Afrika’s Imhotep - The World’s First Genius

Hotep!!!

Take notes!!!!

The Hippocratic oath is an oath that all doctors take before they practice medicine. It pays respect to Hippocrates-a Greek practitioner of medicine in the ancient western world. The Hippocratic oath pays homage to all forces and people that helped Hippocrates develop the medical profession. White people call Hippocrates-the Father of Medicine. But, with a careful study of Afrikan History, you discover that Hippocrates is not the real Father of Medicine. The real Father of Medicine is an Afrikan Kemetic (Egyptian) Blackman named Imhotep. He is the first personality in recorded history about whom much is known. The great Imhotep was the world’s first multi-genius. Imhotep’s Afrikan name means he who comes in peace. He was a scientist, scribe, philosopher, astronomer mathematician, architect, historian, and doctor. Imhotep was so great that later generations worshipped him as a god. He built the world’s first step pyramid at Sakkara in Kemet thousands of years ago before Judaism, Christianity, and Al-Islam even existed. The step pyramid is still in around today in Kemet. Its complex contains the oldest masonry building in the world. Imhotep built the Step Pyramid in 2630 B.C.E. (Before the Christian Era) for King Djoser. Following Imhotep’s example, new architects arose to construct the Great Pyramids of Giza in honor of Pharaohs Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure. The Great Pyramids of Giza were created by Afrikan Kemetic people before there existed western religions (i.e. Judaism, Christianity, and Al-Islam). They are the greatest wonders of world. All this momentous construction in Kemet happened before the invasions of the Jews, Greeks, Romans, Muslims, and Arabs. Kemet comes from the hieroglyphics, or Medu Neter (the Afrikan word for hieroglyphics Medu Neter), that means land of the Blacks. Unfortunately, White supremacy and the system of racism have white washed him in history. In other words, racist scholars have made Imhotep White or a non Afrikan. However, Hippocrates gives credit to Imhotep in his oath, but he calls him by the Greek name-Asclepius. However, in racist western history books, Imhotep has been replaced with Asclepius and / or Hippocrates. The name Asclepius is the Greek God of Medicine. Fortunately, despite the obstacles of White supremacy and the system racism recording false notions about the history of Black people, courageous historians have written the real facts on Afrikan History, Afrikan culture, and Afrikan spirituality.

BRIEF HISTORY OF IMHOTEP FROM THE ANCIENT HISTORY ENCYCLOPEDIA:

Sone European history text books have written the facts about Imhotep. One is called the Ancient History Encyclopedia. The textbook writes,

“Imhotep (Greek name, Imouthes, c. 2667-2600 BCE) was an Egyptian polymath (a person expert in many areas of learning) best known as the architect of King Djoser's Step Pyramid at Saqqara. His name means "He Who Comes in Peace" and he is the only Egyptian besides Amenhotep to be fully deified, becoming the god of wisdom and medicine (or, according to some sources, god of science, medicine, and architecture). Imhotep was a priest, vizier to King Djoser (and possibly to the succeeding three kings of the Third Dynasty), a poet, physician, mathematician, astronomer, and architect.

Although his Step Pyramid is considered his greatest achievement, he was also remembered for his medical treatises which regarded disease and injury as naturally occuring instead of punishments sent by gods or inflicted by spirits or curses. He was deified by the Egyptians in c. 525 BCE and was equated with the demi-god of healing Asclepius by the Greeks. His works were still extremely popular and influential during the Roman Empire and the emperors Tiberius and Claudius both had their temples inscribed with praise of the benevolent god Imhotep.”

THE GREAT HISTORIAN-JOEL A. ROGERS

In Afrikan History, many Black historians were challenging racist text books about the facts on Imhotep. One of Black historians was the great Joel A Rogers. He wrote two volumes on great Black figures in history. The name of his book is called the World’s Great Men of Color, volume 1&2. Professor Rogers writes extensively about Imhotep in his book called-World's Great Men of Color, Volume I: chapter 1. He said,

“When Egyptian civilization crossed the Mediterranean to become the foundation of Greek culture, the teachings of Imhotep were also absorbed there. But as the Greeks were wont to assert that they were the originators of everything, Imhotep was forgotten for thousands of years and Hippocrates, a legendary figure who lived 2000 years after him, became known as the Father of Medicine.....

It is too often forgotten that when the Europeans emerged and began to extend themselves into the broader world of Africa and Asia during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, they went on to colonize most of mankind. Later they would colonize world scholarship, mainly the writing of history. History was then written or rewritten to show or imply that Europeans were the only creators of what could be called a civilization. In order to accomplish this, the Europeans had to forget, or pretend to forget, all they previously knew about Africa.”

THE HIPPOCRATIC OATH IN GREEK AND ENGLISH:

The Hippocratic Oath, in Greek, from the 1923 Loeb edition called Hippocrates of Cos (1923). It is then followed by the English translation:

“ὄμνυμι Ἀπόλλωνα ἰητρὸν καὶ Ἀσκληπιὸν καὶ Ὑγείαν καὶ Πανάκειαν καὶ θεοὺς πάντας τε καὶ πάσας, ἵστορας ποιεύμενος, ἐπιτελέα ποιήσειν κατὰ δύναμιν καὶ κρίσιν ἐμὴν ὅρκον τόνδε καὶ συγγραφὴν τήνδε:

ἡγήσεσθαι μὲν τὸν διδάξαντά με τὴν τέχνην ταύτην ἴσα γενέτῃσιν ἐμοῖς, καὶ βίου κοινώσεσθαι, καὶ χρεῶν χρηΐζοντι μετάδοσιν ποιήσεσθαι, καὶ γένος τὸ ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἀδελφοῖς ἴσον ἐπικρινεῖν ἄρρεσι, καὶ διδάξειν τὴν τέχνην ταύτην, ἢν χρηΐζωσι μανθάνειν, ἄνευ μισθοῦ καὶ συγγραφῆς, παραγγελίης τε καὶ ἀκροήσιος καὶ τῆς λοίπης ἁπάσης μαθήσιος μετάδοσιν ποιήσεσθαι υἱοῖς τε ἐμοῖς καὶ τοῖς τοῦ ἐμὲ διδάξαντος, καὶ μαθητῇσι συγγεγραμμένοις τε καὶ ὡρκισμένοις νόμῳ ἰητρικῷ, ἄλλῳ δὲ οὐδενί.

διαιτήμασί τε χρήσομαι ἐπ᾽ ὠφελείῃ καμνόντων κατὰ δύναμιν καὶ κρίσιν ἐμήν, ἐπὶ δηλήσει δὲ καὶ ἀδικίῃ εἴρξειν.

οὐ δώσω δὲ οὐδὲ φάρμακον οὐδενὶ αἰτηθεὶς θανάσιμον, οὐδὲ ὑφηγήσομαι συμβουλίην τοιήνδε: ὁμοίως δὲ οὐδὲ γυναικὶ πεσσὸν φθόριον δώσω.

ἁγνῶς δὲ καὶ ὁσίως διατηρήσω βίον τὸν ἐμὸν καὶ τέχνην τὴν ἐμήν.

οὐ τεμέω δὲ οὐδὲ μὴν λιθιῶντας, ἐκχωρήσω δὲ ἐργάτῃσιν ἀνδράσι πρήξιος τῆσδε.

ἐς οἰκίας δὲ ὁκόσας ἂν ἐσίω, ἐσελεύσομαι ἐπ᾽ ὠφελείῃ καμνόντων, ἐκτὸς ἐὼν πάσης ἀδικίης ἑκουσίης καὶ φθορίης, τῆς τε ἄλλης καὶ ἀφροδισίων ἔργων ἐπί τε γυναικείων σωμάτων καὶ ἀνδρῴων, ἐλευθέρων τε καὶ δούλων.

ἃ δ᾽ ἂν ἐνθεραπείῃ ἴδω ἢ ἀκούσω, ἢ καὶ ἄνευ θεραπείης κατὰ βίον ἀνθρώπων, ἃ μὴ χρή ποτε ἐκλαλεῖσθαι ἔξω, σιγήσομαι, ἄρρητα ἡγεύμενος εἶναι τὰ τοιαῦτα.

ὅρκον μὲν οὖν μοι τόνδε ἐπιτελέα ποιέοντι, καὶ μὴ συγχέοντι, εἴη ἐπαύρασθαι καὶ βίου καὶ τέχνης δοξαζομένῳ παρὰ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις ἐς τὸν αἰεὶ χρόνον: παραβαίνοντι δὲ καὶ ἐπιορκέοντι, τἀναντία τούτων.

I swear by Apollo Physician, by Asclepius (Imhotep), by Hygieia, by Panacea, and by all the gods and goddesses, making them my witnesses, that I will carry out, according to my ability and judgment, this oath and this indenture.

To hold my teacher in this art equal to my own parents; to make him partner in my livelihood; when he is in need of money to share mine with him; to consider his family as my own brothers, and to teach them this art, if they want to learn it, without fee or indenture; to impart precept, oral instruction, and all other instruction to my own sons, the sons of my teacher, and to indentured pupils who have taken the physician’s oath, but to nobody else.

I will use treatment to help the sick according to my ability and judgment, but never with a view to injury and wrong-doing. Neither will I administer a poison to anybody when asked to do so, nor will I suggest such a course. Similarly I will not give to a woman a pessary to cause abortion. But I will keep pure and holy both my life and my art. I will not use the knife, not even, verily, on sufferers from stone, but I will give place to such as are craftsmen therein.

Into whatsoever houses I enter, I will enter to help the sick, and I will abstain from all intentional wrong-doing and harm, especially from abusing the bodies of man or woman, bond or free. And whatsoever I shall see or hear in the course of my profession, as well as outside my profession in my intercourse with men, if it be what should not be published abroad, I will never divulge, holding such things to be holy secrets.

Now if I carry out this oath, and break it not, may I gain for ever reputation among all men for my life and for my art; but if I break it and forswear myself, may the opposite befall me.”

CONCLUSION:

In summation, it is imperative that we research all history books to piece together the facts on Afrikan history, particularly books written on Afrikan History, culture, and spirituality. In Imhotep’s case, all the facts point to Imhotep as the real Father of Medicine. Even in Hippocrates own words, he points to Imhotep as the real Father of Medicine. There is so much more about Afrika to be studied before the enslavement and colonialism of Black people. All the information in history about Black people’s contributions to the world’s civilizations and religions still remain uncovered. Afrika is still in need to be researched. Unfortunately, we must struggle to get past White supremacy and the system of racism to extract the facts on Afrikan History, Afrikan culture, and Afrikan spirituality. The distortions of Afrikan History, Afrikan culture, and Afrikan spirituality have been intentionally framed by White supremacy and the system of racism to maintain White hegemony in the world. But White domination is also working to keep Black people de-centered from our own history, culture, and spirituality to maintain us as an oppressed and exploited group.

Asante sana (Kiswahili for thank you very much) for reading my commentary!!!

Hotep!!!

O Daboo (Yoruba for go with God until we meet again)!!!

-Bashir Muhammad Akinyele is a History Teacher, Black Studies Teacher, Community Activist, Chairperson of Weequahic High School's Black History Month Committee in Newark, NJ, commentary writer, and Co-Producer and Co-Host of the All Politics Are Local, the number #1 political Hip Hip radio show in America.

Note: Spelling Afrika with a k is not a typo. Using the k in Afrika is the Kiswahili way of writing Africa. Kiswahili is a Pan -Afrikan language. It is spoken in many countries in Afrika. Kiswahili is the language used in Kwanzaa. The holiday of Kwanzaa is celebrated from December 26 to January
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#Hotep
#afrocentricity
#nationofislam
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#blackstudies