Indeed she did Bro Q. I took my time in getting back on this as I needed to gather my thoughts and my notes together. This was a truly powerful and very informative lecture indeed. In the very short time that Nana had to speak, not only did she drop the science on Afrikan cosmology and spirituality, she also showed how it relates to our development and its utmost importance for our liberation. In this response though, I’m going to take the opportunity to express some of the important points and why they stuck out for me.
After coming out of mainstream religion, I must admit that my perception of the universe has changed enormously. Through study, practice and experience, I’m having more of an innerstanding of ATR (Afrikan Traditional Religion). Yet no matter how much I read & study, I have come to realise that real learning happens via direct experience. Also, I am learning that how we define the world and how we relate to the universe is through language. For instance, European terms such as “Angel” and “God” do little to represent and define spiritual concepts. So by looking at Akan terms with Twi, I find that I am able to relate and work better with Afrikan concepts of Divine unity as I slowly learn to change my perception and strategies to the ways of the Nananom (Ancestors).
In her lecture, Nana Mawiyah Kambon explains that unlike other religious systems, Akan spirituality does not worship the Supreme Being but instead celebrates the essence of all things that is manifested from the Supreme Creator - not termed as ‘God’ (a European term) - but which the Akan refers to as Nyame, Abosom, Oboadee, Odomankoma, etc. That’s because no one word can represent or define the Supreme because the Supreme Being is unknowable. Abosom are the orishas, spirits forces of creation that we call upon that do the work of Nyame (Supreme Creator) and are the intermediaries between the human and Nyame. Nana explains how life is merely a cycle and everything we do affects the universe which is why it is important that we innerstand how we have a duty to protect the environment of our universe for life to continue through the living, the Ancestors, and the ones yet to be born.
It was interesting that Nana spoke of the important role of the father. Just the other day I was in a discussion speaking about relationships and how often we hear women who have been hurt by men and who have children say, “I don’t need no man”. Perhaps mothers don’t realise how the absence of a father figure in our children’s lives has dire effects on the child’s development. Nana spoke about how each soul is given a purpose and is nurtured by the father. She says that without a father figure the child loses moral and good character, and how the child will spend years in its adult life searching to find its purpose and meaning. Therefore the male is very important in giving a child purpose, and is responsible for developing the character, morality and personality of the child.
Nana spoke of the three souls of the cosmos:
1) Physical – (earth, air, water)
2) Spiritual – (nature, ancestors, spiritual forces)
3) Essences – (fertility, power, fecundity)
The three soul categories:
1) Life begins through the Nyame (Supreme Creator) which gives forth the breath of life
2) Mother gives the blood
3)Father gives the semen
The Akan word Ntoro is derived from bodies of water. That which is contributed by the father. Develops into one’s sunsum (spirit) and suban (character).
We often hear and read about how the absence of a father affects a boy but hardly hear about how it affects a girl. I posted ages ago on this site a book by an African American sister, Jonetta Rose Barras and her book entitled “Whatever Happened to Daddy’s Little Girl? The Impact of Fatherlessness on Black Women”. Not to put my business out there but my 13 year old daughter has no real male role models in her life and recently has been making some very bad choices that is getting her into trouble where police have even been involved. I now send her to 100 Black Men Mentoring Program which started in USA and is now operating in the UK(KK). She’s only been going for three weeks but already there is massive improvement in her attitude and behaviour so much so that even the school she attends now says she has a POSITIVE impact on her classmates. So we do need males in our lives or we’ll continue to have imbalanced lives and imbalanced communities.
I like how Nana explained the whole concept of the development of the child how that is consistent with the way the world and the universe also develops showing that there is NO separation - as above so below. She also explains the community must also support the child in becoming to its purpose. What I found very interesting is that in the Akan tradition, the child is given a soul name according to the day he/she is born (accompanied with another name). The name is the name of the spirit or Orisha that rules that day the child is born on. It is who they are (It is who we are). She says that you will never find a thing called rebellion in your child like how we do here in the West because in Afrikan spirituality the children will be busy doing rights of passage etc. I can believe this because the ways of the European and the ways of our Ancestors are so diametrically opposed in every aspect of human & spiritual development. How can we expect these people to provide any foundation that might lead to the health, welfare, and development of Afrikan peoples? We cannot await a people who have denied our reality, and attempted to destroy or neutralize the healthiness of our culture to provide solutions. We cannot look to these people to restore our way. Nor can we consider that they are capable of providing us with the means to do so. (Nana Mawiyah Kambon, PhD)
What stuck with me and was most troubling for me was Nana’s insight into ‘sustaining ourselves’. In the Akan tradition, you sell your wares, do your trading, buy your land to grow food to sell and feed your family, buy animals etc. buy bricks to build your house and not depend on mortgages like we do in the West, and then the man can ask for a ladies hand in marriage.
After listening to Nana, we need to do what we need to do right now because this is no game. Not to digress too much off the topic of self-sufficiency, but it’s all related. Nana reminded us to think of why there was such a high rise in gun sales among white people in USA after Obama won the candidacy. Do we think they will not use them at some point? The way I’ve always seen things is that they get worse before they get better and as Nana says, the way this system is, it can no longer rule in the way it has been - it is time for it to end, and she’s says Afrikan people can bring liberation and justice by using Afrikan spiritual systems to bring about righteousness, reciprocity and the restoration of order and balance to the universe. I know that there are many of us who have little trust in the Afrikan spiritual systems and try to bring such arguments that these ATR’s did not work during enslavement. We only feel this way because we have no innerstanding of our Afrikan culture & spirituality therefore don’t know who we truly are or how such systems work. We’re too busy defining the world and ourselves through the eyes of the European. Lets not forget that many of the slave revolts were due to ATR’s – Nanny of the Maroons in Jamaica, Haitian revolution, the Candombles serving as centres for insurrection in early nineteenth century Brazil, and Santeria gatherings in Cuba are all linked to slave revolts. Even in Trinidad, where Obeah prevailed, some revolts were led by obeah priest.
According to Nana, TRUE LIBERATION lies in “self-sufficiency” to be able to sustain ourselves, our families, community, clan and our nation. She mentioned how our revolutionary Black Panther Party back in the day had the leadership but they didn’t take the spirit of the Ancestors with them. Not meaning to digress but let’s not forget the National Security Council Memorandum-46 written after such Black liberation organisations were no longer operational to ensure that Black people do not unite. Nana also mentioned our gangs and so-called thugs have warrior energies. They need to be lead righteously. The way I see it, President Obama will help to obliterate the desire for Afrikan consciousness & Afrikan centred thought to usher in the demise of Afrikan liberation. Time is of the essence. Nana explains the need of our people coming together and PLAN. She says to come together wherever you are and form think tanks and talk about the plans that must be done for our survival. In this economic slavery we need to be discussing ways on having provisions and what we will do if we lose our homes - can we build our own houses? if there is no food - can we grow our own crops and food. What will we do if we have no electricity, no water, no heat? Will we be able to generate water systems, wind power, solar power? We MUST be prepared for our liberation. The way I see it, we have two choices: LIBERATION or DEATH!
Nana expresses how we must rise up and take a RIGHTEOUS role. We must act but take the spirit of our Ancestors with us. But how many of our people today are prepared to live for righteousness rather than prosperity? As Nana pointed out, having good character is more important than having power.
Nana said something that stuck with me about President Obama. She said that we are at a crossroads with our people and we must not be confused in the role of Obama and that he is part of the plan for our liberation. She says he is a tool NOT a solution. He is a tool to get us to connect back our souls to our Ancestors and to Nyame. I never fully comprehended what she meant by this at the time but after reflecting on her words, it became as clear as day. Dr Kambon’s words below sums it up for me:
Everything that you do, everything that you think, either you are supporting the white world terror domination by your actions what you buy, what you wear, where you go, what you eat, how you use your time, you are either supporting the white people in their process of death or your for Afrikan liberation, its one or the other (Dr Kamau Kambon)
I could be wrong in my interpretation of what Nana meant by Obama being part of the plan for our liberation. But the way I see it, with a Black president, he will be spear-heading the coming vicious assault upon African soil and here we are as Black people upholding and endorsing the same corrupt system that is enslaving our people, raping our continent of its resources, and terrorising the planet as we willingly participate in this process helping to further the goals and objectives of imperialism for the global elite. Obama is now the template for Black people which we are to emulate and not rock the boat by speaking out against issues that affect us as a people. As Nana said last night, if you are not part of the solution then you are part of the problem.
I’m going to wind this up as Nana shared so much profound knowledge with us and I know I could go on all night but I just wanted to share a little of what was given.
Love, Peace!
HTP
