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HTP
If God is within all things, then are humans of the same substance as God? According to Afrakan theology, the answer is yes. Using this template, the order and structure of Afrakan systems becomes readily understandable. For instance in Yoruba, one finds the orishas. Western theologians often misinterpret the orishas as distinct “gods.” This is expected considering the separateness of “God” and “His creations” as is found in Western religions, but we will get to this later. The orishas are in fact aspects, attributes of the creators that each have specific functions, much like arms and legs have functions on the human body but are inextricably the parts of a whole. See here: http://www.okayplayer.com/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=show_thread&om=2430&forum=DCForumID1&archive=yes#40
Then in among the Akan of West Afraka (Ghana), the human is see as being the composition of “okra” (no not the food L), “sunsum” and “honam.” Okra being roughly translated as “the living soul” or “essence of the person;” Sunsum as the “activating principle of the person;” and honam the physical body. The Okra and sunsum create a spiritual unity from received from Nyame (God) while the honam is received from the parents. However the honam is the “tangible recognizable manifestation of the okra” (Wade Nobles). I made the comment in another post about how the error in a Christian wearing the adinkra symbol Gye Nyame which roughly translates into “God is omnipotent.” The reason why it is in error is specifically based on the theme of the post “God is immanent and transcendent.” God is omnipotent because IT is ALL to the Afrakan but this idea is not the same for the Christian, who differentiates between God and “His creations.”
Among the Lebou people of Senegal, the person IS the “Fit” or lifeforce. The human journey begins when the lifeforce is given “roo” or physical life. Also the human can only exist with the possession of “raabs” which are spiritual/ancestral forces comparable to the orishas of the Yoruba.
For the Bantu-speaking peoples:
"NTU is the universal force as such, which, however, never occurs apart from its manifestations: Muntu, Kintu, Hantu, and Kuntu. NTU is Being itself, the cosmic universal force, which only modern, rationalizing thought (i.e. Western thought) can abstract from its manifestations. NTU is that force in which Being and beings coalesce...
If we said NTU was a force manifesting itself in man, beast thing, place, time, beauty, ugliness, laughter, tears and so on, this statement would be false, for it would imply that NTU was something independent beyond all of these things. NTU is what Muntu, Kintu, HAntu, and Kuntu all equally are. Force and matter are not being united in this conception; on the contrary, they have never been apart.
NTU expresses, not the effect of these forces, but their being. But the forces act continually, and are constantly effective. Only if one could call a halt to the whole univers, if life suddenly stood still, would NTU be revealed."- parentheses mine
^From http://www.okayplayer.com/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=show_thread&om=2430&forum=DCForumID1&archive=yes#9 So now in closing, “let’s take it back” to KMT cuz I know how you all love KMT.
Here’s an excerpt from the “To Be African or Not to Be” article by Wade Nobles:
The key to understanding Ancient Kemetic Philosophy, is in fact, the belief about the meaning of the person. Because the person was a manifestation or expression of “Nu,” the primordial substance, the ancients regarded the “form” of the human being as destined to live forever. Hence, institutions were developed to enable the person to eveolve in response to the challenges of nature. The human person, like other forms, has an “unchanging value” and evolves in response to the demands of that value. The ancients regarded the primordial substance, Nu, as infinite. The infinity operated in terms, of its law, which was its will. As a manifestation of Nu, the person represents a manifestation of “the Law.”
Peace Solarus
Further Reading:
http://www.okayplayer.com/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=show_thread&om=2430&forum=DCForumID1&archive=yes “An essay on African philosophical thought: the Akan conceptual scheme” by Kwame Gyekye _Egypt Child of Africa_ edited by Ivan van Sertima _African psychology_ by Wade Nobles
http://www.okayplayer.com/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=show_thread&om=2430&forum=DCForumID1&archive=yes#9
***Words of Wisdom***
"Every time you rise from your sleeping state, you have been reincarnated. Every time you recover from a bad experience, you have been reincarnated. Every time you have been given a new lease on life, you have been reincarnated. Every time you breath in and out, take in the fresh breath of life and feel the divine intelligence flowing in and around you, you have been reincarnated."- Mfundishi Bakari
On "love":
"I am in love everyday, whether I am with someone or not. Why? All love is based on a search for spirit. For me love is timeless, transcendent, peaceful, freeing, soul-based, unifying, and enhanced evolution. This is the basis of my activism."- Nettrice, the embodiment of Oshun
"Since we all make up the rules as we go along, love can mean many different things to many different people. But, for me love is a total commitment to understanding that is not limited to just people but is open to the totality of life. As long as we approach love from a fear based mentality and perceive it through veils of guardedness and anxiety, it will always be restricted by our fears."- Mfundishi Bakari
____________________________ "the real pyramids were built with such precision that you can't slide a piece of paper between two 4,000 lb stones, and have shafts perfectly aligned so that you can see a tiny aperture through dozens of these mammoth blocks
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