Nabta Fiction

by Mary Tran

This is the story of a young lady who discovers her heritage in Nabta…

I have always possessed a keen interest in the celestial magnificence of the universe. At the age of seven, I developed a love for astronomy. My father and I would lie in our backyard and gaze up at the sky. He would point to a cluster of stars and tell me tales of the chivalry, mystery and magnificence found in the stars. I was completely awed.

One evening, my father showed me the family pendant that he’d worn for as long as I can remember. The pendant was a cutting from a geode with a picture of what looked to be oddly shaped rocks on a grassy plain. I knew that it was a nighttime scene due to the stars in the background. My father explained to me that the rocks were actually the ancient stones of our family. I asked him why we had family stones, but he did not know.

A few months later, my father fell seriously ill. The doctors said that he didn’t have long to live. Before he passed away, my father placed in my hand the beautiful pendant of the ancient stones. He told me that the pendant had been passed down in our family from father to son. Since I was the only child, the pendant went to me. Father told me never to lose my heritage. He also wished for me to look at the other ancient heirlooms in the attic.

After my father’s death, I tried my hardest to make him proud. I excelled in school and went on to study Astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin.

One evening, the University Astronomy Association was having a social gathering of students and professors in the astronomy department. As I always had after my father’s death, I wore the pendant. During the evening, I was introduced to Professor John Craig Wheeler, a professor in the Department of Astronomy. He stared at my pendant strangely all night, as if he had seen a ghost. I assumed that the beauty of it had shocked him.

The next day, I received a note from the professor inquiring about the pendant. He wished to meet with me somewhere to discuss his inquiry further. We decided to meet at the Texas Union the next day.

The meeting began with Professor Wheeler’s question about the origin of the pendant. I stated that it was an heirloom passed down through the generations within my family. It had originated from Africa. Professor Wheeler told me of a megalithic site in southern Egypt that could possibly have been used for astronomy. He showed me various articles about this site called Nabta. He then told me that the picture on my pendant was of the site. Professor Wheeler was currently doing research on the topic, so he was very interested in knowing what I knew, but I knew nothing. Then I remembered what my father had told me of the other family heirlooms. After the funeral, I had completely forgotten about them. After the meeting, I hurried home and went up to my attic to find out what I could about Nabta.

After searching for what must have been hours, I finally found what my father was speaking of, in a little box in a trunk. I opened it to find old documents containing ancient scriptures. I also found a package wrapped in cloth. Inside, I found a simple piece of rock. It seemed to have been broken off of a larger rock.

The following day I brought the documents to Professor Wheeler. He was able to find an historian who had the ability to translate the ancient scriptures. The documents told of the sacred ritual stones that predicted the events of life. It seemed that the stones were used to follow the paths of the sun and stars. Certain happenings occurred when the stone points aligned with the movement of the sun and with specific stars in the sky. The sun was to predict the rains, deaths, births, and the workings of the fertile earth.

A pictograph diary was included in the scriptures. It depicted the everyday life of the people of Nabta. The diary stated that the lives of the Nabta people were highly dependent upon the movement of the sun. The rings of stones were the source through which the sun informed them about what was to be…whether there was to be new life or life was to be released. The stones marked the seasons and told of when the droughts would come. When the droughts came, the people moved away until life returned once again to the land. At the times when the sun was at its highest northern point, the rains were soon to come. The villagers thanked the Heavens for the help in keeping them alive. Professor Wheeler, the historian and I presumed that the people worshipped and thanked these heavens as a sign of faith and religion.

After learning all that I could about Nabta, I wished to further trace my roots in Egypt. I decided to venture to Egypt for the summer. I said my farewells to the professor and promised to bring back any information that I found, including all of the pictures that I could take of the site.

Upon arrival at the airport in Aswan, Egypt, I felt a great sense of belonging and pride. This was the place where my family had come from…where it may have all begun. After I had finally settled into my hotel, I took a bus to an area two miles from the Nabta site. I walked for the remaining distance.

When I reached the site, I was completely amazed at the sheer magnitude and size of the stones. Walking around in the site, I began to feel the spirits and auras of my ancestors. I could picture all of them living in the village within Nabta. Through my imagination and feel for the spirit of Nabta, I could see in my mind where the people cooked, cleaned, danced, chanted…I could even picture the children playing. The spirit of my ancestors completely enveloped me. I had always felt a sense of belonging missing in my life. My heart had been lost for so many years, and yet coming to this place, I felt my soul kindle with those of my people. I finally felt whole.

On one of the stones, I noticed a familiar break on the corner. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the piece of rock. I placed it over the break and it fit perfectly. I now had definite proof that my ancestors were here.

After I was at the site for quite some time, I began to grow weary. I slowly rested my head upon one of the rocks and fell into a deep sleep due to the exhaustion of my plane trip. During this moment of sleep, I dreamt of my ancestors in this foreign world that felt like home.

It seemed that I had awakened from a long sleep when I saw the huge monuments before me. They were the same as the stones I had seen, but more shaped and defined. They also pointed straighter up into the sky.

I arose to the early morning rush of people performing their family duties. Suddenly, a child came up to me, and she started speaking to me in this strange dialect. Surprisingly, I was able to understand her. It turned out that she was my younger sister, G’hk’e. She had come to tell me of the solar ceremony we were to have that morning. I assumed that it was the one that told of the rains or droughts to come. As I followed G’hk’e to the other side of the village, I saw the wonderful togetherness around me. Here in this place was my entire family, my past. Their struggles and triumphs were what would come to make my future.

G’hk’e and I arrived at an open area containing a ring of stones. In the center of the ring was a group of six larger stones. I later discovered that this group of stones was the calendar circle used by the Nabtans. Also around us were other groups of stone formations. The one stone that caught my eye was this large tower-like structure. It almost pointed straight up into the sky. I had recognized it from the carving on my pendant.

People from the Nile Valley were also at this congregation. The unity that I saw among these different peoples truly satisfied me. No matter how separate they were as groups of people, they were still one spiritually.

When the ceremony began, a man who seemed to be the reader of the stones stood up and presented his predictions before the assembly. It was to rain in the next week. The people were very pleased with the forecast of new life.

When looking at the man up front, something very interesting caught my eye. He was wearing my family pendant. Its beauty was even greater then. I then realized that this man could very well be the great grandfather of my family. I felt such a connection with him then. He gazed at me and there seemed to be a look of understanding between us. We shared a kinship.

Suddenly I awakened to find myself alone in the desert. The stones were somewhat hidden now by the centuries of age and earth deposits. They were also angled somewhat as well. I realized then that I was to fulfill my father’s wish and not let my heritage die. My children and future generations would know about the culture of my family’s past. They would know of the true meaning of Nabta.

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