Francis, don't you contradict yourself parading the works of western trained African-Americans such as Mazama and Molefi Asante, who want to interpret the African psyche and religion when they themselves are sequestrated from ... read full comment
Francis, don't you contradict yourself parading the works of western trained African-Americans such as Mazama and Molefi Asante, who want to interpret the African psyche and religion when they themselves are sequestrated from their roots.? Or is it because they are high-perched and have the resources? Why not leave such work to the likes of my former lecturer Dr Kofi Asare Opoku, Dr Akonor and African-born souls who have the praxis of what they study and write about.
Kwesi Atta Sakyi 10 years ago
Again, the white man can write many encyclopedias about our religion, as well as our African Americans, but the real epistemological underpinnings of the African religion can only be written from source and soul by only the A ... read full comment
Again, the white man can write many encyclopedias about our religion, as well as our African Americans, but the real epistemological underpinnings of the African religion can only be written from source and soul by only the African born, not foreign born black who is caught hanging between two worlds and looks through African affairs with tainted western glasses. Leave Kofi Asare Opoku, Akonor, Kobena Nketsiah, Ayi Kwei Armah, Anton Diop etc to teach them.
francis kwarteng 10 years ago
Hello Brother,
How are you, Brother Sakyi? For a start let's start by sayin that Diop, Okonor, Nketsiah, Armah, or Opoku knows Africa and African Religion better than Mazama and Asante. Please talk to one of Asante's close ... read full comment
Hello Brother,
How are you, Brother Sakyi? For a start let's start by sayin that Diop, Okonor, Nketsiah, Armah, or Opoku knows Africa and African Religion better than Mazama and Asante. Please talk to one of Asante's closest friends and former students Dr. Kwame Botwe-Asamoah, himself an uncompromising "tradtionalist," how much Asante and Mazama know about African Religion. And you know what is funny though? Asante and Mazama do not waste their time discussing Christianity, Judaism, or Islam (though they appreciate African cultural contributions to these religions as Diop, Armah, and others do). Both are also practitioners of African Religion.
Finally, Brother Sakyi, "The Encyclopedia of African Religion" has much cultural depth than all the scholarly works on AfricanReligion attributed to Opoku, Armah, Nkentsiah, Diop, and Akonor.
For instance, Armah has not done any major work on African Religion. He's more globally known for his brilliant novels. This is not to say he's not a student of African Religion. Armah is one of the most respected Afrocentric novelists on the continent I know of (I think he's based in Senegal now conducting research with some of Diopi's former students).
Asante has great respect for him. That said, the only one of Armah's novels which came close to using ancient African cultural symbols in an influential way is "Osiris Rising." I briefly reviewed this novel in one of my essays published here on Ghanaweb.
The issue is that editorial freedom allowed Diop and Mazama to allow some of the contributors to talk about the African roots of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (a theory Diop and Josef Ben-Jochannan exhaustively advanced in thier scholarly works). In the Encyclopdedia's praface they, Asante and Mazama, make it clear it's African Religion they are interested in. In fact, neither spent editorial time disccusing Judaism, Christianity, or Islam. It's why they brought the real players, scholars and tradionalists, in the field to bear on the Encyclopedia.
Then again, talk to Armah, Opoku, or Akonor about these questions. All of these men hold Asante and Mazama in high esteem as far as African culture, history, spirituality, etc., are concerned. Actually, none of these scholars you mention is more culturally African than Asante or Mazama.
I have personally discussed Mazama and Asante with Aknonor. For instance, at the "Decolonizing Our Universities" international conference (Malaysia, 2011), Asante castigated Asian/Western conferres (scholars, scientists, philosophers, sociologists, etc) about neglecting and looking down on African Religion. Non of the Africans scholars who attended this conference and spoke before him raised this issue.
Google the conference and see how authoritatively Asante spoke in defense of African culture, history, science, philosophy, etc. No African scholar who gave a presentation at the conference came as close. None appeared knowledgeable about Africa as Asante did.
Sakyi it's because you probably don't know Mazama and Asante as intimimately as I and many other people, including African scholars here in America, Canada, Asia, Africa, do (I stand to be corrected though). You cannot do anything about Africa without involving Mazama and Asante. That is not possible. Asante travels to Africa almost every year where, among other things, he colloborates with all stripes of African researchers and traditionalists on every topic affecting the African world.
He has been involved in resolution conflicts in dangerous places as the Congo (consulting with President Kabila, etc). He chaired the Scientific Committee which converted the Organization of African Unity into the African Union; worked with African scholars (more than 400) in Senegal to design a blueprint for uniting Africa, worked with African leaders to promote democracy in Africa and broke his relationship with those leaders, like President Abdolaye Wade, who refused to adhere to democratic principles (recall that he was an informal advisor to President Wade), etc. You don't even see Akonoor, Opoku, or Armah going this far, though Armah, Opoku, Diop, and Nketsiah are scholars I greatly admire.
I have visited them, Asante and Mazama, sat in their classes (though not as a student), dined with them, discussed the world (African, etc) with them. I have studied nearly all of Asante's 79 books and those of Mazama, Maulana Karenga, etc. Karenga's scholarly work on Egyptian (ancient Africa) ethics is presently one of the best. Theophile Obenga (from Central Africa), Asante's friend, has similarly done great scholarly work on African philosophy, ethics, etc.
Besides, Asante and Mazama take students on tour around the world where Africans and descendants of Africans are, familiarizing them with African culture still being practiced in these areas. They have taken students to Egypt to familiarize them with ancient African Religion. As far as I know, they have never taken any one to the Vatican or to Ethiopia/Eritrea to acquaint themselves with Orthodox Christianity.
Asante has been in Ethiopia and interacted with their leading researchers and scholars, but African Christianity, Judais, and Islam, like I said elsehwere, is not his scholarly and research priority, tough he and Mazama are intellectually conversant with the most imprtant aspects of evolution of Judaims, Christianity, and Islam.
Plus they are doing everything in their means to make sure these ancient African cultural practices, including African Religion, survive in these areas. They are touring Brazil this summer and one of the areas they are visiting with students and others is African religious locations. In fact, they also collaborate with African religious leaders (Diaspora) on matters related to ancient African Religion in these areas.
Moreover, both Ama Mazama and Molefi Kete Asante are more knowledgeable about African Religion than most local Ghanaian/African who parade themselves as authorities (I personally know of) on African Religion.
Mazama is a Voodoo priestess and was "ordained" in Benin, the original home of Voodoo. Asante went to school (Church of Christ) to be trained as a Christian evangelist but has ignored everything. Mazama is the head of Voodoo in North America. He's visited Haiti (on several occassion)where Voodoo is well entrenched. She is married to a Haitian (Dr. Garvey Lundy, a sociologist) who as is as uncompromisngly traditionally African you can get. Haiti is the most African of the African Diaspora.
Both work (and invite) "traditional" African priests to promote African Religion in the Western Hemisphere, pariticularly America. In fact, I know these four personally very well, that is, Asante, Akonor, Opoku, and Mazama. Mazama and Asante are more African than Akonor and Opoku. Asante, for one, visit Africa every year
For instance, while Opoku occassionally tries to justify certain aspects of African Religion through Christian/Western lens, Asante and Mazama do not. In fact, when you talk about an "African" in the true sense of the word, then you are talking about Mazama and Asante.
Moreover, I have read Diop critically to say on authority that he promoted Islam over Christianity. Don't forget he came from a strong Moslem family and he was a Moslem himslelf. Diop culturally and intellectually vacilated between Islam and African Religion.
On the other hand, Asante, Mazama, and Afrocentrists do not face this Diopian vacillation. In fact, most Afrocentric scholars have constructively criticized Diop for for failing to see the havoc Islamm caused to the African, his humanity, and African culture. Both also treat Christianity as they treat Islam.
For instance, neither Mazama nor Asante looks at African through Western/Christian lens. You need to know them personally. Again, talk to Akonor, Opoku, or Armah. Molefi Kete Asante has calabash and alcohol both at his home and in his office where he makes daily prayers/offerings to our ancestors every morning before he starts the day. Mazama does the same thing. They regularly perform every other ritual common to African Religion.
Some of their conferences organized here in America begin with prayers and offerings to our ancestors. I have not seen any conference organized here in America by Dr. Opoku where he offers libation and prayers to our ancestors. I will say the same of Dr. Akonor.
Plus the Encyclopedia was an international academic enterprise. Scholarly authorities on and practitioners of African Religion from Africa, Europe, and the Western Hemisphere contributed to this volume. Asante and Mazama served as editors. Have you seen and read it? It is the best on African Religion.
Please talk to Akonor, Opoku, or Armah what they think about Mazama and Asante as far as African culture, history, etc., are concerned. Talk them particulary about how much Asante and Mazama know about African Religion. Please go back to my essays on Mazama and see references on her influential scholary work on African, African and diasporic, langauges. Her work on the relationship between African languages and
Sakyi, please don't deceive yourself, the African-born is not always an authority on or architect of his own affairs. In fact, Asante has been fighting here in America as well as in Africa to have African ideas, like African Religion, have their place in all research institutions?
Then again, Asante has singlehandedly done more for Africa than most of our our own scholars in promoting progressive "traditional" African ideas all over the world. Have you seen him debate influential White- and Black-Americans and institutions that do not want Africa studied in te West? This is why the African Union voted him as one of the top ten influential scholars of African descent. The African Union acknowledges his service to Africa with deep respect. Do you know doctoral students in Africa send their thesis for him to read though he's not a member of dissertation committees where these students are? Do you have any idea how many African scholars here in America consult him on many issues related to Africa?
And finally, my brother Sakyi, Asante also consults with African scholars and reaserchers, here in America, in Canada (consults men like Dr. George Sefa Dei, the famed Ghanaian-Canadian scholar, who is also a Fellow at the Molefi Kete Asante Institute for Afrocentric Studies), in Africa on matters related to Africa.
In fact, one of the poeple he consulted when he conceived of the "Encyclopedia of African Religion" idea, that is, to bring African Religion, conceived from the perspectives of Africans, not the West, was the late Chinua Achebe. Achebe blessed the project.
Finally, the Molefi Kete Asante Institute for Afrocentric Studies handles research with African-born scholars and those from the African Diaspora. My homework to you: Find out for me how many African-born scholars, policy makers, traditionalists, etc., Asante and Mazama have worked with as opposed to Armah, Opoku, Akonor, etc. Also find out for me how African-born scholars/traditionalists received "The Encyclopedia of African Religion." Remember I have been following the work of Armah,Opoku, and the rest for many years. Also remember I am African-born and know a lot about African Religion (not from books but from practice).
Overlook my errors, please.
Thanks.
kosoko 10 years ago
Nana Kwarteng, there was no need for that response. These guys were confused in their critique to your erudite and insightful article. First, one person or group of persons--either the Africans at home or in the diaspora cann ... read full comment
Nana Kwarteng, there was no need for that response. These guys were confused in their critique to your erudite and insightful article. First, one person or group of persons--either the Africans at home or in the diaspora cannot alone restore the dismantled African story into its proper commentary.
Second, African scholars (with afrocentric mindset) in the Diaspora and at home are in one team. They always work together throughout history. They are not on separate camps in restoring the glorious African story. They way some of your critics judged Asante and Mazama should have informed you that they have not read their works. You are doing a wonderful job. Don't allow distractions to divert your attention. God bless!
francis kwarteng 10 years ago
Hello,
Thanks very much. You have said a lot in this piece. Like you said, I should known some of these ctitics have not read Mazama and Asante.
Thanks.
Hello,
Thanks very much. You have said a lot in this piece. Like you said, I should known some of these ctitics have not read Mazama and Asante.
Francis, don't you contradict yourself parading the works of western trained African-Americans such as Mazama and Molefi Asante, who want to interpret the African psyche and religion when they themselves are sequestrated from ...
read full comment
Again, the white man can write many encyclopedias about our religion, as well as our African Americans, but the real epistemological underpinnings of the African religion can only be written from source and soul by only the A ...
read full comment
Hello Brother,
How are you, Brother Sakyi? For a start let's start by sayin that Diop, Okonor, Nketsiah, Armah, or Opoku knows Africa and African Religion better than Mazama and Asante. Please talk to one of Asante's close ...
read full comment
Nana Kwarteng, there was no need for that response. These guys were confused in their critique to your erudite and insightful article. First, one person or group of persons--either the Africans at home or in the diaspora cann ...
read full comment
Hello,
Thanks very much. You have said a lot in this piece. Like you said, I should known some of these ctitics have not read Mazama and Asante.
Thanks.
No problem brother!