SIGHTINGS


 
Georgia Commune Awaits
ET Arrival - Locals Puzzled



By Patricia J. Mays
The Associated Press
8-17-98
 
 
Eatonton, Ga. -- A huge white pylon with paintings of Egyptian pharaohs juts out of the red clay of middle Georgia, conspicuous among the miles of pines, dairy farms and mobile homes.
 
Within the gated commune behind the pylon, members of the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors hustle around replicas of Egyptian pyramids and a Sphinx. The group's leader claims he's a being from another galaxy and promises that ships are going to descend from the sky in the year 2003 to pick up a chosen 144,000 people for a rebirth.
 
Until then, this 476-acre rural Putnam County site will remain what the Nuwaubians refer to as the "Little Egypt of the West," their safe-haven away from the problems that plague the outside world.
 
The commune, which is guarded around the clock by an armed security officer, is just down the road from Eatonton -- the birthplace of storyteller Joel Chandler Harris, creator of Uncle Remus, and Alice Walker, author of "The Color Purple."
 
Some residents of the community, known as Georgia's dairy capital, say the Nuwaubians worry them, but most are just puzzled by their neighbors.
 
"We've never seen anything like it before, so naturally you're a little apprehensive," said Doris Larman, 70, whose family owns a 151-acre dairy farm nearby. "It's really strange for this part of the country."
 
Mrs. Larman's husband, William, shakes his head, rears back in his rocking chair and lets out a big laugh. "I've seen the spaceship," he says jokingly.
 
The Nuwaubians abhor when people call the group a cult or refer to their community as a compound, terms that come easily to many residents of this farming community about 40 miles northeast of Macon. The group prefers to be called a fraternal organization.
 
"We're one big family to everyone that wants to be part of our family, that wants to get away from the drugs and wants to get away from the children being shot. We want to get away from all that and create a safe environment," said Thomas Chism, a Seventh Day Adventist and 52-year-old electrician who lives on the commune with his wife and three young children.
 
The Nuwaubians came to Putnam County from New York in 1993, when their leader, Malachi York, purchased a game ranch. Calling themselves the "true Native Americans," the members claim to be the descendants of Egyptians who "came over here thousands of years ago as the original Nuwbuns."
 
Their members are said to be comprised of all races and faiths, and most of them believe in UFOs.
 
According to the group's Internet site, the rebirth will allow them to become supreme beings.
 
"It is so absurd," said Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills. "You have a man that preaches he's God and a spaceship's coming. ... In my opinion, their only purpose is to perpetuate the wealth, well-being and prosperity of one Dwight York."
 
Dwight York is the name on the deed of the property, but York says his true name is Malachi. He bills himself as an entrepreneur, musician, writer and former pastor.
 
Inside the complex, Nile River Road stretches between two rows of statutes of Egyptian royalty. Dominating the site are two pyramids that stand about 30 feet tall, visible from the two-lane road that winds past.
 
A gold pyramid serves as a mini-mall, complete with a bookstore and apparel store. A four-column brown pylon marks the beginning of a winding labyrinth that leads to the entryway of the black pyramid, which serves as a church. Inside, an Egyptian-like chant hums over speakers 24 hours a day. The floors are covered with sand.
 
The group's lodge, an elaborately painted white building trimmed in gold, doubles as a museum that houses artifacts ranging from busts of King Tut and Queen Nefertiti to a glass tomb holding an alien-like creature with a huge head and bulging eyes. A white obelisk, gold lamp posts, and stone animals make up a small African-like garden outside.
 
Dale Sparks, 48, who owns a convenience store down the street, believes the group's behavior is reminiscent to Heaven's Gate, whose 39 members committed mass suicide in 1997 in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
 
"I think it's a cult. Anybody that thinks a spaceship's coming down and get 'em in 2003 can't be anything else," Ms. Sparks said.
 
Members say they pay no dues and are free to come and go as they please. And they insist that suicide is not in their plans.
 
"We don't believe in suicide or anything that's harmful to humanity," said Wendell Hardaway, 32.
 
About 100 Nuwaubians live in single-wide mobile homes neatly aligned in a row behind the Egyptian-like architecture. They've had minor run-ins with local law enforcement mostly stemming from zoning violations.
 
The sect's grounds supervisor was fined $45,750 for operating a dance club in an area zoned as agricultural.
 
"If they get ready to build a building they just build it. They don't get a permit," Sills said.
 
Now, the group is hoping to have part of the site designated as commercial so they can open up a theme park.
 
Besides zoning issues, there have been relatively few problems with the group, Sills said. Still, they make him uneasy.
 
"Now you tell me what a piece of property with armed guards at the gate, with an individual who proclaims to be God in the flesh who openly proclaims that a spaceship will be arriving to take 144,000 people away to the planet Rizq is. I ask you, is that not a cult?" he said.
 
Chism acknowledges his own skepticism about the prospects of a spaceship coming to pick them up, but he's ready just in case.
 
"If it doesn't come, I'll still be here," he said. "If it comes, I hope it takes me. I'd like to get out of here, see what's up."





SIGHTINGS HOMEPAGE