Do We Need Walls to Celebrate Development?
Sahaya G. Selvam, sdb
(2 July 2014)
It used to be said that the Great Wall of China is the only human artefact seen from the moon. Even if this legend has been debunked by astronauts, the wall is indeed great. It stretches an extensive distance of 7,200 kilometres. The Chinese have something to be proud of marking how developed they were even in the pre-Christian era.
These days I am on an academic writing break in Moshi, a cosy little down at the foothills of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. I am not staying at the town though, which is crowded these days with the wazungu visitors, who pretend to be enthusiastic Kilimanjaro climbers. Some parade it in their T-shirts: “I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro.” Of course, these T-shirts are not sold at the Kibo peak nor does it need any ID of sorts to buy […]
Africa
African Worldview
THE AFRICAN ANSWER TO
THE QUESTION OF ULTIMATE REALITY:
THE VITAL FORCE.
Sahaya G. Selvam
0. INTRODUCTION
Simply put, the fundamental question in philosophy is, what is the ultimate reality?
The Eastern religions, the earliest sources in the known human history to answer this question, were mystical in their approach. They gave different names to this “ultimate reality which underlies and unifies the multiple things of events” of the universe. The Chinese called it Tao, the Hindus, Brahman and the Buddhists called it Dhamma.
Judaism might have been the first well-known religion to give a personal dimension to this ultimate reality, though without giving a definite name. They calledHim, YHWH, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Joseph. Later Christianity would be born out of the fact that this “God” would even take a human form.
The early Greek philosophers of the Ionian school were too concerned with the material cosmos and they began their philosophical search with the question: What is the world stuff? Their […]
Indian Missionaries in Africa
Missionaries from India Karibuni Africa!
The other day I met Neema. She is a Tanzanian, and a candidate for a congregation of sisters who hail from South India and who have now some convents in Tanzania. She wears the churidar, speaks English with a strong Indian accent and shakes her head like a doll as she gives her assent. Whose fault is it? Is it the 18 year old Neema’s, who agreed to be Indianized, or is it that of those holy nuns who refused to be indigenized?
I heard from a fellow Indian missionary that in a convent in Tanzania, the local cook speaks very well one of the languages of South India. In fact I was told that on the one hand, the sisters are proud of their feat, on the other hand they regret that they are not able to speak any secret among themselves at table anymore. I […]
Weary Feet & Hopeful Eyes
What it means to be young in South Sudan Today?
February 2005. Under one of those mighty mango trees that dot the plains of South Sudan I sat. Waiting for a mango to fall. No one is allowed to pluck mangoes from the tree; you may only pick the mangoes that fall. No, I was waiting for the boys who were working at the nearby construction site to come back after their long lunch break. I wanted to pick a conversation with one or two of them, or if they did not know English, at least to say Cibaak! – that’s the local greeting. I have noticed that the boys of Rumbek relate to strangers very easily. So, language is no problem.
Then came my friend James Malouk. This was our second day of conversation. He wore a broad smile as usual. The Dinkas value white teeth, I came to learn. Most […]
An African Epistemology
The Multiplicity of Truth :
An inquiry into African Epistemology
In this brief article I would like to reflect on how the African people look at truth. (I am grateful to my friend Babu Ayindo. A conversation with him has been the real confirmation of my own postulations. Some of the examples used here are his too.) The concept of truth is based on a metaphysics – a way of interpreting reality. Thirdly, it has its implications on ethics.
I would like to speak of these three aspects in the following theses:
1: A ‘Yes’ may mean a ‘No’.
2: The different aspects of reality are not contradictory but only complementary.
3: That is good which simply preserves relationships.
I noticed that in stating these theses I had to be extra careful to state them without absolutizing them – in the African way. Therefore, I notice that English being a non-African language has its limitation in expressing […]