{"id":1251,"date":"2024-02-13T08:48:07","date_gmt":"2024-02-13T08:48:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/commonlawdictionary.com\/index.php\/glossary\/original-man\/"},"modified":"2026-08-10T12:08:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T12:08:29","slug":"original-man","status":"publish","type":"glossary","link":"https:\/\/commonlawdictionary.com\/index.php\/glossary\/original-man\/","title":{"rendered":"Original Man"},"content":{"rendered":"

Original Man<\/a><\/p>\n


\n<\/p>\n

\"Original<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Primary Definition<\/h2>\n

Original Man<\/a><\/strong> is an English descriptive phrase whose meaning depends heavily on context. In its ordinary sense, it may mean the first human being, the earliest human ancestor, or humanity in its primal condition. In that broad and nontechnical sense, it is comparable to phrases such as “first man<\/a>,” “original human,” or “earliest mankind.” It is not, by itself, a<\/a> defined term of English common law<\/a>, United States constitutional law, military law, Roman law, or statutory law.<\/p>\n

When capitalized as Original Man<\/a><\/em>, however, the phrase has a<\/a> more specific cultural and religious<\/a> meaning in teachings associated principally with the Nation of Islam (NOI) and, in altered forms, with some related Black<\/a> religious<\/a>-nationalist movements. Within classical Nation of Islam teaching, the “Original Man<\/a>” is identified with the Black man<\/a>, often called the “Original Asiatic Blackman.” The expression conveys a<\/a> doctrine of primordial identity, divine dignity, recovered history, and independence from racial subordination. In that setting, it is not merely a<\/a> statement about the earliest human population; it is part of a<\/a> larger sacred history and moral interpretation of oppression.<\/p>\n

This dictionary distinguishes three uses that are often incorrectly blended together:<\/p>\n