Direto

Prayer, stillness and nature have taught me how to connect with God, my Being and my ancestors respectively. In the previous article, I explained how the four elements of nature i.e. water, earth, fire and air are instruments used in "Ukuphahla". Ukuphahla is the process of connecting and communicating with the ones who come before us, our ancestors. I had incorporated the science of connection; the next step was to master the spiritual language. As I knelt down in complete darkness with only the light from the candle illuminating the faint words in my bible, I asked myself "Who am I calling upon?". I mean, when I pray, I call onto Ramasedi, Mvelinqangi, Yahweh; the omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. My words are directed at God and only God, so who exactly are these angels who carry my tears and joys to the heavens? The time has come for me to meet the ones who walk with me...

It is December 19th, twenty seven minutes past midday to be exact. It's a hot summer's day, the sky is ocean blue with no clouds insight and the air is fresh... it's a good day. We're in the car singing along to "Thola amadlozi" by the great music icon Brenda Fassie. My grandfather complains that the music is too loud but his discomfort falls on deaf ears as my cousins and I jam away. "This feels nice" I begin to ponder. There is an inexplainable feeling one has when they get away from the noise and ghastly smells of the city. In that moment, I am hit by unwavering love, the peace that surpasses all understanding and immense gratitude... I am home. We get to my great grandmother's house and after taking a welcome shot of her premium homemade gin, our grandfather proceeds to explain why my cousins and I had the burning desire to come home. After a while, my great grandmother (we call her Magogo) gets up to fetch a piece of paper. This paper has direto, our totem as well as our clan names. The words on this paper awaken me to who I am, in spirit and in flesh. There is a knowing that stems from my identity, my roots, my people.

At the crack of dawn the next day, I wake up to the sound of a crowing rooster. I marvel at the thought that Magogo is going to introduce me to my great great grandparents, great grandfather and other significant members of the family. As we begin to make our way into our family cemetery, I start to notice how 80% of the tombstones have "Pesaleme 23" written on them. My cheeks begin to flush red and a smile reaches my lips as I realize where my fixation with Psalms 23 stems from. This is what Oprah Winfrey calls an "Aha ! moment" . That moment where you're transparent enough for the light of consciousness to flow through you and universal truth is revealed. We kneel down at each grave and Magogo begins to formally introduce us. The sound of her voice prompts me to bring awareness to my body, from my toes all the way to my head, and at the rhythm of my beating heart, I speak.

Totemism is derived from Animism which is the belief that all creatures i.e. humans, plants and animals possess a distinct spiritual essence. It is an african practice where a particular clan or tribe identifies, acknowledges and honours the divinity within a specific animal. From Bakwena ba baSotho, to ubukhosi be Ngwenyama ngesi Nguni to uMajola ngesiXhosa le di Nare tsa Bapedi. We, as the Bantu and Khoi people played our role as conservationists by being in touch with the sacredness of God's creations. Direto tsa rona carry a deep rooted knowledge of God's expressions in all of nature. Clan names commemorate our ancestors and keep their memory alive. Remember! we acknowledge our ancestors and we worship God hence Daniel's words "I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors" Daniel 2v23.