I am a spiritual being having a human experience. I am in this world but not of this world. I am an impartation of God's essence, a living manifestation of He[R] breath. Therefore, I am spiritual; not religious. Religion commands "be this! do that!" whereas spirituality echoes "just be, just do". I must however, highlight that the foundation of my faith is the church but I am not limited to it. One day I might flip the pages of the Quran or place my feet within a Caitya in India. Umoya wami uyangilawula. Hence I sing Oceans by Hillsong at the top of my lungs with tears in my eyes. "Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders, let me walk upon the waters, wherever you would call me," tugs at my heartstrings.
The reason my heart beams at Christianity is because everything I have ever encountered is reflected in the bible. Set aside the political, socio-economic, misogynistic and patriarchal elements, the core principles are what resonate with me. And laced within those principles are fragments of African customs and sciences. My awakening started during the global coronavirus pandemic in 2020. I started seeing and feeling inexplainable things whenever I closed my eyes. My perceptions called for clarity and the onus was on me to anchor my being and upraise my spirit. This was the start of my personal walk with God, for the first time I could hear Ramasedi's voice and feel He[R] warmth outside the constraints of religious fellowship. The religious doctrine echoed the practices I would bear witness to at ancestral ceremonies or ditshomo my late grandmother would tell us around the fire. My first moment of awakening occurred when I read how man was created from the "dust of the ground" in Genesis. I instantly looked at the colour of my skin and thought "we are children of the soil, the first creation." That moment, that first moment of consciousness happens when God's grace locates you. Spiritual growth from that point onwards requires intention...I had to start seeking answers intentionally.
Over time, the very essence of the children of the soil has been grossly diluted. The church was introduced as a weapon to annihilate African culture, beliefs and sciences.
The institution that is Christianity washed up onto our shores in 1652 upon the arrival of Dutch settlers in the Cape. They brought with them the Dutch Reformed faith and in 1655 built the first South African church in Cape Town known as Groote Kerk. As centuries went by, the white population grew substantially reaching 3 408 000 by 1965 under the British colonial rule. However, it was grossly surpassed by over 10 Bantu tribes spread across apartheid South Africa. Each tribe had its own language, culture and belief system. The government strategically centralized this system under the guise of a new faith. Faith yields authority, power and control. The apartheid government used faith to infiltrate black consciousness through the indoctrination of the mind. So essentially, break down who they are and replace it with an obscure fragment of who you want them to be. The Witchcraft Suppression Act 3 of 1957 set the mandate in motion. The Act "provided for the suppression of the practice of witchcraft and similar practices". The ideology demonized practices of communicating and communing with the dead. It created a stigma that resulted in the death and displacement of a significant amount of traditional healers. The loss in life and identity prompted traditional healers to adapt by hiding in plain sight. Kereke ya se moya was birthed and the gift ya boporofeta was redefined. Conclusively, we used the same weapon meant to destroy us, to elevate us.
In Ancient Kemet ancestors were detailed by the Book of the Dead. The Book of the Dead is a collection of ancient Egyptian funerary text written on papyrus found in tombs. In Egypt the book is also referred to as the "Book of Going Forth by Day". It details how the corporeal body khat is interred with ancestral spirits. The life force ka is liberated from the body and renewed in the primeval ocean. The renewed ka then fuses with ba to become a fully conscious being in the celestial world. The being then moves into the light body ankh and joins the sun god Ra in the heavens [The Sacred Magic of Ancient Egypt]. "As for any spirit for whom this book is made, his soul goes forth with the living by day. It is mighty among the gods," Foy Scalf translates in the edited version of the book. The burial ritual also incorporated the element of gold. Metals were regarded as emanations of divine principles and gold was viewed as the "flesh of the gods" [The Sacred Magic of Ancient Egypt]. This is evident in the article "The Mapungubwe Gold Graves Revisited" by Maryna Steyn. Mapungubwe was the capital of a great African Kingdom. In 1932 the discovery of gold graves was made on a hill in Mapungubwe. The graves were characterized by human skeleton, gold beads, gold bangles and gold plating. "The famous golden rhinoceros, found in one of the graves, is often used as one of the icons of this flourishing civilization which existed half a millennium before European colonization." The burial rituals were intentional and the transition to idlozi was honoured and celebrated in ancient times.
The bible details the relationship between God, celestial beings and human beings. A detailed discussion about "Christianity & African Spirituality" between Gogo Dineo Ndlanzi & Pastor Fusi Radebe enlightened me further. In the new testament we are privy to the sacred interaction between God, Jesus, Moses and Elijah. The parable starts off with Jesus taking Peter, James and John up a high mountain in Matthew 17. "As the men watched, Jesus was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light." Jesus transformed into his divine Being, Ra the sun [son] god with light emanating from his presence. Idlozi lakhanya ! "Suddenly, Moses and Elijah [amadlozi] appeared and began talking with Jesus. Peter blurted out 'Lord, this is wonderful! If you want me to, I'll make three shrines [indumba], one for you, Moses and Elijah.' But even as he said it, a bright cloud came over them, and a voice from the cloud said 'This is my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with him. Listen to him,' " Matthew 17:1-5. Within that sacred space, the word was released unto the vessel and the spiritual gifts bestowed upon Jesus Christ were elevated. In that moment, Jesus the flesh and Christ the spirit merged and became one.
Idlozi is derived from the word 'dloza' which means to comfort, to protect and to look after" Siyabonga Mkhize, Umsamo Institute. Amadlozi carry our prayers to the heavens and pave the way for our blessings to descend from the skies. Being African is a gift and being deeply rooted to the soil yields abundance. For God is the vine, we are the branches and so long as we remain in God we shall bear fruit. The collective consciousness is growing day by day and with that, we are returning back to our truth. The time has come for us to restore our culture and customs and for idlozi to be honoured. Makwande, kukhanye, kubemhlophe.
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