BOOK REVIEW [The Origins of Amen: Ancient Knowledge the Bible Has Never Told by O. Kwame Osei]

Captivating – Culturally arousing and historical must read. These are three anthams that I can apply to The Origins of Amen: Ancient Knowledge the Bible Has Never Told by O. Kwame Osei and edited by Jahi Issa, Ph.D. Salim Faraji, Ph.D. I must admit I like correlations of great African pasts finding their way to the children of the African diaspora as a testimony that heritage and culture can live on forever even if those who are the benefactors are not fully knowledgeable of it's influence. Such is the case for the modern day Ghanaian who are the primary subjects of this well document work of history.

The editorial portion of the book is elegantly situated as the first half of the book and serves as the foundation that covers a very important part of ancient Kemetic (Egyptian) history, highlighting their royalty and spirituality. The editors Dr. Issa and Dr. Faraji introduce 3,000 years of history of the “serekh” and how its symbolism was the face and mission of spiritual ascension for every royal from the Kemetic beginning in Nubia all the way through to the time of Alexander the Great and the establishment of Alexandria.

Do you know how many times Amen, the essence of the universe is mentioned from the beginning to the end of the bible? Well, you have to see Appendix A for the answer but I will tell you it occurs in 26 of the books. 

How does this relate to the Ghanaian people today? The Akan were a part of the ancient Nubia migration to the West Africa beginning around 50 B.C.E which is also noted as the time of the rise of the Kingdom of Ghana. It is presented in the book that they still carry a many number of Kemetic names that have been handed down through every Akan generation for the last 2,000 years. For Example:
Amonama – what Amen has given
Ankrah – The living God
Menrenra – time of God
Amenta – Amen touches
Yamhotepe – my creator is of immaculate purity.

Osei documents more than 80 names and words of Kemetic origin that are present among the Akan people today. This information is impressive but it also saddens me because knowing what we know about ancient Kemet today even in its 2,000 years of ruins, the minds, bodies, and spirits that built such and impressive civilization that gifted the world with so much was lost for so long under the veil of the religious ignorance that destroyed it.

The Origin of Amen is not a new book. It was written in 2006 and just as we are still reading Rumi, Gibran, Cheik Anti-Diop and Wallis Budge. It is my hopes that Mr. Osei’s book will inspire scholars many centuries from today. 

5 Ankhs there is not another book like this in the whole world. I was given this book by Dr. Jahi Issa, one of the editors as a gift for my honest review. I loved it. 

K. Akua Gray

January 1, 2020

Central Region, Ghana