African Spirituality and the Sacredness of Ubuntu
All things are formed and animated by the Breath of Life which comes from the Supreme; thus, all things are sacred and are the physical manifestation of the Supreme whose invisible attributes and ways are seen in the things made and animated by BREATH.
There are various thoughts and understandings regarding what spirituality should be called or how it should be defined. Recently, in the African context, there have been many conversations about the meaning of African spirituality, especially how it should inform the mindset and social attitude of Africans.
It makes sense that more Africans are beginning to dig and also sieve through the various layers of falsehood that have created a very corrupt interpretation of concepts and ideologies of the African people. But care must be taken even as we do this search and reconstruction of what has been damaged, so we do not go into this search assuming that we know the fullness of spirituality or that what we believe should be called African spirituality is all there is. There is no way available to man to fully conceptualize or define, in the physical, that which originates from the unseen realms of the Spirit, except if such man has walked beyond the veils of this world and stepped into the spirit realm. We may have access to things in the physical that come from the spirit realm in tandem with how they are meant to bring us to newer levels of understanding to change our lives even as we journey through this space called Earth, but no one should boast of the fullness of knowledge, especially if the knowledge was given from the unseen realms. That would be pride and a corruption of the soul which will do more damage to our communities than the current spiritual ignorance.
Don’t give sacred things to dogs and pigs
I have often shared in this magazine that the one sweet thing that I could relate the culture of Africa to is “LIFE”. The incubation of life and the ability to nurture life is one foundation of the African culture that we have not paid enough attention to. And I do not speak of life as in childbearing, even though it is part of it, but that Spirit or consciousness within every African that makes them want to accept everyone as part of a spiritual spring from which the Breath of Life flows and for which we are in tune with defending life both among humans and in nature. It is the one deeply seated attribute that makes us Africans and it’s from that depth that I want to share my thoughts about African spirituality.
I was listening to a short clip where Joshua Maponga was talking about African spirituality. He was making a very interesting point about how too many people, in the name of trying to interpret African spirituality, have created more divided and confusing definitions and concepts that are leading more Africans astray. In that video, he defined African spirituality in very simple terms using a statement like when you realize that you as a human being in a physical body came from the same soil material as the trees in the forest, and then you understand the interconnectivity between man and nature, then you will begin to understand African spirituality. (my paraphrase)
In my meditation about what he said, it made sense to know that the same Sacred Breath from the Creator that animates and gives life to nature (nature is not the Supreme Being) is also the Sacred Breath that gives life and animates the human person and every other thing that exists in our known planet. But what this means is that Ubuntu or let me say “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu”, which means “I am because you are” does not exist as a life philosophy only in the relationship between humans and fellow humans but also in the relationship between humans and nature.
Take this simple example for instance, it is the carbon dioxide that humans and animals eject that plants take in to create food and then give off the oxygen we breathe in for life. That interconnection alone creates a deep meaning to the concept of Ubuntu among humans and Ubuntu among humans and nature and it is sacred. This inner gratitude and connection to the sacredness and the sanctity of the Breath of Life in each and everything that exists is what creates the foundation for African Spirituality. It is what informed ancient Africans when to plant their crops, how to plant them, and how to harvest and store crops both for food and medicine. It is this Knowledge System (African Spirituality) that teaches them how to relate to natural phenomena like rain, lightning, a flood from a river that has overrun its banks, how to build their homes, and what shapes and patterns are allowed for the free movement of Air/Breath, what to do when the animals in the community are dying for no clear reason, etc. Spirituality to them was a wholeness of knowledge made available to them within the time frame of their existence and beyond and how this knowledge system intertwines in every aspect of their lives, be it agriculture, architecture, medicine, family life, sex, animal husbandry, knowledge creation and sharing, etc.
It is also true that even though in the physical interpretation of things, man cannot do without nature but nature can do without man, however, the Ubuntu reality between man and nature cannot be overemphasized and should be upheld at every point. But this awe for the sanctity of life and the sacredness of BEING and the Ubuntu between humans and nature is what the European invaders destroyed when they came to the continent. They love and embrace fear, death, destruction, and control, and thus anything that carries life in it and can stop their mad rage for control is destroyed. Killed. They have no respect for life and the sacredness of things, people, and places. Gripped by an unholy fear of annihilation of their race, they make a mockery of anything that does not look like them. And this is not some made-up thought, it’s where the concept of racism and white supremacy came from.
It is true that Ubuntu loosely translates to mean ‘I am because we are”, but I think the opposite is also true. “I am not because we are not.” This other side of Ubuntu is one of the very deep issues that all Africans across the globe are going through at various levels of their lives. What I am because of the input of all of us is great, but we also need to pay attention to what we are unable to manifest because some among us just do not want to rise to the occasion. So, we fail by disassociation instead of succeeding by Ubuntu. We need to correct this.
Spirituality and the Reality of Truth
It is not enough to say that spirituality, in a sense, is how we live in connection to nature or other created things. We must go beyond this thought and also understand that for there to be a physical reality there is also a matching spiritual reality. And by this, I mean, there is a spiritual twin to everything you see in the physical realm. Meaning that when someone speaks of their higher self, what they are actually saying is, that there is a dimension of themselves that is not seen but which is real and they can be in tune with it if the appropriate connection is made. The breath of The Supreme in each person (SPIRIT)is their higher self and that higher self has an embodiment that lives in the Spirit realm and it can also be in various dimensions and realms at once. Remember we humans are tripartite (Body, Soul, and Spirit). This is why when you dream or have visions, you can dream of yourself walking on a planet that does not look like Earth or you dream that you are an entity but not in your usual image. It is simply the various dimensions of who you are in various spiritual realms that you are seeing. The Breath of God is omniscient and so is the higher self of a person unlimited. Most of what we call spirituality on earth is the Truth Reality or the physical reality of that which is spirit. A person comes into higher consciousness when they can bridge the gap between their physical self and their higher or spiritual self. And this is not magic nor is it sorcery. It is what can happen when we divorce ourselves from the noisy system of this world, which was created intentionally to make us run to and fro like people in a rat race. And for Christians, who may think I am talking about magic or some sorcery principle, what does Jeremiah 1:5 mean? It says “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you;…” What it means is what it says. Before you ever became a physical person, you were a spiritual being, and the alignment of that which is in the spirit and that which is physical is what it means when the Bible speaks of Spirit and Truth. Spirit simply means that which is in the realm of the spirit and Truth means, a physical manifestation of that which is in the spirit. Our world is in a massive misalignment because the spirit reality and the physical reality of most people are out of alignment. Imagine what the life of Jeremiah would have been like if there was a disconnect between who he was before he was formed in his mother’s womb and who he found himself being when he was born. This here, is the problem of the entire world. The misalignment of Spirit and Truth.
So, African spirituality takes into sacred cognizance how man is connected to nature because the human body comes from the same material as that of nature, but there is a higher realm from where it all became what we see. Spirit and Truth must thus work together for true spirituality to be achieved. But this must begin with how we see, hear, and judge things or people.
Truth is culture
Truth is the physical reality of Spirit, while culture is the day-to-day application of truth. A man’s truth should determine his way of life, which is the same thing as his culture. Africa or Alkebulan as names find their purpose and meaning within the context of a life-giving Spirit. This is why both Africa and Alkebulan, as names, are “MOTHERHOOD” in nature and essence. Thus, an African person who has understood this spiritual essence must live out the culture of life daily. His daily lifestyle will not allow the eating of junk food because such foods have no life in them. He cannot plant crops with poisonous chemicals because it kills life and biodiversity. He cannot eat or plant GMO foods because it has no life in it. He cannot build his house with materials that are toxic to him and the environment. He cannot allow injustice or anything that takes life out of others or the environment. He is indeed called Alkebulan the Mother of Mankind and a true life-giver. So, until we begin to see and practice the African culture from this point of truth in alignment with spirit, we may really be far from what it means to be Africans.
I have listened to many Africans who, in their quest to speak for African Spirituality, come at it from very childish and prideful attitudes. They speak in your face telling you that you cannot be an African if you are not professing the embrace of African spirituality like they do or if you don’t engage in the worship of ancestors or the other various things they talk about. But it just shows they have no real understanding of what they are talking about and they are not speaking from personal spiritual experiences. They read too many books and watch too many YouTube videos on African Spirituality and then try to impose things on people without a single spiritual experience of their own. How do you impose on someone else what you have never experienced yourself? Is that not how charlatans do their business? And I say this because you cannot undermine other people’s spiritual experiences or journeys just so you validate what you are saying. It’s childish thinking.
You cannot say an African can’t profess Christianity or any other form of Spiritual Knowledge System and also be an African. Mind you I did not say religion, I said Spiritual Knowledge Systems. To think that the foolishness going on in the present-day church is what Christianity is about, is delusional. And to also think that African Spirituality is about going to slaughter goats before some old and rusty wooden images is also delusional. Every form of Spiritual knowledge system is much more than what the eyes see. So, we must be humble and in awe when we try to deal with things that are beyond the human brain. Until you can see clearly, do not try to lead anyone on the path.
Speaking of ancestor worship or the consultation of ancestors, I do not have any personal issue with anyone practicing that, it’s a free world. But what I have an issue with is the amount of hypocrisy in the mix. And here is what I mean. There are lots of Africans talking about ancestors and the consulting of ancestral spirits, but many of them don’t even have cordial relationships with their parents who are still alive. Some don’t even see eye to eye. So, I ask, if you can’t see eye to eye with your parents when they are alive how do you intend to turn the table for them to regard your prayers and consultations when they are dead? Also, if your parents while they were alive were as helpless as you in dealing with everyday issues, how come they suddenly become very powerful when they pass the veil of the living to the point where you can consult them for help? Especially if they never made a connection to their higher selves when they were alive. These are just my thoughts and they are not meant to undermine what anyone practices.
What do you see?
Everything that carries the Breath of Life has some level of sacredness in it, but what anyone sees is completely a different discussion. However, seeing the sacredness in things, people and places is a mark of a heart that has embraced a journey of self-discovery and the discovery of Spirit.
I have watched a few of the late Credo Mutwa’s videos. He was a Zulu Isanusi. Isanusi’s in Zulu spiritual teachings are considered spiritual teachers who provide guidance and wisdom to those seeking it. They are seen as some of the highest ranks in Zulu spirituality.
I have watched this old man speak on very deep and hidden secrets in African spirituality with so much clarity, knowledge, and humility, but not for once did I hear him belittle anyone or any other spiritual knowledge systems or a different opinion on any subject matter. That’s a man who has understood that life and spirituality are deeper than what any man can claim ownership of.
In conclusion, life is deeper than what we think, assume, or even know and so is spirituality. But Ubuntu in its purest form is a good cord that can pull all things together to form a true community of Africans who have let go of their pride, prejudices, biases, hurts, assumptions, and presumptions and who are ready to change the narrative of the African people. We just need to realize that we all are because we all are and that nature is a sweet comforter to the weary soul. Let’s keep drinking from the fountain of water that flows from the Supreme.
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