10.

1177/002193402237227
JOURNAL
Monges / SHEBANIZATION
OF BLACK STUDIES
OF KNOWLEDGE
/ NOVEMBER 2002

THE QUEEN OF SHEBA

AND SOLOMON
Exploring the Shebanization
of Knowledge
MIRIAM MA’AT-KA-RE MONGES
California State University—Chico

The objective of this article is to explore intuitive knowledge as a source of

wisdom. The archetype for this knowledge paradigm is the Queen of Sheba.
The Queen of Sheba ruled a country that was the sole source of the precious
commodities of frankincense and myrrh. She sent Tamrin, her trusted advi-
sor, to make arrangements with King Solomon to secure trade routes. When
Tamrin returned he told her stories of Solomon’s wealth, power, and wis-
dom. The Queen of Sheba decided to make a long and arduous trip “to prove
him with hard questions.” She wanted to gain more insight and wisdom.
The article will stress the importance of focusing on the logic of the intellect
and on the wisdom of the larger, more holistic, intuitive inner self.

Hearken. O ye who are my people, and give ye ear to my words. For

I desire wisdom and my heart seeketh to find understanding. . . .
Now to what under the heavens shall wisdom be compared? . . . It is
a source of joy for the heart, and a bright and shining light for the
eyes. . . . It maketh the ears to hear and hearts to understand, it is
teacher of those who are learned, and it is a consoler of those who
are discreet and prudent. . . . As for a kingdom, it cannot stand with-
out wisdom and riches cannot be preserved without wisdom. . . .
Wisdom is the best of all treasures.
—Budge (1932, p. 21)

With these words, Makeda, the Queen of Sheba, set out on a

quest for wisdom. I envision her quest as a model for the roots of an
epistemological paradigm, which I have entitled the Shebanization
JOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES, Vol. 33 No. 2, November 2002 235-246
DOI: 10.1177/002193402237227
© 2002 Sage Publications
235

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236 JOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES / NOVEMBER 2002

of Knowledge. I will stand on the shoulders of an Afrocentricity

paradigm, and use “circles of discussion” that highlight the central-
ity of African ideals and values (Asante, 1990, p. 6), as a valid
frame of reference for examining data and expanding on the story
of Queen Makeda and King Solomon. I see her quest for wisdom as
a tool that will assist in deconstructing linear philosophical inter-
pretations of knowledge where King Solomon is perceived as hold-
ing all wisdom and Makeda, the Queen of Sheba, is perceived as the
recipient of all wisdom. I first encountered the words attributed to
Makeda, Queen of Sheba, while reading Margaret Busby’s (1992)
Daughters of Africa: “Through wisdom I have dived down into the
great sea, and have seized in the place of her depths a pearl whereby
I am rich” (p. 16).
As I was reading the compelling passage, I was dazed but spiritu-
ally fulfilled. It was comparable to the first time that I discovered
that Africa was not a jungle but a land of great kingdoms to which
Europeans came for a first-class university education. Or when I
discovered that the Africans in America were not passive enslaved
people who waited for the Emancipation Proclamation to free
them, but that many were freedom fighters. Previously, in the story
of Solomon and Sheba, I had been taught that Makeda, Queen of
Sheba, was basically an appendage to King Solomon. Certainly,
according to tradition, he possessed great wisdom; however, she
had the wisdom to pursue more knowledge. These are her words: “I
went down like the great iron anchor for the night on the high seas,
and I received a lamp, which lighteth me, and I came up by the ropes
of the boat of understanding” (Busby, 1992, p. 16).
Who was Makeda, Queen of Sheba, the archetype for this
knowledge paradigm? Clearly, she has fascinated the public imagi-
nation for a millennium. In addition to being included in religious
texts, there are many popular books about her, such as Jacki
Lyden’s Daughter of the Queen of Sheba: A Memoir (1998), which
was on the New York Times’ best seller list for many months. We
also have European classical composer Handel’s opera, The
Arrival of Queen of Sheba, and numerous pieces of artwork. What
we do know about her for certain is muddled in a web of religion,
national history, archeology, and public fascination.

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 Monges / SHEBANIZATION OF KNOWLEDGE 237

What is her origin? The exact geographical origin of Makeda,

Queen of Sheba, has been the subject of many debates. James B.
Pritchard’s Solomon and Sheba (1974) explored her Southern Ara-
bian roots. Historian E. A. Wallis Budge’s version of the sacred text
of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, the Kebra Nagast, The Queen of
Sheba and Her Only Son Menyelek (I) (1932), placed her solidly in
Ethiopia. Zachariah Cherian Mampilly wrote a compelling story of
The Queen of Sheba’s Nigerian Roots (2000). The Jewish historian
Josephus referred to her as the queen of Ethiopia and Egypt (1981,
pp. 179-181).
The evidence that she was from Southern Arabia is compelling,
because it was and is still the primary place where frankincense and
myrrh trees grow. However, her spiritual home is Ethiopia. It is
where her spirit is most honored, and where the traditions that she is
believed to have initiated are still venerated. Makeda, Queen of
Sheba, was financially rich and politically powerful. I will not
argue her place of origin. The religious texts assert that she ruled a
country that was a principal source of the precious commodities of
frankincense and myrrh. In ancient times, frankincense and myrrh
were used for sacred rituals and for medicinal purposes. They were
used to fight poisons, pain, female problems, and malaria, among
other things (Beek, 1974, pp. 45-47).
It is also not the purpose of this article to speculate on the accu-
racy of the historical data about Makeda, Queen of Sheba, and her
relationship with King Solomon. There are several versions. The
King James Bible focuses their relationship on a meeting of the
minds and the exchanging of gifts. The Kebra Nagast, or The Book
of the Glory of the Kings (of Ethiopia), chronicles that it went much
further and resulted in the birth of a child, Menelik (chaps. 32-33).
The Kebra Nagast also explains how they came to possess the Ark
of the Covenant. This article will limit itself to conjecturing on the
spiritual expression of their relationship and how it can be used as a
model for knowledge.
It is not critical to my analysis to determine which account is
true. However, it is essential to my analysis that the narrative of the
Bible and the Kebra Nagast does represent the truth for many peo-
ple, such as the Ethiopians, Orthodox Christians, and the Rastafari-

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238 JOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES / NOVEMBER 2002

ans—just as it is not essential to a spiritual analysis of what is com-

monly called Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount whether it took place on
a mountain, as is stated in Matthew (5:1), or on a level plain, as is
stated in Luke (6:17) (Felder, 1993, p. 1383). The Beatitudes, which
is the basis of the Sermon, represent the truth to many people.
Makeda’s words have inspired many people:

I went to sleep in the depths of the sea, and not being overwhelmed
with the water I dreamed a dream. And it seemed to me that there
was a star in my womb, and I marveled thereat, and I laid hold upon
it and made it strong in the splendor of the sun. (Busby, 1992, p. 16)

According to the Kebra Nagast, Makeda sent Tamrin, her trusted

advisor and head of her camel caravans, to make arrangements with
King Solomon of Israel to secure trade routes (Kebra Nagast,
chaps. 22-23). When Tamrin returned, he told her that the routes
were secured. He also told her chronicles of King Solomon’s
wealth and power, but even more than that, he told her story after
story of his wisdom.
After much thought, Makeda, the Queen of Sheba, decided to
make a long and arduous trip to Israel “to prove him with hard ques-
tions” (Kebra Nagast, chap. 24; Felder, 1993, 1 Kings 10:1, 2
Chronicles 9:1). King Solomon was famous for offering his wis-
dom through proverbs and parables. The “hard questions” with
which Makeda wanted to “prove him” referred to uncovering the
meaning of his parables and proverbs. The African Heritage Study
Bible informs us that “a proverb is a short, memorable saying that
expresses a truth or gives us a warning, such as the Book of Prov-
erbs written by Solomon” (Felder, 1993, p. 454). Traditionally,
among people of African descent, proverbs have been a method
through which wisdom was passed on. For example, the Akan and
the Ashanti are well-known for expressing their religious beliefs
through proverbs (Felder, 1993, p. 454). Therefore, Queen Makeda
was following well-established African cultural tradition. It is my
belief that she wanted to gain more insight and sharpen her leader-
ship skills.

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 Monges / SHEBANIZATION OF KNOWLEDGE 239

She relied on the wisdom of a higher, more holistic, intuitive

inner self. Her spiritual transformation became the dominant force
in the changing of the ancient Ethiopian culture. She also found
love.

SHEBANIZATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND

THE SEARCH FOR WISDOM

I went in through the doors of the treasury of wisdom and I drew for
myself the waters of understanding. (Busby, 1992, p. 16)

Makeda, Queen of Sheba, asked Tamrin countless questions

about Solomon. She decided that she wanted to meet him herself.
She took the long and arduous camel trip because she was in search
of a deeper level of wisdom. This search is probably as old as
humankind and is certainly as old as ancient Egypt. “Know thy-
self. . . . Quest for wisdom and truth occupied the lives of elders but
it was also a quest actively pursued by initiates [of priesthood] who
knew it as the pathway to establish proper order. Life was meaning-
less without this order” (Asante, 1990, p. 81).
Webster’s dictionary informs us that wisdom is “the quality of
knowing what is true and right coupled with just judgment as to
action; discernment, insight. . . . The power of judging rightly and
following the soundest course of action, good judgment discre-
tion.” Makeda, Queen of Sheba, traveled to King Solomon based on
specific data that she had received and her intuition, which told her
that she had more to learn.

GIVING

The Biblical narrative says she also functioned on the spiritual

principle of reciprocity and giving. According to the Biblical scrip-
ture, Queen Makeda gave King Solomon 120 talents of gold. A tal-
ent equals 131 pounds. Thus, she gave him 15,720 pounds of gold.
This was in addition to giving him almug trees in exchange for wis-

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dom (Felder, 1993). Whether this is mathematically accurate is not

pertinent here. What is pertinent is the obvious value of the wisdom
sought. The intangible was a very precious commodity.

MENELIK

According to the Kebra Nagast, Menelik was a son who was

born of the relationship between Makeda and Solomon (chaps. 32-
33). As he grew older, he continually asked questions about his
father. Queen Makeda told him all about Solomon, and eventually
he visited his father. It was a spiritually rewarding and loving visit
for both of them. When Menelik left to return home, King Solomon
assigned several priests to return to Sheba with him. These priests
conspired to take the Ark of the Covenant.
Without Menelik’s knowledge, they took the Ark and escaped
before King Solomon realized it was missing. They brought it to
Ethiopia and set it up in holy and highly guarded quarters. The Ethi-
opian people have developed rituals and sacred texts around it. This
is considered the establishment of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
The Queen of Sheba anointed Menelik king. There is no more
information about Makeda, Queen of Sheba, after Menelik became
king. However, it is believed that their descendants ruled Ethiopia
up to the reign of Haile Selassie, Ras Tafari.

THE ARK OF THE COVENANT

I went into the blaze of the flame of the sun, and it lighted me with
the splendour thereof, and I made of it a shield for myself, and I
saved myself by confidence therein, and not myself only but all
those who travel in the footprints of wisdom. (Busby, 1992, p. 16)

The Ark of the Covenant is central to the Ethiopian version of the

story of Queen Makeda and King Solomon. Arks are very ancient
spiritual commodities that have been part of African culture since
ancient Egypt. For example, during the 25th dynasty, Pharaoh

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 Monges / SHEBANIZATION OF KNOWLEDGE 241

Piankhi worshipped at the Ark of Ra before he went into battle

(Budge, 1932, p. xxi).
To the people of Ethiopia, the Ark of the Covenant housed the
Ten Commandments and it represented the energy of God. In their
sacred text, the Kebra Nagast, it is written that the Ark was given to
them because they were true to God’s words. They were righteous
enough to be entrusted with God’s power. When they received the
Ark of the Covenant, which they also refer to as Zion,

ZION shone like the sun, and the majesty thereof they were dis-
mayed. And they arrayed ZION in her apparel, and they bore the
gifts to her, and they set her upon a wagon, and they spread out pur-
ple beneath her, and they draped her with draperies of purple, and
they sang songs before her and behind her. (chap. 55)

To the Ethiopians, like the ancient Jewish people, the energy that
emitted from the Ark was strong enough to destroy idols and
humans and to redirect the road of the people of Ethiopia. The
search for wisdom begun by Makeda, Queen of Sheba, led to much
more than her getting answers to a few hard questions. It led to the
Ethiopians’ possession of the Ark of the Covenant.

SHEBANIZATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND ENERGY

[Wisdom] maketh the ears to hear and hearts to understand, it is

teacher of those who are learned, and it is a consoler of those who
are discreet and prudent. (Kebra Nagast, chap. 24)

One of the domino effects of the Queen of Sheba’s visit to prove

King Solomon “with hard questions” (Felder, 1993, 1 King 10:1, 2
Chronicles 9:1) was that their energy was fused and consequently
more energy was formed. This new energy was evident in the cre-
ation of new religions—the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and Rasta-
farianism, and in the infusion of energy into established religions—
Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.
The science of quantum physics can help us explore the depths
of their relationship further. In the world of quantum physics, “The

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242 JOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES / NOVEMBER 2002

dance of subatomic particles never ends and it is never the same”

(Zudav, 1980, p. 212). The Shebanization of Knowledge is like a
dance of subatomic particles. The more we excavate information
about the ancient past of African people, the more there is to know.
The more we destroy old misconceptions, the more energy we have
to create new paradigms. Author Gary Zudav (1980), who wrote
about quantum physics and spirituality, further informed us on the
invisible:

Subatomic particles forever partake of this unceasing dance of anni-

hilation and creation. In fact, the subatomic particles are the unceas-
ing dance of annihilation and creation. This twentieth century dis-
covery with all its psychedelic implications, is not a new concept. In
fact, it is very similar to the way that much of the world’s population,
including the Hindus and the Buddhists, view their reality. (p. 217)

Zudav (1980), perhaps due to a lack of knowledge, does not spe-

cifically include traditional Africans in this picture of the world’s
population. However, there are numerous examples of Africans
viewing reality from similar lenses of annihilation and creation.
The Ethiopians rejoiced when they received the Ark of the Cove-
nant. They also experienced the annihilation of their old belief sys-
tem as they witnessed the creation of the new system:

And their idols, which they had made with their hands and which
were in the forms of men, and dogs, and cats, fell down, and high
towers . . . fell down also and were broken in pieces. For ZION
shone like the sun, and at the majesty thereof they were dismayed.
(Kebra Nagast, chap. 55)

Another African ethnic group that gives us an example on the use

of energy are the Dogon. They are from the territory at the border
between Mali and Upper Volta. With no more aid than the naked
eye, they amassed a very ancient knowledge system that included
knowledge of the existence of the two companions of the star
Sirius. French anthropologists Griaule and Dieterlen in The Pale
Fox (1986) supplied evidence that the Dogon have known about
and formed rituals around the two companions of Sirius since at

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 Monges / SHEBANIZATION OF KNOWLEDGE 243

least the 13th century (p. 14). This phenomenon has been attributed
to extraterrestrial sources (Temple, 1998). The Dogon’s knowledge
of Sirius has been ardently contested.
More pertinent to this analysis is that the Dogon also provide us
with a distinct example of the dance of the creation and annihilation
of spiritual energy. This passage also provides us with evidence that
their perception of energy was similar to that of Albert Einstein;
that is to say, it had a wave-particle duality. Let us further examine
their view of reality. According to their belief system,

The present world is conceived as having come out of a first seed

formed by God. . . . It contains the essence of creation, including the
four basic “elements” (air, earth, water, and fire) and the “world”
creator, that is to say, life manifesting itself within, in the form of
eight segments, animated by a motion that is both vibratory and spi-
raling.” (p. 63)

The Dogon philosophy further explores the energy dance:

The plant dies and is reborn the following year from the seed it has
formed. In like manner, man—even already in the fetal state where
he is fish-like—will be animated by spiritual principles of the same
essence. This explains the identical structure of the fish egg and the
grain. Man is consubstantial with the grain, the symbol of which he
bears in his clavicles. (p. 63)

The issue of man or humans being consubstantial with the grains

equates energy and matter. Afrocentric psychologist Wade Nobles
added further insight to the concept that matter is energy and energy
is the spirit of the Divine. In Kemet and the African World View
(1986) he affirmed that:

To the Ancients, all the elements of the universe were

“consubstantial” that is to say that nature of all things was of the
same spirit or Ka. The Divine willed first itself to be and then mani-
fested itself as complimentary male-female gods who in having the
attributes (the Ka) of the Divine manifested themselves as man and
woman. Hence, all things are endowed with the spirit of God (i.e.,
the Ka of God). (p. 107)

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244 JOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES / NOVEMBER 2002

Nobles (1986) explained that the ancient Egyptians used mythol-

ogy as a scientific textbook. The ancient Egyptians described cre-
ation in accounts of physical and spiritual generation—one of mas-
turbation and one of spitting (p. 107). He emphasizes that “The
underlying law being revealed here is (a) that Being, as represented
by the creation story, is simultaneously ‘spiritual’ and ‘physical’;
and (b) that the reality (creation) is the consequence of both the idea
(conception) and the act (masturbation). Human reality results
therefore from thinking and doing” (p. 107).

SHEBANIZATION OF KNOWLEDGE

The Afrocentric epistemology validates knowledge through a

combination of historical understanding and intuition. Afrocentric
scholar Norman Harris (1992, p. 156) stated that what is known and
what can be proven are demonstrated through the harmonization of
the individual consciousness with the best traditions in the African
past. Again, by way of contrast, the Eurocentric epistemology vali-
dates knowledge through a combination of objectivity and “scien-
tific method” wherein it is assumed that similar results obtained
through similar conditions are an indication of reality.
Moreover, there is an assumption of the superiority of the scien-
tific method. However, Harris enlightened us on the error of this
assumption by referring to Carl Jung’s comments that

scientific materialism has merely introduced a new hypostasis that

is an intellectual sin. It has given another name to the supreme prin-
ciple of reality and has assumed that this created a new thing and
destroyed an old thing. Whether you call the principle of existence
“God,” matter, energy, or anything else you like, you have created
nothing; you have simply changed a symbol. (Harris, 1992, p. 156)

What it has succeeded in doing is to create incongruity.

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 Monges / SHEBANIZATION OF KNOWLEDGE 245

SHEBANIZATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND WOMANISM

I saved myself by confidence therein, and not myself only but all
those who travel in the footprints of wisdom. (Busby, 1992, p. 16)

I have used the accounts of Queen Makeda and King Solomon to

begin to explore a different knowledge paradigm. The new physics,
quantum mechanics, tells us clearly that it is not possible to observe
reality without changing it (Zudav, 1980, p. 30). I seek to help
change the perspective on Makeda, Queen of Sheba. This will add
more energy to the complex mandala that surrounds the relation-
ship of Queen Makeda and King Solomon. The Shebanization prin-
ciple of knowledge states that intuitive and feminine energy is as
essential as the rational and masculine energy. I will not end but
stop this exploration with words of wisdom from Katie Canon
(1995):

As an interpretive principle, the Black Womanist tradition provides

the incentive to chip away at oppressive structures, bit by bit. It iden-
tifies those texts that help Black womanists to celebrate and rename
the innumerable incidents of unpredictability in empowering ways.
(p. 56)

NOTE

Asante sana to Nzingha Helen Jones for her editorial assistance.

REFERENCES

Asante, M. (1990). Kemet, Afrocentricity, and knowledge. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press.
Beek, G. W. (1974). The land of Sheba. In J. Pritchard (Ed.), Solomon and Sheba (pp. 40-63).
New York: Praeger.

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Budge, E. A. W. (1932). The Queen of Sheba and her only son Menyelek (I): Being the “book
of the glory of kings” (Kebra Nagast). London: Oxford University Press.
Busby, M. (Ed.). (1992). Daughters of Africa: An international anthology of words and writ-
ings by women of African descent from the ancient Egyptian to the present. New York:
Ballantine.
Canon, K. (1995). Katie’s canon: Womanism and the soul of the Black community. New
York: Continuum.
Felder, C. H. (Ed.). (1993). The original African heritage study bible. Washington, DC:
Winston.
Griaule, M., & Dieterlen, G. (1986). The pale fox (S. C. Infantino, Trans.). New York:
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Harris, N. (1992). Afrocentrism: Concept and method: A philosophical basis for an
Afrocentric orientation. Western Journal of Black Studies, 16(3), 154-159.
Josephus. (1981). The complete works of Josephus (W. Whiston, Trans.). Scotland: Nimmo
and Porter and Cates.
Lyden, J. (1998). Daughter of the Queen of Sheba: A memoir. New York: Penguin.
Mampilly, Z. C. (2000, January 19). The Queen of Sheba’s Nigerian roots. Retrieved from
http:www.africana.com/index_20000119.htm
Nobles, W. (1986). Ancient Egyptian thought and the renaissance of African (Black) psy-
chology. In M. Karenga & J. Carruthers (Eds.), Kemet and the African worldview:
Research, rescue and restoration (pp. 100-118). Los Angeles: University of Sankore
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Pritchard, J. (Ed.). (1974). Solomon and Sheba. New York: Praeger.
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Zudav, G. (1980). The dancing Wu Li masters: An overview of the new physics. New York:
Bantam.

Miriam Ma’at-Ka-Re Monges, Ph.D., is an associate professor of social work

and the coordinator of the African American Studies Program at California State
University—Chico. She is the author of Kush: The Jewel of Nubia (1997, Africa
World Press) and numerous scholarly articles. She is currently working on two new
books titled SOJOURN: The Journey to Personal Truth and a children’s book titled
My Mother, The Queen of Sheba. She is an experienced facilitator and lecturer who
uses her extensive skills to assist people in becoming culturally, socially, mentally,
and spiritually empowered.

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