 Nuwaubians, Who Are These People?
'We're comfortable for and with everybody'
The Macon Telegraph, May 15, 2000
By Matthew I. Pinzur
Inside the fraternity gathering hall in the Nuwaubian village
of Tama-Re, the walls are inlaid with intricate stone carvings,
illuminated with the light of ornate lanterns dangling from the
gold-painted ceiling.
Outside the hall is a Sno Cone stand and a kiddie train that
takes children on rides through the village.
Contrasts such as these are typical of the developed portion of
the 473-acre plot on Shady Dale Road, where monuments and pyramids
painted in many colors, form the basis of a complex spiritual and
cultural system.
The United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors actually encompasses a
number of overlapping groups, according to Marshall Chance, a
Baptist minister who is the group's spiritual leader and national
spokesman.
Groups include the Holy Tabernacle Ministry, which Chance
describes as a non-sectarian church, and the Ancient Mystic Order
of Melchizedek, a fraternal organization.
Chance calls the Nuwaubian movement a "cultural renaissance,"
where people from various backgrounds are invited to bring their
beliefs into an amalgam of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, ancient
Egyptian religions and unique Nuwaubian ideas.
They trace their roots to Egypt and claim their descendants
settled in the area now known as Putnam County before the
continents drifted apart. They believe they are among the first
people to live in America, and also call themselves the Yamassee
Native American Moors of the Creek Nation.
"We can feel and get a sense of our own cultures here," Chance
said. "We're comfortable for and with everybody."
Belief System
Chance and other Nuwaubians bristle at being called a cult,
explaining that they encourage and relish the diversity of beliefs
in their group rather than forcing members to conform to a single
set of ideas. Members are free to come and go as they please, he
said.
"We are very particular about giving people their space and
letting them be what they want to be," said Renee McDade, also a
Nuwaubian spokeswoman.
The Nuwaubians publish a variety of books and pamphlets about
their lifestyle and beliefs, including a 1,700-page sacred text
called The Holy Tablets.
Chance said the belief system is built around the idea that all
major religions come from the same basic stories and characters
and are therefore inter-related.
More attention has been given to ideas about extra-terrestrials
and the belief that 144,000 people will be taken aboard a space
vessel on May 5, 2003.
Some members do believe in unconventional ideas about aliens
and flying saucers, but others - who spoke on the condition their
names not be used - said they joined to be part of the cultural
exchange and tight community, and expect to live on the land well
beyond 2003.
'Father, Mentor, Counselor, Guide'
Chance said those aspects of the religion have been
misrepresented. They do embrace a belief that their ancestry is
from beyond Earth, but Chance said the details of those beliefs
have been confused by erroneous information presented on the
unregulated plains of the Internet.
A Time magazine article, for example, quoted a Web site in
which the Nuwaubian leader Malachai Z. York claimed to be "the
Supreme Being of This Day and Time, God in the Flesh."
But York, Chance said, does not have a Web site and that
information did not come from the official Nuwaubian organization.
"He's like a father, mentor, counselor and guide," Chance said
of York, under whom the minister studied. "He was born here and
has parents here, though he may trace his culture to the stars."
York rarely appears in public, McDade said, moving around from
place to place. He answered a court order to appear in Putnam
Superior Court on contempt charges earlier this summer and also
celebrated in Tama-Re during a festival last month.
"He's very down to earth and very much like a father," McDade
said. "I don't see him as any different from any other person."
York's Past
Before purchasing the Putnam County land in 1993, according to
tax records for $975,000, York lived in Sullivan County, New York,
and was known as Dwight York. He founded the Nuwaubian nation
there as early as 1970, after serving three years in prison in the
1960s for resisting arrest, assault and possession of a dangerous
weapon.
"He moved here to retire," Chance said.
York, according to Chance, earned most of the sum as a music
producer, saying he produced such hits as Billy Paul's "Me and
Mrs. Jones," Teddy Pendergrass' "Close the Door" and The Delfonics
"La La Means I Love You."
York is not listed as the producer in the credits of any of
those songs.
York transferred the deed in February to Tama-Re Enterprises at
no charge. It was transferred again on June 19 to a group of nine
people: Nathaniel Washington, Yvonne Powell, Vincent Powell, Ethel
Richardson, Anthony Evans, Donald McIntyre, Patrice Evans, Althea
Shine and Michelle Mitchell.
Just as the Nuwaubians were moving to Georgia from their
original home in New York in 1993, the FBI released a report that
linked the group to welfare fraud and extortion. But there is no
indication that any arrests were made as a result of the report.
'America's A Great Country'
Chance said the Putnam County group is dedicated to obeying and
celebrating American laws and life.
"We're looking at the greatest country, the greatest land, the
greatest place," Chance said. "America's a great country."
In taped speeches, York has said the group will form a nation
on the land, passing laws, issuing passports and levying taxes.
Chance said there are no such plans, and the group looks
forward to developing a theme park, recording studio, more housing
and other facilities on the land. Those efforts have been stymied
by a conflict with county authorities over permits and zoning.
Chance declined to speculate about how many members the
Nuwaubian groups have, or about how many live in Tama-Re. McDade
said the land is open daily to visitors and members host classes
about Nuwaubian beliefs Sundays at 4 p.m.
"It's an opportunity to experience us," McDade said. "No one
feels any obligations."
Gaining Access
The Macon Telegraph obtained copies of the applications to both
the Holy Tabernacle Ministries and the Ancient Mystic Order of
Melchizedek. Both ask for an assortment of biographical
information.
The application to the Mystic Order requires a $25 membership
fee and includes a pledge of silence, forbidding the applicant
from discussing or divulging documents from the order. Those
requirements aren't much different from Masonic organizations.
The church application includes a comprehensive medical history
and requires proof of a completed HIV test and copies of birth
certificates and Social Security cards.
Some members move to the land, Chance said, and others only
pass through for a short time. Artists and tradesmen have spent
weeks in Tama-Re simply to add their talents to the monuments and
buildings, and others join but continue to live in nearby towns of
Eatonton and Milledgeville.
Once accepted, members are given Tama-Re passports and license
plates, which grant them access to the land and passage through
the armed security guards at the gate.
'Something Better'
On weekends, Tama-Re is often bustling with members and
visitors. Some dress in simple black or white robes as they seek
spiritual enlightenment while reading sacred texts and walking
through a stone labyrinth that encircles the black pyramid, their
holy temple. Others are dressed in weekend clothing - shorts or
jeans, T-shirts and sportcoats - as they sit around the elaborate
fountains and chat. Salsa music blasts from a speaker affixed to a
stories-high obelisk near the church while blues croon from an
area near the Sphinx, and chants drone from another speaker near
the labyrinth.
"We're building a place that's something better," Chance said.
"People have encountered miracles here."
Children play on a trampoline just yards away from a recreation
of King Solomon's Temple, which serves as the group's library.
"These are tribalistic lands," Chance said. "It's home for us."
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