SYNOPSIS/EXCERPT FROM AUTHOR:
Mami Wata: Africa’s Ancient God/dess Unveiled,
Reclaiming the Ancient Vodoun Heritage of the Diaspora.
Vol 1& II,900 pgs. Published by the MWHS, 2004.
Mamaissii Vivian Hunter-Hindrew
Beyond Ritual: Rethinking Patriarchy in African Traditional Religions
“Contrary to abolitionist’s writings, many Africans enslaved in America were not Christians, but were practitioners of
various African ancestral and ritual experiential systems of worship that have their ancient ancestral roots in the matriarchal cultures first established by African women thousands of years ago. Presently, nearly all of the black god/desses were painted over in European and other ethnic faces, where black women and men no longer recognize their own ancient mothers nor the legacy that they left them.
Mami Wata is the master of all magical, divinatory, prophetic, philosophical and religious systems of Africa. There is no indigneous spiritual system that exist in Africa that is seperate from Mami Wata.
Unlike her European counterpart, Black women were not originally born under the yoke of patriarchy. In ancient times, ALL of Africa was matriarchal and had reached high levels of civilization. The religious systems imposed on black women (and men) today, are a corrupted version of the overthrow of the spiritual and political kingdoms that their ancient mothers built and established throughout the entire ancient world as the birthright of the African people, and its logos (divine trughts) subsequently disseminated as their gift to the entire world.”
Conversely, under African patriarchy, her temples were usurped, her priestesses were chased from the land or subjugated, and her original logos (spiritual truths) were hopelessly corrupted. In ancient Egypt, her images were destroyed and replaced with colossal monuments erected to the great pharaohs celebrating the rise of patriarchy and their military expansion. In their place, diminutive statues were erected depicting the queen mothers (Mama-Isis/Sibyls) as a minor figures. A deliberate act to symbolized her subjugation and meant as an insult to her spiritual decline. In the Diaspora’s fight to reclaim their ancient Egyptian home against the Eurocentric whitewash, they have failed to critically examine the social, political and spiritual significance of these ancient monuments to understand why
Africa was left vulnerable to her enemies.But the great queen mothers did back down, they continued to prevail as they and millions of their votaries fled into Mycenea, Ionia (now called Greece), Asia Minor, Syria, Isreal and Jordan where they rebuilt their great temples and continued to reamin as the primary seat of sacredotal power for Africa.
“Today, Black women suffer from spiritual malaise because they have lost contact with their divine mother. Black men suffer spiritual emptiness because they were originally nurtured under the yoke of the Divine African Mother, of whom they have forgotten, and their ancient fathers ultimately rejected in favor of patriarchy. One of the major reasons that Black men do not understand the “rebellious” nature of Black women is because her primal spirit (just as his) was born free, under a matriarchal yoke. That (matriarchy) was the natural (in contrast to the politically imposed) order of the African world for thousands of years is never questioned by Africentric male scholars who assume its rise in Africa a natural consequence of “evolution.” What they and others have failed to recognize is that the ancient soul of the Divine African Mother was already enraged even before the advent of colonialism and slavery, and her anger was it them, and not a foreign power.”
“It was under patriarchal Africa that the mother religions have been forgotten, abandoned and condemned becasue they were the sacredotal power of the matriarchs, and replaced with patraichal corruptions. This is evidenced, (with the recent exception of Benin), no African nation claims an indigenous African spiritual system as their national religion.”
“Today, in the Diaspora’s attempt at reclaiming what was lost, stolen and strayed from them by others, few have critically examined what was taken from within Africa from her original matriarchal rulers. Until the Divine African Mami God/dess whose curse African people still live under today is re-established, no African will ever be spiritually or universally free.
As many in the Diaspora reclaim their spiritual heritage in the traditional religions of Africa, it is critical to carefully examine current patriarchal structures of its pantehons, and religious customs which are structured to continue to oppress the souls of black men and women who carry the divine seed of their ancient mothers. It is through her that the spirit is inherited, and it is united with her that liberty will prevail.”
“Mami Wata: Africa’s Ancient God/dess Unveiled,” is an attempt tounearth, document and examine the role of the African priestess of the Mami Watas in establishing the ancient religious systems in both the Vodoun of West Africa, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. It also attempts to offer a more multidimensional character to African Traditional Religions first established under the African matriarchs.”
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