Spiritual Me
Matters of the soul are hard to talk about, at least they are for me. I regard these as sacred as the highest laws of my people. For this is the basis of who I am as a person.
So do not expect the low down details, but this should do.
As an African, I believe in Qamata(the creator), I believe in ancestors and I believe in the high laws that govern man. This is what we call Isintu/Setho. Let me unpack that for you.
Isintu is the indegenous faith of the people of Africa. Umuntu is an individual who believes in Isintu. Ubuntu is the value system encompassing the lifestyle and norms of Abantu(plural for Umuntu). Umuntu is a member of society, and this is an important element because in Isintu individualism is not celebrated. Individuals are part of society and therefore must abide by the laws of society. Individualism is only acceptable within the confines of society. So long it does not compete with the interest of society. So Ubuntu is not an academic term used for the satisfaction of intellectuals and politicians, but it is an integral part of my lifestyle.
Ancestors represent the lineage of a person. In other words, a person's descent. Ancestory is simply an account of one's descendency, which in turn represents one's kinship. Kinship ultimately defines one's family structure and the associative significance of these relations. Ancestory, therefore, in pure terms represents one's lineage or genealogy. In the traditional sense of language, the term God is generic in nature and has different meanings depending on the context in which it is used. In Sesotho, as a language, Modimo(God) can mean Tlhatlhamatjholo(the creator), an ancestor in the singular form, a living parent or an elder. Note that there is no direct singularity of ancestor in Sesotho, or any other African language. Ancestor is always plural. Ancestors as used in the context of faith or belief refers to close relations who have passed on. In other words, late close relations. The closeness of the relations determine the relevancy of ancestory in ones life. For it is only those close relations that qualify for rituals of ancestory. People do not pray ancestors but observe certain practices in their name. These practices we call rituals for they represent different things depending on the context of each ritual performed. Note that there is a strict adherence to the laws that govern these rituals.
A big part of Isintu deals with the relationship between human beings, nature and the universe. The universe in African lingo is refered to as the spiritual world. All aspects of life that are not physical in nature find meaning in the spiritual. The supreme being, Qamata, exists in the spiritual world. Ancestors, since they have undergone the rite of passage from living to dead, exist in the spritual world.It is this spiritual dimension of ancestors that is observed. In Isintu, when a person dies the soul transcends to the next life stage, the spirit. It is this spirit that is invoked during rituals for communication with the spirits. Another dimension of the physical that links the spiritual is the wise ones, commonly known as traditional doctors. They serve many purposes that can summed up as devination, healing and rites of passage. It is also in the spiritual dimension where our understanding of the treatment of the environment is explained.
The laws that govern rituals are directly attached to Isintu. These are the aspects of tradition that remain static across generations. The exact nature of the laws are not the subject of this discussion and therefore will not be covered here. Please refer to Nalane for a description of tradition and culture. This is because the actual practice of rituals is subject to culture and therefore differs based on language and clan. This is the cultural aspects that may change from time to time based on norms.
The supreme being is called many things depending on your language. Our communication with Qamata takes place in various ways, all bearing the significance of the moment in time. In everyday life, people communicate directly with Qamata through means such as song, poetry, utturences and silent prayers. Wishes are recognised as prayers in Isintu. Therefore, our ways of worship are integral to everyday life and cannot be distinguished as separate entities from normal life activities. Only rituals invoke special forms of prayer that take part in the context of the rituals for which they are performed.
Sacred places. Sacred places are symbolic structures that contain meaning in the context of their usage. These are places that must be respected by all as a result. Disobedience of these places is taboo and result in bad luck or misfortunes for the parties involved. In Isintu, every misfortune resulting from disobedience can be corrected through special rituals. This is because our elders believe that life is more important than the punishment of disobedience. Isintu is more descriptive as a religion than prescriptive. There is an expected set of behaviour, but everything else remain liberal dependent on the ability of a family to carry out certain obligations. It is in this regard that rituals are not compulsory, but are totally dependent on one's ability to afford such. Lesaka(cattle kraal), Leifo(fire place), Seotlwana(homestead), Lepatlelo(battle field), Mophatong(initiation school), Mabitla(grave site), Ntlong(martenity ward) are all sacred places with strict codes of conduct. The functions of each of these places are covered on Nalane.
Dreams. Since the largest part of life rests in the universe, earth is the smallest physical space of life forms, much of what happens in life is explained in the spritual form. This highlights the importance of the spirit or the soul in human life. This tendency to lean on the spiritual world for meaning explains the cycle of life as viewed by Africans. The human life form is neither the fisrt nor last stage in the cycle of life. And it is this understanding that links the soul of a person to the spiritual world. The human life is made up of the conscious and subconscious states. And the conscious state is made up of awareness, dreams and wishes. The subconscious is the unknown universe that is our linkage to the spiritual world. Most of human activity takes place in the subconscious which remains a mystery. It is in this regard that dreams are a critical part of African life. The ability to observe and remember dreams is cultivated from a young age. Dreams are believed to be forms of communication with the spiritual world. Therefore, the ability to intepret dreams is paramount in the life of an African. Some dreams require specialised knowledge for intepretation, and this is where elders and traditional healers come to play.
Back to me. I believe in all of the above and their practice. While I do not possess a highly developed understanding, I believe in dreams. I believe in the mystery of the universe, that which is not physical yet exist but cannot be explained.
As Umuntu, defined in this context as one who believes in Isintu, that is my explanation of faith and its elemtents. You may or you may not agree with me, but the fact is this is what I practice. The reason why I felt it necessary to touch on this subject is to dispel people who are not practitioners of Isintu defining what Isintu is.
You cannot fully appreciate that which you are not part of. Therefore, do not bother trying to expalin that to which you do not belong to. The habit of other people wanting to define others is ridiculous and must be dispeled.
To facilitate a better understanding of Isintu, you can reach me at fezekile@futhwa.org.za.
Camagu(let it be).
Lesedi(let there be light), kganya(let there be brightness).