HomeOld_PostsReclaiming our spiritual independence: Part Seven

Reclaiming our spiritual independence: Part Seven

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IN our last episode we showed that spiritual independence underpins all other forms of independence: political, cultural, religious and economic. In this episode we demonstrate the critical role of spiritual independence in the development of any society.
We demonstrate that in the case of Zimbabwe, its existence today as a distinct nation, is a direct result of spiritual leadership by our ancestral spirits who include the legendary Murenga, Chaminuka, Nehanda, Kaguvi and others.
The erosion of our cultural and spiritual values as Africans represents the greatest threat to our independence and sovereignty.
Foreign religions are the ‘Trojan Horse’, from which the enemy will emerge to devour us while we ‘sleep’.
In the previous episode, we showed that societies that have survived and developed to greatness are those that have jealously defended their spiritual independence.
Examples include, India, China, Korea, Japan and Malaysia.
The assault on Moslem countries by the West is an attempt to break the spiritual independence of Islamic nations.
The on-going destruction of Iraq, Libya, Syria and Afghanistan bears witness to the Western so-called Christian nations’ desire to dominate and loot oil resources in the Middle-East.
The on-going wars instigated and funded by the Western countries, demonstrate the concerted efforts of Europe and America to break the spiritual backbone of Moslem countries.
We also referred to the book, Africa Awakening: Reclaiming our Divine Mystic Powers and Spiritual Independence by Colonel Morgan Mzilikazi.
The book’s thesis or argument is that Africans need to reclaim their spiritual identity and independence in order for them to take charge of their own destiny.
In his book, Col Mzilikazi argues that Africa, as the cradle of mankind and the birthplace of civilisation, has played a pioneering role in world development and must now reclaim its spiritual identity and independence and position of leadership.
For the record, long before Europeans emerged from the caves, Africa was already highly advanced as evidenced by the Great Pyramids and ancient civilisations of Egypt, the great centres of learning such as the University of Timbuktu in Mali and, nearer home, the architectural wonders of our Great Zimbabwe Monuments.
All these achievements are the signatures of African people who had strong cultural and spiritual identities.
Africa’s capacity to take leadership in all spheres of human development was underpinned by its powerful mysticism and spiritual independence. The spirited attempts to destroy Africa’s spiritual independence all emanated from Europe and America who deployed battalions of Christian missionaries to destroy African spiritual independence.
They are still hard at work.
Spiritual enslavement through purported conversion to Christianity was and continues to be the main instrument for the subjugation and colonial plunder of the continent and its black population.
We have shown in previous episodes that Western Christianity demonises, marginalises and labels as primitive all matters relating to African religion and spirituality.
In many families today, there is near total rejection of African spirituality.
These so-called ‘Christian converts’ have swallowed hook, line and sinker, the false gospel that says those who do not believe in the Western God will surely burn in hell.
But Africans already have their God, the Creator!
Who is this other god that is coming from the West to burn innocent black souls?
The Christian gospel depicts African spirits and spirit mediums (masvikiro) as evil.
Who says when an African parent who has raised his/her children and loved them well dies, their spirits become demons who persecute the living and must be exorcised?
Who denies that in life and in the spirit world, parents continue to love and wish the best for their offspring?
This is not to say there are no demons that must be exorcised.
This is to reject the wrong notion that all things African are primitive, inferior and demonic!
This is to challenge those who have been colonised to believe that there is no African spirituality or that such spirituality is of inferior quality or is demonic.
Only those who want to take control of the total African person refuse to accept that we deserve and have a right to be spiritually independent.
Virtually all Africans experience some degree of mysticism in which they somehow get linked to the spirit world.
In some people the mysticism is so pronounced that the individual goes into a trance or becomes possessed by ancestral spirits.
The ancestral spirit that comes to possess a person may have the powers to foretell what will happen in future; others may have the gift of healing or causing rain to fall.
Some refer to all these as supernatural powers. We understand them to be the manifestation of our spirituality.
All these powers derive from God. Who says only when Christians possess these powers then they are acceptable, but when manifested in non-Christians such powers are evil!
What hypocrisy!
To page 21
Colonisation meant physical, mental, cultural and religious domination. The spiritual dimension of African existence paused a major psychological and security threat to the white colonisers.
Those possessed by ancestral spirits were highly respected and revered by the African people.
They represented an alternative power base and authority to that of the European coloniser.
There had to be only one cock (jongwe) in the village, neighbourhood and country.
The whiteman asserted his authority and worked to remove any and all other centres of power.
African spiritual identity had to be destroyed.
It allowed Africans to have an independent existence.
The African languages spoken, the rituals and various religious rites were all foreign to white colonisers who feared that the Africans would plot against them.
To the white Christian missionaries, the solution to the threat from spirit mediums and the practice of African religious rites was to destroy their power.
This is why the spirit mediums of Nehanda Mbuya Charwe and Kaguvi, Gumbo Reshumba, were executed.
The strategy was to cut off the African people from their Mwari/uMlimo by killing the bearers of Mwari’s messages, the spirit mediums.
It was meant to silence them, to physically remove them as symbols of African independence and sovereignty.
In the First Chimurenga as in the Second Chimurenga, our spirit mediums led the struggle by inspiring courage, fearlessness and moral fortitude among the people.
Our Great Ancestral Spirit Murenga Sororenzou who spoke from the cave at Njelele/Matojeni, in the Matombo Hills, in what is now Matabeleland South, ordering our ancestors both Ndebele and Shona to take up arms and to fight the white invaders.
The Great Spirit Murenga also gave the people instructions on how the war was to be prosecuted.
That is why we call all our struggles for liberation and independence ‘Chimurenga’.
In the Second Chimurenga aptly dubbed ‘Hondo Yeminda’ by Cde Chinx Chingaira, many spirit mediums, ‘masvikiro’ led their people to reclaim their original home areas in what had been the struggle to reclaim their areas, which had been converted to white colonial farms.
In executing all the Chimurenga wars both the local villagers and the liberation fighters consulted and received guidance from spirit mediums. Spirit mediums were particularly critical in warning both the guerrilla fighters and the people of impending danger from both ground and aerial attacks.
They were a critical component of the war machinery and military intelligence systems.
Spirit mediums represented the most outstanding manifestation of the people’s spiritual independence.
The spirit mediums used their mystic powers to facilitate communication between Mwari/uMlimo and the people.
They provided leadership to the anti-colonial movement; they must continue to inspire and guide our current struggles for independence and sovereignty.
To succeed, we need to embrace and uphold our spiritual identity and independence.
So powerful were the mystic powers among our ancestors that the people would ask for food and it would be mysteriously served.
One well-known place is ‘Mutiusinazita’ near Marondera where travellers used to stop-over and receive food and water.
These mystic powers can and should be restored.
We have in this episode tried to show you the critical and central role of our African spirituality in fighting for and defending our independence and sovereignty.
We urge all Zimbabweans to work towards reclaiming our African spirituality.
Africans go to so-called Christian churches.
They are taught to despise their own culture and religious customs.
How have African mystics and spirit mediums responded to their rejection by so-called Christian ‘converted’ family members and communities who have come under the influence of Western Christian churches?
Why do we have a proliferation of ‘spiritual churches’ (chechi dzomweya) among the African communities?
Are these genuine Christian churches?
And the miracle prophecy churches that attract thousands – do they represent a new revival of African spirituality or the resurgence of Western Christianity?
Or do they represent further religious colonisation?
How does one become a prophet?
Are all prophets genuine?
Do all these new churches sprouting even under trees represent Africa’s religious re-awakening?
We the Africans need to interrogate all these issues and take a stand in defence of our spiritual identity and independence.

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