Hetepu (Peace) Family,
Here’s an interested fact I came across. Because one of the major pillars of peoples’ enslavement to the dogmatic, literal interpretation of the bible, is the story of Moses and the Children of Israel crossing the Red Sea. Did you know that according to the Torah, when the Children of Israel were fleeing the pharaoh that they called out to God and begged for his help? And God asked,
“Why are you calling me?“
Afterwards, God told the Children of Israel, who were faced with either being killed by pharaoh’s army or drowning,
“Go jump in the water!”
According to Kabbalistic scholars, God’s question and response to the Children of Israel was a code telling the people that they themselves had the power to escape the predicament they were in on their own. The whole story was an allegory never meant to be taken literal, but to inform people that they didn’t need God’s assistance. They just needed to connect and use the divine energy that exists within them.
When you think about the whole story now, maybe the reason Moses told the biblical pharaoh to “Let my people go!” Really was a request or command meaning release my people from Mental Slavery. Maybe this is the real reason Moses was viewed as a biblical hero and a spirit guide by early African Americans prior to the Civil Rights Movement. Maybe this is the reason why Moses was identified as being a shaman in Afro-Brazil.
Hmmm…something to think about. What do you think?
Hetepu
Hotep brother interesting post..very…but if l may add some…while l agree with most of what u said there are some exceptions especially with the madama figure….l have studied this topic for a long time now and based on what has been revealed spiritially to me bu my own madama plus research guided by ancestors l have found thay there is alot of misconceptions about this figure….as u say mammy figures in the u.s were used in a racist,disrespectful way to depict a sect of the slave population dont be fooled into thinking the very same racism did not exist in the islands as well…mi negra/mi negro is as effectionately resounded by non black practitioners as mammy was to massa and his family…..the power of madama at times is limited to an assumption to her being jusy a servant/maid,midwife/healer,cook….etc….but thats just an aspect not all of her attributes….this is going on and written,practiced based on a europeanized perception of madama pertaining to how black ppl are viewed globally….some madamas were never slaves…some were never in massas house…..all madamas were not fat and short…the stereotypical mammy…..some of these women were the ones puttin poison in the food,drink etc….alot of these women were the ones empowering the field slaves with juju (sorcery) to fight…alot of them were behind revolts…..see how her face is changing from subservient house slave to undercover and sometime straight out revolutionary….l have said time and timeagain african americans who pracfice spiritual beliefs should start calling upon the greatest of all the women who were “mammys” ..one being Harriet Tubman…
Hetep Oyarevolution9
Excellent observation and response. My original purpose for this post was to get people to understand that the very images that are being used to subjugate us, is what will liberate us. It was a jab at the so-called blackness and our perception of what we think slavery was and who we think was for us and against us. When I was younger, I was shocked to see in my padrino’s living room the mammy figure. I couldn’t believe that this black man from Cuba would have this stereotypical image in his house, until he told me that in his spiritual house, she is the wife of his Eshu. This is what opened my eyes to how this spirit and the spirit of resistance in North America, b/c as you most likely are aware…the perception is in the U.S. black people didn’t fight against slavey but just accepted it. So, we have all of these terms like Uncle Tom, Aunt Jemima, etc. being used but a majority of them are used out of context b/c ppl don’t understand our history or culture. So, thanks again. Funny, you mention Harriet Tubman as a strong mammy figure, b/c she is the spirit that walks with my Npu (Kamitic Ellegua).
Thanks again. Tua. Modupe.
Hetep. Alafia.
Hetep Oyarevolution9
Sorry, for responding to your post so late. I thought I did but apparently it didn’t post. Anyway, I concur. In fact, I am not sure if I mentioned this but when I came into the fold. My padrino said that his Madama was his Ellegua’s wife. Later, as I grew in this tradition, my Harriet Tubman image would gravitate towards my Npu (the Kamitic Ellegua). In fact, she is one of the spirit guides that taught me about the Maa Aankh, thus confirming what you have said about the Madama spirit. 🙂
The point of this post is to get people to look past the stereotypical image and see Madama for who she really is. As I am sure, you already know, presently in the US the very mention of any stereotypical term or image, such as Aunt Jemima, Uncle Tom, etc. and most African Americans are up in arms and rightfully so but for the wrong reasons. Unlike in the Caribbean and South America, in the US, when EuroAmericans placed a label or took something from the African American community it was done and almost never reclaimed. A prime example of this is the word mojo, which is now associated with sexual prowess, whereas it means charm or talisman. No matter what has been said, written, etc. the word is still related to sex because of Jim Morrison and those other cats not understanding African American culture, but finding it cool. So, the next thing you know, many African Americans in the day who were very religious, abandon the use of it because it has a negative connotation.
The same has occurred with Uncle Tom. One woman writes a book trying to gain sympathy for slavery. More EuroAmericans take the image of a humble Christian servant into their psyche, but people not knowing that the real inspiration behind Uncle Tom was Josiah Henson, a former slave that escaped slavery and fled to Canada, where he built a community and a church. So they take the term placed upon them by another and use it in a whole different context, which is another example of how oppressors have taken symbols of power and turn them into weapons of war.
So, thanks for your response because it helps people to see what this spirit really is from another’s perspective. The more people learn that the negative labels the oppressors placed on our ancestors, meant that our ancestors apparently doing good for the community. The more we can elevate them and eventually raise ourselves. Thanks. Hetep (Peace)
Another great post brother!