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Afrocentricity and African Spirituality

Author(s): Mambo Ama Mazama


Source: Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 33, No. 2, 13th Cheikh Anta Diop Conference Selected
Proceedings (Nov., 2002), pp. 218-234
Published by: Sage Publications, Inc.
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AFROCENTRICITY AND
AFRICAN SPIRITUALITY
MAMBO AMA MAZAMA
TempleUniversity

In this article,the authorseeks to arguein supportof the Africanontological


view as a valid way to view the world.Indeed,the argumentin this work is
thata centralrole of Afrocentricphilosophyoughtto be thereestablishment
of the process by which Africansarriveat spirituality.Demonstratingthat
Christianityhas often been the culpritbehindWhite supremacy,the author
suggests thatit has gone hand-in-handwith the desacralizationof African
culture.

Although Afrocentricity has been mostly analyzedas an intellec-


tual idea whose main tenet is the centralityof the African experi-
ence for African people, be it historical or cultural (Mazama,
2001), I would like to arguein this articlethat Afrocentricitycan
certainlynot be reduced to an epistemological project.It cannot,
and certainlyshould not, in my view, be approachedsimply as an
analytical tool. In fact, it is precisely such a reduction that has
allowed some to believe thatthey could be Afrocentricsome times
and then something else at other times, as if being Afrocentric
could be a part-timeaffairleadingmaybeeven to the reinforcement
of the double-consciousnessthat Du Bois mentioned.
In fact, Molefi Asante's own statementsabout Afrocentricity
leave no doubtaboutthe ultimategoal of Afrocentricity,thatis, the
recovery of African freedom and creativity. In Afrocentricity
(1988), for example,he told us thatAfrocentricityis ultimately"the
measureof ourlives."It mustinformourapproachto everything,he
continued:walking,running,loving, eating,working,andso forth.
In The Afrocentric Idea (1998), Asante also assertedthat the ulti-
mate goal of Afrocentricityis our liberation,our freedom from
JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES, Vol. 33 No. 2, November2002 218-234
DOI: 10.1177/002193402237226
? 2002 Sage Publications

218

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Mazama/ AFRICAN SPIRITUALITY 219

oppression.He beautifully stated that "we are on a pilgrimageto


regain our freedom."
Afrocentricity,as an emancipatorymovement, then inscribes
itself within a traditionof Africanresistanceto Europeanoppres-
sion. One commonly noted featureof Africanresistanceis its reli-
ance on spirituality.Indeed, spiritualityhas always historically
played an importantrole in our many strugglesfor liberation,from
Nannyin Jamaicato the Haitianrevolutionarywar andNat Turner.
Why, afterall, should Afrocentricitydiffer?
I would like, however,to approachthis questiondifferently,for I
wish to make a case for the conscious and necessary inclusion of
spiritualityas partof the Afrocentricquest.Such aninclusion,I will
argue,is demandedby the tenets of Afrocentricityitself.
Indeed,let us rememberfirstthatAfrocentricityis a perspective
on the African experience that posits Africans as subjects and
agents, andwhich thereforedemandsgroundingin Africanculture
and the worldview on which it rests.
When we study Africancultureand, more particularly,African
philosophy,it appearsclearly that the fundamentalAfrican philo-
sophicalprincipleis the principleof the unity of being. Indeed,the
majorarticulationof African metaphysicsis the energy of cosmic
origin that permeatesand lives within all that is-human beings,
animals,plants,minerals,andobjects, as well as events. This com-
mon energy sharedby all confers a common essence to everything
in the world, and thus ensures the fundamentalunity of all that
exists. Let us note in passing that this ontological unity is a very
ancient feature of African cosmology because, according to
Plumey (1975), for the Ancient Egyptians,

Thewholeuniversewasa livingunity.Eventhosepartsof thephysi-


cal worldwhichwe areaccustomedto thinkof as inanimate,e.g.,
stones,minerals,water,fire,air,etc, partookof a commonlife in
whichmenandwomenandanimalsandbirdsandfishesandinsects
andplantsandeventhegodsthemselvesshared.(p. 24)

This energyconstitutesthe active,dynamicprinciplethatanimates


creation,and which can be identifiedas Life itself. Let us note that
this principleof ontological unity has at least two immediateand

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220 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES / NOVEMBER2002

profoundimplications,thatis, the principleof connectednessof all


thatis, based on a common essence; andthe principleof harmony,
based on the organic solidarityand complementarityof all forms.
And whatis the sourceof thatenergythatthe Yorubacall Ashe?
It is God itself. Everythingthatis sharedin thatdivine essence and
is, as a result, sacred.Ndaw (1997) remindedus how

dansles poemes inspiresparla chasse, le chasseurne s'enorgueillit


pas de tuer:'a1'egarddu chasse, il n'exprimeque louangeet respect.
Le chasseuret le chassejouent simplementleur role dans le drame
de l'existence. L'hommede brousse compose des chantspleins de
charme et de sensibilite 'ala gloire de l'antilope, qu'il chante et
danseen l'honneurde la mise a mort[in the poems inspiredby hunt-
ing, the hunterdoes not bragaboutkilling. Forhis prey,he has only
wordsof praiseandrespect.The manof the forestcomposes charm-
ing and sensitive songs, glorifyingthe antelope,which he sings and
dances at the occasion of its death]. (p. 71)

In the same vein, special rituals take place before cutting trees
down, for the latterare conceived of as a place of special signifi-
cance for the communicationbetween people and God. It is there-
fore fair to conclude from this that,in the Africancontext, people
do not conceive of themselves as separatedfromthe cosmos but as
being completelyintegratedinto a universethatis muchlargerthan
any of them and yet is centeredaroundthem.
In the same respect,thereis no majordifferencebetween death
andlife. Both areperceivedas differentmodes of being. In the Afri-
can universe,Elungu told us (1987) that "dansl'homme, le corps
n'est pas l'antithesede l'ame; le presentest chargedu passe et gros
de l'avenir.Dans l'univers,le ciel et la/ terrese rejoignentet la vie
naltde la mort[thebody is not the antithesisof the soul or mind,the
present is filled with the past and carryingthe future.In the uni-
verse, the sky and the earth meet, and life is born out of death]"
(pp. 23-24). Life is infiniteandknowsno end, andthereforedeathis
simply anotherform of existence, a rite of passage thatallows one
to gain anotherexistentialstatus,thatof ancestor,thatis of a purely
or almost purely spiritualbeing. As should be expected, in such a
world there can be no waterproofseparationbetween the world

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Mazama/ AFRICAN SPIRITUALITY 221

inhabitedby the spirits,be it the ancestorsandotherspiritsandthat


inhabitedby the living. Because Life is one, therecan be no dichot-
omy betweenso-called naturalandsupernaturalworlds.In fact, it is
generally admittedthat the main differencebetween the world of
the spiritsandthe worldof the living is essentiallyone of degreeof
visibility,the spiritualworldbeing largelyinvisiblebutnonetheless
quite real. This is the very reasonwhy in manypartsof the African
worldthe dead,orthose thatMbiticalled the living-dead,areburied
within the family compound,along with many of theirbelongings,
so thatthey may continueto play a partin theirfamily's affairs.It is
also for the same reasonthatwe offer libationsandfood to them, as
gestures of appreciation,hospitality,and respect. If we maintain
ourrelationshipwith ourdepartedrelatives,it is becausewe wish to
secure their protection.The ancestors,Mbiti remindedus (1990),
are"theguardiansof family affairs,traditions,ethics andactivities"
(p. 82). Being closer to God, by virtueof theirspiritualnature,they
are in betterposition to petitionGod on our behalf, for our protec-
tion. They are, to quote Mbiti again, "bilingual,"speakingthe lan-
guage of the living and the language of the spirits. With us, they
communicatethroughdreams,come before us, or talk to us during
divinationsessions. This communicationwith us is made possible
by our own immaterialcomponent.
This easy andcommoncommunicationbetweenthe worldof the
living andthatof the living-deadis underlinedagainby the reincar-
nationof the living-dead,generallywithin theirown family.New-
borns are frequentlythoughtof as ancestorswho came back, not
necessarily as physical entities but as spiritualpersonalities.The
newbornsare officially separatedfrom their spiritualcommunity
and reintegratedinto their living communityduringnaming cere-
monies, a week or so aftertheirphysical birth.Thus, once againin
the Africanworldview,life anddeath,farfrombeing opposites,are
complementary.As Zahanput it (1979), "Withinthis context the
limits between life and deathdo not really exist. Life is born from
deathanddeath,in turn,is the prolongationof life" (p. 45). The cir-
cle, which is the African spiritualsymbol par excellence, takes on
its full meaningas it standsfor the constantrenewalof Life through
deathandbirth.The Bambarahavea beautifulsaying:"Lifemerges

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222 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES / NOVEMBER2002

from divinity throughbirthand merges back into divinity through


death,andthroughthis cyclical transformation,we achieveimmor-
tality."The ancestorsmust give protectionand guidance in return
for the tributespaid to them by the living, the most importantone
being to keep their name alive.
But of course,as we know,the ancestorsarenotthe only spiritual
entities to whom we may turnfor assistance of whateverkind. In
fact, the African spiritualworld is densely populated.Next to the
ancestralspirits,for example,arethose of people who, for a variety
of reasons, did not make it to the ancestralcommunity.However,
those spiritsI am most interestedin are the spiritsof divine origin,
who the Yorubacall orisha andVodoupractitionerscall boa.Those
spiritscover all aspectsof natureandhumanexistence. The orisha,
FarrisThompsontold us (1984), "arethe messengersand embodi-
mentsof ashe,spiritualcommand,thepower-to-make-things-happen,
God's own enablinglight renderedaccessible to men and women"
(p. 5). The same authorcontinuedthatto be possessed by an orisha
is to " 'make the god,' to capturenuminousflowing force within
one's body"(p. 9). The sameholds trueaboutpossession by the loa.
In fact, the existence of whatareoften referredto as secondarydei-
ties is quitecommonin Africa,andwe thusfind the following onto-
logical hierarchy,startingfrom the bottom, with naturalelements,
animals,the living, ancestors,andabovethem,the orishaor loa, all
underthe supremeauthorityof God. The implicationsof this onto-
logical order are of paramountimportance for African people.
Indeed, when we think of African selves, we cannot be satisfied
with an individualisticapproachbutmustunderstandthatwe arean
organicpartof a whole thatincludes diverse spiritualandphysical
entities.Wecertainlycannotthinkof reclaimingourlives outsideof
this ontological orderif at the end of that reclamationprocess we
are to be whole again, as demandedby Afrocentricity.As I men-
tioned earlier,the ancestorsprovide guidance; they will send us
messages abouthow to operatein this life, in this world,if we honor
them. Unless we do just this, unless we do not allow their name,
their suffering, and their sacrifices to be forgotten, then we will
standalone in this world,lost. And I am afraidthatthis is just what
has happenedto so many of us. Having turnedour backs onto our

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Mazama/ AFRICAN SPIRITUALITY 223

ancestors,we have fallen in a stateof incredibleconfusion.Having


accepted the idea that our deities could not be true messengers of
God, we have discardedthem, only to embracesomeone else's god
and its messenger.
The role played by Christianityin this tragicstateof affairscan-
not be underestimated.The biggest crime of Christianity,as far as
African people are concerned,has been the desacralizationof the
African spiritual space, that is, of African Life, given the para-
mount importance of spiritualityfor African people. Although
manyof us attemptto reconcilewhatcannotbe reconciledandrefer
to ourselvesas AfrocentricChristians,those two termsarenonethe-
less incompatible,as I will tryto show here.Indeed,one cannotpre-
tend to be relocatedand defend African agency while at the same
time continuing to embrace one of the pillars of Western
supremacy.
Indeed, Christianity,it must be understood,has been part and
parcel of the White supremacy project, to whose demise
Afrocentricity is fundamentally committed. Christianity is, as
Nantambu(1996) correctlystated,

a derivedway of life and belief system promulgatedand manipu-


lated by Europeansfor Europeansso as to facilitate and advance
theirreligioussupremacy.It is todayone of the most, if not the most,
potent religious weapon in the arsenalof Europeansupremacyto
exercise their psycho-politicalpower control over Afrikanpeople.
(p. 65)

It is no secret that Europeanshave imposed themselves on the


world,andus in particular,throughthe use of "organizedviolence,"
as one of them, Huntington(1996, p. 51), recognized.In this con-
text, it is thereforenot paradoxicalat all thatChristianityshouldbe
responsiblefor more misery and sufferingthanany otherreligion,
as troublesomeas this assertionmay soundto those who insist that
Christianityis foremosta religion promotingpeace andlove. Such
a belief flies in the face of the evidence, for we can only honestly
ask with Wood (1990), "How many 'infidels' have been killed or
enslaved in the name of the Christ"(p. 27)? Millions, without a
doubt.

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It may be necessary,before proceeding any further,to realize


that a religion "representsthe deification of a people's cultural
experiences,politics and political power control intent,"not to be
confused with spirituality, which "represents a direct
connectedness/inter-relatedness with nature,the cosmos, the uni-
verse and that spiritualGod-force, Amen-Ra, 'the giver of life' "
(Nantambu,1996, p. 22). Therefore,a religion that would be uni-
versaldoes not andcannotexist becauseanyandeveryreligionnec-
essarily expresses a particularexperience and worldview. The
impositionof Christianityis partandparcelof the impositionof the
European experience on other people whose experience and
worldvieware often quite different.The mere fact thatthe birthof
Jesus Christshould serve as the fundamentalchronologicalrefer-
ence point by a large portionof the world (because everythingis
orderedbefore or afterhis presumeddate of birth)is quite reveal-
ing, it seems to me, of the dominantEurocentrichistoriography,
one based on and reinforcingWhite supremacy.
Althoughbornoutside of the boundariesof the West,Christian-
ity became nonethelessclosely associatedwith it since at least 333
when, on the initiativeof Constantine,it became the official reli-
gion of the RomanEmpire.In 325, Constantinehad invited all the
bishops to Nicea, Turkey.The bishops, after having denounced
some popularheresies then, agreedon a text thatdefinedChristian
beliefs. It is in fact essentially for political reasons (not spiritual
ones)-namely, the consolidationof the RomanEmpire-that the
Council of Nicea took place and thatChristianitybecame the offi-
cial Romanreligion.In fact, accordingto Trevor-Roper(1968), this
decision to make Christianitythe official Westernreligion con-
ferredto Constantinea very special place in Westernhistory:

By his double decision to accept Christianityand to build a new,


impregnablecapitalon the Bosphorus,Constantineexercised, per-
haps, the greatestinfluence on Westernhistorythan any man since
Christ. Who can even guess what would have happened to the
world, or to Christianity,if the Roman Empire had not become
Christian,or if Constantinoplehad not preservedRoman law and
Greekculturethroughthe yearsof barbarianandMoslem conquest?
(p. 34).

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Mazama/ AFRICAN SPIRITUALITY 225

The official adoptionof Christianitygeneratedthree phenomena:


the furthercodificationof the religion, the suppressionof rivalreli-
gions, andthe falsificationof historyso thatthe WestandChristian-
ity would coincide. As faras the firstone is concerned,it was a long
and slow process. Forexample,the title of "pope"was given to any
bishopuntilthe 4th century,when it becamereservedfor the bishop
of Rome who had managedto impose his political authorityon his
colleagues. In the same vein, the clergy were authorizedto get mar-
rieduntilthe 5th century,at which datethey were deniedsuchprivi-
lege. As far as the eradicationof rivalreligions is concerned,a war
was waged in particularagainst the ancient religious systems of
Egypt, and in 527 the last Egyptiantemple closed down (Browder,
1992, p. 65). What was at stake (and this leads us to the thirdphe-
nomenon listed above) was the establishmentof Jesus Christ's
supremacyon all of his potentialrivals,and the establishmentof a
close correspondencebetween the West and Christianity.Jesus,
who in realityhad been precededby at least 16 otherprophetswho
hadbeen crucified(Nantambu,1996, p. 20), became "the"prophet,
the only one capable of saving the world. Then it was a matterof
WhiteningJesus and Christianity.It is well-known thatJesus was
not a European,that he never set foot in Europe,and that, conse-
quently,he could not have had the White skin, blond hair,andblue
eyes thatwe know him to have today.However,the representations
of Jesusmadehim the quintessenceof Whiteness,metamorphosing
him from a Semite into a prototypicalAryan,a truehistoricalaber-
ration,thanksin particularto the workof the ItalianpainterMichel-
angelo (Wood, 1990, p. 51).
Let us turnnow to some of the Christiantenets thathave proven
most harmfulto us. I owe much of my analysis to Wood's (1990)
brilliant treatmentof the arroganceand fundamentalracism of
Christianity.The firstmost noticeablecharacteristicof Christianity
is its dogmatism.There is and can be only one god, the Christian
god; and only one way to achieve salvationandexperienceimmor-
tality, through observing the teachings of Jesus Christ, the only
child of the Christiangod. Otherreligions are automaticallycon-
demned as false and all other beliefs are reduced to the status of
mere superstitions.In addition,the strictmonotheismof Christian-

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226 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES/ NOVEMBER2002

ity makes the vilification of other religions' gods even easier


becausethe latter,in the Christiancontext,become simplyandcon-
veniently assimilatedto Satanhimself. In religions thatrely on the
densely populated spiritualuniverse, as is the case in Africa, a
bipolarizationbetween an incarnationof good and bad does not
apply. In fact, the same spiritualforce that can protect can also
destroy.However,it is not simply the gods of otherreligions that
Christianityassimilates to Satan, but the people themselves who
are not Christian.Wood (1990) reportedhow "colonial depreda-
tions againstIndianswere often based on the assumptionthat the
natives, with theirred skin color, were agents of Satanwhose red
coloring and association with fire had been one of the popular
mythologies of medieval Europe" (p. 95). Similarly, the
demonificationof the color black, to this day, is a well-knownfact
that does not require any further elaboration. Wood rightly
denouncedthe arroganceof Christianitywhen he wrote that "reli-
gion is man's searchfor God, Christiansliked to say,butChristian-
ity is God's searchfor man, a reminderthat the arrogancefaith is
not easily set aside" (p. 23).
The secondproblematicChristianprincipleis thatChristianityis
a revealedreligion throughits prophet,so only Jesus would have
hadaccess to the wordandwill of God. Thus,to avoideternaldam-
nation, one must necessarily follow Jesus's teachings, as exposed
in the Bible. The only problem,of course,is thatthe Bible was nev-
ertheless writtenby humanbeings (e.g., the first five books of the
Old Testamentwere writtenby Moses). To accept the Bible as the
truewordof God is thereforenot dictatedby anycompellinghistor-
ical evidence, but rests simply on an act of faith, which, unfortu-
nately,is quickto occult itself as such. Anotherrelatedissue is that
raisedby the notion of a chosen people, a statusthatthe Jews and
afterthem the Christiansassignedto themselves.Why shouldGod
have thus discriminated against other people? Whatever the
answer, however, "It should not be difficult,"as Wood (1990)
wrote, "tounderstandhow a religionthathadin its originsa neces-
saryelementof ethnic selection could continueto convey andeven
encourage a posture of cultural arrogance toward outsiders"
(p. 208). Given that attitude, the exclusion of other people as

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Mazama/ AFRICAN SPIRITUALITY 227

nonchosen is self-explanatory:We were not worthy of being


chosen.
The thirdand highly problematicfeatureof Christianityis that
the latter is an evangelical religion. Indeed, one of the demands
allegedly placed by Jesus on his followers is the preachingof the
Gospel, that is, the teachings of Jesus as reportedby Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John. In Matthew(28:19-20), for example, one
can read, "Goingthereforeteach ye all nations;baptizingthem in
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.
Teachingthemto observeall thingswhatsoeverI havecommanded
you," or in Mark (16:15), "Preachthe gospel to every creature"
(cited in O'Brien, 1943, pp. 175-176). The propagationof Chris-
tianity is thereforea duty to which any Christianworthy of the
namemust submit,becausethe infidelsmustbe saved,againsttheir
own will if need be-Satan mustbe extractedfromtheirsoul at any
price. Once again,one can only realizethe arroganceof such a pos-
tureandthe intoleranceon which it rests,as well as the a priorijusti-
fications of unspeakableatrocities.
Therehave been at least threegreatChristianevangelicalwaves
outside of Westernboundaries.The first one is known as the Cru-
sades. The first Crusadetook place in 1096 againstMuslim Turks.
It was followed by six othersimilarventures.Forthe Crusaders,as
suggestedby Trevor-Roper(1968), "TheTurkswere the infamous,
accursedunbelievers, 'God's enemies and ours', while the Chris-
tianswho perishedin battlewent up to Heavento be robedin white
andreceivethe palmof martyrdom"(p. 101). The sameauthorcites
the Jesuitpriest,Louis Maimbourg,who took an obvious andgreat
pleasure in describing how once the Christianwere in charge of
Jerusalem,"Everywhereone could see nothing but heads flying,
legs hackedoff, armscut down, bodies in slices ... they killed the
very childrenin theirmothers'armsto exterminate,if possible, that
accursed race, as God formerly wished should be done to the
Amalekites"(pp. 101-102). However,it is generallyadmittedthat
the Crusades,whose goal was to recapturethe holy site of Palestine,
largely failed.
The same cannot be said, unfortunately,about the invasion of
America, the second evangelical thrust.That invasion resulted in

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228 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES/ NOVEMBER2002

the rapidgenocide of the indigenouspopulationsand the deporta-


tion and enslavement of tens of millions of Africans. Although
O'Brien (1943), a Christianapologist, triedin vain to convince us
that"theIndianswere not wiped out or pushedback,but were con-
vertedandprotectedfrom slavery"(p. 429), the truthof the matter
remains that the immense majorityof the so-called Indians were
rapidly and systematicallyexterminated.Most Europeanssaw in
this developmenta furtherconfirmationof theirManifestDestiny.
Godhadchosen Christiansandwas exterminatingthe nativepeople
to makeroomfor them.In 1500, althoughtherewere about80 mil-
lion nativepeople in the Americas,theyhadbeen reducedto 10 mil-
lion only 50 years later.Accordingto Todorov(cited in Plumelle-
Uribe, 2001), "None of the big massacresof the twentiethcentury
can be comparedto this genocide" (p. 36). But all this was easily
justifiedby most Christians.Similarly,they hadno majorobjection
to the deportation,enslavement,and cruel treatmentof millions of
Africans later on. The observationsand statementsof Pelleprat
(1655, pp. 55-56), a Catholicpriest in Guadeloupe,located in the
Caribbean,in the 17thcentury,are quite revealingof their general
state of mind. After noting how "la condition des esclaves est
extremementrude[theliving conditionsof the slaves areextremely
harsh],"and that they were used "comme des betes de charge [as
beasts of burden],"he nonetheless continued that "toutes ces
disgraces leur sont l'occasion d'un bonheurinestimablepuisque
dansleuresclavageils jouissentde la libertedes enfantsde Dieu [all
thatmisfortuneallows them(theAfricans)to experiencea priceless
joy since in their state of enslavementthey enjoy the freedom of
God's children]."The trick was so simple. It is then for our own
good that the Europeansimposed on us the worst treatments,and
we shouldbe happyandeternallygratefulto them for such a favor.
In the end, our sufferingwill havebeen the (relativelylow) price to
pay to know the real god, the only god, the Christiangod, and his
son, our blond-haired,blue-eyed alleged savior.In fact, as Wood
(1990) quite correctly argued, in my view, it is futile to try to
explain the so-called contradictionbetween Christianityand slav-
ery because there is none:

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Mazama/ AFRICAN SPIRITUALITY 229

It was Christianity,a cornerstoneof those "large"and "cruel"slave


systems, thatpervertedthe African'squalityof life. Since Europe-
ans justified enslavementon religious grounds,the most "philan-
thropic"thingthe Christiancould have done for the Africanswould
have been to leave them alone. Not leaving them alone was the real
tragedy.Since Christianityhad always providedan ideal rationale
for enslavement,why should it be so "ironic"thata predominantly
Christiannationnurturedslavery.The contradictionso often seen in
the presence of slaveryin a democraticsociety may not have been
much of a contradiction after all. English North Americans
embracedslavery because they were Christians,not in spite of it.
(p. 38)

It is a well-knownfact thatthe Europeanslave tradeoccurredwith


papalblessing andthatChristianmissionarieswere amongthe first
and largestplantationowners.This underscoresthe role played by
Christianity in the establishment and reinforcement of White
supremacy,not only at the religious level but also at the economic
level. In fact, both work hand in hand. As Trevor-Roper(1968)
remindedus, the EuropeansinvadedAmerica, after all, to "serve
God andbecome rich"(p. 129), a motivationquite similarto thatof
the Crusadersa few centuriesearlier.We, in the meantime, were
supposedto continueto sufferin silence andwith gratitude.Yetit is
difficultnot to be deeply touchedby C. L. R. James's (1963) vivid
descriptionof whatit meantto be enslavedby ChristianEuropeans:

The slavesreceivedthe whip with morecertaintyandregularitythan


they receivedtheirfood. It was the incentiveto work andthe guard-
ian of discipline. But therewas no ingenuitythatfear or a depraved
imaginationcoulddevisewhichwas notemployedto breaktheirspirit
andsatisfy the lusts andresentmentof theirownersandguardians-
irons on the hands and feet, blocks of wood that the slaves had to
dragbehindthem whereverthey went, the tin-platemasksdesigned
to prevent the slaves from eating the sugar-cane,the iron collar.
Whippingwas interruptedin orderto pass a piece of hot wood on the
buttocksof the victim; salt, pepper,citron, cinders, aloes, and hot
ashes were pouredon the bleeding wounds.Mutilationswere com-
mon, limbs, ears, and sometimes the privateparts,to deprivethem
of the pleasureswhich they could indulgein withoutexpense. Their
masterspouredburningwax on theirarmsandhandsandshoulders,

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emptiedthe boiling cane sugarover theirheads,burnedthem alive,


roastedthem with gunpowderandblew them up with a match,bur-
ied them up to the neck and smearedtheirheads with sugarthatthe
flies might devour them; fastened them near to nests of ants or
wasps;madethemeat theirexcrement,drinktheirurine,andlick the
saliva of other slaves. (pp. 12-13)

James furtherarguedthat those cruel treatmentswere not excep-


tional but part of everyday experience. There were specific and
well-known names for the different tortures endured most
frequently:

The tortureof the whip, for instance,had "athousandrefinements,"


but therewere regularvarietiesthathad special names, so common
were they.When the handsand armswere tied to four posts on the
ground,the slave was said to undergo"thefour post."If the slave
was tied to a ladderit was "thetortureof the ladder;"if he was sus-
pendedby fourlimbs it was the "hammock,"etc. Even the pregnant
womanwas not sparedher "four-post."A hole was dug in the earth
to accommodatethe unbornchild. (p. 13)

In Africaitself, wherethe thirdwave of Christianevangelization


thatconcernsus took place (in particularduringthe 18thand 19th
centuries),Africans were not sparedthe imposition of the "true"
god, the Christiangod. In Africa,Christianmissionariesundertook
to exorcise African gods and the rites associated with them from
Africanculture.This again is quite consistentwith Christianarro-
gance, which cannotentertain,even for a second, the idea thatthe
gods of the AfricanpantheonsandourAfricanspiritualbeliefs and
practicescould meet ourneeds. As usual,differencewas translated
into a deficiencythatcould only be remediedthroughconversionto
Christianity.But also, as usual, "Wherethe Christiancross went,
there death, destruction,and devastationoccurred"(Belhag & el-
Kabir,1986, p. 19). Belhag and el-Kabir(1986) continuedthatthe
Christianmissionaries"calledthemselves Christiansoldiers;they
even establisheda popularhymn thatcan still be heardin virtually
any missionary church in Africa: "OnwardChristian Soldiers/
Marchingas to War"(p. 21). Even when they pretendedto offer
special services (e.g., healthcare)to the Africans,to takeadvantage

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Mazama/ AFRICAN SPIRITUALITY 231

of those services the latterhad to prove before and aftertreatment


their knowledge of basic Christianprinciples, as well as pledge
their submissionto the Christiangod. However,it is especially in
the numerous schools that the missionaries set up throughout
Africa, for the purpose of "educating"us, that the devastating
effects of Christianitywere most obvious (Nukunya,1986, p. 87).
Indeed, what occurredthere can only be describedas a thorough
brain-washingprocess based on the systematicdepreciationof the
African cultural experience and the no less systematic hyper-
valorizationof Europeanculture.In thatrespect, African spiritual
beliefs andpracticeswere reducedto the statusof sorcery;the sac-
rifices thatwe hadofferedto ourancestorsas tokensof ourappreci-
ation and gratitude were now described, at best, as pagan and
detestablesuperstitions,whereas on the whole,

Africanswere taughtthe colonial code of behavior- apingthe ways


of the colonizers and despisingthe Africansof the village, appreci-
ating European arts and considering African songs, dances and
sculptureas primitiveand pagan arts. The end result was the cre-
ation of a new type of African personalityfaithful and obedientto
foreign values and aesthetics. (Mutambaka,1986, pp. 66-67)

Whomeverwould still have any doubtaboutthe intrinsicviolence


of Christianityin Africa would be well inspiredto readthe moving
andrevoltingautobiographywrittenby MalidomaSome, Of Water
and the Spirit (1994). In thatbook, Some tells us how he was kid-
napped at the tender age of 4 by a French Jesuit in what is now
known as BurkinaFaso, West Africa. Some remembersthe first
time he askedhis kidnapper,FatherMaillot,why he hadbeen taken
awayfromhis home, for which he naturallylonged deeply,andwas
locked in a room:

I banged on the door so hardand so long that in the end someone


openedit. It was a catechistandbehindhim was FatherMaillot.The
catechisthad a whip in his hand.... The catechistbeganto lash out
at me. I could see FatherMaillot smiling broadlyand I screamed
insults at him, but they were dilutedby pain. This was the firsttime
anyonehadeverhit me so hard.The painof the firstblow was so bad
that I didn't even notice the many other times the whip struckmy

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232 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES/ NOVEMBER2002

body.Verysoon I doubledover,thenlay flat on the floor.My nerves


were so tightly strungI could not producea sound. I realizedI was
suffocatingand I felt as if I were going to die. (p. 90)

In fact, the whole missionaryschool operatedon the mode of terror.


The children were forbidden to speak their native African lan-
guages and were remindeddaily, with the use of physical force if
necessary,thatas Africansthey "wereborn andhad grownin sin."
But not only was Some regularlybeaten, he was also repeatedly
molestedby one of the pedophilicpriests.It is only at the age of 20,
aftergettinginto a fight with a priestwho had humiliatedhim, that
Some found his way back to his people, only to realize thathe did
not quite fit in his original communityany longer because of the
profound acculturationprocess to which he had been submitted
while at the missionary school. In his misfortune, nonetheless,
Some foundenoughinsightto analyzeandreflecton his experience
correctly.However,how many of us remainthe unconscious vic-
tims of White supremacy,justifying, denying, and participatingin
our own oppression?As Nantambu(1996) correctlyremarked,

If Afrikanpeople areto mounta very potentchallenge to European


religious supremacy,we cannotaffordto be bi-centric-we cannot
affordto talkandcomplainaboutwhiteracism,gang violence in the
African-AmericancommunityfromMondaythroughSaturdayand
then on Sundaymorningwe go to churchandkneel down and wor-
ship a white, EuropeanGod who doesn't look like us. (p. 21)

Such glaringinconsistency can only happen,and this takes me


back to the beginningof my article,if one reducesthe Afrocentric
quest to a pureand superficialintellectualexercise where one will
become knowledgeable about African culture and history, wear
some Kentecloth, and maybe even take on an Africanname with-
out having the courageor enough insight to drawthe full implica-
tions of the Afrocentricidea.
As for me, I see no shortcut:EmbracingAfrocentricityentails
being fully and consciously in tune with African metaphysics.If
Afrocentricityis aboutthe restorationof our integrityas Africans,
andbecausewe do not exist in isolationbutas partof anontological

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Mazama/ AFRICAN SPIRITUALITY 233

orderthatincludes entities on a higher spiritualplane thanus, then


could there possibly be a more profoundway to reclaim our total
selves andreassertour love for Africa andour commitmentto our-
selves as Africanpeople thanto honor African gods and spirits?

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MamboAmaMazama,Ph.D., is an associate professorin the DepartmentofAfrican


AmericanStudies at TempleUniversity.Her researchinterestsincludeAfrocentric
theory,languageandAfricandecolonization,andAfricanculturein the Caribbean.

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