Michael Tellinger

Michael Tellinger (born 1960) is a South African author, lecturer, musician and political activist.^[1] He is known for his publications on ancient civilisations, his interpretations of the stone ruins of southern Africa, and his philosophy of Ubuntu Contributionism. He is the founder of the Ubuntu Movement, the Ubuntu Party and the One Small Town initiative.^[2]

Early life and education

Tellinger was born in Czechoslovakia in 1960. His family emigrated to South Africa in 1969. He graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg in 1983 with a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree.^[3] Following careers in pharmaceutical manufacturing, retail and distribution, he later worked in music, advertising, publishing and public speaking.^[4]^[5]

Politics and community initiatives

Tellinger founded the Ubuntu Movement, which promotes his philosophy of Ubuntu Contributionism, advocating community participation, local economic development and shared ownership of resources. He later founded the Ubuntu Party, which contested elections in South Africa. After leaving party politics, he focused on the One Small Town initiative, a community-development programme intended to encourage local enterprise, cooperation and self-sufficiency.^[6]

Music

He spent much of his early years in the arts performing on stage and screen. As part of the duo "Stirling & Tellinger" he had several music hits in South Africa. In 1986, he worked in Los Angeles for Cannon Films as a sound designer and editor; and wrote and recorded the controversial anti-apartheid song "We come from Johannesburg", which was banned under the previous regime. His latest contribution to the arts was a song called "Side By Side With Angels", for the TSUNAMI disaster fund in 2005, which featured a number of top South African artists.^[7]

Campaign against banks

In 2012, Tellinger was sued in the Johannesburg High Court by Standard Bank for nonpayment of his R828 015 home loan granted in 2007. Tellinger's pseudolegal argument, in a nutshell, was that banks create money "out of the air" and therefore he could do the same. He sent Standard Bank a piece of paper which he said was a "negotiable instrument" for the final payment of the loan. Standard Bank took him to court and within minutes his case was dismissed by Judge Jackson Mabsele. Tellinger was ordered to pay the loan and legal fees of both parties. There was also the possibility that he could be sued for defamation and be declared a "troublesome litigant". He was quoted as saying after the court case that he would take the case to the Constitutional Court.^[3]

Works

Tellinger authored or co-authored the following books, three of them self-published through his Zulu Planet Publishers.:^[8]

Heine, J.; Tellinger, M. (2008). Adam's Calendar: Discovering the Oldest Man-made Structure on Earth. Zulu Planet Publishers. ISBN 978-1-920153-07-6.
Tellinger, M. (2012). Slave Species of the Gods: The Secret History of the Anunnaki and Their Mission on Earth. Inner Traditions/Bear. ISBN 978-1-59143-807-6.
Tellinger, M.; Heine, J. (2009). Temples of the African Gods: Decoding the Ancient Ruins of Southern Africa. Zulu Planet Publishers. ISBN 978-1-920153-08-3.
Tellinger, M. (2014). UBUNTU Contributionism: A Blueprint for Human Prosperity. Zulu Planet Publishers. ISBN 978-1-920153-12-0.