An African Reflects on Biblical Names

My friend Salamatou of Niger has shared some fascinating linguistic comparisons between the Hausa language and biblical names. Here they are:

Alice, I haven't heard from you lately. Hope all is well with you.

I was reading about Esau, being Ishan in Nigeria. I would say Isa which is a common name among the Hausas in Niger.

I will add, as I told you Hausa still uses names like:

Esaie = Isha'u
Salau which for me is Saul
Sarai = sarah
Nuhu = Noah

To tell you the truth, among my people leaders, there are Jews names. First they didn't make much sense to me but after researching; there might be a clue...

Dela or Delulu = Delila ( the song for Delulu is: "Dela, you are despised of women but the joy of men), all Delulu are also called "Kande=Kandas", she is called the one with twin names. It is not a given name, but a name given to all girls born after two, three, or various brothers. So a baby girl born after several brothers, not one, is named Delulu, Dela on the spot in addition to her baptism name. I am one.

Lutu = Loth, Zakariya'u = Zakariya'u, Dodo, Haruna = Aaron, Laban = Labo, Jeremiah = yerima, Sephora = Sahura etc...

Also, the story of Moses,"Musa" is told at night to children in remote villages, where people are illiterate, how he went through a big "kogi" with his people, calling to the all mighty for help, from the enemy coming after him.

And if Noah people originated in Africa, how is it that, the garden of Eden is said to be located in Irak? If Noah's arc stopped somewhere in Europe, how is it that most varieties of the animals it contained are found in Africa?

I am confused.

Salamatou



Dear Salamatou,

Genesis indicates that the biblical Noah lived in the area of Lake Chad. This is the only place on the surface of the earth that claims to be his homeland - Bor' Nu or Bor-No, meaning "land of Noah."

Armenia is probably Har'Meni, or more likely Har'Meru or Meri, only about 200 miles from the present shores of Lake Chad. Remember that in Noah's time Lake Chad was a sea, much larger than it is today.

Likewise, the word Ararat is not a reference to a place in Iraq, but is a misunderstanding of the Old Arabic herarat - حرار - which means vehemence. Better translated, har-arat would mean Mountain of Vehemence. This, coupled with the Genesis genealogical data showing that Noah's ancestors lived in the area of northern Nigeria and Lake Chad, seems conclusive. All the data fits this hypothesis: Noah's ark landed on a mountain in Africa.

When you read the book of Genesis you find 2 traditions about Noah (and 2 about the Garden). One is western (Afr-Arabian) and older, and the other is eastern (Mesopotamian) and later. This reflects the reality of the Afro-Asiatic Dominion which was ruled by Afro-Arabian and Afro-Asiatic (Aramaean) rulers who controlled water systems extending from west central Africa to the Indus River Valley. These ruling lines intermarried, as is the practice with ruling families. Their priests spread these stories and the binary worldview of the Bible.

Jewish names are close to the Hausa and Arabic. Hebrew, Hausa and Arabic are Afro-Asiatic languages that share common roots. The oldest of these common words pertain to priests, blood and ritual purity. They tell us a good deal about the Afro-Asiatic Dominion of the Afro-Arabians and Aramaeans. Their dominion has been reasonably well demonstrated by comparative linguistics, comparative mythology, cultural anthropology and archaeology.

You will find more information here:
http://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2007/12/finding-noahs-ark-lets-look-in-right.html


Salam,
Alice


Related reading:  Recovering the Africa Background of Genesis; The Afro-Asiatic Dominion; African Naming Practices; Mount Mary and the Origins of Life; The Christ in Nilotic Mythology