Tama-Re

The Tama-Re village in Putnam County, Georgia (a.k.a. "Kodesh", “Wahannee”, “The Golden City”, “Al Tamaha”) was an Egyptian-themed set of buildings and monuments established on 476 acres near Eatonton, Georgia by the Nuwaubian Nation in 1993. This was a religious movement that had a variety of esoteric beliefs and was led by Dwight D. York. Many of the African Americans in the community had resettled here from Brooklyn, New York, where the movement had developed since about 1970. York was prosecuted for child molestation, racketeering and financial charges; convicted in 2004, he was sentenced to 135 years in prison. As part of the verdict, the Tama-Re complex was sold under government forfeiture in 2005. The structures were mostly demolished and the site cleared by the sheriff's department to prepare it for sale.

On January 15, 1993, Dwight York, longtime leader of a Muslim-related religious community in Brooklyn, New York, bought the property of 476 acres on 404 Shady Dale Road for $975,000. His followers began moving in from their former headquarters in Sullivan County, New York (some had moved there in the late 1980s) and Brooklyn.

After the move, York declared affiliation with the Yamasee indigenous people, as well as a variety of Egyptian and esoteric themes, claiming that the community was descended from ancient migrants to the Americas from Egypt. York said

In 1997 and 1998, Victor Greig acted as York's representative in building and zoning matters as the community developed Tama-Re. He was cited by Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills for building without a permit and for illegally operating a nightclub in a warehouse, which was not zoned for that use. Greig was fined $45,750 in April 1998 and appealed. His fine was reduced to $2,500, but the conviction upheld.

The organization began to hold festivals on the property, with one netting about $500,000 in cash, according to an FBI agent's testimony.

In 1999, a lawsuit was filed attempting to enforce zoning restrictions and prevent the Nuwaubians from using the property for anything other than residential and agricultural purposes. This led to a drawn-out, bitter tug of war between the Nuwaubians and the county authorities. At the annual week-long celebration "Savior's Day" (i.e. York's birthday) in June 1999, the county padlocked the nightclub warehouse.

In 2000, a security / paramilitary group called the “Royal Guard Of Amen-Ra, Inc.” owned by actor Wesley Snipes’s Amen Ra Films filed BATF papers to set up a security training center next to the Tama-Re compound. The Nuwaubians claimed Snipes as one of their own, though a spokeswoman for Snipes denied any connection.

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