Aboubacry Moussa Lam

Born in 1953, Aboubacry Moussa Lam, also known as Boubacar Lam, is a Peul Senegalese historian and disciple of Cheikh Anta Diop. In the 1980s, Aboubacry discovered Senegalese oral history that was initially compiled by the Toucouleur noble, Yoro Dyâo, not long after World War I, which documented migrations into West Africa from the Nile Valley; ethnic groups, from the Senegal River to the Niger Delta, retained traditions of having an eastern origin. Lam is credited with being the most important Diop scholar and being "most helpful and inspiring in defining the nature of the Afrocentric school of thought." Boubacar has been an activist in the movement to recenter Africans back in their own historical and social context. In continuing with the African intellectual heritage of Africana Studies, Lam used his linguistic skills for the purpose of translation and to assist in the recovery of African memory.

The primary focus of Lam's work has been on Cheikh Anta Diop’s migrations theory. His linguistic work has helped establish connections between the ancient Egyptian language and black African languages, primarily Kongo-Saharan languages. In particular, much of his work has focused on the cultural and linguistic similarities between West Africans (e.g., Peul, Serer, Wolof) and ancient Egypt. His research and demonstration of the Nile origin of the Peul has exampled the possibility of interactions between Africans in the western and eastern Sahel. He has made the case for kmt deriving from the skin color of Nile Valley Africans, who are viewed as black.

Selected Works

• Les chemins du Nil : les relations entre l'Egypte ancienne et l'Afrique
• De l'origine égyptienne des Peuls
• La fièvre de la terre by Aboubacry Moussa Lam
• Le Sahara ou la vallée du Nil? : aperçu sur la problématique du berceau de l'unité culturelle de l'Afrique Noire
• L'affaire des momies royales : la vérité sur la reine Ahmès-Nefertari
• Le triomphe de Maât
• L'unité culturelle égypto-africaine à travers les formes et les fonctions de l'appui-tête
• Paalel njuumri
• Fulb̳e : gila Héli-e-Yooyo haa Fuuta-Tooro
• Hieroglyphics for Babies