I Hate the "This is What They Did in Africa" Mantra (Living Maa)

Hetepu (Peace & Blessings) Family.
Let’s get right to it. I am so tired of hearing people tell me that “This is what they did in Africa” to justify their crazy beliefs, ideas, thoughts and practices. I mean, I get it and I understand why people say it because in the western world where we are taught to believe only in what we can physically measure (touch, taste, smell, hear and see). It is more convenient to say “This is what they did in Africa” then it is to say, “I am trusting my Osar (Asar, Ausar, Osiris, the Lord or Higher Self).”

But, here is the thing….Africa is not a country. Africa is a continent with 54 countries.  The people within the continent of Africa don’t speak African. There are over 2,000 languages spoken in the continent of Africa. Nigeria alone has 200 languages that are spoken within its country.  Africa is not one gigantic forest with millions of people living in huts. They have forests, savannas and thriving metropolis and industries because Africa is composed of numerous cultures.

What am I saying?
I am saying that Africa does not have a homogeneous society or culture.
When you say, “This is what they did in Africa” what part of Africa are talking about? Are you talking about the East, West, North or South of Africa? Which ethnic group are you speaking of that they did this? When they “did this in Africa” when did they do it and why did they do it? What was the purpose? Did “They do it” a million years ago, a thousand years ago, a hundred years ago or are they doing it now?
You get where I am going with this? Stop using “Africa” like the bible and the Koran to justify your silliness. When will people understand that what they did in Africa does not mean it is going to work over here. Just like what we do over here is not going to necessarily work over there.
Now, let me be honest, and tell you that I used to say this same stupid mantra too because I came across Family who would use it to justify everything they believed from diet to religious practices. All of that changed when I met and asked my godfather who was a Lukumi (Santeria) priest and member of the Abakua Society, why the Yoruba religion was not practiced in Cuba exactly the same way it is practiced in Nigeria in Cuba. For instance, why did they syncretize the orishas with the saints. My godfather told me in the simplest terms, “Because we ain’t in Africa!”
What works in Africa works in Africa but that doesn’t mean it is going to work here. This is what I keep trying to get Family to understand about Kemet. The Kemetic people never had to deal with systemic racism, capitalism, socialism, etc.  The Kemetic people lived in an agrarian kingdom with a relatively loving ruling class who cared about all of her citizens within her border. Prior to the advent of the slave trade and imperialism, the Akans, Fons, Yoruba, Ibo, Bantu-Kongo and various other ethnic groups did not live in a society that discriminated against people because of the color of their skin. If you offended the Ancestors, the Deified Ancestors and disrupted the order of the community, then that’s when the elders took you to the side and reeducated you and everyone to correct the error in our living. It was a spiritual culture and this is what it means to live in a spiritual, holistic culture, but we do not live there anymore. This is the reason when the Africans were brought to the Americas, their religions, spiritual practices and spiritual traditions could not survive unless they became more aggressive and defensive.   In other words, the spiritual practices and traditions had to adapt to the new circumstances in order to be useful.

This “It was done in Africa” mantra is a Setian (Egotistical) approach to fixing problems.  If you will recall, our Set (lower self/ego) relies on past experiences and only believes in the physical reality.   In other words, it only sees one side of the picture. It does not see the whole, so it discourages us from aligning with our Higher Self or Osar.  One of the ways it does this is by telling us “This is what was done in Africa (or China, India, etc.)” to get us to focus on the past or past experience because Set is stubborn and does not want to change but we have to realize that Maa is about living truth based upon perspective.
Let me give you another example. If you have ever eaten the Ghanian dish fufu (coco yam) or the Nigeria cuisine gari (cassava/yucca) you know that these are two of the main starches that are consumed throughout the West and Central Africa. I love eating fufu and gari but I cannot eat these dishes all of the time as it is done in parts of Africa for several reasons.  For one, I live in the United States and I am not as active as many who eat these foods as a staple of their diet.  Second, they are high in carbohydrates, which means if I am not very active these foods may cause my body to store additional sugar/fat.  Now, notice that I did not say that these foods were bad.  In fact, they are more nutritious than the regular potato but it is because of my lifestyle and the environment that I live in, which makes consuming these foods all of the time a problem for me.  Again, does this mean that I should not eat coco yam or cassava even though they were consumed in Africa? No, it simply means that if I am going to eat them I need to make adjustments to my lifestyle or limit my consumption of them. This is what it means to live according to Maa by taking everything in perspective.
It is not Maa to live your life based upon an outdated practices and traditions. Presently as I write this, I know guy right now who is from Ghana having the hardest time trying to succeed socially because he is still doing things as if he was in Accra. This guy has upset a lot of people he has come in contact with because he tells them he is proud that the “British colonized the world.” He literally believes that the British saved humanity through their savage ways, so when he said it aloud and was verbally accosted he did not understand why. Clearly, this guy does not see the whole picture and only believes what the imperialists have told him in the history books. Now, another reason for mentioning this guy is to show that everyone from Africa is not “conscious.” Just like everyone who wears their hair natural, in braids, in dreads, etc. is not “conscious” either. We need to stop repeating this mantra because all it does is make us focus on what was written in a book or some other superficiality.
If we stopped saying, “This is what they did in Africa” and just say, “Hey, I did it.” It is more convincing and let’s people see the Maa.  The Maa is not about trying to see how many people will follow you.  It is opening peoples’ eye so that we can change the “rotation of the planet.” Stop giving in and encouraging people to follow their Set. Remember, Set wants us to do anything and everything but listen and follow our Osar (Higher Self). Set will say anything and everything to keep us from hearing our Osar by telling us what we are doing is wrong, not supported by others, not favored by the majority, not the popular thing, etc.

Living your life according to Maa means trusting the God within you and testing the suggestions that are given to you.  Yes, you have to test it because remember the old scripture “every spirit is not a spirit of God (spirit of the Higher Self).” So, you have to test it and try it out to make sure it is the truth that is best for you and that it is coming from your Higher Self and not your lower self and some other low influences (negative ancestral spirits or aapepu).  And, by the way, testing and trying it out does not just mean seeing if the information is in a book.  You have to try it, test it out, see if it works for you and if it works for others.  This is the only way to know that a suggestion, comment, etc. is coming from the Higher Self.
This goes for people too. Most of you know that I come from a very religious family background. I had people tell me all of the time, “God said fill in the blank.” and when I was younger I would follow these so-called prophecies and wind up broke and hurt.  So, guess what? My Osar and Aakhu (Ancestors and Spirit Guides) know that they cannot approach me like this. They also know that I am going to put to the test whatever they tell me. So, when I get messages now, it is verified. If I am doing a ritual to Npu (Anpu, Sebek, Anubis or the Divine Messenger/Trickster of the Higher Self) and receive a message telling me I need to do something. It is verified through some type of omen. Npu may send three dogs across my path or I bump into a person wearing red and black, which are his colors.  I may be at the store and some stranger comes to me out of the blue and tells me something, thus verifying what the message and pointing me in the direction I need to go.  In other words, “God does not give a vision without giving provisions.”
So if a person claims to have your best interest at heart and state that their information is truth. You can test it to see if it is Maa and that individual should not have a problem with you doing so because, if they are truly sagely and of God.  They should understand that in these days and time we cannot take nothing for face value.  If this individual gets upset and offended, then they most likely are feeding your info to boost their Set (Ego).
Understand the more you listen to your Osar, the happier and better off you will be because you are free.
Hetepu.