HOtep

A few things need to be addressed:

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (Good ol' Skip) is a BOOTLICKER and his allegiance is clearly to supporting the European-American hegemony that supports and funds him.

To say there was "slavery" and/or "slave trade" among Afrakans prior to Arab/European intervention is misleading (for reference check out works of John Henrik Clarke can't remember exactly which one right now). People throw that term around too loosely. Would you call the penal system of modern-day America a form of slavery? I would. But in common parlance it ISN'T considered a form of slavery. The "slavery" practiced by pre-colonial Afrakans was totally unlike the "chattel slavery" practiced here in America towards enslaved Afrakans. Upon hearing the word "slavery," visions of chattel slavery instantly appear into one's mind.

This distinction must be made because of a fundamental difference between European and Arab enslavement. Afrakans were seen as HUMANS! Throughout Afrakan ourstory their have been national (tribal) disputes between groups. If war or battle was ensued then the victor would "enslave" the loser (war criminals: is this practiced today here in America?). The loser would be put into servitude until there debt was served and/or became functioning members of society. One can see that in "chattel slavery" Afrakans were NOT seen as human and ultimately inferior; and we can still see of the inhumanity of Afrakans in the Arab view in countries such as Sudan and Mauritania. However to be fair slaves under Arab masters could sometimes become part of society if they were to SUBMIT to Allah (see 7th to 8th century Egypt).

This isn't to romanticize Afrakan "slavery" at all but to show how misleading terms can be when applied universally much like the term "god" as I show in "Afrakan Consciousness." Also there are practices based on group dispute and also internal traditions that can be done without. "Slaves" were killed in some instances based on a traditions of institutional vengeance (see Igbo practices in "Things fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe).

Next the going back to Afrakan "traditions" has more to do with using an Afrakan WORLDVIEW practicing TRADITIONS EXACTLY how our ancestors did. The ancestors new that the only constant was CHANGE and that a rigid adherence to tradition was dangerous (eg. symbolism of "Set" in KMT mythoscience). Here is where the Afrakan (Akan) concept of Sankofa comes into play. The Sankofa bird is continually walking forwards while looking back holding an egg in its mouth. The egg represents the ESSENCE of the past as that ESSENCE in the same in the past, present and future, as time is cyclical. Each (Afrakan) group's manifestation of that ESSENCE varies according to time, land, and the challenges with which they (WE) might be faced.

PEace
Solarus

***Words of Wisdom***

"If it's not about NATIONBUILDING, it's not about ANYTHING."- Dr. John Henrik Clarke

"We are not the victims! We are just fighting forces that we cannot see!"-2001 Sankofa Conference

"You don't have the RIGHT to have free time from your children."-Kwame Agyei Akoto

"It is the worst feeling to hear the call of the drum and not be able to respond."-Solarus

On understanding Afrakan thought:
"it's like explaining astrophysics to a whino, the explanation can't be done like that. when people try to simplify it, they ask the other person to tailor the answers their cultural context. and trying to cater afrikan ideals to european understanding is a REAL sin."-utamaroho