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Africa’s True Name
www.drivesouthafrica.co.za
by li-anne
Have you ever stopped to wonder: what is in a name?
If words’ sound power, and there is knowledge in power, then it stands to reason that by gaining knowledge of the origin and perceived meaning of a word, one surely garners more knowledge about that particular word; right?
Well, that is the stance I undertook when pondering the name of our beautifully majestic continent. The cradle of civilization; presently referred to as the continent of ‘Africa’ – but is this the name our ancestors of old used when referring to our motherland? Or have we as descendents of this magnificent continent not only been robbed of our inherent way of life (thanks to colonization) but been robbed of the knowledge of our motherlands’ true name too?

Photo By Joze Antonio Pascoalinho
My quest to answer these questions was not an ardious one (all thanks due to the wonders of technology and 'Google'!!) ...
I simply typed in the phrase: ‘Africa’s true name’; low and behold, my inherent feelings that this ‘Africa’ is not the true name of my beloved homeland struck!

Photo By Giovanni
The name ‘Africa’ stems from the time when the Roman Empire took occupation of the majority of the continent. As is the practice in these type war times, the “Romans sought to completely disconnect the indigenous Africans with their culture, deities, and knowledge. This could only be successfully done by renaming the all archetypical icons, thereby disconnecting the significance, meaning, and sacredness from any specific archetype."
(http://redsea1.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=2562581)

Photo By sabin-boykinov
Read more about the Greek and Roman influence on Africa's etymology.
As I stumbled across quite a few forums and discussions about this very matter, it became clear that there is a very present and real debate on the go about the origin of our continent’s name, and what I found is that our motherland’s true name is: Alkebulan.

Photo By Dariusz Klimczak
According to the following resource: Kemetic History of Afrika; the definition of Alkebulan is as follows:
“The ancient name of Africa was Alkebulan.
Alkebu-lan "mother of mankind" or "garden of eden".
Alkebulan is the oldest and the only word of indigenous origin. It was used by the Moors, Nubians, Numidians, Khart-Haddans (Carthagenians), and Ethiopians.
Africa, the current misnomer adopted by almost everyone today , was given to this continent by the ancient Greeks and Romans. "

Photo By Marco Escobedo
Perhaps in line with this new found knowledge, we should boldly go forward as ‘Alkebulanites’; true and sincere, moving to the beat of our own ancient drums.

* Now I understand more why I am being drawn to the African culture, history and religion.
I just experienced a great "a-ha". I may be born in this lifetime of a white race, but I do feel my roots deep in Alkebulan.
I know part of my roots here, I was part of one the earliest human tribes created by Gaia - the HEMIKUNOI
Brightest Blessings,
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