Table of Contents
Gnostic Informant surveys African religious history, and the claims are the narration’s. Our species, the host says, began in Africa and left it along routes from Ethiopia toward the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and South Asia. Rift Valley fossils and the upright skeleton called Lucy are the evidence he gives. An Ethiopian tradition older than church or mosque is tied to spirits, nature, and ancestors. Aksum, Nubian reverence for the Nile, gods shared with Egypt, and the ankh follow. Egyptian maat is compared with a Dinka idea of cosmic order, and early animal cults are said to feed the later pantheon. Akhenaten’s sun worship is presented as monotheism in Egypt well before Islam arrived in the north. Yoruba orishas, the messenger Eshu, and the West African roots of Vodou come next. The close covers Islam after the conquests, Gnostic books that treat this world as a lesser power’s making, and the Ethiopian belief that the Ark is still there. Ancestor rites, he adds, still stand beside the larger scriptural faiths.
Key points
- The narration places the start of Homo sapiens in Africa and uses Lucy and Rift Valley fossils as the evidence.
- Ethiopian traditional practice, older than Christianity and Islam there, is tied to nature, spirits, and ancestors.
- Aksum, Nubia, and Egypt are presented as neighbors sharing gods, signs, and care for the dead.
- Maat and a Dinka idea of cosmic order are compared, and Akhenaten’s Aten worship is set inside African religious history.
- Yoruba orishas, Eshu, and West African Vodou are the western traditions the film stops on.
- Islam, Egyptian Gnostic writings, and the Ethiopian claim about the Ark close the survey of later faiths.
Short quotes
Africa is not only our ancestral Homeland but it is the birthplace of humanity itself
Gnostic Informant, African religions before the later faiths
The documentary’s premise is that the human story starts on that continent. Watch at 2:59
Africa boasts the oldest known remains of our species
Gnostic Informant, African religions before the later faiths
Fossils, not legend, are the evidence he offers for that start. Watch at 5:53
Lucy's Discovery also provided compelling evidence for the African origins of humanity
Gnostic Informant, African religions before the later faiths
The famous skeleton is his exhibit for an African beginning of upright walking. Watch at 8:56
Egyptian deities like Amun were also worshiped in Nubia
Gnostic Informant, African religions before the later faiths
He treats Egypt and Nubia as sharing gods, not as sealed worlds. Watch at 16:22
our knowledge of the oldest religion of ancient Carthage is incomplete
Gnostic Informant, African religions before the later faiths
Carthage is included with an admission that the record is thin. Watch at 40:04
the gnostics of Egypt believe that the material world was imperfect
Gnostic Informant, African religions before the later faiths
The Nag Hammadi portion is summarized as a rejection of this world as a lesser god’s work. Watch at 55:18
Video by Gnostic Informant. Watch on YouTube.