Politics of the Kush (and not the kind from a Dr. Dre song)

If you're like me, you might not be terribly familiar with the Kush people of Africa, so here's a bit of background... the Kush civilization was a group located in the South of the Nile River valley, mostly in what is the modern day country of Sudan. For most of it's history it was the generally accepted belief that the Kushite culture was a result of the expansion of Egyptian rule into that area, but more recent discoveries in the latter half of the 20th century showed strong evidence that a thriving culture culture existed here prior to the First Egyptian Dynasty, and might have been a very influential force in the development of the Kemites. The Kush Civilization had rich architectural achievements, flourishing trade, a strong belief in divine kingship, and even matriarchy. They were under Egyptian rule for several centuries, but at their high point the Kingdom of Kush, based in Meroe, took control of Kemet and had a very prosperous dynasty of Kushite Pharaohs. But what made political landscape of the Kush kingdom unique?

 


So after I informed myself of just who the Kushite people were, I set out trying to find a primary source document from their civilization. During my search I came to discover that the Ancient Nubian (Kush) language is hieroglyphics based and is thought to be a precursor to Egyptian hieroglyphs, but with one main difference - researchers have not yet been able to translate them (no lucky break with a Rosetta Stone here I guess.)  This makes records of rhetoric and spoken political discourse rather hard to come by, however I was able to find one example from a book, Kush The Jewel of Nubia, that basically compiles many different commentaries on the Kush civilization.

This quote from Piankhi, one of the Kush kings that ruled over Egypt, isn't exactly political rhetoric but I believe it does shed some light on the political attitude of the culture. It reads, "I am king, divine emanation, living image of Atum, who came forth from the womb adorned as a ruler, of whom those greater than he were afraid: whose father knew, and whose mother recognized that he would rule in the egg, the Good God, beloved of the gods, achieving with his hands, Meriamon-Piankhi." (Breatsed 1962, IV, #817, 419)

While this speech isn't rhetoric in the sense that it is intended to persuade others through powerful tools of spoken language I do believe the mindset depicted here shows the futility of rhetoric in the Kush civilization. Let me explain. The Kushites, like many other ancient people, held to the principle of divine kingship. The reverence they showed for their king was at such a level that there was no need for political rhetoric based on moral values. The king was God and could do nothing wrong, so why would you need to persuade the people? Part of the book I read focused on another aspect of their reverence toward their monarch (they had queens as well) that as far as I know is unique to them. The ritual sacrifice of their ruler. They believed their ruler had to represent the vitality of the people, and once their life force dwindled they were seen as a risk as a ruler and killed in a form of regicide. 

One thing I find interesting about the rhetoric (or lack thereof) in the Kush civilization is the contrast to our modern political system. That's all we have is rhetoric. Often empty promises meant to secure some votes that often cause people to develop a very slanted sense of reality when it comes to government policy. All because of the separation of church and state we have an entirely different political system, while at the end of the day those in control of what the people hear hold the power- whether its the skillful speaker gunning for a senate seat or the ancient ruler claiming divinity of his rule.

Monges, Miriam M.-K.-R. Kush, the Jewel of Nubia: Reconnecting the Root System of African Civilization. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 1997. Print.