Indigenous African communities viewed the earth as a living, concrete, yet “spiritual” reality. On multiple levels this core assumption was integrated into the land ethic of the community. It is safe to say that indigenous African cultures were overwhelmingly rural societies as well. Consequently, African systems of thought were overwhelmingly “nature based” philosophical systems. Invariably, human beings are governed by the constraints and order associated with the earth itself. In many African societies the Earth is a feminine, divine, nature principle, according to which society is organized. It is commonly seen as the abode of the ancestors, of which the living are merely custodians. The living have a moral responsibility to maintain the earth for unborn generations to come and this obviously has positive ecological implications. In Africa many peoples see a transcendental oneness of the earth with the human community. The human community is seen as having an organic and symbiotic relationship with the land, so much so that in various African languages the same word is used to refer to land, people, family and community. The conflict between science and religion, as it expresses itself in Western Europe during the modern era, did not develop among indigenous communities in Africa prior to Africa’s integration into the international, political economy on unequal terms in the late 15th century. According to indigenous knowledge systems, there exists no distinction between the sacred and the secular. In fact one can understand the sacred only through an ongoing engagement with the concrete, natural world. Ba-Kongo people possessed a very profound and extensive understanding of the earth and its resources. In the eyes of the African people, especially those in touch with the teachings of the ancient African schools, the earth our planet, is futu dia n’kisi diakanga Kalunga mu diambu dia moyo—a satchet (parcel) of medicines tied up by Kalunga for life on earth. This futu or funda contains everything that life needs for its survival: Medicines, food, drink, et cetera. The futu of medicines consists of chemicals actually known and unknown by man, which substances exist for one purpose only: life on earth. Futu as a concept is associated with understanding the earth as a container that holds something of great value. Nkisi is a term that is derived from the root word kinsa, a verb that means to take care of or “what takes care of life.” Nkisi is synonymous with the term “medicine.” The contents of the Futu are usually associated with medicine. This includes foodstuffs, medicinal plants, trees, etc., grown and managed by farmers. In addition, precolonial, indigenous, African, agricultural production systems assume that there are inherent limitations to the amount of resources that human beings can use. The assumption that humans are one of many species that are dependent upon the natural world informed the view that people must limit and monitor their use and consumption of natural resources. - Kwasi Densu adinkra.org/htmls/adinkra/asas.html
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 16:22:29 +0000
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