Seligman and other early scholars believed that, in the african great lakes and parts of central africa, invading hamites from north africa and the horn of africa had. The alternative hypothesis states what we think is wrong about the null hypothesis, which is needed for step 2. Seligman, the proponent of the hamitic hypothesis, the history of the african south of the sahara is no more than the story of the permeation through the ages. The hamitic hypothesis proved a versatile tool for justifying discrimination, defamation and violence, but also a powerful social force in rallying nationalists around a notion of exclusivist. Introduction to hypothesis testing sage publications. It states that everything of value ever found in africa was brought there by the hamites, allegedlya branchof the. German 1932 ethnographic map portraying hamitic as a s. Project muse the hamitic hypothesis in indigenous west. This paper explores the use of versions of the hamitic hypothesis by west african historians, with principal reference to amateur scholars rather. Although educated as a physician, in 1898 seligman joined the cambridge university expedition to. Charles gabriel seligman frs was a british physician and ethnologist. It states that everything of value ever found in africa was brought there by the hamites, allegedly a branch of the caucasian race. The appellation hamitic was applied to the berber, cushitic and egyptian branches of the afroasiatic family, which, together with the semitic branch, was thus formerly labelled hamitosemitic.
G seligman had in 1930 released his infamous hamitic hypothesis in. Seligman, this theory asserted that virtually all significant achievements in african history were the work of hamites who had migrated into central africa as pastoralists, bringing new customs, languages, technologies and administrative skills with them. Indeed, seligman was known as a staunch advocate of the hamitic hypothesis. Charles gabriel seligman and the hamitic hypothesis. Seligman, the proponent of the hamitic hypothesis, the history of the african south of the sahara is no more than the story of the permeation through the ages in different degrees and at various times of the. He was a proponent of the hamitic hypothesis, according to which, some. The hamitic hypothesis in indigenous west african historical thought volume 36 robin law skip to main content accessibility help we use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Sanders the hamitic hypothesis is wellknown to students of africa. At different times they were seen as an invading race that taught the blacks that existed in egypt everything they knew, and at others they were a miraculously indigenous white race that was the mother of egyptian civilization.
In general, we do not know the true value of population parameters they must be estimated. This book was written by charles gabriel seligman, a british ethnologist who was considered a leading expert on african studies in the 1930s. The idea of an exogenous, hamitic aristocracy in east and central africa is pronounced in the writings from 19 of charles seligman 18731940 in which race infers biogenetic superiority. The hamitic theory suggested that this hamite race was superior to or more advanced than negroid populations of subsaharan africa. However, we do have hypotheses about what the true values are.
However, most interpretations of the hypothesis have treated it as a specific, experimental model. Hamites wikipedias hamites as translated by gramtrans. In the early 20th century, theoretical models of hamitic languages and of hamitic. Seligman, races of africa 4th ed london, 1966, 61, 100. A n n otate d b i b l i ogr ap h y national history day. In ancient times, the hamites, who developed the civilization of egypt, were considered black. The hamitic hypothesis is pervasive in commentaries on the 1994 rwandan genocide see. Black africa landed the hammer of hamitic hypothesis, a notion that attempted to link every act of civilization in black african to the whiteskinned hamitic race from the middle east. The historiographical evolution of the end page 294 hamitic hypothesis was traced by edith saunders in a study published in 1969.
Hamitic from the biblical ham is a historical term in ethnology and linguistics for a division of the caucasian race and the group of related languages these populations spoke. Evanspritchard and meyer fortes all of whose work overshadowed his own. Seligman s main ethnographic work described the culture of the vedda people of sri lanka and the shilluk people of the sudan. This belief, often referred to as the hamitic hypothesis, is a convenient explanation for all the signs of civilization found in black africa. For there to be civilising hamites required the maintenance of true negroes seligman, 1966. It was these caucasoids, we read, who taught the negro how to manufacture iron and who were so politically sophisticated that they organized the conquered territories into highly complex states with themselves as the ruling elites. This terminology was borrowed from the bible in 18thcentury ethnology and linguistics to name a proposed division of the human race and the group of related languages they spoke. Kerlinger, 1956 hypothesis is a formal statement that presents the expected relationship between an independent and dependent variable.
The use in genocidal propaganda of a modified hamitic hypothesis the assertion that african. A hypothesis is a conjectural statement of the relation between two or more variables. Charles gabriel seligman frs 24 december 1873 19 september 1940 was a british. This paper explores the use of versions of the hamitic hypothesis by west african historians, with principal reference to amateur scholars. Hamites are the descendants of ham, son of noah, as described in genesis. We used this source to determine how the belgians came to favor. Noah cursed ham for looking at him in his nakedness. A preliminary study, unpublished manuscript, columbia university, 1965. The hamitic hypothesis reached its apogee in the work of c. Seligman asserted that the negro race was essentially static and agricultural, and that the wandering hamitic pastoral caucasians had introduced most of the advanced features found in central african cultures, including metal working, irrigation and.
Charles gabriel seligman studied medicine at st thomas hospital. He was a proponent of the hamitic hypothesis, according to which, some civilizations of africa were thought to have been founded by caucasoid hamitic peoples. It becomes clear then that the hypothesis is symptomatic of the nature of race relations, that it has changed its content if not its nomen clature through time, and that it has become a problem of epistemology. Charles gabriel seligman was born in 1873, the only son of a prosperous london wine merchant, hermann seligman. He was a proponent of the hamitic hypothesis, according to which, some civilizations of. One of her direct ancestors, emanuel mendez da costa became a fellow of the royal society in 1747, and later served as its secretary. The appellation hamitic was applied to the berber, cushitic and egyptian branches of the afroasiatic language family, which, together with the semitic branch, was thus formerly labelled hamitosemitic. Seligman drew on the work of the italian anthropologist guisseppe sergi 18411936 who, in turn, drew on the work of the french anthropologist. He was a professor at london school of economics and was highly influential as the teacher of such notable anthropologists as bronislaw malinowski, e. Conjectural as the theory of hamitic migration may be, the ethnic classification remains valid, as its continued use e. His main ethnographic work described the culture of the vedda people of sri lanka and the shilluk people of the sudan.
Journal of integrative humanism ghana march, 2014 issn. The hamitic hypothesis was the theory that all aspects of civi lization language, technology, and certain cul tural practices on the african continent came from a superior race, the socalled hamites. Sergi outlined the constituent hamitic physical types, which would form the basis for the work of later scholars. World heritage encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available, and the most definitive collection ever assembled.
Seligman s text provides an extremely biased perception of african origins, describing the tutsis as part of the hamitic hypothesis. His mother, olivia mendez da costa, was the descendant of a distinguished sephardi english family. The hamitic hypothesis, race and the rwandan genocide article pdf available in social identities 124. In races of africa, seligman fuses race and superiority. The responsibility of men of culture for destroying the. In his book the mediterranean race 1901, he asserted that there was a distinct hamitic ancestral stock, which could be divided into two subgroups. The hamitic hypothesis is wellknown to students of africa. Origin of the yoruba and the lost tribes of israel pdf. The classic racialist version of the hamitic hypothesis propounded by seligman was, in fact, not the only, or even the original, version, but only the last in a series of transformations. The hamitic hypothesis was born, and in it the hamites were now white people. Curtin, believed to be one of the leading voices on african studies, published a journal article that tended to prick the sensibilities of eurocentrists and.
Seligman, who argued in his book the races of africa 1930 that. Similar non hamitic elements also existed among the eastern hamites, but with a more marked negroid influence in areas bordering the upper nile and great lakes and a pronounced armenoid strain in the eastern desert. Seligman, it asserted that all significant achievements in african history were the work of hamites who migrated into central africa as pastoralists, bringing. The hamitic hypothesis the fringe conspiracy, news. Seligmans little book, ra ces of africa, the third edition. The idea of the hamite developed initially from the hebrew biblical myth of the origins of humankind. Hamites from the biblical ham is a historical term in ethnology and linguistics for a division of the caucasian race and the group of related languages these populations spoke. This belief, often referred to as the hamitic hypothesis, is a convenient explanation for all the signs of civilization. Creswell, 1994 a research question is essentially a hypothesis asked in the form of a question.
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