Page 6
February 23, 2000
B la c k H is to ry
M
-<• Focus
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ftarUanh ffibeeruer
The Seeds of Black Spirituality
onth
y Joy Ramos
Edward Bruce Bynum is (he author
o/The Africa Unconscious, a hook
about the roots o f ancient mysticism
and psychology. In his explanation,
" the African Unconscious is
paradoxically both the dark and
the luminous deep structure that
live within each o f us, regardless o f
su rfa ce racial and ethnic
diversification."
The following interview is about
how the spiritual traditions o f Africa
have profoundly influenced the
Black church in this country.
Q: The Black com m unity in
America has for centuries been
centered around the church where
community is regarded symbolically
as a circle. Can you please explain
its importance?
Edward Bynum: Historically, the
strongest communities that was
allowed, survived and thrived in
America was the community of the
Black church. In many African
societies, and many extensions into
this society today, the family
consists of many different levels.
There’s the present generation that
includes everybody who’s living,
up to three generations from the
past, including the people who
recently departed and one
generation in the future. All ofthese
are considered to be part of one’s
family. The different sense of time
is much more circular. It includes
the past, present and the future.
Q: The Black church has its roots in
African traditions. What spiritual
practices have crossed over into
this country?
Edward Bynum: African American
spirituality, in both North and South
America, was a fusion of West
African lineages and those that,
through West Africa, stretched back
to the days of ancient Egypt and the
civilizations of the Nile.
Some African traditions such
as
Spirit
possession,
incantations, beliefs in
“medicine”, witchcraft, and
dancing religion with its
associated facial expressions
and bodily gestures flourished
in the southern states of this
country. This was most often
seen in the ecstatic states of
Black revivalist churches. The
same rhythmic chants, foot
stomping, shouts, and back-
and-forth calls betw een
preacher and audience could
be seen.
Q: What about honoring spirit
elders and ritual?
Edward Bynum: Veneration
o f o n e’s ancestors is
somewhat downplayed in
C hristian
traditions.
However, even in those
traditions, there is a
recognition that one can have
spiritual contact with one’s
ancestors in the ancestral
realm. The ancestors within
the ancestors are still part of
one’s life. This is a tradition
practiced all over Earth,
including
A frica
but
downplayed in Europe. Ritual
and rhythm has a prominent
place in Africa. They both
help organize m em ory,
organize community and
reflect the orderly rhythmic
oscillating process of the universe.
The music of the Blacks was carried
across the Atlantic and still stressed
call and response, syncopation,
polyrhythms, slides from one not to
another, hand and foot clapping,
and a great deal of heterophony,
much of which was thought to be
frightening, wild and “barbaric,’
yet “strangely fascinating” to the
Whites. Almost the same can be
said today whenever there is a new
innovation in Black music, from
the “hip” of rock-and-roll to the
rhythmic incantation woven through
rap music. It will be a powerful new
episode in the history of music and
human consciousness, however,
when the attention of America’s
Black musical innovators goes back
to its real roots in the “possession”
music of the Orishas (in Africa) and
this ecstatic liberating force finds
expression in popular music!
The first Black pilots in the U.S. Armed forces were trained at Tuskegee Institutee in
Alabama. African American pilots ammassed an excellent record in World War II, in 200
escort missions over Germany, the black fighter pilots never lost a bomber.
Fuel Your Future
The role o f priests, ritual and dance possession were believed
by both Muslims and traditionalists. The whole process was
alive and highly personal in one's experience.
A ir National Guard
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