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China's African Ancestry
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Centuries after the appearance of early African man in China the country continued to be the
destination of several African migrations. I will now attempt to show this by explaining two
types of migrations which l call the Manding migrations and the Pygmy migrations. The Manding
migrations actually began during the early history of the Sahara Desert. The study of ancient
pottery and cave art in the Sahara have indicated this desert was once a lush green tropical
environment. Prehistoric cave art have indicated around 7000 BC the Sahara was the home of a
Lake Tritonis. Satellite photos from outer space have shown this ancient lake was situated in the Qattara depression of
northwest Egypt.
Although now buried under tons of sands about 7000 years
ago the Sahara was a tropical environment and the home of a
thriving African culture. The economy of this proto-Saharan
Culture was based on the herding of cattle and dogs and the
cultivation of barley.
The encroachment of an impending desert, overpopulation
and the need for an alternative food source led to various
groups abandoning this location. In search of more favorable
conditions the proto-Saharan populations migrated to China and
other parts of the world. A consistent conformity of cultural
elements can be seen in the locations settled by these early
migrants. For example, black-and-red pottery which is a
common cultural element of the proto-Saharan culture has been
found in the Sudan in Africa, in India, and at sites in Henan
and Gansu in China. These various locations also shared the
same iconographic symbols. The morphological measurements on
the skeletal remains found at these locations have
demonstrated these peoples were of African origins.
The proto-Saharan people spoke a Manding language. An
African language group which is still prevalent in Africa
today. Close study of various elements of Chinese culture
suggested Manding speakers actually settled in China.
For example, Chinese legend speaks of a certain cultural
hero called Huang Di or the Yellow Emperor. According
to legend Huang Di introduced to China boats, the bow and arrow, ceramics,
wooden houses and writing. Legend also says he arrived in China from
the west in 2282 BC and settled along the banks of the Loh river in
Shanxi. Huang Di was originally pronounced Yuhai Huang Di or Hu Nak Kunte.
Its interesting to note that Kunte is a common clan name amongst the Manding speakers
in Africa. Also, the first form of Chinese writing appeared around 2OOO BC as marks on pottery.
Close examination has revealed these mark show a favorable comparison to ancient Manding symbols.
Clyde A. Winters is a noted Afrocentric historian and author who has done extensive research on
the African presence in ancient China. He conducted a comparison between Chinese and the Manding
languages. During his study Winters was able to note striking affinities between Chinese and Manding
terms:
- ..We have compared forty-six cognate
Chinese and Manding terms. These terms can be divided into
three sets of cognate items, (1) words in both languages
with equivalent meanings with full correspondence, (2) words
with consonants showing assimilation and (3) words with
equivalent meanings but lacking similar phonetic values.
Using this criteria we find that the cognate rate for corresponding
Chinese and Manding terms are the following percentages
54% of the terms show full correspondence; 30% show cognate
terms with alternating consonants e.g., d=/=t, p=/=b, and
etc., and 15 percent of these terms are unrelated.
The analogy between the Manding and Chinese languages suggest that Manding is a substratum of
Chinese. This also supports the view that some early rulers of China came from the Kunte clan
and were Manding speakers.
A black dignitary in 14th century China.
When we focus our attention on the African Pygmies we can also find
ample evidence suggesting there was a Pygmy presence in ancient
China. For example, it was the Pygmies of the Congo who relayed
a very intriguing story to Jean-Pierre Hallet, an anthropologist
who lived amongst them for twenty years. The Pygmies told Hallet
far back in the distant past they developed an advanced culture
and used boats to travel all over the world. But this advanced
culture brought them nothing but bad luck. So, preferring happiness
to misery, they gave up the advanced civilization they once had.
What is so intriguing about this Pygmy story is the fact that pockets
of small size black people have been found all over Asia. ln the
southern part of China these groups are referred to as Black
Dwarfs, Haio, Ho-nhi, and Tiao-Hao. In Taiwan there once
lived a group of small size black people called Little Black
Man. This group is now extinct.
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