Five Pillars of Afrikan Spirituality by Mukasa Afrika Ma'at

Miamba Tano of Afrikan Spirituality

Miamba Tano za Maisha ya Kiroho ya wa Afrika
excerpt from
THE REDEMPTION OF
AFRIKAN SPIRITUALITY
An Afrikan-Centered Historical Critique
of
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
Third Edition
Mukasa Afrika Ma'at
1. Afrikan Divinity (Mungu wa Afrika)
Give homage and veneration to the Afrikan Creator, Afrikan spirits, Afrikan ancestors, and the spiritual sacredness of
Nature.
2. Afrikan Shrines and Altars (Malili na Mandabahu ya Afrika)
Give daily libations and offerings of praise and tribute to Afrikan divinity at the Afrikan shrines and altars to seek
guidance and well-being.
3. Afrikan Traditions (Asili ya Ki-Afrika)
Give honor and praise to the sacredness of Afrikan traditions and cultures.
4. Afrikan Family (Jamaa ya Ki-Afrika)
Be committed to empower and uplift the excellence of our people, our nations, our families, and ourselves.
5. Afrikan Sacred Lands (Ardhi Yenyi Kutakaswa ya Afrika)
Be committed to repatriate or pilgrimage, if possible in ones lifetime, to Afrikan Sacred Lands.
Introduction
The formal name of The Five Pillars is Miamba Tano from the Afrikan language of Ki-Swahili. I am aware
that Islam has Five Pillars to guide Muslims. The Miamba Tano is in no remote way a copy of Islams Five Pillars. The
Miamba Tano is not a copy from any other religion. The Miamba are a formulation and compilation of Afrikan
Spirituality which predates and is the origin of the worlds religions. I claim no originality with the Miambo Tano; they
are a creation of the ancestors.
In the Afrikan language of Ki-Swahili, a mwamba is a rock, foundation, or pillar which supports a structure or
house. Miamba is plural for mwamba. Mwamba and Miamba are used in literal and figurative expressions. Thus, we
get The Miamba Tano za Maisha ya Kiroho ya wa Afrika (The Five Pillars of Afrikan Spirituality). The Five Pillars
(Miamba Tano) are indispensable and essential to the foundation, worldview, and structure of Afrikan Spirituality in
the lives of individuals, the family, Afrikan-Centered schools, sacred Afrikan institutions, and the Afrikan-Centered
community as a whole. These Pillars have been the five foundational supports of Afrikan Spirituality for countless
tens of thousands of years back to our original Afrikan ancestor. These foundational supports were the basis of all
truly Afrikan civilizations. These Pillars represent the very best of every Afrikan community throughout the world.
When Afrikan people are liberated, when our Spirituality is redeemed, it will be a result of embracing Afrikan
Spirituality, in some form, handed down by our ancestors.
1. Afrikan Divinity (Mungu wa Afrika)
Give homage and veneration to the Afrikan Creator, Afrikan spirits, Afrikan ancestors, and the spiritual sacredness of
Nature.
Afrikan divinity is the worlds first religious or spiritual system, and it is the origin of all the worlds religions
and spiritual systems. In spite of all spiritual systems or religions originating in Afrika, they are all culturally bound to
particular races. Afrikans must pay homage to Afrikan divinity within the context of Afrikan culture. On the Afrikan
shrine and altar we must give homage to Afrikan divinity for direction and prosperity. We must give praise to the
Afrikan Creator and to creation (or Nature). We must seek to always keep our body and spirit in harmony with nature.
We must pay homage to our ancestors in the spirit-world. We must stay in tune with the guiding and protecting
energy of the ancestors and the spirits. Liberated people give reverence to their righteous ancestors and ask for
guidance; religious slaves give reverence to their conquerors and their conquerors ancestors. A people who
observes divinity through another peoples culture will never be free. When we no longer worship under foreign
religions, we will cease to be the cultural slaves of foreign people.
2. Afrikan Shrines and Altars (Malilina na Mandabahu ya Afrika)
Give daily libations and offerings of praise and tribute to Afrikan divinity at the Afrikan shrines and altars to seek
guidance and well-being.
I have to refer the reader to African Spirituality, edited by Jacob Olupona. In it is an excellent article by
Benjamin Ray entitled African Shrines as Channels of Communication. The shrine is a channel of communication
with the spirit and human world which brings moral and spiritual life to Afrikans, says Ray (26).
At the sacred Afrikan spaces in the world, pay homage and give thanks to Afrikan divinity. The shrine is a
channel or a vessel of communication with the spirit world and the ancestors. Therefore, we should pray, meditate,
give and give offerings at the sacred places. A shrine can be a sacred Afrikan city, a temple, or where your personal
or family altar is located. The altar is where libations and offerings are given. It is a window to divinity, a crossroads of
the natural and spirit-world. It is where you go to speak to the ancestors to renew Afrikan Spirituality and living
excellence.
Pour libations from a sacred bowel or cup into a plant, bowel, or sprinkle the entire altar with your fingers. Do
not be religious at the Afrikan altar, be Afrikan Spiritual. Call out the Afrikan names of the Creator and deities. Honor
the ancestors. You may use The Miamba Tano as a guide. You may sing or read or recite Afrikan prayers, proverbs,
and chants in the Kemetic, Yoruba, Akan, Swahili, or other Afrikan languages. Your personal, family, or community
altar should have any number of sacred items such as plants, Afrikan carvings, shells, candles, incense, pictures of
ancestors (family or historical ancestors), beads, Afrikan soil, plates, oils, etc. In many cultures, food is offered to the
spirit world. I promote non-animal food offerings such as fruits, grains, and vegetables. You may stand, or a pillow is
appropriate for sitting or knelling. You may desire to remove your shoes to be closer to the Earth. The shrine and altar
must be kept clean, and you should be clean in heart and body when you approach it. The ablution, or sacred
washing of hands and/or feet originated in the Nile Valley, and it is appropriate for us to use this practice before
libations, if we choose. Ablution did not originate in Islam or any other religion. Give praises and ask for guidance at
the altar in the morning when you rise, before you lay down to rest at night, or some other time in the day. When you
stand with only a plant and water to give libations, you will have created an altar. Even you alone giving praise is an
altar. The Afrikan objects are a Spiritual medium, but you and your spiritual connection is what is most important at
the altar to help center you in your Spirituality.
We are constantly taught that the Afrikans worship carvings, and the Afrikan altar is paganistic or
heathenistic, but all of the religions and belief systems on the planet have altars and shrines. The churches,
mosques, and synagogues with various religious symbols and art are shrines. In Mecca, the Kaba stone is an altar
as much as the statues of Jesus and Mary or St. Peters Square, and the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. The altar is not
the worship of objects, they can be replaced. The altar is the worship of Afrikan divinity, the giving of praises to
Afrikan ancestors for direction and improvement in ones life. The altar is a way to bring Spiritual sacredness into your
life.
3. Afrikan Traditions (Asili ya Ki-Afrika)
Give honor and praise to the sacredness of Afrikan traditions and cultures.
Afrikan languages, names, rituals, holy days, ceremonies, customs, history, narratives, fashions, music, art,
dance, etc. are the sacred expressions of our people. Afrikan culture is fundamentally spiritual. We must keep our
traditions alive day-by-day, one year after the other, and one generation to the next. An oppressed population will
lose their identity when the traditions of other people are forced on them. No people who are aware of their true
identity will remain enslaved and oppressed.
4. Afrikan Family (Jamaa ya Ki-Afrika)
Be committed to empower and uplift the excellence of our people, our nations, our families, and ourselves.
The Afrikan family is the preserver of Afrikan culture, and without the family none of the Pillars would exist.
The Afrikan family is the smallest unit that makes up the Afrikan world community. Therefore, if we are to have
unified nations, we must have unified families. Every endeavor in our lives must be to bring out the excellence in
ourselves as a contribution to our family and our people. We must abstain from vices and wrongdoings to gain the
rewards of righteous living. We must live right, eat right, and do right towards each other to benefit not only ourselves
and our family, but also our community and nation. We must provide models of Afrikan excellence for our children.
We must have loyalty to the empowerment of our people. We must honor and respect our elders because they are
the core and root of the family and the nation. We must build and control the schools, businesses, and other
institutions in our communities and nations. The Afrikan family has always been the backbone of the nation. It is no
wonder today that we have broken families and a broken nation. The only way to empower our nations is to uplift our
families, and to uplift ourselves.
5. Afrikan Sacred Lands (Ardhi Yenyi Kutakaswa ya Afrika)
Be committed to repatriate or pilgrimage, if possible in ones lifetime, to Afrikan Sacred Lands.
In the broadest sense, Afrikan sacred land is a shrine. Sacred lands are the burial places of our ancestors.
All Afrikan people must have a spiritual connection to Afrikan sacred lands. Afrika is sacred to Afrikan people. Some
countries, cities, regions, forests, rivers and certain bodies of water, etc. are more sacred than others to specific
ethnic groups because of their particular histories. Also, there is sacred Afrikan land outside of Afrika. For Afrikans in
India, the Indus Valley is sacred; for Afrikans in Brazil, the area where Palmares stood is sacred; for Afrikans in the
Americas the grounds where plantations were are sacred. But, Afrika is most sacred for Afrikan people. All people
throughout the world honor the lands of their ancestors and give thanks for their origins; only slaves honor the lands
of their masters. We dishonor our ancestors and ourselves when we pilgrimage to the holy lands of non-Afrikan
people. Just as we should commit ourselves to try and come before the altar at least once a day, we should commit
ourselves to go to the great altar of Afrikan land at least once in our lifetime to pay due homage to our spiritual
lineage.
Conclusion
What I have formulated as The Miamba Tano is a measuring stick of Afrikan Spirituality. My argument is that
if it doesnt align with the Miamba Tano, it is not a genuine enough form of Afrikan Spirituality. I am convinced that this
is essential in the new age religious creations we see today. Libations are poured to The Miamba Tano. Afrikan
people who are striving to embrace the Spirituality of our ancestors may embrace The Miamba Tano as a lense. They
are an Afrikan code of righteous living bestowed on us by our ancestors and Creator. They are also desperately
needed in the times that we live in today. Afrikans (Blacks) who embrace foreign religions cannot fully embrace The
Miamba Tano. But, hopefully, through the voices of our ancestors and our Creator, those sisters and brothers will
come home through one of the flowers (traditions) of Afrikan Spirituality. The Five Pillars of Afrikan Spirituality is a
way of life and a cultural center through which to understand forms of Afrikan Spirituality. Liberated Afrikans live and
work towards The Miamba Tano not just a day, a week, or a month, but everyday of the year throughout life. Most
importantly, The Five Pillars (Miamba Tano) are passed from one generation to the next. Afrikan Spirituality has been
passed from our ancestors to us, and it is our responsibility to pass our faith to future generations.