I think this applies to all african ethnic groups, most of whom are either muslim or christian, who at one time had our own thing. it certainly applies to the akan ethnic group of ghana which encompasses the ashanti, akim and others. i was born into the akan ethnic group and not ONE time have family members referred to akan spiritual traditions, rituals or practices as anthing worthy of note. most have no information, as there was no education on these matters. sure they use the word nyame and onyankipo, but only within a christian context as a translation for the word god. any way, john henrik clarke said it best. "They defiled what was sacred to us, and made us laugh at it."

i think the colonial educational system that was forced on the afrikans in the name of "progress" is key. With that came the air of colonial sophistication, jobs (because a new colonial economic system was put in place), colonial prestige and their colonial religion. remember young malidoma in of the water and the spirit taken away to school, which was really religious indoctrination. all colonial schools were religious schools. so if you spoke the colonial language, you were taught their religion-- without exception. in fact many africans learned english or french by being forced to read the bible. just as learning arabic and reading the koran went hand in hand.

another aspect is the fact that queen elizabeth was more powerful than our paramount cheifs, and this was readily acknowledged in african society. what this realization did to the african psyche is devestating. if she is more powerful then her religion must be real and ours must be sub-ordinate at best or at worst irrelevent.

a real story: my father told me that the impetus for ghanaians pushing for independence was from a british shipwreck in the 1930s. he said the british sailors came into the villages bleeding and dirty asking for help en masse. he said this changed the average african villagers opinion of whites. i asked him how. he said, "up until then, not many of us had ever really seen white people bleed." this event was covered in the colonial run newspapers and african people were shocked. he said, "whenever the whites would get sick, they would go to their own colonial and military hospitals. their human weakness was never seen by the masses of africans. whenever we saw them, they were in white colonial attire and very clean." this was heavy to me. he then said after that incident with the sailors, people began questioning the legitimacy of colonial rule en masse, and the anti-colonial movement got legs.

also, the usurping of traditional healers in society with western medicine is key. our medicine men and women were openly referred to as charlatains while it was prestigious to become a london trained physician from the colonies. this was and is desired in african households over becoming a traditional akan priest or healer. the economic connections with religion were usurped by the colonizers. therefore to be viable in a real sense was to be with the winning team.

as spiritual systems only are meaningful and reinforced when practiced as a way of life, when the economic pulse of a certain way of life is shattered and replaced with another "way of life" through economic rewards and punishment, most people will chose to be on the winning team, however that concept may be defined.




Silence is golden. But protest is platinum.

With No Apology,

Isanusi