THE DISCIPLES OF the African Heritage Foundation (AHF) are on a quest to revolutionise the way the Afro-Caribbean identifies itself and to break the chains of mental slavery. How are they going to do it?
Through education and cultural activities. Their goal is to cleanse the land of racial degradation and counter the Babylonian systems hindering African descendants from racial upliftment.
Recently, EASY magazine met the founder of the movement and he explained why it is important for African descendants to get back to the Motherland.
He told EASY “getting back to Africa” was a means of reconnecting with one’s ancestral roots and not necessarily a physical doctrine. Simba highlighted some of the activities his organisation planned for Black History Month and spoke about how the black race can reach its truest potential.
Last weekend the AHF held a moonlight drumming ceremony during the Moonlight Bazaar at Neils Plantation, St George. This was the first drumming ceremony the organisation held in the public domain, and Simba pointed out the benefits of such activities.
“In ancient African cultures drums were not only used for communication physically but used as a means of communication to our ancestors,” he said.
“Drums are made from different materials and they symbolise life and death. Death is represented by the use of animal skins and the wood is seen as the living element. Those two elements create a melody and a vibration that is hypnotic and meditative which allows you to travel into another space or realm.”
He continued, “The drumming ceremony occurs within a circular gathering and that circle represents the continuity of life.
“During the session there is no particular rhythm used, it is not something rehearsed but an organic vibration. Therefore what manifests from you to the drum is your own; your thoughts are translated through the drums and your beat takes on the form of a prayer.”
He described the session as a cleansing which detoxes the body of stress, anger and other afflictions.
“Anyone can come and chant. You beat the drum and express how you feel; this also alludes to the concept of singular in a plural state.
“In Africa one of our most popular virtues is Ubuntu, and Mandela spoke about this when he was alive. Essentially what it means is I am because you are and you are because I am. It speaks to community and unity and what you have to offer in the social sphere.”
The full moon and fire are also two key components of the ritual. Simba explained they are part of the healing process.
“Fire is a natural cleansing agent and works like a purge. You would find within drumming circles people who don’t speak to one another feel the need to communicate. It is a unifying practice and things like religion, which separates you, does not apply; you have Rastas there and Baptists there because we all use the drum.
“The moon brings with it water, which is a blessing, and full moon is usually the highest time of energy. That is why our foreparents planted food based on the cycle of the moon.”
Simba said the ritual is not for entertainment purposes and added that he plans on taking the practice throughout the parishes of island to unify communities deeper and re-establish severed bonds between villagers.
In addition, Simba said the purpose of the organisation is to elevate the thinking and consciousness of Afro-Barbadians. He argued that Blacks have been trained and taught to condemn the characteristics and qualities of their ancestral upbringings.
The Pan-African association therefore seeks to do something that has never been done, he stressed – teach black history through the eyes of the oppressed and educate the youth about the glorious Ancient African civilisation. He told EASY the media and European systems of education and governance were responsible for the misconceptions Barbadians have about Africa.
“We are the only people from ancient civilisation who have not retained our culture. When you look at the Indians and the Chinese, they do. We have a tendency of copying yet we don’t copy the way in which they have maintained and kept their culture and heritage as key factors in the socialisation process. We take pride in an educational system, which teaches us to dislike ourselves.
“Anything that is considered to be inferior is considered to be of the black man, in general equated with poverty, and anything equated with the white man is wealth.”
Simba said this is reflected in our systems of justice and added that if the system of government was tailored to suit a Caribbean reality the laws would be different.
Simba also raised the point that there are certain monuments in historic Bridgetown which he deems should not be there.
“We have a statue of Lord Nelson to remind us of what? He fought against the abolition of slavery and if it was up to him we would still be in bondage. We treat these things as though they happened thousands of years ago when they were the reality of our foreparents.”
He also expressed his views on what society considers as success and said Barbadians need to stop thinking that certain jobs are better than others.
“You feel a garbage man child is proud of his father like a lawyer’s child? He doesn’t know the value of his father’s job despite his father is one of the most important people in society.
“Without crime and envy there would be no need of lawyers or police. If we eat right and live healthy lifestyles there would be no need of doctors but if you take away the garbage man from society disease and all types of outbreaks would occur; yet we look down on him and the role he plays.”
Moreover, Simba explained that capitalism is a scheme that works against the elevation of lower class people. He said it presented itself in the most attractive forms and caused poor people to unconsciously support it.
In all, Simba said his organisation has been functioning for the past three years. It operates like a government, he added. He explained the movement was not a Rastafarian body but an association of activists who believed in uplifting the black race.
