Why We Need the Devil

When I was soul searching and trying to find my way.  That is when I met the most remarkable elder I have ever known. As I have mentioned in previous post, I called this elderly Black man Papa.  Papa was from Cuba and he was a babalawo (high priest) in the Lukumi (also known as Santeria) religion, a Spiristist and a member of the Abakua Society. One day I was over at Papa’s house talking and it began to storm. Now, I had read in several books about the Yoruba religion that thunderstorms were a sign that Chango, the orisha of dancing, drumming, fire, thunder and male virility, was riding on horseback and fighting his enemies. Then, out of nowhere, there was a loud and earthshaking thunderclap, which prompted Papa and his wife to yell, “Kabosille Chango!” (A greeting of honor, which I was told means “Hail your majesty Chango!).

This prompted me to ask Papa why the religion in Cuba was practiced different than the way it is practiced in Nigeria. Papa told me that the reason Lukumi was different then how it was practiced in Nigeria was because the Africans did not have to deal with the same sort of circumstances. The Africans, although were “colonized,” still lived in Africa. They still had access to their ancestral lands. Besides possibly ethnic differences they still respected one another, respected each other’s culture and were not prohibited from speaking their language.

Shift to the Americas. Things as you know were dramatically different.

So, in African religions there was no devil, but in the Americas the devil had to be incorporated into the pantheon in order to reflect the situation that the Lukumi people were in. He concluded by telling me that “So when I hear thunder, it is Chango (and sometimes Ogun the orisha of war) fighting the devil, so I yell ‘Kabosile Chango!’”

It was little stories like these that acted as guiding lights to my spirit because they helped me to understand the power of oral traditions but more importantly, African thought.  To me “Kabosile Chango!” sounded more like “Go Get Him Chango!”  Although I was fascinated by Papa’s cultural practice, I could not relate because I was not Cuban. I had listened the stories Papa had told me about his life in Cuba and the lives of Black Cubans in particular, but I had not been raised in an island culture. I was born in good ole’ USA.

Years later, I remembered looking at a book on Kemetic mythology and there happened to be a real bad storm. The storm was so bad, one would have thought that a tornado was going to touchdown. That’s when I remembered what Papa had told me and I remembered that the Kemetic people associated with thunder with Hru (Horus) and storms with Set. Some of the Kemetic legends indicate that like Shango and Ogun, Hru (the netchar of fire and thunder) and Hru Aakhuti (the netchar of warfare) both fought Set, but it was destined that Hru win.

The Kemetic divinities were never portrayed on horseback. This window fragment from the fourth century A.D. on display in the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, reflects the blending of Kemetic and Greco-Roman beliefs. The sculpture symbolizes the Christian idea of Good conquering Evil and is the precursor of the Roman Catholic Saint George.

I remembered, that Hru fought Set because he wanted his birthright and what owed to him. I remind myself that Hru is destined to win, so I imagined Hru doing everything he could to fight the devil. That’s when it dawned on me that Hru symbolized me being victorious over my enemies (spiritual and/or physical). A loud thunderclap sounded, which I interpreted as confirmation that got the point.

“GET HIM HRU!”

As the thunder rolled across the heavens. I thought of all my enemies whom I wanted defeat. That’s when I realized that I probably practice Kemetic spirituality different from how our ancient ancestors along the Nile River did because, I like the Africans taken to Cuba, was a descendant of a people who were forcibly brought to North America and made to make this country my home.

However, unlike the Blacks in Cuba who are to some degree accepted and embraced by their countrymen after they fought for independence from Spain and various other revolutions, African Americans after fighting in every war in this country, contributing greatly on every level to make the United States great, have had to deal with institutionalized racism, white supremacy and white terrorism ever since our arrival.  While majority of our official leaders refuse to talk about issues addressing our community (e.g. unemployment, mass incarceration, police brutality, increasing gang violence, substance abuse, and equal and equitable education),  our unofficial leaders who have somewhat of a bird’s eye view of the problem, refuse to exercise self-control and self-discipline and find themselves tangled in sex and/or drug scandals; and/or these unofficial leaders get into silly debates that have nothing to do with our liberation (e.g. government conspiracy of UFOs, debates on blackness, etc.), thus refusing to see the divisive strategy of Divide and Conquer used a thousand years ago in the Story of Osar.

Unlike other African spiritual traditions, I needed a devil and it was Set.

As the thunder rolls. Today, I yell.

“GET HIM HRU!”

I don’t know how Hru is going to show us how to defeat our enemies but I have full confidence that he will because the concepts and principles of the practice are the same.  This is because our ancestral stories that engage in our spirit, which triggers our “sixth sense.”

Draw the maa aankh. Then write a list of what you want to claim victory over and place in the center.  Next, place a glass encased red candle (of course, away from flammable objects) on top of the list.  Then, light the candle, petition Hru and read Psalms 18 (optional) for Victory in defeating the Set in your life.

Download instructions on how to use Psalms 18 for Victory.

For more information visit: 1 SoL Alliance

Copyright Derric Moore 2017

Once Were Warriors: Our Salvation is in Our Culture

Let’s have a little bit of straight talk Family. Let’s get real.

There are a lot of awesome brothers out here putting in the work. When I say awesome, I mean Black men that are raising their children, taking care of the family, building up the community, and doing whatever they can to set the world on blaze. These men are handling their business despite the odds against them.

But, there are some black males out here that are doing the exact opposite. They are straight knuckleheads disrupting and creating chaos wherever they go. These knuckleheads are violent. They will pick a fight with anyone especially those who are closest and looks like them, which means other black males, black women and even the children.  They have no respect for others, especially black women and the elderly.  They rob and steal from hardworking people.  They will shoot at anything and will shoot up any place (even a playground) with no regards to who gets caught in the crossfire. They are parasitic agents of Set but they didn’t just get this way overnight. These parasitic Frankensteins were created through slavery.

You see slavery was a science experiment similar to the movie Trading Places.1

Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd) symbolizes black people before and after slavery.

The difference is that Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd) symbolizes black people before slavery and Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) symbolizes white people before slavery.

Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) symbolizes white people before and after slavery.

The plantations, mines, etc. were the European laboratories. Initially it was the Europeans ran their experiments on the Native Americans but when they began to realize the genocide that was taken place, the Native Americans escaped.

So, the Europeans turned their sights on African people and for more than 500 years, all they did was condition us to react, behave, think, and perform, etc. the way they wanted us to. The experiment we call slavery was basically to exchange our consciousness with their consciousness. In other words, they extracted the science of civilization from the marrow of our soul and replaced it with their ignorance of civilization, thus the parasitic Frankenstein destroying our communities with senseless violence was created. It should now make sense why American culture is really exploited black culture and why America became so rich.

I was once a parasitic monster. I did not know at the time but I was. I was not as bad as others.  I’ve had my share of destruction even though I knew about the Kamitic tradition because I did not know that the true ills of slavery were psychological. For a period of time, I blamed a lot of the problems I had in my life on the lack of my father’s participation, although he was in my life. If it wasn’t my father whom I blamed my problems on, it was the white man.  For the most part, because I was raised in my parents’ home, I did not act out but as soon as I was off on my own. The dysfunction hit and manifested in the worst way especially when I hit rock bottom. It wasn’t until I read Malcolm X’s autobiography and learned that he was once a parasitic monster before he was healed, that I realized that I was ill.

Thanks to my mother who had countless books in the basement on African history, art and numerous National Geographic magazines that talked about the Ancient Egyptians, I learned that Black men were once kings, princes, healers, and warriors. Like the urban Māori family in Alan Duff’s novel 1990 novel who suffered from substance abuse, poverty and domestic violence due to the family’s patriarch Jake “the Muss” Heke, I realized that Black men Once Were Warriors.2

I can’t exactly remember the date when I stopped blaming others for my faults and started to take responsibility for me life, but when I did. That’s when everything began to change and even though I had been reading about Kamitic spirituality for years. It was at that moment that Kamitic spirituality became real for me and the Story of Osar became my bible. You see, all of the stories in every other religion I had read shifted blame and salvation outside of the person. For instance, it was the devil’s fault, the white man’s fault, my father’s fault, this person and that person’s fault, which meant my salvation was in someone else’s hands. But, it was the Story of Osar that resonated with me the most because it was the only story that helped me to understand how I was conditioned, which is symbolized in the Story as Hru (Horus) having his eye gouged out by his evil uncle Set. Therefore, Hru was being manipulated by Set and did not even know it.

The Left Eye of Ra (also called the Lunar Eye corresponds to intuition and spiritual sight, hence insight.)

Hru’s eye was healed by Djahuti who symbolizes a shaman-priest or someone who KNOWs. Elijah Muhammad was one of the individuals who knew how to heal a sick eye, which is the reason Malcolm and other men joined the Nation of Islam. There are other teachers who have come and gone that knew how to heal our bad eye. Although there were numerous men and women who helped me, it was my godfather (Papa) who repaired my eye, which allowed me to fight Set effectively.

Through my godfather I learned the truth about my ancestors. Through my ancestors I learned the truth about our history and about salvation through our culture. The more I studied and contemplated on the characters in the Story, the more the parasitic energy of Set began to seep out of my life. Until finally I became who I am today.

The point that I am making is that white supremacy through its’ history of slavery has severely traumatized us all. It has made us parasitic destroyers of each other, our families and our communities.  We have to realize that we are the only ones who can save ourselves. There are plenty of tools available that can help us in the self-healing process and a number of teachers available to point you to the right path. (Please note that I said teachers meaning they can only tell you how to do it, but you have to go home and do the spiritual work yourself).

The experiment is not over. The wager was to see how long it would take for us to self-destruct as a people once they Traded Places. Now that you know, the time has come for us to end the experiment and come out on top.

Hope that helps.

Notes:

1. Trading Places is a 1983 American comedy film directed by John Landis, starring Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy. The story is a modern day version of Mark Twain’s classic 19th-century novel The Prince and the Pauper. In the story the Duke brothers (Randolph and Mortimer) who own a successful commodities brokerage make a wager of the “usual amount” and agree to conduct an experiment by switching the lives of an upper-class commodities broker (Dan Aykroyd) and a homeless street hustler (Eddie Murphy) and observing the results. The symbolism was that Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd) symbolizes black people before slavery and Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) symbolizes white people before slavery.
2. Once Were Warriors is a 1994 New Zealand drama film based on New Zealand author Alan Duff’s bestselling 1990 first novel. The film tells the story of the Hekes, an urban Māori family, and their problems with poverty, alcoholism, and domestic violence, mostly brought on by the patriarch Jake. In the story Jake does not take responsibility for any of his faults, so he drowns his pain in alcohol with his friends.  In the end, Beth (the wife) after years of domestic abuse finally stands up to her husband and takes their children back to her Māori village and traditions.  All while defiantly telling her husband that Māori heritage gives her the strength to resist his control over her. What I got out of it was that Beth and her children returned to their cultural ways.

The Difference between Kamitic Spirituality and Western Religious Beliefs

Hetepu (Peace & Blessings Family)

You know archaeologists, religious zealots and the lot would like people to believe that indigenous people all over the world just worship rocks, cows, trees, their ancestors, deities, etc. They would have you to believe that those of us in spiritual traditions are primitive and idol worshiping people.  And, that our entire spiritual way of life is illogical and based solely upon our feelings. That the Kamitic people just lucked upon the creation of the pyramids, medicine, mathematics, chemistry, philosophy, etc. That it was a fluke and that’s why the Kamitic civilization existed for thousands of years in peace.  In other words, they want people to believe that those of us in spiritual traditions are crazy.

Osar as Lord of KAMTA (the Black Lands)

Yet, nowhere in the history of the world is there a record of people who followed a traditional spiritual way of life raping, pillaging and warring with another, due to a difference in religious and spiritual beliefs. In fact, there is not even a record of this occurrence occurring in the Western world. Meaning you never heard of any ancient Greek, Roman or Norseman saying “I am going to kill you in the name of Zeus (Mars, Odin, etc.)!”

Zeus on Mt. Olympus molding the lives of men

This never occurred until the three major Western religions came into existence. This is the first time that you hear or read of someone saying that they are going to kill another individual in the name of God (as if God can’t defend him/herself). In other words, it is the first time you hear of extreme religious fundamentalism.  In which you have a group of people saying “my god is stronger than your god!”

In other words, what they are saying is that “my beliefs are more important than your beliefs”, “my ideas are more important than your ideas”, “my way of life is more important than your way of life”, “my culture is more important than your culture”, “my people are more important than your people,” which means I need to annihilate you unless you convert to my way of life, my culture, my ideas, my beliefs”.

19th-century European engraving of Arab slave-trading caravan transporting African slaves across the Sahara. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_slave_trade

That’s really what these religious zealots, fundamentalists and extremists are all saying and this is the premises of Western religious conquest.  It is the reason most of our ancestors all over the globe converted to Judaism, Christianity or Islam.  They didn’t convert to these faiths out of love. They converted to these faiths out of fear. The fear for their life, the fear for the safety of their love ones, the fear for their future, and the same fear that forced them to convert to these faiths, Is the same fear controlling these faiths now.

CHARLESTON, SC – JUNE 23: A Denmark Vesey monument is seen in Hampton Park in Charleston, SC on Tuesday, June 23, 2015. Denmark Vesey was founder of Emanuel A.M.E. Church who attempted to lead a slave rebellion in Charleston. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/06/26/the-turbulent-birth-of-the-emanuel-ame-church-and-why-it-terrified-white-charleston/

This is the reason it is heresy to ask questions about Jehovah, Yahweh, God or Allah.  It is the reason why one is labeled a heretic for asking or saying anything about the prophets or any discrepancy one finds in the religion.  This is mainly because most religious leaders in these religions don’t know the answers to these questions themselves because it is based upon beliefs, not actual practical experience.  It should now make sense why when you ask any religious zealot, any religious fundamentalist and extremist a practical question, they have to refer to their religious books.  They can never give you a straight, practical and wise answer because they don’t know. They never had the experience and don’t know how to access the wisdom to get it. You see they talk a good game about God being omnipotent, omnipresent and all-knowing but here is the proof that they don’t know God.

I mean think about it. If God is all – knowing and omnipotent, why do you have to defend God if someone says something that they don’t like? If God is so, all knowing, why can’t get their god to fix their community or country?  Why can’t their god stop them from fighting one another? Why can’t their god make them agree on one thing and unite all of their denominations? Why can’t their god solve their problems before trying to solve someone else’s? Not only that, why is their god so sensitive and easily offended? If their god is all knowing, why can’t their god let them ask questions or give them the answer before they ask? Why does their god become angry and have to threaten to kill them like an abusive parent to get them to praise him? It is because these people don’t know really know God for themselves and don’t understand that they are living in spiritual tyranny.

Zeus Greek God – Only Good Pictures onlygoodpix.com1024 × 768Search by image ZEUS Species God zeus-greek-mythology-687267_1024_768-e1301421182630

This is why they always have to refer to their books.  Now, if you went to a doctor and every time you asked a question, he or she had to look up in a medical book to give a diagnosis. Would you believe that they know what they are doing? Same holds true for these religions of the book because they were conceived out of fear. That is the fear of what might happen. The fear of the future. The fear of whatever…

The Kamitic spiritual tradition (and all other indigenous spiritual traditions) was conceived out of love. That is the love of God, the love of one another, the love of family, the love of community, the love of nature, and so on. Our rituals are not done to appease an angry god. In other words, if we don’t do something it is not like God is going to strike us down or curse us. We don’t pray and do rituals to benefit God because the Divine is, that’s right – omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. What then would be the purpose of praising God? So the purpose of praying and doing rituals is to benefit ourselves, our loved ones, our community, etc.  We don’t worship our ancestors. The purpose of working with our ancestors is so that we don’t lose our selves. All of our rituals are based upon the some aspect of the energy of universal love and for the record, romantic love is just a fragment of this universal energy.

You see there are only two main energies in our universe and they are universal love and fear. The Kamitic sages were masters of symbols, which is why they symbolized fear as Set.  They understood that fear is based upon ignorance and therefore limited understanding of life. When you act out of fear, you act out of ignorance. You don’t know what you are doing because you are afraid. You constantly have to refer to books and manuals because you don’t have any real practical experience, so you must refer to another’s.  You are dependent solely upon the physical things you know.

Set – the Kamtic symbol for Fear

Universal love was symbolizes as Osar. The Kamitic sages understood that love is based upon knowledge. Knowledge is not a collection of books and texts. It is inner and outer knowing. When you act out of love you know what you are doing. You are driven to know out of passion. You are passionate about the subject you are interested in to the point that anyone can ask you anything about it, and you can answer. You know the subject inside and out because you not only believe it but you have lived it.

Osar the Kamitic symbol of Universal Love

This is the reason most people on the spiritual traditional path can give you a logical explanation for partaking in a particular ritual. The reason most of these people (and spiritual traditional practitioners all around the world) were called primitive in the first place, was because they could not explain their practices in a way that Westerners could understand it.  In other words, they couldn’t explain their complex and abstract ideas to Westerners using Western language. If these people were to use their own language, you will find that they had a scientific explanation behind everything that they did. We never hear about it because Westerners have convinced the world that logical thinking is a sign of intelligence and abstract thought is primitive.

Portuguese ship

This is how Westerners were able to convince all indigenous people that they were superior.  The story is the same all over the globe.  Every indigenous nation that Europeans encountered was amazed by their technological wonder and equated this (and everything Westerners possessed particularly their “perspective” religion because initially Judaism, Christianity and Islam are all derived from ancient African traditions) as a sign of greatness. We need to understand this because once you see that Westerners ability to create technological wonders has not improved relationships between men and women, cured diseases (since polio) or removed the threat of a nuclear war.  Then you will see the great Western illusion and realize that true power/greatness comes from within and stop giving your power to a system designed to oppress you. We have to realize that the only thing that is enslaved is our mind but by returning to our ancestral ways it can be liberated. Four hundred years can’t stop what has been going on for centuries.

This is why you can’t and you won’t find rich symbolism in Western religions because if functions out of fear and has a limited perspective.  This is the reason if you ask any of these religious zealots and fundamentalist why they must attend the synagogue, temple, church or mosque.  They are going to give the same answer which is to praise and worship God.  I hope you are beginning to see that all of these three major Western religions are based upon tragedy or the possibility of some imminent threat. Understand this is no different from worshiping a volcano and hoping it doesn’t erupt like Joe Versus the Volcano.

Now, I know that there are benefits for engaging in the ritual practice of attending church or some other religious service but I am trying to get you to see the difference is in the focus and purpose. I am also trying to help you to understand why so many people are leaving these religions (or abandoning religion completely), while explaining that true salvation and liberation can be found in returning to our cultural spiritual traditions.

Understand, most religious beliefs are based upon an ideology, which means it is subject to change depending upon circumstances.  This is the reason there are so many religious denominations and so much politics in these religions. Not only that, these religious ideologies makes one totally dependent the religion, the state, and others because they learn that they can’t save themselves. Salvation must come from another. In other words, you are set up to be a slave or pawn in someone’s system.

Kamitic spirituality (and most spiritual traditions) on the other hand are based upon reality, which means they focus on achieving tangible results. Therefore, one learns how to be responsible and self-discipline.  Again, I must say that it is not as if individuals in spiritual traditions don’t have problems because we do. The difference is that we don’t just say and believe that God is omnipotent, all – knowing and omnipresent.  We believe that since we were made in the image of God and that God is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient that the essence of the Divine is within all of us, and on a minute scale we have the same divine attributes. Our problems stem from us not knowing how to use our divine powers. We pray, do rituals, etc. in order to use our divine powers appropriately, so that we can improve our life, and therefore know from experience God for ourselves.

Hope this helps.

Are There Aliens Among Us?

Hetepu (Peace) Family

Let’s discuss some thing about aliens.  Recently, the “History Channels” has been airing a show called Ancient Aliens, which entertains the idea that all of the great civilizations where there are pyramid structures were aliens.  A real slap in the face.

nefertiti statue showing elongated skull

The so-called premises of this is due to the elongate skull of Nefertiti and the heretic king Akhenaten.

Now, never mind the fact that similar elongated skulls can be found in other areas of Africa, which indicates that it is cultural practice. Western scholars prefer to reach for a farfetched idea and claim that the Kamitic people and every other ancient civilization that has a pyramid structure (such as those found in (Kamit, Sudan, Mexico, Honduras, Central America, off the coast of Cuba, etc.) were visited by aliens. So…

Let’s go back…Way back…before Columbus stumbled upon the Americas…back before the Spanish were given the go ahead to come to the “New World”…Before the Portuguese met the Kongo-Angola people. Yes, back before Western exploration, colonization, the Transatlantic Slavery and imperialism.

Back when our ancestors walked the land free, naked and unashamed because they didn’t see their nude body as being evil. Back when our ancestors ate the food that their ancestors ate because that’s what made them healthy and sustained their wellbeing.

Back when our ancestors wore numerous trinkets of gold and silver because they didn’t have a monetary value but spiritual value.

Back when our ancestors wore gold and silver identifying their status in our society based upon their spiritual knowledge, wisdom and maturity.

Back when our ancestors walked the land, we sat at their feet while they taught us to live in balance and harmony with everything, which meant each other and the environment, or suffer the consequences. This was our TRUTH based upon commonsense.

Now, let us jump to the Now.

In the Now where we must wear clothes because it is viewed as being indecent for not doing so. In the Now, we depend upon the research conducted by this university or that university to tell us what is good to eat, which often contradicts itself in the same month, year or several years from now based upon scientific understanding. The research conducted by those foreign to our ways of life, is now considered the Truth.

If it can’t be proven in a lab and if the “white man” doesn’t say it is true, then it must not be true, because it can’t be proven scientifically.

In the Now, the people that wear the most gold and silver are the poorest in the nation mentally, physically and spiritually, and they will harm another for it.

In the Now, people refuse to fight for what is right and will even fight each other instead because they subscribe to the belief that, “Vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord,” or “Bad karma.”

In the Now we believe that we are born in sin and that the ways of our ancestors is backwards, evil and of the devil. As a result, we conclude that because hell is a place where the epitome of evil resides, because we essentially good people. We can live any way we want just so long as we don’t anything that is really evil.

You want to know who are the aliens amongst us?

Foreign ideologies, beliefs, philosophies, theories, diets, lifestyles, etc. that have nothing to do with our ancestry or Spirit that bring instant gratification to the flesh but long-term misery and suffering to the soul.

Statue of Hyskos or Shepherd Kings

I am talking about so-called god of the Hyskos or the Shepherd Kings.

The Kamitic people referred to the so-called god of the Hyskos as Set, who according to legend joined forces to kill Osar (Osiris). You may know Set as Set-an or Satan, the original alien that introduced foreign ways, that makes brother fight against brother (See the Legend of Osar). This is why Set is known as the author of confusion, the spirit of war and chaos.  Yes….we could rightfully call it, “Set-Foolery!”

Hru and Set – Fighting the Devil Within

Does it make sense now why Set and Apepu were the chief enemies of Rau (the Spirit of God) and Osar (the Higher Self) in Kamitic lore? Does it make sense now why TASETT – the Red Lands not only symbolizes the geographical region the Kamitic people called Lower Kamit (northern Ancient Egypt), which early Western writers borrowed and called it Hell. (Remember Satan or Santa comes from the north bringing his bag of tricks). But, TASETT also symbolizes the physical realm and the Lower Self, which is where our personal devils dwell?

TASETT – The Red Lands. Literally also known as the desert region of Lower Kamit or Egypt. Metaphorically, it symbolizes our Lower Self.

Now, I am not suggesting that we go back to the old ways, because we couldn’t if we tried.  I am not even suggesting that we abandon our technology or stop attending school because that is foolish.

KAMTA – The Black Lands. Literally also known as the fertile region of Upper Kamit in the southern part of the country. Metaphorically, it symbolizes our Higher Self.

What I am suggesting is that we need to learn to follow our Higher Self or our Osar, by retreating back to those mysterious Black Lands, the lands of our Ancestors, the Land that can’t be tampered with because it can only be found within.  That’s right, the realm of the spirits that the Kamitic people called KAMTA – The Black Lands. It is the land of the south (metaphorically speaking) is where we find our personal spirit guide who will keep us from losing our minds or being, “abducted by aliens (foreign ways).”

Peace & Blessings

Hope that helps.

Enjoy the following video, which proves that these great edifices weren’t built by aliens.

Honoring the Spirit of Resistance!

Hetepu (Peace) Family

The 20^th of November marks the official death of Zumbi dos Palmares (1655-1695), the ex-slave and last leader of the Quilombo dos Palmares, who fought the Portuguese on behalf of the Maroon society in Brazil. Many people I have talked to about Zumbi asked “Why should we celebrate this event? It happened in Brazil.”

Well, I use to think the same way. I changed my thinking because the 20^th of November is celebrated in Brazil as Black Awareness Day and is used as a time to reflect upon the contributions made by people of African descent, as well as erase the vicious stereotypes that have been created about blacks.  In the beginning, I found this to be a little odd because throughout the Caribbean and Latin America, there are a lot of stereotypical images that are held dear to people of African descent like the Mammy figure. I remember, the first time I met Mammy it was at my padrino’s (my spiritual godfather’s) house. She stood next to his Ellegua and he told me that she was his Ellegua’s wife according to his spiritual practice. Being an African American I was a little offended by the image until I began to really learn the cultural connection.

Mammy also called La Madama in Cuba

You see, when the Africans were brought to the Americas. Many of them finding themselves in a foreign land, living as prisoners under the yoke of a racist slave owner, tried to recreate the life they knew in their homeland.  But they were unable to do so because the same social system did not exist. So, the Africans had to create a new cultural model in order to survive slavery, racial discrimination and most importantly resist the propaganda directed at them that they were inferior to whites.  So, having no kings and queens to turn to, the Africans turned to the wisest amongst them, which was their elders.

Preto Velhos of Brazil

Contrary to popular belief, the elders in the slave community were the most beloved because they were not seen as a physical threat to the slave owners.  As a result, the slave owners were more inclined to trust them versus younger slaves. But, the elders were also the most knowledgeable about the old ways of Africa. As a result, the spirit of resistance (from my research) in the slave community began with the brave men and women that worked in the slave owner’s home. Afterwards, these same men and women would return to their community and teach what they had learned to help their people. The elders of slave community basically played a dual role and they taught everyone they knew how to do the same thing until conditions were more favorable for them to institute the desired change.  It was from the elders religious syncretism was born, along with the whole idea of masking ones true intentions.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Now, when some whites got wind of how the slaves were living.  They tried to sympathize with their plight as Harriet Beecher Stowe had done in her antislavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. What Stowe was trying to show in her book was how contradictory it was for them as Christians to enslave other Christians based upon the color of their skin.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin was made into a play, which was performed all over the country and even the world.

What ended up happening was that millions of her books were sold and a number of Uncle Tom’s Cabin plays were performed around the United States and the world. It was from this book that a lot of whites got the idea that slavery was not the Christian thing to do.  But, the book also laid the stereotypical foundation of what the African way of life was all about. This gave rise to numerous stereotypical images and icons, that blacks were either pleased being meek, happy-go-lucky, submissive, singing servants or were brute, unruly, sex-craved animals.  This stereotypical imagery of people of African descent dominated the Western world. Although, many of these images that were embraced by people who never even read Stowe’s book or saw the cinematic viewing of the story, simply perpetuated the racist belief that blacks were inferior and meant to live in servitude.

Mexican black cartoon character known as Memin Pinguin

Todays although many of these stereotypical images have been removed from the public’s eye. They continue to rear their ugly heads in the entertainment industry and other areas because of people refusing to embrace their ancestral heritage.

A Big Italian Newspaper Published A Shockingly Racist Cartoon Of Soccer Star Mario Balotelli As A Monkey

African Americans were the most damaged culturally by these stereotypical images I learned because we were outnumbered by the whites in the United States, but in places like Cuba and Brazil. Where the African descendants managed to preserve the truth about who these individuals were prior to the creation of this stereotypical attack. The images did not do much to destroy their cultural psyche because they knew that this was just a war on their cultural way of life. A war that they were determined to fight to win.

El Negro Jose

This is why an analysis of all of these ancestral archetypes will reveal the same thing, which is that these individuals were very knowledgeable slaves with high virtues and integrity. Many of which became or were the leaders of the slave community.  The darkness of their skin, as was in Kamit, symbolized that they were the original Africans of one’s lineage.  They all had white hair, indicating that they were wise.

Francisco, Francisca and La Madama on a Espirista shrine.

In Brazil the so-called Uncle Tom and Mammy figures of the United States were commemorated, honored and respectfully known as the Pretos Velhos (the old black slaves’).  In Cuba, they are sometimes known as Francisco and Francisca, or Jose Negro and La Madama.  In Puerto Rico they are known as El Congo (the Congo) and La Negra (the Black Lady). Their respectful names in Southern African American culture are Uncle Joe or Ole’ Black Joe and Auntie or Big Mamma.

A Black reader reading tea leaves for a young white patron, painted by American Artist Harry Roseland.

By the way, the real Big Mamma was usually a cook or house servant, but she was known throughout the slave community as a midwife, herbalist and a fortune teller, that was sometimes called a Black reader or Black Gypsy. Notice the similarity with the reader below.

Card reader reading cards for a client in Cuba

 As you can see, the stereotypical images was a ruse by the oppressors to ridicule our cultural way of life. In these contemporary times it is not the oppressor that ridicules our culture, but our own out of disgrace, ignorance and shame of who and where we come from. 

The new image of Big Momma

e now, but our selves out of disgrace and ignorance of our own culture.

The new image of Uncle Joe

So you see, this is why Zumbi should be important to people throughout the Americas (and others like him such as Gaspar Yanga), because he is the epitome of what our ancestors did in order for us to live today.

Zumbi dos Palmares the celebrated hero of Capoeira

By celebrating the life of Zumbi and others that resisted in their own way. We not only honor them but erase negative imagery created to ridicule our cultural way of life and show the true power of why our culture is so beautiful.

La Madama in all her beauty

Celebrate the Day of Resistance by watching the movie Quilombo and Sankofa.

Hope that helps,

Hetep

Derric “Rau Khu” Moore

 

* P.S. Please note that I am not against Martin Lawrence, Tyler Perry or any entertainer that makes films. It is just important for people to realize the impact that negative images such as these has upon the rest of the people in the diaspora.

Let My People Go!

Hetepu (Peace) Family,

Here’s an interested fact I came across.  Because one of the major pillars of peoples’ enslavement to the dogmatic, literal interpretation of the bible, is the story of Moses and the Children of Israel crossing the Red Sea.   Did you know that according to the Torah, when the Children of Israel were fleeing the pharaoh that they called out to God and begged for his help? And God asked,

“Why are you calling me?“

Afterwards, God told the Children of Israel, who were faced with either being killed by pharaoh’s army or drowning,

“Go jump in the water!”

According to Kabbalistic scholars, God’s question and response to the Children of Israel was a code telling the people that they themselves had the power to escape the predicament they were in on their own.  The whole story was an allegory never meant to be taken literal, but to inform people that they didn’t need God’s assistance. They just needed to connect and use the divine energy that exists within them.

When you think about the whole story now, maybe the reason Moses told the biblical pharaoh to “Let my people go!” Really was a request or command meaning release my people from Mental Slavery. Maybe this is the real reason Moses was viewed as a biblical hero and a spirit guide by early African Americans prior to the Civil Rights Movement. Maybe this is the reason why Moses was identified as being a shaman in Afro-Brazil.

Hmmm…something to think about. What do you think?

Hetepu

Not Dis Time:Richard Pryor and Kamit/Kemet

TV1 did a special on old black television shows and their contributions to the media industry. One of the shows they highlighted was the briefly aired Richard Pryor show. I remember seeing bits and pieces of this show when I was a kid, but I finally got a chance to watch it in its entirety last month. What was so funny and true was the episode shown above about Kamit/Kemet.  A lot of people think that the black peoples’ interest in Kamit/Kemet began here recently or may have even begun when Cheikh Anta Diop first wrote his book African Origins of Civilization: Myth or Reality.  The truth of the matter is that we have been interested, fascinated, encouraged and inspired about the Kamitic/Kemetic tradition for a very, very long time. Possibly since the days of slavery.

Did you know that the first African American collegiate fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (founded in 1906) was inspired by the Kamitic/Kemetic culture, Kamitic/Kemetic mystery system and tradition. In fact, all of the Divine Nine (Black Greek-letter Organizations) were inspired by the Kamitic/Kemetic and their early initiation/pledge systems were originally based upon the Kamitic/Kemetic mystery system with a little bit of Masonic symbolism thrown in, watch Spike Lee’s School Daze. We won’t even talk about how much Kamiticism/Kemeticism exist in the Masonic orders. That’s a whole new discussion.

But, don’t get it tWiSteD like a lot of brahs and soros have done and think that they are “Greeks”. The Greek lettering was used as a mask, a classic defense mechanism developed from having a double-conscious.

Even W.E.B. DuBois was aware of this as indicated by the NAACP Crisis publication, and further analysis reveals that it goes back beyond that to when African Americans learned of their presence in the bible.

What’s interesting about this is that we are talking about shortly after slavery, African Americans knew that the Kamitic/Kemetic people were black and brown Africans. The reason they chose the Kamitic/Kemetic people as a source of inspiration in the early 1900s is to combat the racists and stereotypical imagery that existed during those times. It was a reminder that we are a great people and can or will be great once again.  If we remember, put into practice the concepts and principles left by our Kamitic/Kemetic ancestors we won’t forget ‘dis time.