Homosexuality began in Africa, not the west

When President Peter Mutharika attended the Umthetho Cultural Festival in Mzimba, two days ago, on Saturday, August 08 2015, the Moderator of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterians (CCAP), Reverend Douglas Chipofya, urged the President to firmly stand against decriminalization of homosexuality in Malawi. Apart from calling it an evil, the Reverend referred to homosexuality as an “alien culture.”gay pride

The view that homosexuality is alien to Africans has been widely propagated by several traditional and faith leaders, and even great sons of Africa that topped or continue to top the echelons of African political leadership like Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Sam Nujoma of Namibia, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, and the late Bingu wa Mutharika of Malawi, to mention only a few of them.

But while I totally agree with the Reverend and the rest of the African religious community that homosexuality is evil, I would like to differ with the view that it is alien to Africans. Homosexuality is not an alien culture to Africans because historically, Africans were the first human beings to practice homosexuality not Europeans or Americans. Therefore, homosexuality is not an importation from the West, if anything, what Africans imported from the West is the criminalization of homosexuality, which only began when Europeans colonized Africa between the 1880s and 1900 and enforced their political governments and legal systems on our continent.

As a matter of fact, Africans are historically rather tolerant towards homosexuality and they tolerated homosexuality until Europeans came with Christianity which introduced homophobia. Homophobia is rooted in the belief that homosexuality is sinful, because that is what the Bible teaches. But the Bible is not an African book; neither is Christianity a typical African Religion, but a Western one. Therefore, if Africans must blame the West for anything to do with Homosexuality, then we must blame them for criminalization of homosexuality and homophobia through teachings of the Bible because that is what they brought, not the culture of homosexuality.

Secular history shows that homosexuality was practiced in Ancient Egypt about 4500 years ago. The first human homosexual couples on earth lived in the Egyptian city of Saqqara in 2400 BCE. Their names were Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum. They were manicurists who served in the palace of the Pharaoh, and according to Egyptologist Greg Reeder, they were among the privileged few who could actually touch the Pharaoh. Given the years of the homosexuality between Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum, these two gentlemen practiced homosexuality 500 years earlier than the famous Biblical homosexuals of the city of Sodom whom God burned in Genesis 19.

And the Bible too supports the reality of Egyptian homosexuality. The Bible reports Egyptian homosexuality, alongside the homosexuality of the people of Canaan in Leviticus 18:24-27. Given the year Leviticus was written, and the departure of Israelites from Egypt (1440 BCE) the homosexuality is reported in a period in Egyptian history referred to as the New Kingdom which existed between 1550 BCE to 1069 BCE. The Bible does not give a clue, as to when the homosexuality in Egypt begun, but it does clearly state that the behavior was rampant in Egypt even when the Israelites lived there as slaves for 430 years (Exod 12:40). It is clear therefore, that there was homosexuality in Egypt probably as early as 1900 BCE, which is the same year the people of Sodom were practicing homosexuality.

however, even going by Biblical history, the people of Egypt might still be the first to practice homosexuality, because despite practicing it at the same time with Canaanites of Sodom and Gomorrah, it is important to remember that Egypt was the political and military superpower of these ages, and did Colonize even territories of Canaan, in which case, much of the culture of Canaan was influenced by Egyptians. Therefore, Canaanites might have copied homosexuality from Egyptians.

Another oldest occurrence of African homosexuality is recorded to have occurred in Zimbabwe about 2000 years ago, and that is according to a 2013 report by the Amnesty International. The homosexuality in Zimbabwe was practiced by the Khoisan or Bushmen that were earlier inhabitants of Zimbabwe. If you seriously consider the year of Zimbabwean homosexuality, you will notice that there was homosexuality in Zimbabwe almost the very same years that Jesus Christ was on earth.

In South Sudan too, there was institutionalized homosexuality among the Zande people. The homosexuality was pederastic (between boys and men). It was practiced until around the 1850s and it was brought to the global spotlight by a renowned British Anthropologist E.E Evans Pritchard who visited the Zande community in person, and document the pederasty.

I have only given a few incidences just to show that even before Europeans began to get civilization, Africans had already discovered homosexuality, and they practiced it for thousands of years before the Europeans came to Africa. And throughout the thousands of years, there is no recorded evidence that the homosexuality was criminalized, or that there was homophobia.

My argument therefore, is that if Africans and of course the government of Malawi must fight against the gay rights revolution sweeping across the continent and mounting up within our very country, we must get our facts straight, and understand the truth about homosexuality, not promoting heresies. We must first stop living in denial that homosexuality is not African, and address it as a reality not a mere western concept or ideology, because like the Human Rights activist, now Prophet, or Apostle, Undule Mwakasungula challenged in his recent article on Nyasa Times “pro-gay rights movements and supporters are very strong, vibrant, solid and well connected. They have an agenda and purpose to achieve.”

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Ulreka
Ulreka
9 years ago

What is sin Mr Obama and who defines what is and what is not? Is it okay for politicians who steal millions of dollars or Kwachas of public funds to condemn men or women who have what others consider abnormal sexual preferences to prison or death? Why are we the “normal” behaving like the Pharisees? What has happened to the freedom of ASSOCIATION OR CHOICE? Let us not confuse between homosexuality and sodomy. Where is the state’s problem when two men/women agree to bang each other in the privacy of their homes? This is different from sodomy where a man… Read more »

Manga
Manga
9 years ago

Sibande I don’t think you are supporting Undule here. Undule admitted homosexuality is a sin but let us not discriminate the homosexuals … If they are sinners let us deliver them from thier bondage …

martin
martin
9 years ago

U just want to cheat us.u cant even convince us.all v verses u mention doesnt support ur claim.v devil iz using u.God of ours wont allow dat.shame on you

mbadwayamalawi
mbadwayamalawi
9 years ago

Zimenezi zikuchokela mkamwa mwa abusa? He would have done better by closing her stinking mouth.

OBAMA
OBAMA
9 years ago

Your argument lacks facts the Leviticus verse you have quoted does not say of homosexuality. If the Africans did it is because they did not know that it is sin. But now we know the truth and whether it was there or not sin remains sin. We know the truth you cannot take us backward. Our forefathers sinned because did not realised that it was sinful. They even used to do human sacrifices which they did not know that it was sinful. Now we know the truth. Mr Sibande if the west countries have given you the money. Continue eating… Read more »

khwauli
khwauli
9 years ago

Your expose needs a lot of citations and quotations if it is to be of substance.

ZINAYAMBA NDI INU
ZINAYAMBA NDI INU
9 years ago

HAAA!!!!!! ASIYENI AZPANGA CHIKUKUKHUZANI NDI CHIYANI? YOU ARE FAILING KUDYA NSIMA CHIFUKWA CHA HOMOSEXUAL?

idoh mwale
idoh mwale
9 years ago

africans only started homosexuality cause they were uneducated and we regreat it but dnt let the past distroy the future.. I say no to homosexuality

farclose
farclose
9 years ago

the leviticus verse you have quoted mentions nothing about homosexual.

mcwonderful
mcwonderful
9 years ago

Whether it started in Africa, Africans themselves realised that it is wrong to continue practising it . This is the sole reason they had to stop practising it

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