Indians. They are Tamils. They have the most beautiful
script that I have ever seen. And their spoken language is like music.
Some of my best friends have been Tamils and I consider them a very
special people. They are Black people. And while they may not consider
themselves Africans they believe that Africans and Tamils come from the
same place--a now submerged continent that once connected South Asia
with East Africa.......Runoko Rashidi
YOGINI GODDESS(Tamil Nadu TAMIL WOMAN
The Tamils are an important branch of the Dravidians. So who are the
Dravidians? The Dravidians are among the earliest, perhaps the first,
people to inhabit India. The early Greeks and Romans referred to them as
Eastern Ethiopians. The term "Ethiopian" is a Greek work and means
"people with faces burnt by the sun." There were Eastern Ethiopians and
Western Ethiopians. The Eastern Ethiopians were in Asia and the Western
Ethiopians were in Africa. They were both Black people with the only
real distinction being the texture of the hair. The Eastern Ethiopians
had straight to wavy hair and the Western Ethiopians had tightly curled
or kinky hair. The Eastern Ethiopians lived in ancient Iraq, Iran,
Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and probably other parts of South Asia.
In
ancient times the Dravidians were responsible for the mighty Harappan
or Indus Valley civilization that dominated Pakistan and parts of
northern India beginning almost five thousand years ago. Among their
inventions or innovations in Pakistan and India were the windmill and
sophisticated city planning. They domesticated rice and probably the
chicken. Their ancient cities including trash chutes and flushing
toilets. They played a game similar to chess and threw dice. And they
resisted the onslaught of the Aryan or white invasions of South Asia. I
have no doubt that the mighty Hindu deities Krishna, Kali, and Shiva
are of Dravidian origin..Runoko Rashidi.
SOME AFRICAN
FACES
TAMILS OF CEYLON
"Wherever we are, us is"....Maulana Karenga
MAP: COURTESY OF THAMIZAR MARTIAL ARTS
The
Venetian traveler Marco Polo visited Tamil Nadu twice during the
thirteenth century and commented on how the Tamils viewed with great
pride their black skin-complexions. He actually said that their young
were anointed with oil of sesame which made them even darker and that,
"Here the darkest man is better than the others who are not so dark,"
that they portray their gods and saints black and the devil as white as
snow." You can find this passage in Marco Polo's Travels. There are many
Tamils in Sri Lanka* today and they are engaged in a fierce struggle
with the Sinhalese dominated government for greater respect and even
autonomy.
The Dalits are the Black Untouchables of India. Whereas the
Dravidians are a ethnic-linguistic group the Dalits are a
social-economic group, the majority of which by the standards of race
that we use in the United States would be considered Black....Runoko
Rashidi.
MODERN TAMIL WARRIOR (Sri
Lanka) * ANCIENT
TAMIL GRAPPLING
Kalaripayattu
- The Orient's treasure trove, a gift to the modern world and the
mother of all martial arts. Legend traces the 3000-year-old art form to
Sage Parasurama- the master of all martial art forms and credited to be
the re-claimer of Kerala from the Arabian Sea. Kalaripayattu originated
in ancient South India. Kung- fu, popularized by the monks of the
Shoaling Temple traces its ancestry to Bodhi Dharma - an Indian Buddhist
monk and Kalaripayattu master.
Crafted in ancient South India
drawing inspiration from the raw power and sinuous strength of the
majestic animal forms - Lion, Tiger, Elephant, Wild Boar, Snake, and
Crocodile ........ Kalaripayattu laid down the combat code of the
Cholas, the Cheras and the Pandyas. Shrouded in deep mystery and mists
of secrecy Kalaripayattu was taught by the masters in total isolation,
away from prying eyes. The animal forces quoted above are only a few of the elements that link African and Asian warrior discipline methods.
INDIA
Drums
Some historians think millions of Africans crossed the ocean.
The African-Indians are called Sidis*.
One
of the strongest remaining links they have to their roots is the damaal
or drum. Otherwise Sidi culture is not significantly different to that
of other poor, rural Indians.
"The damaal comes from
Africa," explains Yunus, a blind man who is the chief drummer of Jambur.
"The skill of playing has been passed down from father to son. It is a
gift from God," he says.
"A
little like an image embedded in a hologram, the African presence in
the history and politics of India remains generally obscured from view.
It is only when the parchment that is the past is taken in the hand and
lightly moved, in the manner of a ‘beam of coherent light’ needed to
train upon a hologram, that this presence reveals itself. Then names
begin to emerge, some historical developments start to make sense, and
the role of a number of emphatic figures can be seen in true
perspective"....N. Goswamy,Tribune newspaper
PALM
PRINT OF GURU RINPOCHE (PADMASAMBHAVA) IN STONE. THIS IS A SIGN OF
GREAT SIDDHA. HIS PICTURE IS IN THE INSET. THIS GREAT BUDDHA IS THE
FOUNDER OF TIBETAN BUDDHISM."OM A HUM VAJRA GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUM" ******************************************************************************************************************************************
Malik Ambar: Siddi military guru of the Marathas Marathas
are a blend of the Warrior and Agrarian classes, speaking Marathi and
generally having their roots in Maharashtra. They are also found in
large Nos in Karnataka, Goa, and Madhya Pradesh & Gujarat. A
few Maratha clans claim themselves to be Kshatriyas (Warriors). Some
such families were the Bhosales, Ghorpades, Jadhavs, Nimbalkars, Mores,
Manes, Ghatges, Dafleys, Sawants, Shirkes, Mahadiks and the Mohites The
majority of Marathas, however belong to the peasantry class. The
dividing line between the Kshatriya classes and the peasantry classes
has become thin with the passage of time.A lot of matrimonial alliances
are also taking place amongst them, unlike those in North or South
India. The Maratha army and the administration also had people from all
castes taking pride in it. The term Siddis (also called Habshi, from Arabicḥabashi) refers to a Negroid people in India. They are the descendants of slaves first brought to parts of Pakistan and India by Arab merchants in medieval times from the Bantu-speaking parts of eastern Africa. Siddis were referred to as Zanj by Arabs, and Seng Chi (a malapropism of Zanj) by the Chinese.
Many
of India's kings and princes recruited Africans as their personal
bodyguards, servants and musicians. In some parts of the country Sidis
even rose to be powerful generals or kings themselves.
SIDDI TRIBE (Jhambur,
India)
MALIK AMBER(master siddi)
* There
are several ways to spell siddi, sometimes it is Sidi,Siddi, Siddhi,
or Ciddi. No matter how it is spelled, it refers to "Great
Accomplishment........Shaha Mfundishi Maasi
SIDDI DRUMMER (Jhambur,
India)
AFRICAN QUEEN (India)
SIDDI DANCERS OF EAST
AFRICA
SIDDI MEN(India or Pakistan)
In Western India (today's Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra),
the Siddi gained a reputation as being physically powerful and fiercely
loyal. This made them popular amongst the local princes as mercenaries.
The 17th century saw the largest influx of Siddis, as many were sold to
Muslim and Hindu Kings by Arab and Portuguese
slave traders. Despite their reputation as good fighters, many were
also used as domestic servants and farm labourers. Some Siddi slaves
escaped into the forests to form their own communities.The ancestors of
the present-day Siddis of Southern Baluchistan and Karachi in Pakistan were slaves from Tanzania, Kenya and Zanzibar
brought by the Omani Arabs. Some Indian Siddis are descended from
Tanzanians and Mozambicans brought by the Portuguese. The Siddis
descended from slaves live in their own tightly knit communities. Most
of the original Siddis live in the Sindh region of Pakistan, and the Gujarat region of India, and some mixed with local Indian people.
In
Medieval India one of the most famous Siddis who elevated himself to a
position of great authority was the celebrated Malik Ambar
1550-1626, whose original name was Shambu, "One cannot go into the
life and career of Malik Ambar in any detail here, except for
registering the fact that as the power of this rank outsider kept
growing, that of the Mughals in and around Ahmednagar kept steadily
declining. Ambar trained his followers in the art of guerilla warfare,
raised a very considerable force that remained loyal to him, and
remained defiant of the Mughals". .N.Goswamy,The Tribune, Sunday August
13,2006
" "The Mughals, meanwhile, chafed. Especially Jahangir
(1605-1627) under whose skin Malik Ambar succeeded in getting. The
emperor, it seems, was obsessed with Ambar, whose outstanding military
skills he could understand but could not bring himself to acknowledge,
given his own exalted position as ruler of what was then perhaps the
world’s mightiest empire. In his Memoirs he referred to Ambar
several times, but always in angry, almost abusive terms: "Ambar, that
black wretch", "Ambar of dark fate", that "crafty, ill-starred one", and
so on.The two never came face to face or took the field against each
other. *But a painter at the Jahangiri court – the greatly gifted Abu’l
Hasan – realised for his patron a triumphal dream, for he painted for
him an allegory, in which the emperor is seen standing atop the globe of
the world and shooting an arrow through the severed head of Malik Ambar
that is impaled on a tall pike.....Jahangir, in this elaborate
allegory, is clearly meant to be seen as symbolising the forces of
goodness and light while Ambar those of darkness and evil. It is
doubtful if the whole matter would have been seen like this by a Deccani
painter working for Malik Ambar. But then nothing approaching this has
survived from there."......N.Goswamy, The Tribune, Sunday August
13,2006
MALIK
AMBAR
*DESCRIBED IN PARAGRAPH ABOVE
BLACK SPIRITUAL MASTERS OF INDIA PhaDampa:
Phadampa
is Known as Bodhidharma in China. Sources say ; Bodhidharma ( 526/527
CE) was the Buddhist monk traditionally credited as the transmitter of
Zen to China. Very little contemporary biographical information on
Bodhidharma is extant, and subsequent accounts became layered with
legend, but most accounts agree that he was a South Indian monk who
journeyed to southern China and subsequently relocated northwards. The
accounts differ on the date of his arrival, with one early account
claiming that he arrived during the Liú Sòng Dynasty (420–479) and later
accounts dating his arrival to the Liáng Dynasty (502–557). The
accounts are, however, generally agreed that he was primarily active in
the lands of the Northern Wèi Dynasty (386–534.
PHADAMPA ALSO KNOWN AS
BODHIDHARMA
ANOTHER VERSION
Daruma Bodhidharma (Chinese: Ta Mo; Japanese: Daruma) was the third child of the Pallava king Sugandan from Kanchipuram,
Tamil Nadu. At birth he was born with a breathing disorder and was
banished by his family due to the evil practice of caste system
introduced by the Indo-Aryans who had migrated from Central Asia. He
was adopted and trained at birth in breathing exercises and combat,
namely in the arts of Varma Kalai and Kuttu Varisai. Bodhidarma also
studied Dhyana Buddhism and became the 28th patriarch of that religion.
MAHASIDDHA PHADAMPA (Bodhidharma) LATER DEPICTIONS
Bodhidarma’s
"muscle exercises" were surely influenced by his experiences in the
Tamil martial arts. The "muscle exercises" and the "18 hands of lohan",
which were developed later on, display some characteristics of Buddhist
Tantric, mudras and yogic postures. *
Two Mahāmudrā teachers. From a small 14th-century painting once in the Jucker Collection, presently in the collection of the Rubin Museum.
Vairocanarakṣita, an important Indian teacher from Orissa, best known
for his single-handed translations of Dohā (‘couplet’) songs of the
Mahāsiddhas, is on your left, with Padampa on your right*. They are
identified beyond any possibility for doubt by inscriptions on the reverse side of the painting. Padampa's name is given as Dampa Gyagar Nagpo ('Holy Black Indian'.
MAHASIDDA VIRUPA:
Virupa,the
lord of all yogis, was born as the crown prince of a royal family in
southern India, some 1020 years after the Buddha reached nirvana or
enlightenment. When still a young child, he entered the celebrated
Buddhist monastic academy of Somapuri. He took ordination from the abbot
Vinayadeva and the teacher Jayakirti at Somapuri.He mastered all the
five major sciences and became a great scholar of both Buddhist and
non-Buddhist doctrines.
DRAVIDIAN YOGI ASCETICS WITH DREADLOCKS ;(like Rasta in Jamaica) CENTRAL INDIA
(courtesy of Project Guttenberg)
The
principal Dravidian tribes are the Gonds, Khonds and Oraons. The Gonds
were once dominant over the greater part of the Central Provinces, which
was called Gondwana [71]after
them. The above three names have in each case been given to the tribes
by the Hindus. The following tribes are found in the Province:
Gond, Oraon or Kurukh, Khond, Kolām, Parja, Kamār. Tribal Castes: Bhatra, Halba, Dhoba. Doubtful: Kawar, Dhanwār.
The
Gonds and Khonds call themselves Koi or Koitur, a word which seems to
mean man or hillman. The Oraon tribe call themselves Kurukh, which has
also been supposed to be connected with the Kolarian horo, man.
The name Oraon, given to them by the Hindus, may mean farmservant, while
Dhangar, an alternative name for the tribe, has certainly this
signification.
There seems good reason to suppose that the Gonds and Khonds were originally one tribe divided through migration.72
The Kolāms are a small tribe of the Wardha Valley, whose dialect
resembles those of the Gonds and Khonds. They may have split off from
the parent tribe in southern India and come northwards separately. The
Parjas appear to represent the earliest Gond settlers in Bastar, who
were subjugated by later Gond and Rāj-Gond immigrants. The Halbas and
Bhatras are mixed tribes or tribal castes, descended from the unions of
Gonds and Hindus. THE SO-CALLED TRIBALS OF INDIA :
ADIVASI DRUMMER ADIVASI
WOMAN ADIVASI STILT DANCERS
Ādivāsīs (Devanagri: आदिवासी, literally: original inhabitants) is an umbrella term for a heterogeneous set of ethnic and tribal groups believed to be the aboriginal population of India.[1][2][3] They comprise a substantial indigenous minority of the population of India.
Adivasi
traditions and practices pervade all aspects of Indian culture and
civilization, yet this awareness is often lacking in popular
consciousness, and the extent and import of Adivasi contributions to
Indian philosophy, language and custom have often gone unrecognized, or
been underrated by historians and social scientists.
Although
popular myths about Buddhism have obscured the original source and
inspiration for it's humanist doctrine, it is to India's ancient tribal
(or Adivasi) societies that Gautam Buddha looked for a model for the
kind of society he wished to advocate. Repulsed by how greed for private
property was instrumental in causing poverty, social exploitation and
unending warfare - he saw hope for human society in the tribal republics
that had not yet come under the sway of authoritarian rule and caste
discrimination. The early Buddhist Sanghas were modelled on the
tribal pattern of social interaction that stressed gender equality, and
respect for all members. Members of the Sanghas sought to emulate their egalitarian outlook and democratic functioning.
At that time, the tribal republics retained many aspects of social
equality that can still be found in some Adivasi societies that have
somehow escaped the ill-effects of commercial plunder and exploitation.
Adivasi society was built on a foundation of equality with respect for
all life forms including plants and trees. There was a deep recognition
of mutual dependence in nature and human society. People were given
respect and status according to their contribution to social needs but
only while they were performing that particular function. A priest could
be treated with great respect during a religious ceremony or a doctor
revered during a medical consultation, but once such duties had been
performed, the priest or doctor became equal to everyone else. The
possession of highly valued skills or knowledge did not lead to a
permanent rise in status. This meant that no individual or small group
could engage in overlordship of any kind, or enjoy hereditary rights. Tribal
societies came under stress due to several factors. The extension of
commerce, military incursions on tribal land, and the resettling of
Brahmins amidst tribal populations had an impact, as did ideological
coercion or persuasion to attract key members of the tribe into
"mainstream" Hindu society. This led to many tribal communities becoming
integrated into Hindu society as jatis (or castes) while others
who resisted were pushed into the hilly or forested areas, or remote
tracks that had not yet been settled. In the worst case, defeated
Adivasi tribes were pushed to the margins of settled society and became
discriminated as outcastes and "untouchables". Adivasis
who developed an intimate knowledge of various plants and their
medicinal uses played an invaluable role in the development of Ayurvedic
medicines. In a recent study, the All India Coordinated Research
Project credits Adivasi communities with the knowledge of 9000 plant
species - 7500 used for human healing and veterinary health care. Dental
care products like datun, roots and condiments like turmeric used
in cooking and ointments are also Adivasi discoveries, as are many
fruit trees and vines. Ayurvedic cures for arthritis and night blindness
owe their origin to Adivasi knowledge.
As
soon as the British took over Eastern India tribal revolts broke out to
challenge alien rule. In the early years of colonization, no other
community in India offered such heroic resistance to British rule or
faced such tragic consequences as did the numerous Adivasi communities
of now Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, Orissa and Bengal. In 1772, the Paharia
revolt broke out which was followed by a five year uprising led by Tilka
Manjhi who was hanged in Bhagalpur in 1785. The Tamar and Munda revolts
followed. In the next two decades, revolts took place in Singhbhum,
Gumla, Birbhum, Bankura, Manbhoom and Palamau, followed by the great Kol Risings of 1832 and the Khewar and Bhumij revolts (1832-34). In 1855, the Santhals waged war against the permanent settlementof Lord Cornwallis, and a year later, numerous adivasi leaders played key roles in the 1857 war of independence.
BHILS WOMEN
The
Bhils are the third largest tribe in India after the Gonds and the
Santhals. In the state of Madhya Pradesh, they are prominently found in
the Dhar, Jhabua, and West Nimar regions. Anthropologists believe that
the word Bhil is derived from the Dravidian word bil or vil, meaning a bow.
BHILS TRIBESMAN
BONDA WOMAN AND
CHILD
BONDA WOMAN
BONDA WOMAN AND CHILD YOUNG BONDA WOMAN
The Bonda or Bondo are an ancient tribe of people numbering approximately 5000 who live in the isolated hill regions of the Malkangiri district of southwesternmost Orissa, India, near the junction of the three states of Orissa, Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh. In
contrast with many other populations in India, the number of females
among the Bondas greatly exceeds the number of males.Known to
be aggressive, the Bonda have resisted the efforts of the Indian
government to "manage" them.
GADABA ELDER WOMEN
GADABA
ARTIFACTS
GADABA MALE ELDER The Gadabas are agricultural tribe of Ganjam and Vizagapatnam
district. They were formerly employed as palanquin bearers and
plantation labourers. Their population is about 30,000. They speak Mundari language and have dark skin colour and mongoloid features.
GOND MALES The Gondi (Gōndi) are a people in central India. The Gondi, or Gond people are spread over the states of Madhya Pradesh, eastern Maharashtra(Vidarbha), Chhattisgarh, northern Andhra Pradesh, and western Orissa. With over four million people, they are the largest tribe in Central India
KHOND
ARTIFACTS
KHOND WOMAN (Orissa)
The Khond, one of the Scheduled tribe of the Jharkhand State, are found
in the districts of Singhbhum and Hazaribagh, they are an africoid
tribe. They have probably migrated from the Orissa. In the State of
Orissa, Khond is a major community.
MUNDA
FAMILY
YOUNG MUNDA WOMEN
MUNDA ELDER
WOMAN
MUNDA FAMILY
The
Munda languages of India are among the most poorly known of the world’s
languages. Spoken by so-called ‘tribals’ primarily in the eastern and
central India states of Jharkhand and Orissa, with enclaves in adjacent
states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. Despite
representing the oldest known layer of population in India, predating
the Dravidian and Indo-Aryan peoples that dominate the area today, the
linguistic relatives of the Munda in the large Austroasiatic language
family are to be found in remote mountainous regions scattered across
southeast Asia (Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, southern China, in addition to
the far eastern Indian regions of Meghalaya and the Nicobar Islands),
as well as the national languages of Cambodia and Vietnam.
NAGA
MAN
NAGA ELDER
NAGA ELDER
More than four million Nagatribal peoples are found in Nagaland, parts of Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in North-East India, and parts of Myanmar (Burma) such as the Sagaing Division.
The
ancient Indians belonged to the Kushsite African race, still numerious
in a wide area of the globe, spread from India in the East to Senegal in
the West. Of this group of ancient Blacks, the Naga People were and
still are the largest subgroup of the Kushitic speaking branch of the
Black African race. In fact, the Nagas still retain the title "Naga" in
various forms throughout Africa and South Asia even today. There are
many examples of the term "Naga" still being used to describe various
groups in Africa and Asia, who are all of the Kushitic branch of the
Black African race. For example, the Blacks of West Africa were called
"Nugarmar-ta." "Nagomina" is the name of a tribe from West Africa, who
were part of a series of great civilizations which existed in the region
before 1000 B.C. The "Naga," are another group of people related to
India's Naga people, who live in various parts of East Africa and in the
nation of Sudan, the original homeland of all Naga and other Kushitic
Black peoples. The word "Nahas" is another word for "Nubian." Names of
tribes and nationalities such as "Nuer," "Nuba," "Nubian" are all
related to the Naga tribes of India and South Asia. Long before the
barbarians infiltrated India, the Blacks (Naga, Negrito, Negroid and all
those belonging to the Negroid-Australoid Black race, as well as pure
Negritic racial types ruled India as well as a substantial portion of
Asia from Arabia to China and the South Pacific, as well as the Indian
Ocean region.......Runoko Rashidi.
SIDDI
WOMAN
SIDDI MAN SIDDI
GIRL
YOUNG SIDDI MAN YOUNG
SIDDI GIRL YOUNG SIDDI BOY MORE ON THE SIDDIS The
people known as Siddi and other so-called tribals, represent the
indominable spirit of African people who adapt to the environment in
which they have been thrust. Maintaining the essential sprit and core
principles in spite of external factors is the true meaning of the word
warrior. With regard to the siddi people themselves, the accomplishments
attributed to them have influenced a term that indicates high,
unusual, rare achievement. The term is siddha, and signifies a master of
high spiritual attainment in the Hindu and Buddhist
traditions. A siddhaசித்தா
in Tamil means "one who is accomplished" and refers to perfected
masters who, according to belief, have transcended the (ego or I-maker),
have subdued their minds to be subservient to their Awareness, and have
transformed their bodies (composed mainly of dense Rajo-tama gunas) into a different kind of body dominated by sattva. This is usually accomplished only by persistent meditation.
Tamil Nadu tradition of Siddhahood In
South India, a siddha refers to a being who has achieved a high degree
of physical as well as spiritual perfection or enlightenment. The
ultimate demonstration of this is that siddhas allegedly attained physical immortality. Thus siddha, like siddhar or cittar (indigenisation of Sanskrit terms in Tamil Nadu) refers to a person who has realised the goal of a type of sadhana
and become a perfected being. In Tamil Nadu, South India, where the
siddha tradition is still practiced, special individuals are recognized
as and called siddhas (or siddhars or cittars) who are on the path to
that assumed perfection after they have taken special secret rasayanas to perfect their bodies, in order to be able to sustain prolonged meditation along with a form of pranayama which considerably reduces the number of breaths they take.
MAHASIDDA VIRUPA * MAHASIDDA
PADAMPA*(Bodhidharma) MAHASIDDA *TILOPA It was the Mahasiddhas* who instituted the practices that birthed the Inner Tantras of Dzogchen practiced by the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. The other schools of Tibetan Buddhism and other Vajrayana Buddhists such as Shingon Buddhism practice Mahamudra meditation, also a practice initiated by the original Buddhist Mahasiddha.
Each
Mahasiddha has come to be known for certain characteristics and
teachings, which facilitates their pedagogical use. One of the most
beloved Mahasiddhas is Virupa,* who may be taken as the patron saint of the Sakyapa sect and instituted the Lam Dre (Tibetan: lam 'bras) teachings. Virupa (alternate orthographies: Birwapa/Birupa) lived in 9th century India and was known for his great attainments.
Best
known as Machig Labdron's teacher, the Indian mahasiddha *Padampa
Sangye is counted as a lineage guru by all schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
He brought the lineage of Chöd to Tibet, carried the Buddha's teachings
to China, and is even asserted, in the Tibetan tradition, to have been
the legendary Bodhidharma.
Tilopa
*(Tibetan; Sanskrit: Talika, 988 - 1069) was an Indian tantric
practitioner and mahasiddha. He discovered the mahamudra process, a set
of spiritual practices that greatly accelerated the process of attaining
bodhi (enlightenment). He is regarded as the human founder of the Kagyu
lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. MAHASIDDA
NAROPA (student of
Tilopa)
TANTRIC YOGI Nāropā or Naropa (Prakrit; Sanskrit: Nādapradā, 956-1041) was an IndianBuddhistyogi, mystic and monk. He was the disciple of Tilopa and brother, or some sources say partner and pupil, of Niguma[1] . Naropa was the main teacher of Marpa, the founder of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. As an Indian tantric Buddhist, he has a place in Vajrayana Buddhism as a whole, but he is particularly renowned in Tibetan Buddhism via his name being attached to the six yogas of Naropa,
a suite of advanced yogic practices for the attainment of skills
(siddhas).
MARPA (Student of
Naropa)
*MILAREPA (student of Marpa)
Marpa Lotsawa (1012-1097), or Marpa the translator was a Tibetan Buddhist teacher credited with the transmission of many Buddhist teachings to Tibet from India, including the teachings and lineages of Vajrayana and Mahamudra.
Marpa
spent many years translating Buddhist scriptures and made a major
contribution to the transmission of the complete buddhadharma to Tibet.
Marpa continued to practice and give teachings and transmissions to many
students in Tibet. After his third visit to India Milarepa became his disciple, who inherited his lineage in full. Marpa lived with his wife Dakmema and their sons in Lhodrak in the southern part of Tibet.
Milarepa*
is one of the most widely known Tibetan Saints. In a superhuman effort,
he rose above the miseries of his younger life and with the help of his
Guru, Marpa the Translator, took to a solitary life of meditation until
he had achieved the pinnacle of the enlightened state, never to be born
again into the Samsara (whirlpool of life and death) of worldly
existence. Out of compassion for humanity, he undertook the most rigid
asceticism to reach the Buddhic state of enlightenment and to pass his
accomplishments on to the rest of humanity. His spiritual lineage was
passed a long to his chief disciples, Gambopa and Rechung.
The
Mahasiddha* Tradition may be conceived and considered as a cohesive
body due to their spiritual style which was distinctively non-sectarian,
non-elitist, non-dual, non-elaborate, non-sexist, non-institutional,
unconventional, unorthodox and non-renunciate. The Mahasiddha Tradition
arose in dialogue with the dominant religious practices and institutions
of the time which often foregrounded practices and disciplines that
were over-ritualized, politicized, exoticized, excluded women and whose
lived meaning and application were largely inaccessible and opaque to
non-monastic peoples. They practiced non-violence and and-aggression.
VIOLENCE
INFLICTED UPON BLACK PEOPLE IN ASSAM, INDIA (We must not remain
ignorant to ethnic hatred that engulfs Black people around the world.
Darfur is symbolic of the mistreatment of Black people that goes on
daily across the planet). TAKE A
STAND!
SOUTHEAST ASIA
There are several groups of dark-skinned people who live in various parts of Asia, Australia and Oceania. They include the Indigenous Australians, the Melanesians (now divided into Austronesian-speaking populations and Papuans, and including the great genetic diversity of New Guinea), the Andamanese people of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of the Indian Ocean, the Semang people of the Malay peninsula, the Aeta people of Luzon, the Ati of Panay, the Vedda people of Sri LankaHYPERLINK \l "cite_note-andaman-83"[84], and various indigenous peoples sometimes collectively known as Negritos.
Runoko Rashidi indicates that the first Asians were Negrito Africoid people with kinky hair, yellow to dark brown skin and short stature In his words, they were "the supreme lords of the earth" with "monumental civilizations" of advanced technology. Next, Afro-Australoids migrated into Asia 50,000 years ago. These Afro-Astraloids can still be found among the Gonds, Mundas, Veddoids and Kolarians of Sri Lanka and South India. These Australoids turned into the Mongoloid race by a process "only vaguely understood".
Rashidi identifies what he calls a "global African community" of the Africoid race Rashidi considers the terms "black" and "African"
to be synonymous. Rashidi considers the Africoid race to be the first
race in the world. If the first human migrations out of Africa have
retained their Africoid appearance, then he considers them also to be
Africoid. Rashidi cites Cheikh Anta Diop
in the identification of two major Africoid races: one with wooly hair,
broad flat nose, thick everted lips and the other with straight hair, aquiline nose, thin lips, and high cheekbones. Diop considers the latter type of black to include Dravidians and Nubians.
Each picture below is equal to 10,000 words!
TAMIL WOMAN
MUNDA WOMAN BLACK WOMAN OF INDIA, PRADESH BLACK MAN OF ASSAM .
AGTA
WOMAN (Philippines)
BLACK MAN (Andaman Islands)
BLACK WOMEN OF THE PHILIPPINES BLACK PHILIPPINE MAN
SEMANG (Descendants of the aboriginal people of Southeast Asia) SCULPTURE OF SEMANG
"The
Semang reside in the foothills of the Malay peninsula calling
themselves Menik, Meni, Mendi, Monik,. In Thailand they are called Ngok
(Ngo), or Ngok Pa, "frizzy people". Considered true negritos, the Semang
are matrilineal,(with patrilineal ideas). Among them is evidence of an
ancient tiger cult".........Black Jade, Brunson, Rashidi.
The
Black (Africoid) race has been assaulted by the bias and corruption of
human values, at the hands of caucasoid people for thousands of years.
The pictures of the Black faces representing the aboriginal people of
Asia is yet another page in the book that details the historical erasure
of these faces from the contemporary landscape of Asia. One might ask,
where have they gone? Did they just vanish into thin air?
It is
truly difficult to find an unbiased account of these dwindling masses of
Black people throughout the world. Many scholars and anthropologists
will concede that the seed people of the world were African (Black)
people, but the facts regarding their cultural contributions remain
clouded by the myths of Caucasoid superiority. The introduction of the
Caucasoid and Mongoloid racial elements into Asia has had a devastating
effect upon the masses of aboriginal people who were there when they
arrived thousands of years after the formation and development of the
seed cultures. For instance, the Africoid roots of Asian spirituality
have been co-opted by the dominant populations, that exclude any mention
of Black spiritual masters. However, for the undaunted few who continue
to "peel the onion", the voices and faces of the "Sacred Anscestors"
emerge with a power and momentum that transforms them and enables the
telling of "ourstory".
BLACK WOMEN OF INDIA
See below a sampling of melinated people:
ANDAMESE MAN NAGA MAN
HIMALAYAN HOLY MAN SEMANG MEN
SEMANG WOMAN SEMANG MAN
NEGRITO WOMEN OF BATAAN
(Philippines) NEGRITO
WOMAN OF PHILIPPINES
ASSAM (NAGA) WOMAN SOUTH AFRICAN BUSHMAN
KACHIN OF BURMA
HUNTER GATHERERS (Burma, Chin state ,embroidered cotton blanket)
BURMESE BLACK WOMAN
HUNTER GATHERERS
#2
KURIMA OF INDONESIA
KACHIN OF
BURMA
ANNAMESE HILLSMEN
DANCERS OF CEYLON
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SOME AFRICAN
FACES
TAMILS OF CEYLON 
SIDDI DANCERS OF EAST
AFRICA
SIDDI MEN(India or Pakistan)
MALIK
AMBAR
*DESCRIBED IN PARAGRAPH ABOVE 
* 
