The Sunday News
Pathisa Nyathi
Today’s instalment starts with a quotation from a book written by Dr Mathole Motshekga, one time government minister in the Republic of South Africa.
It is a quotation taken from the book titled, African Origins and Cultural Heritage-Self Knowledge Will Set You Free.
The quotation relates to the African calendar which is underpinned by movements of cosmic bodies.
“The African calendar is rooted in African spiritual cosmology, which is founded on the belief that celestial bodies-stars, and planets, including the sun(Ra) and the moon(Ma/Mala) are the physical manifestations of God and gods.
“The universe is considered a living organism that acts through the lunar and solar cycles. These cycles were used to measure time and to establish the times for lunar and solar festivals, the lives of African divine rulers were believed to be regulated by the cycles of the moon and the sun.
African kings and queens were called Sons of the Sun (Sa Ra) or daughters of the Sun (Mudjadji). African indigenous religion became known as astral religion, and was an integral part of the indigenous African kingship.
“The movement of celestial bodies (sun, moon and stars) their significance in astral religion is reflected in the part of the heavens known as the Zodiac.
This is the visible area in the heavens where we can see the sun, the moon, the stars and most of our planets. It is believed God created the zodiac to separate the Spiritual from the material world.”
Our interest in this and probably forthcoming articles relates to time, timing and reckoning of time. The concepts are underpinned by the movement of celestial bodies, in particular the sun and the moon.
When a baby is born, she is kept in a hut until the remnant of the umbilical cord (ufokothi) dries and falls off.
Some plants to protect the baby’s fontanel (inkanda) are administered and these vary from family to family or clan to clan.
The new baby is then taken out of the hut for the first time. She is lifted up, thrown up and down three times.
Her face is held towards the new moon and told, “Nanguya umnakwenu!” The new moon is her age mate. This is African birth registration.
This first particular in the ID relates to the moon or month of birth. The time of day may also be recorded. Minenhle is a name that points to the fact that a baby girl was born during the day — emini.
Next to be recorded is the year. The year is recorded through mediation of the solar and lunar movements. Solar movement results in the seasons of the year. Its movement is what results in years which have several, actually thirteen, lunar months.
While the year, umnyaka (suggests a long period of time) is periodised or broken down into months, specificity is created through events that take place in a particular year.
A year is not given codes or numerical figures for its designation. Instead, there are events that take place and are used as markers of time or its reckoners.
For example, Mkhwahluma Dube was born in the month of uMpandula in the year when Joshua Nkomo died.
Nkomo’s death, on account of his being known by community members, is used as a marker of time — the year in particular. Let us give a few examples of recent and past events that are used as markers of time: the death of former President Robert Gabriel Mugabe (2019), the coming to power of President Emmerson Mnangagwa (2017), Cyclone Idai (2018), the severe drought when people consumed yellow maize, tjikundamoyo (1947), the year of the star with a tail (inkanyezi yomsila, 1910), I-fuleza (1918 Influenza).
This takes us to some important consideration of time. The question is whether time exists independently of man’s intervention. The movement of celestial bodies takes place independently of man. Can that be regarded as reckoning of time or as the reckoning a cultural construct?
Time, it seems to me, has two dimensions to it. The cultural dimension which is dependent on the movement of celestial bodies. Events from the natural plane are used in reckoning time which has to have functionality.
Time is defined and expressed through events, death of important humans, catastrophic natural events such as cyclones, eclipses, be they solar or lunar, earthquakes, droughts, heavy rains, severe droughts etc.
In the context of these and a lot more, time finds expression, meaning, significance and functional relevance. It reckons time for the convenience of human beings. In this context can we say time is independent of human activity or intervention?
It is scrutiny, dissection and unpacking of such concepts that we begin to delve into the arena of seeking to understand the African. What emerges will have a bearing on a better understanding of how to appreciate his ideas relating to development.
That will then lead to the crafting of appropriate development strategies that are informed by and rooted in a people’s thought and cosmology.
That renders meaning and commitment to work at hand. Here lies a better chance for sustainable development — one that is born of a people’s world-view and felt needs.
Universal development strategies lack the steam, basis and motive force which release inner energy necessary to translate theory and policies to practical projects and programms.
