An African Concept of God’s Role

Patreon:

[cupidsfavouritecherub]

I'm southern african, from one of the Nguni tribes, and I'd compare the traditional nguni religion to Shinto in Japan. Like, we do have a creator god (Mvelinqanti - He Who Appears From Nothing), but he's not really involved in day-to-day life. There are other gods (Nkulunkulu - The First Man/Ancestor, Nomkhubulwane - The Earth Mother, etc) but they're invoked rarely (fun fact: due to christian syncretism, Nkulunkulu is also the local word for the abrahamic god), there are also all sorts of spirits, malevolent and benign, but no one really interacts with those save for sangomas. Prayers go to your ancestors, called amadloti (people have shrines, or go see a sangoma for contact with the spiritual, and you can only call on your own ancestors or risk umkhokha, a curse) and you have to call your clan ancestors by their names for blessings and guidance (you can call specific ancestors if you want but generally we refer to them by their clan names). It's part of why family and clan is so important down here, another part is that when you die, there's a specific ritual your family must do (ukubuyisa) in order for you to join your ancestors and watch over your descendants, lest you wander on earth forever as an untethered spirit.

Among the Nguni (zulu, swazi, xhosa, etc) there's this prevailing cultural philosophy called Ubuntu, roughly translated to Humanity or What Makes One Human. It emphasizes connection, how the people around you and the relationships you have are the essence of what it is to be human, so "good" behaviour is that which promotes community or fosters deeper ties with your family and those around you, while "bad" behaviour is the opposite. I can definitely see how one affects the other, as it is your family's actions after your death that determine your afterlife, or so the belief goes, and members of your own clan that protect you from malevolent spirits.

The belief system is a bit more complicated than I can explain in a small comment but I just wanted to add a perspective lol

[deadmanthehekatonkheire]

It's good to hear from you again, brother. Loved the video.

[gregwhite]

Welcome back home team history! Always hungry for knowledge!

[matthewmann]

Africans both Sub Saharan And Northern ones were able to have there own varients of gods, godesseses, god, godess, angels, demons, spirits, ghosts ghouls, etc of variers steps and steppers they did not need Non Africans influence, impact, initiaton, or informants for that yeah.

[Anelka]

Same here in Cameroon brother, we pray for the ancestors only, and we always walk with them.

[Amunahfaith]

I really enjoyed this, I love learning about God and our existence from different perspectives. Abraham was what we call today “African” so I believe that the Abrahamic religions were translated and interpreted with western minds and intentions. I look at the instructions of The Torah as I would look at a car manual, but more sacred. We were created with certain purposes and the instructions tell us how to care for ourselves, each other, and the environment we live in. Part of the Torah also is based on the culture, conditions, and lifestyles of the Hebrews during that time. When He can, God will meet you where you are. My understanding is that it’s intertwined with the Akan perspective, ethics are based on the needs, and customs of the people but more rooted in their purpose.

[Cirroole]

Just believe in one god and he shall guide ❤❤❤

[lauracwiklinski]

Amazing video!!!! Thank you for this!!!!

[Mr.J-rsgu]

Can you talk more about this subject ❤🎉

[RollinLemons]

Fascinating stuff. Keep up the good work!

[romanedmunds]

As the first human species, it was inevitable that we realized our existence was the result of a higher power and the forces of nature it used to govern us.

Reverence for Mother Nature is a divine connection to the frequency of the universe. Religion is only a cultural relationship with our higher power and the acknowledgment that we are an insignificant part of something much bigger than ourselves.

[mamatoldem]

Ayeee your back fun fact didn't get the notification for this

[jazzybash]

It’s nice to hear from you. It seems like such a long time. Also, it would be great to hear more specifically on the Akan people and ethics but I can research it myself though.

[carnitagroves]

❤Woooow!!! I haven't seen a notification for years!!

[ipsilonia]

thank you. i’d love to learn more about this.

[shotelco]

In my travels, the Akan polytheistic "religion" is better described and considered as a philosophy - much like Buddhism. It's understandable, considering the HTH primary audience, that Akan, or many other African spiritual traditions be compared to the captive-slave religions forced upon the African slave descendant Diaspora. The principle that everything has a "Devine pre-planned" cause is very fundamental to the population control mechanisms within Abrahamic religions. . Both the Buddhist and much of the the traditional (pre-colonization/pre-Arab slave trade) African societies believed that nothing happens by chance. "Causality, hinged on the Buddhist theory of "dependent origination" - where all things are interconnected and dependent on other things - appears to be concerned with the human (physical) world with suffering as its prime focus, while the traditional African thought _Includes_ the empirical world, and freely blends empirical causation with supernatural causation."

Again, IMO, Abrahamic religions revolve around controlling the masses in favor of the few, where "traditional" Asian and African beliefs are geared towards individual philosophy. I evidence my position by the FACT that 67% of Chinese peoples self-identify as "convinced atheists". And 86.32% of the Vietnamese population has no religion or is atheist. Both nations were never really colonized at the deep indoctrination level (forced acceptance of a captive religion and a captive tongue) like African Countries, and certainly the American slave descendent Diaspora. Moreover, it was the lack of religious indoctrination that allowed for the largest Slave rebellion in human history; the Haitian Revolution.

[thevisitor]

Could you do a video on when Africa was most unified? I suspect it may have been during the trans-saharan gold trade

[zolisamaine]

Confusion of Badimo and Modimo will make people think Africans honor one Creator or Creators. We are not a discriminating conquering spirituality. WHO SEEN GOD?

[siigull]

Which video is the one with Europeans finding an African Priest with an Ephod like Aaron wore? If that video is still up?

[greatblackness]

I didn't learn anything from this video. Although I've learned from many of your other videos, this one was saying a lot without saying anything. Speaking eloquently does equate to knowledge.