Chronicle Editor
Cultural heritage with Patisa Nyathi
THE aircraft, an Embraer Airlink whined at 37 000 feet above sea level. The Table Mountain paled into a near invisible blob that progressively continued to retreat as the aircraft flew farther and farther away. David Mhabhinyane Ngwenya and I are flying back from Cape Town towards Johannesburg where we shall catch a connecting flight to Bulawayo.
We had been in Cape Town for six days. Our mission was to take part in the inaugural meeting to establish the African Association for African Indigenous Spirituality (AAFIS). This is the initiative of Imboni uZwi Lezwe Hadebe of the proud AmaHlubi lineage that has, for centuries been endowed with African Spirituality. Imboni Hadebe is the founder and leader of the Revelation Church that has branches in Bulawayo and many other countries in southern Africa.
I have, for quite a while, had the sense that African Indigenous Spirituality (AI) is on the ascendancy and gaining lost ground as Africa seeks to regain her lost heritage.
“Africa did not lose a vote at the time of colonisation. Instead, she lost her spirituality and her land. Independence led to Africa being gifted with one-man one-vote, something that Africa had not lost in the first place. Her spirituality was never restored.”
I envisage writing a more comprehensive book on African Indigenous Spirituality where I seek, inter alia; to unpack the concept, delve into the purposes of African Indigenous Spirituality and the results of abandoning it in the face of colonisation and the advent of book religions. For now, the intention is to announce the milestone meeting that took place at the Century City Conference Centre in Cape Town.
There were at least 500 delegates coming from various countries such as Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique, Swaziland, Malawi and Kenya, inter alia. The one thrust, I observed, was that it is not all about spirituality per se, but rather about using spirituality to access and enhance economic empowerment and enhancement for Africans.
This thrust has also been echoed by Dr Khulani Sikhosana who has written a book titled, Ubuntu Economy: African Spiritual Economy.
We were being driven to the Cape Town International Airport when a disabled man enquired, “Are you, not the man that I have listened to in numerous videos on YouTube? I do recognise your voice.” Indeed, the man had seen me at the hotel lobby but had not recognised me.
When he listened to me speak in the car that was taking us to the airport, he recognised the voice. That led to the man giving me a book that he had written. It was just a single copy remaining for a special client.
He advised his assistant to give me that copy that I cherished immensely.
Earlier, on Thursday, within the precincts of Exclusive Books at the Sea Point, we had attended the launch of a book titled “An Introduction into African Indigenous Spirituality, a book written by the African Hidden Voices in which Imboni had some considerable input.
The meeting embraced traditional healers and izangoma. During the meeting, Amagugu International Heritage Centre (AIHC) was presented with a certificate of membership of AAFIS in recognition of work that I have done over decades to advance the agenda of African Indigenous Spirituality through writing on the theme.
However, for the purposes of this column, emphasis will be placed on the Ankh that has been adopted as the symbol for AAFIS. The Ankh happens to be encased within two garlands of tree leaves that constitute a circle, one similar to the African Union logo. When I do get to writing the proposed book on African Indigenous Spirituality, I will furnish more detailed interpretation of the symbol that the iconic Isanuse Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa adorned. Mutwa’s daughter, Makhosi Vulamasango attended and is one of those in the driving seat for AAFIS.
The Ankh has three major components. At the top is a circular design that is touched by a horizontal linear structure with similarities to a Maltese cross. Below this horizontal structure is a vertical rod. In addition, there is the scarab, inkubabulongwe as it is called in IsiNdebele. On the horizontal structure, there is the lotus plant, ikalala.
I started by enquiring from Makhosi Vulamasango what interpretation and meaning her father attached to the Ankh. Concisely, he had said it was a representation of the female sex organ, namely the womb, represented by the circular design at the top. The womb is then provided with two fallopian tubes. Essentially, therefore, the Ankh symbolises eternity, perpetuity, continuity and endlessness. Endlessness is associated with a spirit. Besides, women play a bigger role in matters of fertility. We all enter this world via that all-important feminine organ, the womb.
The Ankh that accompanies this article bears both a lotus plant and a scarab. All these feature prominently in Egyptian spiritual architecture. However, before I venture into interpreting the three, let me give my own rendition of the Ankh. I have found the small gadget to be used by people of Apostolic and Zionist faiths. I have never found out their interpretation of the small symbolic gadget usually carved out of wood.
My experience in these matters is that the structure and its component parts all share something. There is some overarching theme. What this means is that interpretations of the various components must add up and complement and build towards that overarching theme, or meaning. There is no scope for contradictions.
My own version is that the circular part or component represents the female sexual organ, and more specifically a womb. The lower cylindrical part is brought closer to the female part, thus both representing sexuality that is the basis for fertility. It takes two to tango. Continuity of the human species is underwritten by sexuality that comprises the feminine and the masculine elements. The horizontal structure brings together the two opposite and complementary body parts being symbolised.
In addition to the scarab, there is the lotus plant that grows in water. Whatever interpretation one proffers, it must tally with the choice of the Ankh as a symbol and logo for AAFIS, the proposed council that shall represent and co-ordinate the work of the various associations representing traditional healers. For now, we shall not seek to differentiate between the various categories of healers where some are faith healers while others are izangoma.
The short horizontal rod brings together two important biological parts that in unity and complementarity result in creation and procreation. The spiritual and magical act of unity symbolises the co-ordination of the various Pan-African associations of traditional healers.
Let us now get to where the Ankh was used. Egyptian Pharaohs, upon death, were interred in chambers within the colossal stone pyramids. There was the belief that the Pharaohs, indeed like their subjects, comprised two components — the physical and the spiritual. The material component remained behind in the burial chamber that was replete with burial chamber writings comprising symbols meant to guide the departing spirit of a Pharaoh on a journey whose destination was a particular star.
A channel through which the royal spirit exited the pyramid chamber pointed at that particular star, the destination for the departing royal spirit. Already, the stars are brought into combination with spirituality through the departing spirits of human beings.
In this particular case, it is the spirit of a deceased Pharaoh. The essence is the same. Spirit and stars are somewhat connected. It is therefore appropriate that AAFIS chose the Ankh as a representative symbol for African Indigenous Spirituality.
Besides, spirituality is sometimes accompanied by sexuality. Those endowed with spirituality do not become spiritual guides after birth. Infusion of spirituality takes place at conception. Spirituality therefore, cannot be divorced from sexuality since its transmission and endowment take place at conception.
The scarab or dung beetle also featured in ancient Egypt. It is one creature that is a master crafter. From splattering cow dung, it brings about unity by creating a perfect disc. The beetle then rolls the dung it created as the epitome of unity. I remember well when my good friend the late Senator Watson Khupe approached me. He wanted to understand the interpretation behind the use of scarab-moulded dung ball effected unity among a couple’s quarrelling offspring. He told me that the dung was burnt in a fire around which the children sat.
Khupe had a perceptive mind. He knew we shared that gift. I then began showing him the symbolism that lay behind the efficacy of moulded dung balls. In the end, he wondered why he had not been able to offer some interpretation. This lack of interpretive acumen is a common feature where people know some requisite application or cultural practice and yet they do not perceive the underpinning explanations and interpretations.
Besides, a scarab, when rolling its moulded dung ball, it push-rolls it using its hind legs. Its eyes are thus prevented from seeing the path along which it must travel. All the same, it is able to navigate its path without getting lost. Some people believed the creature is equipped with some cosmic sensors on its rear. The sensors are linked to the cosmos and direction of travel is figured out from that. It is a creature that makes use of cosmic guidance to chart its way forward.
African Indigenous Spirituality makes use of the heavenly bodies in several ways including divination. No wonder therefore, a scarab was perceived as a very spiritually significant creature in Egypt and the rest of black Africa.
The lotus plant was also regarded as important in ancient Egypt. African traditional healers use it to this day when they seek to sharpen their spiritual perceptions. The plant grows in pools of water. Its bulb grows in the dark mud at the bottom of a pool. Its slender stem grows out of the dark mud through the murky water. Its broad and circular leaves rest on the water surface.
The symbolic significance of the plant becomes clear. A traditional doctor must be in a position to diagnose both the ailment and requisite medicinal intervention. A traditional doctor has to “see” not only the ailment but also the requisite therapy. The dark and muddy base in the pool represents the absence of “sight”. The plant then grows out of that darkness and its stem worms its way to the surface where leaves spread out and receive light from the sun. There is “sight” beyond the blinding mud.
In the end, there is clarity beyond both the soil and water. The traditional doctor can now “see”, meaning he can diagnose both the illness and its cure.
Clearly, the choice of the logo and symbol for AAFIS was well thought out and relevant within the African spiritual and historical contexts.
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