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Molefi Asante (born 1942) is an African-American scholar, historian, and philosopher, who is currently Professor in the Department of African American Studies at Temple University, where he founded the first Ph.D. program in African American Studies. He is also widely credited with being the founder of the "Afrocentricity" school of thought. He has also written books such as Afrocentric Idea Revised and Classical Africa.
He writes in the Preface to this 1990 book, "I have divided the book into three sections: (1) interiors, (2) anteriors, and (3) exteriors. The idea is to examine what constitutes the discipline of Africalogy; secondly, a discussion of origins and issues related to historical developments in the writing of Africa; and thirdly, a presentation of approaches to fields other than Africalogy with particular emphasis on critique."
Here are some quotations from the book:
"What constitutes the quest for truth in the Afrocentric enterprise? In Africalogy, language, myth, ancestral memory, dance-music-art, and science provide the sources of knowledge, the canons of proof and the structures of truth." (Pg. 10)
"If evidence suggests that Africa was the mother of European civilization, what force brought about the demise of respect for Africa? Greece gained in prominence while Egypt fell in reputation due to a combination of European racism and chauvinism. Africa's antiquity was no longer considered a valuable credit but rather a debit." (Pg. 102)
"Again the use of 'negroes' obfuscates the African reality. Furthermore, the 'race of negroes' he speaks of are Africans, as are the Nuba of whom he is writing. The statement that 'these negroes were aliens' is incredible inasmuch as the people of the Sudan were Africans and without giving an ethnic name one cannot say wheter these people were aliens or not. There is no negro ethnic group or race." (Pg. 134)
"Research reported in our journals must be evaluated on how well it reflects reality not the degree to which it employs the traditional Eurocentric frame of reference." (Pg. 141)
There are five Kemetic concepts that constitute the Ma'atic response to injustice and disorder in the world. Those concepts must be seen in the light of general African cultural developments....Certainly there are differentials in response based upon environmental conditions and other factors but I believe that the general cultural project against chaos represented by Ma'at with an ankh in her hand is encompassed by my classification, using five Kemetic concepts: tep, pet, heb, sen, and meh.
Tep (Beginning)
Love of children
Late Weaning
Age-Grouping
Value Fertility
Kemet, Afrocentricity and Knowledge. Molefi Asante
Children should be produced out of love. They should not be produced from acts of simple lust, revenge sex, simple passion, force, or any other unnatural means. We should keep our children with us for longer periods of time at the beginning of their lives. We should drop them off any place else for anyone to watch them. If we cannot afford to watch over our children then we should not have them. If you have a child already it would be better to reduce your lifestyle than to leave your child to bond with others. If you have no other choice, make sure that you spend at least three hours per 24 hour period with just your child without distractions. All children should develop with children their age or close to it. When children are over exposed to adults they see and hear things that they cannot fully understand. When children are forced to spend time with children younger than themselves it can slow their maturation. Some of us cannot have children while other have a lot of children. All children belong to the community. We should help those who have many children, especially when we have no children at all. We should offer what ever resource we have.
African Society
Pet (Extensions)
Society above Individual
Extended Family
Honor to Ancestors
Kemet, Afrocentricity and Knowledge. Molefi Asante
We live in a society that says that we should put the individual above the group. The rulers tell us to ride our individualism to the highest possible point that we can take ourselves, Leave those lazy shiftless members of your community behind, they say. Yet these same people create institutions and provide for all of their family and friends no matter how incompetent they are. When our children fail we are told to overlook them for the ones that are successful, but George H. W. bush sent all of his sons to Harvard and Yale. He sustained his eldest son through all of his failures until he became president of the United States. We must support all members of our community. In maintaining the whole community we will maintain every single member. We are to accomplish group success by embracing the family. The family includes cousins, Aunts, Uncles, nieces, and nephews. When someone is drifting into trouble in any way we have two real options. One is to cover them if they are a part of our family. The other option is to find out which family that person belongs to and put the word out through our family members. That is how communities sustain themselves over generations. Our elders have seen and or lived through many trends. If we need to know something the chances are that one of our ancestors has the answers. We have to keep our elders close to us and we should sit with them every chance that we get. Our ancestors have the knowledge of: wars, movements, the rise and fall of ethnicities across this world. We are to record those ancestors that are living and study those which have passed on. Our grand parents can help us. Our philosophers, scientist and leader's writings can help us.
African Celebration
Heb (Festival)
Agricultural Rites
Art for Ritual
Dance/Music
Gift-Giving
Ceremony for Passages
Ululations (screaming & wailing)
Everyone in our community should have access to land or places to live. We should also have possession of foods. We have no problem partying. We celebrate everything in the United States no matter how cheerful or somber. We celebrate the dates that our revolutionaries were born. We celebrate the dates that our nation was attacked. We love to celebrate, but many of our celebrations are empty. We must learn how to celebrate our creativity. This means our paintings, writings, dances, songs, etc. Giving gifts is okay because it shows our appreciation for each other. We should give gifts that we produce or are produced by members of the community. It is crucial to develop a celebration and process for the transition our children as they become adults. The early stages of adulthood can be an important time in our lives. It can also be a traumatic period if we have to face it alone. We do not have gatherings to celebrate our growth, just the passing of another year. This is why so many of us are trapped in a state of adolescence or childhood. It is good when we shout or yell at our celebrations because it shows the depth of our emotions. When we feel so good that we can shout out with joy, it moves other people that are celebrating with us.
African Community
We
Sen (Circle)
Burial
Extended Funeral
Living Ancestors
Kemet, Afrocentricity and Knowledge. Molefi Asante
Funerals have become family reunions for many people. It is the only time that we see old family members. We know how to pay our respects to the dead and the family for a day or two. Of course this one or two day ceremony of burying our dead is inadequate at best, detrimental at worse. The immediate circle of the person that died has just suffered the lost of someone that they knew their whole lives and we only give the people left behind two days of our support. We should give extended periods of direct support and at least a year of indirect support such as telephone calls or letters. Our living ancestors need to die in the most glorious way that we can provide. They should be surrounded by us. Our elderly should never have a cause to believe that they are a burden to us, but a gift to us.
African Spirituality
Meh (Crowning Glory)
Supreme Deity
Search for Harmony (Ma'at)
Freedom from Shame
Kemet, Afrocentricity and Knowledge. Molefi Asante
We are not truly living unless we understand and embrace the concept of a Supreme Deity. We have to keep in our consciousness the idea that there exists a force which is far greater than each individual part of this universe because it is the whole of the universe. A simple example is that of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is greater than the plants, rain, and atmosphere as smaller parts of the process. We cannot grow into our full humanity unless we set aside time in our lives dedicated to living with this Supreme Deity that resides in all objects great and small. We can become in tuned with the Deity through study, meditation, and ritual. If we become in tuned with the Deity there will be no need for shame. If we make mistake or act in a way that put enmity between us and our community or us and our Deity, we can simply turn back toward both by atoning for our negative acts. If we lie on someone out of fear, we can admit to it later when we have more courage and go back to those who we told the lie to. If we steal from someone out of desperation, we can return when our senses come back to us or work off what the item that we stole was worth. If we atone we do not have to carry guilt which turns into emotional or mental illnesses.
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Molefi Asante (born 1942) is an African-American scholar, historian, and philosopher, who is currently Professor in the Department of African American Studies at Temple University, where he founded the first Ph.D. program in African American Studies. He is also widely credited with being the founder of the "Afrocentricity" school of thought. He has also written books such as Afrocentric Idea Revised and Classical Africa.
He writes in the Preface to this 1990 book, "I have divided the book into three sections: (1) interiors, (2) anteriors, and (3) exteriors. The idea is to examine what constitutes the discipline of Africalogy; secondly, a discussion of origins and issues related to historical developments in the writing of Africa; and thirdly, a presentation of approaches to fields other than Africalogy with particular emphasis on critique."
Here are some quotations from the book:
"What constitutes the quest for truth in the Afrocentric enterprise? In Africalogy, language, myth, ancestral memory, dance-music-art, and science provide the sources of knowledge, the canons of proof and the structures of truth." (Pg. 10)
"If evidence suggests that Africa was the mother of European civilization, what force brought about the demise of respect for Africa? Greece gained in prominence while Egypt fell in reputation due to a combination of European racism and chauvinism. Africa's antiquity was no longer considered a valuable credit but rather a debit." (Pg. 102)
"Again the use of 'negroes' obfuscates the African reality. Furthermore, the 'race of negroes' he speaks of are Africans, as are the Nuba of whom he is writing. The statement that 'these negroes were aliens' is incredible inasmuch as the people of the Sudan were Africans and without giving an ethnic name one cannot say wheter these people were aliens or not. There is no negro ethnic group or race." (Pg. 134)
"Research reported in our journals must be evaluated on how well it reflects reality not the degree to which it employs the traditional Eurocentric fr
There are five Kemetic concepts that constitute the Ma'atic response to injustice and disorder in the world. Those concepts must be seen in the light of general African cultural developments....Certainly there are differentials in response based upon environmental conditions and other factors but I believe that the general cultural project against chaos represented by Ma'at with an ankh in her hand is encompassed by my classification, using five Kemetic concepts: tep, pet, heb, sen, and meh.
Tep (Beginning)
Love of children
Late Weaning
Age-Grouping
Value Fertility
Kemet, Afrocentricity and Knowledge. Molefi Asante
Children should be produced out of love. They should not be produced from acts of simple lust, revenge sex, simple passion, force, or any other unnatural means. We should keep our children with us for longer periods of time at the beginning of their lives. We should drop them off any place else for anyone to watch them. If we cannot afford to watch over our children then we should not have them. If you have a child already it would be better to reduce your lifest
African Society
Pet (Extensions)
Society above Individual
Extended Family
Honor to Ancestors
Kemet, Afrocentricity and Knowledge. Molefi Asante
We live in a society that says that we should put the individual above the group. The rulers tell us to ride our individualism to the highest possible point that we can take ourselves, Leave those lazy shiftless members of your community behind, they say. Yet these same people create institutions and provide for all of their family and friends no matter how incompetent they are. When our children fail we are told to overlook them for the ones that are successful, but George H. W. bush sent all of his sons to Harvard and Yale. He sustained his eldest son through all of his failures until he became president of the United States. We must support all members of our community. In maintaining the whole community we will maintain every single member. We are to accomplish group success by embracing the family. The family includes cousins, Aunts, Uncles, nieces, and nephews. When someone is drifting into trouble in any way we have two real options. One is to cover them if they are a part of our family. The other option is to find out which family that person belongs to and put the word out through our family members. That is how communities sustain themselves over generations. Our elders have seen and or lived through many trends. If we need to know something the chances are that one of our ancestors has the answers. We have to keep our elders close to us and we should sit with them every chance that we get. Our ancestors have the knowledge of: wars, movements, the rise and fall of ethnicities across this world. We are to record those ancestors that are living and study those which have passed on. Our grand parents can help us. Our philosophers, scientist and leader's writings can help us.
African Celebration
Heb (Festival)
Agricultural Rites
Art for Ritual
Dance/Music
Gift-Giving
Ceremony for Passages
Ululations (screaming & wailing)
Everyone in our community should have access to land or places to live. We should also have possession of foods. We have no problem partying. We celebrate everything in the United States no matter how cheerful or somber. We celebrate the dates that our revolutionaries were born. We celebrate the dates that our nation was attacked. We love to celebrate, but many of our celebrations are empty. We must learn how to celebrate our creativity. This means our paintings, writings, dances, songs, etc. Giving gifts is okay because it shows our appreciation for each other. We should give gifts that we produce or are produced by members of the community. It is crucial to develop a celebration and process for the transition our children as they become adults. The early stages of adulthood can be an important time in our lives. It can also be a traumatic period if we have to face it alone. We do not have gatherings to celebrate our growth, just the passing of another year. This is why so many of us are trapped in a state of adolescence or childhood. It is good when we shout or yell at our celebrations because it shows the depth of our emotions. When we feel so good that we can shout out with joy, it moves other people that are celebrating with us.
African Community
We
Sen (Circle)
Burial
Extended Funeral
Living Ancestors
Kemet, Afrocentricity and Knowledge. Molefi Asante
Funerals have become family reunions for many people. It is the only time that we see old family members. We know how to pay our respects to the dead and the family for a day or two. Of course this one or two day ceremony of burying our dead is inadequate at best, detrimental at worse. The immediate circle of the person that died has just suffered the lost of someone that they knew their whole lives and we only give the people left behind two days of our support. We should give extended periods of direct support and at least a year of indirect support such as telephone calls or letters. Our living ancestors need to die in the most glorious way that we can provide. They should be surrounded by us. Our elderly should never have a cause to believe that they are a burden to us, but a gift to us.
African Spirituality
Meh (Crowning Glory)
Supreme Deity
Search for Harmony (Ma'at)
Freedom from Shame
Kemet, Afrocentricity and Knowledge. Molefi Asante
We are not truly living unless we understand and embrace the concept of a Supreme Deity. We have to keep in our consciousness the idea that there exists a force which is far greater than each individual part of this universe because it is the whole of the universe. A simple example is that of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is greater than the plants, rain, and atmosphere as smaller parts of the process. We cannot grow into our full humanity unless we set aside time in our lives dedicated to living with this Supreme Deity that resides in all ob