The ancient confluence of Mayan and Tswana terms

Historically, the Olmecs are widely credited with having established the first great civilisation in Mesoamerica (a region made up mainly of Mexico), while the Aztecs and Mayans – who succeeded the Olmecs – are still fixated on the return of their beloved god who they credit with having taught them ‘everything’, including the art of writing. Indeed, ‘Nahautl’ is na-ha–u-tle in Setswana: ‘Are you coming or not?’

So how did a band of Africans end up in South America and, as if to forever mark their presence there, carved huge sculptures of their heads on boulders exhibiting their distinctly African features? The fact that all the gigantic heads are always shown helmeted gave me a clue as to their name:  O-o-lomegang means ‘he who puts things together’. The helmets, then, were simply to show that their trade was…engineering; that they were not slaves at all!