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The African Roots Of Mental Health

Black History: Special Delivery!!

Statue Of Imhotep

Egyptian healer Imhotep is credited with discovering a scientific approach to diagnosis and treatment of mental health.  His approach blended spirituality with mental health. Imhotep was born in the 27th century BC in Memphis, Egypt. He was second in command to Pharaoh Djoser. Imhotep was an architect, scribe, religious leader, astrologer and healer.  He was so revered that after he was death, he was worshipped as a God.

Imhotep employed “temple sleep” to help people experiencing mental health distress.  Sleep therapy was a combination of exploring spiritual meaning of dreams. Many of his approaches to health and medicine were documented in the Ebers Papyrus document.  The document was written around 1500 BC and contained a chapter on mental health called the “Book Hearts”.  However it it includes sources that date back as far as 3400 BC.  The document also identifies depression as a condition of the The Ebers Papyrus foreshadowed today’s focus exploring the multiple ways that mental health is influenced/impacted by things such as gut health and the body’s other regulatory systems. 

Ancient Egypt was also the place where the brain was given its name and its composition was studied. Imhotep’s findings existed over 2,000 years before those of Hippocrates who is credited with being the “father of medicine”.   However, Hippocrates recognized the influence and accomplishments of Imhotep.  Hippocrates described himself as a “child of Imhotep” meaning that Imhotep was a pioneer and trailblazer long him.

Sources:

Click to access emhj_2001_7_3_377_380.pdf

https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.571.9555&rep=rep1&type=pdf

http://blackyouthproject.com/mental-health-treatment-is-a-black-tradition-white-people-just-took-credit-for-it/

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Ancient African Roots Of Dentistry & The Discovery of Diabetes

Black History:  Special Delivery!!

Wooden panel from the tomb of Hesy-Ra

Located in northern Africa, ancient Egypt is considered to be a pioneer in the fields of medicine.    The Egyptians were also very intentional about dental care.  Hesy-Ra was the first recorded dentist and is regarded as a pioneer of some of today’s dental techniques.  He was not only a dentist but also a physician and a scribe. 

Hesy-Ra lived during Egypt’s third dynasty, around 2600 BC.  He served under pharaoh Djoser. Hesy-Ra may be earliest physician and dentitst identified by name.  He was given the title “Chief of Physicians and Dentists” by Pharoah Djoser.  This title seems to indicate that dentistry was recognized as a specialty even back then.  Ancient records reflect that a portion of Hesy-Ra’s dental practice focused on laborers who were building the pyramids.  Records indicate that some of his treatment methods included drilling holes in the teeth of his patients.  This is quite remarkable when we know that the first dental instruments to perform modern-day root canals were not invented until the 1830’s.   The drilling procedures performed by Hesy-Ra would have been excruciatingly painful for patients because anesthesia had not yet been invented.    

Hesy-Ra’s tomb was discovered by French archaeologists Auguste Mariette and Jacques de Morgan in Saqqara.  Wooden panels in the tomb were inscribed with titles that denoted his official duties, including being a physician, dentist, and scribe.  Hesy-Ra is also believed to be the first physician to speculate about the condition of diabetes.  He observed that it caused “frequent urination,” which we now know is a primary symptom of the illness. 

Sources: 

https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=3180

https://www.ancient.eu/article/50/ancient-egyptian-medicine-study–practice/

Meet Dr Hesy-Ra
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The Berlin Conference: How 14 European Countries Took Control Of Africa

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African Colonies After The Berlin Conference

The Berlin Conference ignited the “Scramble For Africa.”  Colonial domination and control of Africa’s economic resources, natural resources, and trade routes was the goal.  The conference was convened on November 15 1884, and was comprised of 14 western powers.    At the time of the convening, approximately 80% of the African continent remained under local control.  The western powers seeking to gain control would establish fragmented boundaries developed to serve their interests. No African leaders were part of the Berlin Conference.  By 1914, European colonizers had accomplished their goal. Africa was now divided into 50 countries mapped out across hundreds of indigenous groups and regions.

The new configuration forced indigenous Africans into poverty while colonizers became wealthy as their lands were confiscated, and they were forced to labor at meager wages to support colonial exploitation of natural resources.  European leaders viewed Africans as inferior and barbaric.  It reminiscent of the concept of manifest destiny, which was the belief that expansion of the US throughout American continents was justifiable, inevitable, and justified by God.  14 western powers were in attendance at the Berlin Conference.  Countries in attendance included Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden-Norway (unified from 1814 to 1905), Turkey, and the United States of America.  France, Germany, Great Britain, and Portugal emerged as the major power brokers at the conference. 

Continue reading “The Berlin Conference: How 14 European Countries Took Control Of Africa” →
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Ancient African Origins Of Birth Control

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Silphium coins used in ancient Cyrene in Northern Africa

Early forms of birth control were documented in Africa, dating as far back as 1850 BC.  Papyrus scrolls have been discovered with instructions on making birth control with ingredients such as honey, acacia leaves, and lint which was used as a type of cervical cap to prevent sperm from entering the womb.  The Kahun Gynecological Papyrus of 1850 also documents descriptions of pessaries of acacia gum used as a contraceptive.   A pessary is a device placed in the vagina to prevent conception. Another method of birth control was to extend breastfeeding for up to three years. Perhaps the most famous form of birth control native to North Africa was the silphium plant.  The use of the plant as a means of contraception was widespread among ancient Greeks and Romans.  Found only in Cyrene (modern-day Lybia), it was exported to other regions and bought great wealth to the city. 

Continue reading “Ancient African Origins Of Birth Control” →
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Honoring “La Majestad Negra”:  Sylvia del Villard, Afro-Puerto Rican Actress, Singer, Dancer,  Orator, And Activist

Black History:  Special Delivery!!

 

Sylvia
Sylvia del Villard (1928-1990)

 

Sylvia Del Villard (1928 – 1990) was an Afro-Puerto Rican dancer, singer, choreographer, activist, and orator. She took great pride in her dark skin and Afro-Puerto Rican heritage. del Villard was hailed as a champion of Afro-Puerto Rican arts and culture.  Del Villard completed her elementary, junior high and high school education in Santurce, PR. Her mother Marcolina Guilbert, was Puerto Rican and her father, Agustin Villard was African. After completing high school, she received a scholarship from the Puerto Rican government to attend Fisk University in Tennessee, where she studied social work and anthropology.  After being subjected to racism and discrimination in the Southern U.S., she returned home and enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico and completed her studies there. Continue reading “Honoring “La Majestad Negra”:  Sylvia del Villard, Afro-Puerto Rican Actress, Singer, Dancer,  Orator, And Activist” →

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Ellen Johnson Sirleaf:  1st Woman To Be Elected As President Of An African Country

Black History:  Special Delivery!!

 

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf  

 Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (1938 – present) was the first woman elected as president of an African country when she assumed leadership in Liberia in 2005.  Sirleaf was also one of the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 for her commitment to advancing women’s rights.

Continue reading “Ellen Johnson Sirleaf:  1st Woman To Be Elected As President Of An African Country” →

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Help Us Reach Our Goal

Black History: Special Delivery!!

Blackmail4u.com
Help us reach our goal! Just 2,500 more website views are needed to reach our February goal. Head to the website and check out some Black History, facts, quotes, and news!! WITH YOUR HELP WE CAN DO IT.

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The Power of Black Girl Magic!

Black History: Special Delivery!!

Altanta Black Star reports that a young queen flexing her “black girl magic” caused some classmates to become upset. During, classroom free time, this young queen proclaimed loudly “I have black girl magic!!”. This proud proclamation apparently provoked tears from other students and prompted an email to this young queen’s mother from the teacher, asking if she could talk to her daughter about other classmates being upset.

Keep flexing that BLACK GIRL MAGIC young queen!!

Full article can be viewed at this link:

https://atlantablackstar.com/2018/11/30/can-you-speak-with-her-teacher-sends-letter-home-complaining-student-told-classmates-she-has-black-girl-magic/

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Winnie Mandela – Dead at 81

Black History: Special Delivery!!

Nomzamo Winifred “Winnie” Madikizela-Mandela has died at age 81. The former wife of Nelson Mandela, the two were married for 38 years. However over three decades of that time was spent in separation sure to Nelson Mandela’s imprisonment due to his opposition of apartheid oppression.

Source:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/world-africa-43621112

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