Divinity Assemble Part I! Unveiling The Ancient African Pantheons:
African Mythology: the Pantheons
The next few articles are in response to one of our friends here on Medium. He asked if I could provide clarity on some of the images I placed in Simply Call Me: The Great Mother.
Simply Call Me: The Great Mother
Mother, has awoken, teeming rage flows out; she is gaining back her purloined strength.
Polytheism
We, as family members of the species Homo sapiens, have been around for well over 200,000 years. We lived among other members of the Homo genus. However, it is well known that sapiens originated from our mother continent, Africa. Early burial practices have been traced back to Jebel Sahaba, Sudan, and the earliest cave art was found in Blombos Cave, South Africa, showcasing some of the earliest forms of symbolism. When looking at early forms of religion, whether it is animism, shamanism, or polytheism, the roads of human culture lead back to Mother Africa.
How many early human species existed on Earth?
There used to be a greater diversity of human species, and paleoarchaeologists are still discovering more extinct…
The image above honors the Mother Goddess, who is not only the mother of gods and humans alike but also pays homage to the 20+ pantheons found across the Motherland. Today, I will introduce the Pantheon of the Amazigh from North Africa.
In the poem ‘Simply Call Me Great Mother,’ the line, ‘Little god, don’t you realize my clan has existed since the dawn of the universe?’ refers to this image. Globally, most religions, no matter where you go, were polytheistic, including those on the continent of Africa.
Though not common, the Amazigh represents one of the earliest examples of polytheism in Africa and globally. Prior to this, humans connected to divinity through the many aspects that make up a pantheon. In my research, I found over 20 African pantheons that existed in the pre-colonized eras of the African continent. Throughout the series, we will explore several of these pantheons!
One of the first records of monotheism took place in Kemet under the rule of Pharaoh Akhenaten. This was an extremely controversial and short-lived religious shift (1353–1336 BC). In Kemet, this departure from polytheism was seen as a blight on Kemet and on Akhenaten’s legacy. After ‘The Heretic King’s’ death, Kemet swiftly returned to polytheism.
Much of what I am sharing in this particular poem is related to African spirituality in an Africa that existed in a pre-colonization continent. There are no perfect people, nor am I implying that the ancestors were perfect. However, I am emphasizing the importance of understanding the past and the many wonders of Africa prior to the various conquests that are hidden from the general public.
We need to understand their contributions to our shared human experience, where we have grown and evolved, and where we may have deviated from the path. One of the most mind-blowing revelations to me was how growth-minded they were. The beauty of pre-colonial African civilizations is that they recognized the beauty of the diversity of the divine and respected practices that may have been different from their own. In my research, I found over 20 African pantheons that existed in the pre-colonized eras of the continent.
We live in an extremely diverse world. I have had the honor of visiting 5 of the 7 continents so far. And I have been utterly amazed at the biodiversity of life that I have seen. The variations in people, communities, animals, and plant life that abound all across this globe are astounding.
If you look at the United States alone, I have been judged for calling a carbonated beverage soda, pop, cola, and coke. I have had to be flexible and adapt to the region or state I live in. Guess what! It was no big deal because there is not one way to refer to a carbonated beverage! It is not my role to say, ‘We said soda when I lived in New York, pop when I went to Arkansas.’ I adapt, keep quiet, and ADAPT.
For those of us who live in the Global North, we have four seasons: winter, spring, summer, and fall, and we accept that. How would I look going to Ghana, which is near and in some cases on the equator, arguing that they are going to have four seasons because we of the Northern Hemisphere have four, when they only have two (rainy and dry season)? I would look foolish and ignorant because I do not recognize nor honor the differences in seasonality of the various hemispheres. I feel the same about honoring ancient practices and those practices that are different from my own.
Africa is an amazing continent and is the second-largest continent in the world. However, so much is unknown about the cultures of the numerous people groups and ethnicities there. There are over 3,000 ethnicities in Africa, which has the largest diversity among humans! Who all lived, loved, and worshipped in manners that were similar yet so diverse from each other.
However these are just my thoughts,
Estella Writes
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Hey
, this is part one;)
Resources and Sources:
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