Dr. Mario Beatty on the word /Xsy/ "wretched"

[IronFist]

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The following video is of a lecture conducted by the Egyptologist and Political Scientist Dr. Mario Beatty, currently at Howard University. The focus of this discourse is centered on the precise meaning and application of the ancient Egyptian word /Xsy/, which is defined in the Egyptological literature as “weak, feeble, cowardly, humble (of rank), mean (of conduct), vile (of enemies, speech), wretched, coward." One can watch the video below for a detailed analysis of the controversies surrounding the application of the term, and the inability for Egyptologists to get a precise definition of the term under analysis.

 

[IronFist]

I would like to take a little time to add on to Dr. Mario Beatty’s analysis, but bring into the discussion additional insights from a linguistic perspective. As you can see in the video, researchers have a hard time really understanding the term and I argue that this is the case because one has not taken the time to review other African languages. Therefore, the spirit of the term eludes those not familiar with African languages.

 

[IronFist]

The root of /Xsy/ is /-s-/, with X- (an /h/-type sound) being a prefix. The root of this term can be seen in the Yoruba language as the word /ṣẹ̀/ “to offend” and /ṣì/ “to miss.” The Yoruba word /ẹ̀ṣẹ̀/ “sin” is cognate with the Hebrew/Arabic word for “to sin” (< “to miss”): /ḥaṭa/. -ṣ- in Yoruba ṣi/eṣi and /ẹṣẹ/ corresponds to the -t- in Hebrew /hata’/. The initial h- drops in Yoruba. For a cross check we can examine two other Yoruba words: /òṣì/ “wretchedness” and /ìṣẹ̀/ “property.” They correspond with a homonym of Hebrew /hata’/, which means “penury” ("poverty, indigence, neediness, pennilessness"). The interchange between /s/ and /t/ in African languages is quite common. Historically the Yoruba thought of /ẹ̀ṣẹ̀/ “sin” as they thought of /àṣìṣe/ (à-ṣì-ṣe) “a mistaken deed, a deed that is wide of the mark” (< ṣì/ṣè; èṣì “an unprecedented mistake, an accidental error”).

In middle Egyptian, a cognate—which is actually a doublet in the language (or a possible loan)— for the word /Xsy/ is the word: /thj/ "go astray, attack (with), transgress, falsify, divert (pain), err, debauch, seduce, violate, mislead, overstep (path), disobey, impugn (one's character), falsify (account), rebel (against), neglect (appointed dates), reject (petitions), violate (corpse)." This is reflected in Yoruba as /àìtò/ “that which is not straight forward” and /àìye/ “that which is not befitting, the unbecoming.” The precise meanings have been staring the researchers in the face all this time. It was unrecognizable because of the linguistic feature of metathesis which switched the t-h phonemes (< X-s), and also because they chose not to look into African languages for clarity.

 

[CEITEDMOFO]

Interesting.

 

[IronFist]

In short, the word /Xsy/ is simply a word for “sin,” i.e., applies to any morally repugnant act that is contrary to the principles of /mAa.t/ “truth, justice, harmony, balance, reciprocity, and order” (and we can add “love”; /mAa.t/ = /mrj/). The -s- root is the root in the word /isft/ in the ancient Egyptian language: “wrong, wrongdoing, falsehood, crime, chaos" (Isizulu /uzibuthe/ “the spirit of conflict”). This supports Dr. Beatty’s notion that /Xsy/ has no ‘racial’ connotations as espoused by many Egyptologists today.

Sound Correspondences:

Egyptian /X/ & /h/ = Yoruba /0/ (zero/dropped) = Hebrew /h/
Egyptian /s/ & /t/ = Yoruba /ṣ/ & /t/ = Hebrew /t/

 

[IronFist]

Since language is the "black box recorder" of culture, it becomes clear that in order to gain in-depth insight of any culture being studied, one must be proficient in Linguistics methods. Linguistics gives the ability to confirm or deny data of various scientific disciplines.

 

[IronFist]

Interesting.

he has peer review papers out in regards to Ptahhotep , etc.

 

[CEITEDMOFO]

he has peer review papers out in regards to Ptahhotep , etc.

Thanks

 

[IronFist]

if anyone has any question ask her or PM whatever.

 

[IronFist]

 

[notPsychosiz]

I have to rewatch this.

I was listening to it while playing a video game... then I got distracted in the game, missed like 5 minutes of what he was sayin, then was completelt lost tryna follow without that 5min chunk.

 

[IronFist]

A PDF is out on this I'll have to find it.