Ta-Seti (Land of the bow, also known as Ta Khenti, The First-The South) was one of 42 nomes(administrative division) in Ancient Kemet. Ta-Seti was the earliest Nubian Kingdom before Kemet, dated 5,900 BCE. Bruce Williams, a curator at the University of Chicago, was instrumental in discovering numerous artifacts related to the material culture that had been found there by a previous archeologist.
The area of the district was about 2 cha-ta (about 5,5 hectare / 4,8 acres, 1 cha-ta equals roughly 2,75 hectare / 2.4 acres) and about 10,5 iteru (about 112 km / 69,6 miles, 1 iteru equals roughly 10,5 km / 6.2 miles) in length.
The Niwt (main city) was Abu / Elephantine (part of modern Aswan) and among other cities were P'aaleq / Philae (modern Philae), Sunet / Syene (modern Aswan) and Pa-Sebek / Omboi (modern Kom Ombo).
Every nome was ruled by a nomarch (provincial governor) who answered directly to the pharaoh. Every niwt had a Het neter (temple) dedicated to the chief deity and a Heqa het (nomarchs residence).
The district's main deity was Heru and among others major deities were Anuket, Arensnuphis, HetHeru, Auset, Khnum, Mandulis, Satet and Sebek.
Dr Ivan Van Sertima Talks about Ta-Seti
Findings of Keith Seele
Findings of Bruce Williams,
Findings of Bruce williams The A-Group Royal Cemetery at Qustul, Cemetery L
In 2003, a Swiss archaeological team working in northern Sudan uncovered one of the most remarkable Egyptological finds in recent years. At the site known as Kerma, near the third cataract of the Nile, archaeologist Charles Bonnet and his team discovered a ditch within a temple from the ancient city of Pnoubs, which contained seven monumental black granite statues. Magnificently sculpted, and in an excellent state of preservation, they portrayed five pharaonic rulers, including Taharqa and Tanoutamon, the last two pharaohs of the 'Nubian' Dynasty, when Egypt was ruled by kings from the lands of modern-day Sudan. For over half a century, the Nubian pharaohs governed a combined kingdom of Egypt and Nubia, with an empire stretching from the Delta to the upper reaches of the Nile. The seven statues, with their exquisite workmanship, transform our understanding of the art of this period. In particular, the colossal statue of Taharqa--almost certainly done by an Egyptian sculptor--is a masterpiece of stone artwork. Beautifully illustrated with over 170 color photographs, The Nubian Pharaohs illuminates the epic history of this little-known historical era, when the pharaohs of Egypt came from Sudan. In this major new book, which combines the latest archaeological research with stunning photography, Charles Bonnet and Dominique Valbelle narrate the incredible story of their discovery--one that will change our understanding of Egypt and Africa in the ancient world.
Click here to look inside the book...- The Nubian Pharaohs: Black Kings on the Nile
Ancient Kemet is the first major civilisation in which records are abundant. It was not, however, the first kingdom. On March,1 1979, The New York Times carried an article on its front page, written by Boyce Rensberger, with the headline: Nubian Monarchy called Oldest. In the article, Rensberger told the world that: "Evidence of the oldest recognisable monarchy in human history, preceding the rise of the earliest Kemetic kings by several generations, has been discovered in artifacts from ancient Nubia... The discovery is expected to stimulate a new appraisal of the origins of civilisations in Africa, raising the question of 'to what extent later Kemetic culture derived its advanced political structure from the Nubians?'."
This ancient kingdom, generally called Ta-Seti, encompassed the territory of the northern Sudan and the southern portion of Kemet. It has sometimes been referred to as Ancient Ethiopia in some of the literature, and as Cush (or Kush) in other literature.The first kings of Ta-Seti may well have ruled about 5900 BC. During the time of the fifth generation of their rulers.Ta-Seti.
In Kush (or Ta-Seti), a number of women had the title Kentake, which means Queen Mother, and was recorded in Roman sources as Candace. Some of the women were heads of state. Kentake Qalhata Great royal wife (c.639 BC) had her own pyramid built at Al Kurru, as other Kushite kings did (above photo).
Pseudo-Callisthenes mentions that Alexander the Great visited "Candace, the black Queen of Meroe" in the 4th century. She was apparently a "wondrous beauty".Click image to enlarge Qalhata was a Nubian queen dated to the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt
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Qalhata was a daughter of King Piye and a queen of Shabaka. She is known from the Dream Stela of KingTantamani and from her pyramid in El-Kurru. Assyrian records state that King Tantamani was the son of Taharqa's sister. The tomb of Qalhata at El-Kurru contains texts that say she is a King's Mother, giving some evidence of the family relationships.
The people of Ta-Seti
The Beja People of Sudan, Eritrea and Kemet are an ancient people, who are linguistically, the closest kin to the ancient Kemetians. It is said that there is as much as a 70% correspondence between the Beja language and Ancient Kemetic language!
The presence of the Beja people can be traced as far back as pre-dynasty times; their proud and uniquely huge crown of fuzzy hair (tiffa) was first recorded in Ancient Kemetic rock paintings.
Egyptologist, Emile Brugsch traced the clan of the Khawr kiji Beja through the matriarchal Female line to the 20th Dynasty.
The Khawr kiji Beja themselves claim their Ancestress Maternally was the Mother of an even earlier Dynasty.
In Ancient Kemet the Beja were known as the people of Ta-Seti – “People of the Land of the Bow” – and were renowned in Ancient Egypt for their skill with this weapon…
The use of yellow nutsedge has its origins in ancient Egypt. Chufa was one the first domesticated crops, having been found in vases in the tombs of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs. Chufa was widely used in Egypt and Sudan. Its dry tubers have been found in tombs from pre-dynastic times (4000 B.C.). Read More…
The plant is used in popular medicine:
- In the Traditional Chinese medicine it is considered the primary qi regulating herb.
- The plant is mentioned in the ancient Indian ayurvedic medicine Charaka Samhita (ca. 100 A.D.). Modern ayurvedic medicine uses the plant, known as musta or musta moola churna, for treating fevers, digestive system disorders, dysmenorrhea and other maladies.
- Arabs of the Levant traditionally use roasted tubers, while they are still hot, or hot ashes from burned tubers, to treat wounds, bruises, carbuncles, etc. Western and Islamic herbalists including Dioscorides, Galen, Serapion, Paulus Aegineta, Avicenna, Rhazes, and Charles Alston have described medical uses as stomachic, emmenagogue, deobstruent and in emollient plasters.
Modern uses and studies
Modern alternative medicine recommends using the plant to treat nausea, fever and inflammation; for pain reduction; for muscle relaxation and many other disorders.
Several pharmacologically active substances have been identified in Cyperus rotundus: ?-cyperone, ?-selinene, cyperene, cyperotundone, patchoulenone, sugeonol, kobusone, and isokobusone, that may scientifically explain the folk- and alternative-medicine uses.
Despite the bitter taste of the tubers, they are edible and have a nutritional value. The plant is known to have been eaten in Africa in famine-stricken areas In addition, the tubers are an important nutritional source of minerals and trace elements for migrating birds such as cranes.