Nile Valley Film Questions Answers

Amani Sattar

Professor Seals

AFRAM 30

2-10-18

NILE VALLEY FILM QUESTIONS

1. What is the modern day name for Nubia?

• The modern day name for Nubia (aka Kush) is South Egypt, Sudan

1. How many golden ages existed in Nubia?

• There were 5 golden ages in Nubia.

1. How was Kemet established?

• Kemet was established by several sets of different Africans coming together from the south to north, and west to east, to create a multicultural civilization.

1. What’s the meaning of Gebel Berkel?

• Gebel Berkel is an Arabic term that means Holy Mountain (part of the Napata kingdom)

1. Why is Gebel Berkel significant?

• In ancient times, for over one thousand years it was the religious center of the world

1. Explain the relationship between Kemet & Nubia

• They had a very close, strong relationship and had a lot of shared culture, and there were no political boundaries although boundaries were constantly shifting. There was also lots of trade between the two states.

1. Explain the significance of the deity Amen

• Amen (or A-mun) is a deity that came from Kush (Kemetic word that means hidden or concealed - God is everywhere and invisible). Amen was unseen, therefore he was all-powerful and responsible for creation, everything new, and could for tell everything. The ram (Aries) was a sign associated with Amen. His goddess was Mut (each male god has an equal but opposite female counterpart, co-equals)

1. Who is Ausar?

• Ausar (aka Osiris) was the community leader (king) of very early Kush. Ausar married a Nubian woman (his sister) called Auset (aka Isis). When Osiris left to share civilization with other parts of the Nile Valley, Auset was left in to run their nation. After his brother Setekh murdered Ausar, Auset went to search for his body. She found 13 of the 14 pieces of his body, put him back together, then wrapped him up and he became the first mummy.
• He was also the judge of the spirit of the dead (the god of death and resurrection).

1. Explain Ausar’s contributions

• Ausar was the community leader (king) of very early Kush. He was the founding father of Kemet, he unified the two lands of Kemet and Kush, established the fist nation state in the history of humanity, introduced writing (Nedu eter – writing of God), agriculture & theology.

1. Who was Setekh?

• Setekh is Ausar’s brother

1. Explain the story of Setekh

• Murdered and dismembered Osiris into 14 parts, then scattered those pieces throughout Kemet because he was jealous of his success & admiration

1. Who is Heru?

• Heru is Ausar and Auset’s son (aka Horus). Auset had become impregnated by her husband's spirit while he was dead and he gave birth to their child named Heru

1. What was Heru’s purpose?

• Heru was born a king and had the responsibility to takeover the kingship. In order to restore his father’s kingdom, he had to battle his enemy Setekh. Once Heru reclaimed the throne, his father Ausar was resurrected.

1. What was the significance of temples?

• Temples were important because they were considered to be universities. They acted as places of worship and learning. The elites were there developing religion, language, and mythology.

1. What were the roles of the priests that came from the temples?

• The priests were also warriors, and scholars. Training was physical, mental and spiritual

1. How was the calendar created?

• People of the Nile Valley were responsible for creating the calendar. They created it around 4320 BCE and based the years and months on the natural cycles of the universe. They began to notice patterns in the sky. The moon travels around the earth every 27.2 days so they based their month around a 30-day cycle. They also noticed the earth goes around the sun once every 365 days, so the calendar year was based on that. It took thousand of years to analyze and compile this data. Each month was connected to an astrological sign and was considered a map of human earthly and heavenly cycles.

1. What was the highest value of the people?

• The spiritual people were considered the highest value of people

1. How old was Kemet before any outside invasion?

• Kemet was about 3000 years old when the first outsiders invaded

1. Who were the first people to invade Kemet?

• Hyksos, took full control of lower Kemet for about 100 years. The Assyrians (Northeastern Syrian) took over Kemet with intent to separate Kemet from Nubia

1. Explain the importance of Meroe

• The royal city of Meroe was a royal city near Napata. It was a planned city with water sanctuaries, temples and spacious homes. Meroe dates back to about 10th century BC (this is debatable, some believe it predates Kemet).

1. What were the most important trading products?

• Meroe was considered an industrial city. The most important trading products were iron & steel.