To Be African or Not to Be:    

According to the Mende, the person is made up of the “Ngafa” (the spirit) and the “Nduwai” (the flesh) (1979 94). The “Ngafa” is immaterial and is provided by the mother. It leaves the body at death and goes into the land of the spirits. The “Ngafa” is the psychic constituent of the person. The “Nduwai” is the physical part of the person and is provided by the father. The “Nduwai” is, in part, contained in the seminal fluid. The “shadow” (Nenei) is also part of the person (Harris, 1968 88) and is believed to report the death of the body to God. The Mende believe that a healthy spirit (Ngatha) produces a state of “Guhun” (total well-being). The person’s name is closely associated with his “Ngafa”. The significance of the name is that the Mende believe that a person’s “Ngafa” can travel from the person during sleep or other state of unconsciousness. However, a person can be revived or awakened when one’s name is called repeatedly. The Mende, therefore, believe that the person’s name may be the component that wakes up the ”Ngafa” or the human spirit.

In their discussion of African elements of human beingness, Grills and Rowe (1996) note that the Lebou people of Senegal believe that the person is, first and foremost, comprised of the “Fit” (vital energy or life force) which is what makes them human. “Fit” is referred to as the spiritual heart of the person. The part of the person that gives one physical life is called “Roo”. This is the breath of life which leaves the body at death. The Lebou believe that each of us has a spiritual shadow that is always present and protects the person. This shadow is called the “Takondeer”. Additionally to be a person, one must possess and cultivate the qualities of “Yel” (intelligence) and “Sago” (reason). Finally to be a person is to have a “Raab”. “Raabs” are constellations of spiritual forces, like the Yoruba Orishas, that possess, guide and protect the person. They are, in fact, ancestral spirits that influence and shape the personality and behavior of the person.

With this review, it appears that the African “authentic core” is comprised of the belief that the person is human because there is an indisputable connection between the person and God. In fact, the person is really seen as an undeniable expression or manifestation of God. Included in the authentic core is also the belief that (1) the complexity (immaterial & material) of the person gives one an intrinsic human value and (2) that the person is, in fact, a “process” characterized by the divinely governed laws of appearing, perfecting and compassion which are revealed within or through ones destiny. The final common belief in the African authentic core is that harmony and balance between/within the supra, inter and intra worlds of the person are key to “human beingness.”

If one of the responsibilities of theory is to engage in the quest for understanding the (1) unity underlying apparent diversity; (2) implicity underlying apparent complexity; (3) order underlying apparent disorder and (4) regularity underlying apparent anomaly, then given these preliminary thoughts, it seems that the notion of “authenticity” is a better concept to     next page